Wow! The game Friday against Slovenia was quite the roller-coaster. We give up an early goal (what else is new), then follow that up with another goal shortly before halftime. WTF! Luckily, our team fought back and should have been awarded the victory, but obviously, the soccer gods (and the ref) were against us on Friday. But, the 2-2 draw was a great result considering all of the adversity involved. So, now we have to win on Wednesday! If we win, we move on. Let's keep is that simple. Game is at 9am on Wednesday, and England-Slovenia play at the exact same time. (BTW, photo for this blog was taken at the Nomad before the US-Slovenia game on Friday. Can you tell how packed it was? Well, it only got worse...but it still fun)
I must confess, I watched the entire, mind-numbing game between Algeria and England; it ended 0-0. If there was one thing that stood out about Algeria, it was there ability to play solid defense. I still have major questions about their goalie, who has only made one international start. But, I cannot deny their ability to defend. Luckily for us, Algeria can't move on if it doesn't win. So they won't be able to just sit back and play defense. That should open the game up a bit for our offense.
Jon, what are the keys to beating Algeria? Well, faithful-blog-reader, I'm glad you asked, because I've been giving it a lot of thought. Five keys to the match:
1) Midfield defense: Both of Slovenia's goals were at least partially due to our lack of defending in the midfield. Bradly and his partner (Edu or Clark most likely) have to do a better job of closing down space. They can't let Algeria have open shots or runs at goal from 25 yds away.
2) Clint Dempsey: where was he against Slovenia?! He should have been carded about 50 seconds into the game! We need him to play better, create for his teammates, and beat people one v. one. There is a chance that he starts at forward, which alters his gameplay a lot. Regardless, we need more from him.
3) Jozy Altidore: He had moments against Slovenia. For example, he set up the tying goal with a great header, and won the freekick that should have won us the game. Jozy, more of that! Sometimes he just loses his focus. He had a great chance to take the goalie on in the first half against Slovenia, but he inexplicably lost the ball. He needs to be consistent.
4) Onyewu: He is up and down. First half against Slovenia, he was bad. Second half, he was much better. We need his imposing presence on defense and for set pieces/corner kicks. His size could be a real advantage against Algeria.
5) Landon Donovan: the best player on the field. He single-handedly got us back into the Slovenia game. His assist should have won us the game. And, his goal just after halftime was the turning point. He is possibly the only player on our team who could have converted that goal. We should all expect big things from him; he is the best US soccer player ever, so I think it's fair to ask a lot. If he plays well, we should win.
I don't think I need to say it again, we need to win. We should win. Algeria is solid, but in a must win game, we have to be able to beat them, otherwise we don't belong in the round of 16.
Questions, comments, analysis, criticism of my analysis....all of these are appreciated.
Remember the game is 9am Wednesday. (That's 5pm Israeli time if my math is correct...) Anyone is welcome at my place to watch the game. I'll probably be decked out in the US jersey sipping some lakefront and eating a muffin from Alterra. Not sure I can complain about any of that.
Hope everyone is doing well. Sorry to be inundating you all with lots of blogs, but there is just too much good stuff going on right now.
Go USA
Agree with pretty much everything you said. Maybe I'm biased but I think Gooch has been pretty solid aside from some timing issues on corner balls. Think Dempsey bounces back Wednesday. Any idea who is taking Findley's place, Edu maybe?
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, I took that photo in the bar...about 10 minutes before I fainted and then woke up to Jon yelling my name, Andy holding my head off the ground, and lots of eyes from strange men in the bar staring down at me. (Quick tip: this is a very quick technique to getting a chair, a bottle of water, and a towel filled with ice to hold on your neck.) I stayed for about 10 more minutes and then took that opportunity to leave the bar and return to my couch. So, I missed the whole first half (besides the first five minutes prior to my little episode), but I guess I missed the bad stuff and got to see the good stuff! I'm gunna try to stay upright on Wednesday.
ReplyDeleteA couple things.
ReplyDelete1. I wish I knew enough about soccer and enough about our team to provide insightful comments or criticism. However, I will use bits and pieces of Jon's post and Andy's comment to sound like I do know what I'm talking about when I watch the game on Wednesday. I have to find some way to impress those avid-Israeli soccer fans. And yes Jon, correct the game is @ 5p.m. here. I will be watching it at a bar called Mate. Mate, as described by telaviv4fun.com, is "an english style bar, public house, located in the north side of Dizengoff, fancy
decor and atmosphere, variety of drinks and tapas." This place comes recommended by friend Dafna and her other friend owns a bar so I'm expecting big things both from the bar and from the US.
2. Christina--you fainting is never good. Hopefully, you can talk Jon into getting you a hot chocolate and a muffin tomorrow morning while you sit in the comfort of your own living room. Also, try not to drink so much that you faint. haha, just kidding, glad u made it out of Nomad safe.
To respond to everyone's comments,
ReplyDeleteAndy: Gooch has been solid, but I think he has had a mental lapse or two each game that have hurt us. Who to start in place of Findley at forward, that is tricky! I would like to see Herculez Gomez. But the other logical choices are Edson Buddle or moving Dempsey to forward. (For those of you not as well versed in World Cup rules, Findley had yellow cards in each of the first two matches which forces him to sit out this one)
C: Ha, yes, she fainted at the bar...it was crazy! Everyone was great though and helped us out. Really weird.
Al: Just drop some names that you see in this blog. Mention Donovan a lot. Say Tim Howard is one of the best goalies in the world. And cheer loudly when we score. I think that pretty much covers it.
It'll be interesting to see if there are many US fans. I would assume that there will be a decent amount of English fans...but maybe not. Israelis seem to like us...which is weird considering no other countries do, haha.
News of note: Jozy Altidore sat our practice yesterday with some type of illness, but officials are saying he will play. If he is out, that hurts us a lot.
I am going to keep this short. I'm at work and don't want to get heated! Haha. First, Jon, thank you for taking the time to write a quality piece on US soccer. With that said, NO more postive comments regarding Gooch! Yes, he does resemble a horse; however, he is so bad! His mental lapses have cost the US three goals in two games. Also, his lack of technical ability limits the amount of possesion we can use when establishing width. As for the midfield, I agree with moving my boy Dempsey up front. With or without Findley, Dempsey should be used to put pressure on defenses while hiding his lack of defensive skill. When Findley, fake Davies, can play again, he should be brought off the bench in second halves and provide energy. The last adjustment I want to see made is Holden getting the start with Lando in the middle. Holden plays great through balls and his natural possesion would allow Bradley more freedom to attack with Dempsey. P.S. Altidore has no first touch!
ReplyDeleteRyan, good to see you posting on here. We need the opinion of someone who actually knows how to play soccer!
ReplyDeleteI'm not ready to give up on Gooch yet, but Ryan is right, his mental lapses have cost us. The comment about the lack of possession from Gooch really applies to all of our defenders except maybe Cherundolo. We could really improve our possession and passing out of the back.
Ryan, unfortunately for you, I don't think Dempsey starts up front. Buddle and Gomez are both more likely in my opinion. I personally would love to see Gomez. He has a good combination of speed, strength and technical ability.
It's all going to be decided soon. I can't wait.
USA, USA, USA!!! Wow, what a great game! We were going crazy at my place when Donovan buried that ball in the back of the net! A great moment for American soccer!
ReplyDeleteLet's go beat Ghana on Saturday!
That's all for now. Expect a Ghanaian preview in the next few days.