Two beautiful misses... a grass slicer by Landonovan and a missed cross by Specter. On the last shot, the Orlando Magic dudes passed it well... that's what got them so open to shoot. Man, I'm so glad it's boring enough to allow me to watch the ROCKETS.
Time. Score is 0-0. I'm sleepy. MEX vs. ECU showing on Telemundo now on this FIFA date. 1-0 Mexico on a great cross shot from Palencia at the 40-second mark.
I just got back from the game and it was indeed boring. I'm not sure what sort of blackmail material Johnson has on US Soccer officials but he really needs to stop getting called up. Most of the newer guys did have good games for the US though. Our offense was very stagnant trying to force the long ball like SwoLy mentioned. Dempsey at forward was interesting, he at least goes all out for any ball in the area. I also watched the U-20's, it was an ok game but I didn't know who half the players were since there wasn't any lineup and they didn't have names on their jersey's. Adu drew a penalty and converted it and Ferrari (one of the guys I didn't know) got a goal at the very end to give us a 2-1 win. Robbie Rogers was also able to put a shot over the bar from 3 feet out, that was pretty impressive. Most of the game they spent back passes and switching the ball, there wasn't a whole lot of attacking. And the Guatemalans are some diving bastards.
DrLudicrous... they need to quit the "wait wait wait... strike!" bullsh*t they play against superpowers and Mexico ... they saw GUATEMALA do that against them and look what it got them... a stewpid tie. See? I keep saying... it gets them wins, but at the cost of looking foolish later. No wonder other countries hate their style of playing. C'mon, men... attack! Don't sit back like **ssies! Look what it got MEXICO against ECUADOR. I am not saying it's ILLEGAL, alls I am saying is that the game will be exciting only when they score... they obviously didn't excite the people last night.
I got the sense that GUA had no intention of trying to score at all. That they said from the outset that they just wanted to keep the US from scoring...period...the end. US had a couple of good chances...the shots just didn't go in.
...Guatemala played with ten men behind the ball praying for Ruiz to somehow end up with a goal because the U.S. played a (ultimately successful) counterattacking style against Mexico in February? I don't think that's why.
MadMax... with all due respect since you're a U.S. Soccer fan... you don't see the irony there, do you? EDIT: ZacD, exactly. Ruiz =~ Donovan
Here's another perspective... in essence: FOOTBALL IQ: Estados Unidos > Mexico > Guatemala ATTACKING STYLE: Mexico > Estados Unidos > Guatemala DEFENSE: Guatemala > Estados Unidos > Mexico COACHING: Estados Unidos > Guatemala > Mexico WUSSY SISSY LAY-BACK STYLE OF PLAY: Estados Unidos > Guatemala > Mexico jk
They played for a tie...it happens...pack it in and play for a tie. One of the US weaknesses is the lack of creativity on the dribble, which can create chances against this kind of defense. The USA needs a player who can create on the dribble draw double teams and pass to the open spaces. Right now, they are primarily a team of speed and not skill. DD
I really don't think Guatemala learned bunker ball from the U.S. There's a difference between total negativity, hoping for a draw or a fluke 1-0 win, and soaking up pressure and counterattacking. This difference is well demonstrated in the last several U.S.-Mexico scorelines, which would not trend the way they do if the U.S. regularly played like Guatemala did last night. That's is not to say that the U.S. performed well last night by any stretch, or that the Guatemalans do not deserve credit for executing their gameplan against a more talented side.
The US isn't good at breaking down defenses so they implement a style that works for them, counter attacking. When a team bunkers on us we don't know how to handle it. We did have some good build up down the wings with Mapp and Mullan but it was rare and too often we'd get frustrated and boot it down the field and hope for something to happen. And Eddie Johnson isn't somebody you can send a long ball to and hope for something good to happen. He does enough to get near the ball but won't fight for possession if a defender is nearby. You either have to send it to somebody with a lot of speed like Donovan or size and muscle like Ching. But even then it's not a good idea if the other team is bunkering. And you can say that the US needs to change their tactics but if Mexico would change theirs they could beat the US. We need to change for some games and opponents but the counter attacking game plan will keep on working when we play Mexico so we should keep using it then.
