Assuming Kljestan starts for us (still not a safe assumption at this point), does what we saw last night combined with his general set of skills move him up in the pecking order for taking free kicks directly on goal? Donovan has scored on a few but I certainly wouldn't consider it a strength of his game. Freddy certainly can be deadly from closer in (he doesn't have a lot of power but his placement is superb), but then Freddy doesn't look like a starter just yet. How would you rank them among the guys likely to start against Mexico?
It's Sasha. All the way. The US hasn't had a man more lethal on freekicks and Penalty kicks since Clint Mathis. Besides, I like Donovan on corners better.
It's probably Adu, Sacha, Landon, Holden edit: I put Adu ahead of Sacha because 1. He has more experience, and Sacha's second and thrid fk weren't the greatest and 2. Sacha told Robbie Rogers that that was the first fk he's scored since he was 12
Against Mexico it does not matter because FKs from the same place Klestjan shot would not be shots against Mexico, they would be crosses/floaters looking for the heads of Ching/Gooch etc to take advantage of our aerial game against an undersized Mexico.
After last night's effort, he might be able to convince the elder statesmen on the field to let him have a go from 35.
It's possible. But with the lack of playing time and our offense being so thin at the moment I could see him called up. Wouldn't surprised me if he wasn't though.
I prefer Landon inside of, say, 23 yards. He has a nice bending, accurate FK. I prefer Sacha from distance. Landon can't spank the ball like SK.
Dolo has an awesome driven shot....but the positioning would have to be more central for it to even have a chance of going in from that distance. So Sacha from distance for now.
The FK was perfect but the Swedish goalie played for a cross. The direct shot from that distance caught him by surprise, as he was shading to the right. Hypothetically, a good team can do both and off either foot. I am not sure if Pearce can take the lefties (Gregg Berhalter could). Beasley clearly can't. I don't recall Donovan shooting on goal since the 2005 Cuba match (of the famous Josh Wolff wink).
After that display, I'd let Kljestan take all of them. Despite playing a sub-par game overall, Rogers had some good deliveries on CKs. Obviously, he's not ready, but it's comforting to see multiple players with the ability to strike a dead-ball.
Corners: Donovan Free Kicks: Kljestan, Donovan Alternative Lefty: ? (Beasley can put in a good corner)
Beasley hits a nice dead ball these days, though I'd be worried about him being out of form from lack of time at Rangers.
The best FK guy we have is Eddie Lewis, though how much he plays in the Hex is questionable. Still, the competition at LM (Beasley, Convey, Adu, Rogers) isn't either playing much, has little or no experience, or both. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see Lewis make the Mexico roster. After Eddie: Adu, Donovan, Kljestan, Rogers, Beasley.
I dunno, he was horrible during the England game. BTW, what do you think ppl who sit on the bench every game are reaaaaly good at? Free kicks. See: Freddy Adu