US v Honduras Scouting Report 6/6/09

US v Honduras
6.6.09
Soldier Field - Chicago, IL

Bob Bradley and company faces its' 2nd WCQ in 4 days when Honduras travels to the 'Windy City' on Saturday. The US got it all wrong in San Jose on Wednesday night, falling with embarrassment to a less-than-stellar Costa Rican side 3-1. American fans had little to cheer for as Landon Donovan slotted home a questionable penalty in stoppage time. His goal got little more than a few sarcastic cheers from both home and away fans, as the US never looked likely to get a result.

Bob Bradley will surely be under the microscope after such a dismal performance. We were lacking in all aspects of the park, from our dreadful back-line to our non-existent attack that yielded 2 shots on goal for 90 minutes. "Pathetic" seemed to be the word coming from the mouths of every supporter across the board, and who can blame them? We lacked formation, drive to go forward, creativity, and conformity. Simply put, we must do better in Chicago if we are to reclaim our position atop the CONCACAF qualifying group.

Beasley was again very shaky at left back, Wynne repeatedly gave acres of space to Alvaro Saborio, and Mastroeni looked lost. Torres didn't play horribly, but then again didn't show a lot. Michael Bradley had difficulty distributing the cluttered midfield, and Donovan was again ineffective. We can't have any excuses, we just didn't perform. Every American was left looking at each other after each goal with the blank, stunned look on their face.


Team Sheet:
GK: Guzan, Howard
DEF: Bocanegra, Bornstein, Califf, DeMerit, Onyewu, Pearce, Spector, Wynne
MID: Adu, Beasley, Clark, Edu, Feilhaber, Mastroeni, Kljestan, Torres
FOR: Altidore, Ching, Davies, Dempsey, Donovan, Casey

The surprise inclusion of Conor Casey will not affect the team here. The US boss must look to his bench for a player to fill the huge void that Michael Bradley has left, after receiving a booking in 2 successive matches leaves him unavailable through suspension. Kljestan will surely be his replacement, but one wonders if the Sacha/Pablo partnership is really ready for this stage. Whatever the lineup, Bob better lick his wounds and get a result here. Anything less than 3 points, and Bob could be counting his days with the badge on his sleeve.

The US' fantastic record in home qualifying matches is no accident, and a weakened Honduras squad should pose minor problems. Roger Espinoza has great attacking ability as a left-footed winger, but should be dealt with. David Suazo, Amado Guevara, and Ramon Nunez are all gifted players. However, Boca and Gooch should regain their partnership after the drubbing in Costa Rica, and lead us to another home shutout (both of our home WCQ's have been clean sheets).

Come on boys.

Scouting Report writing by Chris Donahoo, to contact him about feedback email chris@theamericanoutlaws.com