(No reason behind this photo except that she's better looking than Jurgen Klinsmann)
OK people I love the USMNT just as much as the rest of you. With groups like the American Outlaws and the growth of supporters world wide we as a country have shown that there is a growing population that is learning to love the sport. The standings of the US as a legitimate soccer threat aren't near where most of us would like it to be but we're getting there. With this last round of games played (Scotland to Guatemala) we've seen huge ups and downs. One thing that has really bothered me through all of this is the plethora of fans screaming about how awful the US was in both of their WC Qualifier games. About how the Antigua & Barbuda game should have had a bigger margin of victory. I am here to tell you doubters one thing : Chill the #*$% out!
After the US thrashed a lack luster Scotland 5-1 I think allot of people got a little to excited and set their expectations to high. First of all Scotland had NOTHING to play for and they looked like it right out of the box. With no trip to the Euro's in their future Scotland looked like they could have cared less about this game. All the US did in my eyes was to take advantage of that. I think the 5-1 score line really showed nothing about our depth and talent on this team.
While no one really expected us to beat Brazil I believe that the 4-1 scoreline showed the exact opposite of what the Scotland score showed. While Scotland were an easy mark Brazil was the exact opposite. The one trophy that Brazil doesn't own is an Olympic gold medal. It's a point of pride for Brazil to win this year in London and they have been traveling with the squad that they are going to be taking to London for the most part. That game very easily could have been a 4-3 or 4-2 loss by the US. The US showed allot of heart and grit during this game and that is what people should have taken away from this match.
Canada was another story. I don't think the US players took this game seriously and therefor didn't put much effort into the game. Lets all remember that friendlies don't count for shit in the end. The only people that were bothered by the US performance was the fans that think we should blow out every opponent that's considered a "lesser" team. Unfortunatly that doesn't always happen.
Now with that said I've heard allot of criticism for the way the US played against Antigua and Barbuda. I don't really now how much more you could ask of your team in a WC Qualifier. The credit for this game has to go to Antigua and Barbuda's back line. While the score may not reflect it they were pretty solid through the entire match. For a team made up of mostly players from Antigua Barracuda FC that plays in the USL Pro division and handful of lower tier England teams against a squad of players from top flight European, MLS, and Mexican squads they played very well.
You have to consider that once you get into qualifying for the World Cup all teams bring their best. No team is just a push over and every team played should be viewed as a threat.
Now to the game last night with Guatemala. I've seen several stories this morning about how "lack luster" the US performance was. Yes it's very frustrating to give up a late goal on a silly foul. Yes it was have been nice to see Altidor tap in the beautiful pass from Bradley late in the game to win it. But before we get upset that the US drew 1-1 lets take a deep breath. Playing on the road anywhere, but especially Central America, is NEVER easy. When you have to tell your team not to eat out because your afraid they may get poisoned, or to stay at the hotel because of fears of confrontations with locals it puts a mental strain on the players. Hostile doesn't even begin to describe the atmosphere down there and the home field advatage plays a large part.
Let's all just chill out and be happy with where we are in WC qualifying. We've gotten 4 point from 2 games one of which was on the road in Central America. I feel like some fans in this country feel like we should able to compete for a WC crown now. As much as I wished this were true we have to be realistic. We have a solid top 25 team in the world and we're only getting better. I don't think Klinsmann has really solidified who he likes and doesn't like yet (See Oguchi Onyewu). I would like to see a few more guys get their shots on this team (Cooper, Shea, Beasley to name a few) but I think we are headed in the right direction.
Let me know what you think - Jay N
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