I don't watch the TMNT, as most of you know, so this was the first time I actually sat down and watched them.
I realize one game isn't a great sample size, but here's what I saw -
1) Jozy is better for the US than he is in the league. Probably due to the quality of the defense. He's a immensely strong player, and was bullying the Ghana defense. He's still gash, as that doesn't work in the top leagues - it's a alot harder to bully Distin like he was bullying Ghana.
2) Bradley was terrible. I understand it may have been a poor game, but he was the worst player on the pitch. By an absolute mile. If the US lost, it was squarely on his shoulders and his inability to keep the ball. His vision was slow and poor. He consistently chose the wrong pass, and then normally put it off target anyway. He had the ball easily taken off his feet multiple times. His work rate was solid, but he was truly truly terrible.
3) Either the Ghanian right flank is awesome, or the US left flank is an area of serious concern. I tend to believe the latter. Beasley was caught up field over and over again. I don't think the diamond was great for offering him cover. Only the Ghanaian wastefulness let the US off here.
4) Howard played brilliantly. He made the right decision time and again. The goal was something he couldn't be expected to reasonably save. He did a good job repeatedly of choosing when to come off his line and when to stay back - which has never been a strength of Howard. That was good to see.
5) Jones/Beckerman were pretty solid. They, alongside Howard, were the best Americans on the pitch.
Hope for all you real USA fans that the US improves going forward, otherwise I think 3rd in the group is the result.
Oh, and I was reminded again why I can't root for the US - my god has it been annoying seeing tweets and posts about how the USA team is so great. Acting like they've won the world cup. I realize this is not from the genuine fans, but the bandwagoners. And they are awful, awful, Kopites.
