Posted on 13 June 2010 by Nathaniel E. Baker
“England starting to get a little lackadaisical?” This is, no joke, a line from my match notes, right before Robert Greene’s gaffe gifted the U.S. Men’s National Team the equalizer at Rustenburg’s Royal Bafokeng Stadium. There would be no more goals on the night. The 1-1 score held up as final. On a chilly night in South Africa’s North West province, 38,646 spectators (5,354 short of a sellout, which explains why this guy was able to procure a ticket at half of face value 30 minutes before kick off) witnessed a thrilling match that certainly held up to expectations.
England were probably better on the night–perhaps even clearly better. But it would be incorrect to say the draw flatters the U.S., who once again made up for their technical shortcomings with resolve, workrate and what the French call a certain esprit de corps (group morale, pretty much). And of course terrific goalkeeping from Tim Howard.
Problem is, these have always been the U.S. team’s strengths. And its weaknesses–a slow, error-prone defense and lack of creativity in midfield, primarily–were on full display as well.
So a great leap forward, this was not, even though many in South Africa came away impressed from the Yanks’ performance. It was nice to hear the kind words, but the bottom line is Bob Bradley’s team face the same old questions entering a crucial date with Slovenia at Johannesburg’s Ellis Park on Friday.
These are (in no particular order):
- How healthy and in-form is Oguchi Onyewu really? His performance against England was mixed, at best.
- Who is Jozy Altidore’s attacking partner? It obviously shouldn’t be Robbie Findley, who might have surprised England once or twice with his speedy runs but otherwise contributed little. This of course is a perfect lead-in to the next question
- Why won’t Bradley play Herculez Gomez? What, is he not scoring enough goals or something?
- Who plays left back? Carlos Bocanegra isn’t up for it, though he had some nice tackles and worked hard, as always. Why doesn’t Jonathan Spector start at that position?
- What’s with Bob Bradley’s substitution policy? Why wait until the 77th minute of a tied game to go to the bench? And then do it for another forward? And why only two subs?
- Besides Landon Donovan, who can create chances for the American forwards? Michael Bradley’s passing was too slow and too predictable last night. One would like to see more of Stuart Holden. Maybe Freddy Adu should have made this team after all? Maybe we shouldn’t go there
These questions are unlikely to be answered during this tournament. But they remain the crucial roadblocks to sustained international success by the U.S. national team. The responsibility is not all Bradley’s because many of these things are due to lack of depth or come back to inadequate technical training at the youth level. The new Major League Soccer academies should go a long way toward changing that.
But how long will the growing legion of USA Soccer Nation remain? Ultimately Bradley is going to have to answer to these things. Or at least demonstrate he is familiar with the material that make up the answers. If the U.S. fail to survive the group stage (still a distinct possibility at this point) he’s a goner; U.S. Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati has effectively said as much. But if the Yanks sneak into the elimination round and go nowhere can it really be considered progress?
We’ll just have to wait and see. The next 10 days should be very interesting.
U.S. Men’s National Team Match Report
FIFA World Cup: United States vs. England, June 12, 2010
Venue: Royal Bafokeng Stadium – Rustenburg
Kickoff: 8:30 p.m. local time
Attendance: 38,646
Weather: Clear and cool, 57 degrees Fahrenheit
Scoring Summary:
ENG – Steven Gerrard (Emile Heskey) 4th minute
USA – Clint Dempsey 40
Lineups:
USA: 1-Tim Howard; 6-Steve Cherundolo, 15-Jay DeMerit, 5-Oguchi Onyewu, 3-Carlos Bocanegra (capt.); 10-Landon Donovan,13 -Ricardo Clark, 4-Michael Bradley, 8-Clint Dempsey; 20-Robbie Findley (14-Edson Buddle, 77), 17-Jozy Altidore (11-Stuart Holden, 86)
Subs not used: 2-Jonathan Spector, 7-DaMarcus Beasley, 9-Herculez Gomez, 12-Jonathan Bornstein, 16-Jose Torres, 18-Brad Guzan, 19-Maurice Edu, 21-Clarence Goodson, 22-Benny Feilhaber, 23-Marcus Hahnemann
Head Coach: Bob Bradley
ENG: 12-Robert Green; 2-Glen Johnson, 6-John Terry, 20-Ledley King (18-Jamie Carragher, 46), 3-Ashley Cole; 7-Aaron Lennon, 8-Frank Lampard, 4-Steven Gerrard (capt.), 16-James Milner (Shaun Wright-Phillips, 31); 10-Wayne Rooney, 21-Emile Heskey (9-Peter Crouch, 79)
Subs not used: 1-David James, 5-Michael Dawson, 11-Joe Cole, 13-Stephen Warnock, 14-Gareth Barry, 15-Matthew Upson, 19-Jermain Defoe, 22-Michael Carrick, 23-Joe Hart
Head Coach: Fabio Capello
Stats Summary:
USA / ENG
Shots: 13 / 18
Shots on Goal: 4 / 8
Saves: 6 / 3
Corner Kicks: 4 / 8
Fouls: 14 / 12
Offside: 2 / 5
Misconduct Summary:
ENG – James Milner (caution) 26th minute
USA – Steve Cherundolo (caution) 39
USA – Jay DeMerit (caution) 47
ENG – Jamie Carragher (caution) 60
ENG – Steven Gerrard (caution) 61
USA – Robbie Findley (caution) 74
Officials:
Referee: Carlos Simon (BRA)
Assistant Referee 1: Altemir Hausmann (BRA)
Assistant Referee 2: Roberto Braatz (BRA)
Fourth Official: Eddy Maillet (SEY)
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