It wasn't pretty, but the US men's soccer(football) team went to Cuba and won 1-0 on a Dempsey goal. This comes on the heels of their 1-0 defeat of Guatemala. The scorelines may not impress, but after grabbing the lead in each game their focus shifted to defense. The conditions in Cuba made the Guatemala stadium seem 5 star. Coach Bradley commented on how long the grass was, but with a shortage of gasoline the two man crew and lawn mower circa 1972 did pretty well. The stadium had been hit by a hurricane, and it poured on the fans as well as the players. The power went out in the 87th minute, and Cuba nearly equalized in a state of advanced darkness. The US defense impressed, especially Onyewu(yes I offered praise for Onyewu though I'll qualify it by saying the Cubans need some more rice and beans to compete with his frame), and Howard was only forced to make one real save on a set piece at the end of the game. Whether Bradley told them to play conservative and stay home, the wing backs did not come forward at all. Edu looked good attacking, but in his own half he seemed lost at times and it will be interesting to see where his future lies with the team. Beasley had a great game, but Bradley had trouble imposing himself on the game and Donovan was non-existent. Ching and Dempsey combined well for the goal. I would still like to see Adu, Altidore and Wynn get some playing time, but Bradley may be waiting for a more low pressure situation.
The rest of the world was busy as well, including those underachieving English. It took two goals by second half sub Joe Cole to beat Andorra, after being booed at half time. Capello was upset with Cole and Rooney's performance, saying they didn't listen to his technical instructions. In Italy this may be considered a result, but to the English press and fans anything less than a dozen against Andorra is greeted with gloom and doom. Downing and Walcott were also lackluster, and Gerrard and Ferdinand's absence was apparent. The big shock was France's 3-1 defeat to Austria. Domenech only has a three game contract, and his next two games are home to Serbia and away to Romania. If he does not win both those games, look for him to be sacked(fired). Italy pulled out a late 2-1 win over Cyprus in Lippi's return. Germany and Portugal made shooting practice of Liechtenstein and Malta, 6-0 and 4-0 respectively. Brazil also got back on track with a Luis Fabiano brace and a Robinho rocket to beat Chile 3-1 in a game that had two players seeing red.One Liners
- Gerrard to miss Man U match, Rafa says he would have been rotated out anyway
- Croatia call courting of Bilic a dirty trick, overestimate the intelligence of Newcastle and West Ham boardrooms
- West Ham job said to be between Zola and Donadoni, so cheer up Hammers fans you'll be getting a former Blue or the worst Italy coach in decades
- Chris Hughton named acting manager of Newcastle, told that if he loses to Hull he will be guillotined
- Sale of City to ADUD not yet complete, what do you bite after you're out of fingernails?
