USMNT Win Against Turkey

The U.S. Men’s National Team pulled out a winner on a late goal by Nachadoches, TX native Clint Dempsey to beat Turkey (ranked 29th in the world) 2-1. Jozy Altidore scored tapped in a squared ball from Landon Donovan for the first goal.

The first half was not very productive and had this fan worried about the national team’s prospects for the world cup. Former Houston Dynamo Ricardo Clark and Michael Bradley were unable to control the midfield and found themselves defending close to their own 18 yard box often while Turkey showed pace and speed and the wings that gave the U.S. full backs trouble. Attacking players Bennie Feilhaber, Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, and Jozy Altidore were pretty much starved for service and committed numerous turnovers when they received the ball.

The second half saw likely world cup starters Oguchi Onyewu, Steve Cherundolo, Longview, TX native Jose Torres and Stuart Holden along with forward sub Robbie Findley come on and change the game. Torres was able to command and control the ball in central midfield while Findley’s speed stretched out the Turkish defense. Cherundolo and Onyewu shored up a backline that was extremely leaky in the first half and limited the Turks chances.

The Good:
1. One of my favorites emerged as a candidate for to start in South Africa with a second straight strong performance. Jose Torres put on a show that few other center midfielders have been able to muster in the second half breaking up plays and disturbing the ball. In my opinion, Bob Bradley has found his sons partner in center of the pitch.

2. After showing very little, which made many wonder about his inclusion in the squad, in previous opportunities with the national team Robbie Findley showed his speed is dangerous. While he dribbled the ball through the end line a few times his pace gave the Turks defense fits and opened the game up for players like Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey.

3. Onyewu looked fit! The USMNT will need their best and most physical defender in South Africa. Another strong performance against the Socceroos (I just like the nickname Socceroos) from Australia on Saturday and I will feel much more confident than I did after the match against the Czech.

The Bad:
1. Bennie Feilhaber failed to impress and may have played himself to the end of the bench. Clumsy ball handling, questionable passes, and lazy giveaways probably cemented his place at the bottom of the midfield player pool.

2. Jonathan Spector is great as an attacking right back but he and his backline must communicate better. His run in the first half was great but the lack of cover (exemplified by the fact that he was the first guy to run the Turkish winger down) lead to numerous chances and the only Turkish goal. The defense better get it together before they face England and Wayne Rooney.

3. The issue of the forward play still exists. Clint Dempsey played up top with Jozy Altidore and the pair did not show well. Which begs the question, do you put someone like Robbie Findley or Herculez Gomez with Altidore at the expense of a player like Stuart Holden or DeMarcus Beasley? Holden and Beasley would be ranked ahead of Findley and Gomez as overall players on the roster. So do you keep Dempsey up top in an effort to get your best 11 on the field or do you move a less talented guy in to get the best combination? Tough call, but I would want to get my best 11 on the field and that would include Stuart Holden and keeping Dempsey up top but cases can be made for both strategies.

The final friendly is Saturday morning at the nice early time of 7:30am against Australia from South Africa on ESPN or ESPN2. This will be a dry run for the team and fans for the world cup.