USMNT vs. Jamaica: Three Points Is Three Points

The United States Men's National Team defeated Jamaica 2-1 in Kingston last night to gain a huge road win in a CONCACAF World Cup Qualifier for Brazil 2014. It certainly wasn't the most aesthetically pleasing match to watch, with chances few and far between on both sides. The USMNT was noticeably tired in the second half, which is to be expected in 85°F weather with 70% humidity. Such is life in CONCACAF. And before I go on any further, I want to rant about this for a minute if you don't mind because I think this is something that no one really talks about much. I think we often forget about all the other factors that influence a game and a team's performance in CONCACAF games. In our four WCQ's so far we've encountered tonight's heat and humidity, a 90°F scorcher in Honduras, a freaking blizzard in Denver, and a mile-high altitude in Mexico. These certainly aren't normal conditions for a standard football match and I'm impressed with how the team has handled the elements so far, it's awesome how we are grinding out results in these types of conditions. Anyways, moving on from that mini rant, below are a few thoughts on the actual game. There won't be that many because it's late (I'm writing this at 2 a.m.) and I'm really tired...

• There is nothing good about beIN sport. It sucks.
• I've mentioned this before but it's amazing how much Graham Zusi has improved in his relatively short time with the national team. His confidence is really high right now and he's developed into a reliable player. Superb play to skip by his man and deliver the cross to Altidore. His foul that earned him a yellow was a great play even though it ended up in a Jamaica set piece goal. He stopped a counter that was going to be dangerous as there was no one else within 30 yards of the Jamaica player. Unfortunately he will also miss the Panama match due yellow card accumulation. Who will fill his void?  My vote is to put either EJ or Corona out on the right.
• Bradley Ray Evans. Legend.
• I thought Besler and Gonzalez both had good games. The announcers on TV attributed the Jamaica goal to Gonzalez losing his man but it wasn't, he was marking someone else (and being pushed down at that). Omar also had a brilliant sliding challenge to deny a Jamaica chance pretty late in the game. He has those slides down pat, doesn't he? What can I say about Besler, he continues to impress. I don't want to hear anymore bullcrap about how we use MLS center backs. They continue to put in solid shifts and we keep getting results, what else do you want?
• Geoff Cameron was solid in the midfield after coming on for Jones. Don't have much to say here, wonder if he'll start there on Tuesday if Jones isn't ready to go. I wouldn't have too much trouble with that. Maybe he could even give Bradley more license to get a little more forward?
• Jamaica was offside on their goal, no?
• People will be quick to criticize Beasley's performance tonight but honestly it wasn't too bad. He was marking the fastest player on the pitch and one of the fastest players I've ever seen. Sure he got burned a couple times but mostly he got beat on the outside instead of allowing him to cut inside. He also still managed to but him enough when he got beat outside to affect his crosses. Beasley is still the left back for me for the two upcoming qualifiers at least. Let's not be so quick to forget how well he's done in the past games.
• Fabian didn't do too much aside from an early shot but it's really hard to storm down the flanks for a full 90 minutes in 85°F weather and insane humidity. He was clearly affected by the heat, as was everyone else on the field. I want to see him get another start there before casting him off.
• So good to see Jozy score again. Keep it up.

That's all I'm going to say for now. I'm headed to the beach tomorrow for the week so I probably won't write anything about the Panama game, though I will definitely try to watch it. And remember, at the end of the day all that matters in qualifying is getting those three points, which we did. Friendlies and other less important tournaments are where we should be experimenting with players and formations and whatnot.

USMNT vs. Germany: A Positive Step In The Right Direction

The United States Men's National Team defeated Germany 4-3 at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. in perhaps their best offensive showing during Jürgen Klinsmann's tenure as head coach. It was a much better display than that of the Belgium loss earlier in the week and will be a great morale booster heading into the upcoming World Cup Qualifiers for Brazil 2014. Before I dive into what I saw, I would like to remind you that this was only a friendly and therefore we as fans should not completely overreact to anything or jump to conclusions on what we saw today; we should reserve judgement of our players on their performances in games that matter. I admit that this is something I struggle with but it's true. Also, Germany did not field anything remotely close to what their best team is. With that, here are my thoughts:

