US U-17s Thrash Mexico 4-1
Since we mentioned part one of yesterdays double-header in an earlier post (the US U-17s played Mexico in Tampa before the National Team took the field), we thought it’d be appropriate to follow up. Looks like our boys put together a strong performance against our rivals from the south. Kellen Gulley opened scoring on a [...]
Recap [USA vs. Denmark, 11.18.09]
The less said about this match, the better. It was painful to watch at moments. I think that this is one of those matches that we’re supposed to learn from. So, what did we learn? -Landon Donovan is even more integral to this team than we could have imagined. We knew he was the driving [...]
Recap [USA vs. Slovakia, 11.14.09]
The USA played the first of its pre-World Cup friendlies against Slovakia on Saturday. With nothing to play for, Bob Bradley utilized the opportunity to test his team’s depth. The results? Despite the 0-1 defeat, there were more positives than negatives. Most promising of the group were the performances of our center backs and central midfield. Although [...]
USA win the group!
The 2-0 first-half deficit made it seem unlikely, but the US were able to battle back to match points with Mexico, and therefore, win the group. Well done, boys! Here are some thoughts from the game: -It was great to see the US create so many chances. You’d like to see us finish more of [...]
United States qualify for 2010 World Cup!!!
The 3-2 victory in Honduras clinched it. Well done, lads!!
Cooper scores in 1860 Munich debut
Just a quick note: Cooper has scored in his debut. His team won. Great start to his campaign.
Gold Cup recap
The Gold Cup is over. While the final was certainly a disappointment, it’s important to recognize the purpose of this edition of the tournament–it was an opportunity to evaluate our fringe players, hopefully identifying who should (and should not) be considered for the 2010 roster. Here’s our take: HELPED THEIR CAUSES: Troy Perkins (G) – [...]
USA 0 – 5 Mexico
I sure can pick them. Since I am originally from Omaha, NE, and I recently graduated college from Wesleyan University in central Connecticut, I haven’t had too many opportunities to watch the USA play in person over the years. In fact, I’ve had only two. The first was in 2005, when a half-strength USA lost [...]
Recap: Gold Cup first round
I headed over to Nevada Smith’s on Saturday night to watch the USA take on Haiti. I’ve always been a little reluctant to watch games there because it tends to attract this brand of American soccer fan that I find particularly annoying–the fan who wishes he were born English. Symptoms of this condition include: the desire to argue [...]
Confederations Cup: What We Learned
Sorry–this is a little late, but I think it’s an important discussion to have… We’ve all read plenty of articles praising the Nats for their improbably run to the Cup finals, so we’ll spare you the discussion of their “grit” and “heart.” (Funny–I was always led to believe that Frankie Hejduk was our sole source [...]
Michael Bradley to serve 4-game suspension
Grant Wahl is reporting on his blog that FIFA have ruled that Michael Bradley is to serve a four-game suspension for his post-game confrontation of Jorge Larrionda. Despite the seemingly harsh penalty, it turns out that it doesn’t mean much. Bradley will be allowed to serve his suspension during the Gold Cup–a competition for which he [...]
USA 2 – 0 Spain
Opening comment from Soccernet’s live gamecast: “Hello and welcome to Spain’s thrashing of the US. Teams to follow in a moment.” Eat it, world.
Confederations Cup: Group Stage Recap
After 135 minutes of some of the most uninspiring soccer we’ve seen from the USA since…well, I guess Costa Rica…the Nats were able to turn things around with a 3-0 victory over Egypt. And just like that, after losing two and accumulating a -5 goal differential, we’re out of the group stage. Wow! I think [...]
Lessons learned from the Confederations Cup (so far)
So we’re two matches into our Confederations Cup campaign and we’ve already been eliminated. Now it’s time to start asking the all-important question–what did we learn? 1. Horns absolutely need to be banned from all World Cup matches. 2. We are awesome at getting players sent off. 3. We still have a hard time scoring [...]
Hating Rossi
It’s the next day and the hangover still lingers. Ives did an interesting piece on hating Rossi–a pretty even-handed analysis of the situation. My take? I, like many American soccer fans, was bitterly disappointed (although not shocked) when Rossi announced that he’d be playing for Italy. Since then, I’ve been pretty ambivalent…until last night. I [...]
USA-Italy: Ugh.
I’m frustrated enough to post this picture again. I knew this was going to happen. You know, I really thought it would be a little different when he scored, a little classier. Maybe I was asking for too much. Then I thought about it some more, and I don’t think I was wrong in expecting [...]
2010 Starting XI Taking Shape
It’s hard to believe, but the World Cup is only a year and a half away. That means it’s time for a little speculation. Here are some thoughts on how the roster is taking shape and what we expect to see in South Africa: After the Sweden match, Sacha Kljestan has taken the lead in [...]
Depth Chart: Average Player Ratings After Seven Qualifiers
We’ve made it through seven qualifiers, with the USA qualifying for next year’s hexagonal after just six matches. We’ve taken the player ratings from America’s top soccer writers and averaged them for you, in the hope that it will provide some insight into the players’ performance. Below are the average player ratings after the first [...]
Player Ratings: USA @ Trinidad & Tobago (10.15.08)
We’ve taken the player ratings from America’s most respected soccer writers and averaged them, in an attempt to provide an informed, unbiased assessment of the U.S.A.’s performance at Trinidad & Tobago. PLAYER AVG. RATING GK GUZAN, Brad 4.67 DEF CALIFF, Danny 5.00 HEJDUK,Frankie 3.33 OROZCO, Michael 5.17 PEARCE, Heath 5.00 MID ADU, Freddy 5.67 BEASLEY, [...]
A brief reaction to USA-T&T
After a young team lost tonight to Trinidad & Tobago on the road, I thought our positions on youth and away qualifiers needed a little clarification. Some will use this result to draw two conclusions: 1. Using young/inexperienced palyers in qualifiers is risky and is usually a bad idea; 2. This (along with Mexico’s loss [...]
Player Ratings: USA vs. Cuba (10.11.08)
We’ve taken the player ratings from America’s most respected soccer writers and averaged them, in an attempt to provide an informed, unbiased assessment of the U.S.A.’s performance against Cuba at RFK Stadium. PLAYER AVG. RATING GK HOWARD, Tim 5.33 DEF BOCANEGRA, Carlos 6.33 CHERUNDOLO, Steve 6.33 ONYEWU, Oguchi 7.00 PEARCE, Heath 6.67 MID ADU, Freddy [...]
Depth Chart: Average Player Ratings After Five Qualifiers
We’ve made it through five qualifiers so far, with the US of A sitting pretty at the top of the group with 9 pts and no goals allowed. We’ve taken the player ratings from America’s top soccer writers and averaged them for you, in the hope that it will provide some insight into the players’ [...]
A Watershed Moment: American Fan Brought to Tears
The US’s June 18th meeting with Slovenia was a pivotal moment for soccer in America. Not because of the stunning second-half performance that saw the Yanks battle back from a 2-0 half-time deficit. Nor was it because of the referee’s botched call on Maurice Edu’s winner. US Soccer transitioned into a new era when ESPN [...]
Jun 21, 2010 | Categories:Post-Match Commentary, Video | Tags: Grown man cries | 2 Comments »