Johnson had a very promising debut, but we’ll see how he does over time. I agree that Bradley was excellent and demonstrated why he should be in the starting 11. I also agree that Beckerman shouldn’t be there. He is a fine MLS player and a decent player to have on the bench. But if Donovan was there I’d think Bradley would start as the CDM and even without Landycakes present it seems to me to make more sense to put Edu there.

I still don’t understand why Omar Gonzalez isn’t getting called up. And Klinsmann seems to have reiterated in interviews that he isn’t likely to call on him soon. OG is exactly the player we should be grooming to replace Boca and bringing him on as sub in games like these would be a great start.

I guess the bottom line question for me though is whether this is any better than Bradley. Honestly, right now I don’t think so. I said at the time that I didn’t see much point in firing Bradley but that sometimes change for the sake of change is good. And I do still think the change in coaches may be worth it just for the shakeup. But Klinsmann has yet to prove he was worth it and only time will tell if he is.

I know it was just a friendly. I know it wasn’t the full team. I know it doesn’t mean anything. Yet I still found myself feeling a bit like Wesley in the Pit of Despair, torture device and all.

The real agony is not in losing 1-0 to Costa Rica in a friendly. Nor is it Ian Darke’s insistence on referring to them as Honduras. It is that for large portions of that game we dominated. For a good 30 of the first 45 minutes we manhandled those Costa Ricans. And yet, the old wound still throbbed – no finishing.

There were some high points. Brek Shea was very threatening and has a lot of potential. I’ve never been all that impressed with Torres, but I have to admit he did look pretty good tonight. Altidore and Agudelo both looked more promising. The 4-3-3 formation made for more exciting play. Perhaps more importantly, there was a lot of really good possession and ball movement by the US squad. That gives me hope that there is a better future.

But there were clearly some less inspiring performances. Frankly, 3/4 of the back line was uninspiring. I exempt Chandler because I thought he had some good contributions. But it seemed to me that an error by Bocanegra led to the goal. Orozco Fiscal and Castillo did not impress. Rodgers had good moments, but overall was not much of a threat. And unfortunately Donovan had a relatively poor showing, capped off by missing what should have been an easy goal for him.

In any event, it’s one game. I like that there are young players out there. I like that Klinsmann is mixing things up. I like the bit of development I already see. And, much as I liked Bradley, I’m glad we now have a coach who seems genuinely interested in talking about the game afterward.

Now on to Belgium and a new set of players.

What did you like in this game? What do you think of the formation? The players called up? Have you turned on Klinsmann already or do you like where things are headed?

Ives has a poll up on choices for next USMNT coach: http://www.soccerbyives.net/soccer_by_ives/2011/07/who-would-you-hire-as-usmnt-head-coach.html.

Klinsmann seems to be who everyone thinks it will be. Grant Wahl tweeted something from Soccer Insider saying “you won’t be surprised.” Not sure how reliable that is.

Lippi seems to be a leading candidate as well. Not sure how he’d handle the American system.

I find myself leaning towards Sigi. He had LA in first place when they fired him. He claimed MLS cup with Columbus. He won the US Open Cup with an MLS expansion team that in its second year is challenging for first place. He clearly knows American players and is obviously good at building strong teams with limited skills. And that belly is so lovable! Two admitted drawbacks. First, he is, in some sense, more of the same. Second, I don’t think he has any international experience and success in MLS does not necessarily translate to success with a national team.

In any event, I expect we’ll have our answer today. Who do you see as the best choice? Most likely replacement?

Amazing how refreshing a good cleanse can be.

Tonight’s victory over Canada in the Gold Cup washes away the ugly filth of the Spanish drubbing from the weekend. The US team that showed up tonight bore no resemblance to the ramshackle crew assembled against Spain. Granted, Canada is far from the stiffest competition in the world (which is precisely what Spain is), but the play of the US team tonight was inspiring, regardless of opponent.

Tonight proved once again that we have three legitimate world class stars in Dempsey, Donovan, and Howard. All three played superbly. Dempsey in particular had some amazing moments, including a near goal of the back of his foot as he kicked at a ball that was crossed behind him. Only a quick deflection by the Canadian keeper kept that from the net. The goal he scored off an Altidore cross was also a zinger.

But what really stood out tonight was the strength of some of our other players. Bradley, in particular, gets Man of the Match for me. He was everywhere. He raced back to support the defense. He surged forward to spring multiple attacks. He showed poise and determination in the midfield. There is no doubt he is the starting midfielder.

Steve Cherundolo established tonight that there is no competition for starting right back. He showed pace, grit, and intelligence. He repeatedly shut down attacks, while also showing an ability to move the ball forward and support the attack.

Ream still looks young to me. Which makes sense, since he is. But his pairing with Goodson seemed to work very well in this game. Both are relatively new to the squad, but in time they could be a potent combination. I wouldn’t say this is a lock, but I see no reason to bring the Gooch back as a starter at this point.

