Bob Bradley has discovered a truly great starting 11 during the Confederations Cup. There was just too much drop off in talented, in form players on the tournament roster. Having said that, barring a ton of injuries, the US should be in a lot better shape depth wise next summer. There are a lot of midfielders who have a full year to round themselves into form.
For me, three factors did the Americans in. Michael Bradley's absence (due to a red card suspension), the immediate second-half goal from Brazil, and good old fashioned fatigue.
If Michael Bradley was holding down the midfield, making timely tackles, and sparking quick counter attacks, the game plays out differently in the second half. That coupled with the magical Failhaber for Altidore sub with Dempsey moving up top could have proved all-important.
For obvious reasons, the Brazil goal directly after second half kickoff was their most important. Demerit had good positioning in the play and made a good, agressive challenge. A combination of skill and luck saw Fabiano's fantastic turn and shot slip just between Demerits legs and out of Howard's reach into the back of the net.
The US just didn't have enough in the tank in the second 45 to keep the kind of pressure on the Brazilian midfield that they were able to put on Spain. As a result, Brazil was relentless in their attacking either flank.
If the US had been able to avoid one or two of these things, they stood a good chance. Having to deal with all three was too much.
In the end, they lost on one of the best headers I have ever seen. The power and precision of Lucios finish was second to none.
2 comments:
It is hard to be disappointed after a tournament like that. I wish we could have beat Brazil, but at the end of the day it was a great turnaround from where we started in this tournament. If you would have told me that we would finish second after the first 2 games I would have called you crazy, but we stuck with it and finished strong.
I agree that Bradley's absence really hurt us at midfield, he was huge in the Egypt and Spain games.
I am excited for the World Cup! We have a strong starting line up that has proven they can compete with anyone in the world.
Dude. I have not seen the game yet. Without seeing it; I would bet that they win the game if they did not give up a goal 30 sec into the 2nd half. That is a back-breaker.
Without a doubt they had to have missed Bradley. He is a solid defensive mid.
I cannot wait to watch it.
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