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Recap [USA vs. Denmark, 11.18.09]

The less said about this match, the better. It was painful to watch at moments. I think that this is one of those matches that we’re supposed to learn from. So, what did we learn?

-Landon Donovan is even more integral to this team than we could have imagined. We knew he was the driving force, but the team looks completely lost without him. Let’s just hope that he stays healthy.
-Can we stop seeing Frankie Hejduk on the field for the US? Please? I’ve never really been a fan, but I can’t see what he’s adding to the team at this point…other than a shocking number of slide tackles.
-Jozy Altidore is off his game. I love the guy, but he really hasn’t been playing well lately. Unfortunately, there’s no one behind him in the pecking order to replace him. Hopefully, he’ll see more playing time at Hull in the near future.
-What is Bob Bradley telling these guys in the locker room at half time? Seriously. How many times this year have we seen the boys come out of the locker room and allow a goal (or three) in the first 10 minutes of the second half? I don’t have any stats on this (yet), but it’s a lot. And it just keeps happening.

Man of the Match: Hmmm…this is a tough one. No one really impressed here. I’ll give it to Jeff Cunningham and Benny Feilhaber.
Goat of the Game: So many to choose from…Spector seemed lost on the goals, and Hejduk and Bornstein were less than impressive, but I feel like a lack of effort by the midfield made the back line look even worse than they were. Verdict: too close to call.

US Soccer Studio 90 from Denmark

The new U.S. 2010 Nike jerseys? [UPDATED]

I’ll start this off by saying that I’m not usually one to perpetuate rumors (and this could easily be a hoax), but we love discussing the USA’s jerseys here at Project 2010, so this seemed relevant. Over at Big Soccer, we saw some mock ups of what might possibly be the jersey the USA will wear in South Africa, so we thought we’d pass it along. The story is that someone who has seen the home jerseys with his own eyes (in a catalog or promotional video or something of that nature) has created a rendering of the shirt. Here’s what he posted:

UPDATE 1: The creator of the mock ups posted what looks like a screen capture from a video:

UPDATE 2: He has now posted screen captures with Clint Dempsey in the jersey:

Recap [USA vs. Slovakia, 11.14.09]

The USA played the first of its pre-World Cup friendlies against Slovakia on Saturday.  With nothing to play for, Bob Bradley utilized the opportunity to test his team’s depth.  The results?  Despite the 0-1 defeat, there were more positives than negatives.

Most promising of the group were the performances of our center backs and central midfield.  Although I would have liked to see Spector at left back, I was glad to see Bradley test his versatility by pairing him with Bocanegra in the middle.  He showed very well–well enough that I’d be comfortable putting him anywhere on the back line.  Michael Bradley and Benny Feilhaber also worked well together, showing some promise as a midfield tandem.  Although I do like Ricardo Clark, his skill set seems slightly redundant with Bradley on the field.  Benny can hold the ball and is more precise and creative in his passing.  While the US’ 2-to-1 advantage in ball possession should mostly be attributed to Slovakia’s insistence on keeping 10 men behind the ball at all times, our central midfielders should be given some credit for the success.

Updated U.S. roster for Denmark friendly

Edgar Castillo, Stuart Holden, Jose Francisco Torres, and Ricardo Clark were called in. Clint Dempsey, Steve Cherundolo and Chad Marshall have been sent home.

The full squad:

GOALKEEPERS: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Marcus Hahnemann (Wolverhampton), Troy Perkins (Valerenga)

DEFENDERS: Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Edgar Castillo (Tigres), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards), Clarence Goodson (IK Start), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew), Heath Pearce (FC Dallas), Jonathan Spector (West Ham)

MIDFIELDERS: Michael Bradley (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), Benny Feilhaber (AGF Aarhus), Stuart Holden (Houston Dynamo), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Dax McCarty (FC Dallas), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew), José Francisco Torres (Pachuca)

FORWARDS: Jozy Altidore (Hull City), Conor Casey (Colorado Rapids), Jeff Cunningham (FC Dallas), Eddie Johnson (Fulham)

U.S. announce roster for Denmark, Slovakia friendlies

US Soccer has announced the roster for the upcoming friendlies vs. Slovakia (11/14) and Denmark (11/18).

GK: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Marcus Hahnemann (Wolverhampton), Troy Perkins (Valerenga).
DEF: Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards), Clarence Goodson (Start), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew), Heath Pearce (FC Dallas), Jonathan Spector (West Ham).
MID: Michael Bradley (Monchengladbach), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Benny Feilhaber (AGF Aarhus), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Dax McCarty (FC Dallas), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew).
FWD: Jozy Altidore (Hull City), Conor Casey (Colorado Rapids), Jeff Cunningham (FC Dallas), Eddie Johnson (Fulham).

Dilly Duka signs with MLS

Soccer Insider reports that US U-20 starlet Dilly Duka has signed with MLS. Duka was exploring options in Europe, but has opted to enter the MLS draft this winter. A product of the Red Bulls academy, he has made it known that he hopes to end up in New Jersey. Seems likely, as Red Bull New York Red Bulls have the second overall pick.

As much as I like to see our top youngsters head over to Europe at an early age, I think it’s great that MLS is able to land some promising young Americans. It’s an option that seems to really work for a lot of players.

Gale Agbossoumonde in discussions with Sporting Braga

Soccer by Ives is reporting that US U-20 and Miami FC’s Gale Agbossoumonde is in serious negotiations with Sporting Braga to join the club on loan on Nov. 17, when he turns 18. At 6′2 and 185 pounds, Agbossoumonde is expected to join the club’s youth team.

Bradley’s Babes: 23 for 2010

Now that we have officially qualified for the World Cup, it is time for the first installment of Bradley’s Babes: 23 for 2010–our attempt to answer the question, “Who should we take along?”  But instead of taking the standard approach–doing our best to guess who Bob will take to South Africa–we decided to focus on who we would like him to take.

Before we get started, a couple of notes specifically pertaining to this list:  We are going to assume the worst-case scenario becomes reality–Oguchi Onyewu and Charlie Davies are out for the World Cup.  Of course we don’t want this to happen–we aren’t even suggesting it is the most likely outcome–but there are two reasons we decided to approach it this way: prepare for the worst, but hope for the best; and it’s just more interesting (everyone knows Davies and Onyewu are locks, if healthy and match fit).  It should also be noted that we are trying to take into account what will happen over the next year.  For example, Castillo and Jones might not be ready to go into action with the Yanks today, but by next summer, we think they will be.

Without further ado, here is Bradley’s Babes, edition one: