U.S. v. Mexico

I think Ching and Twellman provide something to the attack. I think Johnson is completely useless at the International level. I watched the Canada game again yesterday and counted the number of times he was offsides due to simple laziness - horrible!

 

What time is the match on?

 

From the Chi Tribune's coverage this morning

" In the 8 games against Mexico at home, the US has scored 13 goals and allowed none"

That says it all dosen't it. I'm actually more worried about this game then most, Mexico could pull somthing out, there capable of it. Lets hope for continued good times. Games at 2 central.

 

The match is scheduled for 3:00 PM EST.

Can't wait. My head is still spinning from last night, but couldn't be more excited for a US v. Mexico match. I'll be in the chat room to discuss the match. Anyone care to stop by and say their piece?

 

Time for the decade of failure for the El Tri to continue!

It's bizarre that while the US could be criticized for their last few matches; Mexico played even worse and scraped by in their wins. It makes me worried for this match-up, the possibility that a switch will turn on in, say, Borghetti's head and make him play like a madman. That said, this is Mexico, they are playing America in America (albeit in a likely pro-Mexico crowd), the mental block may continue.

GO AMERICA! DEATH OR GLORY!

Note: I won't be in the chat, just watching the game and yelling at the TV as usual. All the same, UP THE RED, WHITE, AND BLUE!

 

Looks that the US is utilizing Ching as a holding striker and Donovan will fun off of him. The lineup looks solid and would of liked to see Spector in Bronstein's spot and Simek at the RB, but Bradley did a nice job at putting this lineup together. Should present a lot of trouble to the Mexico midfield and put a fair amount of pressure on the Mexico backline.

 

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

 

This is what I said on BigSoccer and HF:

One of the greatest turnarounds after a half I ever saw. Props to Bob Bradley! The US didn't look as good in the first half, true; but they improved in all aspects in the second half. Better attacking, better control of the ball, better defending (which was crucial at times), and Tim Howard making big plays.

Poor Brian Ching for his chip hitting the post and poor Clint Dempsey for Oswaldo Sanchez (who played great) miraculously getting in the way. But DMB should have really just tapped that ball - no sympathy, should have iced the game right there. But it's senseless to complain now!

Congratulations and credit are in order, in my opinion, for Oguchi Oneywu who stepped up and was solid in the back end late (I hope people will remember how he did in the second half whenever someone asks why he's so touted. Shutting down people in his zone is just what he does by being calm and cool. More consistency is needed, of course, but you can't complain about him today); Tim Howard for being cool as a cucumber in net (esp. on Bautista luckily being all alone up front with the ball; Landon Donovan for being strong on the right, running hard, and making that PK; Ricardo Clark coming in and being a stablizing force in the midfield; and Benny Feilhaber who ultimately won the game for the US with a FANTASTIC shot. Seriously, someone get it up on the YouTube, it's a great, great goal.

Mexico played very well, they turned up their game against the US and showed no signs of quitting. The team (and their fans) were respectful for the most part and as a result the game was a very good game to watch. Also, they broke their 10-year goalless streak against the US outside of Mexico. Congratulations to them for making it this far and playing so well. I hope Guardado will be OK; coming off the field during the ceremony in a stretcher sucks.

That said, it's America's day! In summary of all this:

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I really should start betting on matches. My prediction comes true again.

The best match I've seen in quite some time. Bob Bradley did a fantastic job to prepare the USMNT. Each player showed improvement as the tournament as the tournament progressed and that bodes well for the future of the USMNT.

Soldier Field surely had an electric atmosphere and I'm a bit envious that Spencer was there and I was not. Congragulations Spencer for witnessing first hand one of the best USMNT matches of all time. Give us a first hand account when you get a chance.

 

It was a great game. Great adjustment of both formation and attitude for the 2nd half. We were unlucky that it wasn't 4-1 or 5-1.

Mexico played very well and dominated the first half. For once, there was at least some good sportsmanship at the end of the game.

The USMNT does a great job of creating chances - they need to really work on their finishing, though (I'm sure the guys will have fun with Bease about that miss - I guess it takes pressure off Donovan for his whiff in the Semi's).

 

What was the Mexico team and Hugo Sanchez on about after the match? They went straight to the referee and seemed to let him have it. Don't understand what point in the match they were contesting. As Don said in the chat room, it was one of the best officiated matches in quite some time.

 

I wouldn't say Mexico dominated the first half. I'd say it was fairly even with the edge going to Mexico. I predicted Mexico would go up early, and if things had gone just a TAD differently, my 4-2 prediction may have come true!

