I know a lot of my twitter followers watched closely as the United States challenged their not-so-friendly neighbors to the south, Mexico. USA really hit the ground running during the first half of the match. Michael Bradley dominated the midfield and was the key play-maker for the USA throughout the entire game. In the 15th minute, Bradley put the United States up with a brilliantly timed run to the far post after a Graham Zusi corner kick. After this first goal; the boys in red, white and blue got even hotter. The first half was a complete depiction of what United States fans wanted to see before the World Cup.
Left: Golazo-Michael Bradley blasts the ball into the back of the net to give the United States squad a lead in the 15th minute.
Several chances later, Michael Bradley assisted a goal to San Joe Quakers striker, Chris Wondolowski.
After half time, USA head coach announced that Landon Donovan would enter the second half as would Julian Green. Julian Green (an 18 year old from Bayern Munich) had opted to play for the United States over Germany and made his debut in the 59th minute.
Julian Green had small bursts of brilliance, but you could tell he was quite nervous, and was handled easily by the Mexican defenders.
The second half wasn't all smiles for the United States. Mexico fired back with two goals of their own. Both goals came from clear marking mistakes from the United States back-line. This was extremely painful to watch, after seeing the USA play a brilliant first half.
In the 87th minute, Eddie Johnson slotted a shot home for the winner. The crowd as well as the players went wild. However he was ruled "offside" by the linesman. After reviewing the play Eddie Johnson was clearly onside, however the call stood. No Goal. Match still tied at 2-2. I've already heard so many people talking about that call, but the next call has to be even worse.
Julian Green comes down the left side of the field, steps over the ball and gets past the first defender, the second defender clearly fouls him right outside of the box and no foul is called. I firmly believe that if they would've called the foul on the Mexican Defense right outside the box, the USA would've been able to create a goal scoring opportunity. As we all know, we can't change anything about it.
The first half was a great display of United States football on the rise. The second half was a depiction of what needs to change. Let me know what you guys thought about it in the comments below. I would love to hear your feedback about the match.
Here's a link the the match facts from Goal.com, let me know if there is any stats that stand out to you guys as strong points or as weak points the Yanks could focus on.
No comments:
Post a Comment