USA vs. Mexico Liveblog Explosion

Freddy Adu? Did you WATCH him in the Gold Cup? He’s not ready to play right now.

I really fail to see how 5 or 6 of our best players playing below their best is Bradley’s fault. I think we had a decent game plan- we didn’t bunker, but we defended well and more because its what we do better. We strung some passes together and had some moments of good possession. We didn’t look very good, they didn’t either. I think both teams deserved a draw, but they got a win. Those are the breaks. People are acting like we were under siege like vs Spain, but that simply wasn’t the case- they didn’t have too many very dangerous attacks, and when they did, they scored. It was a lot of aimless possession because they’re a possession team and we’re not, playing in a stadium that favors a possession team.

The only complaint I have is that Ching started. He was beyond useless. Unfortunately, Bocanegra, Dempsey, and Clark were also bad, Bradley and Donovan were average, and our best player got injured.

1-3 Costa Rica was a game that was poorly managed. This was just a close loss in a game we were supposed to lose, and probably did what it took to earn a draw but didn’t get it.

Posted from  United States

No, this was all Bradley. Staring Ching at this point should be considered an insult. Yes, Cherundolo played well, but I don’t like taking out Spector and messing with the chemistry of the squad that beat Spain.

Subbing in a midfielder for Ching instead of Altidore was crazy. Especially Holden. I like the guy and he did ok, but don’t overcoach. Fielhaber and Altidore should have been the first two subs.

And again, Unbelievable is right. How many times is Bradley going to lose games for us? We looked so good leading up to that first goal, attacking and holding possession. Then Bradley gives the order to turtle and we lose. How many times?

“Mexico should be ashamed of their cheap victory in their polluted stadium against a country who doesn’t even care about the game.”

And that is why the ’stereotypical’ USMNT fan is just as much a douche as the stereotypical Mexican fan… they just don’t know it yet.

to be fair, jose, every comment but one here was about what the us did wrong today. take from that one comment what you will, but i’m not sure it’s strong evidence for spotting trends…

anyway, agree with everyone (else) here. it’s one thing to not be able to see obvious personnel issues and continue to start past-their-prime players. it’s another to be able to ignore an entire fan base screaming for those same obvious changes. but it takes a special kind of ineptitude to blindly stumble upon a winning formation in spite of yourself, and then less than 2 months later go back to your old losing ways. in his tenure here, bob bradley has managed to turn “don’t tread on me” from a menacing threat to a timid request. maybe nike should sew “pleeeease?” to the inside collar of our jerseys next year.

bah, i’m so tired of rooting for a team that’s playing merely not to lose, especially when we clearly have the talent to aspire to so much more.

*FRUSTRATED*

Posted from  United States

Mexico should be ashamed of their team and their fans. I have never in my life seen such poor sportsmanship in a game in any sport. I was shocked at the way the Mexican players constantly ran up to our players and tried to strip the ball from them during every stoppage. I was shocked at how they tried to force an injured player to his feet in what looked almost like an attack. I was shocked at how they blatantly delayed the game when they had the lead by taking the ball and playing “keep away” from our players when it was our free kick or throw-in. I was shocked at the fans throwing trash at our players as we tried to do a corner kick.

People wonder why soccer (football) hasn’t caught on in the USA? Maybe its because we can’t stand to watch a bunch of overgrown children running around doing whatever they can to cheat and steal their way to victory. The Mexican team and its fans are as trashy as it gets.

Posted from  United States

Wilson- Really? Because nothing like that happens in every country in the World. Because you know, in other countries they totally respect the players.
Jeeze, Mexico! Shame on you for being the ONLY place that does that! Shame on you! It’s your fault that the US can’t enjoy soccer. You have that much influence on one country. Tsk, tsk. I say throw Mexico out of FIFA!

Posted from  United States

Tough game to watch and even tougher loss to swallow. As others have stated the US and obviously it’s coach were playing for a tie. The problem is…the US team was more talented than Mexico and playing to tie makes no sense. I’m not going to sit here and call for Bradley’s head because it’s just not going to happen but when is somebody going to step in and tell Bob to stop the BS? The US is built to play like they did against Spain, not like they did tonight. Whoever said that Bradley stumbled upon success is 100% correct. Why when an individual strikes gold he continues to go back to mining silver is beyond me…

It truly saddens me that random people who post on a blog seem to have more knowledge about the US team and tactics than the actual head coach…

Posted from  United States

I’m not convinced Bob Bradley has ever watched a non-MLS soccer match.

