6/4, USA v Costa Rica WCQ -- post-game thread{R}

[babytiger2001]

Watching the tape of the match right now (I had to leave at halftime to go to work, to pour beers at the footy at Telstra Dome today) -- and while I'll have other comments to make later on, these stand out at the forefront of my mind...


Landon Donovan brought his 'A' game, early and often. Two clinical finishes, and good control of the midfield.
Maybe it's just me, or has Kasey Keller made more outstanding saves in a single match since the Gold Cup semi against Brazil in '97? Absolutely unconscious goalkeeping from Kasey today -- and some absolutely huge saves when the game was still 1-nil.
Great job by the boys of keeping possession and, moreover, punishing Costa Rica for its mistakes.
Despite not having played a competitive match for about six weeks, DMB looked as sharp as a tack, like he hadn't missed a beat.
Convey didn't play as badly as some of the critics here would make one believe that he played, but we must certainly have some better options at left back.
Pope was a rock in the back, and a far cry from how he played in the England game. Might not be our best defender anymore, but he certainly lifted today.
Onwards, to the next game -- and bring on Panama in Panama City. Great to have three points in the bag, and a clean sheet at that.


Count me in the camp wanting to see more WCQ's at this venue. Great crowd in Salt Lake City, very loud and organized, and that translated very well on TV. Would love to see some more of these types of matches at Rice-Eccles... as well as more USA WCQ's broadcast live on ESPN Int'l. ;)

[MyHouse!]

So did Pope redeem himself today?


Yes the reports of his demise as reported by 90% of American soccer fans after the England match were greastly exagerated.

Tremendous match by KK yesterday.

[GoDC]

We won 3-0. I'll stop there. For Wednesday Bruce will have a completely different lineup and tactics. That's why he gets paid. He does his homework and usually puts a team and plan on the field that can get us a result.

[jgildea8]

Bruce used the 3-4-3 only because he knew Costa Rica was going to sit back for the tie, but after that game I think Keller may want that fourth defender in front of him. We looked very vulnerable all night on free kicks, and I think that would be a major problem against better finishing.

[Clint Eastwood]

To me this was the most important game of the hexagonal for us. We HAD to win this one. I consider the Ticos the third best team in the region (even if the standings don't agree with me). In order to make qualifying as painless as possible we had to beat Guatemala (IMO 4th best team) and Costa Rica at home. JOB DONE.

Anything can happen IN Central America as we know, and we still have 3 games to play there! Isn't it true we only have one win in Central America EVER!!? And the Mexico game at home is a toss up. So this win cannot be underestimated.

To the game itself, Kasey Keller was huge. You cannot look past his performance. He was MOTM. If that Ticos header (Soto wasn't it?) goes in and it's 1-1, who knows what happens the rest of the game?

I thought everybody played OK, but I'm not a big Ralston fan. He's a defensive liability, IMO. Beasley does very well on defense considering his frame, but Ralston seems to be a proponent of the Ole defense. Who I'd play instead there. Perhaps Clint Dempsey. I'm not saying Ralston isn't an asset on offense as he does put in some dangerous crosses and gets into good positions.

[MrSparkle]

Agree with the show Salt Lake put on. Looked great on TV and everyone seemed lively.

Since we always dog the refs on the here following every CONCACAF event, anyone else agree that the officiating was pretty solid? Especially in the first half, we seemed to get even the borderline calls. It was like we had a home game or something.

[king_saladin]

Agree with the show Salt Lake put on. Looked great on TV and everyone seemed lively.

Since we always dog the refs on the here following every CONCACAF event, anyone else agree that the officiating was pretty solid? Especially in the first half, we seemed to get even the borderline calls. It was like we had a home game or something.

I thought most of the foul calls were done very well, yes especially in comparison to past matches in WCQ, no? But I thought he should have brought more cards out. It was obvious that they were trying to injure Beasley...

[MrSparkle]

I thought most of the foul calls were done very well, yes especially in comparison to past matches in WCQ, no? But I thought he should have brought more cards out. It was obvious that they were trying to injure Beasley...

I think you're right about Beasley, but I was more pissed at BA for having Beasley in there in the first place than I was at the ref.

[babytiger2001]

Keller's second-half saves, made #3 on SportsCenter's "Top Ten Plays" tonight.

Shame they had to limit the highlight to just two saves.

[StillKickin]

Good game for us. I love how we came out and attacked.

Outstanding game from KK, with the exception of a few of his clearances were kind of weird. Great game from Landon and DaMarcus.

Thought Ralston, Convey, and Wolff might have played themselves back to the bench, though.

And MAJOR props to the SLC crowd!! They rocked!! Hope we have more games there. They deserve it. They treated our guys with class and in the manner they deserve.

