Olympic Demons Exorcised and USA routs El Salvador

Photo credit: US Soccer

Sixteen months ago, the El Salvador U-23 team tied Team USA 3-3 in Olympic qualifying and in so doing eliminated one of the more talented U23-level squad the Americans have had in at least two cycles. Last night that fateful game was avenged by three special players: Brek Shea, Joe Corona and Mix Diskerud, as the United States routed El Salvador by 5-1.

Another special statement was sent out by Landon Donovan, who proved once again why he is the best soccer player this nation has ever had. Another goal and another 4 assists for the US number 10. Not bad. And now we can assume that he will start alongside Dempsey, Altidore, Bradley and the rest of the gang come September's meeting with Mexico in Columbus for World Cup Qualifying.

Overall we have to credit the midfield for yesterday's win, as well as the constant forays by Michael Parkhurst and good positioning for Goodson on his goal. Still, Beasley was at fault for the Salvadoran PK and Goodson, despite the goal, was at times slow to react. At forward Wondolowski lacked the "nastiness" needed to score but this was ameliorated by Eddie Johnson within 14 seconds of the Seattle Sounders' forward entrance to the game.

Joe Corona and Mix Diskerud were especially impressive throughout the match. They rarely lost the ball and constantly set up dangerous plays. Add to this a goal a piece and we can credit a nearly-perfect game by the two midfielders. They are quickly rising to the top of the pecking order in the senior "A" squad when injuries occur to usual starters like Bradley or Jermaine Jones. At their young age, we can definitely count on them for some time to come, especially given their willingness to learn defensive duties.

Player ratings:

Rimando.........6.5

Beasley...........5.5

Goodson.........6

Besler..............6

Parkhurst.........6.5

Corona...........7.5

Torres.............6

Diskerud..........7

Donovan..........8

Wondolowski..4.5

Subs: Johnson (7.5), Orozco (NR), Shea (6)

Loss of a generation: US U-23 out of the Olympics

Photo credit: Getty Images

If there were words for tonight's last match for the US team in Olympic qualifying it would definitely be disbelief. How could such a talented team not even make it out of the group stage after losing to Canada and surrendering a lead at the last second to El Salvador? Was the team really not that good? Had the team peaked too early? Was Caleb Porter too young to be the coach? Would Agudelo have made a difference? The answer is, probably, all of the above.

Although it was a dream start in the first minute with a sublime strike by Borussia Dortmund forward Terrence Boyd, the Salvadorans pressed and got two goals in quick succession against an ailing Bill Hamid. The US did come back from 1-2 down thanks to great goals from Boyd and Corona. Unfortunately, a lack of concentration in the final seconds allowed for a sublime shot from the Salvadoran player that went past Sean Johnson and qualified the Salvadorans to the semifinals. And yes, there should have been a clear penalty in the USA's favor that could have sent the score to 4-2 and may have won the game for the Americans.

The sad truth after today is the loss of a generation of players. Agudelo, Diskerud, Shea, Corona, Boyd and Gyau, arguably the best of the bunch, will not see the light of the Olympics to catapult them further in their careers. Gone is also perhaps the last chance for Freddy Adu to finally silence his critics with a stellar international tournament. No, not fair at all.

What does this mean for US Soccer? A major setback for sure. Not only did the U-20s miss the last World Cup of that division, but now the older U-23s will also lose the opportunity to compete against top international teams.

The frustration behind this sore loss for US Soccer reverberates all the way to the top. Porter was clearly Klinsmann's choice for this group of players. The full national team is seeing a revival of late, however, with impressive wins at Slovenia and Italy. But what happens when Dempsey and Donovan aren't around? Do Shea, Corona and Agudelo make up for it? How does missing the Olympics prepare them for the future?

There are some interesting facts after today's loss: 1.) Concacaf competition is getting increasingly better, 2.) Terrence Boyd and Joe Corona had breakthrough performances, 3.) Mexico did not qualify for Olympics 2008.

US squeaks, Mexico rolls in friendlies

International friendlies during non-FIFA dates are a way to diagnose how domestic-based players stack up compared to those playing in Europe's elite leagues (and other countries as well). These games are usually reserved for non-European teams and/or mid to low level Europeans. Why is this so? Big leagues, big teams, big players. The clubs have priorities and do not release their players for non-FIFA dates. This is why Mexico can't call on Guardado or why the US can't call on Donovan or Altidore.

