Gold Cup Roster - Midfielders

It's a crowded house in the middle of the field for the USMNT. With the Confederations Cup success of Michael Bradley and Ricardo Clark in the middle, flanked by Clint Dempsey and the conversion of Landon Donovan to the left side, the United States midfield appears to be set for the next World Cup.

Right?

Maybe?

Benny Feilhaber came off the bench and did well in the Confederations and Gold Cups as a creative spark. Feilhaber's excellent passing adds some composure to a US team that seems to over-rely on long passes coming out of the back. So Feilhaber's in. Jermaine Jones recently announced he'll be trading in his German kit for the US digs, and he's the sort of defensive midfielder that can make the US's back four look world class. Jones is a tough tackler, the type of player who sets the tone in the midfield, the type of player that can will lock up other team's best forwards and attacking mids and take a lot of pressure off of his defense. So Jones is in. There are a few more options in the middle including Jose Torres, Freddy Adu, DaMarcus Beasley, and Sacha Kljestan. Torres is a starter for Pachuca in Mexico, add some more experience to his international game and I believe he's in. Adu is still looking for playing time with Benfica, or anywhere for that matter. His two games in the group stage of the Gold Cup were marred with inconsistent play. This upcoming European season could be a make-it-or-break type of year for his 2010 chances. Adu's a 50-50. Beasley is in the same boat as Adu. His stint at Rangers looks to be heading towards its end and if he wants to figure in Bob Bradley's 2010 plans he needs to play regularly and stay healthy. Another 50-50 shot. Kljestan is one of Bradley's favorites, but he needs to perform more mistake-free football. That aside, Kljestan is in.

Let's recap: Donovan, Bradley, Dempsey, Clark, Jones, Feilhaber, Torres and Kljestan. That's seven midfielders. Bruce Arena carried eight on his 23-man roster at the 2006 World Cup. Beasley has a boatload of international experience but needs to regain his confidence. Adu is talented young player but needs to find a home where he plays regularly and rounds out the rough edges to his game.

So what does that mean to the midfielders that performed so well at the Gold Cup? That means Bob Bradley was exploring his depth options. In case of injury, catastrophe, suspension (his son has something of a temper), whatever else, it's good to have options.

Kyle Beckerman had an outstanding tournament. He was tough defensively, kickstarted the attack with his precise through-balls, and for the length of the tournament was box-to-box doing the little things to help the US succeed. To a lesser extent, Logan Pause played a similar role. His play was a scattered at times, but otherwise, with Beckerman created the catalyst for the US attack by winning 50-50 balls and distributing effectively.

The revelations in the US midfield were along the sidelines. Stuart Holden was cap-tied to the US during the Gold Cup and he made the most of it. One-v-one, passing, set pieces, in the air, long-range shooting, defense, Holden was all over it during the Gold Cup. His counterpart Robbie Rogers gives the US a natural left-footed player whose pace and skill lend him plenty of opportunities to serve from the flank. Rogers took advantage and besides some immature mistakes, made it clear that he will be getting more looks on the left side in the future.

Santion Quaranta, Brad Evans, Colin Clark, and Sam Cronin all got a look at some point during the Gold Cup, but I can't imagine any of them climbing up the chart too soon.

Let's imagine Bob Bradley is thinking eight in the middle in 2010. Barring whatever circumstances we've got seven. I'd like to see Holden off the bench a few more times during qualifying before I give him the advantage. The spot is there, who's man enough to take it?

Yanks have just enough to move on, 2-1

I'm not a big Van Halen fan, but there's extra time for Panama (or "extra hot shoes, burning down the avenue,").

Extra time: One of the principal rules of soccer is not kicking anyone in the stomach, especially in the 18, in particular in extra time. Roman Torres' decision to go boot-to-gut with Kenny Cooper is one of my favorites in recent memory, mostly because the Yanks deserved a break.

Cooper did the silly stutter-step run-up that looks so cheesy, but the guy finished and more power to him. 2-1, United States of America.

Regulation: Extra time between a States side that cannot even be described as the country's C-plus unit, and a Panama side that's playing about as clean as Redman's MTV Cribs episode. It's the Gold Cup quarterfinal, and the score is knotted at 1-1 right now.

There have been some nice moments of soccer in between bouts of laughter at Max Bretos' play-by-play. Honestly, I hate to dog on fellow commentators, but this crew has been especially brutal during Gold Cup.

Perhaps it's best to first note the goals. Panama struck first, just before half, as Pachuca's Blas Perez made no mistake off a series of awkward looking defensive decisions and touches by the Americans. Super slow-motion makes Stuart Holden's zero-touch non-clearance look extra awful, but you'd love to see Chad Marshall rise to the occasion and follow Perez, who buried the ball.

