US-Paraguay Post-Game Thread [R]

[nancyb]

No flames.

No trolls.

Game on ESPN2 and Telemundo @3:00 pm, EDT.

[dark knight]

2-0 US off goals from LD and Earnie. Beasely MOTM.

[Tejas]

Yawn.

Beasley.

Gibbs.

Donovan.



Somewhat Boca.

Somewhat Stewart.

Somewhat Mathis.

Somewhat Mulrooney. (Prefer Pablo)



Not Convey.



Never Hedjuk, even when somewhat.

[CbR]

DMB was just on another level, once get starts crossing like he did today consistanty, he'll be lethal

[btousley]

more hot humid weather - good character builder and 30 mins for Reyna.

Gibbs and Beasley are just plain good.

I kept waiting for Mathis to retaliate.

Keller was tested only once - he passed the test.

Claudio got 30 good minutes in - as smooth and effortless appearing as always.

Stewart and Convey - so so at best. Has Hudson screwed them up? Mathis did not distinguish.

we faced a team without size - and did fine.

game could have been 6 - 0 if we can only finish.

Two worries - (1) inability to finish and (2) ball passing 5 yards forward and 15 yards back - what the heck is that? Look at Run DMB run by defenses - see what speed and cajones does for a team - stop being afraid to take people on 1 vs. 1!

Boca and LD did as expected - solid.

No defensive lapses today ... only thing worse than our finishing today was Paraguay's finishing.

[Alberto]

Good first 20 minutes and good last 10 minutes. Paraguay looked like they couldn't hit the broad side of a 747. Wow, even when they had clear shots on goal they shot off target or hit the ball more poorly than kindergartener's. They were pathetic.

Lewis with some nice runs and crosses.

DMB man of the match.

Boca with a nice job on the wing defensively.

[metrosoccer12]

Was Mathis injuryed I thought i heard something but I wasnt too sure? Can someone fill me in?

[Football Ronin]

I believe they said a slightly strained hip muscle for Mathis.

[Alberto]

Originally posted by metrosoccer12
Was Mathis injuryed I thought i heard something but I wasnt too sure? Can someone fill me in?

Clint came up limping after some off the ball stuff.

Hey was there another game off the ball? If there was the entire officiating crew was watching another game. Yet another center without cojones. I'm sure mr. Navarro from Canada will know what I mean. I would love to see a replay of the action by the touchline when Beasley was struck in the face late in the first half. You could only see a portion of it on the replay. Anyone who comes back from the game I would appreciate your comments.

[halfnelson31]

no he was just invisible except for a few long shots that went wide

[Fah Que]

Paraguay looks very bad. They have no flair no creativity. Very unusual for a South American team. US played okay. They have to finish those chances.

[The Wanderer]

The team moved much better off the ball today. Still, we gave away the ball way too much and wasted too many chances. Beasley was an easy man of the match.

Vanney---mediocre.
Donovan--good game for him.
Mathis---mediocre to OK. Not quite sure why we insist on having Kasey Keller hit long balls to a guy like Clint.

Gibbs---more please. Showed well. Let's hope he gets out of St. Pauli in a hurry. Calm down in the box when you've got time....

Boca----quiet to good.

Hejduk---OK I guess.
Convey----calm down please. Wasted a wonderful sequence of passes that were world classish. Had a couple of lackadaisical giveaways but IMHO the potential is there.

Mulrooney--quiet, so I suppose that's good. Can hit a long ball better than Armas.

Stewart--mediocre to OK. Wasted a great Mathis set up before making up for it later on. Played defense well.

Lewis--OK.

Garcia--too little time, I personally still don't think he's an international level defender.

Kasey Keller---insisted on pumping the ball downfield, but showed his great shot stopping ability.

[Deuteriumoxide]

Im glad they had Gibbs in at central defence. He's just as tall as Berhalter, a lot better, and he doesnt look like a flaming goose.

Great to see Claudio back, even though he was sucking wind pretty hard there. He didn't seem too tentative when running to the play.

