43rd minute..

starting to get dirty
number 8 for the guats gonna get taken out.. some cheap shots early..

refs are doing terrible imho

Can Bob please stop calling up Johnson until he gets his act together on the club level? He can't even handle CONCACAF opponents right now, which was all he could ever handle before.

The white shorts look so much better than all blue, but they're still not great in my opinion.

What an ugly game; Wynalda's right in saying the US needs to use the flanks more. I hope the US scores first (if at all), because if Guatemala scores, they'll just go into a shell and the game will be even more painful to watch.

Gack, gack, gack.

If Bradley leaves Johnson in, he is going to score before the 60th minute. He's been getting in good positions the past couple of games and making some good passes.

Johnson's not very fun watching right now; I really do hope he gives Twellman a shot in the second half. Either that or Cooper. Actually, anyone but Johnson.

Wynalda (paraphrasing): I'm not saying the ref is playing favorites, but he is Mexican.
That should generate some mail.

Twellman will not play according to ESPN guys - he has the flu.

Yeah, that was not an appropriate comment by Eric.

I was surprised that none of the US players stook up for Simek when #8 of Guat. took two kicks to Simek while he was down in the first half. Just ugly play from the Guat. defender. ...and Simek got the penalty taboot!

stook = stuck

Sorry, hard to type and watch the game ;)

Why do we even playing Guatemale if we don't have to? Is it the payday? European teams would have been out of the question for this series, but I would have rather seen the Federation bring over another team from South America or Africa.

Thanks for the updates Goff - just tuning in now due to law school not ending until 9:40. Sounds like I haven't missed much. How do the young defenders look - Simek and Demerit?

man, simek got smacked in the first half. on the ground, #8 just pounding the ball into him a couple times. punk.

gotta give some props to wynalda - he's had some excellent analysis. we need patience and more work on the wings. all told, not a pretty match.

as an aside, i have a guatemala national jersey i got in antigua. the best part is the sponsor name: adida's

i didn't even notice 'til i got back to the states.

i think demeritt has played really well

and im excited about kenny cooper.. we shall see

and where the hell does dempsey disappear to?

It's been quite awhile since Deuce has looked good. I hope it is just that he's recovering from his post-WC ankle troubles.

What's so infuriating about Ruiz is that he's good enough that he doesn't need to dive and in general play like a p***** to influence the game, but he does it anyway.

Nice run and cross there by Simek. This keeper looks shaky. US needs to keep testing him now.

This match was a pain to watch, especially after the fun Ecuador match. What a waste of time. No concrete attacks. I think the forwards failed and the the whole match was played in the midfield. Guatemala never pressed a significant attack, but nether did we. We had three to five moderate chances, but no heart. Ugh. I agree with Goff, let's forget they ever played or that it ever counted.

A lot of people debate on whether it is better for young Americans to be reserves in big sides, or starters on lower levels. I think Simek is showing that it was not a total waste of time when he was at Arsenal. Then again I doubt he would have even gotten the call-up if he hadn't went to the lower leagues.

Nothing really to do with the game but i have noticed, especially in the other friendly matches, that all the teams(except the US) dont have their names on their jerseys. is this just something done in friendly matches or what?

that game was not fun to watch...

Simek, Conrad, and Bradley all did well enough. Everyone else was mediorcre or worse. Noriega marked Donovan completely out of the game, though at least Donovan kept trying to make something work. DeMerit needs to hit better headed clearances. Also, when playing out of the back, we should have gone through Feilhaber when he was on, rather than have Spector carry it forward and be the one pushing it forward. That's just not his game.

I think Waldo was being harsh on Dempsey. When he got involved, he created 2 of our best chances. The first half, with Spector bringing the ball forward, it meant that we were either pushing the ball up the wing with Mapp or hitting a long ball every time. That's why I'm saying Feilhaber and Bradley needed to be given the ball. Spector was not looking to switch the ball ever, which compounded Dempsey's quiet performance. Basically, I believe it wasn't all Clint's fault he was so uninvolved.

Guatemala, on the other hand, is the death of soccer. That was an ugly plan from the start, even by CONCACAF standards. I feel like I need a shower after watching it.

