Live The Pitch

As the U.S. national team looked for answers to fill out its squad for next summers World Cup in South Africa they performed extremely poorly with a make shift team. The U.S. went 0-2 in their two international friendlies against Slovakia and Denmark. For U.S. coach Bob Bradley this was a great test for players on the bubble for next summer.

In their first match the U.S. lost to Slovakia 1-0 on a questionable call that gave Slovakia a penalty kick in the 20th minute.  Throughout the match the U.S. looked lost in every aspect of the game.  There was no combination through the midfield and the U.S. strikers could not get into the flow of the match.

In the second match Denmark defeated the U.S. 3-1.  After a strong first half the U.S. went into halftime with a 1-0 lead after Jeff Cunningham scored his first goal for the national team.  The second half was a completely different story.  Denmark would find the back of the net three times in the first ten minutes of the second half.  The U.S. was punished for horrible defending in their own 18.

Yes, Bradley was able to stick players in places they would normally not play, but he can not be happy about how is team performed in these matches.  Oguchi Onyewu’s presence in the middle of the defense was dearly missed.  The back four is a huge question mark going into the World Cup next summer.

Also, without Charlie Davies up top this leaves a big hole up top.  Look for Landon Donovan to push up top alongside Jozy Altidore next summer.  Bradley is going to have to find a true goal scorer to find the back of the net consistently.

Player reviews for the past two matches-

Brad Guzan- Played just alright in the two matches.  Should have saved two of the goals by Denmark. 5/10

Frankie Hedjuk- Not able to perform at this level anymore.  Constantly gave the ball away and terrible marking. 2/10

Johnathan Bornstein-At times looked great on the left flank. Still lacks the vision to distribute well and crossing skills are suspect.4/10

Johnathan Spector- Definitely not the answer at center back.  Still might find a spot for outside back. 3/10

Carlos Bocanegra- Solid play like always.  We see him starting on the outside next summer. 6/10

Stuart Holden-  Not ready for this level. Extremely technical player but unable to make any kind of impact on the game.  3/10

Ricardo Clark- Great at times…..horrible at times.  Needs to play more consistently.  5/10

Michael Bradley-  Seems to get lost at times.  Still not a game changing player. 4/10

Benny Feilhaber-  Another technical player that just doesn’t get involved enough.  3/10

Jozy Altidore-  Showed flashes of greatness but with no help was ineffective.  4/10

Jeff Cunningham-  Great finish in the Denmark game but still didn’t perform very well.  6/10

Robbie Rogers-  Not a bad showing by Rogers.  Look for him to fight for playing time next summer. 5/10

Dax McCarty-  Hopefully he doesn’t see the pitch again.  I dont know what Bradley is thinking with this guy.  3/10

Eddie Johnson- When is Bradley going to realize that he has nothing left?  A non factor  on the pitch these days. 1/10

Edgar Castillo- Wish Bradley would have given him a better chance.  Not enough time to get involved in the match. 2/10

Clarence Goodson- Is a presence in the back being 6’4but lacks the leadership for this team. 4/10

Landon Donovan, star of the U.S. national team has confirmed that he has been diagnosed with the H1N1 swine flu virus.  He allegedly contracted the disease from two Galaxy staff members sometime last week while in Foxborough, Mass.

Donovan, who was feeling terribly ill, played the full 90 minutes in the USA-Mexico match this past Wednesday. “I haven’t felt that way in a game in a long time,” Donovan said from Los Angeles. “During the game and even after the game I thought maybe it was the altitude, the heat, whatever.”

“The last time I was there [at Estadio Azteca] I didn’t feel that bad. I just felt lethargic, slow. I didn’t feel normal,” said Landon. Even with the swine flu he assisted in the only goal for the U.S. in the 2-1 loss.  Hang up the boots for a bit and get some rest Lando, you deserve it.

Donovan is not sure how long this will keep him off the pitch.  His next match is this Saturday with the LA Galaxy taking on the Seattle Sounders.  Let’s hope this is a mild strain of the virus and he is back at full-speed soon.

U.S. National Team skipper Bob Bradley announced his roster for the upcoming World Cup qualifier against Mexico.  The match will take place Aug. 12 at El Azteca Stadium.  This will be a tough match for the U.S.  as they have never won in Mexico City.  The squad Bradley has named to play in this epic match-up looks extremely strong.

On the defensive side, Bradley has included Oguchi Onyewu, Johnathan Spector, Steve Cherundolo, Jay Demerit, Carlos Bocanegra, Johnathan Bornstein and Chad Marshall.  With the U.S. playing a flat-back four we should see Onyewu and Demerit in the middle with Bocanegra and Spector out wide.

In the midfield, Bradley has assembled an extremely strong core of players.  The players are Michael Bradley, Ricardo Clark, Jose Francisco Torres, Stuart Holden, Clint Dempsey and Benny Feilhaber.  Landon Donovan is listed as a forward but will probably line up in the midfield.   The U.S. usually takes the field with four midfielders which would almost surely include Bradley in the center-mid alongside Clark with Dempsey and  Donovan on the wings.

Up top, Bradley has his choice of excellent forwards.  Josy Altidore leads the way alongside Brian Ching, Connor Casey and Charlie Davies.  Bradley will almost surely start Altidore and Ching up top against Mexico.  With his excellent speed look for Davies to be a second-half sub if needed.

As a U.S. fan I am excited about the roster Bradley has put together.  It’s about time Bradley realized Demarcus Beasley, Frankie Hedjuk and Heath Pearce don’t belong on the field.  Lets hope the U.S. can at least manage a draw in the frantic atmosphere that is El Azteca.

GO USA!