US v. Argentina (probable spoiler)

Dang.  Don't think I get that channel.  I'll be relying on you Ishka-Dribble.

I don't have dish, I may be able to find it, dunno, I think there is a Spanish sports channel I may be able to glom onto.

Anywho, this is going to be a better test than Mexico, hopefully we have all hands on deck (any red or yellow suspensions?)

Where's slhaitou so we can do some serious bashing? 

It's a light roster.  Lots of stars left behind, I assume to placate MLS.

Brad Guzan, Kasey Keller, Jonathan Bornstein, Bobby Boswell, Dan Califf, Jimmy Conrad, Jay DeMerit, Drew Moor, Heath Pearce, Marvell Wynne, Kyle Beckerman, Ricardo Clark, Benny Feilhaber, Eddie Gaven, Sacha Kljestan, Justin Mapp, Lee Nguyen, Ben Olsen, Charlie Davies, Herculez Gomez, Eddie Johnson, Taylor Twellman

Bornstein on Messi perhaps.   

Eddie Johnson does nothing for me.  But he does show up now and again.  Who knows. 

Speaking of bashing, I think it'll be a genuine woodshed beating with the good ol' USA taking it on the chin.  Better keep away from what's his bucket on this one.   

I'll be very interested in Bradley's approach to this one.  Nothing to lose really.  Having said that, he's been very impressive since taking over the team.  I can find no fault.  If he manages to field a side and a plan that stays within a goal I think any remaining doubters will be swayed in his favor. 

Jürgen Who?   

Argentina 4-1 USA

Much closer than the score.  USA was the better team for 55-60 minutes. 


Bornstein was the man.  Messi switched to left side in second half as Bornstein owned him prior to that.  That's when the game changed.  I owe young master Jonathan an apology.


Meh.  Drew the penalty and scored from the spot but also blew a few chances.  Dude needs to bulk up.  He's knocked off the ball continually.  Speed saves him sometimes.  Ironically, it was his lack of strength that got him the penalty call.


USA can be proud.  Nice showing with a definite B or C side against a world class Argentine side.  They wore out but it was a one goal match until the very end. I'm optimistic for the future.  Many good young players on this team.  South Africa might be fun.

As Gold Cup winners they earned a spot in the Confederations Cup.  That's part of it too.  USA don't stand a chance to win Copa America so I think it made sense to focus on what's possible.

Keeping peace with MLS is an angle that has to be considered too.  Not much is said about that although I did hear/read they're required to let players go for the Gold Cup and not for Copa America.  Not sure of the details of that arrangement.

They had a great chance through 60 minutes.  The next 15 minutes were suspect and it fell apart after that.  Forwards didn't have a great match.  Johnson I've addressed.  Twellman didn't shine.  Neither of them supported the other.  It's true they didn't generate much offense but, come on, did they really have a chance?  They kept the match in the Argentine half or midfield for ages.  Shots on goal were something like 10-6 and most of that came late.

They were caught on one offside trap and payed the price.  Backs and defensive midfield play was generally very good.  They shut down Argentina's formidable goal scorers for much longer than a B/C side should have been able.  They recovered VERY well for 2/3 of the match and supported defensively too.  Didn't get caught square like we saw quite often in the Gold Cup with Onyewu's back line.

Keller had no chance on that last goal.  He can't defend both posts by himself.

I completely disagree with your analysis on this one.  Did you watch the match or just the highlights/goals?  Argentina blew this one open in the last 15 minutes.  Before that it was far from a "no chance" deal.   Quality and experience won through in the end but wasn't it supposed to be that way from the first whistle rather than from the second substitution? 

Huge moral victory for USA.  The future is bright.