- Michael Bradley was the player out there for the USMNT.

- Would have given Clint a 3 (did like his pass to Mapp in second half but that's about it).

- US had to move the ball quicker and do better with dead ball opportunities.

Me thinks this game definitely did not help Bob Bradley in his effort to drop the "interim" before coach. Gave Sunil G. a reason to continue his search for a non-American to replace Bradley. Maybe Waldo should coach since he saw the problem (even my little girl's U10 team knows to go wide when the middle is congested).

Either the boys on the field did not listen or Coach B. did not tell them to use the flank. Kudos to Mapp for trying a few times to use the flank but a Minus for failing to finish, i.e. no delivering of good crosses to the middle. (Hint: Justin it is difficult dribbling through three defenders in the corner of the pitch.

Overall - I would rate it a 4 (below average) on a 1 to 10 scale.

I actually like the idea of Wynalda being the coach of the US team. He would be perfect.

That was worse than Germany. Tonight may have been the first time I agreed with Wynalda. Where were the crosses from the flanks? Mapp sure as hell wasn't delivering them. I'm going to hold out a little longer before saying more.

The US has still not shown that it can score without Donovan.

*I actually like the idea of Wynalda being the coach of the US team. He would be perfect.*

Who knew Wynalda read the Goff Blog? In the midst of a broadcast to boot?

overall I think Mapp did well. It's a little frustrating that he doesn't always get the cross off, but honestly - who was going to finish them? Endurance has been difficult for him so his right foot late in the game isn't an option. I think he needed Donovan or Feilhaber to follow him into the corner to help spring him into a good position to deliver that final ball.

Will Donovan please let someone else try the set pieces? Convey and Lewis are great at corners but unfortunately in their absence, noone has the stones to step up show Donovan how not to overthink a simple set peice.

well, what a waste of time actually paying to go see this match. totally disappointed. mostly because i was expecting a little bit more action after Sunday's result.

Some quick analysis. When the opposing team is playing 4-5-1, the best way to break down their defenses is to bring the ball up from the outsides and cross. and if you cannot get in the box, shoot from outside. Too many times, US were trying to be clever and make an extra pass.

The left side was totally non-existent. Mapp and Spector were horrible. Got no attack from that side. to the contrary, Guatemala figured out that was the weak point in the US side. Where was Beasley anyway?

Kenny Cooper did provide some advantages with his height and size. he was literally buldozing his way into the box. however, he was not getting the ball enough.

the midfield was frustrating because of the numbers Guatemala threw in there. can't really blame Donovan, Feilhaber or Bradley for that. See above for ways to attack 4-5-1 formation.

The best game of the day was actually not televised. the U20 US-Haiti game was very entertaining with Haiti doing most of the domination and some very good combination. They should have won 3-1. however some very bad street-style tackling and a breakdown in set pieces led to the US win in injury time. 2-1 US.

Best goal of the day. Haiti on a break-away goal.

If Haiti continues to get playing time and get their players to stay organized for a full 90 minutes, CONCACAF will have a new force to reckon with.

A lot of teams, like Ecuador and Mexico, like to play aggressive and attack, while we sit back and then nail them with the counter-attack. Obviously that hasn't been working for our opponents lately. Head nod to Guatemala for taking the opposite approach and sitting way back; it worked.

Now let's see what Bradley comes up with the next time a team tries that--because it's bound to happen in the Gold Cup.

But that was something of a full team for Haiti. If they can't beat our u20s, I don't see how that's some sign of a new force in Concacaf. It's something like a NBA team losing to a college underclassmen all-star team.

Wynalda on TV was repeatedly pointing out the need to attack down the flanks. If Mapp was horrible, then what was Dempsey? Dempsey couldn't even find the corner flag. I think Bradley should've gone to 3 in the back and pushed someone else up front to support Mapp in the corner. Spector got exhausted trying to do it all game (and never really stayed up long enough).

The AP Report of the game in the ESPN web site show that (1) Boswell and Gros played for the MNT (2) that Boswell got a yellow card and (3) Ruiz came in in the 90th minute. What gives?

