- Michael Bradley is the most important player on this team. Without him, we have no possession.
- Geoff Cameron is an able back-up for Jones...but come on, surely somebody else would've been better to replace MB. Diskerud, anyone?
- Michael Orozco just lost his shot at the World Cup. I was his biggest supportor when he lined up at RB, but I was way off. Maybe give him one more shot in January if the spot is still unsettled but thats it
- Run DMB cannot play in Costa Rica, I'm not going to throw away all the good he did this year, but something about playing in Costa Rica is like Kryptonite to him
- Dempsey and Donovan pairing up top looks good on paper, but Dempsey likes to go unnoticed and Donovan needs someone to play off of.
- Stupid useless yellows. I understand Beslar maybe taking down Joel Campbell on the 3rd goal (which probably would've resulted in a red) but it seems a waste for him to go on the one he got. Altidore should know better. Cameron...well that one was completely deserved, but you wish it hadn't happened
- Jermaine Jones should not play unless Michael Bradley is playing. He doesn't link up well with anyone else
Honestly, I'm kinda relieved. The pressure of the win streak is off, so the guys can kinda just go out and play. I think it means more to the US to clinch at home against Mexico than on the road against Costa Rica.
Notes coming into Mexico:
- Michael Bradley is out with an ankle injury. Matt Beslar, Jozy Altidore and Geoff Cameron are suspended due to yellow card accumulation. John Anthony Brooks is going home (I’m going to say it if no one else is, do we have another Timothy Chandler? No reason he shouldn’t have thought he might have a shot at starting)
- Brad Davis, Joe Corona, Jose Torres and Clarence Goodson come in as replacements
- With the addition on all the wide/creative players (particularly lefties) I think we see Fabian Johnson move to defense for this game
- Right Back is up in the air…AGAIN!!
- “El Chepo” has been fired and Mexico is playing with an interim coach, Luis Tena. El Tri lost to Honduras at Azteca on Friday night.
- A win over Mexico means the US win finish no worse than 4th in the Hex (guaranteed to finish above Mexico and Jamaica, the 4th place team in CONCACAF plays New Zealand with the winner going to Brazil). Couple that with a Panama tie or loss to Honduras and the US would be guaranteed no less than 3rd and a spot in Brazil is locked down. A US tie and a Panama loss means the US is guaranteed no worse than 4th place. If the US loses and Panama wins it becomes extremely complicated, so I’m not going to break that down.