In two weeks, the U.S. men’s national soccer team will convene in Washington ahead of its World Cup qualifying match against Cuba at RFK Stadium on Oct. 11.
U.S. head coach Bob Bradley has been questioned lately by a few reporters — not enough — on a number of his selections for the Americans’ first three matches, and no player received more criticism than forward Eddie Johnson.
The reviews of Johnson’s latest performance with his new club, Cardiff City, in a 1-0 loss to Swansea, prove the media might just be onto something.
“Completely ineffective” — WalesOnline; “Out of sorts” — The Daily Mail; “Ineffective” — Swansea.co.uk; “The Bluebirds’ experiment of playing USA international Eddie Johnson up front proved to be a failure” — Sportinglife.co.uk; “American Eddie Johnson has looked a complete dud since joining on loan from Fulham” — vitalfootball.co.uk.
Johnson, 24, burst onto the international scene with a hat trick in just 17 minutes in a 6-0 rout of Panama at RFK Stadium four years ago. He’s also scored more than a dozen goals twice in Major League Soccer.
But it is time for him to make way for Kenny Cooper, Freddy Adu, Jozy Altidore and others, who deserved a spot on the national team.
And despite the U.S. team’s undefeated 3-0 record in qualifying, Bradley’s own job security should be called into question if he’s tempted to bring in Johnson again this year.
