No, as mentioned multiple times, Mastroeni is not on the roster at all. Casey will only be called up on a game-to-game basis, which might be this weekend (doubtful) or it might be the final, or anywhere in between.
I'll be there for the game in an hour in my NC State soccer shirt or my Buffon Italy shirt...not sure which one yet, but if you go to British Bulldog, come say hi to me while I'm visiting in town. GO USA!
Unless I misunderstood the announcers Fabrice Noel had the game winning goal for Haiti (14th minute). I tuned in too late to see it live but I did see some other good plays by him. I'm assuming by the way that everyone knows this thread will have spoilers for all Gold Cup matches?
That just sucks. I really hope he gets some good minutes in the next match now that they will advance.
With the group all but won this will be Colin's best chance to suit up for a match. After all, isn't the purpose of this group to see some players who might not normally get game time.
If Colin doesn't suit up for the next match, it would be nice if Bob let us have him back. Has anyone seen enough of Fabrice to judge whether or not he's a project we might have passed on too quickly?
It looked that way last night. We should see him vs. USA Saturday. They will still be in the hunt with their win over Grenada, keeping things close with us will matter for goal differential (if that is how they pick the two third place teams to advance). To be objective (I think) I didn't see Omar do anything for Jamaica that Fabrice didn't also do as well for Haiti. Irony is that if we had him for much needed depth at forward right now -- we wouldn't have him.
I agree that once again the Rapids blew it on not retaining Noel. He looked very dangerous and has one hell of a shot. However, after watching the absolutely professional passes, distribution and hustle of Kyle Beckerman, you might also ask why the Rapids gave him the pink slip for our current central midfielder.....Duh? If Bob Bradley doesn't find a spot for him in our National team midfield, I might just be one of those guys with a "Fire Bob Bradley" sign at the next match. Gold Cup may be a step down from World Cup Qualifiers, but IMHO Kyle deserves a start or two and I'd love to see him play in Azteca next month.....
Dedron.... So say most of the announcers I've listened to this year, however considering that Kyle has spent very little time with the Nat's (4 or 5 matches) last night he sure looked like a starter who had been playing at this level on a regular basis with team mates he knew well and when to hit them with those excellent crossses. I think if you'll watch him again on replay, you might want to give him the MOTM award. Let's hope he gets another starting shot this weekend. If Colin doesn't start I'd be very disappointed since the US is on to the next round and Bradley has nothing to lose. If he doesn't find a spot for him, I'm sure Gary Smith could use him up top on the left side in our next match.
Beckerman shouldn't be starting at the Azteca or any international compeition outside of CONCACAF. He suffers from the same thing as Clark and others we saw in the Confederations Cup. Tendency to make rash tackles that CONCACAF refs (usually) allow our guys to get away with but that get red carded anywhere else.
I agree that Kyle had a very nice match last night - but I'm not ready to annoit him anywhere near the next best midfielder in the US pool. There are plenty of players ahead of him in the pecking order that are more seasoned, more talented and more deserving. Let's now forget the level of competition this was against and that it was on US soil. I seem to recall his game against Grenada being unspectacular and when he played in South America last year it was entirely unforgettable. I do think he has come a long way and I certainly wish he was still in burgandy and blue - and he played quite impressively last night showing some rare vision and touch on many of his passes. Having said that, he has a long way to go to prove he deserves even a bench spot at Azteca, any WCQ or anything near the WC
Will someone else please comment on how much bigger Fabrice has gotten. It's to the point it seems suspicious. He has to have put on thirty pounds of muscle since his stint here. Does anyone else remember how small he was? From the limited games I have seen between the Gold Cup and Islanders games on FSC he still seems too anxious to go straight forward. The only memory I have of Fabrice, other than shaking his hand, was watching him run full speed at defenses.
He was 21 when he left in 2006, so I'm not sure putting on 30 pounds of muscle in 2.5 years between your 21st and 24th birthdays is that suspicious.
Jason...as per yr comment on rash tackles, I think I've seen Pablo make quite a few over the years with the Nat's/Rapids and it has not really kept him out of the line up. Kyle played with enthusiasm and had his head screwed on pretty well in the last two matches that I've seen him play. It's my opinion that he may be at that point in his career where he is playing up to the level that we all hoped he would someday reach in a Rapids uniform. Now he's playing at a level up from the MLS and with better players who intern improve his level of play and make him look better that when he plays at the MLS level. I agree that this was only one match, and if he continues to improve as I think he will, then I think that Bradley will find a spot for him in that ever changing line up. PS... Maybe Fabrice has had a change in diet since he left the Rapids. As I recall, the Rapids were paying him so little that he probalby live on fast foods for his tiome in Denver. Were those donations we made for his family in Haiti, or we were they for him to pay the rent and the groceries? Really can't recall that far back...gotta run.
The difference between Pablo's rash tackles and the one's I've seen from Beckerman int he last couple of games is that (with one notable exception) Pablo's were still controlled and not anywhere close to a red card. A couple of the tackle's Beckerman has made in the Gold Cup are similar to the ones that Clark and Sasha saw red for in the Confederations Cup. Not surprisingly since all 3 players are coming out of a league and confederation that allows a lot of rough play. They need to learn the ability to "dial down" their tackles based on the circumstances, like what Pablo has learned.
Cummings did not start the Jamaica match tonight. ESPN doesn't have the list of bench players yet, but I assume he's on the bench. Jamaica must win or they will be out of the Gold Cup.
Looks like ESPN had the wrong starting lineup. They now show Cummings in the starting 11 as they approach half.
55' Fuller feeds Cummings and he rifles his shot goal bound, a world class save from Montes as he tips it round the post.