Wow. Ugly. This game reminded me of the US teams from the early '90's--the whack-it-from-the-back attack. It's been a long time since I've seen so many inaccurate long passes.

I believe it's good that we plyed this game now, as painful as it was to watch. This is the type of game we'll see at home during WC qualifying. If we don't have the players or the coaching acumen to deal with this style of play, then changes need to be made--better now than in qualifying.

Bradley, the younger has impressed me over these two games. I think he's the Bradley with a future with the MNT.

I'm not going to be too tough on the boys. A lot of those guys had never played together before, including some getting their first caps, playing an opponent who had no intention of doing anything but play 10 behind the ball, hack, dive, whine, and stall for 90 minutes. What's the purpose of an exhibition against these losers? Ecuador, Mexico, and even Norway tried to attack and made the games interesting.

This evening was an exercise in futility, but it was good to finally see DeMerit, Simek, and a few others.

Haiti dominated? Granted I was watching on the ussoccer internet stream but if such a thing happened I think I would noticed. To me it looked like the US kids maintained the majority of possession and had more chances.

(BTW: Freddy scored on a penalty after drawing the foul . . . )

Steve,

I'd love to hear who you think the new coach will be. Last night showed just how far out of his depth poor Bob Bradley is, his subs, tactics (actually lack of tactics) and game roster selection put the final nails in his coffin.

Kudos to Bob Bradley for putting new faces on the field, especially considering his interim status. I don't think we should be crying in our beer so much over this match. a) It gave the Nats a chance to let the next wave of talent gain some needed experience at no real risk and b) it gave U.S. the opportunity to play against a different style, which will be of benefit in a real match down the road. It's difficult to evaluate defender play on TV, but the youngins semed to hold their own. EJ was a bust. Again. Donovan was neutralized by Guatemala. Good coaching by Gomez. Mapp showed real promise. Nice runs, but unfortunately all with the same end result.

I think the only good coming out of this was that some of the new guys have now been exposed to negative, cynical soccer. The kind to expect in this summers' tournaments. Simek, Demerit, Mapp, et. al. have now seen it first hand.

I thought Simek was very good, rating a 6 on the Goff scale. Spector shows promise, but gave too many away. Conrad really reads the game well, and is fully prepared to engage physically.

I hardly think it was a waste. A bundle of new blood saw the field together. That's what an Amistoso is for...

Wynalda was wrong about the wide play. What little offense we generated came through patient possession followed by quick 1-2's through the middle. Bringing the ball wide and sending hopeful crosses into the box is not the way to attack a bunkered defense. Of course, anything would have been better than just hoping EJ would get on the end of a Keller boot.

ESPN doesn't have it's box score right -- all of the subs are completely wrong. Gros came in for Albright?

You can't give Donovan a 5, and here's why. In a game where a well executed set piece would have been the difference, his service was wretched all evening. Wretched.

Here's the accurate box score:

USA: 18-Kasey Keller; 25-Frank Simek, 23-Jay DeMerit, 12-Jimmy Conrad, 4-Jonathan Spector (13-Wade Barrett, 74); 2-Clint Dempsey, 5-Benny Feilhaber (19-Kenny Cooper, 59), 8-Michael Bradley, 21-Justin Mapp; 10-Landon Donovan (capt.), 9-Eddie Johnson (17-Brian Mullan, 67)
Subs not used: 6-Steve Cherundolo, 7-DaMarcus Beasley, 14-Kyle Beckerman, 16-Brian Carroll, 24-Brad Guzan

Actually, the USSF should not have included Carroll in the box since he returned to DCU on Monday.

You can't read much into it; there were a lot of guys out there that are new or relatively new most of whom probably hadn't played in a match like that before. I thought Simek was great, finally there's someone to challenge for the outside back spot. Also liked the guys in the middle. Dempsey needs more playing time at the club level, he just seemed to poop out.

Anyway, who cares about the score. Would have liked to see a few goals, but there are three for four new guys who can really contribute and that's great. I think it'll be a different story in the gold cup.

As for Donovan, it just shows that he will disappear if opposing teams pack in around him. If he can't figure out how to get more involved in a game like this, then he's not going to do much in international tournaments that actually matter.

