BRENT LATHAM – Just how little Edson Buddle has featured for the USMNT is apparent when I can’t even find a picture of him in a U.S. kit to put alongside these lines.
But Buddle was undoubtedly one of the bright spots for the U.S. in their final tuneup Saturday, as they thrashed Australia, 3-1, on a cattle field that passed for a pitch somewhere in the South African countryside.
Aside from Buddle, who scored twice, the big story is that no one got hurt. If you’re interested in revisiting the match, here’s the running analysis in which I took part on ESPN.com.
It was surprising to see Bob Bradley make so few subs, but maybe he already has a good idea what he will get from different players. The other remarkable aspect of the U.S. performance was some poor play in the center of defense, particularly by Jay DeMerit.
After the jump, player ratings:
GK, Tim Howard, 5.5 - Did a fine job commanding the area, made a couple saves, etc. Not much to say about Timmay today except let’s hope he’s ready for England.
D, Steve Cherundolo, 6 – Did a pretty decent job on the right, and put in a great cross for Buddle for the second goal. Did get beat around the corner a couple times though.
D Jay DeMerit, 3.5 – A really bad game from the CB, who seems to pair better with Oguchi Onyewu. DeMerit is better man marking alongside Gooch than marshaling the D, with Onyewu running the show.
D Clarence Goodson, 4.5 – Was not really involved, which is fine for a CB, but I’d like to see him step it up more when his partner is having a bad game. Still, looks like a serviceable option.
D Carlos Bocanegra, 6 – Boca was untroubled on the left, and managed to get forward into the attack regularly. It’s great to have that spot solved.
M Ricardo Clark, 4.5 – It’s not that Clark played badly, he just didn’t really show up. There’s no way to tell if Bradley was just giving Clark a final try to convince, or if he’s settled on Clark as the starter next to Bradley. If it’s the second, that’s a real questionable call.
M Michael Bradley, 5.5 – Bradley played a full game, passed pretty well, and got stuck in in the midfield. The U.S. will need a bigger effort from him next week, though.
M Clint Dempsey, 6 – Dempsey was influential on the left, even though he looked like he was running at half speed much of the game. His biggest achievement today was staying uninjured, but he showed why he’ll be a threat to the less-than world class teams the U.S. faces.
M Landon Donovan, 6 – See Dempsey, just on the right.
F Robbie Findley, 5 – Many will now jump off the Findley bandwagon just as quickly as they got on. He should have scored at least twice, though he was a bit unlucky. But here’s the thing about Findley: he didn’t play badly, and created a lot of danger. Other days, the finishing will be better. It would have been great if he could have gotten one for his own confidence, though.
F Edson Buddle, 7 – Played his best game (of three) in a Nats uniform, and made an almost perfect case to start against England. Two good finishes – one spectacular – and nearly an assist in 79 minutes. That’s production. I’m itching to see if the Buddle/Altidore combo can overpower England’s backline.
Subs
G Marcus Hahnemann, 4 – Marcus was in a one-man effort to prove that he can’t read the flight of the new ball. His second half performance was a stinker, but he also made a great save or two and somehow didn’t get scored on.
D Jonathan Bornstein, 6 – I’m just as puzzled as anyone else at why Bornstein needed more time instead of say, Jonathan Spector. But he turned in his best game in a while, when the pressure was off on the sloppy pitch.
D Oguchi Onyewu, 5 – Whatever’s ailing Gooch, he’s got one week more to get over it. The U.S. won’t survive England without him.
M DaMarcus Beasley, NR – Beasley played the last ten on a sloppy pitch. Not much time to make an impression.
F Herculez Gomez, 7 – The same could be said for Gomez, except that he came on, attacked, was active, and scored a goal. Pretty good showing for what seemed like an afterthought from Bradley. Why didn’t Gomez get at least half an hour to show what he can do?
What do you think? Who was the Americans’ best player today? Impressed by the result or just worried about England?
| 1 | Tim Howard | (G) |
| 6 | Steve Cherundolo | (D) |
| 3 | Carlos Bocanegra | (D) |
| 15 | Jay DeMerit | (D) |
| 21 | Clarence Goodson | (D) |
| 8 | Clint Dempsey | (M) |
| 4 | Michael Bradley | (M) |
| 13 | Ricardo Clark | (M) |
| 10 | Landon Donovan | (F) |
| 14 | Edson Buddle | (F) |
| 20 | Robbie Findley | (F) |