International Soccer: Friendlies
Well, we've got a long way to go if the US is going to make a statement in three months. We threw out almost our A-team and only beat Poland 1-0 with a Dempsey header off a goalie miscue. Really, Poland looked much more organized and cohesive than we did. But on the flip side, I think it was clear that we were the more talented team, which in itself is a major step forward for American soccer. We've even got a couple young stars who are going to shape the identity of World Cup squads for the next decade.
At the outset, the commentators said that the one guy Poland was really afraid of was DeMarcus Beasley. Landon Donovan gets all the pub, and Claudio Reyna has been the soul of the team for a long time, but Beasley is our spark. He's our poor man's version of Arjen Robben, our Cristiano Ronaldo, making things happen on the wings with speed and talent. Unlike Donovan, he's been playing against the world's best players for a couple years now with PSV. He made that team with his play four years ago in Korea. We should expect even more this year.
Oguchi Onyewu is a freak. Soccer players just aren't built like that. Power foward? Sure. Tight end? Absolutely. But soccer defender? Wow. He got better throughout qualifying, too. He's also honing his craft in the low countries, and we're gonna love him in June.
Meanwhile, England continues to be maddening. They look so good on paper, but can only barely pull out a win against Uruguay in England? On the bright side, I finally came around to Joe Cole as a force equal to Lampard and Gerrard in the midfield. Seriously, when healthy, is there a better front six in the world? Rooney and Owen, Cole, Lampard, Gerrard, and Beckham. They're still my biased pick to win it all.
Germany and France both lost to Italy and Slovakia respectively. I was sour on both of them before and I'm a little more sour now.
People like Germany because it's in Germany, but I think that homefield advantage in the World Cup is going to start to fade as more and more countries start to contend for the championship. The U.S. isn't the only country improving in International soccer.
The real shocker for me was Sweden's 3-0 defeat to Ireland. I was impressed with Sweden in the 2002 European Championships, and had been expecting them to make a little noise in Germany.
At the outset, the commentators said that the one guy Poland was really afraid of was DeMarcus Beasley. Landon Donovan gets all the pub, and Claudio Reyna has been the soul of the team for a long time, but Beasley is our spark. He's our poor man's version of Arjen Robben, our Cristiano Ronaldo, making things happen on the wings with speed and talent. Unlike Donovan, he's been playing against the world's best players for a couple years now with PSV. He made that team with his play four years ago in Korea. We should expect even more this year.
Oguchi Onyewu is a freak. Soccer players just aren't built like that. Power foward? Sure. Tight end? Absolutely. But soccer defender? Wow. He got better throughout qualifying, too. He's also honing his craft in the low countries, and we're gonna love him in June.
Meanwhile, England continues to be maddening. They look so good on paper, but can only barely pull out a win against Uruguay in England? On the bright side, I finally came around to Joe Cole as a force equal to Lampard and Gerrard in the midfield. Seriously, when healthy, is there a better front six in the world? Rooney and Owen, Cole, Lampard, Gerrard, and Beckham. They're still my biased pick to win it all.
Germany and France both lost to Italy and Slovakia respectively. I was sour on both of them before and I'm a little more sour now.
People like Germany because it's in Germany, but I think that homefield advantage in the World Cup is going to start to fade as more and more countries start to contend for the championship. The U.S. isn't the only country improving in International soccer.
The real shocker for me was Sweden's 3-0 defeat to Ireland. I was impressed with Sweden in the 2002 European Championships, and had been expecting them to make a little noise in Germany.
posted by Prof. A at 12:43 AM
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