I just god depressed as the game progressed. If the U.S. team actually makes it to the World Cup, the team won’t get very far using the Bob Bradley “sit back and let the other team score” strategy.

I support what Unbelievable said earlier. But I start by saying that the US team was not prepared to play in the Azteca. They look tire almost from the get go. Their strategy to defend for 90 minutes and hope for a miracle doesn’t work. Bradley should have learned form the 5-0 lost to Mexico last month. He just didn’t prepare the team for this game, strategically and physically. It is incredible that the US keeps waiting opportunitities, to show how the team can play.

Bradley’s tactics of having 4 midfielders play back and kicking the ball forward doesn’t work, and then he changes 2 midfielders and leaves his son in the game. I was listenning to the game in Spanish and not once the announcer call the name of Bradley with the ball. But he is the coach’s son, that counts.

Did Bruce Arena win at the Aztec stadium?…who did Bradley learned from. The US needs a coach that has the knowledge and experience of big time soccer. Also, I heard the pregame commentators and Mexico’s coach comments abou the US strategy. He knew exactly what the US was going to do, which was the way US played. He prepared the team for that strategy. I don’t think Bradley had an idea how Cuahtemoc was going to play and swithc sizes. He just put a 4-4-2 and hope for the best.

Let’s hope someone realizes that this team is not going anywhere with Bradley as the person that can prepare a team for a big game. Lets just watch now how Costa Rica is going to beat us in our home land.

1st….you will never win at azteca (this was ur best chance)

2nd…poor fans???…bad sportsmanship?….what do they teach in sports??…leave it on the field…win at all costs…leave no doubt…

3rd…US fans cant except the fact that the confed cup was a fluke…

4th…ummm…mexico has european players too…blanco was winded…osorio was too…salcido didnt know where he was….

shall i keep going???

just to summarize…the US cant win in mexico….its amazing to beat the US in 2 straight games..

As a supporter of both countries I wanted Mexico to win cause they really needed to, but I don’t think the US did as bad as some people are saying.

They play counter-attacking soccer and they play it well. I hate to bring up this excuse and I know Mexican fans don’t like to hear it, but it was the altitude.

My main reasoning, besides how lackluster the US looked the whole game, is the second goal. Donovan was beaten by Efrain Juarez. I’ve seen this guy play, I’ve seen him run many times. I don’t like him for Mexico, he plays and runs too slow. I was glad he made that run and created that chance, but the fact he could make that run and beat Donovan was shocking.

Then again, that is part of having the home advantage and the counter-attack has never worked in Mexico so I can see why some are angry with Bob.

Ok Alex, your not helping and the Conf. Cup was not a fluke. The biased and hate between fans just blocks out how good Mexico and USA can play.

Mexico and USA are underrated, even by our own fans. When we come up against big competition we do well.

dolo didnt play well today. he was repeatedly skinned by guardado and then vela.

Posted from  United States

Whoever answered me: my bad, I meant to use ’stereotypical’ as in “the exaggerated caricature” rather than “in general”, so I correct my word use. It would definitely not be fair to characterize USMNT fans in general like that.

But I will say that all this nonsense about how “we should always be beating CONCACAF opposition away” and “we can play head-to-head against any country in the world” is silly. USMNT fans (disclaimer: from both personal experience and the blogosphere) have come to lack the perspective that Mexico fans once lacked too.

On the Confed Cup, for example: the US played well against two great teams (Spain and Brazil) that a) underestimated the worst-looking team in Group B and b) didn’t take the competition too seriously to begin with. On Mexico: people forget that that Mexico actually won the Confed Cup a few years back, and usually does better than the U.S. in non-CONCACAF competitions (U-17 World Cup, World Cup 2006, Copa America 2007).

Perspective.

