Shall we go Dutch?

I don’t blame U.S. fans (and John Harkes) for jumping on the Brian Ching/Sacha Kljestan bandwagon after each scored a goal in the predictably underwhelming 2-1 win over El Salvador. After all, finishing, any finishing, is something the U.S. has always lacked, so anytime a player manages to put one away, the goalscorer is immediately vaulted into sacred cow status.

But slow down. Ching had a number of quality opportunities that he couldn't manage to put on frame, and Kljestan had a pretty poor second half until El Salvador's terrible, terrible giveaway.

For once, Bradley seems to be avoiding the rush to anoint the Wednesday goalscorers. He named Jozy Altidore (Hull City), Eddie Johnson (Aris), and Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake) to the roster for next Wednesday's friendly against The Netherlands, not Brian Ching. And Kljestan is absent from the midfield, as the European players come back to the fold. This doesn't mean that Bradley has settled his World Cup squad, however, as evidenced by the additions of DaMarcus Beasley (Glasgow Rangers) and Alejandro Bedoya (Orebro).

Putting aside for a moment that Bradley should have begun these try-outs long ago, I like the additions of Johnson, Bedoya and Beasley. DMB and EDJO deserve another shot at Nats glory before their relegated to the status of other acronymed failures like JOB (John O'Brien), especially Beasley who could use some good news. Bedoya is a real wild card and I'm excited to see him rolled out against a quality side.

This is when the real cohesion needs to begin, so hopefully this match can finally provide clarity without hype. Of course, if Robbie Findlay manages to score, throw all of that out the window and proclaim him The GOAT.