USA v. Brazil [R]

Better than the typical friendly and I look forward to it. I really wish I could of gone to Chicago again, but unfortunately I opted to attempt to keep the savings plan somewhat intact :x

Brazil has looked quite poor in the last few friendlys(how do you spell that??) but they absolutely cleaned up at the Copa and will have a stronger squad for this than they fielded there. So hopefully they'll play a hard match, and hopefully we'll kick their samba butts. Our backline wasn't so swell against Sweden so Brazil might be a bit of trouble! But I do think we'll be able to put a few past em.

4-2 Brazil

*Hope for a boisterous pro USA crowd, but based on what I've seen in the two games I went to there there are way too many glory hunters in the that city who need to get their priorities straight.

 

I've gotten into grandpa's cough medicine again, and I predict a 3-2 US victory. USA! USA! USA!

Howard
Cherundolo, Boca, DeMerit, Spector
Wolff, Feilhaber, Bradley, Beas
Donovan Dempsey

 

Wolff WHERE?

 

Out on the wing...apparently he plays there lately for 1860 Munich. Or, push him up top and drop Donovan back to the right wing. Or, it could be the cough medicine...

 

I'll be in Soldier Field for this game with about 5 Brazilian friends, however I'll be sporting my #3 BOCA jersey!!! My question is... Is it a bit to bold to wear my "Join, or Die" scarf and an American flag cape?? haha

 

Boca and Deuce scored!!!!

The ref was rubbish btw

 

A good day for Fulham fans, I'd say. BRA came to play serious, unlike most previous friendlies, here.

If Gooch's own goal is ignored, not a bad outing for a #15 club against a #1.

 

Well lets get this out of the way first :lol:

Proud of the performance. Brazil was NOT slacking, they had their crap together. Both sides played positive soccer and I quite enjoyed it. 2 bogus calls cost us two goals. You'll never get calls against Brazil though will you.

Good goal from Demps, must say he was quite ticked off after the game.

Can't think of anyone that didn't have a good game. Beasley and Churundolo I thought looked particularly good. Promising stuff from the whole team.

 

I really wish I could have heard an uncensored Eric Wynalda commentary of the match. He was about to go off when Boca was carded just outside our box.

That ref was horrible. However, his mistake (well, his linesman's) cost Canada the match against us in the Gold Cup so maybe our karma is even now.

I thought we played very well. We took it right to them and played like we meant to win the damn thing. Aside from a few blunders, I was very happy with our performance. It seems like we've moved up a notch in terms of team quality and poise. More small steps like this and we'll be strong contenders in the World Cup.

Michael Bradley, clumsy penalty aside, was man of the match for me. He stood up Ronaldinho several times and wasn't afraid to play physical, tackling football. Once he fine tunes his aggressive play, he'll be a real force to be reckoned with in the midfield.

Finally, good to see our Fulham boys shine! Both scored and both had pretty good matches IMO.

 

I was very proud of the way we played. The Brazilian squad was beautiful to watch, and we kept with them for most of the game.

And yes, it was good to be a Fulham fan in America yesterday. Both Duece and Carlito scored. I couldn't have been happier.

I think even though the score looked one sided, it was hardly as such.

 

I think those of us who read this board know as well as anyone that an uncensored Wynalda is a dangerous thing. :shock:

As quickdraw said, though, I was happy with the way we played, by and large. Our guys didn't play like they were impressed or intimidated or anything.

 

I actually felt pretty good knowing that we had Seitz warming up, just in case.

 

0. Dude, get a DVR.
1. Pearce was good enough, and his booming shot from the outside led to the penalty-that-wasn't when Wolff closed in on the rebound. I didn't see anything to convince me that he's better than Bornstein though.
2. Gooch was fine, I thought (though I might be convinced otherwise if he was the one who was supposed to be marking Lucio on his goal). The own goal was bad luck. He didn't look too slow to cope with the speed of Brazil's attack.
3. The attack was pretty decent. Deuce's goal was off a great cutback cross by Dolo (who should PLEASE find a way to stay healthy); does anyone remember who made the chip to spring him? We definitely did try to attack instead of just sitting back and waiting to counter.

Edit: According to the post-match commentary on USSoccer.com it was Landon who sprung Cherundolo to set up Dempsey's goal. Good on him for it.

 

Here is my HUGE problem with this game... Did you read the AP article that is on ESPN? It is horrible and just goes on and on about how the USA looked like a joke compared to Brasil and how Rohnoldinho (sp?) ran all over us and we had no answer and blah blah blah.