Mapp squander several opportunities that he admittedly created. Perhaps he will improve, but the US definitely needs someone on the left with Convey's passing ability. (Yes, I know that Bobby is recovering from knee surgery.)

Why does eveybody hate on Johnson so much? He's the best forward option we have. By far. He comes back and makes himself accessible for balls from the back and mids. He plays well with his back to goal or facing goal. He is composed on the ball and is rarely dispossessed. He has excellent speed. He combines well with other players. He's even decent in the air. It should be him and Ching up top every game. And Donovan is a mid, not a striker.

Since Lost was better, I missed the second half. How was Cooper?

If Wade Barrett and Brian Mullan are the answer, I must have failed to understand the question.

And for all the whining that Johnson needs to sit to give Cooper a chance, Cooper didn't impress me with his 30 minutes of work today. Looked too much like Conner Casey, in that he played as if his position was Nose Tackle not Striker.

I was one of the people chanting to bring in EJ last summer in Germany, but he doesn't deserve another start until he can actually do something in MLS. He's been worthless these past couple US games.

I was disappointed Feilhaber came out so early, his switching the field was one of the few effective things we did.

Matt said: "Why does eveybody hate on Johnson so much? He's the best forward option we have. By far."

I agree that EJ worked hard last night, although I wouldn't agree with the statement that "he is rarely dispossessed." He lost quite a few balls, if I remember correctly. He may be a great guy, but he isn't putting the ball in the net. And the opportunities were there for him. Part of the problem may be that his early success raised fans' expectation levels too high. And in fairness, he is still very young.

Not to be unpatriotic but I cannot root for Donovan even in the US shirt.

It was a learning experience for the youngsters and I agree with Donovan who rightly pointed out that they must recognize this approach and learn to play quicker to break teams down.

I think ESPN should learn a thing or two as well because in the entire game I did not once see a full field shot that might have given viewers the feel for what the US was up against (10 men behind the ball). And for pity's sake, lets please find one intelligent commentator. Hey, that deal with the Bundesliga to help improve converage can't kick in soon enough as far as I am concerned.

People "hate on" Johnson because he scored 8 goals in his first 8 matches in 2005 and then has done almost nothing. At least two factors account for this (1) an injury, which kept him off the field for much of the CONCACAF hexagonal (IIRC) and (2) an inflated self esteem stroked by a huge, undeserved, MLS contract.

Credit the Guatemalan defense for the miserable game. I'm not sure why they trotted out this game plan for a friendly. If this is their Gold Cup strategy, then they tipped their hand.

RE: Waldo.
His comment was indefensible, but if ESPN didn't fire Michael Irvin for his comments on Tony Romo then they have no moral ground to discipline Wynalda. Heck, most of us want to hear Wynalda so that we can blog about how much of a jerk he is.

RE: GOFF ON COMCAST.
Nice job Steve, even if you had to talk about women's b-ball and hockey. I kept waiting for soccer to come up. Why have the Post soccer reporter on and not put the beautiful game on the agenda? Anyway I had to turn off after that unpaid political ad for the Clinton campaign disguised as B-ball chat. I hope the show gives equal time to all the candidates.

"Why have the Post soccer reporter on and not put the beautiful game on the agenda?"
LOL. Good question.

"I hope the show gives equal time to all the candidates."
If they have a local sports connection and a book to pitch (like McAuliffe did), I'm sure they'll be invited.

yes the game was boring. but let's all give thanks to ESPN for not letting Dave O'Boring ruin the broadcast. Thank you for listening ESPN, I almost didnt watch out of fear for the O'Brian. Now about the NBA, do we really need to see LeBron evrey night?

Does Mapp have a right foot?

Too many times he tried to get free to cross with his left when he had an opening to swing it in with his right.

"Does Mapp have a right foot?"

If Heather Mills* can dance on her fake right foot, surely Mapp can shoot with his real one.

To answer Dadinho: That's like asking Gros to cross with his left... would you rather him [MAPP] try the cross with his right and mis-hit it terribly, or cut back to his left and have a better chance of producing a decent cross. Although Mapp has never been a great crosser, and still hasn't learned how to defend, which is why DC got rid of him.

