A HUGE UPSET. Poland not only managed to win 1-0 on a wonderful long free kick, but managed to hold Brazil off for 60 minutes with only 10 men. The defensive shape and tactics by the Poles were really top-notch. I can't say enough about it. Should definitely make the group interesting in the next week.
US v. Korea
I really thought it was bad the other night watching the MNT get douched by Argentina. It wasn't really great to watch and I could go into who I thought played like crap (Eddie Johnson, Eddie Gaven, etc.), but that time is gone and I think it's all been said on everyone else's blog.
But you get to hear about the U-20s here first. So listen up, Rongen and the gang!
Let me say before I start that I was really excited about this tournament. I felt we actually had a chance to win it all and I really felt like we had some quality performers that we'd put on the pitch. I was going to take this time (as most of you reading this probably were) to evaluate our talent that can take Eddie Johnson and Taylor Twellman's spot on the MNT. But then.... the whistle blew.
First, God must have blessed us in that game b/c it should have been about 6-1 to South Korea. We managed to get our 1 goal after South Korea chose not to shoot on a 1 v 1 with the keeper and instead play the ball across to a guy who wanked it pretty bad. We countered and scored. We were already getting dominated at that point and it was lucky we scored against the run of play.
It's official, folks. Scoring in the MLS doesn't mean shit when it comes to international play. Jozy and Eddie have taught us something!
And by run of play, I meant them running around our defense like they were cones. I counted at the beginning of the game and Tim Ward made 7 straight passes that didn't get to the US player he intended it to. Horrible. When watching it, I think the S. Korea probably played 20 to 25 wide open long balls from their backs and midfielders to wide open players up front running behind our defense. I was trying to figure out what kind of formation we were playing that was letting them get that open. After watching the Poland v. Brazil game and seeing the perfect coordination of those two teams, I think we could be in a lot of trouble. Also, let me be the first to say that Dax McCarty and Michael Bradley had absolutely shit games. Bradley was caught not paying attention to the ball at least two or three times where his head was in the opposite direction when a ball was played to him. Inexcusable. And Dax McCarty, well, he just sucks. At one point, McCarty turned around, passed backwards directly to a Korean player and that started a break. I would think he was Korean if it wasn't for the fact that he's a ginger. Altidore looked like he had Eddie Johnson-itis b/c he rarely did anything but play the ball back. Overall, it was rough to watch. I'm relatively critical of the US MNT teams generally, but I don't really feel like I'm exaggerating about this abysmal performance.
We get it, Freddy. You have huge marbles for staying in the MLS. How did that work out?
Another point I'll make is that I feel very sorry for Freddy Adu. I really do. He got hyped up when he as about 14 or 15 years old as the savior for American soccer, then signed with DC and stayed here. What a mistake! Yes, he's small. Yes, he got pushed off the ball easily in the S. Korea game, but he has moments of brilliance. He has a great touch on the ball, plays wonderful free kicks. I seriously wonder what he would be like if was playing with players around him that had the same skill level. American soccer does not lend itself to Freddy Adu's play. It's awkward and burly and he's smooth and relatively slick on the ball. It's just a shame that we made him into the MLS poster boy instead of telling him to go overseas and develop his game. If he did, I bet you he would be playing and starting for at least a mid-level European team right now. His future could have been Theo Walcott and instead it's looking more like Eddie Gaven. I'm sorry, Freddy.
Funny Immature 12-Year Old Boy Giggling Fact of the Game: There was a guy on South Korea who's jersey said "Dong Suk" on the back. Yeah, that's funny.
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