Uneven, inconsistent, somewhat encouraging while at the the same time eminently maddening; the
United States' performance on Saturday night against Poland was all of those things. But what most
stuck out for fans and analysts alike was the strong performance by the team's long-awaited
addition, American-German Jermaine Jones.
So the USA has a game tomorrow night. We haven't really said much about it yet. So let's start.
Here's the roster from US Soccer, including former Wizards striker Eddie Johnson, who has been a
bigger factor of late for Fulham. Here's a preview from Jeff Carlisle/ESPN. Ives wants to know who
you'd start in the USA midfield.
The U.S. men's national team returns to action in a week and it will provide us our first
glimpse of the next cycle under head coach Bob Bradley.
Will Bradley start trying new things, which he seemed to suggest in his comments after his
re-hiring? Will we see a move away from the 4-4-2?
After hearing Jermaine Jones and Michael Bradley having a laugh while speaking German in the
training room this morning, it occcured to us that the language skills amongst this group are
pretty high. We've got several bilingual players, and a pair of guys who speak three languages:
Jozy Altidore - Spanish
Alejandro Bedoya - Spanish
Carlos Bocanegra - French
Michael Bradley - Dutch, German
Steve Cherundolo - German
Benny Feilhaber - Portuguese
Jermaine Jones - German
Oguchi Onyewu - French, Italian
Stuart Holden tried to convince us that speaking Scottish should count.
The U.S. men's national team takes on Poland tonight in Chicago's Soldier Field on a friendly that
should give us a good glimpse into how the U.S. team is shaping up heading into the new World Cup
cycle (8pm, Fox Soccer Channel/Galavision).
U.S. men's national team head coach Bob Bradley figured to make some tactical changes and take a
look at some new faces, and we'll see our share of change based on the lineup the United States
will field tonight.
STARTERSIn the USSF D2 (second division) playoff semifinals it will be Vancouver Whitecaps FC v Puerto Rico
Islanders and Montreal Impact v Carolina RailHawks.
TEAM USAMy Thoughts:Well, the USA took 2 leads and then again made beginners mistakes for which the opponent punished
them.
Photo by ISIPhotos.com
After the pair of recent U.S. men's national team friendlies, it is tough not to think about
what exactly is the strongest possible lineup Bob Bradley can field.
Bradley won't be needing to field a full-strength squad until next summer's Gold Cup, and the
next possible chance to catch a glimpse of the strongest U.
United States National Team captain is expected to miss at least four games with his club St
Etienne after suffering whiplash during Sunday's game against Nice. Bocanegra was injured after
coming into contact with Nice forward Eric Mouloungui in the 2-1 loss.
