Bradley Likes His US Side's "Good Position"

CelticKing · Sep 7, 2008

Bradley Likes His US Side's "Good Position"

US national team coach Bob Bradley praised Cuba's performance against the big boys from the north, but sees the American side on the verge of progressing to the next round of World Cup qualifying.

Once again, the United States men's national team got what it needed and nothing more. With a sloppy 1-0 victory on a bumpy, wet pitch in Havana, Cuba's Estadio Nacional de Futbol Pedro Marrero, the Americans solidified their place atop Group 1 in the semifinal round of CONCACAF qualification for the 2010 World Cup. The win puts the team two points ahead of the American's next opponent, second-place Trinidad and Tobago, which tied Guatemala 1-1 earlier in the day.

It was not a pretty victory, but at this stage, a win is a win. Cuba proved to be a much tougher opponent than it was in its first game, a 3-1 loss to T&T at home.

"Cuba did a good job of responding after their first game. It meant a lot to them and as a result it was a tight game,” said U.S. head coach Bob Bradley.

Landon Donovan agreed. "They did a pretty good job of making it hard on us," he said.

Make no mistake, this win was a team victory through and through. The United States did a good job of covering for each other in anticipation of erratic bounces caused by uneven playing surface. The defense, anchored by Carlos Bocanegra and Oguchi Onyewu -- who seems to be using his athleticism rather than his sheer size to defend -- was at times organized and at times a scramble, but it held the fort. When the Cubans did get behind the defense, Tim Howard was there to make the save, none bigger than his reaction save in the 88th minute after a Cuban header deflected off of Bocanegra's body and shot towards the left post.

Clint Dempsey, who's 40th minute strike provided the game’s only goal, credited Houston Dynamo striker Brian Ching with doing the work.

"Ching somehow ended up getting himself in front of the defender and doing a good job of shaking him and giving me a good pass that allowed me to score," the Fulham player said. "Without him being there, I don't think I would have gotten that opportunity."

After surviving two road wars, the US can look forward to returning home for its next game. "We’ve played in two tough games on the road now and have six points, putting ourselves in a very good position going into the match against Trinidad & Tobago on Wednesday,” Bradley said.

With less then four days until that game, the United States cannot afford to dwell on the historic win long. Not that Bradley ever does.
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Bradley Likes His US Side's "Good Position"

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