As for this game "proving" that Bradley shouldn't be the permanent coach? Umm b.s. One scoreless draw, against a side that was content to play 9 men in the back with Ruiz just kinda loitering at midfield, and he's "done"? If Guatemala had decided to throw even one more player forward, the counter would have opened up, and the US would have scored. Questioning his substitutions is rather moot in this case as well, it was a completely meaningless friendly.
One thing that was definitely apparent, Kasey Keller needs to take some adderall or something to calm him down before a match so he doesn't just boot the ball as far down field as he can. His distribution was atrocious.
I thought the US possessed and did a fairly decent job with the ball in the middle of the field through Feilhaber and Bradley, but the ball simply died on the wings and up top. I'd have much rather seen Cooper with the start of EJ. Hopefully we don't see EJ in a US jersey till he's proven he's one of the top 3 American strikers in MLS.

One thing I noticed during the match is that it's SO obvious DeMerit, Simek, and Spector play in England. All of those long balls they kept pumping into the box from anywhere and everywhere; it's a stark contrast to how the US defenders normally operate.

If Mapp doesn't have a right foot, he shouldn't play for the national team. I understand he is young and inexperienced, but that's like a point guard in the NBA not being able to dribble with his off hand. It's incredibly simple to defend, overplay the left and he'll lose the ball. Mapp had one opportunity to cross, wide open, with his right, but chose to cut it back to his left and lost the ball. Wynalda mentioned at one point that his "drive" has been questioned. Maybe this is why he can't use his right, hasn't had the desire to practice. Again, this is speculation, but if the guy doesn't want to practice and get better, he shouldn't be playing for the National team.

Mapp is still quite young (22). He's upped his game each of the last few seasons. Sometimes you gotta have a player who has the ability to take others on, create chances with agility/skill. The US isn't very deep in this regard. Mapp is something like twice the size of Adu (kidding). Coaches have to know how to use him (provide defensive cover, don't count on his right foot). His right foot needs work, but I think the US needs to bring him along to not be shellshocked internationally in 2010. That means games now, even if he isn't the complete player we hope him to become. Given our troubles at forward, there may be room on the field for 2/3 (Beasley, Convey, Mapp).

Goff

Moving on from that awful game. The Virginia Pilot is reporting that the Virginia Beach Mariners Franchise has officialy been terminated.
http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=121970&ran=1035

As sad as that is for them, I can't help but feel they must have a defender or two that DC could at least take a look at. Also, how will this effect the USOpen Cup places.

I don't think the EPL defenders had much of a choice other than the boot the ball: Guatemala limited the passing options in the midfield; our "number 10 shirt" was playing up top, not in the middle, and was well marked; and when they did play it through the midfield, Dempsey was ineffective and Mapp tried to dribble through the entire defense.

If Mapp plans to be a midfield option for, he need to learn that he won't have much time to dribble or switch the ball to his left.

My VCR watched the first half; I got home in time to watch the second half. I was pleased by the absence of O'Brien, and also with the absence of Arena. Not that he's so bad, but in the broadcast booth, three's a crowd.

The point of these two friendlies was to see the entire pool and help to clarify to some extent the teams that will comprise the Gold Cup and Copa America teams. For all Wynalda's inane comments, he was correct about how Guatemala historically plays vs. the U.S. Perhaps this time they were extreme with their packed in defense and lack of any effort to attack but the overlapping flank play combined with not great set pieces contributed to the scoreline. Usually in games like this we find a way to put one it the net... it didn't happen this time but Bradley did get a good look at the boys. Even though Spector, Simek and DeMerit had little defensive work they all look to be quality players and we will surely see them in future qualifying.

I went to the game and i really liked it guatemala gave all they could and the results showed... and speacking about Donovan i think he didnt do nothing intresting.....johnson was being lazy.... and Ruiz played good i liked his bicycle kick during first half....Guatemalan Goalie was so good... LOve how guatemals defense played esspecially Pablo Melgar ok well i really liked this game (my 1st USA Soccer game i went to and i cant wait for another won)