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Bob Bradley Puts Together Strong Squad To Face Mexico

11:20 am in International by jeff

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!

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by jeff

USA On To The Finals!

12:36 pm in International by jeff

Wow! To say this was a huge win for U.S. soccer is an understatement.  This was one of the greatest upsets on the national level in the last decade. The Americans broke Spain’s 35-game unbeaten streak in front of a stunned South African crowd. From the first whistle the U.S. came out with speed, and they constantly pressured the ball. This style of play was the difference in the game, and it helped the U.S. go on to a 2-0 victory.

The match started with both teams coming out of the locker room looking to set the pace of play.  Spain immediately had pressure inside the American box during the first few minutes of the game.  The first real chance came in the 6th minute, when Clint Dempsey lofted a ball inside the box to a wide open Charlie Davies. He attempted a dramatic bicycle kick that went just wide of the goal.  Both teams had great chances to put their squad ahead, but neither could hit the back of the net.

The USA got on the scoreboard in the 27Th minute when Jozy Altidore received a pass from Clint Dempsey. Jozy then made a terrific turn against his defender to create a 1v1 against Spanish goal keeper Casillas.  He struck the shot well and Casillas got a deflection on it, but the ball found the back of the net.  The Americans erupted with joy after the goal, with Jozy receiving a yellow card for taking his shirt off.  Both teams had chances to find the back of the net throughout the rest of the half, but the U.S. went into half-time winning 1-0.

In the second half Spain came out of the locker room with a purpose to take it to the Americans. Possession throughout the second half was dominated by Spain.  USA goalkeeper Tim Howard was the man of the match in my opinion.  He was forced to come up with four key saves in the first ten minutes of the half.  The American back line was under full-attack from Spain, but they were up to every challenge.

Second half sub Benny Feilhaber was a huge boost to the American squad.  In the 74th minute Feilhaber found Landon Donovan on the right wing, who sent a low driven ball into the box. After bouncing around a little Dempsey pounced on the ball and found the back of the net.  The Spanish players were stunned as they went down two goals.

For the remainder of the match Spain kept constant pressure on the USA.  Tim Howard again came up huge throughout the final 15 minutes keeping the clean sheet.  Spain had a TON of chances, but it was just not their day.  The only negative that came from the match was Micheal Bradley receiving a straight red card in the 86th minute. It was a hard tackle, but was not worthy of a red card.  When the final whistle blew it was a great feeling for every USA soccer fan.  This match was won with a total team effort and most of all heart!

This was Spain’s first loss since 2006.  The win gives us great momentum going into the finals on Sunday, and ultimately for the World Cup next summer. This proves that  the USA can compete with anyone in the world when they are on their game.  This was the Americans second win in their history versus a number 1 ranked team. The last time was in 1998 against Brazil in the semi-final round of the Gold Cup.

GO USA!

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by jeff

Brazil Pounds the USA 3-0

1:50 am in International by jeff

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

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