August 10 - USA v. Mexico - The first match of the second coming of Christ

USA v. Mexico is starting in moments, but don't look for it on ESPN2, they'd rather show the end of the Southeast Semifinal of the Little League World Series. I hope the person responsible for this decision gets canned.

USA is coming out, Bocanegra as captain and no names on the back of their shirts. First time I can remember seeing that happen.

US is starting in a 4-2-3-1 with Cherundolo and Castillo wide, Bocanegra and Michael Orozco Fiscal (yes, that one) in the middle. Jones and Beckerman are the defensive mids with Donovan, Bradley, and Torres in the attacking roles. Edson Buddle is the center forward.

Mexico are going with Ochoa; Juárez, Márquez, Moreno, Salcido; Barrera, Torrado, Castro, Guardado; Naelson, Peralta. Ives has pointed out that the US have as many starters from the Mexican league as Mexico does (three each).

US are in the red shirts, Mexico are going green, thankfully as the black shirt makes zero sense for them. White socks for Mexico, so lets call them Los Dos tonight.

Star Spangled Banner is being sung with some considerable vigor. ESPN3's feed has a pretty vigorous backup track from the US supporters, which is noticeably muted on the Univision feed.

Klinsmann is smiling on the sidelines as the anthem ends. Looks like a disappoint crowd, but I'm not surprised. The cheap seats were $38 for a match starting at 9 pm on a Wednesday, which probably pushed many people (like me) out of going.

 

1 - Both Castillo and Torres have early touches as the US starts the match. Neither does much with them though.

2 - Castillo runs into four defenders while trying to get an attack going. Bradley is pushing way up. I'll be interested to see if he keeps applying the pressure to the Mexican defense.

3 - Donovan tries to get a give and go going with Buddle, but Buddle wasn't in the right spot.

3 - Orozco Fiscal with a foul, giving Mexico a free kick about 30 yards from goal. Free kick goes to Salcido, who dribbles to the end line and attempts something that goes poorly.

 

5 - USSoccer's twitter reports that Klismann made the decision to go with no names on the back of the shirts. This is the first time in 20 years that the US has played without their names on their backs. Mexico has names on the back of their shirts. And yes, I know its typical for soccer friendlies to be played with nameless shirts.

6 - Bradley springs Donovan wide right for a counter. Donovan's cross goes over Buddle and just inches beyond Jones. Great run by Jones. I didn't realize how athletic the guy was. Torres gets the ball wide left, but his cross goes nowhere.

8 - Orozco wins the ball, but sends a cross field pass to Castillo into the front row. ESPN commentators were talking about how nervous he gets when representing the US and how Klinsmann had to calm his nerves when he showed up for camp. This could be a long night for Orozco.

 

10 - Orozco does something that doesn't suck! Ball goes down the left flank and Orozco sends it out in a one on one situation with the Mexican winger.

11 - Donovan megs a guy just the hell of it in midfield. I'd rather not see him do that when Mexico can quickly counter, but it was a pretty ballsy move and a successful fake. Attack fizzles after two fouls are not called (ref played the advantage) and Bradley was forced back and the ball went all the way to Howard.

12 - Mexico with the first shot of the night. Shot goes harmlessly wide to Howard's right.

 

13 - Mexico looks to be going at Castillo. Can't blame them as he's not known for his defending and doesn't play in the back for Club America. Cherundolo being the alternative option to attack also really slants the pitch towards Castillo. Here's hoping he's better than Bornstein.

15 - Barerra goes through, but Castillo is able to get a touch on the ball back to Howard. Good pass to set up Barerra's run, but good defending there as well.

16 - Castillo is getting out of position frequently. I'd like to see attacking coming from the fullbacks, but Castillo is a defender first. Beckerman and Jones are getting forced back a lot to make up for Castillo's poor positioning.

17 - GOAL MEXICO Guardado takes a corner short and the following cross goes to Peralta who manages to get a foot up and around Bradley to side volley the ball into goal. Bradley couldn't have marked him more, but there was way too much space given to Guardado and company on the right. US didn't break out of the corner defense set-up after it went short.

 

22 - The match has finally switched to ESPN2. Still terrible.

