Gut Czech Time

OK, it was too easy. That post title wrote itself. Sorry for the bad pun. It probably won't be the last.

The US team lost it's first World Cup warm-up game 4-2 last night AT HOME in front of an unusually supportive crowd (unusual in that against many opponents, there are almost as many fans rooting for the opposition as there are for US). The Czech team took advantage of some terrible defensive lapses to earn a win. This is a Czech team that couldn't even qualify for the World Cup, and wasn't necessarily playing it's top lineup. The picture isn't entirely dire, however. First, it was just a warm-up friendly, and therefore doesn't mean much in the big picture. Second, we played almost entirely second-stringers throughout the lineup, so you can't take the result to the bank. Coach Bob Bradley was said to be using last night's game to help make final roster decisions, with an announcement later today of who is still on the team and who isn't.

Let's grade last night's performances and see if we can predict who coach Bradley will name at Noon today.

Starters:

GK -- Brad Guzan -- C-
You can't really fault Guzan directly for any of the four goals, but he also failed to stop them. He never really commanded the box and his positioning was obviously a little off. All that said, he did make a couple of stops and can't be raked across the coals for a result that really wasn't his fault.

D -- Steve Cherundolo -- B
Cherundolo once again proved to be a top-level professional. He linked up well with Stuart Holden to maintain possession and start some attacks down the right side. He was solid defensively and was never beaten (that I saw) off the wing. Cherundolo is a lock to make the roster, and could see time depending on where Spector ends up playing.

D -- Clarence Goodson -- B
His defense was generally good, and he made an impact on corner kicks and such. He made an outstanding play when he out-fought and out-jumped a Czech defender to head the ball back across the goal for Hercules Gomez to nod in. Goodson was even singled out for praise after the game by coach Bradley, so it looks like he punched his ticket to South Africa last night.

D -- Oguchi Onyewu -- D
To say Onyewu was merely rusty would be a kindness. He didn't completely fall apart, but Onyewu was mostly ineffective and a real liability on the night. Before his injury last fall, Onyewu had really improved his touch on the ball and had stopped making so many clumsy challenges. Combined with his strength and heading prowess, he was looking like a top-notch player. Last night, he looked like the clumsy Onyewu, minus his original heading prowess. He was cleanly beaten on the Czech's first goal, as he completely mis-timed his jump and was beaten to the header by the attacker. Onyewu also gave up some cheap fouls with clumsy challenges. Bradley faces a tough choice here. If he were the same player he was prior to the injury, Onyewu would be a slam-dunk addition to the team. But he's obviously not the same player, and we have a good number of capable central defenders with which to replace him.

D -- Jonathan Bornstein -- D-
Sigh.... haven't we seen this before? Bornstein simply isn't good enough to compete at this level. He had another poor outing last night, struggling to keep up with attackers and flubbing his own passes and dribbles. Bornstein keeps getting looks because A) we're woefully short of options at left defense and B) he owns compromising pictures of Bob Bradley from their Chivas USA days (allegedly). If he's on the final 23, it's a sad comment on the state of wing defenders in the US.

M -- Stuart Holden -- B-
Holden didn't set the world on fire, but he held his own and made some good things happen. He linked up well with Cherundolo on the right flank and started some promising attacks. He also showed good versatility when he switched to central midfield late in the game and still managed to hold possession. Holden has fully recovered from a broken leg suffered the last time the US team played (remarkably fast recovery, really...), and is a virtual lock to make the team, although he probably won't be a first-choice starter.

M -- Maurice Edu -- C+
Edu's "work-rate" and hustle earns him high marks, but his touch was mediocre. He does, notably, seem to have an affinity for being in the right place at the right time during goal-mouth scrambles. His goal was more difficult than it first appeared, as he had to spin around and lunge to reach the bouncing ball with his toe. Edu was much less effective as a central defender, a role he took over later in the match. While his personal one-on-one defending wasn't too bad, he didn't coordinate with Goodson and the other defenders as well as Onyewu did, and even his one-on-one skills let him down at the end when a Czech attacker beat him to bring down a high ball and race off for a clinching breakaway goal. Edu is probably going to make the team, but like Holden, it's unlikely he'll start.

M -- Jose Torres -- B
Torres was much more active last night than he was against the Netherlands. Someone must have spoken to him about the pace of the game at the international level, and it was good to see Torres respond positively. He was able to maintain possession with solid skills on the ball even under pressure. He linked players together with good passes and was only rarely out of position defensively. That said, Torres doesn't give you a warm fuzzy feeling when he's defending, and while he controlled the ball well, he couldn't generate much offense with any attacking runs or deft through-balls. That wasn't entirely his fault, as both Buddle and Johnson were too often offsides in the first half, but results are results. I think Torres made the team last night, however, as he showed a much greater speed than I knew he possessed and more defensive muscle.

M -- DaMarcus Beasley -- C
Beasley looked spry and lively, but was starved of action during his half of play. The ball rarely seemed to come out left, and Bornstein often lost it when it did. Beasley therefore had a pretty quiet night. It's hard to say where he stands on the team right now. When he's on and involved, he can be a real weapon. He also brings experience from two previous cups and high-level professional action. But he's always an injury worry, and sometimes disappears from games for long stretches, much as he did last night. Hmmm......

F -- Edson Buddle -- B-
Didn't accomplish a whole lot on the stat sheet, but he hustled like mad and created the first goal by bravely going for a high ball among what seemed to be 6 players and the goalkeeper. He managed to get enough of the ball to knock it down where Edu poked it in for the first US goal, although it cost him a split lip and several minutes of time on the sidelines. Buddle clearly wanted to take advantage of his first action in ages for the national team, and he just may have done enough to get the call for South Africa.

