March 4, 2010

The U.S. saw the end of its national team action before the World Cup team is selected in May. The match took place in Holland yesterday ending with a 2-1 loss to the Netherlands.

The next time the team meets will be in a pre World Cup training camp with Bradley’s official roster for South Africa likely to be in attendance if they have all their club duties in Europe wrapped up. Yesterday was the last chance for some players to make their case to be included.

How much Bradley can analyze the team from the match only he knows but we can have our own fun. I’m usually not one to place blame on referees but, the referee in this one was awful. The Dutch earned numerous free kicks for practically nothing and on the other end the calls did not match. Consistency has been issue in the refereeing of league play amongst clubs this season and in it showed up in this international fixture.

The penalty that Dirk Kuyt netted to make it 1-0 was questionable and on a different day with a different ref, perhaps Wesley Sneijder would have been booked for simulation after going to ground for a light tug on the arm from Jonathon Bornstein. That’s not a defense of Bornstein’s poor decision to touch Sneijder so ineffectively, but the touch didn’t warrant the reaction from either or Sneijder.

Later in the match, Michael Bradley won a ball and pushed it by a defender toward the top of the box. After cutting behind the defender on his way to the ball, the defender went to ground for seemingly nothing. Very little contact was made by Bradley as he went by and the Dutch got the call ending the American attack.

Adding to the frustration was the fact that Nigel de Jong was merely shown a yellow card after his studs up tackle that wound up fracturing Stuart Holden’s fibula. Any Premiership watchers tuned in for this one must have been thinking of Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsey at that moment. The difference, Ryan Shawcross who tackled Ramsey was sent off for a challenge that showed no malice whatsoever. The Dutchman’s challenge on Holden may not have been intentionally dirty, or may have (you make the call), but regardless it was sloppy and unnecessary.

Aside from the whistle happy officiating, the U.S. didn’t help their chances with any real creative attack minded football. Keeping the ball was difficult for them throughout and managing any kind of counter attack is difficult when you’re not able to complete a pass in the midfield.

Jose Torres was undoubtedly inserted into the starting lineup to address the issue of poor midfield passing which has haunted the U.S. against bigger sides in the past. Torres has shown that ability in the past but in this one was ineffective aside from a shot over the bar from 30+ yards out.

Bob Bradley showed his intentions to place a speed player alongside Jozy Altidore by giving Robbie Findley a chance to make the trip to play alongside Altidore, unfortunately Findley did little with that opportunity. He was unable to create much and lacked the composure that is going to be necessary when playing at the highest level in South Africa. One particular incident that comes to mind was a good through ball from the midfield that found Findley with two defenders around him near the Dutch endline. Instead of cutting it back or even looking up to see if any teammates were in the box, Findley simply laid a soft left footed cross into the box that found nothing but a Dutch defender.

The most stifling thing about the game was how inaccurate the scoreline was to how the game went. Aside from Klaas jan Huntelaar’s fortunate deflection off of Bornstein that made it 2-0, the Dutch did little against the U.S. to look like a side worthy of being ranked No.3 in the world by FIFA. They created very few chances, their best of which was diffused by Bornstein before the speedy Eljero Elia could even muster a shot.

The Nats showed some spirit late by creating chances and finally seeing their portion of the possession in the last ten to fifteen minutes of play. Carlos Bocanegra headed home a Damarcus Beasley set piece to get one back for the U.S. and within seconds of kicking the ball off they seemed likely to find an equalizer.

Altidore cut between two defenders and fired a strong shot in from 25-yards out but right at the keeper. Alejandro Bedoya worked a nice one-two with Michael Bradley to spring a chance for himself in the box but was cut down by a Dutch defender before he could get to it just outside the box. Beasley sent free kick opportunity directly to the keeper and the chance was dead.

As an overall performance this was neither the best nor the worst we’ve seen from the U.S. over the last year, but the defensive sturdiness of Bradley’s side would have been awarded on luckier days with at least a draw.

Player Reviews:

Tim Howard: Did what he had to on the day and made some good saves, particularly against van der Vaart in the 82^nd when Timmy kept out a bending blast with his right hand to keep the U.S. from going down 3-0. He was unfortunate to have to watch two balls land in the back of his net but sometimes that’s how it goes when it’s not your day.

Jonathon Spector: Failed to show his class going forward. He was absent for chunks of the game and didn’t put himself in very many positions to help create pressure from the flanks. His one cross that comes to mind went over everyone and out of play for a goal kick.

