Agree with this. Bradley put in one of the best performances of the entire tournament. He was remarkable tonight. I've never been a big Edu fan, but he showed something tonight....definitely should be the pairing for next game.
Bradley was absolutely unstoppable in the midfield today. Great performance. Feilhaber came in and made things happen. Great job from the mids today.
I thought the entire midfield overall was fantastic. With even below average luck we would have won 4-0. Clint played one of the best, most complete games I've ever seen from him. Why he didn't just shoot low and hard on the one that hit the post is beyond me. LD was really good in the first but absent in the 2nd, but made the right run at the end. Mikey was immense. Edu was fine for the 1st half til he got gassed but then Benny was really good.
I've always like Feilhaber, and am glad he got a chance to prove himself to be a cool, calm ball handler. I think there was also a small hope from BB that BF would hit one into the back of the net from distance as he has done previously. MB was great. Edu was okay.
To echo. Bradley... best game I've ever seen him play. He may be going to a big club after this WC. Hopefully he makes a choice to go somewhere where he will continue to PLAY and develop. MOTM for him or maybe Jozy. Edu. Very solid. I think this is our pairing going forward. Look for Edu to be a regular for Rangers next year. Dempsey. If you take away the finishing, this was one of the best performances Dempsey has ever put forth wearing the USA shirt. He was creating ALL game. One legit goal taken away. The only criticism is that he missed 3 break aways if you include the last one that Donovan slotted home. Donovan. Blast me if you want, but this was Donovan's least impressive game of the tournament. You could say he pulled a dempsey today. Didn't have the best game but came through HUGE with the garbage goal. Great performance from the midfield.
Bradley is our best CM. If there are still people who disagree, please step forward and receive your "I don't know shit about soccer" badge. Edu is Bradley's best partner. So far. Donovan is the Greatest American Soccer Hero. I feel bad for Clint. You know he wanted a goal more than anything. Still a phenomenal game from him. Feilhaber the SuperSub does the duty. DaMarcus I can't rate.
I thought Edu was poor today again. The first 20 minutes he misplayed and punted countless balls. His tracking is good, and he keeps shape well, but I just think he's too loose on the ball. I'm really wavering between him and Clark for the next game whoever it is. Bradley is a man. That's all there is to it. He is a beast, and warrior. Unfortuantely, most of the morons on this board don't realize what a solid player he is. Donovan was a dissapointment today (for me at least, it seems most people think he was great, including Jack Bell giving him an 8 on the day). Many uncharacteristic touches. This was easily his worst game of the tournament. Even his free kicks weren't as crisp as they normally are. Of course he then goes and scores that goal. That's why I love this game. Dempsey's profligacy in front of goal today was frightening. However, he was a beast for us, and I thought stepped his game up over the past games. He was really involved, dropping back demanding the ball (which is what I wanted Donovan to be doing). Feilheiber was a lovely change by Bradley. Good on possession. He's a gamer.
I get the strange impression that people here are suggesting that Bradley didn't start just because his dad is the coach. That just flies in the fact of the conventional BS "wisdom". This is the second game in a row where Bradley has been a beast. Should the U.S. get to the quarters, don't be surprised to see him on the World Cup Best XI team. He's been that good this tournament. Edu was solid. His passing was off. But he allows Mikey the freedom to get forward. This is the pairing I hope to see going forward. I agree with most that Clint that he was incredible today. Should have had three goals today. Donovan was great in the first half, was actually pretty quiet in the second half. But he orchestrated that counter attack perfectly. Feilhaber came on and did everything asked of him. He's a great second half sub. Beasley...no rating.
My only (small) complaint about the midfield is that dempsey and to a lesser extent donovan pinch in from the outside a little too much and too often which clogs up the middle for everyone and doesn't give us as much width to attack as I would like to see. I know it is knit picking but too often I just see our own players getting in each other's way.
Bradley. What everyone else has said, he was awesome. Donovan. I thought it was an average game at best until the goal. Dempsey. Good activity. Poor finishing. Edu. I thought he was really really good. Very strong overall game. Defensively, he doesn't get lost like Clark and allows Bradley freedom. Offensively, he can dribble calmly out of trouble and push the ball forward. Benny. So much better this game. Well done. Beas. Not enough to rate, but he wasn't shading to the positive side. Please give us Bradley-Edu as often as their stamina allows.
Donovan and Dempsey switched Confed Cup '09 performances today. Dempsey was everywhere, demanding the ball, and was unlucky not to get two goals. He was involved in the goal sequence, and still tracked back and supported on D. Donovan had an excellent first half, but went quiet in the second until. Then, to paraphrase Dumb and Dumber, he TOTALLY redeems himself! (and then some) Started to look more comfortable when Buddle entered and we had two strikers again (as opposed to Altidore high and Dempsey withdrawn.) What impressed me most about Bradley is how he refused to let this team down. He demanded the ball as well, and more often than not, bypassed the first defender with ease on the dribble. Nit-pick: Still goes for the long-range pass more often than he should. Once again, most ground covered on the team. (pdf) Edu looked good. Did pretty well in defense, could be a step quicker to get the ball off his foot. Helpful to have him in front of a backline that was shuffled around for this game. Also forced Algeria to play wider more often. Feilhaber seemed like mixed bag to me. Obviously brought on to help break-down the Algerian defense, and looked very solid in distribution. Great run to get to the end-line, and almost hit the shot/cross past the keeper to Altidore. However, left tons of space open on the left side of our defense - not sure if that was by design or if the Algerian wide play exploited our narrow formation. On the balance, I will take this overall performance from our midfield every time.
lol, I knew that had to be wrong. Still impressive. I don't think I would be standing after 7 miles, much less playing soccer.
all I want to say about the midfield, at this moment, is Michael Fricking Bradley. what a fricking performance from this kid!!
STFU. HIS DAD PUT HIM IN. Don't you get it? He sucks. He can't pass. He has no idea how to play the game. He should be benched.
Bradley was MOTM (again). Bolded above is what I loved about him today. While everyone else seems too eager to play too long or too quick, Mikey just strolled forward with the ball with ease. Then after surveying, he chose the correct path, not too many long balls from him IMHO. I'm fine if we run these guys out again. Edu was not very good however. Will be interesting if we see Clark (or Benny or who knows... Holden or DMB) next time out. I think Edu is the choice as it seems to elevate Mike's game, but I hope his sloppiness doesn't come back to cost us.
Bradley-a great second half on Friday and played the entire game that way today. Edu-solid game today. He seems to stiffen up the defense when he's out there. Dempsey-excellent game on both sides of the ball. Could have been a golden boot contender if he put away his chances today. Donovan-quiet game but again indispensable for the US. He seems to be the one midfielder that Algeria paid a lot of attention to throughout the game. Benny-did exactly what he was supposed to do bringing out his offense of game that Edu doesn't have.