A couple of maybe not-so-brief observations about the USA-Guatemala match:
- I have a sneaking suspicion that Eddie Johnson is reverting to the singlemost annoying thing about his game, and that's playing with his head down. I didn't watch too closely to see if that was the source of many of his problems, but that was my biggest criticism even when he was lighting it up with one of the youth national teams.
- Can anyone give me an example of a 4-4-2 with two defensive midfielders that actually works? There's just too much space between the midfield and the forwards, by definition.
- Speaking of which, I didn't think Benny Feilhaber looked all that great in his second appearance, but he's new enough that I'm not going to yell at him for being inconsistent. Yet.
- Speaking of which, again, Clint Dempsey seems to need a written invitation to show for the ball in his own half of the field. He actually looked a bit more effective when he moved up to forward at the end.
- Contrast that with Justin Mapp, who was the most dynamic offensive force the U.S. had all game. Yes, there were times when he held on to the ball too long, but I didn't really see his teammates moving into space for him, so he didn't really have much choice.
- So, if Ecuador proved Landon Donovan should be playing forward, and Guatemala proved that a 4-4-2 with two d-mids is problematic, then I want Bob Bradley to do the same thing I want Dave Sarachan to do, and that's commit to Justin Mapp as a central, attacking midfielder. This allows you to get Mapp, Donovan and either Bobby Convey or DaMarcus Beasley all on the field at the same time. Or all four if you swap Convey or Beasley over to the right, given how disinterested Dempsey seems in that position.