The USMNT won. They beat Ghana, their World Cup rivals. Let’s enjoy it, bask in its glory, and realize that it may not have been the prettiest game, but the result is all that ultimately matters. Dos y Uno is its own rallying cry now, although it isn’t the preferred score line. Being up only one goal is always scary, one mistake and everything a team has worked for comes crashing down.
That’s ultimately what happened on Monday night. The US started off the game like most do, with a bunch of discombobulated passes and constant change of possession. The beginning of a game is such an odd thing, you go from standing still for about 15 minutes to all of a sudden playing the game of your life. Weird things happen, and that’s exactly what transpired in the Yank’s first World Cup match. Watching it live, I didn’t even know how Clint Dempsey got the ball after the throw in, I just saw him streaking into the box and then somehow the ball was in the net. My brother was pissed because he missed the goal, it happened so quickly and he was still en route to the television. But it happened, and Dempsey had scored.
I was nervous. I had spent all week watching the Men in Blazers in Brazil talking about scoring too early. Well, 30 seconds into a match is way too early. For 90 minutes, including 10 horribly long stoppage minutes, I sat there, hoping and praying they could get a second goal and relieve some pressure. In my opinion, you can’t be too critical of a backline that faces 90 minutes of constant attack, and I think the US’s backline performed admirably. It was hot; 77° Fahrenheit with 75% humidity. Jozy Altidore, in his first full sprint of the game, pulled up in what we now know is a strained hamstring. So basically, he was standing around for 23 minutes, not really sprinting or running very much, and then when asked to take off down the field his hamstring went out. It’s heartbreaking, but if the USMNT could have maintained possession a little bit more, maybe this injury, and my near heart attack, could have been avoided.
Defensively, Kyle Beckerman and Jermaine Jones did what they needed to do. They helped to shepherd the ball out to the wings. Geoff Cameron and Matt Besler are excellent in the air and defended the crosses very well. Based on some of the comments made by players after the game, they knew they wouldn’t see much of the ball, so limiting the Ghanaian attack to mainly crosses was a good way to deal with the speed of their forwards up top. But the attacks kept coming, wave after wave, and you knew that eventually Ghana would put one in, if not more.
An attack came in, the defensive line would knock it back up the field, but with no real hold-up forward to keep the ball, the next wave would start immediately. Aaron Jóhannsson tried to be Jozy, and actually succeeded a couple of times, but it just wasn’t the same. The USMNT defense didn’t get a breather the entire game. After a really nice back pass in the box from Asamoah Gyan, the only time you should really consider pulling off a back pass, André Ayew shot it near post on goal. Let’s put the “Tim Howard wasn’t that great” argument to rest, he played admirably all game. He may have been leaning a little bit on that goal, but it was a beautiful outside-of-the-foot shot, and there was no way Howard could have done anything about it. Tim Howard made some amazing saves and came off his line to gather up the ball on multiple occasions, and he deserves praise for his leadership in the back.
The heat took a toll on Besler, and at half he was subbed of for soon-to-be hero John Anthony Brooks. Let’s not forget, he put in a very good showing against Nigeria in the US’s last friendly, and after a shaky first couple of minutes in the second half, he cleaned up his act and did what he needed to do, and then some. His goal was a perfectly executed set piece, something that is taken for granted by most, but apparently not Jürgen Klinsmann. A little stutter step, a run from the back post to the front at about 6 yards out, and he was in the right place at the right time. An infamous goal, and one that no one will forget anytime soon.
However, even with the great win, Michael Bradley needs to perform better if the USMNT want to continue in this tournament. I admit, he looked much better in the last 20 minutes of the game and started to find some space, but for most of the match he seemed lost, and was forcing too many passes into tight positions. The way Bradley goes, the USMNT offense goes, and as we all could see it was virtually nonexistent. I can almost guarantee he won’t be as sloppy in the second game against Portugal, but if he can’t get it together we may see Mix Diskerud coming off the bench to get the offense purring again.
It was a great game, no doubt about it, but I’m sure the players are already looking forward and preparing for the next match. Fortune has handed them a game against a fractured Portugal team at just the right time, and at least a point is needed if they want to get out of this group. The team we will see on Sunday will look much more like the team we’ve grown accustomed to, and you can bet that a tie won’t be good enough for Klinsmann. Now it’s off to Manaus where the weather will be hotter and the game will be just as important.
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