Gold Cup: U.S. vs. Guadeloupe 2nd half live blog

Talking to Shimer at halftime (he's in NC). He rightly points out that the U.S. seems generally disinterested in this entire tourney. They should wake up since this decides who goes to the 2013 Confederations Cup which is a sneaky good tournament.

Jozy's goal was nice but Dempsey had two easy headers in the box and Wondolowski should have bagged at least one goal.

I can hate on Bob Bradley all day (and I will at times) but the players also have to step up and perform. It seems like they're taking many steps back from the progress they made last summer in the 2010 World Cup.

And the second half is underway.

Clint Dempsey is now Fulham's all-time leading scorer (didn't know that).

Altidore wins a free kick outside the box as a Guadeloupe defender bumps him in the back.

Jozy with a nice run, shields the ball from a couple defenders and hits a shot that's deflected out for a U.S. corner. Great display of his strength although a goal there would have been better.

I'm repeating myself but Cherundolo sent another good ball into the box but it seemed to surprise Wondolowski who couldn't do much with it.

Jones finds Donovan with a cross in close but Landon somehow puts it over the bar. U.S. is snakebitten right now.

Dempsey wins a free kick and hits a shot off the crossbar and over. 1-0 U.S. in the 60th minute.

Enough, the U.S. has to put this game away so they can get their stars some rest.

Alejandro Bedoya in for Wondolowski, long overdue. Haha and Fox Soccer Channel puts up Feilhaber's name on the screen instead of Bedoya (he gets no respect!).

Yellow card for Guadeloupe after a hard foul on Dempsey. Donovan with the free kick to the side of the box. Looked like it could have been a handball but the U.S. didn't really deserve the call anyway.

Donovan puts a ball into the box but Grandel stops Bedoya on a decent shot from the side.

Guadeloupe corner, they're only down 1-0 in the 73rd minute. This is a joke.

Foul by Lichaj, a bit of a flop by a Guadeloupe player.

And Dempsey has the ball basically on the goal line but he can't put it in as it's blocked by a Guadeloupe defender.

Jozy wins a free kick right at the top of the box, thought maybe it'd be a penalty kick. Altidore is out, Kljestan is in. Good game by Jozy.

Bedoya almost puts a header in, he has been a bright spot off the bench. Earning his minutes.

Michael Bradley out (to protect his yellow card), Maurice Edu in. Last sub for the U.S. 1-0 in the 85th minute.

Great run by Dempsey but he puts the shot well wide. Something is up with him tonight, he doesn't have his usual killer touch.

Two minutes of stoppage time.

Kljestan finds Dempsey alone in front of Guadeloupe's goal but would you believe it, he misses?

Final: U.S. 1, Guadeloupe 0

U.S. advances to face Jamaica on Sunday afternoon (quarterfinals, 3pm at RFK Stadium on Fox Soccer Channel). If the U.S. plays like this again, they'll lose by a couple goals. They barely beat one of the worst teams they'll ever play. This game was beyond depressing. They had a million chances but couldn't put them in save for Altidore's missile.

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Gold Cup: U.S. vs. Guadeloupe 1st half live blog

Never in a million years did I think I'd be watching let alone live blogging a sporting event involving Guadeloupe yet here I am. The U.S. men's national team suffered one of its worst losses ever on Saturday (losing 2-1 to Panama) and now they face a must-win to get out of the group stage of the Gold Cup. That's probably the most depressing sentence I've ever written.

Anyway, Canada just drew 1-1 with Panama. So a U.S. tie or win puts them through to the quarterfinals to face Jamaica (3-0) on Sunday in Washington, DC.

U.S. starting 11:
Howard; Cherundolo, Goodson, Bocanegra, Lichaj; Dempsey, Jones, Bradley, Donovan; Wondolowski, Altidore.

Guadeloupe starting 11:
Grandel; Ictoi, Viator, Tacalfred, Zubar; Racon, Gamiette, Auvray, Loval; Socrier, Nabab

Lichaj is making his Gold Cup debut, this is only his fourth match with the team.

