USMNT-Netherlands: The Bright Spots

The USMNT was defeated by the Netherlands by a score of 2-1 earlier today.  The Dutch dominated possession for much of the game and were a constant threat to the US back line.  Bob Bradley's men, meanwhile, had difficulties winning the battle of the midfield and lacked conviction in the final third.  Really, though, did we expect anything different?  It would have been a pleasant surprise if the Yanks were able to put in a strong showing against one the world's best teams, but all in all we shouldn't be too upset with what was ultimately a pretty predictable result.

 While there's plenty to talk about with regards to this match, I'll focus on the positives for now (which, unfortunately for the sake of the World Cup roster, does not include either Robbie Findley or Eddie Johnson).  I'll address the other stuff in tomorrow's posts.
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Three quarters of the starting back line had solid games, as Jay DeMerit, Jonathan Spector, and Carlos Bocanegra held their own against a very talented Dutch attack.  Without much help in the midfield until the addition of Maurice Edu, this trio provided timely tackles, strong headers, and good positioning in the defensive third.  Bocanegra and Spector did well getting forward (though Spector's cross in the dying moments was lacking a lot of quality), and Bocanegra finished off DaMarucs Beasley's free kick with a good header in the 89th minute.  Something has to be said for the fact that the defense was able to hold the Dutch to only one goal from the run of play, which was an unlucky deflected shot at that.  For a team that did not have the greatest defense during World Cup qualification, it was a nice performance.  Jay DeMerit's great game (the best of any US player, in my opinion) coupled with Jonathan Bornstein's...rough day...will surely have many calling for a Bocanegra-DeMerit-Onyewu-Spector back line once Gooch is healthy.

The Rangers duo made a solid return to the national team set up.  Maurice Edu helped close down the midfield in the second half after the Dutch dominated possession and exploited space behind Michael Bradley and Jose Torres in the opening 45.  He provided good defensive help and did a decent job of distributing in the middle.  DaMarcus Beasley, meanwhile, added a lot of energy on both sides of the ball and really came on late in the game as presence in the final third.  He served in a nice bending ball to Carlos Bocanegra on the lone goal of the match, and he was involved in several nice build ups in the dying moments that nearly created an equalizer.  All in all, both did themselves a favor in their quest for a spot on the World Cup roster.

Jozy Altidore was largely ineffective for much of the match, and aside from one crafty little play to nutmeg his defender early in the second half, his most significant contributions in the first 75 minutes were the free kicks he earned by going down fairly easily with a defender on his back.  The good stuff came in the final minutes of the match, where Jozy was much more active and aggressive on the ball.  His best moment of the match came in stoppage time when he split a pair of defenders and fired a bullet on goal, forcing the Dutch GK into a good save.  It was a great combination of finesse and power, but it would have been nice to see that kind of play throughout the match rather than in just the final moments of the loss.

Substitutes Alejandro Bedoya and Clarence Goodson made positive contributions in their appearances.  Bedoya, in his first match with the first team, added energy to the US attack, moving well off the ball in the final third and drawing a couple of fouls.  He did not look out of place in the least bit, though he was a little too casual on one occasion in the defensive end.  After this good game, a World Cup roster spot for the Orebro midfielder suddenly doesn't seem like that much of a stretch.  Bedoya would probably need some injuries ahead of him in the depth chart to make that happen, but he definitely took a big stride forward with his performance today.

Goodson, meanwhile, continues to solidify his position in the center back pecking order, as he turned in another solid showing in the minutes he was on.  He won several 50-50 balls and came close to tying the game with a spinning volley late in the match.  At this point, I expect him to be on the roster for South Africa, barring any freak injury or drop in form.

Last, but not least, there was the guy in the back, Tim Howard.  Howard couldn't do much about either Dutch goal, but he did make several big saves to keep the match close.  This included a breakaway stop on Eljero Elia and a spectacular diving save late in the match on a shot from distance that was headed into the upper corner. Howard has this ability to come up with the huge save despite extended stretches of inactivity, and it's pretty comforting for at least this fan in the late stages of a close match.  Overall, with a number of saves and clearances, it was a good game for Howard, despite the score line.

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Well, that's it for now.  I would have loved to really put a lot more thought and time into this post, but unfortunately other duties required my time and attention this afternoon.  If you want a detailed look at my thoughts on the game as they happened, check out the live chat from earlier today.

Stay tuned tomorrow for more analysis on this match tomorrow.