USA's embarrassment against Brazil
Brazil and USA recently met in a post World Cup friendly, where the Americans were outclassed and outplayed quite handsomely. The 5-time World Champions demolished the Yanks in no time and won with a 2-0 score line. USA yet again proved that they still have a lot of things to improve before even thinking of challenging the top teams in football. The 2-0 could’ve been an easy 4-0 or 5-0 thrashing of the Yanks, but the Brazilians are known to respect the game. USA’s defence was humbled on numerous occasions by the Brazilians and there were some serious flaws in USA’s overall performance.
To start off, Brazil took 20 shots at the goalie out of which 11 were aimed straight at the goal. USA gave Brazil so much time and space to take so many shots that the blame has to fall on the back line, who couldn’t cover the strikers. Jonathan Bornstein once again failed to prove his worth as the right man for the left back position as he was humiliated by Neymar da Silva on various occasions. It was Neymar’s first cap for Brazil who was impressive in his debut match for the 2014 World Cup hosts. Furthermore, Omar Gonzalez wasn’t impressive at the back in his debut for the Yanks and just couldn’t control the pace and technique for Alexandre Pato. The AC Milan star used his pace to beat Omar on numerous occasions and had multiple shots on goal before finally scoring the second goal.
Secondly, American strikers lacked the flair and spark needed to take the Brazilians on the back foot. The strikers had fewer opportunities to work on and were secluded for a majority of the match. Landon Donovan and Edson Buddle had some impressive moments for USA, but were openly dominated by strong Brazilian midfielders. Jozy Altidore came on as a second half substitute and looked to threaten the American defenders. The player received various through and long balls from his midfield colleagues, but couldn’t find the net. Robbie Findley was the least impressive of all the XI players on the field. Robbie didn’t know what he was doing and should expect any more call ups, at least in the recent future.
Thirdly, Maurice Edu was better than most first choice defenders representing USA, although his true position is to play in the midfield. Edu deserves to partner Michael Bradley in the midfield and would’ve suited better to pressurize Brazil had he been playing in the heart of the pitch. Edu was the better player amongst the disappointing USA squad and deserves more call ups to play in the midfield. Moreover, the goal keeping department came under scathing criticism. While Tim Howard is considered to be the best in USA, Brad Guzan had a comparatively better run-in. Guzan came in as a second half substitute and made save after save from repetitive Brazilian attacks. Brad was the man-of-the-match as he managed to keep the score line to a respectable 2-0. Without him, Brazil would have dismantled USA and may have won with more than 5 goals at least.
Finally, Michael Bradley’s impressive performance in the match has to be rewarded with praise. At the age of just 23, the player has fully established himself in the heart of the U.S. midfield and is the perfect player for the position. The player has the stamina to play a full game and runs back and fro with ease between the two halves. Bradley attacked and defended in the midfield and never looked like backing down from the Brazilian threat. The player made some good opportunities for the striker and would be the Mr. dependable for USA in the years to come. Bradley was the best player in USA’s squad and would need to keep it going.
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