I wish I could give you more insight on the Panama loss but I missed it live and once I read the recap I couldn't bare to watch it. Yeah, I'm a baby.

At least the U.S. has a good crowd, soldout Livestrong Arena in Kansas City (the new MLS only stadium).

And we're underway, Altidore wins a free kick outside of the Guadeloupe box.

JP Dellacamara and Kyle Martinho are the announcers on Fox Soccer Channel.

Guadeloupe wins a free kick outside the U.S. box. Howard comes out to get the deflected shot but he goes out for a Guadeloupe corner kick. Sweet Jesus, Howard bungles the corner which leads to a shot off the crossbar and over. Yikes.

No worries, Bob Bradley is shown on the sidelines in his usual dead to the world state.

Ugh, Jozy had a nice to work a 1-2 into space but he gives it right to a defender.

Dempsey wins a free kick outside the Guadeloupe box. Dempsey fires it on goal and Grandel tips it over the crossbar for a corner kick. Nice shot, good save.

Ok, Jozy scores one of his best goals that I've ever seen. A rocket from 25 yards out, Grandel barely moves (9th minute, 12th international goal, 2nd of the Gold Cup). 1-0 U.S., what a strike!

Donovan takes an elbow in the face but no foul call. Hope he's alright.

Wow, they showed a replay from the Guadeloupe goal and that shot took a crazy curve at the end leaving the goalkeeper with no chance.

Nabab breaks free for a partial breakaway but he shoots it out on the other sideline. Not sure which U.S. defender was beaten there but it wasn't pretty, he just ran by him pretty easily.

Jones tries to find Altidore with a through ball but he was offside, nice idea.

Brian Dunseth is the sideline reporter, haha what a selection of washed up mediocre American players.

Yikes, Goodson just got tangled up with a Guadeloupe player in the box but there was no call. There definitely could have been, U.S. dodged a bullet there.

Guadeloupe is offside but not before the player shoots it off the crossbar.

And I just found out on Twitter that Guadeloupe isn't even a member of FIFA. Uh shouldn't the U.S. be wiping the floor with these scrubs?

Lichaj makes a nice run into the box, drops it for Donovan but his shot is blocked. Wondolowski skies one from just inside the area (why is he on the team?).

Semifinal loss to Mexico (2007) and Quarterfinal loss to Costa Rica (2009) are the highlights of Guadeloupe's Gold Cup history.

And the announcers make me puke as they note Guadeloupe is a "good team." Yeah ok guys. Haha, their coach is wearing jeans (no joke).

Dempsey with a great chance that he usually buries. Cherundolo puts a cross right on his head but Dempsey puts it wide. Should be 2-0, no excuse.

Cherundolo with another great ball, this time to Wondolowski but it's just out of his reach.

Dempsey with a shot from distance that was ticketed for the back of the net. Good save by Grandel, U.S. corner. Bradley tries a backheel but it's cleared off the line.

If you're wondering Guadeloupe has 400,000 fake people, it's the size of Vermont.

Bradley almost found Dempsey with a sweet chip but Grandel came off his line to clear it out of danger. Good idea.

Cherundolo is flying around, almost had another sweet cross. It was knocked out for a throw in. He's one of the few U.S. players that is doing anything consistently.

Bradley finds Dempsey with a cross that Dempsey puts wide. Didn't matter since he was called offside.

There we go, Wondolowski earns a foul with a nice turn on a Guadeloupe defender on the edge of Guadeloupe's box.

Donovan's free kick is not the best (as usual) but Altidore earns the corner with a nifty move.

Wondolowski gets stuffed twice by Grandel on very good chances. Is Charlie Davies ready to return to the team? Bob Bradley still hasn't found one suitable replacement, anyone that can play with Altidore.

2 minutes of added time and I'm already tired of this game. The U.S. is going to win but they should beat this team by a minimum of five goals on a normal day but right now, they can't get out of their own way.

Halftime: U.S. 1, Guadeloupe 0

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