23 - Donovan draws a foul in a dangerous spot here. Probably 25 yards out from goal. Very few US targets in the box though with Goodson, Gooch, Altidore, and Dempsey out. Looks like Torres will take it and try to find Bradley, Buddle, or Bocanegra. The two man Mexico wall blocks it though.

24 - Donovan hacked down again, further out tough. Donovan will take the kick with targets lining up at the top of the 18. Bocanegra goes down in the box, but no call, nor should there have been. Kick cleared easily.

25 - Buddle called for a foul as Moreno claims to have gone down from an elbow.

26 - ESPN's "coverage" of this match is brought to you by Taco Bell and Continental Tire. Interesting if you're a huge loser like myself.

27 - Lots of Stuart Holden chat on the ESPN coverage. It should be noted that a full-strength US lineup would include Lichaj, Goodson, Holden, Altidore, and Dempsey, all of whom were not called in for various reasons.

29 - Cherundolo fouls Guardado on the edge of the 18. They have words after the foul starting from Guardado looking for a card, and Cherundolo shoving his hand down. Guardado took a bit of a swinging shove at Cherundolo. Peralta comes in from nowhere and shoves Cherundolo out of the way and everyone gathers to stand around and chat.

31 - John Harkes with a little joke about the situation in London. Ian Darke laughs nervously about it. Harkes is a douche.

32 - Mexico corner cleared by the US easily after Guardado takes it long.

33 - Orozco and Castillo with consecutive blunders. Jorge Ramos is the third man in the box and chimes in to ask "Can we agree that Mexico is the better team here?" Obviously, yes. Thanks for asking Jorge, go back to five minutes of silence now.

 

38 - Buddle is stuck up top by himself. He needs a friend up there and the US needs some possession.

39 - Cherundolo with two crosses into the box. First goes just over Buddle. Second gets cut out by Ochoa before Donovan can get to it. I'm starting to wonder if Cherundolo will ever age. The guy hasn't played a match since the five minutes of the Gold Cup Final and he's been the best player in the attack and solid in defense.

 

41 - Sinha with a shot from outside the 18. It goes over goal. Defense had closed him down though, so Howard surprisingly did not come charging out of the box yelling at the defenders. Good to see.

42 - Beckerman is down and staying down. Juarez fouled him. Beckerman is up now and walking it off. Juarez gets the yellow. Not too sure why as Juarez got the ball first. There was a strong collision, but Beckerman was the one who was late.

43 - US free kick is cleared and Barrera goes off for a counter. Jones was thrown off a bit on defense. He hasn't done much since popping up in the box in the early going.

45 - I've read a critique of Jose Torres that he's not comfortable with the ball at his feet as much as he is just slow as all hell with it. Its looking that way to me thus far. He'll get the ball with some space and just slowly move in a circle with it before passing it backwards after a few Mexican defenders get on the scene. He needs to do more.

45+ - Guardado goes down and stays down for a while. Physios come out after Donovan plays the ball out. Half should end momentarily as the US is just playing it back and forth along the back.

And that's the half. No shots on goal for the US, one for Mexico and that one gave them the lead, 1-0 at the half.

 

At the half, Lalas apparently isn't paying attention as he suggests building the US around Torres. What the hell has that guy been watching? Twellman meanwhile is looking for someone to hack the shit out of Peralta, Guardado or Barrera. The defender is discussing attacking and the forward is discussing the defense, go figure. Atl least Twellman was accurate in his assessment.

In the second half, I'd like to see a return to a 4-4-2. Let Agudelo and Shea replace Torres and Jones. Put Agudelo up front next to Buddle and Shea wide left. Also, Castillo needs to get out of this game ASAP. Heath Pearce or Zach Loyd should get a shot at left back, though I don't see anyone moving ahead of Lichaj on the depth chart when the full squad is available.

 

Its worth noting that as bad as the US has looked, the score is only 1-0. Cherundolo, Donovan, and Bocanegra have looked good, but that's about it.

 

Coming out of the half, Torres is still out there. Interview with Rob Stone and Klismann says that he's happy with the effort, but the US needs possession. Klinsmann like what he's seen from Castillo and Torres and he named them individually. What the fuck was he watching? No subs for either side at the half.

 

47 - Buddle seems to have some of the issues that Altidore has at times where he just drifts out wide for no apparent reason. When you're the lone forward and you're a target like Buddle, you need to stay in the middle.