What happened, you should paractice a little more or maybe should not be nervous. Ignore the people who boo on you U.S.A.The next game be concetrate, and put a lot of eggs in the fiald and be concetrated on th BALL. You guys know what happend las time. SO ASHAMED’5-0. Me and my family and my friends love you guys.I want you guys to be in the TOP. Besides my name is Brendell and i’m a huge fan since I was five years old.So keep on doing drills ,and running. And don’t get nervous if the people boo on you guys. I hope you guys win when you battle Salvador. Don’t forget what I say. GO Bob Bradley, and U.S.A. You guys RULE.

Italy, Spain, Brazil, Mexico.

Bradley keeps using his “Let’s run up and punch the bully when he’s not looking and then turn around and run away” strategy and it isn’t working. I was pretty even-keel on the whole “Fire Bradley” train until this. I’m officially fed up.

Fortunately, Honduras bailed our asses out which at least keeps Costa Rica in striking distance. The Top 4 is only separated by 3 points and it’s going to be a wild 2 months.

How long will the USMNT ‘pretend’ to play compact, European-style ball? US v Mexico proved that when the US compacts the field they play defense and allow shots on goal. The BEST soccer the US plays is when we attack the other team’s defense and run the entire game. Altitude too high, air too thin…too bad. That’s what subs are for.

We can only be grateful that Howard was in goal or we might have had another 5 go in. Davies has come of age – Adu needs more confidence, he’s got the skills but hasn’t proven it to himself yet.

Why does Dempsey get to play mid-field? He’s an excellent ‘garbage-goal’ player and picks up on opportunities in the offensive third of the field. Run him and sub him when he tires.

The US should be a perennial top 10 team, we’ve got the athletes, we’ve got the international experience…what else are we lacking..? Bradley, look at our 2002 World Cup Team – that team ran, attacked and fought for every ball. Why doesn’t this one?

Posted from  United States

Bob Bradley (and the current US coaching philosophy must go/change).
The strength of US soccer appears to be speed, athletisism, and conditioning.
It is not possestion, first touch, and defense.
The usmnt had success in the world cup being aggressive as the underdog. When Arena changed thier style in qualys to a defensive/conservative style in the last cup he was embarressed and subsequently lost his job.
Now we have Bob. No continuity/chemistry is being developed by constantly changing line-ups, formations and play style.
When this team is allowed to stretch the field, they are very tough. Three goals against Egypt (because they had to press), 2 goals against SPAIN(!), 2 goals against BRAZIL(!), 1 goal against Mexico(AT AZTECA!)all against 0 scored upon. And then came the PLAY NOT TO LOSE, compact defense. The first Brazil game, Italy, dodged(luckily)many shots by Spain, the second half of the Confed Cup Champ game(Brazil had over 30 shots at goal), and now Mexico. The US is NOT a defesive team. It is not thier strength. Boca was out of position several times, Donovan should not have to be on the end line. The compact line-up does not allow for possesion and time after time claerance passes are just passes to the opposition.
Playing on their heels allowing shot after shot is not fair to Tim Howard, the US fans and to the players themselves. This team has shown it has the talent and can achieve great things, if only we can find a philosophy within the US soccer federation that is prepared to allow them to succeed.

I still don’t believe that Bob Bradley is responsible for this loss. It was just a loss. The team played fairly well, 7 out of 10. Teams can’t not when playing with only speed, athletisism, and conditioning. B/c every team around the world has this. US Fans are under the impression that b/c we have the worlds most atheltic players in other sports, Football, Basketball, etc. that we have the most atheltic players in soccer. That is not the case. I agree with the style that was played in Mexico last night. The US tried to play a counter attacking style, which is common amongest the best teams when the play away from home. But, the US didn’t make good passes and that led to them playing defense more than they should have. This is what led to the US players getting tired and in the end losing the game. Possession is the key to winning at any level. If you control the possession you can control the tempo, and can choose when you attack and defend. You can’t blame Bradley for the bad passes (last time I checked he wasn’t on the field). This falls on the players. All of the players that were there have shown that they can make passes and last night they didn’t.

Also, if people want to get mad at someone, maybe they should try Landon Donovan! He did an interview on Tuesday on ESPN and said that it didn’t matter if they won or lost to Mexico b/c they were in a good position in the table. I would agree with this as a fan, but I want my national team players to want to be undefeated. I want them to want to win every game and to treat every game as the World Cup final. Donovan didn’t care if they won this game or not, so why should the other players put more in it than their leader.

