Thursday, May 30, 2013

Busy Summer of USMNT Action Starts with Loss in Cleveland to Belgium

The U.S. Men's National Team began its busy summer with a loss to Belgium in an international friendly hosted at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland, 4-2. More than 27,000 fans were on hand, a solid crowd given the weeknight, school year scheduling of this match. Kudos to the American Outlaws Chapters of Cleveland and Akron for being great supporters, helping fill the lower level of the stadium and singing the National Anthem so loudly that fans could not hear the anthem singer!

On the field, the passion of the U.S. players did not seem quite as inspired in the early minutes. Belgium ran out to the early lead on a goal by Everton's Kevin Mirallas, thanks to a misplaced ball by club teammate and U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard in the sixth minute. The U.S. equalized in the 23rd minute, thanks to a beautifully headed pass by Tottenham's Clint Dempsey to Stoke City's Geoff Cameron, who buried the header to tie things up at 1. That was all the scoring in the first half, leaving the fans in red, white, and blue feeling pretty good about their team.

In the second half, the American substitutes struggled. Surprisingly, the one who was most at fault was probably Aston Villa's Brad Guzan, the U.S. #2 keeper. Guzan, who was outstanding in the World Cup Qualifier draw against Mexico earlier this year, allowed three goals in the second half last night - and probably could have avoided two of them by being more aggressive toward the ball. The result was a 4-1 lead, which was made a bit closer by Dempsey's penalty kick goal in the 80th minute after Seattle Sounder Eddie Johnson's cross resulted in a handball call in the box.

All in all, a disappointing result for the USMNT. While there were stretches of decent play - in particular the second half of the first half - Belgium proved they were the better side for most of the night. That should not have come as any big surprise, as Belgium is ranked 15th in FIFA's world rankings, while the U.S. is ranked 29th.

Wearing my "Glass is Half Full" hat, allow me to point out three positives from last night:

1. DeMarcus Beasley was Man of the Match - another in a series of recent good performances for DMB, this on the night where he earned his 100th cap for the U.S. and likely further solidified his place as the left back starter.

2. The USMNT was missing some important pieces - how much better would the U.S. have looked with Michael Bradley, still recovering from Coppa Italia, in the midfield? Or Fabian Johnson, recovering from his club team's relegation playoff, playing on the left side at a wing? Or Tim Howard, not quite 100% after a physical finish to the EPL season, playing an entire match? I think we could have seen a much better U.S. squad. I would love to see Beasley and Johnson pair up on the left side of the field on Sunday.

3. Stuart Holden returned to action after a two-year recovery - one of the loudest roars from the Cleveland crowd last night came in the 81st minute, as American midfielder Stuart Holden jogged onto the pitch. For Holden, it was a return to play for the national team that was more than two years in the making, after he suffered a gruesome and troubling knee injury that needed multiple surgeries. Holden was solid in his limited time last night, and hopefully he will be able to regain the form that made him one of the best midfielders in the Premier League just three seasons ago.

Up next for the USMNT is a friendly with Germany on Sunday (2:30 pm on ESPN2). After that, World Cup Qualifiers take place on June 7 at Jamaica, June 11 vs Panama (in Seattle) and June 18 vs Honduras (in Utah).

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Final Week Drama in the English Premier League

Everyone talks about championship drama as being the most exciting part of sports...and usually it is. However, in this year's English Premier League, Manchester United has led the way for most of the season and clinched the title weeks ago. Most of the late-season drama of the 2012-13 EPL season instead has focused on two very close races - the final two spots in the Champions League and the final relegation spot. Here's where everything stands at the moment:

Champions League berths:
Clinched - Manchester United, Manchester City
Looking Good - Chelsea, Tottenham
Outside Looking In - Arsenal

Arsenal plays Wigan this afternoon in what should be a spirited affair, as the match means a lot to both teams. An Arsenal win gets them to 70 points and leapfrogs them ahead of Tottenham, meaning all Arsenal would need to do is win its final match against Newcastle to secure the fourth and final CL spot. Tottenham plays Sunderland on Sunday and needs to win along with having Arsenal drop one of these two matches. Chelsea would need to lose its final match by around 12-14 goals to have any fear of losing one of the CL berths, so they are in great shape.

My prediction: Arsenal beats Wigan and Newcastle; Tottenham beats Sunderland. Arsenal to Champions League while Tottenham gets a Europa League berth.

Relegation berths:
Clinched relegation - Queens Park Rangers, Reading
In Trouble - Wigan
Still May Be in Trouble - Sunderland, Aston Villa, Fulham, Southampton

Wigan must win its final two matches to avoid relegation - at Arsenal today and then home against Aston Villa on Sunday. If Wigan pulls off the upset today, its match against the Villains on Sunday will be huge, as a Wigan win there would put Villa in jeopardy of falling back. The other squads on the list would need Wigan to win both and a lot of other things to happen in order for their place in the top division to be jeopardized.

My prediction: Wigan drops a close one at Arsenal and is relegated.