It was a great relief that Altidore scored tonight. And importantly, it wasn’t just a lucky goal where he happened to be in the right place at the right time. He fought for position, turned the defender, and fired it in right under the keeper’s arm. It was a beautiful goal that should help restore his confidence. His assist on the second goal was also very well played. I’m not ready to say he is back, but he has at least restored hope.

It still seems to me that our greatest question mark is up front. Bradley brought Kljestan in late in the second half and moved Dempsey up. I’m not sure that’s an ideal setup to start, but it did seem to work well late in the game. Wondo also got a few minutes today, but there didn’t seem to be enough going on to really judge if he is any kind of improvement.

In any event, this game was an excellent start to our Gold Cup campaign. We took out our toughest competition in the group with a respectable margin. If we continue playing as we did tonight, we should easily top our group and should have a shot at taking home the cup. Let’s hope it lasts.

Twitter: @dschnider

Saturday’s game proved once again that a determined Spaniard always gets their revenge.

Grant Wahl tweeted before kick-off that Spain was resting so many starters that it was like going to see the Beatles with Ringo doing all the singing. Well, if Spain was a Ringo-only Beatles, the US was more like a full strength Rebecca Black.

To be fair, I myself said a win was inconceivable. The US did not actually play a full strength team. With the significantly more important Gold Cup kicking off on Tuesday, Bradley wisely rested many of his regular starters (and lost others, like Donovan, to illness). So perhaps this was a little more like the Monty Python one-armed knight scenario for the US.

The first half was disastrous. I was most disappointed by Tim Ream, who seemed lackluster and constantly out of position. I know he is capable of more, but he just seemed out of place on that field the first half. Gooch was similarly disappointing and should no longer be getting starts unless and until he earns it back. Spector and Lichaj did little to impress, pretty much all game.

The pairing of Jones and Edu in the middle to start the match did not work. I grudgingly give Klejstan some credit for trying, but I still am not particularly impressed by him nor did Rogers do much for me on the wing. The midfield in the first half failed to track back to defend and failed to feed any attack. They managed to get the ball to Altidore only twice in the entire 45 minutes. They could barely even hold possession.

Bradley made five of his six changes at the half, bringing on Goodson, Cherundolo, Dempsey, Wondolowski, and Bradley. It made an immediate difference.

Howard, Cheru, Bradley, and Dempsey are a solid spine that all do amazing things for our team. Goodson also seemed a great improvement over Gooch. We still dropped the fourth goal in the second half, but we actually had some chances and looked like something other than the high school jv team we appeared to be in the first.

Bedoya came on late in the game or Agudelo and Dempsey moved up to a striker position. Bedoya did contribute, but was not a difference maker. It is hard to evaluate our attack based on this game, when the midfield did such a poor job of supplying. Altidore remains questionable, Agudelo remains interesting, and Wondo remains a possiblity.

In the end this isn’t a story-book story for Spain. Nor is it a vanquishing for the US. It was an interesting look at some new players that essentially confirmed that the majority of them have a long way to go. But, at least that got the chance to face down this demon and see what top level competition looks like.

Now it’s time to move on to the real first test of Bradley’s second term, the Gold Cup. A big victory against Canada on Tuesday would do a lot to demonstrate that the Spain game was meaningless. Let’s just hope Donovan’s return does for the US what it tends to do for the Galaxy. Like the Dread Pirate Roberts, perhaps the presence of Landycakes alone is all we need to send the Canadian defenders scurrying.

Twitter: @dschnider

In 2009, the US pulled an historic upset, beating Spain, the best team in the world, in a semi-final of the Confederations Cup. Though I saw the result first-hand, what kept coming to my mind was the inimitable Vizzini from Princess Bride saying “Inconceivable!”

In advance of the next meeting of these two teams, scheduled for this Saturday, the line that instead comes to me is when Fezzik showed up at Miracle Max’s door and said, “I’m on the Brute Squad.” To which Max retorted, “You are the Brute Squad.”

Just looking over Spain’s roster is like facing a host of Fezzik’s. Even with Xavi and Puyol out, they have Torres, Villa, Silva, Ramos, Pique, Iniesta, Alonso, and more. What have we got? Dempsey? Agudelo?

Bedoya did just get a callup, thanks to an injury to perrenial favorite Benny Feilhaber. But Benny was already likely a substitute and I kinda doubt Bedoya will get any playing time. Even if he does, he’s no Brute Squad.

By all accounts, this should be a pummeling. A US victory would be, well, inconceivable. Then again, I do keep using that word. Maybe it doesn’t mean what I think it means….

Twitter: @dschnider

Bob Bradley announced his roster selection for the Gold Cup today. Full squad is below. Notable exclusions include Timothy Chandler and Alejandro Bedoya. Apparently they wanted to give Chandler a rest, but otherwise would have selected him. Bedoya apparently got passed up for Robbie Rodgers. Either would be a sub anyway and Bradley said Rodgers is a good option on the wing.

