1) Giuessepe Rossi took a ball from 30 yards out and the only thing on his mind was how can I score? I'm dying for Bradley and Altidore to figure that out inside the box in the first half. Just let it rip boys. It's a 2-nil game before the red card is an issue.
2) The straight red card issued to Ricardo Clark was a bit much, but reading the letter of the law can be considered "A player is sent off and shown the red card if he is guilty of serious foul play." OK, I see it. It was a dumb tackle inside midfield where Gennaro Gattuso posed no immediate threat. Clark came high with his right foot and really got a hold of the Italian middie. I don't agree with it, but I get it. Now i hate to nitpick, but the FIFA rules also read: "A player is sent off and shown the red card if he is guilty of violent conduct." Moments after Clark's sending off Landon Donovan was elbowed in the jaw by Fabio Grosso. Grosso picked up a cautioning and I know it was nowhere near what Daniele De Rossi threw at Brian McBride's head in 2006, but it's a two-way street and if the game's going to be called that close..... Just saying.
3) Speaking of refereeing decisions, the way the Brazil-Egypt clash ended and with the Egyptian Football Federation filing an appeal, it makes me wonder: Whether the ref had video assistance and communication from his 4th or not, your player merely had to do his job and hug the post on a corner kick. Instead he drifted to the middle and ended up throwing his arm at a ball heading into the net. I hate to lose too, but if you're going to lose, lose with class. If you're going to appeal your loss on a technicality, well, shame on you.
4) Does anybody know what happened to Jon O'Brien? After Claudio Reyna retired O'Brien was supposed to be our midfield general. He was supposed to be the guy through the 2010 run that was supposed to calm the US down, slow the game down, get creative in the attacking third and engineer the attack from the defensive end. The injuries that cut his career short are nothing short of heartbreaking to myself.
5) The US-Italy thing got off track right quick. One more thought before bed. In the US' starting eleven two players (Benny Feilhaber and Jozy Altidore) either can't get off the bench of receive few minutes for their club teams. Coming off the bench, Brad Guzan, DaMarcus Beasley, and Freddy Adu don't see any playing time at all. Heath Pearce was demoted from regular starter to his side's reserve squad. Point being: It's hard to go toe-to-toe with the world's best when key players on the roster aren't in either mid-season MLS or post-season Europe form. It's impressive to sign a contract in Europe. Bravo. Make it work though. Going up against two of the best in Italy and Brazil (whose players all play regularly in their domestic league or internationally) when they're in game shape and you're not is a major disadvantage.
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