US 0-0 Ivory Coast: Post Match Thoughts

Let me first apologize for the delinquency of this post. I slept through this morning’s match and then caught the match later on the internet. The match today showed some weakness for the US at the back early in the match playing a 4-4-2, but the team believe it or not caught lightning in a bottle of sorts when Benny Feilhaber entered the match at halftime and helped control the next 15 or 20 minutes of the match. Dax McCarty was also quite good during this period. Danny Szetela played a nice second half as well. At the back Michael Orozco seemed overwhelmed by his responsibilities at left back but Marvell Wynne who represented one of my biggest concerns coming into the tournament looked comfortable at the back and very dangerous when he joined the attack as he did pushing forward late in the first half in a sequence that led to Sacha Kljestan having a shot to score but being denied by the Ivory Coast defense. Freddy Adu was solid creating chances and a penalty shout in the first half around minute 30. The last twenty minutes, Brad Guzan made some nice stops and helped keep the backline organized. All in all not a terrible sign: Solomon Kalou in particular gave the US fits going forward, but the solid play from Guzan denied the Ivory Coast a victory despite a superior performance. The US forwards, Brian McBride and Jozy Altidore, eighteen years apart in age showed some chemistry but also misread and misunderstood each other in a few critical moments. The important thing for Coach Peter Nowak this next week is to continue to build the team unit together.

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