5/23: USA v Morocco, pre-/during-/post-match thread {R}

[babytiger2001]

The first of three friendlies before the USA boards a big Luftansa jet for Germany.

USA v Morocco
The Coliseum, Nashville, TN
Kickoff 6 p.m. local (4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET)
TV: ESPN2 (live), Telemundo (tape-delay, 11:30 p.m. ET/PT)

Some interesting items on the daily briefing (http://www.ussoccer.com/articles/viewArticle.jsp_280972.html) on the USSF official site (see the "Quick Hits" section)...


The U.S. will dress 24 players for the match and the maximum number of substitutions will be six
No injuries have been reported from the U.S. camp
Eddie Lewis is the last to arrive in Nashville, touching down Monday evening
Josh Wolff is the only player on the U.S. roster to appear in all seven of the team’s matches in 2006, including six starts. Jimmy Conrad and Landon Donovan share the lead in minutes played, each reporting for 450 minutes during five matches
Six players on the roster have scored at least one goal in 2006, three players having recorded a pair in Clint Dempsey, Ben Olsen and Eddie Pope.


In the final hours leading up to this match, at this writing, post your predictions of the USA's lineup, full-time scores, and what can we as fans can expect to take away from this game beyond the scoreboard.

During the match, PbP, banter and analysis will be greatly encouraged (but play nice, everyone!)... no flames nor trolls, please.

AIM Chat Room: Always a good idea, for it relieves pressure from the BigSoccer servers. For those with AOL Instant Messenger, invite yourself to a room entitled "USA Friendly", and join in the fun.

Also, highly encouraged... from GPK's daily news thread (http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=356976), feel free to post any links and break down the news at hand relative to today's match.

[babytiger2001]

A good one to start with...

Arena tight-lipped about starting lineup -- Nashville City Paper (http://nashvillecitypaper.com/index.cfm?section=7&screen=news&news_id=49985)

[tab5g]

projected crazy line-up:

------Keller—

Dolo—Gooch-Gibbs-Albright

Donovan—Pablo-Reyna—DMB

----------EJ--Ching

And don’t tell anyone, but this 4-4-2 will actually play more like a 3-4-3 with Pablo dropping back and the wingbacks pushing up, while LD slides centrally and DMB plays as a 3rd forward.

Halftime or second half subs:

McBride for Ching
Dempsey for Donovan
Boca for Albright
Convey for DMB
Olsen for Pablo
JOB (or M.Bradley) for Reyna

Score 2-1 to the US (with EJ scoring a hat-trick, of which at least 2 of them will be called back for offside rulings, although one of those calls will be total BS). Olsen will score the other goal, because that is what Olsen does.

[rkane1226]

Extremely tangentially related to USMNT news and analysis but what ball are they using in these final tune-up friendlies?

L'Equipe website has Jens Lehmann saying some fairly negative things about the ball from a keeper's perspective...

http://www.lequipe.fr/Football/CM_JOURNAL.html

In french. Maybe someone has the quotes in english.

Loosely (and quite likely poorly) translated quotes:

"The ball is designed for field players and spectators, not goalkeepers"

"Adidas' ball is a plastic warhead. Nike makes a real football ... One could say they built this ball to make keepers look ridiculous." [Note: Jens has a promotional contract with Nike]

And finally:
"When it is raining, its will be very difficult for us [goalkeepers]. The ball becomes very slippery. It doesn't cast a good light on keepers."

Everybody will be playing with the same ball. But, assuming Jens isn't just anti-promoting a Nike competitor and that his comments have some basis in truth, it got me to wondering if they (USMNT) will be using the official FIFA ball...

[jd6885]

--------------------Keller---------------
--Gibbs------Gooch------Boca------JOB
-------------------Maestro------------
--Beasley-----Donovan--Dempsey--------
-----------------------------------------
-------------EJ---------Ching-----------
The above is an experiment to see if the US can play very compact in the middle (dempsey, donovan, maestro), while still having a wide option (Beasley)

(subs) To see how the reserve forwards can play with a good supporting midfield:

-----------------(Howard)--------------
--(Dolo)------Gooch------(Pope)------JOB--
-----------------------------------------
--Beasley-----Donovan--Dempsey--(Lewis)--
-----------------------------------------
-------------(wolff)---------Ching----------

or to see if beasley's good defensive skills can be utilized in a def. midfielder role and to see if lewis can play in the defense:

-----------------(Howard)--------------
--(Dolo)-----Gooch------(Pope)-----(Lewis)
--------------Beasley---(Reyna)----------
--------------Donovan--Dempsey----------
------------------------------------------
---------------EJ--------(Mcbride)---------

3-0 US or some ridiculous number :) if i remember correctly, I read somewhere on BS that 10 Mor. starters opted out of this game?

[Shackleton]

Everybody will be playing with the same ball. But, assuming Jens isn't just anti-promoting a Nike competitor and that his comments have some basis in truth, it got me to wondering if they (USMNT) will be using the official FIFA ball...

From photos of training camp, we've been practicing with the Adidas ball. So, I would infer from that we'll play with the Adidas ball tonight.

[Shackleton]

-------Keller
Dolo Pope Gooch Gibbs
----Reyna Mastro
Dempsey Donovan Beasley
-------McBride

USA 2 : Morocco 0

Send out the "A" team (with the exception of the recently arrived Lewis) tonight against our toughest opponent and see how they do.

