USMNT: Bradley gets the preliminary roster right

Posted by Creaven on May 11, 2010 under United States, USMNT, World Cup | 10 Comments to Read

I set a low bar for Bob Bradley and he easily cleared it today when he named his 30-man preliminary roster.

Like I wrote yesterday, all I wanted him to do was:

1. Name only three goalies.
2. Don’t name less than 30 players.
3. Leave Frankie Hejduk in Columbus.

Pass, pass and pass. Plus, he surprised me and left Conor Casey out of the squad. There’s nearly a zero percent chance I’m going to have to watch Casey rumble around a grass field in South Africa this summer and that makes me very happy.

The big news from the roster is Davies’ comeback falling short, so let’s start there…

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U.S. National Team: Naming the 30

Posted by Creaven on May 10, 2010 under United States, USMNT, World Cup | Read the First Comment

Let the Bob Bradley scrutiny begin!

In the next eight weeks or so, with an increasingly “intelligent” American soccer public, Bob Bradley will be under the microscope unlike any American soccer coach in history. Of course, it won’t compare to the pressure in England, Brazil, Germany, Argentina or most anywhere else for that matter. But thanks to a unbelievably favorable draw, Bradley is expected to get his team out of the group and if he doesn’t he won’t have a job come July.

The first of many dissected Bradley decisions comes tomorrow, when the preliminary 30-man roster is announced on ESPN News at 11 a.m. PST. The goal for Bradley when naming this roster should be a simple one: Don’t do anything stupid. That’s all I ask. If you name some player I’ve never heard of, fine, I’m cool with that. It’s your job to know something the rest of us don’t. But what’s not cool is if you do one of the following:

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World Cup Qualifying: United States-T&T report card and more stuff

Posted by Creaven on September 11, 2009 under Premier League, United States, USMNT | 11 Comments to Read

It’s always encouraging when you field a bad team and win on the road. It took some luck — Cornell Glenn hitting the crossbar, Ricardo Clark turning into Steven Gerrard for a split second — but the United States beating Trinidad and Tobago 1-0, is a result the Americans probably had to get.

But let me reiterate, this team Bob Bradley selected was bad. If this exact lineup plays against Hondurus Oct. 10 the U.S. loses by at least two goals (I think U.S. is the underdog against Honduras no matter what the lineup is). That said, the Americans left the Port-of-Spain with three points and that’s what’s important.

To the grades…

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World Cup qualifying: USA-Mexico report card

Posted by Creaven on August 12, 2009 under United States, USMNT | 12 Comments to Read

So many of the United States’ players played so poorly, it’s somewhat amazing the U.S. was less than 10 minutes away from leaving Azteca with a draw.

But, predictably, the U.S. ran out of gas (altitude matters) to lose the Concacaf World Cup qualifier, 2-1, against Mexico. A draw would have been a fantastic result and would have kept Mexico’s World Cup chances in serious jeopardy. In the end, though, the loss doesn’t mean a whole lot for the U.S. — they’ll qualify anyway. But getting a point would have been a huge confidence boost.

To the grades…

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USA-Mexcio: What Bradley will do and why it won’t work

Posted by Creaven on August 11, 2009 under United States, USMNT | 12 Comments to Read

It’s easy to talk yourself into the United States having a real chance at leaving Mexico City with at least a draw Wednesday. The U.S. will field nearly the same team that beat No. 1 Spain and nearly knocked off Brazil; Mexico is struggling is qualifying, standing in fourth place in the six-team group; The U.S. has the best player on the field with Landon Donovan; All the pressure is on Mexico.

That all sounds good, but there’s one tiny-weeny problem — Mexico always wins at home. The U.S. has played Mexico away 23 times, losing 22 matches and tying one. In the last 40 years, El Tri has lost once in World Cup qualifying on Mexican soil; it’s the home field advantage of all home field advantages. Remember how good Costa Rica looked when it beat the U.S. 3-1 in June? Five weeks earlier Costa Rica had its date at the Azteca and Mexico cruised to a 2-0 victory. Which was expected, because — Mexico always wins at home.

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World Cup qualifying: Who will Bradley bring to the Azteca?

