US v Algeria

watched down at the skybox and it was a packed house. numerous times the entire roof almost came off and when Donovan scored, we were rushing down aisle ways, hugging people we didn't even know, high fiving to no end. dancing like there's no tomorrow. I totally forgot where I was for a moment. JUBILATION!

 

Maybe you know... but Watford released DeMerit. Will be interesting to see where he goes though.

People can put too much stock into a run of international games. You can do well at a tournament, but play in 3rd tier division somewhere. I like DeMerit a lot myself, but he has some deficiencies that scare away 1st division teams, I think... speed, height, and ball skills is all I can think of. I have no real clue though. However, all one has to look at is the other teams in the tournament and see that their back four are filled with players playing at lower level clubs. Danny Shittu for Nigeria for example. Jonathaon Mensah, for Ghana, who is an up and coming talent plays in Ghana I believe... and so on and so forth.

 

http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/worl ... o=11355981

Altidore shows his hops in the photo.

 

I just watched the match again tonight. Man, what a game. From feeling physically ill at the prospect of going out with 2 wrongfully disallowed goals to the euphoria of Donovan's goal. Good games all around. A few observations:

Howard had a quiet day outside of directing traffic, but those outlets were awesome. From the free kick that Buddle tracked down at the other end line before bungling the centering pass to the outlet to LD that led to the winner....brilliant stuff from #1.

Defensively we got off to a shaky start, but the back 4 really came together. Bornstein (surprisingly) and Dolo were solid and Demerit was a beast, but for my money, Bocanegra had a very "Aaron Hughes" performance. After featuring more at left back, he fell right into his old groove as the glue holding our cb pairing together. They played a big part in keeping the clean sheet.

Edu did a good job as a ball winner and shutting down the middle. His defense allowed Bradley to get forward more which made us more dangerous. Dempsey created a number of good chances but was terribly unlucky. Bradley was good and Donovan stepped up and got the winner. I thought Feilhaber created a spark with his subbing on.

Up top, it was the Jozy show. The announcers said he was the youngest striker to start in a World Cup. I think we forget just how young he is at times. I liked what I saw from Gomez but like him better in the super sub (Nevland) role. But Buddle had a good impact in that role so hard to argue with the decision.

And how about John-boy Harkes? You have to wonder if he and Dempsey haven't had a chat in South Africa b/c he came down off his asshole perch and was pretty complimentary on things he's usually critical about. I initially thought the pairing with the more esteemed Brit announcers was perhaps the impetus behind the softening of his comments. Don't care either way, he's been much improved from the condescending, instructional video, color man he was during qualifying and the Confed Cup.

Top of the group. Bring on Ghana.

 

The sterotype of the US team of playing together, being fit, and marginally skilled is finally being disspelled (at least the last attribute). Indeed, the fitness level of the boys is tremendous, so hats off to the training staff. The announcers were speaking of the negative play of Algeria, but after watching the match for the second time I think they were exhausted.

 

I'm a little late to the party but better late than never. What a match! Between the last three Fulham seasons and the US MNT, I feel like the luckiest fan on the face of the earth.

Did anyone else feel doomed when they saw the line-up? I agree that Demerit was at times a beast, but he also made two errors that could have cost us advancement. BTW, I heard that Leeds is interested in him; I hope it is true and works out. For me Boca was the one who held it all together; I agree with Ag - a very Hughes-like performance. I thought Dempsey and Altidore were just fantastic, but I pretty much have to praise the entire team. They all did it, and Bob Bradley deservers a huge amount of credit. I hope he has finally silenced his critics.

Ooooooooohhhhhhh USA, USA, USA

Oh and in case anyone was wondering, I screamed like crazy when Beasley was subbed in. (I actually called every sub that Bradley made) I know he didnt do anything really great, but something about seeing him made me know we were going to win. Some good ol' American Sam Adams beer didnt hurt either.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbn3rOPm ... r_embedded

Well worth 5 minutes of your time, I promise

 

Can anyone confirm or deny if the script for this World Cup was written by Mark Twain?

 

I am in Chicago this week for a wedding and was lucky enough to watch this game at the Globe. The place went nuts after the goal and after the game.

Many chants and songs later and I was covered in beer and sweat (150 people crammed in a room made for 50-75 plus it is hot and humid in Chicago this week).

 

Thought the ladies would enjoy this:



via FOF.

 

Not sure if this has been posted as I am on my mobile. Hope the link works. Funny and bad ass all at once.


http://www.fanaticos.com/2010/06/23/asi ... n-donovan/