Marvel Wynne

The man is amazing.  I didn’t think he was all that good in Olympic qualification but he is proving himself to be something else.  Not only did he provide the service for the only goal, Japan couldn’t attack down the left flank, he completely shut them down.  When they got a step on him, he ran them down, when there was a 50-50 ball, he muscled them off the ball.  Wynne was man of the match for me, and I’m sure for most of you who watched the game.

Sacha Kljestan

Without a doubt, Sacha is an excellent player, but against Japan, he was disappointing.  He too often gave away the ball, and his passing was not as crisp as it usually was.  I’d like to see Benny Feilhaber start the next match, but Nowak might not want to change the lineup they used today.

Midfield

Bravo! With the exception of some errant Kljestan passes, the US midfield was exceptional.  Stuart Holden and Robbie Rogers were great up the wings, and Michael Bradley was on top of his game.  The level of comfort the midfield has developed showed in their quick passing and smart play.  A great day for the US midfield.

Freddy Adu

What happened to Freddy?  We were all touting him as one of our few offensive hopes, but he wasn’t that affective today.  He had a few decent attempts, but none of them were anything special.  When he got the ball, he had trouble beating defenders.  To his credit however, he was subject to double teaming a lot, but when that happens you have to be willing and able to pass to the open teammate, Adu struggled with that today.

Defense

As a whole, a strong performance by the defense.  They played as a group, and didn’t allow to many good chances.  The Parkhurst-Edu team worked well, and most of the attacking play was forced to the wings because of their strong presence.  Michael Orozco wasn’t great today, probably due to the fact he’s playing out of position, but he wasn’t a liability.  He was strong and poised and didn’t allow too many players to go up the right flank.

Brian Mcbride

He didn’t really get involved too much.  It was a little disappointing to see McBride not get many balls, but it is difficult playing forward by yourself.  McBride certainly starts again next game, but the question for Peter Nowak is whether or not he brings Altidore in to give him some support.

What were your guys’ reactions to the game?  Who impressed, Who disappointed?  Any thoughts on the game go below.

A Huge step forward for the US.  If the US had failed to beat Japan, they were in some trouble, but they were able to win and now they’re in good shape to advance.  Although, with games upcoming against Nedtherlands and Nigeria, nothing is gauranteed.

The Lineup was as follows:

—————Guzan——————–
–Wynne – Edu – Parkhurst – Orozco–

–Holden – Bradley – Kljestan – Rogers–

—————Adu———————

——————–McBride (capt.)——

The big omission from the lineup was obviously Jozy Altidore who came on as a “super sub” in the 74th minute.  

Let’s hear your thoughts on the game, the lineup, the opposition, the prospects for advancement to the next round, all your thoughts go below.

We’re less than a day away from the Olympics starting, and with no real soccer news to report yet today, we’re going to do a little guessing.  Below are the Olympic groups and then below that, you place the teams that win and come in second in their groups where they are supposed to be.  I think you guys get it.

Feel free to discuss the picks after you’ve entered them.

Group A: Argentina, Australia, Ivory Coast, Serbia.

Group B: Japan, Netherlands, Nigeria, USA

Group C: Belgium, Brazil, New Zealand, China

Group D: Cameroon, Honduras, Italy, South Korea

Predictions

Group A Winners:
Group A Runners Up:

Group B Winners:
Group B Runners Up:

Group C Winners:
Group C Runners Up:

Group D Winners:
Group D Runners Up:

QF #1 – Winner Group C v Runner-up Group D:
QF #2 – Winner Group D v Runner-up Group C:
QF #3 – Winner Group A v Runner-up Group B:
QF #4 – Winner Group B v Runner-up Group A:

SF #1 – QF 1 Winner v QF 3 Winner:
SF #2 – QF 2 Winner v QF 4 Winner:

Final – SF #1 Winner v SF #2 Winner: