Tonight’s match was one of those games. You know, the ones where people watch because ESPN has been hyping the World Cup the last few days, and then are bored out of their minds because nothing happens for ninety-five percent of the match? That’s what the USMNT put on display tonight. Still, a win’s a win. Right?
I would talk highlights of the match, but there weren’t any. The match was so boring that by the time Ricardo Clark curved a shot from distance past the T&T keeper, no one at the watch party I attended even noticed. We didn’t even cheer because the rest of the match left us bored and disinterested. A part of me feels bad, but that’s a small part of me at best. The reality is the US played ugly soccer tonight, the kind of soccer than turns people away from the sport.
For me, the number one culprit of tonight’s anti-soccer was Clint Dempsey. For two straight games now, Dempsey has looked completely and utterly bored. Maybe he’s tired. He didn’t get his usual summer break because of the Confederations Cup, but neither did Landon Donovan, or Tim Howard, or Charlie Davies and they all played with heart. Dempsey looks like he doesn’t want to be there. Perhaps he’s carrying an injury and is trying to fight through it. Whatever it is, he is quickly becoming a liability. He may have scored against El Salvador, but apart from that, he’s been terrible.
Dempsey’s replacement, Stuart Holden, proved once again why he deserves a spot on the South Africa roster. With his recent form, he may just deserve a spot in the starting 11, ahead of Clint Dempsey. Depending on the stakes of the match, Bob Bradley should seriously consider starting Holden in place of Dempsey in the next set of qualifiers. Apart from experimenting with Holden as a starter, it might just light a fire under Dempsey and spring him back into the player we all know he can be.
The other player on notice for the Yanks is Michael Bradley. I didn’t even realize he was on the field for much of the match. When I did notice him, it wasn’t good. Bradley is a streaky player, and needs to get back on track if the Stars and Stripes are going to have any shot in South Africa. We need the February 11th Michael Bradley, not the September 11th one.
The good part about tonight’s win is that it all but locked up a place in South Africa. Costa Rica’s surprising loss to El Salvador has them destined for 4th place. To miss out on an automatic spot, the US has to lose both games AND Costa Rica needs to win both. All of that puts the pressure on the October 14th match in Washington D.C. between Los Ticos and the Yanks. The time has come to buckle down. This winning ugly mentality has to stop.