For teams like the US and Mexico, as well as, recently, even Argentina, domestic leagues cede their players to the national team as a way to support national team success and/or to comply with ordinances from the country's federation. For the US, MLS is not in season at the moment and players are free to engage in national team camps. Even some Scandinavian-based players like Clarence Goodson are allowed to partake in non-FIFA dates since their leagues are on winter breaks.

In the end, it's about gaging prospects within the domestic league that may compete for spot with more prominent Europe-based players. Bornstein, Ching and Casey are probable picks for the final 23. But rest assured that the majority of the squad will be comprised of Dempsey, Altidore, Bocanegra, Howard and other international stars. These unofficial friendlies become crucial for at-the-moment fringe players like Kljestan, Findley, Pearce, Beckerman. We might say that they haven't done as well as they could have. Their first friendly versus Honduras was horrendous due to an early red card. Yesterday's match against El Salvador was a great deal more promising but we are left wondering if our base players are very shallow in scale and confined to Europe.

Granted, Kljestan, Pearce, and Ching showed signs yesterday that they can compete at a higher level and are worth keeping as potential supersubs at the World Cup. A 2-1 win is a win, especially given their shot-on-goal ratio versus their counterparts (something like 4 to 1 with 15+ shots for the US). A lack of the finishing tough is what was missing, something we cannot afford in South Africa. Mexico, on the other hand, ruled the day and completed a thourough routing, 5-0, of Bolivia. Players like Hernandez, Blanco and the veteran Braulio Luna emerged as potential competitors for the Europe-based players like Vela, Osorio and Guardado. Mexico showed how a friendly match on home turf (it's San Francisco, people) should be won when the competing squad is also comprised of domestic-based players.

All in all, it was a promising start. Now it's time for the international stars to affirm their status as first-teamers... and the chance comes against Holland in Amsterdam (Wed, March 3 on ESPN2). Good luck.

US vs El Salvador: Lessons learned?

Wow. that was not supposed to happen. Or was it? El Salvador has not lost in the hex by a score greater than 1 goal. Today they showed up defensively but were given the upper hand in the attack with a faltering US defense. Yes, the US went down on the scoreboard at home (again) early in the first half. I want to stay that Onyewu's absence was felt today, but in truth it was much more than that. The Americans lost their composure, strength in the air, their players, and even their spirit at times.

It wasn't all bad, no. USA got the win and the three points they needed. Altidore and Dempsey showed why they play in the EPL. Davies was a nightmare for the Salvadoran defense and Spector showed why he should always be the starter at right back. Holden cemented his place as a national team regular and Torres finally got a second chance, and excelled.

The score should have been different, right? Yes. The referee corps for this game was atrocious. Flagrant handballs, sketchy calls for both teams and, most importantly, an Altidore goal that was unbelievably disallowed. Wow. And it was a beauty, too. Oh, and despite the Salvadoran goal, Howard proved why he's one of the top goalkeepers in the world.

Then again, El Salvador could have tied or won this game. That's right. Bornstein was repeatedly overtaken by Castillo, Zelaya and company. His lousy mistouch led to to Castillo's goal. Marshall, Feilhaber and Bocanegra constantly lacked communication, which led to important attacks from the central americans. There were large voids in the midfield so often when El Salvador attacked that I no doubt sounded like a disgruntled commentator to my viewing party.

What's next? Another must win at Trinidad and Tobago. As I alluded to on my last post, Concacaf is way too tight right now to let any points slip away. Honduras is looking as strong as ever and Mexico is peaking now that it remembered that they are the top dog in the region. Their goleada over Costa Rica at the Saprissa stadium reiterated that. Right now, the US is in second place behind Honduras due to their ample goal differential (let's hope Jozy's goal doesn't hurt us when things are set and done next month). A home game versus Costa Rica and the final game at Honduras is not an easy schedule after the T&T game. Much soul searching remains. Let us hope the boys show up again in Port of Spain on Wednesday. Kudos to Davies and I hope his injury isn't serious.

Player ratings:
Howard....6
Spector....6
Bocanegra...5
Marshall...4.5
Bornstein...3
Bradley...5
Donovan...7
Dempsey...6.5
Feilhaber...5
Altidore...7
Davies...6.5

Subs: Holden (6.5), Beckerman (3), Torres (6)

The comeback kids: El Salvador - US

No Gooch (Onyewu), no Tim Howard in goal. I mentioned in my previous post that this indeed had the makes of a hard game for the US. It's hard to imagine an important team having a hard time against so-called "minnows," i.e. El Salvador. But such was the case. Potentially it was the noise from the boisterous fans, luck of the draw, good Salvadoran side, or bad football.