48 - Buddle plays the ball into Bradley's run, but then he ends up going at four defenders by himself. Where was...anyone in a red shirt to join him?

 

51 - Ives is saying that Shea, Agudelo, and Clark are warming up. I could do without Clark, but I'd like to see the other two.

52 - Mexico gets a corner and it goes to Marquez. Not sure who was supposed to be marking him, but Bocanegra had to get a cross to contest with him. Jones was chillin'. Marquez's header goes just outside of the post.

54 - Torres gets the ball and goes on a 20 yard run toward's Tim Howard before giving up possession. This guy has been fucking terrible tonight. Get him out Klinsmann!

55 - Giovanni Dos Santos enters the match for Sinha. Gio was on the bench to start because de la Torre wanted to see what Peralta could do according ESPN.

56 - Brek Shea, who needs to be groomed, and Juan Agudelo are up and look to be entering

56 - US corner, Donovan sends it right into Bocanegra who was wide open at the top of the six. Ochoa gets the save by just standing and getting hit, but has no clue about the rebound. Ball gets cleared for another US corner.

57 - Donovan sends it inside the 6, but its cleared out.

59 - Castillo with another give away. Mexico gets called off-side though. ESPN continues sucking on Torres. I'm not sure if they're watching what they're broadcasting.

60 - Agudelo and Shea on for Buddle and Jones. I think we'll see Agudelo go up top, Bradley slide back and Torres get the keys in the middle. Perhaps he'll complete a pass that goes forward there.

 

61 - Agudelo springs a counter. Could have hit Shea making a great run if only he had his head up. His shot ends up going pretty much straight up in the air.

62 - Jorge with the observation that Bradley is playing as a forward now. He's right and I'm confused.

62 - Arellano enters for Peralta.

63 - Torres with a blind pass about 30 yards from goal that goes right to a Mexican attacker. He just kicked the ball behind his back. Clearly, he's great on the ball.

64 - Castillo with a surprising adequate defensive play.

65 - Orozco picked up a limp somewhere. Also, it seems that Agudelo has had more possession in about 5 minutes than Buddle had in his 60. Good movement up front from him.

66 - Arellano with a shot that goes wide to the near side and well over.

 

67 - Shea earns a corner that is not given for some reason. Mexico takes possession from a goal kick and Guardado has dos Santos going in on goal open. Howard gets to the ball as it goes just wide of Gio.

68 - Torres plays to Augdelo over the top, but Agudelo ends up dribbling around with three defenders and Juan just dribbles it straight out. I'd be curious to see Shea go up top with Agudelo and Donovan playing the wide positions.

69 - Rafa Marquez exits with Javier Rodriguez entering. Not sure who picked-up the armband for Mexico.

69 - Mexico gets the ball forward with dos Santos. Salcido takes a shot that isn't particularly close.

70 - Gio kicks out at Shea trying to trip him. Meanwhile, as Ian Darke put it, "We have an intellectual who thinks its a good idea for him to be on the pitch."

71 - Hobbit Bermudez replaces Barrera. Robbie Rogers enters for Bradley. I now have no clue what the US shape will be here. Beckerman and Torres are going to get torn up in midfield. Maybe Castillo will get a break.

72 - Donovan plays Agudelo into the box. Agudelo takes a couple of touches trying to get a shot off with a couple of defenders around him. Agudelo is taken down, but no call. US are pushing up the pressure and taking the game to the defense and midfield.

73 - USA GOAL - Robbie Fucking Rogers of all people is sitting there after Shea fends off Moreno and sends a cross through two defenders and Ochoa. Rogers first touch is his second US goal. 1-1 and there is much rejoicing. Agudelo took the ball to the corner off a throw and hit Shea making a run into the box. Shea does all the work in his second cap, Rogers gets the goal for walking into the right spot.

74 - Donovan with a take away in midfield and he launches a counter himself. Plays across to Torres who takes one touch to get it on his left foot and then sends a shot over the goal. The US is waking up now.

75 - Juarez exits, Aguilla enters.

 

77 - Mexico hasn't done much in possession in the last 10 minutes. Everyone is defending, everyone is attacking since there's really no defensive presence in midfield. Tons of movement going on now.

