2011 CONCACAF Copa de Oro [R]

USA vs. Jamaica: Roster musings

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Should Dempsey stay on the wing or play up top?

Should Maurice Edu start instead of Jermaine Jones?

Which young player should start in defense — Tim Ream or Eric Lichaj?

Are there any benchwarmers who deserve a start?

Go USA!

What Balonpie said....

USA

Talk about shock, when the sub was Freddie Adu!?!?!?! I nearly choked on my beer! Great pass he made to Donovan to set up Dempsey's goal though... welcome back Freddie!

Freddie had some great touches, dribbled into bad situations a few times, made a couple of good decisions. More dribbling into trouble than good decisions. I would imagine that is what Bob told him to do, try and break the game open by dribbling at defenders.

Donovan and Adu reflect on the 1-0 win over Panama:

Who should the USA start against Mexico?

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Landon Donovan will NOT be coming off the bench against Mexico.

Alejandro Bedoya has shown far too much energy and attacking quality to not start against Mexico.

Juan Agudelo did more than enough to remain the starting striker in the preferred 4-2-3-1 formation.

Freddy Adu was outstanding as a substitute against Panama, but nobody should be expecting him to start.

U.S. gathers momentum for Mexico showdown

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This shapes up as an epic final and a critical point in the intriguing
and ever-evolving rivalry between the two soccer nations. It is the game
the tournament needed, and a victory the USA desperately requires if it
is to build in the right direction heading toward the next World Cup.

Rep for gwar for having so many posts. Thanks for keeping us up to date.

My take on this game is US goes down due to Mexican forward class.

PhilaDallas wrote:

Rep for gwar for having so many posts. Thanks for keeping us up to date.

No prob. I won't always have time to post news stuff on TIDN, but I've had more down time than usual lately.

--Warren

Sad day for the USMNT

Does anyone else feel like Bob Bradley should fall on his sword for this one?

u mad, cause we stylin' on you...



Rivalries aside... I think the golden age of the USMNT has come to an end... yes they will qualify to the WC, but that would be because of the weak CONCACAF competition... (Dont feel bad about it, a bad Mexico team has qualified once or twice because of that) Donovan's replacement needs to be found in order to the US to move forward.

Brace yourselves for a couple of long years USMNT related.

I don't think it is really all that bad. The US has plenty of talent available to them, but they are severely lacking in a coach with enough natural game knowledge to bring it together. I already follow one losing National team and know that the USMNT can be a ferocious beast with the right leader.

U.S., Bradley exposed by Mexico in loss

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U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati declined to show support for under-fire head coach Bob Bradley after the national team lost the CONCACAF Gold Cup final to Mexico 4-2.

Gulati, who doesn’t normally shun opportunities to address the media, refused to comment on the matter of Bradley’s future, claiming he needed to leave the Rose Bowl immediately in order to catch a red-eye flight back to New York.

Bradley certainly could have used support at the end of a night which began with great promise when his
team burst into a two-goal lead, only to see its hopes of lifting the trophy fritter away in the face of an outstanding Mexican performance.

Player Ratings: U.S. vs. Mexico

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Jonathan Bornstein: The dropoff in talent from Cherundolo to Bornstein is precipitous, and when Cherundolo left the game in the 12th minute with an ankle injury, the American squad’s lack of depth proved to be its undoing. Bornstein had a disastrous performance. His poor positioning was directly responsible for two Mexican goals and contributed to a third. He never seemed to be in the right position and offered the Mexican resistant little resistance.
Rating: 1

Looks like the only real positive to take away from this tournament is "Freddy is back!"

Hammer wrote:

Looks like the only real positive to take away from this tournament is "Freddy is back!"

Bittersweet moment for Adu in return to the national team

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On a night when there were few bright spots for the U.S. men's national team in its Gold Cup Final loss to Mexico, perhaps the only true positive was the performance of Freddy Adu.

A surprising selection to the U.S. starting lineup, Adu didn't disappoint, helping set up both of the United States' goals in his first national team start in more than two years.

This should endear him to the Mexico fans...

USA’s Howard livid after Spanish-language Gold Cup ceremony

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Goalkeeper Tim Howard felt he and his teammates were disrespected by
the way the post-game formalities were conducted by regional federation
CONCACAF – one of soccer’s most controversial governing bodies – and
vented his ire as he prepared to step on to the team bus.


“CONCACAF should be ashamed of itself,” Howard told Yahoo! Sports. “I
think it was an [expletive] disgrace that the entire post-match
ceremony was held in Spanish. You can bet your [expletive] if we were in
Mexico City it wouldn’t all be in English.”


Howard was seen gesturing angrily as the U.S. team left the field
after receiving its runner-up medals, while team officials attempted to
calm him down.