US-Costa Rica, the attack (R)

[superdave]

have at it

[Nutmeg]

Brian McBride had a quiet first half, but his teammates did a better job of finding him and using him in the 2nd. And the more they looked for him, he produced. I'm absolutely thrilled he wore the captain's armband today. Nobody else I'd rather see put it on for the USA.

Josh Wolff finally made something happen right before he was subbed out with the one-time cross that found McBride. Other than that, he continues to get himself into great spots and find a way to do little with the opportunities he helps create. Frustrating performance.

DaMarcus Beasley - the forward/defender, looked a little rusty, which is completely understandable. I thought he looked better the closer he played to CR's goal, but I think he needs some more game time before we see full-on Run DMB.

Pat Noonan was a good sub. He's a more physical presence and strong in 1v1 situations. Didn't get a lot of looks, but he certainly didn't look out of his depth when he found the ball.

[speedcake]

Three goals in a tough world cup qualy. I can't complain.

[superdave]

Pat Noonan was a good sub. He's a more physical presence and strong in 1v1 situations. Didn't get a lot of looks, but he certainly didn't look out of his depth when he found the ball.
I meant to mention this in the "Bruce" thread, but forgot. He was the right sub at the right time, as we really needed a player who could win a 1v1 battle with a dribble. Granted, he didn't do it, but it was IMO the right move.

[metro24freak]

Much better than last week, I'd still continue shooting practice especially on corners but other than that they looked pretty good, they got 3 in the back of the net so I guess I can't critisize them too much.

[DCFAN96]

The time in Holland has done wonders for DMB, hes easily the most poised player on the ball for the NATS, great game. I thought he should've came off alittle earlier just to give him some rest for Panama. BMB did his job but wasn't getting the service from the wings (mainly Ralston) that he needed. Wolff on the otherhand I thought was terrible. Who every said this guy has speed? He was beat to every ball and looked real slow out there, and the sitter he missed was just poor. He doubt we'll see him at all on Wednesday. All in all our attack was just ok, not enough movement off the ball, and not enough one touch passing.

[sl7vk]

You've got to love the way Pope came back from his performance last week. It makes me chuckle when everyone called for him to step out of the squad. The guy is class, pure class.

[Cweedchop]

McBride was the MOTM for the offense.

:eek:

[lmorin]

Mix of a game for BMcB who had a tough first half, I thought. But, true to form, he worked hard and made things happen later. Wolff OK, but we have better (hopefully for the next game). Wolff should have done better on his breakaway. Some nice overlaps by the midfielders. Noonan really impressed me. He quietly and very effectively took the game away from Costa Rica after he came in. Of course, fresh legs helped, but he received well and played quickly, making good decisions. I'd like to see more of him.

[superdave]

McBride was the MOTM for the offense.
Response 1: Somewhere, a mongoose and a cobra are making sweet love while listening to Barry White.

Response 2: To everyone who bet that Segroves hates Landon more than McBride, collect your winnings.

[virgin pose]

-I've had enough of Wolff. Its one thing to miss that break away and/or making the pass to LD. But it is unacceptable in a WCQ to stand there after a miss and not fight to get the ball back. He could have won possession back and laid a pass off. Noonan really added a different dimension in his limited time on the pitch.
-I would have liked to have seen Dempsey come on in the 60th for Wolff and move LD up top and let Clint have the AM role.
-Ralston is not going to cut it at this level. He got burned on the Tico's header and KK saved him. Break in Eddie Gaven or give that role to Reyna/ Dolo.

[PSsoccer123]

1) Costa Rica is not England B. They'll be fighting for 4th place

2) In the box, Pope was horrible.
You really hate Eddie Pope. He was bad against England, but pretty good today. Eddie Pope wasn't the one at fault for the bad defense in that one period.

[BWMcTell]

Early in the 2nd half I thought to myself, 'McBride really doesn't seem to be fitting in with today's gameplan'. We scored early and we were counterattacking and McBride was being forced to play much deeper to receive the ball which limited his effectiveness(at one point in the first half he actually ran into Beasley disrupting a very threatening run from Beasley on the left side). About 5 minutes later Wolff sent in a great ball that McBride did well to force the keeper to make the save which led to Donovan's goal. He also did a good job to finish on his goal. That's the quality that having McBride on the field gives the team. He has the experience and the patience to wait for his opportunity and like the savvy player that he is, he finished off the chances that he had.