Again, I don't think the U.S. dominated the 2nd half either, but they definately had the edge. And my god, Feilhaber, WHAT A STRIKE!!!!

I feel bad for Dempsey. I think Sanchez got in his head in the first half and caused him to freeze up a little when he had that great pass from Donovan right before he came off. Still, he had some great passes, good movement, and probably should have scored.

 

Oh, and someone nominate Bocanegra for some kind of Medal. Wow.

BTW, T_o_M (if that is your REAL name!), I've seen a lot of comments from folks saying that the Ching penalty wasn't deserved, so that may have been what they were contesting? Or the fact that they didn't get a penalty with the Gooch collision late in the 2nd.

 

KF...did you get to watch the match or just the matchtracker?

The collision with Gooch didn't seem to be a penalty and Ching's was a fair shout; a bit soft at the same time.

It was DaveNearDC that came up with the name change and I just went with it. Not too shabby if you ask me.

 

Yeah, I watched the match, and I agree with your assessment...just throwing out ideas, and I've heard a few people say Ching shouldn't have gotten a penalty (although it definately was warranted).

Just teasing on the name, I like it

BTW: Chang blog is up. I always like his opinions, even if I don't agree with them.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/ind ... =chang_jen

 

A few more mentionables about the match...
Castillo, I have no idea what got into him today, but he was unstoppable. He continued, along with Guardado, to run right by Bornstein and even Spector occasionally.
Howard was fantastic and is becoming a fearless leader of the backline. He was animated and intense the entire match. The truest definition of a wall in the goal.
Beasley and Donovan linked up well. Their cross field passes were precise and surgical...might want to work on finishing though.

This is the most exciting bunch of players the US has called up in quite some time, the chemistry seems to be flowing and there is a great mix of youth and experience.

IMO, the man of the tournamnent for the US is...Feilhaber. Can't wait to watch him boss the midfield in the Bundesliga next season.

Argentina, here come the yanks.

 

I was fortunate enough to attend the match and holy cow was it a great one! Unfortunately, I missed the first half as my buddy and I didn't anticipate the awful traffic coming in from northwest Indiana as well as the full parking lots around Soldier Field. We had to park about 2 miles away at a lot behind the McCormick Center. It was a long walk but we made it in perfect time for the second half.

Our seats were at the US attacking end so we got to see all the action. That was the best half of football I've ever seen. Feilhaber's strike was utterly amazing; top of my list for best goals. It happened so fast I hardly remember it. I just recall jumping up and down screaming like a school girl! Ching and Beasley's misses were gut wrenching. I can't believe they didn't finish at least one of those. It was also cool to see how fast Beasley is in person. That guy can fly!

I didn't think the penalty on Ching was deserved. The ref let several similar contacts go in the US box. I mean, I'll take it but I don't think it really was worthy of a PK.

What surprised me the most was the Mexico crowd. We were outnumbered literally 10 to 1 by Mexican fans. So I thought for sure it was my ass when I arrived in the second half sporting my McBride shirt! However, I found them to be very nice and didn't have any trouble. After Feilhaber's strike, one Mexican fan turned to me and said "that was a fantastic goal". After the match, several Mexican fans shook our hands and congratulated us on a good win. I couldn't believe it and I now have a newfound respect for Mexican football fans. They were class.

The only exception was the few fans who threw plastic beer cups on the crowd from behind after the final whistle. My friend and I retreated under the overhang to avoid being hit.

Overall, the atmosphere was great as Soldier field was filled to capacity. However, I wish soccer was a bigger draw for US fans. It would have been great to have more vocal support. Hearing a full US crowd explode after Feilhaber's goal would have been incredible.

Finally, I saw one person sporting a Fulham shirt. It was the Airness kit and think it was a McBride shirt but I only saw them from a distance. Would it have been any of you guys?

 

Congrats on making it to the final. Unfotunate you missed the first half, but you got to see the US goals at least. The commentators made mention of the crowd being most Mexico fans, but I had no idea it was around 10 to 1. Shame that more US supporters didn't make it out; shows the US has a long way to go in the world of football.

Appreciate the first hand perspective and if I was back in Indiana I would of loved to attend the match.

The only FulhamUSA member that I knew would be there is Spencer. He could be the Fulham fan in the distance.

 

No problem.

The guy I saw was a little taller than average, had darker short hair and was thin to average weight. Does that fit Spencer?