Jay Demerit: If Onyewu doesn’t get back it’ll be sad, but not a disaster for the Nats. Demerit is a sturdy defender and didn’t allow much past him. How he has gone unnoticed by top tier clubs in England playing for Watford I don’t understand. When he needs to be physical, Demerit shows that he can be and when he needs to show the ability to win the ball he has that too. Staying focused for 90 minutes is sometimes an issue for Demerit, but for the most part he’s solid and Bradley’s best partner for Bocanegra if Gooch doesn’t recover from his knee injury in time.

Carlos Bocanegra: He gets the goal by getting in front of the keeper and winning a tough ball with his head. Overall it wasn’t bad from Boca and you know he’ll be there in June. He has World Cup experience, has played in the best leagues in Europe and continues to give one hundred percent no matter what, that’s why he wears the arm band.

Jonathon Bornstein: It’s a love hate relationship for me with Bornstein. His inexperience, questionable decision making and lack of skill are things that make him tough to watch. However, his speed, heart, and reliability make him a player that deserves time in South Africa. Bornstein has put in some good shifts for Bradley over the course of qualifying and the friendlies. This one wasn’t his best, but he still showed moments where pure effort can overcome the fact that he is outclassed. In June, I hope Gooch can play so that Bocanegra plays left back with Demerit partnering Onyewu like we saw in the Confederations Cup last summer. If that doesn’t happen and Bornstein plays, it won’t be anything to find fault with because the man will have deserved that chance.

Stuart Holden: Before sustaining an injury that will sideline him for six weeks and spoil his chances to continue impressing for his new club Bolton in England, Holden was showing that he can at least keep up with the pace of the game. Really though, the U.S. didn’t have the ball enough in that time span for him to greatly impact the game so it’s tough to say much about him.

Damarcus Beasley: His form for Rangers has improved since coming back from injury and when a guy like Walter Smith says you bring something to the best team in Scotland that no one else can, clearly you deserve a shot at playing with your national team. That being said, I hope Beasley doesn’t start for Bradley this summer. His efforts have been inconsistent in the past. Maybe it’s the fact that his position is moved around the pitch at least once every time he plays but he still spends long periods of the game wandering around as if searching for something he can’t find. I think I know what that is, it’s his role within Bradley’s system.

Michael Bradley: The American hopes for the World Cup may lie in this young man’s hands. His knack for winning the ball in midfield and ability to help create on the attacking end or be back on his own endline to make a crucial defensive play are key to U.S. success. His was one of the most energetic forces on the pitch yesterday and it will prove crucial that he stay out of the referee’s book in South Africa.

Jose Torres: Didn’t really do much with his 45 minutes. He has shown an ability to make precision passes and help the U.S. maintain possession in the past but in this one he was pretty much uninvolved minus that blast over the bar from distance. He’ll have to do better in May to seal a starting spot over the likes of Jermaine Jones, who is rumored to have been considered to play this summer for the U.S. despite never wearing a Nats uniform before. Torres has looked good for Pachuca, so if he can maintain that it may go a long way toward whether or not he gets to South Africa.

Maurice Edu: After netting the winner for Rangers in an Old Firm derby over the weekend Edu has been riding on high. Unfortunately in this one that high didn’t continue. It wasn’t that he played bad or hurt the U.S. game. Quite the contrary, he actually provided a better defensive presence in the midfield than Torres which helped the U.S. in the second half, but he didn’t make or break anything.

Landon Donovan: There is no better option at left midfield for the U.S. than Landon on his day, but unfortunately there wasn’t much he could do for the attack in this one with the Dutch having so much of the ball. I just hope that the English sub in Beckham on June 12 so Donovan can show up old Golden Balls one-v-one.

Robbie Findley: His performances are reminiscent of Theo Walcott of England and Arsenal. In other words, he has a lot of speed, but when it comes time to make a football move and make something happen, it just doesn’t seem to come together. I like Findley, but I’m not sure his game is at World Cup level just yet. Whether or not he can get his form back on track will prove important as Bradley is justified in looking for a speed player to go alongside Altidore after seeing the success of Charlie Davies in that spot. Findley is likely the answer as this game further proved (if you needed any more proof) that Eddie Johnson isn’t going to be that guy

Jozy Altidore: His time at Hull City is teaching Altidore some important things. He is better at picking his spots to take a defender on and smarter about keeping possession. His ability to shoot from distance is improving and in five years (maybe less), Jozy will draw comparisons to Didier Drogba. As of right now, he is still rough around the edges but the best pure striker the U.S. has.