Give us the PK - take away the bogus foul at the top of the box (By the way - Convey is a wussy for ducking out of the way of the ball - I was really disappointed in that). The own goal.. You look at all that - we out shot them, and possession had to have been relatively close to even. We didnt have some of the creative combination play, but that is to be expected - it is Brasil after all!

Anyway - take all that and we played really well. Only the header off the corner was an earned goal for Brasil.

Stupid anti-US soccer media. I wish there was a name attached to that AP article so I could tell him/her that they dont know s***.

 

let me finish my lunch and I'll give my full assessment.

 

The US played pretty well and should have gotten a draw out of the game mabye... but Brazil is still on another level. When they wanted to, they could turn it on and we could only hope for the best.

Ronaldinho is a freak and America has nobody like him... or really, like any of the other Brazilians.

 

ok...here is my long assessment: PART I

Overall the USA made a really good showing. The ref was inconsistent. I feel that for most of the match he let a lot of physical play go which in my opinion helped the U.S. but then towards the end he started blowing the whistle more, and the one was crucial cuz they got the freekick just outside the box and Ronaldinho scored. Here's my view of the players:

Howard- Solid. No question he's the best we got right now and in my opinion he's one of the best in the world. Commands his area with authority, doesn't give up hardly any rebound opportunities.

Cherundolo- He's locked up the RB spot. I had said he would in a different post on the USMNT and there is no question he's the best at the position. The goal that Dempsey scored was "Brazilianesque" as far as the build up and it all started w/ Cherundolo...finding Donovan...making a run...receiving a return ball from Donovan...getting his head up in the box...and making an outstanding cutback pass to Dempsey for the cool finish. Other than the time Robinho did that circus trick to get by him on the endline, was solid in defense.

Gooch- Actually played better then he has been against Latin American teams. The own goal was just a freak accident. Gooch did a good job of winning all long balls that came to him (which he should) but he lost Lucio on that corner. On the replay you could see Boca was upset that Lucio wasn't marked tighter. Gooch also was out of position a few times so although he was better today than he has been of late, I still think he's not near where he should be.

Boca- Good captain. Boca played a good game IMO. He communicated well..covered well for Pearce when he got forward, and was the only one who consistently marked his man on set pieces. I think Boca has cemented his place in the 11.

Pearce- He should be the LB in my opinion. He got up into attack just like Bornstein does but then he was able to recover when the Brazilians attacked. Robinho hung out over there a lot and he did not get by Pearce once, and Pearce even swiped him one time that led to a counter. Still, he needs to be consistent to cement his spot but you have to remember that when he played in the summer, it was the offseason for the Bundesliga and now that they are in full flow, he looked better.

Part II next...

 

Part II

Donovan- He was pretty good throughout the match and did a good job w/ his service. had a terrific 1-2 w/ Cherundolo that sprang Steve free for the Dempsey goal, and had good service on his corners. Still, I want to see him take the ball and foray into the center of the pitch more. I personally like Donovan out on the right flank cuz he can use his pace and passing ability to open things up...such as the Dempsey goal. IMO...he's supposed to be our best player...I want to see him go at guys 1on1 more than he does. Still, in all he had a good match.

Bradley- No one has been a bigger critic than me, but I take it all back!!! He was fantastic throughout the match. Any Brazilian who passed through the middle of the pitch left w/ bruised and battered shins cuz Bradley chopped down any and everybody passing through there. He forced the Brazilians into a lot of giveaways and did a solid job distributing the ball to the wings any time he got it. The only mistake he made all game was at the end when he took down that guy in the box, but I don't fault him at all seeing as how on the corner, the ball went all the way across the box and we had no one go out there to clear it, allowing the brazilians to send the ball right back in.

Feilhaber- wasn't as visible in this match as he has been in others. Still, he has fantastic technical ability and I think partners Bradley really well in the middle. I love the way he carries the ball up the field and calmly slides it off to a teammate when someone challenges him.

Beasley- took a beating. The physical play that I think favored us was only really a negative on Beasley (other than the Wolf take down). I think we all got a glimpse of what Beasley goes through in the SPL. Demarcus worked well w/ Pearce on the left and we really attacked the Brazilians on that side a lot in the first half and beginning of the second. When he went off, I thought there was a noticeable drop off which I'll get to.

Part III next. hope you're all awake