For the second game in a row, the U.S. men's soccer team played awful against an overmatched opponent. I'm ignoring the 4-1 loss to Brazil since they weren't all that bad in that match given the talent they faced but tonight's very uneven 3-1 win vs. Antigua and Barbuda left fans with many questions and concerns.
Yes, the bottom line is that the U.S. was able to start off this phase of World Cup qualifying with three points in front of a soaked pro-American crowd in Jacksonville, FL. However, playing like this against most other teams will likely result in a loss or at best a tie.
U.S. captain Carlos Bocanegra scored his 13th international goal (tying Marcelo Balboa's record for American defenders) in the eighth minute following Landon Donovan's corner kick and Herculez Gomez's header that Antigua and Barbuda goalkeeper Molvin James left right at Boca's feet.
The small Caribbean island nation of 88,000 people that's just happy to be here (they've never made it this far) almost reached halftime only down 1-0 but Donovan was violently tackled on the edge of the box in the 44th minute. Clint Dempsey stepped up and scored on the penalty kick, his 26th for the U.S, as they took a more secure 2-0 lead.
Antigua and Barbuda's only real chance of the half was blocked in the box by U.S. defender Clarance Goodson's sliding challenge.
The troubling aspect of this match was that the U.S. showed no real ability to put away a team that they should beat by five goals every day of the week. I guess a long training camp and a bunch of games in a short amount of time (coupled with some injuries) has left them drained. It probably didn't help that this game was delayed by rain and it continued to pour all night.
Jose Torres went down with an ankle injury in the 54th minute and that's when the bad vibes really permeated for the U.S. With Fabian Johnson and Edgar Castillo both unavailable (due to injuries of their own), Torres had to start at left back. Once he was subbed out, Bocanegra had to shift over there while Oguchi Onyewu entered the action. I've long made my disdain for Gooch known so all I can hope is that his woeful defending which allowed Antigua and Barbuda sub Peter Byers to score in the 65th minute serves as the final nail in Gooch's USMNT coffin. I don't know how many more times he can continue to make critical mistakes before the U.S. finally pulls the plug on this failed experiment.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, a guy that had zero expectations when he made the World Cup roster in 2010 continues to see his performance level rise. Gomez scored his fourth international goal in the 72nd minute, the result of good old fashioned effort and hard work. After two U.S. shots were blocked by Antigua and Barbuda defenders, the ball bounced to Gomez who calmly dribble around James and finished, 3-1 U.S.
The U.S. found a reserve of energy as they pressed for more. Bocanegra pulled it back to Gomez and his shot went off the crossbar. Then Michael Bradley's cross was nearly deflected in the net. Ultimately, 3-1 is probably what the U.S. deserved. They dominated possession in the first half but were more loose in the second half. Still they had many more scoring opportunities (19-7 shots) and a 14-2 advantage in corner kicks (9-0 first half).
For their troubles, Jurgen Klinsmann's team gets one last trip before a welcome break from their national team duties: they travel to Guatemala on Tuesday night (10 p.m., Pay Per View). Guatemala lost 2-1 at Jamaica tonight so they'll be desperate to salvage any kind of point(s). Getting zero in their first two games could be fatal. The U.S. will have their hands full, playing away in these CONCACAF matches can be dicey since many of the stadiums/field conditions are less than second-rate. They need to find a way to put forth a more complete effort against another team that they should normally have no problem beating.
UPDATE 6/9: Torres' x-rays were negative, he was diagnosed with a bone bruise and is receiving treatment. Exhale!
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