[Jabberwocky]

Agree with the show Salt Lake put on. Looked great on TV and everyone seemed lively.

Since we always dog the refs on the here following every CONCACAF event, anyone else agree that the officiating was pretty solid? Especially in the first half, we seemed to get even the borderline calls. It was like we had a home game or something.

Agreed on both accounts. The crowd appeared very appreciative of good play (Convey's juke in the first half got an immediate roar) and filled the stadium. What they said about front page news in Salt Lake was also encouraging. Another game is well deserved.

The officiating was solid. Despite the target on Beasley's leg, he kept control of the game throughout. Side judges too, calling off sides correctly.

[dcu09]

I think if you asked KK right after a few of his saves he would have given a very honest answer on what he thought of Pope's and Bocanegra's play.

The team played very well tonight, but there are still areas to improve on. Our organization in defense was poor at the beginning of the second half. That is mostly the responsibility of Pope & Boca.

Is it time to abandon Pope? No.... but it's definitely a worry that he could turn out to be this cycle's Agoos.

Note I say this as an original DC fan, who thinks very highly of both Pope & Agoos. But it doesn't change the fact that players decline in ability as they get older. Even your favorite players.

[babytiger2001]

What they said about front page news in Salt Lake was also encouraging.

And not just the front page, but that was the front page of the main news section. And according to JP's and Celo's accounts, the coverage carried on through the first four or five pages of the local paper(s) there, as well as to the sports section.

[Brownswan]

...If USA keeps playing like this, we'll qualify for Germany very, very early...

Not according to Keller. He said after the England game they wanted to get their heads into the game for 90 minutes. Afainst CR he figured we were good for about 70. What he didn't need to say was that he kept us in the game for those 20 minutes when we were out to lunch.

We will need to play a full 90 if we hope to accomplish anything outside our own federation -- even inside, if we hope to win the Gold Cup.

[MrSparkle]

Not according to Keller. He said after the England game they wanted to get their heads into the game for 90 minutes. Afainst CR he figured we were good for about 70. What he didn't need to say was that he kept us in the game for those 20 minutes when we were out to lunch.

We will need to play a full 90 if we hope to accomplish anything outside our own federation -- even inside, if we hope to win the Gold Cup.

Good point. But this is soccer and we did have a 1-0 lead during the period of time when we went out to lunch. You also have to admit we weren't playing against total slouches. This wasn't Grenada, so Costa Rica was bound to get their rushes. What was promising during our bunkering, however, were the 3 solid counter-attacks we created. Heck, there was once a time when the only chance we had offensively was on counters.

[Wile Coyote]

A 3-0 victory and the US team showed no Mercy on a inferior rival that has the bad luck of having a total disorganization with in their federation....

a 3-0 beating was more than acceptable...

USA and mexico are above the rest and these two have to prove it game after game and yesturday the US prooved once again to costa rica that the US program is a class above them...US are fighting to prove they are #1 in concacaf and have to win these games by the appropriate score lines...

good crowd thanks SLC you proove what a wonderful market you are..

Now a beating o panama by 4 goals or above to close out the week...

[Blitzz Boy]

Registration required (http://www.nacion.com/ln_ee/2005/junio/05/deportes1.html)

You have to register, and my Spanish is as crappy as, um, the RSL attack.

But I think that La Nacion, a Costa Rican newspaper, says that Donovan created chaos in the Tico defense and Keller made big saves.

They are also questioning Guimaraes' lineup.

[Blitzz Boy]

My utter crap Spanish may have betrayed me again, but I think that La Nacion said that the refereeing was good.

[partycentral]

Anyone willing to send me a vhs or dvd of the game? I'll compensate, of course.

[bungadiri]

About officiating: I had to stop and think before I could figure out what my opinion was. I guess this means the officiating was good.

Offensively, it was a fun game to watch because there were some very nice patches of play from our guys.

I think if you asked KK right after a few of his saves he would have given a very honest answer on what he thought of Pope's and Bocanegra's play.

The team played very well tonight, but there are still areas to improve on. Our organization in defense was poor at the beginning of the second half. That is mostly the responsibility of Pope & Boca.

Is it time to abandon Pope? No.... but it's definitely a worry that he could turn out to be this cycle's Agoos.

Note I say this as an original DC fan, who thinks very highly of both Pope & Agoos. But it doesn't change the fact that players decline in ability as they get older. Even your favorite players.
What makes you point to organization rather than individual defenders? I saw Pope's man give up one dangerous shot, but otherwise thought Eddie had a solid game with a few big moments. The other problems came from Ralston being a step slow (which I hate saying, because I really like Ralston's skill and intelligence) and Bocanegra being oddly tentative with clearances. In other words, not so much organization as it was personnel.