USA vs. Ecuador [P/R]

[Bobby]

USA Squad:

Goalkeepers (3) – Brad Guzan (Chivas USA), Tim Howard (Everton FC), Kasey Keller (Borussia Moenchengladbach)
Defenders (8) –Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham FC), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards), Jay DeMerit (Watford FC), Oguchi Onyewu (Newcastle United), Heath Pearce (FC Nordsjælland), Frank Simek (Sheffield Wednesday), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United)
Midfielders (7) – DaMarcus Beasley (Manchester City), Michael Bradley (SC Heerenveen), Brian Carroll (D.C. United), Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), Clint Dempsey (Fulham FC), Benny Feilhaber (Hamburger SV), Justin Mapp (Chicago Fire)
Forwards – Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers/NBA), (Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Kenny Cooper (FC Dallas), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Eddie Johnson (Kansas Cit y Wizards), Taylor Twellman (New England Revolution)

A few strange choices in there, Kobe sticks out like a sore thumb but maybe Bradley has something up his sleeve here?

 

[$teauA]

haha Kobe wtf

 

[Spider-Man84]

I bought my tickets for this game. I'll be driving 3 hours from Miami to Tampa to go root for my USA. Estados Unidos baby! Gooch!!! Jajaja Cant wait for Sunday!

 

[Run DMB]

Man, I missed the US national team by hours... I was in Bradenton, Flordia on vacation, and the day I left for the airport was the day the first group of players arrived in camp.

Line-up I want to see:


----------------Howard---------------


----------Onyewu----Bocanegra-------
--Cherundolo-----------------Pearce---


----------------Bradley----------------
----Mapp-------------------Beasley----
---------------Dempsey----------------


------------Ching----Donovan----------


But the midfield will probably look like this:

----------Bradley----Feilhaber-----------
---Dempsey-------------------Beasley---

Alarming to see what a gap it leaves in central midfield when Mastroeni and Clark are injured.

 

[Voltaic Borusse]

They're playing at Raymond James, 20 minutes away from me.

Gotta spend the weekend with my lady, though.

 

[$teauA]

They're playing at Raymond James, 20 minutes away from me.

Gotta spend the weekend with my lady, though.

 

[Psyatika]

Those USA kits are sharp...never thought i'd ever buy a USA kit, but i may consider this one.

1-0 already

 

[Psyatika]

1-1, good strength on the ball, a little lucky with the finish, but the effort deserved a goal.

 

[Trequartista]

Poor defense for both sides. Looks like they're playing on carpet out there.

 

[$teauA]

Yeah the ball is bouncing like crazy and it's putting the defenders in some bad situations. Other than that it has been a really wide open game, both teams are running at eachother and it's nice to see.

 

[Run DMB]

Everyone not named Donovan has been mediocre for the US.

I don't know what to make of Feilhaber after the first half. On one hand, he played two or three great through balls. On the other, he's made two or three terrible, unforced give-aways in midfield. He's shown some promise, but I'm not comfortable with him starting for the US.

And please, let's see Mapp on for Beasley in the second half.

 

[Hendrik]

Some people dub Feilhaber the American Fabregas.

 

[$teauA]

I think Feilhaber played a pretty good game. Those giveaways were probably because of nerves.

:Bow: Donovan, fantastic today, if only he would have this sort of performance in the games that matter.

 

[Trequartista]

He made some stops, I'm not blown away though. The team (other than Landon Donovan) has done enough. The defense had some scary moments, Tim Howard has been acceptable. Great stop on a volley in the first half.

 

[$teauA]

One thing is clear though. The US under Bradley is a much better team than under Arena. They have a style of play, they remind me of a premiership team they way they just make runs and don't stop the entire 90 minutes. Our style with Arena as coach consisted of getting the ball close to the oponents box and then passing it around the box like a perimeter play in basketball or something ...

I like what Bradley is doing so far, he is instilling a style of play that is fun to watch and is getting results. We'll have to wait and see how we'll compete in some real competitions.

 

[Run DMB]

Howard - 7 (big save early on)

Bocanegra - 6.5
Onyewu - 6.5 (some strong clearances, but lack of agility was exposed on goal)
Conrad - 6.5 (great lunge to block a close-range shot at a pivotal time in the game)
Cherundolo - 6.5

Beasley - 6 (good assist on Donovan's third goal, but otherwise underwhelming)
Feilhaber - 6.5 (improved as the game went on)
Donovan - 10 (are we witnessing the rebirth of the Savior?)
Dempsey - 6 (quiet)

Johnson - 5 (made good runs but looked awkward with the ball at his feet)
Ching - 6 (nice assist on Donovan's second goal)

Subs:

Bradley - 7 (brought stability to the US midfield)

 

[Spider-Man84]

Howard - 7 (big save early on)

Bocanegra - 6.5
Onyewu - 6.5 (some strong clearances, but lack of agility was exposed on goal)
Conrad - 6.5 (great lunge to block a close-range shot at a pivotal time in the game)
Cherundolo - 6.5

Beasley - 6 (good assist on Donovan's third goal, but otherwise underwhelming)
Feilhaber - 6.5 (improved as the game went on)
Donovan - 10 (are we witnessing the rebirth of the Savior?)
Dempsey - 6 (quiet)

Johnson - 5 (made good runs but looked awkward with the ball at his feet)
Ching - 6 (nice assist on Donovan's second goal)

Subs:

Bradley - 7 (brought stability to the US midfield)

Feilhaber had his good and bad moments in the first half, but in the second half he took command of the midfield. Doesn't attribute to the attack like Reyna but had nice command.

Spector did a decent job in his limited time...more to come on Wednesday from him.

I would prefer Keller over Howard...and for the guy who said Bradley's style is better then Arena's. When Arena was winning...noone was complaining...

Donovan was amazing.....atmosphere was great. 31 K at the game yesterday. Most in FL soccer history.

Here is a vid I took of the 2nd goal. YouTube made the quality crap but just hearing us chant USA is great

http://youtube.com/watch?v=yK3F0mZeuH0