I don't see any football on dat link. Is it still on? Am I to late?
I did not see any football on the field either...........any link?
It's over
U.S. delivers a miserable performance at Wembley
by Jamie Trecker, Fox SportsTen years ago, the game on display at Wembley this evening simply would not have been played.
Then, the USA weren't taken seriously as an opponent, surely not for the likes of a proud England side.
How things have changed. Tonight in London, the English fans and press will likely make hay out of the result of this turgid friendly, a 2-0 win for the homers. When you're desperate, many things can look better than they are.
This is an England side that isn't very good. The players know it, the fans know it, and the FA is beginning to sense it. That's why these little confidence-boosters — games against a moderate opponent (the USA) and an outright outsider (Trinidad and Tobago) — were scheduled and they will be treated this next week as important bench marks in the Fabio Capello era.
Of course, once that ball gets kicked off in Basel in two weeks, the whinging will start anew and the hard truth will hit home, but that's life when your national team gets an enforced summer off.
For the Yanks, well, they have nothing to lose right now. They aren't very good either, but it's going to be difficult for them not to qualify for the 2010 World Cup because they're in CONCACAF. They desperately need matches against high-caliber teams to guard against complacency at the very least.
That they also need a wholesale shakeup to get to the next level is not the sort of thing that can be accomplished in one match, or even one year, so credit coach Bob Bradley for playing against good teams, on the road.
But tonight was an unsatisfying affair altogether. The English looked stiff and unhappy, perhaps wishing that they were on the beach rather than in front of a disappointing crowd at Wembley. And the USA looked, well, like the same USA we all saw in Germany two years ago.
The usual miseries that plague the Americans were on display, and fully exploited by even this lackluster English side. There was an over-reliance on set pieces to create scoring chances, a criminal lack of ideas and service up top, an inability to hold the ball in midfield and the mental lapses on defense that have become the trademark of the USA.
Each would be damaging enough on its own. Taken in concert, they are ruinous.
What's worse, we've seen them long enough to begin to believe that they could be insoluble.
Two errors led to England's first goal. A stupid foul that gave David Beckham the chance to serve the ball in, and then Carlos Bocanegra's drifting away from John Terry to give the England captain a free header to the near post.
The second goal was simply a case of the American back line getting caught out, again.
Gareth Barry saw the gap, and slotted a nice ball to Steven Gerrard, who knows how to score. Brad Guzan, the halftime switch in the nets, had no chance and no help, either. These are the kind of mistakes that plague poor teams bedeviled by opposing speed and technique.
International Friendlies
Mon., May 26
Sweden 1-0 Slovenia Recap
Poland 1-1 Macedonia Recap
Tue., May 27
Germany 2-2 Belarus Recap
France 2-0 Ecuador Recap
Austria 1-1 Nigeria Recap
Japan 0-0 Paraguay Recap
Czech Rep. 2-0 Lithuania Recap
Poland 1-0 Albania Recap
Wed., May 28
England 2-0 USA Recap
Russia 2-1 Serbia Recap
Thu., May 29
Ireland vs. Colombia Preview
Finland vs. Turkey
Holland vs. Denmark
Fri., Jun. 6
Brazil vs. Venezuela Preview
Sat., Jun. 7
France vs. Paraguay Preview
Euro 2008
But as the USA spends all sorts of time in practice working on these issues, the only conclusion an observer can reach is these practices simply are not working. Either the Americans cannot learn, or will not learn, but the coaching staff had better figure it out, and quickly. Right now, all an opponent needs to do these days is watch a single game tape to gain the information needed to pick apart this side.
The English, under Capello, obviously did watch that tape. They did not allow Michael Bradley or Ricardo Clark time on the ball. Knowing that Eddie Johnson is useless, they simply ignored him.
They contained the lone player on the team with vision by double-teaming Clint Dempsey, and then they simply lobbed the ball towards Oguchi Onyewu and Bocanegra, knowing that soon enough, their clumsiness would give England all the chances they needed. Tim Howard is a fine enough 'keeper, but he's not a magician.
Yes, the absence of Landon Donovan was important. With him on the field Dempsey can play more of a slashing role and get behind defenses. Without Donovan, the U.S. had no one apparently capable of holding the ball or making a creative pass out of midfield. Too often the 'creativity' was a hopeful ball forward, and it was just as often easily played by the England defense.
There was little mystery coming into this game as to what the result would be. The USA rarely beats the English, and England really needed a win. What is mystifying is why so many of the American players — especially those in the shop window — could not bring a better performance to bear.
The USA lacked spark and any sort of pressure. DaMarcus Beasley, who scored for Rangers in the Scottish Cup final last week, was nearly invisible. Bradley, who is being scouted by British clubs after a fine season at Heerenveen, was sub-par. Until the introduction of Freddy Adu, there was no pizzazz up top, and until Frankie Hejduk was brought on for Steve Cherundolo, there was no attack out of the back.
Be certain that the players and coaching staff will mutter the same, rote homilies to the press after the match. The staff will have been said to have had 'a good look at players' as if someone like Howard was an unknown. There will have been 'positives' to take away, even if those same positives elude any sentient viewer. Yada yada yada.
Out of the spotlight, however, I have to believe that Bradley and his coaching staff will know exactly what happened in front of the world tonight.
The truth is that the USA was simply irrelevant and passionless. They will get roasted in England tomorrow and will fully deserve it. That they probably will skate here at home is even more damaging, as it reinforces the feeling among the players and staff that they are accountable to no one.
That is damning. Sadly, no one in position of authority at U.S. Soccer has the guts to publicly acknowledge a failure when they see one.
