Zach Whitbread - Definetly very impressive, strong player overall, plays big and serves a good ball - with work could be a great weapon...overall played good soccer and showed that he could be a fixture in the US and Liverpool lineup in the future... Chad Marshall - God did this guy start slow, played poorly first 35 minutes, then got better every minute after using his size to his advantage...shut down a couple good thru balls and picked up men coming through the midfield well....overall showed well hindering mistake on first goal Ryan Cochrane - Same as Marshall, started slow as did the whole defense, but turned it on late in the game....the last 20 mins played fantastic stepping up and stealing a couple good thru balls and passes...size was exploited in the air ( thought he was bigger for some reason ) Cj Klaas - by far the worst of the back four, every time he had a ball at his feet he just pumped it as far as possible up the field, very nervous on the ball with a attacker apply pressure, first touch suspect, but showed much better in second half.... Justin Mapp - VERY SHAKY!!! make some bigtime mistakes almost leading to goals in the first half, Offensively contributed well with a couple decent crosses, one with Magee should have put away but no such luck...much better second half, ran at some guys and used his speed well, came off injured about 75th minute.... Ricardo Clark - the usual hardworking mid he is, constantly won balls and hustled hard in the Dmid slot...good distribution laterally also...got jipped on the yellow card, good tackle - got ball first then the guy came over his legs.... Bobby Convey - Excellent Game -tie for man of the match with EJohnson - constanly was dangerous with the through ball, had couple picked off, just unlucky with them...wasnt scared to take a guy on ( ask the defender he shook for the goal ) and was always supporting the forwards, surprisingly to me played a good PHYSICAL match, held guys off - muscled through a couple - got dirty on the ground....I like the way he is developing and GREAT GOAL! Santino Quaranta - Played very poorly, defensive work was non-existent, made some nice classy touches as usual to show off that he has the skills but they just arent refined yet I suppose, playing out of position also so he might still be adjusting...supplied a great cross to EJohnson and was confident in taking a man on... Eddie Johnson - This kid was the star of the match, was everywhere even when the US was playing poorly...used his speed to exploit defenders constantly - no flashy stupid move no nothing, soft touch to outside and sprint by him just the way it should be done....good dirty work to get his head on that cross...placed good defensive pressure, won 50/50 headers, and even put a nasty meg on a defender in the closing minutes only to get shoved to the ground for making the guy a fool...man of the match with Convey, keep it up EJ Mike Magee - I tell you, I dont really favor this kid but i gotta say just when i start saying yank him off the field he scores, every damn time! classic poacher goal scorer so i wolnt complain...otherwise whined constanly when he would beat a guy and get muscled off the ball of knocked down, its part of the game shorty just keep playing....the kid has a superior touch, i think his size helps with it, used some classy little moves to avoid defenders - key word avoid - not take on or beat but going away from them, either way....was solid enough overall but I think Knox Cameron of Freddy would be much more dangerous.... Steve Cronin - Stupid foul in first half but honestly I dont think he had a choice, Marshall was smoked...otherwise played fantastic winning all balls in the air and punching otu corners....made two key saves late in the game to hold on to the win...another future keeper that could end up overseas doing big things it seems... Substitutes: Knox Cameron - Jeez this guy is huge and athletic, didnt see much only about five minutes worth but looking forward to seeing more.... Drew Moor - Came in as a added defensive stud when Mapp came off....played solid defense, didnt get into the attack and think Rongen probably told him not too, just sit back and help CJ Klass cover...solid 20 mins Jordan Stone - nothing to write home about either, think Rongen just told him to go in there and anything that comes near him in the middle of the park just pump it up the field 50 yds...made a great pass to EJ to set up the Convey goal...