• Tim Howard was decent, not his best performance by any means. Not much to say here, other than he could've parried away the third goal better. Didn't have any spectacular saves and the other two goals weren't his fault. He'll be ready to go in crunch time during these next WCQs.
• That ter Stegen OG was absolutely shocking. And hilarious. At least Timmy didn't pull one of those.
• Pleasant surprise of the match = Brad Evans. He wasn't amazing or anything but he definitely held his own. Had some nice tackles and a couple nice passes forward to Altidore up the sideline. Let his man cut inside too easily on one of Germany's goals but was decent other than that. He didn't offer any overlapping runs going forward but apparently none of our right backs do. Am I wrong to say that he's better at the right back position than Geoff Cameron...?
• Matt Besler is the best U.S. center back right now. If you don't believe that, I challenge you to think of anyone else who's better right now. He's smart, pacey, and doesn't make many stupid mistakes. Surely has to be a lock for the Jamaica game and beyond. Just a solid, solid player.
• Omar Gonzalez was improved from the Belgium match but still had a few mental mistakes, including being directly responsible for the first German goal by losing Westermann in the box off a corner. He shows so many flashes of brilliance though, cutting out so many balls in the air and showing great reach in his slide tackles. Keep in mind that this was only his eighth cap and his amazing performance down in Azteca earlier this year. Once he gets more experience and cuts down on his mental errors he will be a force in our back line for years to come. He's still my preferred partner to Besler right now. Those two have a great chemistry and more playing time together will only help. I'm a believer in Omar.
• I'm also a believer in Damarcus Beasley at left back. That sounds crazy, even a bit to me, but he keeps putting in quality performances there and adds some greatly needed speed to the back line. I keep waiting for him to mess up or have a bad outing but he just doesn't. He got beat on one cutback by André Schürrle but other than that was quite solid defensively. He has been surprisingly adept at defending one-on-one situations during his time in the back. He also had a couple nice runs forward, including beating two defenders and curling a tame shot right at the keeper. The best thing about this revelation has to be...
• ...Allowing Fabian Johnson to move up to left mid, his natural position. He was pretty decent today but didn't get too much of the ball. He also subbed out in the second half as a precautionary measure for his hamstring. Hopefully he'll be good to go vs Jamaica. If you haven't seen him play left mid with Hoffenheim, here's a couple examples of what he can do (he scores the first goal in the first video):

(And yes, that was Steve Cherundolo getting schooled in the first video.)

• Edgar Castillo was horrible, plain and simple. Hopefully this performance was just the result of him being tired after having played in the Copa Libertadores midweek with Xolos. He didn't have much time to recover and train with the team before being thrown out there.
• Brad Davis had another extremely underwhelming performance in my opinion. Klinsmann wants him in there for his left footed services into the box he doesn't really get a chance to do it often and is a HUGE defensive liability. He's not fast and doesn't provide any width or attacking presence on the flank when he's in. I don't really like him on the team, there are other players who could do better in my opinion. He just hasn't shown anything in these friendlies or in the qualifiers earlier in the year, I don't understand why Klinsmann continues to cap him.
• Jermaine Jones was outstanding today. He was great defensively, worked hard, and was good going forward as well. Had a great ball to Altidore that ultimately led to Dempsey's first goal. He and Michael Bradley work really well together in my opinion and are surefire starters for the USMNT. Solid, solid performance.
• Michael Bradley. This wasn't his best game but it's SO obvious how much the USMNT needs him on the field. I know it's cliché to say but he really is the glue of the team, it's the perfect analogy. Everything flows from Michael Bradley. When he's on the field, the midfield is organized and everyone knows exactly what their role is. He gives Jermaine Jones a bit more freedom to move forward and allows Clint Dempsey to stay forward and work his magic underneath Altidore instead of having to come back deep to receive the ball like we saw against Belgium. He makes everything "tick." Michael Bradley is the most important player on the United States Men's National Team.
• Graham Zusi had another decent performance on the right side of midfield. He has blossomed into a very capable international performer and it's been great to watch his confidence grow these last couple years. He tracked back well and had a brilliant cross to Altidore for the first goal. He's obviously not Landon Donovan but he has been a pleasant surprise. If only he had a little more skill to beat people off the dribble and a little more pace.
• Eddie Johnson didn't have too much of an impact as he was subbed on when we were already up and were trying to hold on for dear life. He was mostly defending with the rest of the team so I won't critique him much because he was not doing what he usually does.
• Same thing for Terrence Boyd, didn't get much of the ball because we were defending a lead. Though he did have an outrageous attempt at goal on a counter in the closing minutes of the game that sailed high and wide when he could've simply passed out wide to waste more time. That wasn't very smart and showed his inexperience.

Photo credit: starsandstripesfc.com

• Jozy Altidore had his best game for the national team in a LONG time. He was extremely active and played a part in most of our significant attacking moves, including a superb volley to open the scoring. He had great holdup play and also set up Dempsey's first goal, as well as another Dempsey chance in the first half with a brilliant turn and pass. This was the Altidore that we've become accustomed to seeing with AZ this past season. Sensational performance. I would also like to add how impressed I am with his professionalism and maturity. They interviewed him on TV after the game and you could definitely tell he is a class act. He's not a boy anymore. Below is another example of his astounding maturity and class. This was just after a Dutch league match in which he was racially abused by fans and it's one of the best interviews I've ever seen:

• Speaking of sensational, Clint Dempsey was just that today as well with two great goals. Michael Bradley's return to the pitch meant the skipper could stay forward and do what he does best - roam into free space underneath the center forward and score goals or set up teammates. Another great game from the USA's now second leading scorer all-time. He scores with his left, he scores with his right; that boy Clint Dempsey makes Drogba look shite!

In conclusion, this was a much better performance than against Belgium and it's encouraging to see us score quality goals from the run of play. But for all of our offensive improvement, the defense is still too shaky for comfort and can be unlocked way too easily at times. This needs to be fixed for the upcoming qualifiers when the results actually matter. I'm confident that we'll get through these next games and come out of them in good shape for the rest of the hexagonal later on this year. Today was a step in the right direction, nothing more and nothing less. Let's see what we can do in crunch time.