That Latvia team didn't impress me. America controlled the game well in the 1st half. Latvia had virtually no midfield in the first half and attacked by playing the ball early to the fowards. That didn't work well for them because most of the time the advanced player was isolated and support did not arrive quickly enough.
The game opened up a bit in the 2nd half and Latvia started to string passes together. Perhaps it is a strategy of the Americans to use the aerial ability of Johnson and McBride by way of the cross ball, but I think they will disappointed by the fact that they had very little central penetration. After the McBride goal in the first half the Latvians were a lot more disciplined in marking.
I doubt very much the Italians will surrender such time and space to the US's wide players. They allowed Latvia to get some chances that perhaps they should have scored. I think the yanks still have a lot of work to do.
