What Was That?

"Change has come to America, but obviously not to the U.S. National Team"

Seriously, WTF was that on Saturday night? And no, I DON'T take much solace in the fact that the U.S. came back to tie it up and get the point on the road. That was the OLD U.S. team (or so I thought). The U.S. now beats the weak sisters on the road, wins the games at home, and qualifies by game 8, right? Maybe we all got a little overconfident.

That fact is, the U.S. was outplayed in large portions of that match, and several players sure as hell should have played themselves out of the starting lineup against T&T Wednesday night. Or have they?

"I wish our coach would start letting these guys know that their spots aren't sealed and delivered yet," in an email I received from a former U.S. and MLS player yesterday. "Bob has the tendency to get guys in the mode where they think the game is theirs to dictate...but every game, especially in CONCACAF, is different."

I totally agree. Here's some obervations from Saturday's games. The first several from the U.S. and then comments about the other games.

1. DaMarcus Beasley hasn't been in form in months, and was directly responsible for El Salvador's 2nd goal when he lost the ball deep in his own 3rd of the field. Loses the ball way too often. Speed does nothing when you can't make plays on either end of the field.

2. Brian Ching - You can talk about "workrate" all you want, John Harkes, but the fact is the guy didn't have a meaningful touch or even a positive ball on Saturday. Every ball was square or a back pass. There were 1 or 2 instances where he could have turned and run at somebody but didn't (couldn't?).

3. Clint Dempsey - One of my colleagues asked me during the game "When was the last time Dempsey had a dominant, or even a decent game for the U.S.? If you can think of one, let me know.

4. Danny Califf - Not good enough for the International game. Clumsy fouls, giveaways, and poor communication in the back lead me to believe he is not long for this squad. Speaking of squad members, can you seriously tell me Jimmy Conrad can't play at the CONCACAF level? How about Chad Marshall? What about Jay DeMerit?

5. Heath Pearce - He and Beasley were just abysmal. If Jonathan Spector can get healthy, I'd like to see him get a shot one of these days. And I might be out of the loop on this, but what happened to Jon Bornstein? Injuries, I know, but isn't he fit now? I thought he was our future left back less than a year ago?

6. Brad Guzan - Should have done something on that 2nd goal, son. Was shaky on crosses and directions all night, which is why the backline seemed confused at times, particularly on the 1st goal. Thank God Howard is back Wednesday!

7. What I'd like to see on Wednesday - Howard will obviously start, as well as Gooch in for Califf, so defensively, we'll be tight in the middle. I'd like Spector to get a shot on the left, and Hejduk was THE MAN Saturday night, so he stays on the right. I guess we have to go w/ Donovan, Dempsey, and Bradley (even though I saw little from them), but what about giving Torres a shot? He can play in the 1st division in Mexico but can't start for a U.S. team that has trouble holding the ball? Maybe Maurice Edu? Let Bob figure out the formation. One of the things Bruce Arena could do was get his BEST 11 players on the field and build the team's shape around that. And let's try Altidore up front. He wasn't great Saturday night, but his mere presence for El Salvador to stay on him, whch opened the game up for other players.

Will Bradley do this? Doubtful. It's not that I don't believe in him as a coach, but the guy is so stubborn when it comes to changes that he thinks maybe a lineup too young and inexperienced can't handle the pressure... H'mm, did the "veterans" look like they handled things Saturday night? You be the judge. You already know my verdict...

Other results...

Mexico looked REAL good Saturday night against Costa Rica, winning 2-0. For all the talk about how the Ticos weren't intimidated and were going to bring the game to El Tri, that came to a crashing thud when Mexico almost scored just 10 seconds into the match, and Costa Rica actually kicked off!!! Nice job without the play of Marquez, Dos Santos, or Castillo. They showed they have plenty of guns in the arsenal when they get focused. Sven's job is safe for now, but let's check back Thursday morning after the trip to Honduras.

Speaking of Honduras, they have to have mixed emotions after Saturday's game against T&T. They held a 1-0 lead going into the 88th minute, but gave up the equalizer to get 1 point instead of 3. Not a bad result on the road, though, although their backs are against the wall Wednesday as they host Mexico. A loss, and they're looking up at the rest of CONCACAF with a real tough road to get back in it. Yes, I know I said the U.S drawing Saturday on the road was bad, but in T&T, Honduras got a point they couldn't count on beforehand.

Let's look ahead to Wednesday...

Mexico at Honduras - Must win game for Honduras, whereas Mexico will be satisfied with a point. If they get it, they have the next 2 games against El Salvador and T&T, which they should win. That puts them in a great position for the 2nd half of the Hex.

Prediction - 1-1

El Salvador at Costa Rica - El Salvador has to be in limbo after Saturday. Sure, they got a point against arguably the best team in the region Saturday night, but had they shown a little composure, it would have been 3. The Ticos are looking to come back after a poor showing Saturday at Azteca. Playing at home, the better team wins, and I don't think it'll be that close.

Prediction 3-0 Costa Rica

T&T at U.S. - Lineup I'd LIKE to see: howard, Spector, Hejduk, Gooch, Boca, Donovan, Bradley, Dempsey, Edy, Torres, Altidore. We won't get anything like it, though, I'm sure. Still, the U.S. will win it at home, but it'll be close.

Prediction 2-1 U.S. - Dempsey gets a goal as does Gooch. T&T makes it interesting w/ a late goal.

Sorry, I had planned to do something on the Freedom, but too much going on w/ WCQ. I'll get something up later in the week about them. I thought yesterday's game between the Sol and the Freedom was well played, with several chances by both teams. Bottom line is that L.A. made their chances while Washington did not. That's just soccer, though...

See you Thursday with a review of the mid-week games.