2013 Gold Cup

Only the dude in the yellow vest got the joke.

 

That was awesome. Yes, dear prudence dictates walking away from that corner in that situation, but...nah.

 

Did enjoy the 15 second isolation on EJ that Fox ran HD. One other thing (besides the hair) about EJ is the dude looks like he's been hitting the weight room.

Another step in the right direction for Brek Shea, and one person that deserves some credit for it is the coach. Say whatever you want about JK, but the sign of a good coach is to push the right buttons at the right time, and he's building the kid back up.

 

Rimando was excellent and I think Zelaya HAS BEEN the best individual talent in the tournament with his only competition being Donovan. Even as El Salvador's lone legitimate goal scoring threat he has been hard to contain during the Gold Cup and the the WCQ's as well. My bet is Mr. Zelaya will not remain in the El Salvadorian league much longer.

I will second that brilliant.

A forward can play well without scoring and Wondo did so again.

You are dead on with the man of the match and it is not even close. The scary thing is he could have played better. I will add Goodsen and Orozco to your list of players to consider for Brazil because it would be handy to have some back-up CB's and both have played well.

 

Thanks for the first-hand report Heather. great stuff

I've had mixed results with the American Outlaws section. When we sat with them in Philly for the USA's 2010 WC send off match it was a blast and we said we would never sit anywhere else. We had our kids with us too and they were 10 and 13 at the time so while there was swearing and drinking, it wasnt anything they probably hadnt heard or seen before. Then we went to a 2011 Gold Cup game in Detroit against Canada, and had the opposite experience. Chants that included swearing just for the sake of swearing and chants like "Jozy Alitdore, he's fast, he's quick, he's got a big (you fill in the blank). I felt like a fool just for sitting amongst them - very adolescent behavior. Perhaps Gold Cup matches draw a different AO crowd than WC qualifiers and other key matches like the send-off game in Philly. Needless to say we buy midfield seats now.

 

Very curious to see how big the crowd is in the Big D tonight for the double header.

Honduras will be a tough match, but it's an advantage to play them than having to beat the same team twice in a short span, 3-1 w/a late goal to seal it.

Just can't see Panama beating Mexico twice, no matter if El Tri has their EL C team, 2-1.

Leaving on a vacation to Alaska for my Mom's 75th tomorrow morning, so will be gone for the Final (fingers-crossed the boys are in it).

 

Have a good time and happy bday to your mom. I'll be in Houston at the end of Aug. celebrating my mother's 80th. Woo hoo.

Come on you Red, White, and Blue

 

EJ, Holden and Bedoya in place of Wondo, Mix and Corona. I'm a bit surprised Gonzolez isn't starting.

 

I don't care what the competition is, this is some of the best soccer that I have seen from the US during the run of play against CONCACAF "bunker" type teams in a long time. Landon Donovan has been playing well with Eddie Johnson the last two games. They seem to be on the same page.

I think the US is one win shy of tying the longest winning streak in CONCACAF history as well. Donovan tied Carlos Pavon for the second most goals in CONCACAF history (55 career goals).

Some confusion whether Klinsmann is suspended for the final or not, but I guess some committee will decide his fate in the next 24-48 hours.

I also learned tonight that Bruce Arena had the same thing happen to him in the 2005 semis and the US won the final with Glenn Myernick as head manager.

 

I believe the 2005 finals featured the US & Panama.

 

Yup and the US beat Honduras in the semis in 2005 as well.

Bring on Panama.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-NshzYK9y0[/youtube]

 

I was going to say, "someone break out the Panama youtube video", but Lax already obliged. Thank you very much.

PANAMA. PANAMA AH AH AH. :banana-dance: :banana-dance:

good performance by the canal nation. Love the brother coaches. And I'm still bewildered by feeling sorry for Mexico. They showed a close up of a girl wearing a Mexico jersey with "USA" written on her cheeks. Where are the choke holds around Benny Feilhaber's neck when you need them

 

Fun, fun, fun folks that what it is all about! Sacffc and I chatted briefly about youth soccer in the chat room last night I made the comment that fun was the most important thing. It looks like you could apply the adjective fun to the USMNT at the moment because not only are they a joy to watch but they look like a group of kids having fun with the ball at the moment. I know this is a B team tournament but you can only play against the competition placed in front of you and this group of US players is indeed PLAYING! Forget the competition and enjoy this for what it is. A US team dominating their opposition with style and flair. Long may it continue.

