US v Denmark Live Blog
January 20, 2007
Analysis - There couldn’t be more of a difference between the 1st and 2nd half. There was a tentativeness in the team in the first half that just didnt impress. Even the lone 1st half goal, the PK from Donovan, was almost saved. But when the changes were made at half and Bradley made his substitutions with those who have never hit the pitch for the National team (i.e. Mapp, Cooper), you could see the tide beginning to turn and the team’s eagerness and agressiveness increase. With 2nd half goals from Bornstein and Cooper, one can’t help but say that the US team has some players that could take it to newer heights. But the remaining question is who will be at the helm of the team in its ascension? Although you have to give Bradley his props for the way he got the team playing in the 2nd half, but on the other hand it was against Denmark. I think that the true test will be on Feb 7th against Mexico in Glendale, AZ, most likely in front of a hostile crowd packed with many wearing green. In this game, you would think that more of the vets from Europe will come home to play in this friendly, and the key is how Bradley integrates those veterans that didn’t play today with the youth that impressed on the pitch this afternoon. Although I don’t think that this game alone will help him remove the interim tag from his name, I think that it might have held off the critics at least for one more game!
FullTime
93rd - Nice attack from the US - Cooper with a nice cross to Beckerman who shot high
89th - Califf in for Boswell
86th - Beckerman in for Pablo Mastroeni - another player with their 1st Cap
80th - Another 1st time National Team player, Kenny Cooper, scored a 1v1 against the Danish GK….got a yellow for taking his shirt off in the celebration - I dont think I can say enough about the new kids on this team and think about how the future of this team could be quite bright! 3-1 is now the scoreline that this game should have been - and Bradley is looking quite good.
74th - Heath Pearce replacing Rolfe - who just took a foul on the left line. This move is a defensive move to attempt and preserve a 2-1 lead
72nd - Kenny Cooper showing some Heart and Hunger right there with his effort
69th - The game in general has become tentative with the only good chance in the last 8 mins was a header from the Danish team. The US team had a few changes - Namoff and Cooper in for Albright and EJ in the 63rd min
61th - You can start to see the team, especially the youth, starting to attack - from Mapp, Bornstein, and the last play from Rolfe, you can see the young guns starting to show their hunger in their quest to become regulars on the pitch for the US National Team
57th - The Future of the US team just showed the vets how it should be done - Justin Mapp with a beautiful attacking move and a gorgeous cross to Bornstein, which resulted in his 1st goal as a member of the US National Team - US 2 - 1 Denmark. That was one beautiful play.
54th - Kvist gets a yellow card on a bad tackle on Donovan
50th - Another attack off of a US free kick. Another display of the US team not really getting stuck in. Both Donovan and Johnson just didn’t attack on this attempt, and a weak shot from EJ.
Start of 2nd half
46:00 - End of 1st - My thoughts are that the US team is very tentative - and the Danish team is playing their game and causing some issues for the US Midfield and Defense. Landon Donovan has continued to "unimpress" me - he seems to still have a lack of confidence - as could be seen by his extraordinarily long process before his penalty kick. All in all - this was not how the US team should have come into this game against this team from Denmark - even with a team that consisted of some younger players - Even the vets haven’t shown me anything to stand up and cheer! Lets hope the 2nd half will show us something much different.
42nd - Penalty Kick - Clark gets a friendly call as he was fouled just outside the box. Landon Donovan thought WAY TOO MUCH ABOUT IT - and Christiansen got his hand on it, but it still went in - GOAL - US 1 - 1 Denmark. It seems like Donovan has some confidence issues he is dealing with still, this goal isn’t going to help as it almost was denied.
37th Min - GOAL Denmark - Paulsen cross from left side onto the head of Sorensen! - 1st shot on goal for Denmark results in a score. The Denmark team is breaking down the US defense, which allowed way too much time.
33rd - Yellow Card for Albright
32nd - Donovan is VERY tentative - doesnt want to attack - lost the ball in the box as he was passing instead of attacking
30th - The US team is attacking a little better - Bornstein with a blaster from the left - save by Christiansen. Resulting corner didn’t connect….
23rd - Corner taken by Donovan - Header on Goal from Albright - Saved by Christiansen - Best shot so far. This and the Rolfe shot right before have been the best chances by the US and at least are showing more results from their attacking then earlier in the game.
17th - Donovan has yet to impress me - very tentative - Good commentary from how the Danish team looks more comfortable. They are causing the US to not play their game…they honestly are controlling the game thus far.
14th - US hasn’t as of yet shown their superiority, Denmark (as Bruce Arena just mentioned), should be happy with their performance thus far. The US has had some chances, but mostly the attack hasnt amounted to anything
Now in game time
5:05pm - Kickoff - Bradley’s debut begun!
The US team has announced their starting IX:
Goal - Matt Reis …
Defenders - Jonathan
Bornstein, captain Jimmy Conrad, Bobby Boswell, Chris Albright
Midfield - Chris Rolfe, Ricardo Clark, Pablo
Mastroeni and Landon Donovan
Forward - Nate Jaqua
and Eddie Johnson
Ziga Zoga will have a live blog during the US / Denmark match.
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