U.S. blanks Swedes, 2-0

LD's PK courtesy of youtuber Fabstar101:

Landon Donovan became the all-time leading scorer in U.S. national team history after scoring a PK in the 2-0 U.S. victory over Sweden at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., on Saturday night.

Although it was clearly LD's night, the U.S. got on the board first thanks to Eddie Robinson, an unlikely turn-of-events for the part-time national teamer who hasn't come close to solidifying a place on the Nats WC qualifying roster.

The U.S., featuring an MLS-heavy roster, was clearly the aggressor from the opening whistle, winning the lion's share of chances. Robinson's goal, however, was a bit fortuitous, as the ball bounced right to the Houston Dynamo defender after Brad Davis' corner kick was deflected at the near post by Pat Noonan. It was Robinson's first international goal. Early in the second half, super sub Jozy Altidore won a penalty kick and allowed Donovan to convert his historic 35th goal*.

All in all, it was a decent outing for a largely untested bunch. Chivas USA keeper Brad Guzan looked solid between the posts after only a handful of starts for the national team. Altidore continues to be stellar. Here's hoping that Bob Bradley noticed. The game was a bit slow and it certainly wasn't a dominant performance by the U.S., but it did show some of the depth the U.S. has in players like Clarence Goodson and Ramiro Corrales. It also showed us a glimpse of a very promising (and near) future in Maurice Edu. If Bradley gets Edu and Altidore on the field more, the U.S. will be fun to watch in 2008.

Scoring Chances
USA – Robinson (Noonan) 15.
USA – Donovan (PK) 48.

Lineups:
USA: 18-Brad Guzan; 15-Drew Moor, 8-Eddie Robinson (16-Michael Parkhurst, 46) 12-Jimmy Conrad (7-Clarence Goodson, 46), 6-Ramiro Corrales; 10-Landon Donovan (capt.) (23-Jeremiah White, 81), 13-Ricardo Clark, 19-Maurice Edu, 22-Brad Davis (26-Sacha Kljestan, 72); 20-Taylor Twellman (14-Josmer Altidore, 46), 11-Pat Noonan (17-Chris Rolfe, 63)

SWE: 1 Rami Shaaban; 2-Mikael Lustig, 3-Mattias Bjärsmyr, 4-Peter Larsson, 5-Oscar Rönningberg (15-Behrang Safari, 61), 6-Daniel Andersson (capt.); 7-Niclas Alexandersson (18-Viktor Elm, 46), 8-Anders Svensson, 9-Andreas Johansson (16-Samuel Holmen, 61); 10-Rade Prica (20-Johan Oremo, 61), 11-Pontus Wernbloom (19-Andreas Dahl, 78).

*Editor's note: Actually, FIFA ruled that USA's 3-1 drubbing of Denmark last year was not an official "A" friendly and therefore LD is still stuck on goal no. 34.