Posted by Creaven on August 1, 2009 under United States, USMNT | 13 Comments to Read

I really tried to care about the Gold Cup. After the group stages, I got pumped up; I told myself I was going to have the best Gold Cup commentary on the Internet. Then the United States played Panama in the quarterfinals and I fell asleep in about the 20th minute. Then the U.S. played Honduras is the semifinals and I fell asleep in about the 30th minute. Gold Cup matches were like taking NyQuil is visual form.

I did stay awake for the final and before I get into who I think Bob Bradley is going to take with him to Mexico, let me go on a little rant about El Tri’s 5-0 trouncing…

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Confederations Cup: United States vs. Spain report card

Posted by Creaven on June 24, 2009 under United States, USMNT, World | 27 Comments to Read

Outside of the World Cup, the United States’ 2-0 victory over Spain Wednesday was its most impressive victory ever.

Torres, Villa, Xavi, Fabergas, Puyol, Pique, Casillas — these aren’t very good players, they’re the best in the world. Even with the loss, the reigning European Champions and No. 1 team on the planet are still the clear-cut favorites to win the World Cup next year and are one of the best national teams ever. For Americans who might not be soccer fans, Spain aren’t the equivlant of the 2009 Lakers, they’re closer to the 1996 Bulls.

For the U.S., who seemed on the verge of crisis four days ago, to beat Spain, who hadn’t lost in 35 matches (and had won 15 straight), is almost beyond comprehension. As fantastic a victory as it is, this doesn’t make the U.S. World Cup contenders (or even favorites to get out of the group stage), but who cares. On a field on the Southern tip of Africa the U.S. scored more goals than the best team in the world. Unbelievable.

To the grades……

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Confederations Cup: United States vs. Egypt report card

Posted by Creaven on June 21, 2009 under United States, USMNT, World | 81 Comments to Read

“I could explain the scenario to you, on how the United States could make into the semifinals, but we would be on television longer than Jerry Lewis on Labor Day.”

A pretty weak joke by ESPN’s Recce Davis before the U.S.’s Confederations Cup match against Egypt Sunday. In reality, it wasn’t too complicated. The U.S. and Brazil needed to win 3-0. But I get what Davis was saying: it was mathematically possible for the U.S. to get into the semifinals, but highly improbable.

Two hours later, what seemed not just improbable but impossible had happened. A team that hadn’t scored a goal in the run of play in four matches scored three as the U.S. shocked Egypt, 3-0. Brazil scored three times on what has historically been the best defensive team in the world, beating the Italians 3-0 (when was the last time Italy lost by three goals?).

The Confederations Cup: Where amazing beyond comprehension happens.

To the grades…

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Confederations Cup: United States vs. Italy report card

Posted by Creaven on June 15, 2009 under United States, USMNT, World | 43 Comments to Read

Rebecca Blackwell/Associated Press

“Yikes” is what I said when I saw Ricardo Clark throw his legs at Gennaro Guttuso.

“Awwwww,” is what I said when I saw the red card above Clark’s head.

I talked myself into the United States getting a draw against Italy (maybe even winning) but all my hope burst out of me when Clark was ejected in the 32nd minute. Donovan’s penalty did make me think,”well, you never know,” but it was impossible to ignore reality.

The top tactician in the world, up a man, with world-class players was going into halftime to figure out a strategy to break down a backline of Spector, DeMerit, Onyewu and Bornstien. There was no way the U.S. was going to hold on and they didn’t. In 45 minutes, 1-0 U.S. turned into 3-1 Italy. To the grades….

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World Cup Qualifier: U.S.A.-Honduras report card

Posted by Creaven on June 7, 2009 under United States, USMNT | 7 Comments to Read

Nuccio DiNuzzo, Chicago Tribune

The United States men’s soccer team is going to the World Cup. No, the States haven’t mathematically qualified, but it’s nearly impossible to envision a scenario in which the U.S. isn’t in South Africa. The 2-1 victory over visiting Honduras wasn’t very impressive and even a little lucky, but with their backs against the wall the U.S. responded with its most important victory in years. Though it was a victory for the players, it was another embarrassing performance by ESPN. To the grades…

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