June 14, 2011 – The US Men’s National Team defeated Guadeloupe 1-0 to advance to the quarter-finals of the Gold Cup. After an early scare, the US Team dominated the match but were only able to score a single goal courtesy of Jozy Altidore. The US will now face Jamaica, who finished top of their group.
Coach Bob Bradley, who has to be feeling the pressure after the shocking loss to Panama, made two changes to his starting line up. He moved Carlos Bocanegra to central defense to replace Tim Ream, who’d had a torrid time against the Panamanians. He filled the gap on the left side of defense with young Eric Lichaj. Up front Coach Bradley replaced the mostly-ineffective Juan Agudelo with Chris Wondolowski. So the starting eleven was as follows: Howard, Bocanegra (C), Goodson, Cherundolo, Lichaj, Jones, Bradley, Donovan, Dempsey, Altidore, Wondolowski.
The US looked nervous as the game got underway. Altidore won a free kick in the first minute that came to nothing. Then Jermaine Jones committed a foul near the US penalty area. The ball was knock out for a corner that was played to the near post. It somehow got through a crowd of players, bounced past Tim Howard and rolled across the goal to Landon Donovan, who was defending the back post. Landon tried to clear the ball but only managed to bang it off the chest of his teammate, Clint Dempsey. The ball landed near the penalty spot where Stephane Zubar smashed it toward net. Lichaj raced out and had the shot deflect off his shin, onto the crossbar and out. The referee missed the deflection and awarded a goal kick to the US, who were lucky not to be behind.
The Yanks started to find their feet after that. Dempsey was fouled in the fifth minute around 25 yards from goal. He took the free kick himself and forced an exceptional save from Franck Grandel, the Guadeloupe keeper.
The US was building possession and from that possession, a goal came seemingly out of nothing. In the ninth minute, Michael Bradley played the ball to Altidore, who was about 35 yards from goal. He wasn’t under much pressure so he took a couple of dribbles before unleashing a shot that flew in at the near post. Grandel appeared to be screened or perhaps slip because he hardly moved.
With the lead, the Yanks looked more comfortable while Guadeloupe seemed to drop deeper and deeper. It was all US for the rest of the half as they produced loads of scoring chances but were unable to capitalize. Despite the one-sided nature of the match, the two sides went in at the break with just a goal between them.
It was more of the same in the second half as the hosts picked up where they’d left off. But despite all their dominance, they still couldn’t find a second goal.
In the 64th minute, the US brought on Alejandro Bedoya for Wondolowski, who had been unable to find a way through the Guadeloupe defense. The visitors got forward every now and then but they never looked like scoring. The Yanks continued to spurn chances. No one was more wasteful than Dempsey, who appeared as if he was trying to dribble the ball into the net at one point, only to have it taken off his foot at the last second.
In the 78th minute, the US started to blunt their attack a bit by bringing on Sacha Kljestan for the goal scorer Altidore. Seven minutes later, Coach Bradley appeared to acknowledge that one goal would be enough as he replaced his son Michael with the defensive-minded Maurice Edu.
During the remainder of regulation, and the two minutes of added time, Dempsey managed to miss a couple more chances as there just didn’t seem to be any more goals in the game. The final whistle eventually blew and the US were through to the quarter-finals.
So despite a shock loss in the group stage, the US are moving on. However, that loss to Panama now means that they’ll have to play a strong Jamaican team that has won all three of their matches so far. The Yanks will have to up their game if they want to get anywhere near the final. They still look shaky at times defensively, especially early in games, and they’re struggling to score goals (just four in three matches against rather pedestrian opponents). I don’t think it’s realistic to expect too much from either Agudelo or Wondolowski. If the US does go far in this tournament, they’ll be fired on by goals from Altidore, Dempsey, Donovan and the other usual suspects.
Player ratings for the US team (scored 1-10):
Tim Howard, goalkeeper (6): One heart in he throat moment early and very little to do after that. He did a good job of commanding his area when needed and his distribution was sound as well.
Carlos Bocanegra, central defender (7): He didn’t have a whole lot to do but brought a veteran presence to the heart of defense.
Clarence Goodson, central defender (7): With Guadeloupe not sending many players forward, he had the freedom to roam and join in the attack from time to time. He’s become a legitimate scoring threat for the US, especially from set pieces.
Eric Lichaj, left fullback (7): Came in and looked very comfortable in a must-win game for the US. Coming out to deflect Zubar’s shot was a crucial play early on when the hosts were still trying to find their way in the match. He faded a bit in the second half but has put himself in the mix at left fullback.
Steve Cherundolo, right fullback (8): He was another defender who took advantage of Guadeloupe’s anemic attack to get forward early and often. Steve send in numerous crosses. The veteran right back has been in great form this tournament and has probably been the best player for the US (man of the match).
Jermaine Jones, central midfielder (7): He looked pretty good when he had lots of time to pick out long passes from central midfield. I don’t think Mexico will allow him that much time. Again one of his fouls almost got the US in trouble early on.
Michael Bradley, central midfielder (7): His pass to Altidore, a simple square ball above the penalty area, led to the US goal. He did a good job orchestrating the attack without ever really taking the game by the throat.
Clint Dempsey, left midfielder (5): Created a lot of chances, wasted a lot of chances. If it had been training, he’d be doing pushups for missing that sitter in the second half.
Landon Donovan, right midfielder (5): The straw that stirs the drink for the US has had a pretty quiet tournament so far. He too had a glaring miss in the second half.
Chris Wondolowski, striker (5): Even against a weak opponent like Guadeloupe, there’s still a gap between MLS and international soccer. Chris needs to figure out how to close that gap.
Jozy Altidore, striker (7): Good things happen when you put a shot on net. Jozy really got hold of that one early on but seemed reluctant to pull the trigger afterwards.
Substitutes:
Alejandro Bedoya, midfielder (7): Looked active and dangerous when he came on. Alejandro adds real speed to the US attack, which is something that has been missing since Charlie Davis was injured in a car accident in late 2009.
Sacha Kljestan, midfielder (7): I was a bit surprised that he didn’t get the start over Jones as he’s played well during his substitute appearances this tournament. After his form dipped a year or so ago, he seems to have new enthusiasm for the game following his move to Anderlecht last summer.
Maurice Edu, midfielder (6): Came on late to close up shop and didn’t have much to do as the game was pretty much over by that point. Despite being in good form for his club, Maurice seems to be third choice to partner Bradley in central midfield.
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