[Soccer] USMNT friendlies & beginning of WC 2014 Qualifying

My quick thoughts...

Gooch is done...internationally, at least. He had no business being out there and was simply horrible. Constantly out of position. Constantly gave the ball away. Terrible marking. No where to be found on set plays. Other than that, he was fine. Send him back to his club and let Goodson and Cameron battle it out for that spot.

Fabian Johnson might finally be the answer at left back. Outstanding runs forward. Set up that goal after a masterful pass from Bradley. Almost set up the other had Dempsey got on the end of the ball played through Gomez.

I liked what Gomez brought to the table. A little too much playing for the long ball, however. He could have done better to help the mids get out of trouble.

Bradley is just getting better by the day. Strange to say, but maybe his dad was holding him back somehow.

Donovan, Edu, and Jones were not good enough tonight. Too many giveaways and too quick to go backwards instead of pushing the ball.

Dempsey looked good but it was clear he wasn't quite in game shape. Hopefully he can get more minutes against Canada and be ready to go for the qualifiers.

Not a good result that got off to a bad start with a bulls*** call. Brazil is Brazil. Neymar and Marcelo are very talented players...and punks. US has to do better, though, against these teams.

 

I don't think there's any room for Johnson in the midfield. You have to find spots for Dempsey, Donovan, Edu, Torres, Bradley, Jones, (apparently) Beckerman, and Holden (once healthy). There's no where for him to get minutes as long as Dempsey and Donovan are going to likely eat up the 2 outside spots. I can't blame anyone for being a bit shaky against Brazil. Given time, I think he is the permanent solution at left back for the US. I'd prefer not to see Chandler back there any time soon. I feel better about Castillo than Chandler.

I still like what Cherundolo brings. He's solid defensively and moves up the field well. I wish he was a better crosser. If he's missing anything (other than being 2' tall), it's that.

I'll be curious to see the roster against Canada. I'd expect to see Wondolowski, Corona, Castillo, Parkhurst, and Dempsey get significant minutes. Wondo and Parkhurst haven't seen the field, yet. Maybe Guzan or Rimando get the start, too. Then again, if you can't use those players against Antigua and Barbuda AND expect to win easily, I'm not sure what they're even doing out there.

 

Howard probably could have done better (maybe come out on the goal scored off the corner) but ultimately was left high and dry by his defender's shoddy marking.

Besides actual World Cup games, when does Brazil travel with their full squad? There's always someone held back. I'm pretty sure any team with the Brazil crest on it's shirt is going to be pretty competitive. They could bring their Z team and still be better than most of the world. Oh, and if you actually watched the telecast, the announcers mentioned more than once that Brazil is going hard after this gold medal. It's the one honor they don't have. That was not a weak team.

 

It was yet another one of your backhanded comments putting down the US team...and part of the reason I actually have you on ignore. Unfortunately for me, I'm currently doing a s***ty job of actually ignoring your jackassery.

 

Canadia tonight @ 6 on NBC Sports Network. The game marks the beginning of the centennial celebration for the CSA. It's also likely a game where the players in camp that haven't gotten a shot finally get on the field.

Maybe a little payback for the Olympic qualifying loss is in order, too.