Posts Tagged ‘U.S. National Team’

USA vs. Slovenia: Thoughts And Player Ratings

Sunday, June 20th, 2010

By Daniel Kelley

(OFFICIAL ONELOVE U.S. CORESPONDENT)

Most people were pretty divided on how this game would be.  Many thought that this would be a complete blowout, a real USA thumping of Slovenia.  After all, Slovenia is a country that is about the same size as say…Houston, Texas.  Others however recognized that although Slovenia is tiny blip on the map in Europe they actually play some pretty decent soccer.  They only had four goals scored against them in world cup qualifying, and knocked out well-regarded Russia in a playoff to make it to the world cup.  Sure enough Slovenia gave team USA a real scare with some solid play and two goals that caught the red, white, and blue completely off guard.

The game got off to quite a start when Clint Dempsey unleashed a vicious looking elbow on Zlatan Ljubijankic of Slovenia, try saying that name fast five times, literally seconds after the kickoff. Dempsey was extremely fortunate to escape without any sort of punishment.  From there the tone was set for an extremely bizarre and physical game, both in terms of officiating and playing.  Valter Birsa of Slovenia went on to score on an incredible shot that left Tim Howard frozen, and then Ljubijankic got his revenge from the elbow and beat the USA offside trap to score.  USA was stunned, and looked like the euphoria from the England game had not yet worn off.  Somehow though team USA woke up and fought hard for one of the most astonishing comebacks in the team’s history.

With embarrassing officiating from Malian ref Koman Coulibaly team USA definitely had the odds against them.  Coulibaly’s performance was so bad that its already being said that he will not officiate any more games in the tournament.  There is much evidence to be seen for why he has no place officiating such high profile games.  Just see the call on Findley for a handball, Marko Suler taking down Altidore, and of course the goal Maurice Edu scored that was called back for a phantom foul.  Coulibaly robbed USA of a deserved victory and should really be ashamed for his amateur hour officiating.

All controversy aside USA played a poor first half and deserved to be down by two goals.  Bob Bradley must have had some stern and inspiring words at halftime because the team came out to play with fire in their eyes for the second half.  Landon Donovan scored a wonder goal on a tight angle, sort of similar to Maicon’s goal in the Brazil vs. North Korea game, and had a hand in Michael Bradley’s tying goal.  Great comeback from team USA, they needed a win but a tie still keeps them in it.  Also thanks to England’s Abysmal draw with Algeria everyone is still alive in this group.  Crazy game tonight, but the thought that Team USA was cheated by the ref will linger in the minds of USA fans for a long time, especially if they don’t end up advancing out of the group.

Player Ratings:

1

Tim Howard-7- Has a bad habit of coming too far off his line and getting punished for it.  There is no denying that the first goal was a nice shot but Howard misjudged the shot and put himself in a position where all he could do was watch the ball fly in the back of net.  Played a solid game other than the first goal, and did all he could for the second one.

Oguchi Onyewu-5- Gooch looked sluggish.  Thought he might be back to his old self after the England game but he still looks very rusty.

Jay DeMerit-7.5-Completely dominant in the air.  Won just about every ball he went for in the second half.  Still has the occasional miscommunication with his partner in the central defense and needs to work on his passing game.  Played with real conviction and determination, great performance.

Carlos Bocanegra-5.5- Tough game for ‘los, he was getting worked pretty hard on the left side the whole game.

Steve Cherundolo-6-Definitely didn’t have the amazing game he had against England.  Didn’t seem as sharp tonight but still had some nice plays both defensively and offensively.

José Torres-6.5- Had the opportunity to show the world his ability to hold down the middle and didn’t really do much.  Showed some fancy footwork and took a great free kick that nearly turned into a goal.

Michael Bradley-8-Bradley was all over the field, both breaking up plays and making them.  Hard working performance capped off by a clutch goal.

Landon Donovan-9-Landy Cakes stepped it up in a big way in this game.  While a lot of the other players seemed resigned to losing he got fired up.  Had a ridiculously nice goal and was involved with Bradley’s tying goal.

Clint Dempsey-6-Unbelievably fortunate to not get ejected for his elbow thirty seconds into the game.  Drifted in and out the match and had a somewhat anonymous game for Deuce.

Robbie Findley -5.5- Someone needs to remind Findley that forwards are supposed to score, or at least try to score.  Made good runs but was just too passive when it came time to attempt a shot.

Jozy Altidore-7- Huffed and puffed all game long and gave center back Marko Suler a very tough time.

