Some thoughts on the players and coaches…

1 Tim Howard- Didn’t play, didn’t complain. I hope he learned a lot and is ready to be the number 1 in 2010.

2 Chris Albright- Injury replacement for Frankie Hejduk. Didn’t play. Would Frankie have made a difference?

3 Carlos Bocanegra- Played well against Italy slightly out of position at left back. Was decent but inconsistent against Ghana, his inability to deal with a long ball leading to the decisive penalty kick. Overall, play was better than what I had anticipated before the World Cup started.

4 Pablo Mastroeni- Up until his red card against Italy, was one of the best players for the US (may not be saying much). I was even impressed with his offense (see his long range shot against Italy). Eventhough it was a harsh send-off, he needed to be smarter with his challenge against 10 man Italy.

5 John O’Brien- Waste of a roster spot. Just about every game called for the O’Brien of old, but he had the injured O’Brien. One of the biggest disappointments had to be O’Brien and his inability to play.

6 Steve Cherundolo- Was adequate defensively. Worked hard to deny Italy and combined well with Clint Dempsey. Surprised he was subbed out twice considering he is a decent crosser of the ball, and was supplying width on the right side against the Czech when DaMarcus Beasley continued to cut inside.

7 Eddie Lewis- Inexperience at left back showed as he was out of position for the Czech’s first goal. Showed better at left midfield against Ghana, but his crossing needed to be better throughout the tournament.

8 Clint Dempsey- One of two players who wasn’t afraid of the ball. Added some much needed attacking flair in his two starts. Solved our right midfield problem. One of a very few US players to walk away with their reputation enhanced. Thank You Deuce!

9 Eddie Johnson- Hyped up before the World Cup, he never reached the form of 2004-2005. Thought he played well in garbage time against the Czechs and deserved a start against Italy. I also thought he should have come on earlier against Ghana, but did little when he did come on.

10 Claudio Reyna- Up until his horrible giveaway against Ghana, was far and away the best US player at this World Cup. Along with Dempsey, was not afraid of the ball. Had a shot ring off the post against the Czechs that would have tied the score at the time.

11 Brian Ching- Didn’t even get a chance to play.

12 Gregg Berhalter- Injury replacement for Cory Gibbs. Didn’t play. Now Gibbs would have definitely helped.

13 Jimmy Conrad- One of two players I never expected to see any time, Conrad played extremely well in his game and a half. Thought Ghana’s speed would pose a problem for him, but Conrad dealt well. Play exceeded my expectations.

14 Ben Olsen- The other player I didn’t expect to see, played decently as Reyna’s sub against Ghana. Didn’t have enough of an impact though.

15 Bobby Convey- Thought he attacked well down the left flank against The Czechs and Italy. Was too easily dispossessed of the ball, and his service into the box needed to be better. Not sure he deserved to benched against Ghana though.

16 Josh Wolff- 1 game, garbage time versus the Czechs. Like O’Brien, not the player of old.

17 DaMarcus Beasley- What can be said about Beasley that hasn’t already been said about Paris Hilton? He sucked. In poor form leading up to the World Cup, Beasley never reached the form we are all accustomed to. In his defense, played out of position against the Czechs (right midfield) and Ghana (central midfield)…he only plays well for the US on the left wing. Did decently tracking back defensively most of the tournament, but I was less than impressed with his lack of hustle against Italy when the US was down a man. He should have been running his ass off.

18 Kasey Keller- Honestly, not sure how to assess his performance. While I can’t really blame him for any of the goals, and he made two nice saves at the end of the Italy game, I was looking for something more. A game changing save perhaps. I don’t think some of the goals were completely unsaveable. How about a penalty kick save (Brad Friedel)?…I’m probably too harsh on that one. His distribution was undeniably awful however.

19 Marcus Hahnemann- Didn’t play, didn’t complain. Seems like a good teammate.

20 Brian McBride- As always, the true professional gave his all every game. Would have liked to see some more offense/shots towards goal from him, but I guess it’s hard when you are stranded alone up top in a 4-5-1.

21 Landon Donovan- What can be said about Donovan that hasn’t already been said about our Mexican border? He was invisible. In my previous posts, I wondered if he had ever gotten off the plane. Virtually invisible against the Czechs as a forward, was just as invisible for most of the Italian game as a midfielder. Showed some heart when the US played much of that match short-handed. Once again mostly invisible against Ghana as a midfielder. Even when Reyna left, he was nowhere to be found. A moment that defined his tournament…cut in towards the Ghana box from the right, with a ton of space in front of him, and instead of attacking the goal and getting behind the defense or curling a shot far post, he laid the ball off to Olsen (of all people) to fire a shot straight into a defender. Seemed afraid of the ball most of the tournament. His set pieces were absolutely awful all tournament. What happened to the Donovan of World Cup Qualifying? How can Donovan really have not scored in 18 some odd international matches? Can that be possible? He may be able to dominate CONCACAF, but Donovan is just not a big game player.

22 Oguchi Onyewu- I thought Gooch had a decent tournament. Was amongst those at fault for the first Czech goal. Though he played well against big Jan Koller and Luca Toni. Eventhough he gets the short end of the stick on most foul calls because of his size, Gooch needs to learn how to play against smaller guys (and the refs) and stop using his hands so much. Penalty call against him, like many calls this tournament, was an absolute farce. Dominated the air most of the tournament, but was never really a threat on set pieces. How could we not utilize this guy’s size better on set pieces (Landon)?

23 Eddie Pope- Had a poor tournament. Can take much of the blame for the Czech’s first goal, and all of the blame for Italy’s first goal. Played decently at other times, and I thought he was harshly sent off against Italy.

Coach Bruce Arena- The team seemed unprepared and uninterested in the game against the Czechs. I had little problem with the formation or subs in that game. Surprised to see a 4-5-1 against Italy and Johnson on the bench, but glad Dempsey got a start at Beasley’s expense. USA seemed much more prepared for this game and showed the heart it didn’t have against the Czechs. Shocked to see a defensive 4-1-4-1 against Ghana when we lacked offense the entire tournament. Shocked to see Beasley return (in central midfield no less) and Convey sent to the bench. Like the third game in 2002, with the pressure on, the US failed miserably. I thought Arena waited too long to make some offensive subs in this game. As I said in other posts, Arena had always been lauded for his ability to put players in a position (literally and figuratively) for them to be successful. This World Cup, The Bruce did not do that. The team was unimpressive throughout, and Arena was never able to address the offensive problems.