EJ kicked off the fun with and excellent dummy and run that led to the first US tally. He had a strong match and showed he is the clear second choice behind Jozy Altidore at the moment to play up top by being strong on the ball, combining well with both Donovan and Bedoya and showing speed that allowed him to stretch the defense and be dangerous throughout the entire match.

Landon was once again in the middle of most of the creative attacking moves the US generated. I am out of superlatives so let’s just admit that Landon is a step above everyone that was on the pitch and did the things that were expected of him including scoring and assisting on goals. He is the A plus player in the B team.

Teaming with EJ and Donovan, Bedoya was a man that brought a lot joy to the pitch with him against Honduras. I will admit I fully expected to see Corona in this position but Klinsman pulled the right string by inserting Bedoya into the starting eleven. In Bedoya’s last start I made the comment that he looked like he was on the verge of making something special happen but it never quite materialized; however, last night he broke through that barrier and looked like he was on a downhill roll with his creativity. His runs were splendidly timed, he was a constant thorn in Honduras’ side going forward and back and he seemed to have a sixth sense for where Donovan was going to be with his crosses. It was a real pleasure to see a legitimate wing in US lineup.

On the other side of the pitch Torres had a very disappointing evening. Perhaps it was just an off night, perhaps he was frustrated by Honduras over-zealous defense or perhaps the flow of the game did not suit him but Tater was full of bad spots in that showing. His passing was as poor as I can recall and as a result the US had very little luck getting up the left hand side until Brek Shea entered the match.

Stuart Holden is another who failed to get in on the fun against Honduras on a regular basis. I think if you asked him he would say he was just a step behind the play. He didn’t have an awful evening but he didn’t put his mark on the match either.

Kyle Beckerman on the other hand did put his stamp on the match. He seemed to be everywhere breaking up the Honduras attack before it could really get started and getting the US into its offense by feeding Besler and Goodsen to get the ball out of trouble or moving the ball forward when appropriate. Beckerman put on a clinic on how to play the defensive midfield position.

What to think of Parkhurst? Going forward he offers very little but on defense he seems to do a solid job against the competition that has been placed in front of him. He doesn’t thrill me but he doesn’t scare me either and I am reserving any comments until we see him against better competition.

Clarence Goodsen has had a strong Gold Cup and last night was no exception. He was solid defensively and produced two passes that indirectly led to US goals. I don’t think he was responsible for the goal given up on the set piece because it looks to me like the US is purely man marking and I am pretty convinced it was Jose Torres who lost his man for the headed goal. I haven’t gone back and double checked that but this is a recurring problem where a US marker loses his man for a free header. I really believe Klinsman is going to have to go back to the drawing board here and give either Goodsen, Gonzolez or their equivalent the freedom to roam and attack the ball during set pieces.

Matt Besler is hands down the best defender in the center back pool at the moment. In fact, he is so good that if you are not watching him you don’t even notice some of the excellent work he does in reading the game and cutting out threats before they can develop. As was mentioned above he is coolness defined on the ball and I can’t agree with the description enough. Top that off with his ability to pick the right pass and Besler is the center back the US has needed for years in my opinion. He should be nicknamed Matty Ice but some false impersonator in Atlanta has already staked claim to that moniker.

No player got beat up more the Demarcus Beasley last night and he was once again pretty invisible going forward but I suspect that had more to do with Torres than Demarcus. Overall, it was another solid professional performance by DaBeas.

Rimando was once again Rimandoesque. He was quick on his feet, quick to come out when needed and commanding of his area. He has been nothing short of brilliant and barring injury is likely to be the third keeper behind Timmy and Brad for Brazil.

Of the subs Brek Shea was the most influential on the evening proving once again that when he can find space on the pitch he can produce moments of excitement and danger. Things became a bit unstable when Mix first replaced Beckerman but after several minutes of sorting things out him and Holden restored a bit of order and pressed the Honduras offense effectively. Wondolowski came on and worked hard with one moment of near brilliance but since most of the match was spent in the US defensive end during his time on the pitch he gets a pass for any real comment regarding his performance.

My man of the match is not Landon Donovan. Before you shout me down Donovan is not my man of the match because I have officially disqualified him for having too many MOM awards in a row and just plain being better than everyone else. Since it seems unfair to pick him every match this MOM goes to Alejandro Bedoya and may there be many more.

NEXT!

 

I thought it was Bedoya who lost his man. I have tried to break down this highlight like the Zapruder film.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_x3XQe7PnSQ[/youtube]