Morpheus, there are 10 other players on the field that failed in Azteca, not just Donovan. He played as well as any of them (except maybe Davies). The team did not play based on the tactics of Landon Donovan, they played using the outdated and predictable tactics of Bob Bradley. This team has talent…maybe not as much as some other teams, but enough to be quite successful. We need a coach who can maximize that talent and play a style that is not agony to watch. I have supported Bradley to this point, but I am at my breaking point with him.

Posted from  United States

(Start practicing typing “sour grapes,” even though you’re wrong.)

1. Bob Bradley’s tactics suck. It’s a team sport and the play of all 11, as a unit, is dictated by the coach. We’ve shown we know how to score when the coach let’s us play forward. When he asks the team to sit back and defend, we’ve shown we know how to make Tim Howard look average. Whover said we’re not a stronge defensive team is 100% right. And everyone who said it has something to do with Bradley’s tactics is 100% right. Bradley’s our coach for the World Cup in 2010. I think most of us agree U.S. Soccer could have made a better choice.

2. Yes, every team in the world does delay and interfere to some degree when they’re ahead late. Mexico is the worst of the worst. The ref had no control over the game, made a number of poor calls and missed several others. I don’t think he changed the outcome of the game, but he was awful. Take a look at the U.S. players when they’re ahead late and tell me we don’t act with a bit more class. And to whoever said this behavior is part of “win at all cost, leave it on the field” what the hell does that have to do with the SPORT of soccer. You don’t see this in american football, basketball, or hockey. Delaying the game is typically a penalty in every other sport in the world…you lose 15 yards, you’re down a player for 2 minutes. Why shouldn’t that type of sportsmanship be part of soccer as well? If you’re good enough to win, defend and win. Don’t act like a 12 year-old. Mexico probably would have won in any case, the way the U.S. played yesterday…but don’t be surprised if we respect you a little less after every match like this one.

3. The U.S. did not play well enough to win. Whether it’s altitude, the crowd, Bob Bradley…whatever. Our first victory in Mexico will take a better effort than we showed yesterday. That said, anyone who believes the current U.S. team is incapable of winning there isn’t a soccer fan–they’re a Mexico fan who is too partisan to be honest with themselves.

Delay tactics, faking a foul, moving the ball forward on a free kick, set up a wall as close as possible on a free kick…sll is part of hte game of soccer. It has been for ever and will continue to be part of the game.

Donovan and the rest of the team were victims of a poor strategy deployed by Bradley. Thin air, lack of oxigen, call it whatever you want. If the US wanted to win, they knew this game was going to be played on 9/12 in Mexico city and they were not prepared. The Mexico team look faster and completly dominated the game…it could have been much worst.

The mexican team looked faster because they played the ball to open space. I cannot tell you how many times I saw the US collapse to the sidelines and lose the ball…that is a problem with all of the Bradley era games (Confed Cup as well). Until we can play tactically and retain possession to set up the attack, rather than just play counterattack, we will never be able to reach the next level.

Posted from  United States

@Luis: “Faking a foul” is not the same as faking an injury every minute for the last ten minutes instead of playing the game. “Moving the ball forward on (your own)free kick” is not the same as picking up a ball and running away when a foul has been called aginst you. “Set up a wall as close as possible on a free kick” doesn’t mean stand 1 foot in front of the ball until the ref tells you you’re being retarded.

And I guess the following falls under “delay tactics” too: grabbing the head of a player on the ground and giving a little twist and throwing god-knows-what at U.S. players during corner kicks? Again, there are degrees of delay that are acceptable, but it shouldn’t be “anything goes.” If throwing 72oz containers of piss and D batteries is cool, why not just get some ball bearings and a sling shot? After a while, it’s not a sport; it takes away from what the game is supposed to be.

LUIS: Please answer these qustions: Would you ever say it goes too far? Is Mexico the worst offender in CONCACAF? Would you say the U.S. doesn’t take things as far Mexico because they just don’t understand the game?

(I actually agree with the rest of what you said! I hope you realize I’m talking about one small part of all this, and I’d be upset at the way Mexico and their fans acted regardless of the outcome. It’s not just about this game.)