Dreadlocks brought the deadlock, as Kyle Beckerman's equalizer was straight out the cannon. Kansas City's Davy Arnaud set down a moonshot of a cross from Robbie Rogers, and he set it bouncing but on a line for Beckerman, who ripped it upper 90. I finally saw what some of my friends like about Beckerman tonight, and it came before, during and after the goal.

Quick thoughts on individuals:

-- Jimmy Conrad's post-concussion camera moments were among the scariest I've ever seen in head injury aftermath.

-- Manuel Torres' mullet/linebeard combo was straight out of the SNL "D*** in a Box" video. The bronzed bottom of the mullet for extra sheen was a legitimate touch. Bravo.

-- Heath Pearce was fine, but I did not understand the notion from the booth that he had re-asserted himself in the mix to play left back in 2010. It's not impossible, and is nitpicking, but not much he had done to that point in the game made me think any more than I had already thought of him.

-- Panama's Felipe Baloy reminds me of Oguchi Onyewu before Gooch learned how to control his physical aggression. Problem for Baloy -- you're a 1981 birthday, not a 1991.

-- Cooper needs more international polish. He reminds me of Jozy Altidore in that he's often in the right spot, but then what? Those who follow MLS know he can finish.

-- Bob Bradley has now capped 85 players during his tenure, according to Bretos. Great stat pull, and, well, great stat.

-- Panama was not very happy with the way the game ended, so they decided to pick up a couple of red cards by trying to fight officials and security guards. Stay classy, boys. Those actions always get the results you're looking for, right?

What now?

-- Eight years since the States have lost on US soil, but you have a feeling that could end before the finish of the tournament. Honduras is a talented and physical squad who has faced the Yanks twice in the last couple months, including a 2-1 US win in Chicago, where the two teams will meet on Thursday (July 23). The 2-0 US win in the group play wasn't what the score indicates, but luckily the Hondurans are also without stars like Tottenham's Wilson Palacios, Toronto FC's Armando Guevara and deadly striker Carlos Pavon.

-- Sunday will be Funday for the other quarterfinals. Guadeloupe and Costa Rica should be a fun matchup, while Mexico should top Haiti, but this Mexican group is so unpredictable.

Santino's homefield advantage lifts US over Honduras

It's unreal how a boring contest such as the the States' second game of the 2009 Gold Cup can be lifted into grace by a spell of beautiful soccer. That's exactly what happened in the 75th minute of Wednesday's 2-0 win over Honduras at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.

Sixty-fourth minute substitute Benny Feilhaber showed some real class by sliding a pass to the top of the 18, where fellow 64th minute add-on Charlie Davies alertly found Baltimore native and DC United vet Santino Quaranta. Quaranta finished hard and low past Honduran keeper Donis Escobar, popping the US into the lead in a game in which they had been of better class, admittedly by a narrow margin.

As for the second goal... well, by now, we shouldn't be surprised when Charlie Davies asserts himself as a force in a game, but for the second-straight game, he helped open up the 18 for a fellow forward. Steve Cherundolo gets a deserved assist on a Brian Ching-headed goal, and the Yanks go up 2-0 with two goals in five minutes.

Other notes:

-- Honduras is certainly mounting an effort to be as hated as Mexico. They are a filthy, whiny team that dives as much as any in CONCACAF.

-- The most fun from the first 74 minutes of Wednesday night was the following texted observations about Kyle Beckerman:

*"His jazz ensemble is playing the Tralf next week," Scott
*"He was great in 'Encino Man,'."
*"Beckerman's hair - Bob Marley tribute band."

-- Robbie Rogers has silly skills, and would have to lose a foot to not be included in the 2010 WC squad.

-- Freddy Adu is still extremely green, but his raw talent shows up in undeniable flashes. Still, he needs to do work to make the 2010 squad.

-- Two clean sheets for Troy Perkins. Good on him.

-- 23-0-1 in the group stages of the Gold Cup. For a moment, let's ignore that most have been home games.

-- As a fellow soccer broadcaster, I try to be kind to announcers, but Max Bretos was as brutal an example as you can find. I could almost swear he wasn't watching the same game as us, and his idea of play-by-play as screaming an attacker's name before waiting a good 10 seconds after the shot goes in or wide to announce what happened was laughable. He did have dry toast for a color man, but life goes on. Both fellas are better than they showed Wednesday.

-- I'm glad the Haiti game won't be a "be-all/end-all" event, because I'll be watching it several hours later after the Flash game and my buddy Brad's wedding.