Substitutes

Benny Feilhaber-5.5- A surprising half time substitution.  Took some nice touches and calmed things down in the middle.  His defensive play was pretty terrible though, seemed to forget that his team was losing.

Maurice Edu -6- Had a disallowed goal that would have made him the golden boy of American soccer. Sadly it was disallowed on one of the most shockingly bad calls in soccer history.

Herculez Gomez-6.5- Gomez has this undeniable ability to change a game.  Made immediate impact with his presence in the penalty area and nearly scored a goal himself late on.

  • Share/Bookmark

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

England vs. USA: Thoughts and Players Ratings

Tuesday, June 15th, 2010

By Daniel Kelley

( OFFICIAL ONELOVE U.S. CORESPONDENT)

The most anticipated match of the tournament thus far has come and gone.  England vs. USA was one for the ages, and will go down in both USA and English soccer history.  After a stunning opening strike from Steven Gerrard, England drew first blood and looked set to break American hearts.  Clint Dempsey however, was having none of it and scored what will be one of the most talked about goals in world cup history.

Only Robert Green will ever know what really happened, but his handling of Clint Dempsey’s shot was the howler of all howlers.  A shot that most keepers would have stopped with ease somehow got past Green and gave the Americans a most surprising lifeline.  Blame it on Green or blame it on the much talked about Jabulani ball, the goal stunned England and brought the Americans to life.  It was a hard fought game for the Americans, and if the world didn’t think this team could compete with the world’s best they saw first hand today that they most definitely can.  Thanks to an amazing display from Tim Howard and the back four, Steve Cherundolo in particular, USA played resiliently and came back from an early goal to get a much deserved point.

Player Ratings:

Tim Howard (G)-9- Was a rock in the goal today, an absolutely brilliant performance from Timmy Howard.  Time and time again thwarted England’s vicious attacks on goal and made some brilliant saves.  Emile Heskey will be having nightmares about Howard’s point blank stop on his shot.

Jay DeMerit (D)-8- After a moment of poor communication between him and Onyewu for the opener, DeMerit put on a great defensive display and effectively helped shut down Rooney.  The pride of Wisconsin wore his heart on his sleeve and played a great game today.

Oguchi Onyewu (D)-7- Sort of a surprise starter due to his lengthy injury and forgettable play in friendly matches leading up to this game.  Was caught ball watching on the opening goal but seemed to come to life afterwards.  Gooch started to look like his old self today, no longer afraid to jump for balls and threw himself into some hard tackles.  Gooch is back…well maybe.

Carlos Bocanegra (D)-6.5- Had a hard time dealing with the pace of the speedy England wingers at times. Still put on solid display and should be happy with his overall performance tonight.

Steve Cherundolo (D)-8- Absolutely fantastic game from the right back tonight.  Was an ever present threat in the attack and defended very well.  Made mince meat out of James Milner.

Ricardo Clark (M)-6- Forgot he was on the field at times.  Got the job done but never really put his mark on the game.  Would have liked to have seen a more creative midfielder like Torres or Feilhaber in his place.

Michael Bradley (M)-6.5- Much like Clark had a fairly anonymous game.  Still though he put in the dirty work in the middle of the field and had a solid game.

Clint Dempsey (M)-7- Wowzers.  What a goal and what a horrible howler from West Ham’s Robert Green.  This is a goal that will be talked about for many years to come. Dempsey made something out of nothing, got his goal and ran with it. Bad save, bad keeping, bad whatever the goal was clutch and allowed team USA to get a share of the points on the day.

Landon Donovan (M)-7- A Landon Donovan performance on the wing that we have all come to expect from our little internationally unknown superstar.  Donovan worked very hard today and had a good battle with Ashley Cole.  Also had some nice set pieces that his teammates should have done better on.

Jozy Altidore (F)-7- Worked hard and ran all over the place the whole game.  Was unlucky not to get a goal in the second half when Robert “Stone Hands” Green pushed his effort off the post.  Also had a great moment where he out muscled Jaime Carragher on a run towards the goal.  Needs to start making all that hard work turn into goals.

Robbie Findley (F)-4- Looked completely out of place. The only player on team USA who didn’t look like they belonged in the game. He was there for his speed and nothing else, and unfortunately all he really seemed to do was aimlessly run really fast.  Just about completely faded out of the game in the second half. Time to give Buddle or Herculez a chance up top.

Substitutes:

Edson Buddle (F)-4- Came into the game late and had very little impact.