Bobby Convey gave the ball away more than anyone else today, (Except maybe Frankie, but thats a given) isn't this kid supposed to be the next big thing? He still needs to work on finishing also. Maybe he just needs to get out of DC.

Seeya later DMB, he's europe bound if he keeps this up.

[Scoey]

Originally posted by btousley


No defensive lapses today ... only thing worse than our finishing today was Paraguay's finishing.

I disagree. There were several defensive lapses -- or miscues -- that should have hurt us. Campos unimpeded run, for one. Garcia's lazy tracking in the final minutes. And needless giveaways by Vanney and Convey. I thought our D wasn't nearly tight enough. Good thing Paraguay left the finishing shoes at home.

I wasn't sold on Beasley until this year. Despite all his shortcomings -- size, dribbling technique, and crossing -- he is consistently one of the most dangerous and effective players on the pitch. He fully deserved MOTM. He even had a great cross that lead to Gibbs' shot on goal. Studly.

Gibbs looked better today in central D. He obviously has a high soccer IQ, and some great physical tools.

Boca was solid again. With him and Pope, I think we're set at central D. If only we had that much quality at the left and right spots.

LD was better today. Much more active. Some sweet passes. This is the LD we expect to see.

Stewart, Convey, Hejduk, Mathis, Vanney and Mulrooney all had pedestrian performances.

I love Lewis' crosses. Why can't he teach Hejduk and Beasley how to do that?

Great to see Reyna back out there. I forget how much he settles things down.

[Dr. Wankler]

Originally posted by btousley
Claudio got 30 good minutes in - as smooth and effortless appearing as always.

Agree about the good 30 part, but he was sucking wind out there the few times the camara caught him, and that's something he never does... well, except on hot afternoons when he's coming off an injury after not playing for 8 months. Glad to see him back. Hopefully, he'll be able to play himself into match fitness by the end of the Gold Cup.

[Bluecat82]

Thoughts after the match/before watching the tape...

1) I'm convinced. Gibbs is a keeper.

2) A thread in its own right: Is Run DMB the best field player for the US today? If you take the last four matches, I'd say yes...

3) Vanney...whoa...Looked clueless on defense, but actually wasn't half bad in attack. I dunno...maybe switch him and Convey?

4) One Kasey Keller...there's only one Kasey Keller!

5) I thought Earnie played probably his best match of the year...which still might not be good enough to get him to the hex...

6) I also thought WonderLandon played his best match of the year...perhaps Bruno knows waht he's doing after all, eh?

7) Good to see Claudio back - and some of the things he tried to pull off were pretty subtle, weren't they?

8) Mulrooney had a nice, quiet solid match. Just what you'd want from a d-mid.

All in all, not a bad effort against a decent Paraguay side. A good way to go into Gold Cup.

Now it's time to look at the tape...:)

[Fah Que]

Mulrooney played very deep. Way deeper than when he plays midfield for SJ. He is almost like another defender. He is clearly behind convey the whole time. It must be part of Bruce's tactic.

He has nothing to do because all Paraguay does is long ball to the wings.

[The Wanderer]

Paraguay is totally toothless without Santa Cruz and Cardozo. Fah Que's right, but they're really not that much more creative with Santa Cruz and Cardozo. They were painful to watch in the World Cup.

[Hayduke]

At the risk of running afoul of the No Trolls directive, Paraguay's a joke. They demonstrated poor individual skills, they're slow, and they touched the ball out of bounds without pressure, like eight times.

So what's the difference? Why did we look so good against these guys, and look so terrible in France?

DMB! DMB!

[Alberto]

Originally posted by The Wanderer
Paraguay is totally toothless without Santa Cruz and Cardozo. Fah Que's right, but they're really not that much more creative with Santa Cruz and Cardozo. They were painful to watch in the World Cup.

It really is amazing that they did as well as they did in qualifying for the 2002 World Cup. I guess they can thank Colombia, that was rebuilding and a chaotic situation in Brasil with regards to the coaching.