U.S.A. v. Guatemala (Frisco, TX)

I keep reading stuff about Chuck. Wasn't he hurt not that long ago? ACL or similar injury?

I think he may have some things to prove away from the USMNT before he gets a closer look.

 

Yeah, he tore his knee in '05, but came back strong last year with 15 G, 6 A in 16 games. Hopefully he'll have success at Hammarby (and perhaps earn a transfer to a better league) and put himself into the MNT picture.

 

Hammarby, hmmmmm, sounds familiar........

If Chuck does pan out, let's hope FFC and Hammarby continue their close relationship.

 

The thing that bothered me the most about this game was our terrible crosses, free kicks, and corners. For the usa to win games, against good competion we are going to need some serious work on these set pecies. Donavan has provided some awful croses in many big games, i think it is time to get someone eles to take our corners and free kicks. I think i have seen him deliver some good crosses in MLS games but i can not think of a memeberalbe cross in a important international game that he has delivered.

 

Briefly getting back to the Kenny Cooper debate, I like him. His size, strength and mobility are all above average and with him being only 22-years-old, he has time to get better and more acquainted with the international game. I expect him to be a mainstay in the team for a number of years. I like what he brings and I too would also like to see him get a full 90 minutes.

 

Keeny Cooper could be to the U.S.A. squad, what Jan Koller is to the Czech republic team.

Thumbs up.

 

I agree on Cooper. I haven't seen him play much and when I first saw him come on the pitch, I thought "this guy? a forward?". But he had some nice touches and turned out to be much more graceful than I thought. I think he deserves more time up front. We've GOT to find some forwards with killer instincts.

As for Mapp, I'll give him credit for his effort. He made some good things happen down the wing and really ran hard. I'm not sure he's quite first team material yet but I think he did fairly well.

Our back line did well when challenged but, as said above, they didn't much to worry about for most of the match. Again, I think we have lots of talent in defence but we just need to get these guys playing together often enough to get comfortable with each other.

I know Donovan was smothered most of the match but if he's truly going to be our captain, he needs to make an impact no matter what the defence throws at him. He had a rare nice pass or two during this match, he really didn't do much. He has to make a consistent impact in each match or he'll continue to be the same inconsistent Landycakes we've come to know.

 

Very few people in soccer can do well with 3 guys constantly surrounding you, much less Landon Donovan. I don't really blame Donovan, but rather the overall strategy.

I felt the tactics should have been adjusted after the first half at the latest, once it was clear that Guatemala were going to bunker for 90 minutes and hope a long ball gets through to the master thespian, Carlos Ruiz. I felt the team should have played wide, stretch the 10 guys behind the ball, focus on crossing into the box as opposed to trying to push the tempo up the middle. Instead I got to see Mapp/Dempsey/Mullan/etc. try and play it inside instead of taking it to the corners.

Cooper has the size and possibly the skills, but he didn't really impress me. With his size, I was hoping he'd play more McBride-like; but he doesn't seem to play with his back to the goal. I felt Eddie Johnson had more chances to make something happen than Cooper. Both are young, so I won't expect them to be world-beaters right away. It's my understanding that Cooper is a converted forward, is that true?

A bit dissapointing, but at least the US dominated in possession and did fairly well except on attack. Hopefully the team improves against bunkering teams because they'll likely run into them again in the Gold Cup and definitely in future World Cup Qualifiers.

 

I think Mapp is very talented and in no way should he be thrust out of the competition for the team. He and Brad Davis are tremendous with their left foot. Anyone know why Davis didn't get a call up? I've seen him several times and thought he was a good player. I also like what Wynalda said about Eddie Johnson. He said you earn your stripes with your club team...and that Eddie has been given his opportunity...and needs to earn more from here on out by scoring goals for KC.

 

Here's humble opinion for Gold Cup.
Howard
F Simek J DeMerit O Onyewu C Bocanega
C Dempsey M Bradley B Feilhaber D Beasley
L Donovan
Brian Ching

The core of the defense all play in strong defensive leagues. DeMerit was solid for Watford, they just don’t score goals. Onyewu made some mistakes for Newcastle, but he is strong in the air and a physical presence. Michael Bradley and Benny Feilhaber are learning defense in the Bundisliga. Enough said. Simek earned a starting position against a team favorite and Bocanegra was the second leading scorer for Fulham. We will definitely see some attacking runs from the back. Dempsey and Beasley offer attacking mentalities. It might limit how much Bradley and Feilhaber can roam as they will have defensive responsibilites. I would like to see a 4 5 1 formation, with Donovan as essentially 2nd Fwd. Donovan likes to receive the ball on the run off of a possession forward. I would like to see him drop back to distribute occasionally, allowing Bradley or Feilhaber to free up. This would add some spice and unpredictability. Brian Ching is the perfect possession forward. The strike force of Donovan and Ching were great in San Jose.

 

Don - I would agree with you. Cherundolo has more experience, but I didn't see his name on the Gold Cup roster. Is he available? If so, he would be the more obvious choice.
Donovan is so good at running at people or moving into space. It may not look like Ching is doing anything, but that dirty work frees Landon to do his thing. It limits Ching's chances but might allow others (Dempsey, Donovan, Beasley) to get their goals.

I'm getting excited for the tournament, especially now that Champions League and EPL are done. I think there are a couple of potentially special line-ups available to Bradley. Often, it's more about fielding the right team, rather than the best individuals.