I won't sugarcoat it, last night's U.S. men's national team friendly against Paraguay was a JV effort all around.
From coverage by Fox Soccer Channel (not ESPN or ESPN2), the commentators (the blacklisted JP Dellacamera and Kyle Martino), no Tim Howard and the setting (Nashville).
Predictably, after such a great match against Argentina on Saturday (a 1-1 draw at the New Meadowlands), the U.S. were due for a letdown as they fell 1-0.
However, if you went into last night's friendly with low expectations (like me), you had to be pleasantly surprised by a couple developments.
First and foremost, Juan Agudelo got his first career start in his third national team appearance and it's already clear that the kid belongs. I'm not a prisoner of the moment enough to say that he's better than Jozy Altidore but it's not crazy to think he's that far off. Agudelo took on defenders time and time again, earning free kicks and proving to be the most dangerous U.S. player (other than Clint Dempsey) with the ball on his foot.
Also, German-born defender Tim Chandler (who turned 21 yesterday) got the start (for Oguchi Onyewu) and again, a young guy stepped up. Chandler made a bunch of attacking runs upfield from his right back position and sent a couple nice crosses into the box. He also won a corner kick or two. He seems like a very pleasant surprise and like Agudelo, they both earned a return trip for the Gold Cup.
Bigger picture, this game didn't mean anything (hence Friendly) but it was a decent test against a 2010 World Cup team that advance to the knockout stage. Paraguay got its goal in the 18th minute as striker Oscar Cardozo had the ball find him in the box (off a corner) and he blasted it past U.S. goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann, who had no chance.
In my completely bias opinion, I thought the U.S. carried play, particularly in the second half. They seemed low on energy in the first half but in the second half, the vocal crowd got into it and the U.S. had a bunch of chances.
Jay DeMerit had the United States' best opportunity in the first half, heading Landon Donovan's free kick just over Paraguay's goal. Unfortunately, the extremely likable defender left right after that sequence with a strained groin.
Agudelo actually could have earned a penalty kick early in the second half but the referees weren't having it. Clint Dempsey was a tireless worker as always and as I remember saying during the 2010 World Cup, he takes a ton of physical abuse on hard challenges. Hope his body holds up.
Dempsey could have tied it up when he volleyed Eric Lichaj's cross over the bar. Speaking of guys who should have scored, Donovan had a goal sitting right in his boots off a rebound but he blasted it into the side netting.
It was surprising that the U.S. didn't tie it up late as Michael Bradley ripped an absolute scorcher from outside the box that was tipped over.
In the last few seconds before the final whistle, Jermaine Jones had a hard shot (right at Paraguay's goalkeeper) that was also stopped.
It goes down as a loss but as a U.S. fan, I was very happy with the way they played. They'll be back in action next on June 7 as they begin the Gold Cup with a meeting against neighbor Canada. Then they play Panama on June 11 and Guadeloupe on June 14. The United States have won the Gold Cup four times and been runner-up three times, they're currently riding a three-time streak in the final.
Needless to say, a U.S. vs. Mexico Gold Cup final is what I'll be hoping and wishing for from now until the summer.
Another German-born U.S. player-David Yelldell-made his debut for Bob Bradley when he started the second half. He didn't have to do anything although Paraguay almost scored on a ridiculous bending shot from well outside the box late in the match.
