Comments on: USA 1-0 Japan: 6 Points to Think About

By: Michael Harshbarger

Michael Harshbarger — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 04:55:52 +0000

Actually, the next two games, against the Netherlands and Nigeria are on the USA network instead of MSNBC. I totally agree with your assessment of Marvel Wynne. He completely dominated his side of the field and was to fast, to strong, and to powerful for the Japanese to handle. The midfield was definitely our strength during the game, with Rogers and Bradley taking control. However, i think the defense was shaky, especially during the fist half. Japan should have had two goals before the break and possibly two penalties after the break. Edu is a fine player, and has played center back effectively in the past, but he could have cost us the full three points twice. I think McBride did what he could with the service he was provided. As you mentioned, Adu was almost nonexistent in the cross-providing department. Rodgers, who made great runs at defenders all day, had the best opportunities to cross and often decided to take the ball towards the middle. Overall, it was great to get a win in the opening match and we played good enough to beat Japan. I do not think that performance was good enough to beat the Netherlands. One thing is for sure, if we wanna have a chance at the medal round, we have got to find a way to get Jozy Altidore on the field more.
There is nothing like watching the beautiful game at 4am!

By: Max Zeger

Max Zeger — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 00:55:29 +0000

All the US games are on MSNBC and Universal HD, as well as the Olympic Soccer channel (available on some cable providers). You can also watch every game live on NBC.com and if you miss it, you can watch it in its entirety even after it’s over. The US plays the Nedtherlands sunday at 7:45 AM, and they play Nigeria on Wednesday at 5AM on MSNBC, Universal HD and Olympic Soccer Channel.

By: Hotlantachicken

Hotlantachicken — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 23:56:54 +0000

how and when do I watch the next game?

By: Max Zeger

Max Zeger — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 18:50:46 +0000

One thing is for sure, he’ll be key to any success we have again the dutch. If he’s off, our offense will struggle like it did today. The thing that impressed me the most was the grit the defense had. It’s essentially a bare bone make shift defense and they were rock solid. two of the four are playing in positions they don’t play in regularly and they were all very good.

By: Cameron

Cameron — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 18:27:01 +0000

Adu really needs to step up if we are going to advance out of the group stage. He seemed to be trying to do too much, taking on multiple defenders and all around making poor decisions. When he had the ball in space he normally can beat at least one defender and get a shot or cross off, but that was not the case. He didn’t make quick enough decisions for me. But on the bright side, our playmaker didn’t have a good game and we still won. I’m looking for Freddy to bounce back strong from this.