Of course I watched the U.S. game last night, although I didn’t start the DVR until nearly 11 p.m. after covering GW hoops. The soccer, thankfully, was riveting but so much so that I had trouble falling asleep well past the final whistle. Makes for a rough morning.
Two quick links from ESPN Soccernet to help capture my thoughts: This one, because of this excerpt: “Once again, the U.S. conjured up a solid team performance that was greater than the sum of the individual parts,” and this one, because of this excerpt: “[Michael] Bradley’s masterful performance on Wednesday night should signal his arrival as one of the national team’s most important players, a box-to-box midfielder who can score goals as well as neutralize an opposing attack.”
Yes, the offense still needs work — Brian Ching may not be the answer in a World Cup group match against a European power, but he can get the job done in CONCACAF — and the backline wasn’t the best ever, but that was as dominant a midfield performance as I can remember for the U.S. Haven’t we spent the last decade or more watching American teams simply withstand pressure and wait for the counter? There was none of that last night because Bradley, Sacha Kljestan, DaMarcus Beasley and Clint Dempsey not only got into tackles but one- or two-touched their way from defense to offense. That’s a sign of quality.
The box-to-box thing also struck me because I mentioned it yesterday and think it could be a differentiator for Andrew Jacobson — speaking of which, my print story was held because some guy named Adam Dunn signed with the Nationals.
Mark your calendar, the U.S. team comes back to D.C. again next October.