F -- Eddie Johnson -- C
Eddie actually played a decent first half, but probably didn't do enough to earn a trip with the main squad. Johnson displayed his trademark speed a couple of times, but was always offsides when doing it. What was notably better from Johnson compared to past appearances was his touch on the ball. He was able to connect on passes and not give the ball away too cheaply. But he also failed to do much with those passes besides kick it back to a midfielder, and he never looked like scoring. I'm glad to see Johnson have a solid outing, but I don't think he should be on the final 23.

Subs:

D -- Heath Pearce -- F+
Ugh. Now you know why Bornstein keeps getting rolled out there. Pearce was even worse during the second half. He fell asleep and was simply out-run to the ball on the Czech's second goal. And Heath, turning the to the linesman and raising your hand for offsides only makes you look worse. The Czech player was most definitely ONsides. Later, Pearce was mostly to blame for the Czech's third goal, as he completely whiffed on a lunging, sliding tackle attempt and let the attacker dribble cleanly into the box from the left flank (left from the US-POV). Pearce deserves credit for hustling like mad, but he seemed to be out of control and rattled by the circumstances. He just couldn't make anything positive happen last night. He's young enough that he can still improve and try again in four years. This year, he should be staying home.

M -- Sacha Kljestan -- C-
Here's another guy from Bradley's Chivas USA days that must have some incriminating evidence against the coach. Unlike Bornstein, Kljestan has at least shown a few flashes of ability when he's put on the US jersey. Last year, Sacha went into a terrible slump and was playing so poorly that he almost lost his starting spot at Chivas USA. He has worked his way back into form over the past few months, but is still not showing anything that makes you think he'll be on the plane Sunday. Last night, Kljestan looked like Claudio Reyna.... the aging, ineffective Reyna that did nothing but pass sideways and occasionally get caught in possession. Kljestan is still young enough to get another shot in 2014. Good luck to him.

M -- Robbie Rogers -- B
To make the World Cup team, Rogers needed a strong performance. He provided one. Rogers was dynamic and involved from the moment he entered the game to start the second half. He raced around the left flank and started attacks with Brian Ching. He took a good shot that forced a fine save from Peter Cech. He probably should've made some better passes to Gomez, but their timing was a little off. Rogers also hustled back to help on defense and fed in some effective corner kicks. Rogers was on the outside looking in going into last night's game. He might be on the inside now.

M -- Alejandro Bedoya -- C
He didn't see as much time as the other subs, and didn't do much while he was in there. Bedoya has a nice touch on the ball and runs well enough, but I didn't see the coordination with other players that is necessary in the World Cup. I think he just ran out of time. Maybe in 2014.....

F -- Brian Ching -- B+
We've all given Ching grief about his numerous flubbed scoring opportunities, but you have to give him credit as a target man. He wins aerial balls, and does a really nice job getting other players involved in the attack by providing a passing target up front. He doesn't give the ball away easily, and last night he was making a lot of good passes into dangerous spaces. He really should've had an assist for a brilliant back-heel into the path of Gomez that the latter unfortunately hit directly at Cech. Ching was almost certain to make the roster anyway, but he eliminated any doubts about a lingering hamstring injury last night. Ching remains a poor man's Brian McBride, but we can use him.

F -- Hercules Gomez -- B-
He blew a clear opportunity as mentioned before, but he also hit a lovely header goal that tied the game at 2. Gomez also hustled around and tried to make things happen. He didn't always seem to be on the same page as his teammates, likely a result of such limited time with the national team, but he never looked out of place. I don't know if his style of play fits the US national team's style, but he may get a shot anyway. Gomez is clearly on the fringe, but scoring a goal always helps your cause.

Final roster prediction:
So where does that leave us? I think the following players need to have the passports ready for stamping (The "S" indicates predicted starter):
GK (3) -- Tim Howard (S), Marcus Hahnemann, Brad Guzan
D (7) -- Jonathan Spector (S), Jay DeMerit (S), Clarence Goodson (S), Carlos Bocanegra (S), Steve Cherundolo, Oguchi Onyewu, Jonathan Bornstein (sigh....)
M (10) -- Landon Donovan (S), Clint Dempsey (S), Ricardo Clark (S), Michael Bradley (S), Stuart Holden, DaMarcus Beasley, Benny Feilhaber, Jose Torres, Robbie Rogers, Maurice Edu
F (3) -- Jozy Altidore(S), Brian Ching(S), Edson Buddle

That leaves the following off the roster:
Heath Pearce, Chad Marshall, Alejandro Bedoya, Sacha Kljestan, Hercules Gomez, Eddie Johnson, Robbie Findley

If I had my way, I'd chuck Bornstein and put Gomez on the roster. Yes, that's pretty thin at defense, but it's not like Bornstein was doing a good job anyway. Edu showed he can play a little defense, and moving Spector over to left while Cherundolo plays right is always an option.

We'll have to wait and see what coach Bradley decides today.

NOTE: I can't help but think that this situation SCREAMS for a change in formation. Go to a 3 -5 -2, with the following starters:

Dempsey Altidore

Donovan Feilhaber
Beasley Bradley Holden

Bocanegra Spector
DeMerit

I'll admit that such a lineup leaves us a little small, with a possible weakness against aerial attacks, but it would provide much more cover against the flank attacks that are killing us right now, while putting Donovan and Feilhaber into more natural attacking positions. If a more defensive look was needed, then Holden could be swapped out for Cherundolo, Clark, or Edu. Beasley could make way for Clark or Edu. Spector could even be moved to either spot to put Goodson in defense for his height.

SAH