Stuart Holden (M)-4.5- Replaced Altidore and came on bolster the midfield.

  • Share/Bookmark

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

USA 23 Man Roster

Thursday, May 27th, 2010

By Daniel Kelley

(ONELOVE U.S. Correspondent)

The time has finally come! The 23-man roster for team USA has been announced.  Bob Bradley has picked the best of the best to show their worth on the world’s stage this summer.  Still though Bob Bradley made a few roster decisions that will leave a lot of people scratching their heads.

The obvious picks were made in terms of goalkeepers and defenders, Bornstein is only there because sadly he is the closest thing we have to a left back, but there were definitely some surprises in the midfield and forward selections.  Most of the players I thought would not make the trip didn’t, however I was quite surprised to see Beasley make the team.  All credit to him, he successfully played his way back on the team.  Sorry not to see Bedoya make it, but Beasley earned his place. Is the old Beasley back in time to make a difference in 2010?

The forward dilemma has been the big story all year long.  I’m sure no one ever would have guessed that both Edson Buddle and Herculez “Goal: The Dream Begins” Gomez would be on the team, but sure enough here they are.  The most surprising thing to me is that Robbie Findley made the team.  He must have some incriminating pictures of Bob Bradley because it seemed like there was no way he would make the final roster, especially since he didn’t even play in the friendly on Tuesday.  Tough break for Brian Ching, he looked good against the Czech’s.  Elated to see Eddie Johnson will not be making the trip to Africa.  The guy just can’t compete at the international level, then again neither can Findley.

U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION (All-Time World Cup Roster Appearances)

GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (2010), Marcus Hahnemann (2006, 2010), Tim Howard (2006, 2010)

DEFENDERS (7): Carlos Bocanegra (2006, 2010), Jonathan Bornstein (2010), Steve Cherundolo (2002, 2006, 2010), Jay DeMerit (2010), Clarence Goodson (2010), Oguchi Onyewu (2006, 2010), Jonathan Spector (2010)

MIDFIELDERS (9): DaMarcus Beasley (2002, 2006, 2010), Michael Bradley (2010), Ricardo Clark (2010), Clint Dempsey (2006, 2010), Landon Donovan (2002, 2006, 2010), Maurice Edu (2010), Benny Feilhaber (2010), Stuart Holden (2010), José Torres (2010)

FORWARDS (4): Jozy Altidore (2010), Edson Buddle (2010), Robbie Findley (2010), Herculez Gomez (2010

  • Share/Bookmark

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

USA vs. CZECH REPUBLIC: Thoughts and Player Ratings

Wednesday, May 26th, 2010

By Daniel Kelley

(ONELOVE U.S. Correspondent)

Bob Bradley decided to make a bold move and field a team for tonight’s friendly composed of fringe players on the outside looking in.  While the starters were resting in a luxury box, ESPN hilariously kept showing Carlos Bocanegra annihilating buffalo wings, many of those players vying for a spot on the 23 man team played their way onto to the team, and some played their way off.

In the first half we saw Oguchi Onyewu play his first game of competitive action since October and it was far from impressive. He was clearly at fault on the first Czech goal, and looked sort of afraid to push himself and win those all-important aerial battles.  After Gooch’s performance I’m not so sure he is fit enough to even make the squad. Fortunately for him he probably will make the team, at the expense of Chad Marshall of course.

Gooch’s defensive partner Clarence Goodson had a fantastic game and was involved in both of the USA goals.  His passing needs some work, but he had a real good presence in the air and played with a lot of confidence.

Speaking of confidence, or lack there of I should say, the play of both Jonathan Bornstein and Heath Pearce left me not feeling good about our left back situation.  Bornstein had the pace to keep up with the Czech’s but his passing was embarrassing. Failed cross after failed cross in the 45 minutes that he played.  The only good thing going for Bornstein is that Pearce managed to play even worse than he did.  Pearce got burned pretty badly on a few occasions and pretty much played his way off the team tonight.

In the midfield battle Jose Francisco Torres, Stuart Holden, Maurice Edu, and even DaMarcus Beasley had a good first half.  Torres played with finesse and passed the ball around pretty well.  He needs to add some physical play to his game to compliment his great touch and passing skills.  The Rangers duo of Edu and Beasley had good games on the night.  Edu scored one of the sloppier goals I’ve had the pleasure of seeing and Beasley looked lively in his 45 minutes, almost reminded me of 2002 world cup Beasley.  The midfield in the first half essentially booked their tickets to South Africa tonight.

