March 29, 2011 – Despite playing better than they had three days earlier in their draw with Argentina, the US Men’s National Team lost 1-0 to Paraguay in Nashville, TN. The main reason for the setback was the outstanding play of Paraguayan goalkeeper, Justo Villar. He pulled off a series of outstanding saves to deny the hosts, who outplayed their guests for most of the game.
Coach Bob Bradley made five changes to the team that faced the Argentineans at the new Meadowlands Stadium on Saturday. Marcus Hahnemann replaced Tim Howard in goal. Jonathan Bornstein came in for Carlos Bocanegra at left fullback while youngsters Tim Ream, Timmy Chandler and Juan Agudelo took the places of their more experienced counterparts; Oguchi Onyewu, Jonathan Spector and Jermaine Jones.
After a slow, choppy start to the match, the US started to impose themselves on the visitors. In the 12th minute, Bornstein failed to make meaningful contact with the ball in the penalty area after some good work by Landon Donovan. Three minutes later Agudelo’s shot was blocked following another pass from Donovan.
In the 18th minute Paraguay took the lead against the run of play. A corner kick, taken from the right side, was allowed to land in the center of the area after two US defenders collided trying to clear the danger. The ball bounced around in the box for a moment before Oscar Cardozo banged it into the corner of the net.
The hosts responded immediately to the setback creating a series of half-chances from shots, corners and free kicks. However, none of them really troubled Villar in Paraguay’s net. The visitors seemed content to soak up the US pressure and break up play with a series of fouls. As the half wound down, Bocanegra was forced to come on for the injured Jay DeMerit. Paraguay tried to steal another goal before halftime, forcing Hahnemann to make a couple of decent saves. However, the veteran US keeper was equal to the challenge and the two teams went to their dressing rooms with just the single goal separating them.
The US made two substitutions at the beginning of the second half. Jones replaced Maurice Edu in midfield while David Yelldell made his National Team debut in goal in place of Hahnemann. The game resumed with the hosts heaping pressure on their guests. The Americans earned several more corners but were unable to convert any of them into goals.
Just past the hour mark, Coach Bradley replace striker Jozy Altidore with young fullback Eric Lichaj, allowing Chandler to push forward. In the 75th minute, Donovan’s shot hit the outside of the post from Lichaj’s long throw. Two minutes later, the US replaced fullback Bornstein with midfielder Sacha Kljestan as the one-goal deficit was forcing them to gamble. The hosts were nearly punished immediately as Paraguay hit the post with a shot from distance.
In the 80th minute Spector came on for Chandler. Six minutes later the Americans had their best chance of the match as Michael Bradley’s shot from 30 yards out was beaten away by a miraculous save from Villar. The US continued to pass the ball around but couldn’t break down the composed Paraguayan defense. Late in injury time Jones got off one more good shot but it too was stopped by Villar and the match came to an end.
After playing two competitive friendlies against strong, South American competition, the US appear to be in a similar situation to the one they found themselves in a year ago. They have a core group of experience players but are still struggling to score goals. The hope must be for Agudelo to develop into a strike partner for Altidore, whose ineffectiveness in front of goal is becoming a real concern. With a friendly against Spain and the Gold Cup coming up later this summer, there will be opportunities to address this problem with the current squad or perhaps find new players who can put the ball in the net.
Player ratings for the US Team (scored 1-10):
Marcus Hahnemann, goalkeeper (6): Solid enough between the sticks in the opening 45 minutes. There wasn’t much he could have done to prevent the goal as the corner fell too far out for him to reach and the resulting shot came from too close for him to react.
Jay DeMerit, central defender (5): Failed to clear the corner which led to the goal in the center of the penalty area where he should be dominant. Forced off before halftime with an injury.
Tim Ream, central defender (6): Like DeMerit he was unable to successfully defend the corner which led to Paraguay’s goal but looked pretty solid otherwise.
Timmy Chandler, right fullback (7): Another impressive outing for the youngster. Did well going forward and even pushed up to right midfield before being substituted late on.
Jonathan Bornstein, left fullback (6): Put in a solid shift without doing anything spectacular. Substituted late for an attacking player as the US searched for an equalizer.
Maurice Edu, central midfielder (7): In what seems to be the best central midfield partnership for the Yanks, he and Bradley pretty much controlled the center of the park in the first half. Edu was strong in the tackle and also passed the ball pretty well.
Michael Bradley central midfielder (7): Got through a lot of running and his long-distance shot in the 86th minute was the best chance the US had all night(man of the match).
Clint Dempsey, right midfielder (7): Paraguay seemed to target him as the greatest threat and he spent much of the first half picking himself up off the ground after being fouled. Clint made some good runs and caused some problems but faded after the break.
Landon Donovan, left midfielder (7): While his free kicks aren’t what they were last year, the defensive side of his game has improved. He did a good piece of defending just before halftime to ensure that the US didn’t go two goals down. He had a couple of chances to score, the best being a shot off the outside of the post in the 75th minute.
Jozy Altidore, striker (5): Still no goals from our most recognizable striker. Jozy was substituted after an hour. Perhaps more than any other player, he needs to step up his game for the US to be successful.
Juan Agudelo, striker (6): Pretty good performance in his first start with the senior players. He looked more likely to score than his more experienced strike partner.
Substitutes:
Carlos Bocanegra, central defender (6): Did a good job of keeping the visitors fairly quiet in the second half on what was suppose to be a night off for the US captain.
David Yelldell, goalkeeper (6): Perhaps looked a little shaky in his debut for the National Team but didn’t allow any goals.
Jermaine Jones, central midfielder (7): Looked much better than in his start against Argentina. Jones had a good shot on goal late in injury time but like everything else the US sent his way, it was dealt with by Villar.
Eric Lichaj, right fullback (6): Replaced Altidore on the hour and slotted in at right back, allowing Chandler and Dempsey to push forward. Lichaj did a solid job defensively and also managed to get forward to support the attack.
Sacha Kljestan, midfield (6): Managed to get in a decent cross that Donovan headed wide in his 15 minutes on the field.
Jonathan Spector, midfield (6): Came on for the fading Chandler in the 80th minute but wasn’t able to do a whole lot in his short time on the field.
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