Bradley's team didn't gel today. The offense was uninspired for a good portion of the game. But it didn't start out that way. Even in the depths of the Cuscatlan, the considerable might of the US national team weighed heavily on the hearts and minds of players and fans alike. El Salvador scores first, early and painfully. It was a freak play partially blamed on the noise and an alteration of the US backline (Califf for Onyewu, Guzan for Howard). Point is USA was losing to El Salvador for the first time in 16 years.

Things went from bad to worse. Pearce was getting lost and Califf confused. Errant passes from Beasley, Kljestan, Bradley and Dempsey didn't help. Donovan and Ching were trying to get it done up front but they received little service from midfield. Indeed, Ching repeatedly found himself playing defense.

A change was needed. Bradley Sr answered with a surprise shift from 4-2-1-1 to an interchangeable 3-4-3 with Beasley as the "enganche," the polyfunctional position he excels at. In comes Altidore for a quiet Pearce. Things didn't pay off automatically, however. El Salvador answered Bradley's change with a beautiful second goal right after the second substitution (Torres for Kljestan). Hejduk was outdone by an appreciably shorter Castillo that headed the ball beyond Guzan's reach. Howard was missing but I'm not sure he would have done much better against the two goals scored.

The subs and change in scheme turned things around from the Americans. Torres was considerably more efficient than Kljestan in the midfield (again, playing time may be a factor here). The ball was solely in the American's possession. Soon it was Jozy taking care of business, using his size and strength to bring the score to 1-2. Hejduk, often clumsily beaten by Salvadorans in the first half, forcibly headed the tying goal 2 minutes to stoppage time. The man was inspired, but sometimes his aggressiveness with the ball and offensive play led to important attacks by the Cuscatlecos.

In the end this was a lesson in humility. No one can be too big for history. Tonight, the considerable differences in quality between these two sides did not decide the outcome of the game. The US had to win back its style of play to come away with a tie that felt painfully as a loss. USA still leads the table with 4 points after Mexico beat Costa Rica and Honduras and Trinidad shared points. Next up is Trinidad in Nashville--a must win.

Player Ratings:
Guzan....6
Pearce....5
Califf....4.5
Bocanegra....5.5
Hejduk.....6.5
Bradley.....6
Kljestan....5
Dempsey.....6
Beasley.....6
Donovan.....6.5
Ching.....7
subs: Altidore (7.5), Torres (8)

Of mice and men: Round 2 of World Cup Qualifying

El Salvador vs USA (Saturday ESPN2 and Telefutura for those few of you not watching NCAA). San Salvador, Estadio Cuscatlan. Tall order for the US team? Maybe. Playing away matches is always difficult. Here are the facts: the US has not lost to a Central American team since the 2006 qualifying round against Costa Rica. Preliminary Round 2 of world cup qualifying last year saw them victorious against Guatemala on Guatemalan soil (1-0, Bocanegra). The US last lost against Trinidad & Tobago (1-2) on Trinitarian soil with an undermanned, inexperienced national team. Game day 1 saw the US victorious over mighty Mexico by the score of 2-0 in Columbus, Ohio. Meanwhile, El Salvador rallied back to tie T&T on Salvadoran soil.

Clearly there is a favorite here--USA. But in soccer as in any sport, there should be no favorites. El Salvador has competent players, a full stadium of ardent fans and considerable psychological advantage of the Estadio Cuscatlan. Who's to say the Salvadorans can't get a point or three here?

Aside from favoritism and a slew of Europe-based players, the US has much less pressure compared to El Salvador. How/why is this possible? Media coverage. True, there are a lot of us fans and sports writers/commentators that are extremely interested in the team. However, how many media sources were present at team practice in Miami this week? 2 sources... Futbol de Primera and US soccer. How do I know this? The hosts of the morning show on XM Deportivo remarked this as an important factor for the US squad on this game and all games in general. Less public attention = less pressure. In contrast, there was a great deal of press prsent for the Mexican squad... and Argentina? 200 media sources covered their practice sessions. Remarkable? Hardly. Not with Maradona at the helm.

