Live The Pitch

Today I was not proud to be a US soccer fan. In game two of the FIFA Federations Cup, Brazil destroyed the United States 3-0. The Americans came out with absolutely no effort in the first half. There were numerous times while watching the game I wanted to just change the channel. During today’s match I was asking myself the following questions. Who are these players representing my country? What kind of game plan did Bob Bradley put into this game? Last, are we really this bad?

The first half was dominated by Brazil for the entire 45 minutes. The Brazilians struck first in the 7th minute when Felipe Melo put in a beautiful header off a free kick from about 40 yards out. What was Tim Howard doing on  this play? The ball was driven in from the right side and found Melo well inside the six yard box. Howard needs to aggressively come off his line and punch the ball to safety.

The second goal was one of the worst goals I have ever seen given up by the US. The United States had a corner, and tried a short set play with Beasley coming to Donovan to get the ball. Donovan played the ball to Beasley, who made a horrible touch that led to a full-field 3v1. With the Brazilians flying at our goal, Robinho received the ball around the 18 with a one on one against Howard. A player of Robinho’s stature put it away with no problem. The first half ended 2-0 Brazil, but it could have easily been 4-0.

In the second half, Bob Bradley had no other choice but to try something new so he pulled Beasley out and placed Cooper in the game. Trust me I was thrilled to see this. Yes, Beasley was a game changing player a long time ago, but he just doesn’t have the tempo he once did.

So what do we do? Sasha Kljestan decided to go into a challenge with his studs up from behind, getting a straight red card for the United States in the 57th minute. The US had no chance after receiving the second red card in two games.

Brazil put the match away in the 62nd minute when Maicon found the back of the net. In the last ten minutes the US had their first chances of the game hitting the crossbar twice, but it was a little too late.

As a die hard US soccer fan I am crossing my fingers that Bob Bradley can get control of this team. We can qualify for the World Cup, but that does us no good if we cannot compete at the actual tournament. It is time to let some players go. Beasley and Kljestan have no business being on the pitch at this level. The American should be very worried with some important fixtures looming in the future. Hopefully we can capture the Gold Cup!  HAHA

The remainder of the U-17 CONCACAF qualifying tournament has been canceled due to concerns of a swine flu outbreak in Mexico. Announcement from USSoccer Here.

Since the four teams heading to Nigeria for the World Cup have already been identified the tournament directors thought to play it on the safe side to keep the players and fans healthy. The four teams that will represent the CONCACAF region are USA, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Honduras. We will keep you updated with any new news.