[tab5g]

-------Keller
Dolo Pope Gooch Gibbs
----Reyna Mastro
Dempsey Donovan Beasley
-------McBride

USA 2 : Morocco 0

Send out the "A" team (with the exception of the recently arrived Lewis) tonight against our toughest opponent and see how they do.

Arena could do this, but such a line-up would really tip his hand for the benefit of the Czechs, and that is not something I am thinking Arena wants to do.

Shackleton's line-up seems more likely for the June 5th closed-door scrimmage vs. Angola.

http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/060523/7/6vc9.html

[seeds]

-------Keller
Dolo Pope Gooch Gibbs
----Reyna Mastro
Dempsey Donovan Beasley
-------McBride

USA 2 : Morocco 0

Send out the "A" team (with the exception of the recently arrived Lewis) tonight against our toughest opponent and see how they do.

I agree this is the A team and very likely the side we'll field against the Czech, but I believe Bruce when he says he's not working on his first game line up yet. I think he's concentrating on exposing certain players to the sort of action they might see in the WC. All I know about this Moroccon team is what the BS boards have said, and since it seems they have their usual back line but not much else, I think you'll see EJ and Ching pair up top with a line up that will get them service from the wings and opportunities to combine together.

---------Howard/Marcus-----

---Pope---Gooch----Boca/Gibbs

---Dolo------Reyna/JOB----Convey

--------LD--------------DMB----

------------EJ-------Ching------

Subs: Dempsey (Dolo), Pablo(Reyna/JOB), Albright (Pope), Woff(LD), McBride(Ching), Conrad(Gooch)

[Gioca]

Isn't the match on 5/23??????

[roadkit]

From photos of training camp, we've been practicing with the Adidas ball. So, I would infer from that we'll play with the Adidas ball tonight.

During the friendlies the USA played with that crap-looking Nike ball - the one that looked like it got smeared with mud.

Anyway, I can imagine they would want to get used to the ball that will be in play during the World Cup - which is the Adidas ball. (in spite of it's panty-liner design).

Spot the difference:

http://www.fahadinc.com/Blog_Pics/adidas_soccer_ball.png http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0000530AB.01._SCMZZZZZZZ_.jpg

:D

[2-0 Baby]

Whoever he plays I hope he plays the game as a competitive match and not a Sven subfest. We need guys ready to go 90 if necessary especially guys like O'Brien. These games must be treated like competitive matches that we must win. We're getting ready for the World Cup, not testing out players for pre-Hex qualifying...

[cleansheetbsc]

I read somewhere earlier today that each goalkeeper gets a match. There will be no halftime sub of goalkeepers.

[seeds]

Whoever he plays I hope he plays the game as a competitive match and not a Sven subfest. We need guys ready to go 90 if necessary especially guys like O'Brien. These games must be treated like competitive matches that we must win. We're getting ready for the World Cup, not testing out players for pre-Hex qualifying...

If JOB is able to go hard for 45 tonight, maybe 20 next game, and 60 game after that, I'll be happy. I agree that we need to push the pace hard in these three games, but not at the risk of injury to anyone. I think we have 6 subs per game and I expect Bruce will use them all each time.

[evanpemsocr]

Isn't the match on 5/23??????

YEAH!!! Its tonight at 7. Someone might wanna change that, good catch.

[Bill Schmidt]

Spot the difference:

http://www.fahadinc.com/Blog_Pics/adidas_soccer_ball.png http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0000530AB.01._SCMZZZZZZZ_.jpg

:D

Thank you! I pointed this out the day they unveiled this season's MLS ball. There were clearly few women on the design team, or even men who once accidentally went down the wrong aisle at the grocery store.

[Lloyd Heilbrunn]

------Keller—

Dolo—Gooch-Pope-Gibbs

Reyna- Donovan—Pablo-—DMB

----------Wolff-BMB


As I told the Middle Eastern guy I ran into at lunch who said 1-0 Mor., 3-0 US:)

[atorres4]

My experimental line up...

-----------howard-----------

albright--boca--conrad--gibbs

-----------olsen------------

demp-----donovan----convey

------johnson---Ching-------

subs: beaseley for demp on the right.
obrien for olsen as d-mid.
wolff for either johnson or ching
pope for conrad (if he makes major mistakes.)

we are going to win this one 2-1.

[2-0 Baby]

If JOB is able to go hard for 45 tonight, maybe 20 next game, and 60 game after that, I'll be happy. I agree that we need to push the pace hard in these three games, but not at the risk of injury to anyone. I think we have 6 subs per game and I expect Bruce will use them all each time.

Good point, I'd just like to see 3 subs used each game so we can get some game cohesiveness...

[freisland]

It will be very bad if Morocco scores. They can defend (if they have their first team - some tall, athletic backs) buy I think their scoring drought rivals the Gals. (ok, not that bad, but it is 3 games.) I think the last real team they scored on was Tunisia. They've been held goaless by Lybia, Egypt, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Togo and Kenya in the last year or so. Is Bousoufa going to play? Maybe he'll be able to do something - he is dutch after all!

I don't know what the line-up looks like today, but they've got that fairly tall back El Karkouri who was a S'land when Reyna was there, and is/was at Charlton recently. Ouaddau is really big too, I seem to remember. He was a Fulham for a minute, but before McHead I think ... and defensively they've been pretty good.

Guess I should go check a line-up somewhere.