vs. Venezuela

This post is a little late in coming... sorry about that... I'll have something up for the Latvia game today (hopefully).

Let's start by saying exactly what last night's game was. It was a game very similar to the England B vs. Belarus game the day before. It was USA B vs. Venezuela. So, with that said, let's keep a few things in mind.

1) This is a team that will likely never see the field together again (barring a '98esque collapse in which the Ghana game becomes irrelevant).
2) Most of these players have never played together, even in localized positions. Some notable exceptions are Conrad and Onyewu and Dempsey and Albright.
3) Venezuela isn't a world cup team. They're comparable in skill to Ghana but without the top level experience that Ghana's central players have (Essien, Appiah, etc.)

Having said all that, there's still some important things to have learned.
1) Convey was superb. Totally deserving of his man of the match reward. But, perhaps more importantly, he was great on defense. He tracked back well and made several important steals and interceptions.
2) Bocanegra gives us excellent cover on the left. In fact, I think Arena's choice might be between which pair of players to play on the left. Lewis/Beasley or Convey/Bocanegra.
3) The US is starting to learn the type of service that Brian Ching likes. People make alot of his size, but he's not the McBride type of target player. He wants the ball to feet and short/low corners.

And now for the traditional player ratings:

Tim Howard: Looked good the few times he was tested. Had one near miss early in which he came out and the forward chipped him (although the replay looked like Howard may have forced a miss without Onyewu's clearance). Had a great save later as well. B+

Chris Albright: Solid on the right flank. Provided the width that Dempsey doesn't. Some good crosses but didn't have the dangerous night on set pieces that he had vs. Jamaica. B

Oguchi Onyewu: I'm sick and tired of the announcers fawning all over Onyewu. I like him, I think he's very good. But he's not the next Rio Ferdinand so let's stop kidding ourselves. He looked calm at the back but he shows a somewhat alarming propensity for hoofing the ball out of trouble at the merest sign of danger. His passes and crossing ability is shockingly good for a big man, though. B+

Carlos Bocanegra: No matter what the ref (or Jeff Carlisle) says Bocanegra did NOT deserve the second yellow card. Both players did EXACTLY the same thing. They jumped with their arms extended (try doing otherwise sometime... it's very difficult). Bocanegra's arm was at head height because he jumped HIGHER. The Venezuelan player's arm would have been at Bocanegra's head had he jumped higher... That issue aside. Bocanegra looked like the best defender on the night by far and showed that he's capable of playing the attacking flank role that Arena requires out of his outside backs. A-

Jimmy Conrad: Had a solid game but nothing to write home about. His marking was pretty good and he was able to keep up with the pace and physicallity of the game. There were times, on set pieces, that he lost track of his man, however. B-

Ben Olsen: For Ben, it was a tale of two halves. In the first half he was a bit lost. The few times he got in on the plays, his passing was suspect and he was generally a step behind the play. In the second half however, he really came alive. Breaking up passes and making some good passes from the back. I think Arena wants him to play deeper than he's been playing and that may have played a part. C- (1st half), B+ (2nd half)

Bobby Convey: Certainly the best player on the night. He reminds me alot of a young Ryan Giggs. Willing to use pace, guile, skill and strength to take on 3 players at once down the flank. His crossing was generally good but could be better. He also showed his ability to stay out of trouble and not get beat up (an improvement over the oft fouled Beasley). A+

Clint Dempsey: Dempsey is looking better and better but he's not the finished product yet. His defensive work, crossing and final touch could all use some polish. His inclusion also forces the right back behind him to play MUCH more aggressively and MUCH wider. This might be exploitable by the Czechs and Italians. B-

Josh Wolff: Once again, Arena played Wolff in an unusual position. I think he's trying to find a place for Wolff that makes sense but he's having trouble. He looked dangerous and creative but I don't think he's quite ready to play in the middle. His best bet at playing time is still in that wide right role as a late substitute. B-

Brian Ching: The Nats are finally finding good ways to get Ching into the action. They're learning that they can't just lob long balls at him like they do with McBride. Ching looked dangerous in front of goal and created a lot of chances that Donovan, McBride or Johnson might be able to clean up in the future (loose balls in the area mostly). His goal was well taken and the kind of opportunistic goal that we don't usually see alot of. B+

Eddie Johnson: Showed more aggression then he has in awhile. Still not the lethal striker that US fans were hoping for, however. His assist on Dempsey's goal was top notch, though. B-

All in all this was a solid performance from the team. To beat Italy we'll need to play better but this is a good stepping stone. Hopefully Latvia will show continued improvement.