I'll just say out of the gate that yesterday's US loss to Ghana wasn't the worst thing that happened on a soccer pitch. Let's just say that when my crew, Old Nicks, faced off against Volga, the collective Russian-speaking old boys of the local league, the result wasn't pretty. For the first time all season we only had two subs, one of them being me with a gimped achilles. And the onset of summerlike heat wasn't helpful either. But, enough whining. Back to the world stage.
I liked the US v Ghana match. I thought both teams played hard and there was some good stuff. The US vulnerability in defense isn't a surprise at this point though I still can't quite understand how the lapses happen when so often the defense does well. The US struggle to put the ball in the net is also known, and is less hard to understand. Altidore, our striker, only got off a single shot to my recollection. Someone once told me you can't score if you don't shoot. I dunno. Gomez to his credit started shooting. Dempsey, working like a manic steam engine, was getting knocked around enough that he had a hard time getting shots off. The Black Stars were organized and persistent. And the winning goal was a great effort against two defenders.
So the red white and blue go home and begin to regroup. That's where I think we see real questions begin to arise. For the next Cup in 2014 the US team will face the reality that we have to have younger players with experience at the international level. Cherundolo, Demerit, and Bocanegra will all be in their mid-thirties by the next round. Donovan will be thirty-two and five of this year's selection will be the same age or close to it. The identification of strong and experienced American players who are coming up and in their early twenties is going to be a giant issue. I'm just sayin....to quote my friend, AJ.
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