To me, the most exciting revelation is that Freddy Adu got a second chance (thus the absolutely horrible pun in the title, please forgive me). I have struggled to be a fan of his and have long wanted to see him succeed. He is doing well in Turkey’s second division, but that’s not saying a whole lot. Hopefully this is a foot in the door that he can use to develop as a player and find his way back to the team. We’ll see.

Anyone else you expected to see and are surprised didn’t make it? Anyone on the list you don’t think should be there?

Goalkeepers: Marcus Hahnemann , Tim Howard, Nick Rimando

Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra, Jonathan Bornstein, Steve Cherundolo, Clarence Goodson, Eric Lichaj, Oguchi Onyewu, Tim Ream, Jonathan Spector

Midfielders: Freddy Adu, Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, Maurice Edu, Benny Feilhaber, Jermaine Jones, Sacha Kljestan, Robbie Rogers

Forwards: Juan Agudelo, Jozy Altidore, Chris Wondolowski

I finally had the opportunity to see Tim Ream play in person when the Nerb (New York Red Bulls) faced the Gals (LA Galaxy) at the HDC a couple of weeks ago. I was truly impressed. Unlike most MLS defenders, he took his time distributing the ball out of the back. And he didn’t just boot it or pass it off. He took his time, measured his options, and distributed it well. He was fast and aggressive in taking the ball and moving it around. When Donovan tapped the ball towards an open net — in what we believed was an assured goal — Ream burst in out of nowhere, jammed on the afterburners, and cleared the ball just before it crossed the line. It was a stupendous performance.

His skills would have impressed me even for a 20-year veteran. But this is a second year player who is only 23 years old.

I thought I might be alone in my Team Ream membership. But today I read an interview with Alexi Lalas on the Major League Soccer Talk blog and he ranks Ream on his starting XI best American players of all time (http://me.lt/2D9I4).

As an LA Galaxy fan, it wasn’t so great to see this 2nd round draft pick becoming the gem of the 2010 class for another team. But the prospect of a young, new, talented center back for the MNT is scintillating. He has only had two caps and played under a couple hundred minutes for Bob’s Big Boys. But Ream has a bright future and I’m hoping we’ll see him starting in that center back position more often (right next to Omar Gonzalez some day hopefully).

Twitter: @dschnider

With our plethora of midfielders, I’m not sure Feilhaber has much a chance of earning a starting position. But I have always been a fan and hope this helps him keep a foot in the door, at least as a sub.

Feilhaber has not yet been allocated to an MLS team. Chivas has first option and will decide after their Sunday game. Philly would be next, though reports are that they aren’t interested. NE is third in line. I expect Chivas will pick him up, but if not I can’t imagine NE passing. Whoever takes him, it will nice to get to see him play on a more regular basis.

Goalkeepers:

Tim Howard made four saves and earned his seventh clean sheet of the season in Everton’s 3-0 victory over Wolverhampton. Brad Friedel also got his sixth clean sheet of the season in Aston Villa’s 1-0 win over Newcastle. Brad Guzan made seven saves in Hull City’s 2-1 win over Watford. Marcus Hahnemann was in the 18 for Wolverhampton, but did not play. A great showing by American goalkeepers this weekend.

Defenders:

Carlos Bocanegra played the full 90 in Saint-Etienne’s 2-2 draw at Auxerre. Steve Cherundolo played the full, 90, but picked up a yellow card in Hanover’s 2-0 win over Mainz. Jonathan Bornstein came on in the 54^th-minute in Tigres 2-0 loss to Pumas in the Mexican Primera Division. Eric Lichaj played the full 90 in Leeds’ 3-2 loss to Millwall. Oguchi Onyewu did not receive any action during the weekend, but did played the full 90 in Twente’s 5-1 loss to Villarreal in the first leg of the UEFA Europa League quarterfinal on Thursday. Timothy Chandler played the full 90 in Nurnberg’s 1-1 draw with Bayern Munich.

Midfielders:

Clint Dempsey played the full 90 in Fulham’s 2-0 loss to Manchester United. Dempsey has 11 goals on the season. Maurice Edu played 70 minutes and picked up a yellow card in Ranger’s 1-0 victory over Hamilton. Jonathan Spector came on in the 76^th-minutue. Jermaine Jones played the full 90 and picked up a yellow card in Blackburn’s 1-1 draw with Birmingham. Jose Francisco Torres started and played 62 minutes in Pachuca’s 3-0 victory over Chapas. Michael Bradley was not in the 18 for Aston Villa. Ricardo Clark and Sacha Kljestan were in the 18 for there clubs, but did not play.

Forwards:

Jozy Altidore started and scored his first goal since joining Bursapor. Altidore has been on a bad goal drought, so hopefully this can boost his confidence.  Edson Buddle played 15 minutes in Ingolstadt’s 1-1 draw at Paderborn. Herculez Gomez came on in the 63^rd-minutue and scored two goals in Pachuca’s 3-0 victory over Chiapas. Freddy Adu played 65 minutes in Rizespor’s 1-0 victory over Kartalspor.