US vs. Egypt the coaches, subs, and tactics(R)

[superdave]

I predict this thread is gonna be pretty popular. :D

Altidore was spent; that was a good sub. I think Adu should have come in instead of Casey; he could spring Donovan or Davies for a counterattacking clincher.

Best thing Bob did was prepare his team mentally.

[kebzach]

A lot of subs "could" have been made. The ones that were made seem to be working as of 2:17 of stoppage, don't they?

[Nutmeg]

I got home right as the game was starting and was trying to figure out the lineup. When I saw it, I put my head in my hands, thinking we had no shot.

I have to hand it to Bob. He got THIS game right.

[Elninho]

To be realistic, though... we're here because the Egyptian coach panicked when Zidan was injured. He played a 4-4-2 for the first time in his tenure, his back line looked disorganized early on, and then when they returned to their usual 3-5-2, they were stuck with a natural wingback playing sweeper.

What I will credit Bob with: the team came out motivated and ready to play from the opening whistle.

[TrueCrew]

Well, I hated the starting lineup. I thought the double d-mid set would doom us and prevent us from scoring the three goals we needed.

That was wrong.

I did like the 2 forward look. And the fact that Davies started. BB and I were both right there.

I probably would have made a sub a bit sooner, but once we got the second, maybe I would have backed off.

I would have pulled Bradley/Clark for Benny/Torres/Adu and then done the same with Dempsey.

BB disagreed. Baby Bradley got the feed from LD, and then Dempsey scores the winner!

Had no problem with the Casey for Davies sub, good move.

All of BB's move were golden today.

In reality, we could have had more than 3. LD's pass, Davies' no pass, and the handball.

While I'm not a believer, there is no way I can be on the BB must go bandwagon right now.

[lurking]

Bradley fielded a decent lineup, and didnt get in the way.

[Sebring98]

Bob Bradley, Tactical Genius. Obviously.

[chad]

To be realistic, though... we're here because the Egyptian coach panicked when Zidan was injured. He played a 4-4-2 for the first time in his tenure, his back line looked disorganized early on, and then when they returned to their usual 3-5-2, they were stuck with a natural wingback playing sweeper.

What I will credit Bob with: the team came out motivated and ready to play from the opening whistle.Agree. Egypt was really missing Zidan, and then they had 3 players get injured during the match today. Still, they created numerous opportunities against us. And Bradley STILL sat on a sub. And Casey is completely useless.

So, hooray for Bradley FINALLY realizing that it is ok to play two strikers even if neither is a "target forward", and it is ok to play only 2 central midfielders.

But Bradley at least had them motivated today, so that's pretty cool.

[appoo]

Give credit where credit is due. Bob at least gets some points for starting Davies

[highlander]

That was pretty funny watching the game today after some of the posts in the last week or so. I don't know if Bradley is going to be a good World Cup coach or not, but my one recommendation to him would be to get out of the job after one World Cup cycle. Some jobs you just don't want for an extended period of time - no matter how good or bad of a coach you are.

Bob Bradley is now the first US coach to make it to the second round of the confederations cup. I'm sure National Team fans everywhere are singing his praises! :D

[Arid_Torpor]

I still don't like Clark starting or playing the whole game. I don't think he played particularly well, and I wasn't a fan of the double d-mid. However, it worked out, and I agree 100% with every other move he made. Good game by BB.

[jamtime]

Altidore came off and we lost possession. He may not have been scoring, but he was winning balls, and holding them.

[Kalur]

Bob did not screw us from the start at least today (by like starting Beasley). I guess he deserves credit for that...

[cpwilson80]

As I said before the game (http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showpost.php?p=18023995&postcount=7), best lineup of the tournament. Familiar 4-4-2, two true strikers up top, Donovan and Dempsey out wide, and some continuity in the backline. The Bradley-Clark pairing was a quibble.

We had more chances and better chances throughout the game. Donovan utilized the space extremely well in midfield, and helped prevent the dreaded empty bucket from occurring too frequently.

Oddly enough, Egypt dropped off when we were up 2-0, allowing tons of space for us to play through.

Good sub bringing off Altidore (who didn't have the best game.) Didn't like the Casey sub: we need to do a better job of holding possession with the lead, and Casey is the last guy you want in that role.

Once again, no third sub. Short-term, I'd like to see us kill a minute or two with a like-for-like sub. Long-term, I fear that Donovan, Dempsey, and Bradley will be spent by the end of the next match.

For now, though, a tip of the hat - great achievement for the US, and one of the best wins of the Bradley era.

[Maitreya]

He stuck to his system, made a small change by inserting Davies, and it paid off enormously. Full credit to Bob today.

[AmericanMe]

His substitutions again made no sense....If he was going to bring on feilhaber, he should have done it for Clark, And then Adu for Altidore and play him behind davies or even torres and push donavon forward. After the subs were made, and dempsey scored, we had no attack. Luckily Italy didn't score or they would have gone through. Bradley should have gone in for the kill as soon as the second egyptian player got injured. If he would have done that, this game could have easily been 4 or 5 - 0. Bradley is one lucky bastard. I still want him gone. His refusal to play our two best passers is beyond belief...

[adeav7777]

Make the 3rd damn sub in stoppage time bob.
Use everything at your disposal.

[Elninho]

Bob Bradley is now the first US coach to make it to the second round of the confederations cup. I'm sure National Team fans everywhere are singing his praises! :D

Um... second. In 1999, Bruce took us to 3rd place in Mexico. Got into the semis by beating New Zealand and Germany (and losing to Brazil in the 3rd game), Mexico needed overtime to beat us in the semis (AT THE AZTECA), and we won the 3rd place game vs. Saudi Arabia.

[lynne]

His substitutions again made no sense....If he was going to bring on feilhaber, he should have done it for Clark, And then Adu for Altidore and play him behind davies or even torres and push donavon forward. After the subs were made, and dempsey scored, we had no attack. Luckily Italy didn't score or they would have gone through. Bradley should have gone in for the kill as soon as the second egyptian player got injured. If he would have done that, this game could have easily been 4 or 5 - 0. Bradley is one lucky bastard. I still want him gone. His refusal to play our two best passers is beyond belief...

Honestly, I wonder if they make Torres and Adu sit at a kiddie table when the team eats...

[AmericanMe]

Ya and not using that third substitution is mind boggling. If your going to try to waste time having your players dribble to the corner to waste time you might as well use your last time to knock 30+ seconds off the clock.

Also, why is that that in the last 10 minutes of a game the US gives up on attacking and just sprints to the corners and try to play keep away? I don't get it.... it clearly didn't work...