For those unaware, the US was invited to the Confederations Cup after winning the Gold Cup a few years back. This non-historic event now serves as the dress rehearsal for the World Cup, in that it's scheduled the year before the World Cup in the host country.
Eight teams made it to the Confedersations Cup: Reigning World Cup Champion (Italy), Host country (S. Africa), and the six regional champions from around the world (New Zealand, Iraq, Spain, Brazil, Egypt, and the USA). To tilt the tournament in the host country's favor, South Africa was grouped with New Zealand, Iraq, and Spain, leaving the USA as minnow in Group B, with Italy, Brazil, and Egypt.
The tournament opened yesterday, with the US taking on Italy. It was not the typical US showing versus a European opponent. The US actually played farely well in the first half. Bob Bradley opted for most of the starters from the Honduras match, with the exception of Benny Fielhaber and Michael Bradley as the center mids. Altidore was the lone striker up top. Italy controlled most of the possession, but the US had some effective counters. After a turnover, Donovan raced right through the center of the field and fed an onrushing Bradley in the box. Bradley muffed his shot from short range, and dribbled harmlessly to (Italian keeper) Gigi Buffon. A few minutes later, Donovan again set up Altidore beautifully in roughly the same spot as Bradley. Altidore neglected to shoot and tried to cross back to Landon to no avail. Two great chances, zero goals. Meanwhile, the US defense effectively shut down the Italian attack for the majority of the half. In the 37th minute, American central defender Ricardo Clark was late in tackling Gattuso and clipped him on the knee. It was a reckless tackle, and the ref showed Clark the straight red. The US team was pretty shocked. While it was a hard, stupid foul, Clark normally would receive a yellow. Needless to say, the red card completely changed the game.
The Italians had more room to possess the ball, but the US still countered somewhat effectively. Late in the half, Feilhaber sent a nice lob to Altidore in the box. Jozy deftly trapped the ball and cut inside. His defender blocked his path, and Jozy fell head-over-heels to emphasize the obstruction. The ref awarded the US a penalty kick, which Landon calmly converted. 1-0 USA at the half.
The second half, unfortunately, was a mess. Italy had all the possession, and the US had a tough time crossing midfield. Around the 55th minute, Italy subbed in Guiseppe Rossi. For those unaware, Rossi is actually an American. He was born in New Jersey and trained with the New York Red Bulls youth academy. In his early teens, he signed with Man U and made the move to Europe. Despite courtship by the US team, Rossi always said his dream was to play for his father's country, Italy. To further the snub, the bastard scored two goals against the US yesterday. The first was a bomb from about 25 yards out after he stripped Feilhaber near midfield. The second goal was in injury time, after Italy was in full control of the match. Final score 3-1 Italy.
The loss was expected, but it was a heartbreaker the way it transpired. The shameful red card (shameful for both Clark and the ref) ruined what could've been a competitive match. As it turned out, the US was lucky to hang on for as long as the did. Ultimately, Italy grew tired of trying to work the ball into the US's box and instead opted for long-range bombs which worked beautifully.
Next up for the US: Brazil. Sweet.
Notable grades:
Dempsey - D. Is it burn out? Why can't he replicate his Fulham form for the US team? Hardly made an impact.
Donovan - B+. Strong game by the 27 year old. Attacked relentlessly in the first half and tracked back well on defense throughout. Almost had 2 assists against one of the best defenses in the world.
Spector - B+. Another solid performance by the youngster. He's getting better and better.
I watched the game and couldn't believe how good we looked developing a threat. Of course, we couldn't convert for squat, Josy is our biggest guy, but a flopper, and no one can finish, but Spector, the kid with the funny name in the midfield, and Landon are class. Too bad they're all 5'6".
ReplyDeleteTerrible call on the red, but, in reality, did it make that much of a difference? We were ahead, but you knew all along that a barrage of Italian goals were coming -- esp. when they flashed the stat about the US being unbeaten since 1993 when leading at halftime. dumb jinxes.
And how fitting that the kid that snubs the US dominates the game. That, more than anything else, speaks to the state of the USMNT.
Yeah, the US did look pretty good in the 1st half. I was unimpressed by Dempsey, but he was actually rated pretty highly by the international press. I guess we just expect him to dominate, considering he's the US's most accomplished field player. According to one Italian press report, Donovan was the true star of the US team (agreed), but the team in general looks worse than 3 years ago (also agreed).
ReplyDeleteI know you were being facetious, but Spector's size is actually one of the reasons he gets looks in the EPL. I believe he's like 6'0, and Onyewu's 6'3. The US's lack of size is a long pet-peeve of ours, but at least they have decent size on defense. Then again, Cherundolo and Heydude are 5'6 and 5'8.
The dude with the funny name must be Feilhaber. He's had the most bizarre career. Born in Brazil, Feilhaber played at UCLA and then with the US U-20 team. Signed with Hamburger SV of the Bundesliga and didn't sniff the field.
That summer he burst on the US national team with a stellar Gold Cup, culminated by a highlight reel goal against Mexico. He parlayed this success into a contract with Derby in the EPL where had difficulty making the gameday man roster, let alone actual playing time. Last summer, he was with the US Olympic team but had a bizarre confrontation with captain Freddy Adu. Feilhaber was kicked off the team, and rumors began to swirl that his attitude was killing his career.
He floundered for a few months before signing with a Danish team, Aarhus. He finally found himself on the field again and did fairly well as a sub.
Speaking of A-Dude, what's up with Freddy phenom?
ReplyDeleteFreddy can't get minutes in any league other than MLS. First, he rode the pine at Benfica. Then he rode the pine in France. Evidently, he did very well in his few brief appearances, earning raves when Monaco played a match in Italy (UEFA cup?). In his defense, he's seen massive coaching and management overhauls during his time at both Benfica and Monaco, which never helps. The knock on Freddy is that he doesn't play defense. He seems to do just fine in U-23 tournaments, so that should translate somewhat to the national team, right?
ReplyDeleteWe shall see. At least he's in camp.