77 - Donovan with a long run to the penalty spot and gets clipped and goes down. Terrible non-call, even Jorge Ramos agrees that it was a penalty.

79 - Another Castillo give away send Mexico into the attack, but there isn't much opening up for them. Salcido earns the corner off Robbie Rogers.

80 - Guardado's corner into the six is cleared. A follow-up cross by Bermudez is cleared by Beckerman. Solid few minutes of possession for Mexico.

80 - Castillo completed a four yard pass to Shea. Its noteworthy given his performance tonight.

81 - I'm surprised to see Castillo still going, even though he's the only right back.

81 - Rogers wins a turnover and runs to the middle. Shea and Donovan are coming in to his left and his right. Shea gets it and goes one touch back to Rogers who sends a shot over the goal.

82 - Donovan wins another turnover and sends the ball just behind Shea. If he hits Shea, he's in on Ochoa. The pass was a bit behind Shea and he takes a couple of touches before taking his shot and forcing an Ochoa save.

84 - Torres exits for Clark. Torres has been pretty solid over the last 15-20 minutes, but was non-existent to terrible prior to that.

 

85 - Castillo picks up a foul. Might have been a bit of a dive by Bermudez to earn the free kick.

86 - Free kick goes in for Rodriguez. Clearance goes to Agudelo who plays it over the top looking for Rogers who runs past Torrado.. Torrado takes down Rogers by his shirt. Blatant goal scoring opportunity and Torrado is lucky to only get a yellow. Terrible call really.

88 - Rogers limps off and Donovan lines up a free kick about 25 yards out. Shea is setting up in the wall, rather than providing a target as one would expect from a guy who is 6'3". And the Mexico wall clears it out.

89 - Ball bounces around a bit with US in possession. Not sure who took the "shot," but it went well wide.

90 - Fourth official puts up three minutes of extra time.

 

91 - Donovan with some fancy moves and he finds Clark at the top of the 18. Clark does something and it goes out wide right. Horrible shot, equally bad pass. Not sure which it really was.

92 - Klinsmann has quite the smile going on the sideline. Its a better dressed sideline with Klinsmann, but I'd like to see him with a US shirt on, rather than a generic Nike.

92 - Clark takes the ball moving forward after a turnover in the final third. Lays it back for Agudelo, but it was behind him. He plays it to Donovan who sends a shot over the goal. Good stuff for the US still.

93 - Match ends. Would be interested to see what would have happened with a suitable ref calling the match. Donovan makes some inquiries with the ref post match.

 

Overall, its a good result for the US with a 1-1 final. The match started with a lot of confusion for the US and it wasn't until Agudelo and Shea entered for the US that they got it together. With Buddle exiting, Donovan, Shea, and Agudelo started floating around as three forwards. Torres was in a better spot as he moved into the middle ahead of Bradley and Beckerman.

Top performers for me were Bocanegra, Donovan, and Cherundolo for their 90 minute efforts. Shea and Agudelo were definite game changers for their 30 minute stints. Robbie Rogers played surprisingly well. Perhaps he'll become our Lukas Podolski since he kinda blows for his club but was very dangerous today. I'm looking forward to seeing more of Shea since it seems to have clicked for him since he's found a stable position with FC Dallas and now knows that he's a left wing. Shea joined Dallas as a 17 year-old and has played on the left and centrally upfront, in midfield, and in defense.

I think some questionably officiating kept this match at 1-1, which is a fair result. Donovan was brought down in the box, but no call was given. Rogers was also brought down on a clear break away with no red given. If either of those calls go the right way, the US could be taking a victory.

Going forward, I think we could see a real 4-3-3 when the US is at full strength. Shea, Donovan, and Altidore go across the top. Shea and Donovan start wide left and right respectively, but Donovan will end up behind the two in the middle often. Altidore's tendency to drift out wide is less of an issue when you have a big target like Shea to slot in for him. Holden is the key playmaker in the middle with Bradley and Jones in defensive positions. Klinsmann needs to make it clear to Jones that he is a destroyer and needs to spend his time in the middle. Bocanegra is paired with Goodson in central defense as the Start captain is the second best we have there. Cherundolo and Lichaj are the fullbacks as both can get forward and defend in the back. Chandler starts phasing in some on both sides since he deserves the time and Cherundolo isn't going anywhere anytime soon.