It was no doubt a very entertaining match at Soldier Field. As the USA earned a 2-2 draw against Poland in Chicago. The game was very open and free flowing, with a lot of counterattacking and quick passes zinging all around the field.
However, 2 miscues by the USA when they were defending in their own third cost them the win in this contest. The first one was by Oguchi Oneywu and Stuart Holden after Holden botched a clearance in the box, the ball popped up in the air and Oneywu had a great chance to head the ball out of danger but he couldn't and that's how Polska equalized the first time around. The other occasion came when USA debutant Jermaine Jones who for the most part had a very impressive debut was caught in possession and Polska took advantage with a very impressive strike tying the game at 2-2 for Polska.
There were good things though, the Yanks came out with a formation change which was the reason for the USA's impressive start to the game which produced a fantastic goal from Jozy Altidore which opened the scoring. The USA did look very shaky at times at the back as Maurice Edu was playing out of position and he had trouble dealing with Polish striker Lewandowski. Oguchi Oneywu made up for his bad clearance with a great header off a corner, after some fantastic service from Stuart Holden who really impressed all night taking free kicks as well as calling for the ball all night long.
At times Poland looked very dangerous on the break, when the USA wasn't very clean on set pieces. Poland also took advantage of first time midfield pairing Jermaine Jones and Michael Bradley on a couple occasions. To me that's a problem that will be solved only with time, and hopefully that will be taken care of by the Gold Cup.
Player Ratings:
Tim Howard 7.5: Tim Howard had a solid night in goal, coming up with save after save against the Polish attack. Both goals were unsaveable. Any doubt that Tim Howard was aging has been squashed with this performance.
Carlos Bocanegra 5.5: Definitely a workmen like performance for the American captain. He at times covered well, at times didn't. Not a good performance but not a bad performance.
Maurice Edu 5: Tough night for Mo Edu. He was caught out of position on several occasions and was beat on the through ball time and time again. He did show flashes of good play but I'm still not a big fan of using him as a center back.
Oguchi Oneywu 6.5: Definitely a promising performance from Gooch. He showed better lateral movement than what he had showed in South Africa. At times had trouble communicating with Maurice Edu. He had a bad clearance on Poland's first goal. He then made up for it later when he gave the USA the lead when he won a header from 3 Polish defenders.
Steve Cherundolo 6.5: Fantastic going forward, as usual very dangerous. Dolo showed he's still got a place in this USA lineup and he put in a great cross for Jozy Altidore. Cherundolo also made defenders miss and is no doubt probably going to be the USA's starting right back when the Gold Cup gets here.
Stuart Holden 8 (Man of the Match): Great night from the Bolton Wanderers' midfielder. Holden showed an impressive work rate as well as great confidence when on the ball. Great service on Oneywu's goal. His service on set pieces was fantastic all night long. Holden also showed why he starts every game for Bolton with some very some very good tackles. Only reason why he didn't get an 8.5 or a 9 was because of the botched clearance on Poland's first goal. It will be very hard for Coach Bob Braldey to keep him out of the starting lineup.
Jermaine Jones 6.5: Impressive debut from the Schalke ace. His work rate was incredible, his passing was unbelievable, he is the real deal. Early on he found Jozy on a great through ball over the top which led to the first goal. He continued to show great combinations with his fellow players. At times had a miscommunication with Michael Bradley here and there, but he showed a great ability to break up plays and go in hard when picking the ball. Jones would've gotten a 7 or a 7.5 if it wasn't for getting stripped of the ball at a critical time and place on the field. As that play led to Poland's second goal.
Michael Bradley 5.5: Served as the holding midfield for most if not all of the game. MB90 showed a decent work rate, he did whiff on a tackle here and there but for the most part was very good tracking back. Going forward though, Bradley was unimpressive his first touch wasn't the greatest and his passing wasn't great either. Nonetheless, Bradley won't be unhappy with his performance.
Benny Feilhaber 5.5: Not an impressive performance from Benny. However its very difficult to rate due to the defensive duties he was given. Due to those defensive duties, Feilhaber wasn't able to showcase his real talents as a playmaker in the final third. Nevertheless, Feilhaber showed very good cover in the back. Though he wasn't as sharp on his passing.
Clint Dempsey 7: He was by far the most confident American player on the ball. Dempsey was glowing with confidence from his run of good form with Fulham and it showed tonight. The only thing Clint didn't do was score. Deuce was probably happy with his overall performance.
Jozy Altidore 6.5: Should've scored a hat trick. It's just that simple he blew chance after chance. Now he did score the goal that opened the scoring after taking advantage from a sublime pass from Jermaine Jones but squandered other opportunities. Jozy had a good game but strikers are judged on their finishing touch and it just didn't follow through at times. Jozy seems to be better out wide instead of being straight in the middle as a true hold up. That's something to keep in mind for when you're watching the Colombia match.
Substitutes
Alejandro Bedoya 5.5: Almost didn't do anything when he got on the field. I considered giving him a N/A rating but decided 30 minutes of playing time deserves a rating. When he did get the ball he showed great pace on the wing but he just didn't get enough of the ball.
Coaching 6.5: Tough to judge coaching during a friendly match, but you still gotta give a rating. I thought it was a great decision by Bradley to use the 4-3-2-1 and I think he will have walked out of Soldier Field knowing the Yanks can play in this formation with the right personnel. Only complaint about Bradley tonight was the fact that he only used 1 sub. That's not enough for a friendly match.
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