Thoughts on today's debacle...

The picture represents Frank Deford and any number of old fart sportswriters who will lambaste soccer and the U.S. team after today's performance...Remember folks, it doesn't matter what they write! They'll all be dead or retired soon (we hope)...

Okay, first let me comment on the other 2 games today:

Australia - Good for them. They never gave up (can't say that about the U.S., now can we?). They needed those 3 points today, and the goal diff should help them against Croatia in game 3, which should decide 2nd place in the group. Japan's solid goalkeeping in the first 80 minutes was undone by his poor decision to come out and whiff on the ball, allowing the Aussies to get a cheap goal and tie. You could see the air go out of the Japanese.

Italy/Ghana - Solid Italy side beat on a better than expected Ghana squad. Ghana had some excellent opportunities and looked more dangerous and fearless on the ball. Italy played the perfect sort of game for them. Solid defending, good counterattacking, and deadly off set pieces. I'm not sure the U.S. can beat either one of these teams.

And now for the game of the day.

Let me start by saying this; Most of the comments about this game have been about how the U.S. didn't do this or that, bad coaching, etc. True, all of that was a factor, but let's understand 1 thing. This Czech team is REALLY, REALLY good. They beat us in every aspect of the game from start to finish. For all our hype, self-congratulatory success in the region, and our overall alleged "swagger," we got our asses handed to us by a superior team. There's no shame in that. The shame came in the lack of effort by too many players, notably Beasley and Donovan. For Donovan to say in the postgame that "I don't think we had enough guys who believe," made me want to reach through the tv and punch him in the eye. Shut up, Landon! Grow a pair and step up in a big game for a change. Now, will this team step up and play respectably against Italy, or do we fall apart internally and bow out meekly as we did in '98? I'll give some credit and faith that Arena won't LET these guys quit. I'll get to my preferred lineup at the end of the column. In the meantime, here are some comments I got from friends, colleagues, and readers of the blog...Enjoy!

an unsolicited email from a pro coach: "Too soft of a lineup for a World Cup."

Jimmy LaRoue - "I guess Landon can play everywhere EXCEPT Germany."

Dave Lifton - "As much as we had the right idea of using five midfielders to use our speed, we didn't count on the Czechs putting in five of their own to clog up the lanes and nullify our speed. Sometimes we put so much faith in our own teams that we lose sight of the fact that our opponents are capable of good scouting, too. Full credit to them for coming out with a solid game plan and implementing it to perfection."

David Sanford - "No energy, Played safe soccer. Looked as if no one wanted to take a risk because they were scared to mess up. I sort of stop paying much attention after the second goal. As the group of friends and I shared about how pissed off we were."

Dave Gagner - "A lack of spirit and urgency seemed to run through the squad."

Chris Snear - "They got no quality service from either Convey, Lewis, or Beasley. The only chances they had were generated on the ground (and that includes that last nearpost ball from Convey) and they played too slow the entire match."

Brian Straus - "no service, no effective dribbling or combination play, no clue. Arena has become the opposite of what he was in 2002 - stubborn."

Kevin Kozal - "If they expect to advance from this group now, they will not only have to prove they are not only the best U.S. team ever, but that they truly are one of the best ten teams in the world."

Pat Walsh - "It seemed like a match that was dying for Clint Dempsey with his swagger/cockiness/determination to take players on (which after Landon's sole contribution led to a yellow seemed like would have resulted in a yellow card everytime) and create some offense."

Thanks to everyone for the quick turnaround on the replies.

Some really insightful stuff, and I completely agree w/ Straus on Arena. Just because certain players are available doesn't mean you HAVE to play them.

Anyway, here's my lineup for Saturday. Let's give some guys a chance, and maybe if we actually play a 4-4-2, we'll have one.

Keller
Cherundolo Pope Onyewu Bocanegra
Dempsey Reyna Convey
Donovan
McBride Johnson

No way Beas should play. We need strength, not speed, against Italy, which we get in Boca. Let Reyna play the holding, and let Landon try again. Johnson needs to play after today, as should McBride, who never really had a chance.

Feel free to critique and give me your thoughts.

This was a really bad day for soccer, but it ain't the end. Trust me, we'll look back on this day and laugh about it...although it might not be in my lifetime.