I thought Wolff actually had a decent game. He definitely has some passing issues but it was his cross into McBride set up the second goal. I think he is most effective playing up top on the wings where he can cut diagonally into the box and use his speed to open up the offense. Wolff will sit when EJ returns but he's shown that he isn't completely out of his depth at the national level.

Beasley was listed as a forward but played most of the game in the midfield.

[swilso01]

Eddie Pope wasn't the one at fault for the bad defense in that one period.

When you are playing in the middle of the backline, you are responsible for the organization of the defense. The US looked completely disorganized during that 10-15 minute stretch. Part of the reason has to be Pope.

Now, back to the subject. I thought McB had a strong game. Not his best but I think it was lack of service in the first half more than anything. In the second half I think he showed why that spot in the lineup is his to lose. Strong on the ball, tireless work rate, integral in the last 2 goals. I hope this will quiet some of the "McB has seen his day" critics for a while.

[Lloyd Heilbrunn]

It's nice to score 3 on loose balls in the box, but I wish we would not under or over hit every bloody cross, we would create so much more......Although I thought the field was mightly narrow for an International!

[XYZ1234]

It looked more like McBride was just out of place for the first 30 minutes or so. Beasley and Wolff were switching sides, covering back, pretty much all over the place and it took a little while for Brian to settle in and figure out his role.

EJ's must have been frustrated he couldn't get in there today. That could've been a real ass whipping if he was the one getting so many good chances.

Good job, an improvement over last week.

[grandinquisitor28]

Hopefully this ends the "DMB is the best player on the National Team" nonsense. I love DMB, and he was rusty and dinged, and harassed all day, but the truth about DMB as a national team player has always been, good, not great. Right now he's a better club team player, than national team player. That wasn't true when he played for Chicago (except for maybe the fall of '03), but it's definitely true now, although part of it, I'm sure, is a combo of whom he plays with, and what he's asked to do with PSV as compared to us. As much as he frustrates us and drives us to distraction, as hugely disappointing as his seeming dedication to never go abroad is, Donovan continues to be our best field player by a wide margin. Eddie Johnson may pass him, especially if he goes to Europe and lands a starting gig, but for now, Donovan is definitely our best field player. Hopefully World Cup '06 will change his mind about Europe, if not, hopefully by then DMB, and Johnson will have passed him, but neither have yet.

[PSsoccer123]

There's a whole thread on the defense.

You can **** over there.
Funny! You brought it up. You say England B was a tougher game, but that game meant nothing. It was as much the other center backs fault as his. And most of the shots came from others mistakes, such as Ralston not being any where near his man on the header.

[PSsoccer123]

Hopefully this ends the "DMB is the best player on the National Team" nonsense. I love DMB, and he was rusty and dinged, and harassed all day, but the truth about DMB as a national team player has always been, good, not great. Right now he's a better club team player, than national team player. That wasn't true when he played for Chicago (except for maybe the fall of '03), but it's definitely true now, although part of it, I'm sure, is a combo of whom he plays with, and what he's asked to do with PSV as compared to us. As much as he frustrates us and drives us to distraction, as hugely disappointing as his seeming dedication to never go abroad is, Donovan continues to be our best field player by a wide margin. Eddie Johnson may pass him, especially if he goes to Europe and lands a starting gig, but for now, Donovan is definitely our best field player. Hopefully World Cup '06 will change his mind about Europe, if not, hopefully by then DMB, and Johnson will have passed him, but neither have yet.
Give him a break. It was his first game in five weeks and he wasn't 100%. He lost the ball a lot but he was everywhere, sometimes it looked like he was playing right back for us. He brought a lot of energy to the team which we have lacked without him.

[CbR]

BMB owns concacaff. Play with the starting line up all you want against south american and european compition in the WC , but if we are going against these central american teams BMB must start