O.K., I just rewatched the game a second time, so here's my take (scale of 10, 10 being a career WC performance). YMMV. Team average: 6.46 Zach Whitbread (6) – Skillful with his feet, strong in the air, got forward well and combined decently with Convey and Mapp/Quaranta. However, poor long distribution out of the back during the first 60 minutes wasted possession and questionable positioning left the left side exposed on multiple occasions. Also, several weak clearances with his head (including the play that set up the Paraguay goal) led to dangerous chances. Chad Marshall (6.5) – Can’t really be blamed for the Paraguay goal, after Whitbread played the header behind him and Cronin called him off. Otherwise, was a pretty much a rock in man-to-man matchups. By and large, great distribution out of the back. Could have scored higher, but appeared to communicate poorly with Klaas at times. Ryan Cochrane (6) – Weak first half with some poor positioning and mixups with Whitbread. Had some difficulty on set plays and with ball at feet. Finished strong, breaking up some key plays as the clock wound down. CJ Klaas (5.5) – tenacious when the ball was on the ground on the wing, but poor positioning left the wing exposed and experienced repeated problems on high balls/set plays. Also, got turned a couple of times. Distributed poorly in the first half, but improved towards the end of the game and got forward a little more. Paraguay appeared to be looking to exploit the height mismatch at his position on their set pieces. Justin Mapp (6.5) – Up and down game. Consistently dangerous going to the end line and combined well with Whitbread and Convey on the left and Convey and EJ on the right, lackadaisical touches in the first half led to turnovers and dangerous chances for the opposition. Brilliant backheel to EJ on the Magee goal. Ricardo Clark (7.5) – absolutely a warrior. Destroyed multiple attacks, forcing the Paraguayans out of their game, and distributed well throughout. At times, got a little sloppy with the ball at feet, particularly as he tired. Bobby Convey (7.5) – consistently dangerous and scored an absolute golazo. Played both sides of the ball and went end to end with 75-yard runs. I had him down for 67 touches (35 1H/32 2H), which gives you an idea of his importance to this team. Slightly behind EJ for my MOTM. Santino Quaranta (6) – erratic game, still looks out of shape. Had a few good combinations with Convey, served several decent diagonal balls, and launched a classy cross to EJ for the first goal. Lackadaisical on defense, particularly set play marking. Would have scored lower if not for the cross. Eddie Johnson (8) – MOTM. Looked out of control, made the wrong run and botched his first touch at times, but was all over the field – working the corners, winning balls as target man, coming back to help out on defense or provide an outlet for the MF/D. Didn’t produce results in the first half (in part because of the lack of service), but it wasn’t because of lack of effort. Great run on the first goal and great turn and speed move on the second. Mike Magee (6.5) – a bit of a mystery. Some nice touches and smart plays and a real poacher, but doesn’t seem to pair well with EJ or the midfield (Convey, Mapp, etc.). The goal bumps him up to a 6.5 Steve Cronin (6.5) – chalk up the foul and placement on the wall on the Paraguayan goal to nerves. Otherwise, solid in the air and made several clutch saves when the U.S. needed him, too. By and large, decent distribution. Substitutes: Knox Cameron (NR) - a few touches in the "Cobi" role in garbage time. Two times Cobi's size, however. Drew Moor (6) – Helped bolster a tiring midfield and defense in 20 or so solid, but unspectacular, minutes. A little careless with the ball at times. Jordan Stone (6.5) – 12 or so quality minutes in relief of Ricardo Clark. Not the same presence as Rico, but didn’t make any real mistakes, intercepted a few balls, and chased Barreto around well. Good vision to find EJ on the Convey goal.
Almost forgot... Thomas Rongen (7) - The team appeared to be well prepared and generally dictated the pace of the game. Halftime changes (less long distribution by Whitfield, flip flop Mapp and Quaranta, and play Convey a bit deeper in central MF) worked. Made the right subs, although probably could have brought in Stone and Cameron earlier and done more to protect Klaas. It will be interesting to see what kind of changes, if any, TR makes for Germany. As we saw in the WC, they are great at exploiting positioning problems in the back and killing teams with precise set plays.
I think you're way off here. Whitbread looked so impressive today. He did hit a few errant balls but he must have crossed the ball 20 times today and no one on the planet will hit that many wthout shanking a few. Nobody likes kick ball, but his crosses all had pace and swerve and direction to them which kept the Paraguayans on their heals the first half when there was no attack at all from anywhere else. He's the only one on the team who should be hitting those kinds of passes because he's the only one who can do it properly. Other than that, Whitbread is very confident, very big, fast and looks very comfortable out there. I honestly think he will be a starter in 06'. Eddie Johnson- Brilliant today. It's the first time in a couple of years the kid has played with any kind of confidence and he showed what he can be when his head is in the right place. People forget what sitting on the bench and having less than friendly teammates can do to your play like Eddie has had to endure in the MLS. Convey played the best game I've ever seen him play today. It was the first time I can honestly say I have been impressed with the kid. I hope it's not the last. Marshall, Cochrane, and Klaas look really, really weak at times. They are very scary and I think their lack of skill and passing will hurt us in this tournament, I have a hard time believing we don't have better players. And Marshall's resemblance to Chris Albright cannot help his status with MLS fans. Also, I don't think Magee has what it takes to play at this level. Again I can't believe we don't have players better than this in the US, and I can think of one player off the bat who is sitting on the bench that will have more of an impression on the game than Mike.
Cronin: Really made a mess of things with the goal, but was very stead for the rest of game. High pressure matches like this are just what a goalie needs. 6.5 Zack Whitbread: Rongen gave Zack a ton of responsibility in moving the ball forward and he generally did well. Very good skill for a guy his size and was probably our most solid defender throught the game. 7. Chad Marshall: Showed flashes in transitioning the offense and made a one excellent stop on a dangerous Paraguyan cross. Other wise solid, if unexceptional on defense and got caught upfield once or twice on early counters. 5. Ryan Chocrane: Seems to be a straight defender with few offensive skills. Really stepped up strong in the final 30 mintues. 5.5 C. J. Klass: Overall a very quite game. Rarely had the chance to push upfield and really struggled connecting with Quaranta. 4. Rico Clark: Didn't get much of a chance to show his ball skill. Did a very good job of holding down the center of the field opening Convey up to freelance. 6. Justin Mapp: All over the place. Made a few really scary mistakes but was also a spark offensively. Hopefully he can come back from that hammy problem. 5. Santino Quaranta: Lovely cross to set up Johnson's goal. Really, it was a beaut. 3.5. Bobby Convey: Set up several dangerous chances and helped crack down on the Paraguyan buildup. Also his goal was amazing. 7. Mike Magee: Came back some to help out Convey, and had one really good header early. Goal was cheap but its still counts. Tended to disappear for times, especially in the mid-game. 5.5 Eddie Johnson: Blazing speed with the ball at his feet. The way he blew by the defender on the exchange that set up Magee's goal was hard to believe. Seemed to have good chemistry with Convey. MOM. 8.
I think a 3.5 is a bit harsh. I admit (as I have posted elsewhere) that SQ still looks a bit slow and his defensive game is non-existent, but he was active in the offensive half of the field. A 3.5 out of ten for a guy that delivered a pin point cross for the 1st goal?
A 3.5 for a player who for 89 minutes did absolutely nothing offensively nor defensively is a very good rating.
Man, I really would like to see this Convey goal... anyone want to point it out to me or tell me what happened so I can at least visualize it...?
Do you all have basketball backgrounds? Because most of you mention size being a decisive factor, like you are talking about matching up with Mutumbo or Shaq. Crazy how 70's German/English influence in this country coupled with what actually IS important in basketball and American football bleed into your thoughts on soccer.
EJ receives a pass on the right and just slightly flicks it (backheels) to Convey. There is a man on him but behind him tugging at his shirt...Convey moves forward and takes on a defender in the box...He jukes left toward the center of the box and just rips a shot with his left into the top corner...Keeper had a touch on it, but it was too powerful to stop.
I know it's hard for some people to believe, but physical attributes do play a role in soccer -- as they do in every sport.
It's at least a factor. And I think people are generally excited about having some good, tall players coming up. We may be tall for CONCACAF, but in the 2002 World Cup we were the fourth-shortest team in the tournament (with only Mexico, Costa Rica, and Saudi Arabia below us). Funny how the stereotype of the American player is that of the big, strong, athletic type - this is the first time in a while that we've actually had a few of those.
I wasn't criticizing his technique, just his decisionmaking. He hit four crosses in the first half, IIRC -- two were blocked, one went to EJ and was lost, and one went to Magee for a header just wide of goal. The two that weren't blocked were both well struck and created good possibilities for the attack. His long passing from the back, on the other hand, while reasonably accurate, wasn't effective. He hit about a dozen long and diagonal balls in the first half and only two (a driven ball to EJ in the middle and a diagonal ball to Quaranta) did not lead to immediate turnovers. They all looked great compared to the usual bombs launched into the stands or no man's land by Frankie, Vanney, Berhalter, U-17 defenders, etc., but at the end of the day they didn't create any danger and resulted in the other team getting the ball back almost immediately. To be fair, if McBride and LD had been up front, it could have been a different story. But they weren't, and Zack needed to adjust his decisionmaking accordingly (which he did in the second half). Just my $0.02.
I just think he was taking the innitiative because our offense was nowhere the first half. He was forcing some passes, sure, but it forced the paraguyans to defend when they were putting a lot of pressure on us. I wanna know who made any good decisions the first half if Whitbread didn't because honestly we were outplayed badly in the 1st. I really think our win has more to do with Paraguay not showing up in the 2nd, I mean it was a tale of two halves in this match and you have to wonder why they sucked in the end after playing so well to start. I for one think he's got more accuracy in his little toe than Frickin Vanney and God forbid Hejduk will ever have. I mean have you ever seen how many terrible passes these guys make? He's definitely a class above them.