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Disappointing to say the least. I am not sure why after almost his entire tenure playing a 3-5-2, Arena played a 4-5-1. This started the game in a defensive posture, and Mexico had the run of play the entire first half. Mexico scored two goals in about three minutes. Onyewu looked lost on both. His mark scored the first goal after Onyewu was slow coming across goal. On the second goal, Berhalter and Onyewu and another US defender all went for one guy on a long ball and the Mexican player won the ball and played a nice header to a wide open player who finished. Eddie Lewis pulled the game to 2-1 with a very nice one touch finish.

A couple of observations.... the Berhalter-Onyewu experiemnt was a disaster. We must have Eddie Pope. Also, Donovan and Beasley could not create much and were mostly average the whole game even though Donovan got the assist on the US goal. Eddie Johnson showed some signs with a great dummy to set up Lewis whose shot was denied by a great save and Johnson started the play that lead to the goal. However, he needs help. Why was Brian McBride on the bench for 83 minutes? It seems that Johnson is more of a pure finisher but today he was used as a target?!? The US has one target man- Brian McBride. I think Arena's philosophy of giving guys a chance is a good one but not against Mexico. Give inexperienced players or a new formation a chance at home against Trinidad, not in Azteca versus Mexico.

Keller played well in goal making several crucial saves to keep it at 2-1. I think on the first goal he should have held his feet instead of diving b/c the angle of the Mexican player was so acute that you knew he had to head back across goal.

Tune in Wednesday night at 8pm on ESPN2 as the US plays Guatemala in Birmingham, AL.

Great observations Jason and I agree with you on 95% of your statement. Donovan and Beasley were absent most of the game except for the heads up play by Landon on the assist and Demarcus' yellow card. Johnson didn't look like he was ready for that atmosphere, especially with no help on the front line. Keller was fine in the net. Gotta question the play of Cherundolo and Berhalter. I didn't mind Onyewu that much, because his physical presence is nice to have in the back, but the U.S. desperately needs Pope back in the fold! Oh well, it could have been worse than 2-1 and a good result vs. Guatemala will do wonders!

I think Onyewu did a decent job in the back, but it seemed as though they were a man down in the back because Mexico always had an open man on the flanks. I think the U.S lacked intensity b/c usually in the waining moments of the game a team tries to pack it all in and get something. This was not the case. Another negative was that it seemed as though the players were playing to conserve their energy

Where was the US midfield?? Their attack was obsolote with no build up or sense of urgency!

Lots of blame to go around. Let's start with Arena. Bad strategy, bad formation, bad starter selection. Onyewu will be a player for the nats.....in the future. He's played like 3 USMNT matches so far, he's too green for Azteca. The first goal was his, the second, I blame on Berhalter. Onyewu had the man covered, B-Man provides unnecessary 2nd cover and leaves his man unmarked and wide open. As for Pope, he's getting old, while he might have helped today, his days are numbered, we need to fill his spot. I have no problem with breaking in new talent. We've been doing it for 3 years, since the last WQ, just don't experiment in Azteca.

EJ is a stud and has proven it in WCQ action. He's ready for Mexico, just not in the formation Arena chose today. Like VOR said, we've been playing (successfully) one formation, then on our biggest match of qualifying, we change. That's generally not a good idea. That's not EJ's fault. Too many times, offensively, we were on the short end of 1v3 or 2v4 or 5. We were way too slow in the attack. Give Mexico credit, they were very organized, there were few openings and we (Arena) had no ideas.

Offense....non-existent. Baby Jesus did nothing, Beasley, not much more. Reyna was not ready for 90 minutes, he was huffing all game. Keller saved it from being worse.

The last 10 minutes, we looked like we were protecting a lead, as Mexico continued to hammer us, not the other way around.

We played liked scared children, I blame Arena for that, I blame the players on the field. I hope the Mexican and US press skewers us and I hope Arena and the rest of the players read it. Then rewind the tape and show them the Portugal and Mexico matches from 2002 WQ in Japan/Korea. That's how you step up and enforce your will. Fortunately, today's match was only 1 of 10, but next year, the stakes will be higher, much higher.....

Well said Soccer Watcher...

I always hoped Onyewu would be a MNT fixture since his days at Clemson, but today wasn't exactly the best time for the switch. Playing against Mexico(especially in Mexico City) is not the situation to break a "new" international player into the starting 11. While Eddie Pope may be getting older, his leadership and mental focus probably would have prevented the 1st goal, which I'll mark down as a mental lapse.

My biggest question is if you don't bring up Pope why bring up Claudio Reyna who is approaching his 500th birthday. He was four steps behind the ENTIRE game. Mexico ran circles around the center of the park, basically reducing the field size to 11v10. Hand Landon Donovan the captain's band, give Mr. Reyna a hearty pat on the back and a seat on the bench, and watch a fitter player control or at least neutralize the center mid position.

Eddie Johnson may have been the best player on the field, but how would you know when he never recieved the ball in a situation where the US had numbers up, and he was able to create goal-scoring opportunities. On the two times in the 2nd half where he recieved the ball facing the frame, he dummies leading to an Eddie Gaven shot, and he gets the double assist with Donovan on the lone goal. Let your play-makers make plays, I say.

Give the Mexican fans credit--the always provide an...interesting atmosphere for the biggest game on the continent. Hopefully, when the Americans face them again in the States, our fans can match their intensity. Until then, keep your heads up USA fans, all is not lost. We only lost by 1 when we had 8 blatant mental mistakes.

Voice

I do believe you are mistaken. Since Arena has taken over, he has played with 4 in the back just about every game if not every game. It is always a flat four and not a sweeper / stopper. So playing a 4-5-1 on the road in a qualifier was not that drastic. It obviously did not work, but then again nothing seems to work in mexico for anyone in WCQs. Mexico is 48-1 all time at Azteca stadium in WCQ

Quote from BA:

quote:

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"Any way you look at it, altitude was a big factor. I believe our players shut down in the last 15 minutes of the first half and it cost us the game," said U.S. Manager Bruce Arena

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I would like for someone to explain to me why the altitude seems to be only a problem for visiting teams. Funny, I never realized every single player on the Mexican National team lived year round in Mexico City. See, I thought they played club ball over Mexico, (which if my memory is correct, is not ALL mountainous), other countries in South America, Europe, etc. ........

Soccer Watcher, you are right! We looked tired and they did not! They do not all play club ball at the top of the world. Our offense was absent, our defense was confused and our midfield looked like they were trying to mark 10 players. They had problems with handling 4. I am an Arena fan but yesterday supprised me! He is too close to Reyna (whom I like alot) but Reyna needs to move aside unless he can provide more than he did yesterday. He was winded 5 minutes in and never contoled the midfield. I know Ej is the future, but for goodness sake put in McBride. Thank the heavens for the ageless Keller. If not for him it could have been even worse and probably should have been. That is the poorest high profile game I have seen the US play is some time. Maybe we can right the ship on Wednesday! Hopefully our back line can mark a powerful front two and the midfield will look as if they have played together before.