It was virtually
one way traffic in San Pedro Sula on Wednesday. The United States showed little in way of
attack but showed a lot in lack of preparation at the back. The US is now in a virtually
must win situation against Costa Rica on March 22nd.
The
breakdown is pretty simple the US just let Honduras come at them all game long.
The US continued its long line of non-attack under Jurgen Klinsmann, with Jozy Altidore
all alone at top and a strange choice to put Eddie Johnson on the wing.
The game
could not have been worse for the US who got lucky with an opening goal from
Clint Dempsey after a lovely pass from Jones. After that it was all downhill as
Honduras scored a goal of the year candidate to tie the game and deservingly
beat the Americans in the end 2-1, but it could have been 4-1 if not for Tim
Howard.
So where
does this leave the US now? In a must win situation, was a loss feasible? Considering
this Honduras side and the consistent poor play the Americans have had under Jurgen
Klinsmann, it was a high possibility. The most damning thing was the poor play.
Jurgen Klinsmann is hardly a defensive master, his German and Bayern Munich
sides prove that, this time Jurgen Klinsmann once again makes a strange
decision to put Omar Gonzalez and Geoff Cameron together and they struggled all
day long with Honduras quick speed. The
US once known for their speed as become a slower team under Klinsmann and virtually
a sloppy team under Klinsmann.
Have the alarm
bells rang? Well last round of WCQ was an indicator of what was going to come,
and while Honduras is hardly a world beater, the US is known for its tame attitude
when playing in “hostile” environments. Is Klinsmann’s
message getting across? Looks like it’s not.
March 22nd will be D-Day for the
UMSNT, a negative result against Costa Rica and the US may be in a hole they might
not be able to get up from.
Notes:
The German clan: Timothy Chandler,
Fabian Johnson, and Daniel Williams are starters for the UMNT? Really.
The Lack of a number 10: With
Donovan getting older and no real dribbling (Tab Ramos like) player in the near
future the US has a huge concern for who can create on this team.
Defense: Klinsmann has never been
a good defensive coach; problem is when you have world class defenders (Germany
and Bayern Munich) it might not show as much. On the US the lack of defense is abundant
in every game.
Around the World:
Chile- Egypt: Former US national
team coach Bob Bradley’s Egypt had a pretty even game against Chile who are
getting better with their new head coach.
Spain – Uruguay: What a
difference a passing game and patience can do. 3-1 may be a bit harsh but Spain was patient
and never buckled. Uruguay while trying to press was out classed by Spain’s
cool.
Argentina- Sweden: Argentina
keeps getting better and better.
@Kelvin-Loyola (Twitter)
