The United States came together and weathered the storm., literally (Credits: Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) |
Imagine shredding through the freshest Vail powder, weaving in and out of moguls, side-stepping massive trees on your way to an epic finish at the bottom of the mountain for an ice cold Coors Light. Well that's kind of what happend at Dick's Sporting Good's Park in Colorado last night for the United States Team.
America didn't wither under the weather. They embraced the wildest conditions I've ever seen in a soccer match and they ran with it, literally. The back line, what would be the most vulnerable part of the team in these conditions, played with great composure and didn't let Costa Rica have much of anything. Possession was completely in favor of the United States all game. I actually think there was a time in the first half when the Costa Ricans didn't have the possession for more than five straight minutes. The midfielders for the U.S. were that good.
Anyways, you can't take too much out of this game other than the fact that they won, didn't complain and are heading to Mexico on Tuesday in second place and fresh batch of confidence. Sure they had a serious advantage over the Costa Ricans who probably haven't seen snow in their lives, but they certainly did play the better game. And I'll give Costa Rica credit, in the 54th minute they could have heeded the referee's warning and called the game, but they were ready to ball, trying to salvage a point in enemy territory. Yet once I saw that it was going to blizzard all game, I knew this one was in the bag.
Individually no one stood out for the United States in a good way or a bad way. Good. Newly donned captain Clint Dempsey found twine on a hard run after a deflection, but it was by no means a pretty goal. DeMarcus Beasley did a good job controlling tempo and Jermaine Jones flexed his muscles out there. The fears about Tim Howard's absence disappeared quite early when people realized that Brad Guzan is still a high quality goalie. Everything was right with the United States and nothing more. Good.
Here comes the test though. Mexico looks very beatable right now with an embarrassing tie to Jamaica at home last month and another embarrassing draw yesterday blowing a two goal lead in the 76th minute to Honduras. I repeat, Mexico is beatable. But that doesn't mean that the U.S. can just walk into the jungle that is Estadio Azteca and overwhelm the Mexicans. It will be a war. People might have downplayed the Americans first win in Azteca late last year because it wasn't a full squad friendly, however I think it's important for their confidence. Once you crack through an 0-for-a-lifetime like that, you gain some serious swagger and yesterday's win adds some more confidence, while Mexico tries to figure out how to switch their soccer button from overly cocky to overwhelming.
Right now, I wouldn't be surprised if the Americans got a point out of Tuesday's match. However, I also wouldn't be surprised if we got thrashed. Azteca has been a graveyard for American teams over the years and unless we bring our A-game and the back line stands strong, this headstone will read "United States 2014 World Cup Qualifying Team."
Quality, important win last night. Tuesday remains a different beast.
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