I hold out hope for a positive result at El Salvador. I'm content with a tie but a win would be a giant step towards qualification. In qualifiers it is the results abroad that often dictate who advances to the World Cup. South Africa beckons and all teams involved have high stakes, no matter how much media coverage there is.

Bradley is trying something different this time around. No Clark, Davies, Bornstein, Wynne, Rogers. It stands like this: GOALKEEPERS: Tim Howard, Brad Guzan, Marcus Hahnemann; DEFENDERS: Oguchi Onyewu, Carlos Bocanegra, Frankie Hejduk, Heath Pearce, Dan Califf, Jonathan Spector, Jay DeMerit; MIDFIELDERS: DaMarcus Beasley, Michael Bradley, Sacha Kljestan, Clint Dempsey, Jose Francisco Torres, Freddy Adu, Maurice Edu, Pablo Mastroeni; FORWARDS: Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, Brian Ching, Jozy Altidore, Eddie Johnson. Expect changes in roster between the two games. Howard is suspended for El Salvador (two yellows).

Stay tuned for the rest of the world this weekend and mid week next week. UEFA, AFC, CAF, CONCACAF and CONMEBOL all have games in hand. France is on the verge of another major failure. England can solidify their chances. Same goes for Spain. Mexico (and Eriksson) badly needs a win. The Asian group 2 is highly competitive with the two Koreas and Saudis and Iranians all in the mix. There's more than one group of death in Africa (Cameroon vs Togo; Nigeria and Tunisia). Ecuador has two major games versus Brazil and Paraguay and I'm not too confident with the team this time around. Maradona (Argentina) can potentially breeze through Venezuela and Bolivia but upsets are not impossible. Indeed, lots of action.

The CONCACAF revolution

As promised in a previous blog: the relative minnows of the CONCACAF region may no longer be so. I'm speaking, of course, about our Central American neighbors. More specifically, Honduras, Guatemala, and Panama. Costa Rica seems to be falling out of the spotlight after almost two decades of ruling in the top three (behind US and Mexico). "Behind" is a relative word here since in 1990 they went through to the round of 16 at the expense of Sweeden and Scotland. Those were the days of "el Conejo" (the rabbit) on goal. I can't say I remember much else from their appearance at that world cup since I was more interested In Germany and Cameroon. And yes, they missed out on '94 and '98 but that doesn't mean they weren't a dominant team. Jamaica and its "Reggae Boyz" lit things up in 1998 and T&T capitalized on its England-based contingent for their appearance in Germany two years ago. Still, note that we're speaking of Caribbean teams and not the lower part of the CONCACAF contingent, which has different systems and styles of play. Caribbean teams aside (this time around I doubt they'll make it too far), the "other" UNCAF teams are looking much more impressive. From their younglins beating out the titans of the region in the Olympic Qualifiers (Guatemala shocked Mexico and Honduras won the tournament against an undermanned US side), to their increased presence across the pond and in more competitive leagues in the Americas, we're looking at a much tighter race for the 3.5 spots our conference can stake a claim on for South Africa. I'm not ready to say that the US and Mexico won't make it to the next world soccer celebration, but their road there will be much tougher this time around. Take Honduras for example. Just recently they beat both Colombia and Ecuador in warm-up games with clear dominance. Suazo (Inter Milan) and Palacios (Wigan Athletic) and former MetroStar Amado Guevara made their presence felt in those games. I have serious doubts that the North American teams will have it easy when they visit Tegucigalpa or even when they face the "catrachos" at home. Guatemala is another toss-up. They have shown an ability to produce significant upsets (Mexico comes to mind). With "El primitivo" (yes, he looks the part) Maradriaga at the helm and the goal-scoring prowess of Carlos "el pescadito" Ruiz, they look to continue vying for a spot in the top 4 of the region. Last but certainly not least is a Panamenian side that continues to evolve into a potential contender. The "canaleros" pulled a few interesting upsets in the past couple of years, and with a presence in the Colombian national league their experience can only add to their increased capabilities. So, in terms of what I alluded to in a recent blog: it's not that we (north Americans) are that bad, it's that they are that good. I'd be surprised if Honduras doesn't take one of the top 3 spots in the region. The last half-spot could go to Costa Rica if they are able to step their game up or to Canada if they capitalize on their new pool of experienced players. Still, don't count Guatemala and Panama out. These should be fun games to watch (thanks, ESPN Deportes). Let the qualifiers begin.