First off, I'm a huge fan of the Dutch style of play and their flare so this game was a win-win for me no matter what happened. The Dutch played great and were the only team on the field in the first half. They dominated possession and more than deserved the lead at half. Some subs and then lake of desire at the end is what lead to the US goal and the attacking possession the US had in the last 10 minutes. Overall, the Dutch more than deserved the win and were clearly the better team. Elia, who I had the pleasure of watching for the first time, was a constant nuisance to the Americans and should have scored. Great young player. And Sneijder was his brilliant self in the middle, seemingly everywhere on the pitch.
On to the Americans who, needless to say, were not at their best today. Howard was of course brilliant in goal again making a great save on Van der Vaart toward the end. The goals were not his fault. The defense was shaky at best most of the game though DeMerit was strong in his defensive duties even if his touch is always a little heavy. It will be nice to have Onyewu back. Bocanegra was his normal self in the back and ended up scoring the only American goal. Spector on the right side played decently though we was left wanting for speed a few times by Elia and Robben. And his cross at the end was disappointing to say the least. Bornstein, who somehow played 80+ minutes, was just plain terrible. He was caught out for pace multiple times, pulled down Sneijder for the penalty and had the second goal bounce off of his chest. I think it is safe to say he lost his spot in South Africa. Pearce and Goodson came on in the second half and played decently. Goodson even made a nice acrobatic attempt off of a corner to almost tie the match. The midfield was non existent most of the game. The addition of Mo Edu in the second half was a great help. He played very well and in my opinion should be at South Africa. Torres didn't do much but did have that one glimmer or brilliance with a left footed blast from 30 yards that was dipping just a little late. Bradley was good defensively but was lacking in all other aspects of the game. His touch and passing was off and he looked out of place quite a few times. Donovan was very poor and only started making a difference once he was given freedom to roam (hint hint Bob Bradley). Holden looked good while he was in, I hope he comes back quickly. Beasley looked his old-self at times and looked poor at others, but I think his play earned him a closer look. Bedoya was a revelation for me. He played well, linking up with his teammates to create offensive possession and chances. He did look a little lost at times but it is only his second cap. Up top, we were once again poor. Not sure why Findley was even on the field cuz he didn't do anything at all. Altidore worked hard as usual but he can't do everything on his own. He has one great shot and one great move with the back heal but he needs more quality balls to his feet and better support from his mid field.
The Americans were second best for 80 minutes of the game and then came on in the last 10. I'm not sure if we put this up to two different US sides and the US can build off the last 10 or if it was cuz the Dutch thought the game was over and stopped really trying. Only time will tell.
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