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U.S. Men's National Soccer (Official Thread)

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Ok, so it's on to the next cycle for the USMNT.

They begin tonight with a friendly against Brazil. Starts on ESPN2 in a few minutes.

Starting 11's:

USA: Howard; Spector, Gonzalez, Bocanegra (c), Bornstein; Bedoya, Bradley, Edu, Feilhaber; Donovan, Buddle

BRAZIL: Victor; Dani Alves, Thiago Silva, David Luiz, Andre Santos; Lucas, Ramires, Ganso; Robinho, Pato, Neymar

A lot of guys are staying overseas to either find new clubs, impress their current managers to earn more playing time, or have other obligations. Donovan up top will be interesting. From here on out, Bob Bradley will have to manage the older guys between making sure the team is prepared for Gold Cup '11 (which qualifies them for the Confederations cup in '13, a huge boost for pre-WC prep) and the overall qualifying process, while still mixing in young guys that can actually contribute for Brazil 2014. So it will be an interesting phasing out process.

This being the first game, with the WC nearly 4 years away, it isn't too big of a deal to use the older, experienced guys, especially to avoid getting embarrassed. Really, Boconegra is the only one that stands out (Cherundolo as well, but he's on the bench) . Buddle is too old for 2014 as well, but deserves to be a part of the qualifying process.

Brazil trots out hardly anyone on their 2010 WC roster, but that was a very old team and they are ready to move on and prepare very intensely for 2014 on their home soil. These young guys are very capable of running this experienced US team still.

I'll say a 2-1 Brazil win, but the game could open up.
 
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The trio of Robinho, Neymar, and Pato will be fun to keep an eye on. By the time the next WC comes around I expect Pato to be one of the worlds top 3 forwards and Neymar will be putting his name into the "Up Next" discussion.

US has the edge in talent. Soooo glad to see Feilhaber start :biggrin:
 
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Landon needs to go down. You were fouled buddy. Take it.

Spector plays some b-e-a-utiful balls down the right side, but he needs to defend more consistently overall.

This game already re-enforces that MoEdu should have started against Ghana (every game for that matter). Such a calm presence in the midfield that pairs well with Mike Bradley's free roaming box-to-box style. :(

edit- oh no...I jinxed him. He's down. Hit in the head, he should be good.

Those jerseys look comfy.
 
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Neymar just makes you hold your breath every time he's around the ball. Carries that dangerous sense of confidence to just rip a D apart.

Pretty entertaining game. I went to the Brazil friendly in '07, I believe, at Soldier Field. Enjoyed it a lot.
 
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