5=avg the starters: Howard (5) Not tested much Cherundolo (5.5) Solid performance offensively, average on defense. Johnson (7) Best USMNT LB of all time??? Cameron (4.5) Note that i deducted 2pts for the own goal, but was good for the rest of the game. I want to see more. Bocanegra (6.5) typical, good game from the Capt...still not tested that often. Edu (6.5) good defensive work put in. Jones (8) very good game on both sides of the field and nice goal too. Bradley (10) Zidane-esque performance...yeah, i said it. he was that awesome tonight. And what a goal. It's hard to think that he isn't playing for a Champions League contender caliber team. Donovan (10) hatrick + assist + set up other goal. And all around excellent performance. Hard to think of any single better performance from any USMNT player. Torres (7) Love his ability to control the ball and nifty little passes. A thorn in Scotland's side all night. Boyd (7) Boyd is really growing on me. He has a lot of potential, and i think it is justified to be excited about his future. It's not glimpses, it's the whole package...he has the making of a world class forward. More, his hunger and energy is what i really credit for our performance tonight. he was a handful for the scottish defenders the whole game. The only thing i can knock him for tonight is for him to compose himself better on the ball...but i believe this will come with more experience. Just don't lose that 'eye of the tiger,' Boyd. Note: This is actually the first time i ever handed out a "10" before for any US player. the subs: Onyewu-(6) Not tested and not noticed. But that's a good sign for a CB. Beckerman-(6) came in and we didn't lose a beat. Gomez-(5) Maybe we took our foot off the gas when he came in, but we seemed to lose some of that threat once he entered. However, i'll say i notice some good movement off the ball and i'm still excited to see more. Castillo- (5) He didn't do anything wrong, but wasn't really pressured either. Still, i would like to see some more composure out of defenders. Corona (3.5) The only player who i was not impressed with tonight. He came in and ran around like a chicken with his head cut off. Still, first cap. I'll give some slack. Guzan-N/R did he even touch the ball? the coach Klinsmann (10) 5-1 against a highly respectable team. Loved the formation, loved the subs, love the style of play-offensively and defensively. You honestly could not have asked for better. the team as a whole (9) I was thoroughly impressed with the team. They deserve every praise they get tonight. They played as a cohesive unit that defends as a whole and attacks with pace, numbers, and more importantly, with a sense of purpose.
It was Donovan. The pretty move was by Jones, who left it ready for Mike's shot. But the initial pass that sliced through their DMs was Landon's.
What's the point? It's not as if Scotland had a team tonight that would require El Salvador to try harder in order to drum 'em.
Wow, Scotland couldn't really do anything. Not sure why their fans were so confident. They're not very good.
plus a few subs, and Torres from Mexico. But like the announcers were saying, the bulk of the team plays in Europe.
I was at that game. Mostly to watch Ronaldinho and Kaka in their primes, but yeah, it was entertaining. From what I saw, you seem to have something figured out under Klinsmann. Didn't see Scotland even come close to scoring. I wouldn't get too carried away, though, take it at face value. Good job!
so whats gonna happen to Chandler? Have we found a permanent replacement now for him? or do we still need him? and if not, will he represent Germany?
He's a good player so I'd hate to lose him. Even if we don't need him. Can never have too much depth.
Boyd 7, gomez 5 - interesting, I thought Gomez had one of the nicest most quick minded penultimate passes I've seen out of the CF position or the USA to set up the last goal. Was Boyd involved in any goal at all? Note: The announcers were awful. They never identified the players. It was an embarassment. the foreign guy announced the Scots but our guy was F-. Rating for NBC - minus 10.
I was worried about our attack when I saw 3 defensive minded mids with Torres, but wow. Bradley and Jones were absolutely fantastic, both ways. There should be no doubt that they start at CM in whatever formation we play. Donovan clinical, Torres was tidy (but how did he miss that free kick?), Edu was meh. Johnson and Cherundolo looked solid, providing some much needed width on occasion. Boyd should've scored, but did fine for such an inexperienced player. Would love to see that formation used in qualifiers (maybe not against Brazil) with Alitdore up top, Dempsey on the left, Torres pushed back with Edu on the bench. I have to say it again - Bradley and Jones, superb!
Yeah, the announcers were weak. But as far as identifying the players, I hope the US shirt numbers will be darker in the future. The soft grey numbers are useless. My only complaint about the US tonight.
Yeah. Besides, he's a RB primarily right? I like FJ in the LB role better and Chandler would be good on the other end.
Beyond Scotland playing against a higher quality US opponent accustomed to playing in World Cups, haggis-deprived, jet-lagged, heat-exhausted, brain-fart impaired, and stone cold pissed likely played no factor. Saying Scotland played in the very first international match against England is a British version of saying Rutgers played in the very first American football game.
Scotland was wretched tonight. If that team had a single idea during the match, it must've been about how to get on the bus early to beat the crowd home. Hard to know how much of that was the US' playing well, and how much of it was their just stinking up the joint. Still, nice to see the US moving the ball quickly and purposefully. We still haven't played a meaningful game under Klinsmann, but I'm not as worried about WCQs as I was six months ago.
We made Scotland look real slow and overmatched at times. Scotland looked like Canada circa 1996. In fact, I am pretty sure Canada could have beat Scotland today. I am really happy with everyone's performance except for Castillo. He looked awful for the 10 seconds he was in the game.
https://twitter.com/YanksAbroad/status/206577050759344129 In case you missed it, Bradley and Edu had pass completion percentages of 94% and 93% respectively tonight. Torres also well over 90% credit to kilometers for seeing/sharing this.
if we can attack a tad bit more than we did during the Italy game, then we may just have a chance against this Brazil Side, which to me with all due respect does not look super impressive, but very good nonetheless
Although Scotland were very poor tonight and are usually much better than that, I would still think the Scottish fans would want to see the back of Levein, he has been quite poor whilst in charge of them.
Good God, can we put this Bob/Jurgi stupidity to rest now? Whatever you thought of Bob as a coach, the team was incredibly successful under him. Now the baton has been handed to Jurgi and let's hope that he keeps up the good work and maybe helps us to continue to improve.