U.S. v. Guatemala - Game 1 Gold Cup
June 7, 2007
After a convincing victory versus China on Saturday, our U.S. Boys were back to their old tricks, with Donovan leading the way to mediocrity. There are several questions after this game (actually there are many, but I have a few):
1) Bradley fielded a lineup that clicked on Saturday, with a few surprises, such as Ante Razov, but then he changed it up again which included Donovan and Twellman. Landon was again up to his old tricks, playing mediocre soccer, not attacking, and playing tentative. When will the powers-that-be at US Soccer realize that Donovan is not the superstar that everyone there thinks he is. Donovan just cannot conduct the flow of the game and be the field general, he just cannot do it. I would love to see a string of games from Donovan that make me take notice. Trust me - I would love to be a fan, but just cannot be.
2) When will the US team start finishing opportunities in front of the net. US had at least 3 opportunities to score - right in front of the net - with no result. In order for the US to start competing on an international stage, they have to convert point blank and even open net attempts.
3) The game was rather disjointed and didnt have rhythm for the US. When will Bradley pick the RIGHT team (start picking players on ability and not politics, this is why I still dont think Bradley is the right person for the job, but thats another topic). When you have great players from overseas like DeMerit and Simek on the bench, you have to use them. Would Bradley have used DeMerit if Gooch didnt get the 2 Yellows? Probably not. Bradley needs to find they guys that click and keep playing them - look at the UEFA Euro 2008 matches, you see the international coaches changing guys around for friendlies, but in the qualifier matches its mostly the same group of guys. The flow and rhythm of playing together is very important.
The US is lucky that they were playing Guatemala tonight, but they have to remember that they will face a pesky Trinidad and Tobago team (that could pull of an upset against the US) and Mexico (who is worlds better than Guatemala) and they need to get it going fast in order to win this Gold Cup and move into Copa America, against the South American giants like Argentina and Brazil.
Lets see the next game how it all pans out!
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