This is referenced in another thread but at the end of reg it was 1-1. In shoot out Portugal wins 4-2
Nice article, but did they leave out a player in the player evals at the bottom? I only counted 10 positions listed, but I have been in meetings for 4 1/2 hours straight today so my brain feels about as sharp as a marble right now. Scumby
Hark! have we found a right midfielder? Right Midfielder: Brian Carroll - Looked lively on the right, especially in the first and final 30 minutes, and was very dangerous with set pieces, setting up the goal. Carroll certainly has the wheels to play wide and I guess with Clark, Pause and Stone, we can spare a defensive midfielder to play wide. Speaking of which, Rob, I'm a little confused - you have both Beckerman and Pause listed as defensive mids and Carroll and Gregorio as flanks. Did one of them play close to the forwards as more of a traditional attacking mid or did Mooch just not use one?
usa vs portugal the usa team played today against a pretty strong portuguese squad, with a lot of excellent players from the best portuguese tems. The match has been a close contest, the usa scored first but portugal equalled 2 minutes after. I think that the us team is improving their level of play but, in my opinion, they should take more care in keeping the ball. defence was very good indeed. steadly and patiently the usa is making a very strong team that will bring great victories in the next years
Yeah, maybe someday we'll even be able to beat Portugal in the World Cup. Thanks for the backhanded compliment.
Sandon - they truly didn't have anybody in the 5-hole. I mean, Beckerman and Pause may have each gotten forward from time to time, but I think defense was the first priority - and a lot of long ball. A cynic might argue the team was playing for a draw. Gregorio and Carroll were definitely on the flanks as well.
I don't think he quite meant it that way Sandon. We aren't exactly the tightest posession team internationally without our Euro midfielders. If Carroll ends up as right mid, we're hurting bigtime. He's a dmid or right back at best IMHO.
I agree with "the wanderer" about Carroll. He shouldn't be the starting right mid. I know that I am going to draw the ire of some with this comment, but, in the WC, Donovan played as a right winger and was extremely effective. With the abundance of excellent forwards (Quaranta, Johnson, Casey, Buddle, Eskandarian) and offensive midfielders (Convey, Martino, Beckerman) moving Donovan over to right mid may be a good idea.
Carroll I saw Carroll play three times at Wake this season and he played exclusively on the flanks. That's obviously a change for HS, youth national teams and the first two years at Wake Forest where he was always holding midfielder. The question would be is this new position a revelation or are there just bettter players available in the midddle?
Re: usa vs portugal Thanks for the encouraging comments ... from a US perspective, your remarks may reflect two sides of the same coin. Against Portugal, three of our four midfielders were defense-oriented players. Thus it's no surprise that they bolstered our D but didn't do much to build the attack.
I watched the first 10 minutes or so of the game on RTP, and I am pleasantly surprised by this result. It was mostly 1 way traffic, and Portugal missed an open net within the first 5 minutes. Guess I should have taped it.
Re: usa vs portugal Thanks for the analysis. I am pleased to hear that one considering our lineup, as we played with 2 Dmids, neither of which are IMHO the best Dmids, and one of which was played wide right (Carroll). Additionally, our creative playmaker (Convey) wasn't there to create chances and help carry possession. Portugal is a great team and their players are skilled. Playing them so closely with our lineup in Portugal is quite an accomplishment to me. Thanks for the match report and analysis. -Tron