|
I think everyone is being a little hard on the US. They had some pretty key injuries to Altidore and Dempsey (who stayed on but clearly could barely breathe), not to mention Belser's hammy and Bedoya cramping up after every play (and eventually subbed). There just wasn't much quality in the group of 6 attackers with Jose, Clint banged up and Bedoya/Bradley running to cover massive ground all game.
So, I thought funneling Ghana into bad angles/long shots wasn't a terrible decision given the situation. Only a couple of the shots were good chances and Howard had all but one covered (where we got a little lucky). In the first 20-25, we looked very good but when the wheels fell off for Jose/Clint, we had to scramble to keep pace. The lineup in the second half had very little offensive creativity until Zusi came on.
Overall, the passing and ball control left a lot to be desired, but that was a function of the state of players still functioning and a decision by Klinsman to go with more conservative lineup. Bradley and Beasley need to be better, but if Clint is OK - it's reasonable to expect a draw against Portugal.
|