Tonight we finally got to see how the forward situation would play out.  In the first half Edson Buddle and Eddie Johnson got the start.  Buddle huffed and puffed for 45 minutes and did all he could.  He played hard, held the ball up well and even got himself involved in the first goal.  Eddie Johnson did he what EJ does best, he held the ball up too long and never looked like he was going to score the whole game.  Johnson played his way off the team tonight with his dismal performance.  For Buddle his performance was just not enough because both second half strikers just played better.

Brian Ching came in and made a huge difference. He passed well and held up the ball, he looked dangerous.  Herculez! Herculez! Where do I begin with this guy?  No one ever would have guessed he would even be in the running for World Cup and yet here he is. He came off the bench and did what surely no one thought he would do.  He scored a goal!  I can no longer hide my bias for this guy, his story is truly inspirational and barring some sort of freak error in judgment from Bradley he will make the 23 man roster.  Herculez Gomez, USA super sub!

The second half midfield left little to be desired.  Sacha Kljestan was pretty much anonymous, and Alejandro Bedoya did more defending and backtracking then he really needed to being do.  Robbie Rogers had a pretty decent game and made the most of his chance tonight.  He held the ball a little too long at times when he probably should have passed, but he had some nice crosses and one nice shot from way out on Peter Cech.

This game was experiment to give the fringe players their chance at showing their worth.  I would say it was good exercise and should give Bradley an idea of who should really make this team.  Next up we get to see the starters in full action against Turkey.  Hopefully the starters didn’t eat as many buffalo wings as Bocanegra did.

Player Ratings:

Based on a scale of 1-10

(G) Brad Guzan-5- Not really at fault for any of the goals, but having 4 goals scored against you is never good. Would have liked to have seen Hahnemann play instead

(D) Steve Cherundolo-7- One of the few bright spots for the back four tonight.  Passed well, attacked well, and defended pretty well too

(D) Oguchi Onyewu-3.5- Gooch did not look like Gooch tonight.  He looked like he was afraid to jump and made some silly fouls.  Someone needs to remind him that he needs to actually jump to win an aerial battle.  Was 100% to blame on the first Czech goal.

(D) Jonathan Bornstein-3- Looked shaky and unsure of himself. Luckily for him Heath Pearce managed to play even worse than he did.

(D) Clarence Goodson-6.5- A pleasantly surprising performance from Goodson.  Was good in the air and had a hand in both goals, his header to keep the ball in play for Gomez’s goal was sublime.

(M) DaMarcus Beasley-7- Beasley is making his horrid performances in the last summers Confederations Cup easier to forget with his recent play for the national team.  He looked good tonight.

(M) Jose Francisco Torres-7.5- Looked really good tonight, distributed the ball well and had some killer touches.  Needs to be better physically.

(M) Stuart Holden-8- Whatever rust he had from his injury is gone.  Looked really good on the wing tonight.

(M) Maurice Edu-6- Had a typical Edu sloppy goal, much like the ones he scores for Rangers in Scotland. His passing left little to be desired, and he looked awful as a centerback in the second half.

(F) Edson Buddle-5- worked hard and did his best, but probably not enough to get to South Africa

(F) Eddie Johnson-3- EJ was ineffective and had his back to the goal for the whole time he played. Never looked dangerous and never looked like he want to score.

Substitutes

(F) Herculez Gomez-6.5- Wow. Did Gomez really just do what I think he did? Yup. Came off the bench and scored a goal, see you in South Africa buddy.

(F) Brian Ching-6- Nice performance from the flying Hawaiian, looked really confident tonight.  Played smart and held up the ball really well, sealed his spot on the roster tonight.

(M) Sacha Kljestan-4.5- Disappeared in the midfield tonight. Was supposed to be an attacking/creative catalyst in the midfield but decided to run around aimlessly instead. Probably on a plane back to Chivas USA tomorrow.

(M) Robbie Rogers-5.5- Had a pretty good performance tonight, probably going to make the team at the expense of Bedoya.

(M) Alejandro Bedoya-5- Didn’t get much of a look tonight which was very unfortunate for him.  Bedoya is a player with a lot of potential, but wasn’t able to do much with the limited time he had on the pitch.  Not going to make the final 23.

(D) Heath Pearce-2.5- Has had a revival in form playing for FC Dallas, unfortunately for him his strong play in MLS did not carry over onto the international level.  Looked out of place tonight and played terribly, played his way off the team.

  • Share/Bookmark

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments »