semi-live blogging USA-England
History making result for USA – this proves their defense has deteriorated since 1950 – seriously, I think this draw cements the USA as a global soccer force – though England has major questions to address if this team is going to challenge for the title.
final whistle – nothing eventful in extra time!
90:00 4 minutes of injury time
88:00 Donovan misses from range
87:00 lotta missed connections – Onyewu has been brilliant, quicker than I expected coming off his knee injury
85:00 Altidore out, Holden in
84:00 USA caught on numbers, saved by Lennon’s inability to make a more creative cross
82:00 Dempsey’s been invisible offensively in the 2nd half – where’s he been? just surfaced with a defensive clearance in open play – these USAers play for the team
81:30 stray England pass, they look flustered at times
79:00 Heskey out, Crouch in – I free to root for USA now
78:00 almost a sweet connection with Donovan down the left wing but ball just out of reach
77:00 Shawn Wright Phillips uncontested shot at goal 12 yards out, the Rooney comes close at the near post. Howard flawless both times. safe to say: Howard > Greene
73:00 England not being cynical, taking the game to USA
65:00 Altidore beats Carragher and almost pulls USA ahead, as Greene blocks his shot from a tough angle against the inside of the post – literally an inch away from USA 2-1 – Greene
60:00 Heskey misses golden chance early in the half but then USA starts getting the better of the play – absolutely intriguing
45:00 King out, Carrigher on
12:30pm OK, I’ve caught my breath – its clear USA lacks some cohesion, but they’re dangerous – Altidore and Findley are moving very well without the ball and Donovan is a world-class distributor. Also, major props to DeMerit keeping Rooney well nigh invisible
halftime: A little karma there England – that’s what you get for all those great Yankee goalies in the Premiership – Friedel or Howard wold easily be England’s #1. Now we’ll see what kind of halftime motivatior Fabio Capello is. BTW, I’d take Joe Hart over either Greene or James, though admittedly I’d be nervous about such a fresh face on the big stage.
42:30 and now Emile is knocked out, having taken a knee square in the face
41:00 Great save from Howard as US defense falls asleep v Glen Johnson
40:00 Goal! – howler from Green – oh boy – Dempsey gets the goal but ignomy for Green
39:00 yellow for Cherundolo – as Wright-Phillips is causing some unease in the USA defense
33:00 Wright-Phillips on, Milner off w/ his yellow – wise move by Fabio, but they lose some mid-field aggression there as SWP is pure offense
29:00 Lennon gets free down the wing, centers for Heskey, Howard clears but takes Emile’s cleats in the chest – he’s still down. England just had three open crosses: Heskey down the wing, Gerrard getting by Demerit near the touch line, and then Lennon – they should’ve made more of ’em.
25:00 Milner yellow card as USA looks better in this stretch, more possession, composure
19:00 then straight away – Emile flicks on brilliantly to Rooney who plays Lennon through, but he decideds to pas instead of taking a crack on Howard – cleared at the last second from wide open Brit who’d have had a tap in – but it should be 2-0
18:15 great cross from Donovan, terrible miss from Altidore – should be 1-1
17:30 Game has no form or flow – bunch of guys booting the ball around without much design
13:30 third straight corner for USA – nice try on third take with a second straight short take, but went nowhere
11:30 creative schoolyard move from Finley wins a corner
5:30 pretty weak goal – a seemingly stray, unintentional ball crawled onto Heskey’s foot just beyond the top-middle of the 18-yard box – so much for needing Defoe to beat USA on the ground
3:45 GOAL!!!!!!!!!! Emile gets the assist!!!!!!!! But that’s a little too early, too tragic for USA for my taste
3:00 USA looks compose – Heskey’s 2 for 2 headballs
11:30am Here goes – and I’m a crap typist as I spent my youth playing soccer at all times not in classrooms
11:17am: I know fans of every other side in the world might not feel the excitement – but this is not going to be a 0-0 snooze like first round France matches – there’s going to be space, flow, creativity and vulnerability – did I mention !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ?
11:15am: By the way, I hear Brits bemoan the loss of Rio Ferdinand – they’re lucky, every time I saw him on the field this year he was a mess – Titus Bramble had nothing on him: miss-kicks, lazy back-passes, low confidence – King is a massive improvement, hopefully England will get to rest him somewhere in the first round and late in games
11:05am: How exciting is this?!!!!!!
10:55am Spoiler alert for TiVo junkies – a couple thoughts on the earlier matches: underwhelmed by Argentina, Milito has to start over Higuin and repeat the form he showed in the Champions League final or this team won’t stand a chance against the likes of Spain or Brazil. Will there be a worse performance in WC 2010 than Greece today? it’s gotta kill the Ukraine players to watch that. S Korea was solid and they’ll provide a challenge for Argentina, but the main lesson from that match was that the Greece team’s quality is on par with the nation’s economy
10:45am: Heskey gets the nod for England! Just like Fabio, I love Emile – England is stronger w/ him. Flicks on for Rooney, holds the ball up for Lampard and Gerrard – wold love-love-love to see a goal from the big man – of course, Onyewu would rather face Emile or Crouch than Defoe – expect to see Jermaine before the final whistle
10:35am (PST): USA staring line-up announced. 4-4-2 seems wise. It was a given that Bocanegra would start, I see him as an achilles heel as England brings speed down the right side w/ Lennon