Taking Risks and Flouting Rules

Most of the oxygen in the room on Friday's USA match with Slovenia has been taken up by the "whistle heard 'round the world." I know I'm late to this party, but I'm firmly with Bob Bradley on this one -- a make-up call for the soft foul that led to the free kick in the first place is the only think that's remotely plausible.

Most observers have also noted that the comeback would not have been necessary had the US not dug itself into a 2-0 hole, and that the US will have to "do better" against Algeria on Wednesday. The wringing of hands and gnashing of teeth at halftime was nearly deafening. That said, my take is that Bob Bradley took a couple of risks with players, both for the tournament overall and for that match in particular, and they all came back to bite him in the ass over the first forty-five minutes. Here's how I think that breakdown breaks down.

Consistency in the midfield. Ricardo Clark obviously struggled against England, and the Internet has been clamoring for Jose Francisco Torres ever since they heard his name, so I don't know that this looked like a bad decision at the time. However, when you to a post-mortem on the first goal, Torres was clearly not in sync with fellow midfielder Michael Bradley and the backline, which was the first problem in allowing Slovenia space to shoot. I've been saying a healthy Maurice Edu was the best pairing with Bradley since before he got hurt, but Bradley the elder seemed reluctant to take that risk, so he went with the guy who probably had the least amount of familiarity with the rest of that starting defense. Turns out that was a bigger risk, and now I suspect we'll see Edu in the middle from here on out.

Speaking of recoveries. Oguchi Onyewu is still not 100%, in terms of his reaction speed. He didn't step up quickly enough on the shot on the first goal, and got caught flat-footed on the second when he had the chance to trap Slovenia offside. He's still our best option at that position, so this is a known risk. With two key players returning from injuries, Bradley either felt he had more options at midfield than in the back, or he didn't feel comfortable starting two guys who might not be match sharp. Which is different from being match fit.

Attacking options. Robbie Findley has certainly done well enough stretching the defense, but he hasn't been especially dangerous in the attack. This, again, was a risk Bob Bradley was willing to take, and wouldn't be a problem if you're not trying to come back from an early goal or two. I suspect we'll see Findley as a late sub going forward instead of a starter, but maybe not.

[UPDATE: Yeah, forgot Findley was suspended 'cause of the bogus yellow card. But the opinion stands if we advance and he's available again.]

When you take these sorts of risks, you expect that one of them may not work out. Maybe two. But all three? That's a tough break. Obviously, it was to our credit that we got back into the game and put ourselves in a position to win it, and this may be the inflection point we need to propel the team into the elimination round.

And for all the bitching and moaning, wins by the US and England on Wednesday will result in exactly what everyone predicted would happen in this group from the outset. The first round continues to be three matches long, and drawing too many conclusions from the first games from teams still in the hunt would be dangerous to one's credibility in the event that anyone was ever called out for being wrong in sports punditry.