U.S. Men’s National Team v. Antigua and Barbuda, Tampa, Florida, 6.8.12

The U.S. men’s national team began its 2014 World Cup qualifying run tonight in the heavy air of Tampa, Florida. The U.S. played Antigua and Barbuda, a nation of something like 86,000 people, and won the game 3-1. The U.S. controlled the ball for much of the match, but their performance was hardly a dominating one. The Yanks faded in the second half, perhaps thanks to head coach Jurgen Klinsmann’s Teutonic hatred of player rest and his scheduling of three friendlies in the two weeks leading up to this match.

Whether due to overscheduling, bad luck, or other factors, the U.S. back line came into this game without its two left backs, Fabian Johnson and Edgar Castillo, each of whom suffered injuries during the aforementioned friendlies. Midfielder Jose Torres was the surprise starter tonight at that position, and he spent much of the night making Dani Alves-like attacking runs into the final third. But unfortunately, Torres’s night was cut short. He was taken off the field on a gurney early in the second half after his ankle was stepped on during a slide tackle. With the U.S. up 2-0, Oguchi Onyewu came on to replace Torres, displacing Carlos Bocanegra from center back to left back.

About ten minutes after coming on, Onyewu was victimized by Antigua and Barbuda’s Peter Byers, who made a run down the left sideline. Onyewu positioned himself poorly, sprinting toward Byers’s back shoulder, away from goal, and allowing Byers to break free and make an easy run on goal. Byers beat Tim Howard and Antigua and Barbuda were within a goal of tying the U.S., despite the fact that they’d created just two good scoring chances to that point.

Had the U.S. gone on to draw or, God forbid, lose tonight, the upset would’ve been every bit as hard to live down as England’s 1-0 loss to our boys back in the 1950 World Cup. Let me repeat: Antigua and Barbuda has a population of 86,000. Columbus, Ohio alone has nearly ten times that many people. If Jerry Jones invited every man, woman, and child from Antigua and Barbuda to come see a game at Cowboys Stadium, he’d still have room left over to invite 24,000 of his closest friends. I enjoy a good Cinderella story as much as the next guy, but I’d sooner Antigua and Barbuda advance to the next qualifying round at the expense of the other teams in our group. In other words, I was not tickled when Byers pulled one back.

But thank God for Landon Donovan and Herculez Gomez. To my mind, they were the most consistently dangerous players on the field. Donovan’s speedy run onto a Clint Dempsey pass created a penalty kick at the end of the second half. (Dempsey buried it.) And less than ten minutes after the Antigua and Barbuda goal, Gomez and Donovan teamed up to relieve the mounting tension. Donovan, again showing his speed, received a pass from Gomez on the right flank. Donovan then played the ball back across the top of the box, where it found Michael Bradley. Bradley’s shot was deflected at close range and collected by Gomez, who made a scrappy run through the defense and eventually punched home a deflected ball. It wasn’t a pretty goal, but it was a just one. Gomez is a tireless worker, a truly great, rare, and refreshing attribute for a striker.

Donovan played the role of set-up man all night long, whether making passes in the run of play or off dead balls. If anything—as ESPN announcer Taylor Twellman noted during the broadcast—Donovan was too unselfish against Antigua and Barbuda, forgoing at least a couple of good opportunities to strike the ball on frame in favor or crossing it into traffic to his teammates. His free kicks in the last few games have been excellent, and that aspect of his game is perhaps not as widely appreciated as it should be, no doubt partially the result of playing on a club team with David Beckham.

Dempsey and Bocanegra also deserve praise. Bocanegra scored the first goal of the match off one of the U.S.’s many corner kicks. Bocanegra lost his shoe before that particular free kick, and Donovan waited patiently for him to lace up and get back into the game. Donovan’s in-swinging delivery was initially headed on goal powerfully by Gomez; Bocanegra followed the shot and was rewarded for his pains with a rebound and a garbage goal. The U.S. captain also played well after switching from center to left back, including making a nice run into the box in the 58^th minute. His cross at the end of that run found the foot of Gomez, whose one-time volley unfortunately slammed into the cross bar and back into the field of play.

Clarence Goodson and Steve Cherundolo also had solid performances, at center back and right back respectively, though of course they weren’t threatened much by Antigua and Barbuda’s anemic attack. Onyewu’s gaffe on the Antigua and Barbuda goal, however, won’t soon be forgotten by Klinsmann. Onyewu also looked clumsy in the 66^th minute, fouling Byers at midfield. My guess is that Geoff Cameron will start alongside Goodson in Guatemala next Tuesday, and Bocanegra will play left back. I wonder, though, if Klinsmann might pair Michael Parkhurst with Goodson, given Parkhurst’s experience and his solid performances at center back in the January friendlies. With luck, Fabian Johnson will be healthy by then and Klinsmann won’t have to make that decision.