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Benny Feilhaber and the US MNT are only begining to come into focus

Ching, Dempsey, Beasley, Donovan, Clark, Feilhaber, Spector, DeMerit, Onyewu, Simek, Howard

That was the line-up I went with ten days ago, after watching the first round of the Gold Cup. It’s pretty close to the most successful line-up today. It’s all relative, however, it could be anybody in the context of a nervous team in a nervous game. But they came through, and it’s a chance to take stock before heading to South America.

Catch your breath after the jump…

Nervous, come to think of it, may be the best adjective to describe the US MNT in 2007. It ruled the first half today, but the injection of Clarke proved two things: the importance of substitutions – I’m always amazed when one change can affect a game so immediately across the geography of the entire team - and why I am so high on Clarke (even if his St. Pius X high school was the arch rival to my Marist in Atlanta).

Bocanegra proved me an idiot today, as he played the cerebral leader others have said he was, cleaning up after his circumspect backline. Feilhaber proved my talismanic foresight. Ok, so his game has been up-and-down throughout his short international career, but he has been tremendous on several important occasions – which is what international soccer is all about – and I just wanted to work in the word ‘talismanic.’ Is it just me or did every article about the impending transfer of Henry use that word to describe the French striker?

Anyhow, back to the matter at hand. First touches and finishing are still enormous problems. This singular feature of U.S. soccer has me sick, and it was forced down my throat again, proven by the exception of Ching’s second half awakening. The Hawaii native’s composed collection, hypnotic turning, and patient passing proved he is the most worthy of a roster spot if not the starting nod - compared to the opportunistic hunting heads of present roster mates Twellman or Johnson. But that argument is not over. We need a striker that can raise his game to Landon’s skill level, and unfortunately, that will never be Ching.

But who will it be? The nightmare up front today had the U.S. miss two open goals on top of what was one of the best losing performances I’ve ever seen out of a keeper. Sanchez single-handedly ruined Dempsey’s day – though Dempsey wasn’t exactly setting things on fire. He was certainly not on the ball today. Beasley looked tired as well, or maybe he just finally ran up on someone who has the wheels to match. No matter, though, because I have no doubt in my mind that behind Donovan, he is our best attacking asset, slightly nudging out Dempsey. When the ball goes through the feisty winger, goods things happen.

Give credit to the Yanks for not wilting after the late first half strike. If anything, it acted more as a spark. The team hadn’t been forced to come from behind in the tournament, and it’s those steep slopes that go a long way in building chemistry and character.

Character? Who would have thunk it? What might have been the most surprising outcome of the game was the overall sportsmanship. My bet going into today was for friction not fair play, but what we got was concacaf at its best: tightly contested soccer that is not always the prettiest, but is no less nail-biting. A tournament’s worth of poor officiating was washed under the bridge with today’s steady calls, the most important of which was obviously the PK call, which while not vicious, certainly was hinderance enough to call.

We got a little bit of everything today, and I feel we should savor it, because…

Venezuela, site of the 2007 Copa America.

We venture beyond the cozy confines of concacaf to Venezuela for Copa America. Which brings us back to the questionable roster. While ‘lambs to the slaughter’ is still an analogy hard to argue, the overall player pool does have a chance to boil down along with dissident tempers. If some players – newbies or quasi-veterans alike - heading south don’t perform, they might not be welcomed back, eliminating some of the possibilities for Bradley heading into 2008 and proving just how quickly that door to international soccer can close.

This is especially the case where our forwards are concerned. So beginning with them, here are the annotated options:

Brian Ching: the only big back-to-the-goal option, and we all know how much USSF loves their McBridean strikers.

Eddie Johnson and Taylor Twellman: largely similar creatures, Johnson’s on-the-ball potential has yet to crystallize, and thus we are left with two cherry pickers who depend on good positioning and great luck. Twellman has the better work rate, but too often finds some way to make those golden boots look even uglier.

Charlie Davies and Herculez Gomez: Complete question marks on the international stage. Feel free to throw any other names into this group.

Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan: Are they strikers? Bradley’s most obvious experiment has seen mixed results, but giving Landon Donovan and Dempsey carte blanche in the upper midfield (especially with the human backboard known as Brian Ching) might have been our most successful combo thus far.

The combination(s) up front a Copa America is anybody’s guess, but I think it’s safe to say that Twellman and Johnson are squarely on the hot seat. Davies and Gomez are just two of the as yet untested strikers that could easily end up proving stronger.

That last point is less true for our midfield, where I think we might have our 2010 roster set. Kyle Beckerman, Eddie Gaven, Sacha Kljestan, Justin Mapp, Lee Nguyen, and Ben Olsen have their work cut for them. For Feilhaber and Clark it will be all about not getting exposed. In international soccer, you can depend on a fall from grace like George Bush vetoing a stem cell bill. Keep putting it out there, it will happen.

Continuing to work through the formation, Mexico’s goal today proved once and for all that Onyewu may be too big for his own good sometimes. Though he was admittedly caught away from his role in the central defense, he just doesn’t have the coordination and reflexes to keep up with small, speedy opponents. He is a buffalo among lions. The injury to Borgetti stripped that point to bare bones today. It may be too late or simply the nature of his physique, but Gooch – one of my favorite players mind you – might want to try plyometrics and pilates over weightlifting. More than any other player, he should be on the Copa America roster. It’s not that he has been terrible, but he needs the work and one would think he would savior another opportunity to showcase his talent to club scouts.

With so many other options – as opposed to the striking situation, the defense has several who seem worthy of the task – one has to wonder how long Bradley will stick with Gooch (he has yet to show any signs of wavering). The rest of the backline pool has more to gain than lose. A big performance in Venezuela could catapult any of the half a dozen or so new (and returning) candidates to the top - Bobby Boswell, Dan Califf, Jay DeMerit, Jimmy Conrad, Drew Moor, Heath Pearce, Marvell Wynne - though I’m still partial to all of those who aren’t taking the trip (and Bornstein; he’s like Beasley in the back).

the down turn

Our Goalkeeper situation is the one unwavering exclamation point. With all the residual questions coming out of the Gold Cup, the keeper is not one of them. Bradley seemed to make this clear before the tournament, but his game to game selection didn’t hammer that home. Well it should be now. Howard’s stellar performance today opened the door (or did it close?) for Keller’s retirement. Howard should be in the net for every US MNT game moving forward, especially for what should be a barrage of balls in South America. That reason, I suspect, could be exactly why Bradley left him off the roster, but didn’t Bradley say he chose the Copa roster precisely to look down the road. I love Keller; I called him our best-ever keeper at one point, but the only thing ‘down the road’ for Keller is a setting sun. He is taking the place of several possible down-the-road-ers that could use the experience that Bradley so often speaks of. There really is no way for Bradley to win – a bad expression heading into Copa – there is no way for Bradley to please everyone, picking a roster is harder than picking a jersey. But one thing that shouldn’t be hard at this point: Guzan better start every game.

Before we move on completely, I know I want to watch this again…