Photo credit: AP
Tonight's game between the US national team and its Panamanian equivalent was a perfect example of how to play in the World Cup Qualifiers. Start fast, play defensive and hold on to a favorable score and points. Tonight was also the third game won by the USA in a row, a first under Klinsmann and also abroad.
Graham Zusi scored his first goal in only his second cap, proving that the US has plenty of talent in MLS. It was an opportunistic strike in the 8th minute and one that kept Team USA ahead on the scoreboard throughout the game.
The offense was quite lively in the first half, with Wondolowski getting close to scoring the second for the US and an active and efficient Loyd-Shea partnership on the left wing. Bunbury was largely quiet but did have a couple of close shots. Jermaine Jones took several long range shots, one of which almost served to set a Wondolowski goal.
The defense was tested better than against Venezuela and if it hadn't been for Nick Rimando's heroics, then the scoreboard would have been 1-2 or 1-3 in favor of the "Canaleros." Parkhurst and Cameron looked particularly vulnerable through the middle and the latter was forced into making a tactical foul that resulted in his expulsion. And yet that is the mark of a good defender: to give up your space on the field to keep your team ahead. So, more of Geoff Cameron in the future might be intriguing.
The biggest lesson for this largely-novice group of players was the intense negative atmosphere of a Concacaf venue. If this had been a real qualifier, then three points abroad brings the team three steps closer to the World Cup. These are the kind of games needed to gain experience ahead of a new qualifying round and Klinsmann has been quite smart in setting up games abroad that widen the scope of US Soccer in a way that hasn't been done before. As the announcers said during the game, this was the first friendly against a Concacaf team outside of the US since the early 1990s. So, way to go Herr Coach. On to Italy with our "A" team.
Player ratings:
Rimando...............8
DeLaGarza............6
Parkhurst..............6
Cameron...............6.5
Loyd.....................5
Shea......................5.5
Clark.....................5.5
Jones.....................6.5
Zusi.......................7
Wondolowski........6.5
Bunbury................5
Subs: Johnson (6.5), Parke (6), Sapong (5), Evans (6), Larentowicz (6.5), Pearce (6.5)
Graham Zusi scored his first goal in only his second cap, proving that the US has plenty of talent in MLS. It was an opportunistic strike in the 8th minute and one that kept Team USA ahead on the scoreboard throughout the game.
The offense was quite lively in the first half, with Wondolowski getting close to scoring the second for the US and an active and efficient Loyd-Shea partnership on the left wing. Bunbury was largely quiet but did have a couple of close shots. Jermaine Jones took several long range shots, one of which almost served to set a Wondolowski goal.
The defense was tested better than against Venezuela and if it hadn't been for Nick Rimando's heroics, then the scoreboard would have been 1-2 or 1-3 in favor of the "Canaleros." Parkhurst and Cameron looked particularly vulnerable through the middle and the latter was forced into making a tactical foul that resulted in his expulsion. And yet that is the mark of a good defender: to give up your space on the field to keep your team ahead. So, more of Geoff Cameron in the future might be intriguing.
The biggest lesson for this largely-novice group of players was the intense negative atmosphere of a Concacaf venue. If this had been a real qualifier, then three points abroad brings the team three steps closer to the World Cup. These are the kind of games needed to gain experience ahead of a new qualifying round and Klinsmann has been quite smart in setting up games abroad that widen the scope of US Soccer in a way that hasn't been done before. As the announcers said during the game, this was the first friendly against a Concacaf team outside of the US since the early 1990s. So, way to go Herr Coach. On to Italy with our "A" team.
Player ratings:
Rimando...............8
DeLaGarza............6
Parkhurst..............6
Cameron...............6.5
Loyd.....................5
Shea......................5.5
Clark.....................5.5
Jones.....................6.5
Zusi.......................7
Wondolowski........6.5
Bunbury................5
Subs: Johnson (6.5), Parke (6), Sapong (5), Evans (6), Larentowicz (6.5), Pearce (6.5)
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