US Versus China, June 2nd 8PM ET

[Zeno]

The US should be able to more than handle China today. China just lost to stinking Thailand of all teams and the US is fielding their best Euro based players for this game and is only missing their MLS guys (those not on Chivas USA) and China is missing 3 or 4 starters. Too be honest, I'm not really sure what this type of match proves, its not quality enough to do anything to prepare them for the Gold Cup, I'd have thought they could have found something better.

Also some of the U23's were in camp and may make an appearance in this match--Lee Nguyen, Charlie Davies and Kamani Hill all took part in their first US camp.

 

[coyoteshockeyfan]

I'm excited to watch this one, anybody know if its in HD?

 

[CaptTurbo]

First time I will se Bradley and the middle midfielder. Looking forward to it. Defense should be solid. Good workout for our forwards.

 

[Zeno]

China never should have scored and the US again needs to work on their finishing in the run of play but other than that great game for the US. The US looked very good on set pieces, which is important because if Guatemala bunkers in this week the only chances the US has might be on set pieces.

I was glad to see all the U23's get some playing time. Those guys will be important come qualifying, especially if injuries hit.

 

[Zeno]

Not related to this game but National team Related nonetheless...Eddie Johnson just had his sccond hat trick in a row, he now has 9 MLS goals in 8 games. He's finally 100% again, that could be huge for us in the Gold Cup--BTW he WANTS to play in the Copa America too (probably because he wants to showcase himself and get to play overseas).

 

[Stout]

I came into this game skeptical as all hell. No big deal if I was disappointed, as we were playing a lot of kids and it was a friendly against China, but I was still skeptical. So, it would take a lot for me to be impressed in this game.

Well, I was highly impressed. Sure, we had inconsistency, and we were a bit loose at times, but WOW! The one big beef I had with Arena (and it was huge) was that his teams were always so passive. Once we lost possession, we lost it until the other team GAVE it back. Not this squad. We attacked on offense, we attacked on defense, attacked in the midfield. Sure, it backfired a few times, but like I said, we are young and playing together really for the first time with this particular group. They seemed VERY well coached, and I was highly impressed with a lot of the young 'uns.

Feilhaber was the guy that stood out, and not just because of the goal. Yes, the goal was impressive, and it's a hugely difficult shot to hit under pressure from the keeper, but what impressed me the most was the set piece. We have not had a good free-kick player in a looooong time. Our set pieces have sucked. If this kid can do it consistently, and also play with the intensity he showed, he should earn himself some significant playing time. I daresay, if he can keep it up with the set pieces, he should earn significant STARTING time.

Man, a fun game to watch. Slide tackles everywhere, aggressive play, heart and determination. Gotta love it!

 

[Zeno]

Well, I was highly impressed. Sure, we had inconsistency, and we were a bit loose at times, but WOW! The one big beef I had with Arena (and it was huge) was that his teams were always so passive. Once we lost possession, we lost it until the other team GAVE it back. Not this squad. We attacked on offense, we attacked on defense, attacked in the midfield. Sure, it backfired a few times, but like I said, we are young and playing together really for the first time with this particular group. They seemed VERY well coached, and I was highly impressed with a lot of the young 'uns.

I noticed that too, its been a staple of the team since Bradley took over--I have to give him credit for that. Most of my problems with him so far have been his starters, yesterdays line-up though was one of the better he has trotted out. I had issues with Albright and Rolfe starting for him(especially with better options). I still have issue with Bornstein starting, he is lucky he has speed because he gives the ball away entirely too often for my liking. I also don't understand the snub of Chris Cooper or Heath Pearce for his Gold Cup roster - unless he plans on "saving" them for Copa America. Naming Hejduk to the Gold Cup roster is another head scratcher especially with Spector and Simek as better options at right back (and Demerit being able to play there too).

Michael Bradley and Feilhaber in particular are showing that they are good 2 way players, both are confident enough to dribble through traffic and get back quickly to defend and win the ball back when possesion is lost. To think these 2 guys are 19 & 22 yrs old! I hope they continue developing as players, by 2010 they could be to our midfield what someone like John O'Brien was when he was healthy (that guy could have been awesome if he wasn't so fragile--I mean best US player ever awesome).

I didn't think Dempsey had a particularly strong game, he should have had 2 other goals in the run of play and he often tried to take on too many defenders at once rather than make the smarter pass, I was glad he got his goal though and hope that his confidence is fully back.

Bring on the Guatemalans.

 

[SouthEndZoner]

Michael Bradley and Feilhaber in particular are showing that they are good 2 way players, both are confident enough to dribble through traffic and get back quickly to defend and win the ball back when possesion is lost. To think these 2 guys are 19 & 22 yrs old! I hope they continue developing as players, by 2010 they could be to our midfield what someone like John O'Brien was when he was healthy (that guy could have been awesome if he wasn't so fragile--I mean best US player ever awesome).

Michael Bradley and Benny Feilhaber were very solid and continue to impress me. I hope Bob Bradley keeps playing them both together so that they can develop some good chemistry....if they do, I have no doubt that they will be amazing in 2010.
Oh and I also think that Eddie Johnson should be given more time with the MNT.....if he played alongside of Dempsey, I could see more scoring opportunites happening. IMO, they would complement each other very well.

 

[coyoteshockeyfan]

Bradley and Feilhaber were the men of the match for me yesterday. It is amazing how impressive they have been, essentially locking up the center area of the midfield for years to come. Bradley's aggressiveness is exciting to watch, but he's probably going to take a lot of cards as a result. Luckily, I don't think he'll ever have to play alongside Mastroeni or else we'd really be in trouble in that respect.

Dempsey had the nice goal off of a well taken corner (when was the last time the US scored two in a game off of set pieces?) and was a bit unlucky not to have another one. To the credit of the Chinese goaltender he made a couple of solid saves on Dempsey. Nevertheless, Dempsey absolutely cannot keep dancing around with the ball at midfield. He had a handful of bad giveaways from doing exactly that.

I thought DeMarcus Beasley had a good game. He was looking dangerous for most of the game which is a lot more than what he had been doing and was rewarded with a goal and an assist. How huge would it be for the US if he could get it going? Razov didn't impress me at all, especially with his constant offsides. It seems to me that he lacks the speed to make an impact for this squad.

All in all, a solid effort for the US. Next comes the Gold Cup on Thursday. Bring on Guatemala!

 

[Zeno]

Oh and I also think that Eddie Johnson should be given more time with the MNT.....if he played alongside of Dempsey, I could see more scoring opportunites happening. IMO, they would complement each other very well.

Dempsey is a MF and Johnson a Forward, i doubt you'll see them play alongside each other--more than likely Johnson ahead or pinched in from Dempsey from his RMF spot. Dempsey isn't particularly strong with his back to goal (a little like Donovan in that aspect). Dempsey, Donovan, Johnson and Beasley though form an exciting attack though--especially if we could finally see them all on top of their games at the same time(we haven't seen it yet).