USA in Golden semis

So, the USA C team got by Panama 2-1 to advance in the Gold Cup in an uneven match that continued to demonstrate the lack of quality featured on this team. A few observations:

Davy Arnaud -- Don't get me wrong. He's still firmly on the bubble for 2010, but Arnaud showed real grit and determination and that should be worth at least another couple of looks. He would be a good training camp guy, pushing the starters and subs to really give 100 percent in practice. He's done a nice job against some admittedly inferior opponents, but it is the hustle I like. He reminds me of Ante Razov (although Ante was better at cleaning up the garbage in front of goal).

Kenny Cooper -- He might be playing himself back into the doghouse, again. He was pretty ineffective when he came in as a sub for Arnaud. Although it was strange that Bradley chose to sub Arnaud and leave the twin towers of Cooper and Brian Ching up top. They are essentially the same type of player -- back to goal, post-up forwards who need to hold the ball and lay it off or play it in the air. Still he didn't seem to combine well with anyone else either. The PK call was legit, but I wouldn't say he "won it" exactly. He scored from the spot. But what was with the jog up from the midfield before he took it?

Robbie Rogers -- He had his worst game in the tournament (which still wasn't terrible). Rogers seems at times to struggle against physical fullbacks, and needs to add some strength if he hopes to stay on his feet for 2010.

Stuart Holden -- Holden continues to be the Patriot of the Pitch© for Team USA in the Gold Cup. No goals against Panama but two near misses and a host of chances created for others. Holden could solidify a spot for 2010 with a solid performance against Honduras and, if we advance, in the final (against Mexico or Costa Rica).

Jimmy Conrad -- O.T.M.F. (one tough motherf@#%&!).

Unlike other sites who say that they "talk" about MLS and then use MLS as a whipping boy for all that's wrong with American soccer. I think this tournament is demonstrating how far MLS has taken us in the 13 years of its existence. While not all the MLS players on this team deserve to be capped for the U.S., most have shown the toughness and a degree of quality that supersedes the old days when the U.S. relied on amateurs and semi-pros for depth. MLS has provided a place where our national team stars, reserves and also-rans can get the PT they need to develop.

I would still rather have Danny Szetela playing in DC everyday than never getting a sniff of PT for Spanish club Santander. Despite what the Anglophiles and Euro-snobs would have you believe, practice in Europe isn't better than playing in MLS. Just ask guys like Bobby Convey and Eddie Johnson whose inactivity (and admittedly with Convey injuries) have seem them slip off the national team radar. Is MLS making us world beaters? Of course not. But no one (who is honest with themselves) can deny that it has made us more competitive, especially in CONCACAF.

As further evidence of MLS's impact on the national team depth, Jon Busch has been called in as a backup for Troy Perkins for the semifinal against Honduras and Luis Robles has been released back to his second division German club to reportedly "prepare for the season." But maybe it also had something to do with his dreadful performance against Haiti.

I love this country!

NY Times report on Beckham's unfriendly with AC Milan, his first home match with the Galaxy since returning begrudgingly from his loan.

U.S. garbage bench nearly beaten

Bob Bradley fielded his bench against Haiti last night in the final group match of the CONCACAF Gold Cup and demonstrated once again his inability to select for depth, even when assembling a B-team for a meaningless tournament. So close on the heels of the Confederations Cup, it was a given that Bradley would go dipping into the shallow end of the national pool. But Jay Heaps (who coincidentally can't hold his head above water even in the shallow end) should never, ever be allowed to don the USMNT jersey.

And maybe it was nerves, but what was Luis Robles doing out there. Staying on his line when he should charge off and intercept and then charging out when he shouldn't. It's hard to believe that this guy starts in Europe, even if it is only a German second division club (who were almost relegated). What about Marcus Hahnemann or Jon Busch or even DJ Countess for chrissakes?

With the exception of Stuart Holden, Robbie Rogers and Brian Ching, none of the other players should have been given caps. Heaps was/is horrible. He should be thankful for his cap, resign and go home. Steve Cronin? Colin Clark? Brad Evans? These guys aren’t even the best on their crappy MLS squads.

The only players that acquitted themselves well against Haiti were Stuart Holden, Davy Arnaud and Santino Quaranta (who was inexplicably subbed for Beckerman who couldn’t stay on his feet even when it was clear that the ref was calling it loose). And of those three only Holden should be a lock for the full MNT.

Bradley's B's look like A's

Despite the fact that Bradley has kept many of these players out of the national team pool, a few on the U.S. Gold Cup squad are showing that they still no how to swim. And it's no surprise to TYH readers that guys like Robbie Rogers, Benny Feilhaber, Stuart Holden and Santino Quaranta are making a strong case for inclusion in the 2010 World Cup squad. Ok, so Grenada was a joke. But Honduras certainly tested this young team with its speed and aggressiveness. Result 2-0.

Here are the highlights:

Keeping the competition level in perspective, this is why I was calling for Bradley to get these guys more minutes. It's hard to tell how good these guys really are. I mean, Marvin Chavez is no Luis Fabiano. But hopefully a good showing will get some of these guys a ticket to South Africa (or at least to a few meaningless qualifiers or exhibitions).

And for those of you who think I'm just jumping late on the bandwagon, check out this post from a year ago. I said this about Robbie Rogers:

I have seen the future of American soccer and his name is alliterative. Rogers should be in camp. He should get minutes. He’s young, but look what the youngsters brought back in the 2002 World Cup. Sometimes you gotta go with the fearless youngster over the old timers (I’m looking at you Eddie Lewis).

...and pain

Joy!

10 players who could revive USA

Strange things happen in soccer. After losing three of four and surrendering nine goals, no one would have argued, not even Bob Bradley, that Team USA needed some serious CPR. And on the brink of elimination, this team pulled together and managed an impressive 3-0 win over Egypt. That coupled with Italy's 3-0 loss to Brazil has put the U.S. in the semifinals of the Confederations Cup. Do you believe in miracles?

But wait a second. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. The U.S. must play the 2008 European champions Spain, and barring an even more inconceivable result, the U.S. will be going home after Wednesday.

What this tournament proved is that the U.S. has some quality (i.e. Egypt win), but that Bradley hasn't been successful in developing the quality (i.e. Brazil, Italy losses). The emotion of last weekend's surprise advancement aside, I still think that Bradley should be fired in favor of someone who can assemble a talented team and build depth for next year. But whoever is in charge needs to make use of The Gold Cup to run out a few players who could build that depth and who could end up starting next summer.

Here are ten players who should be called up. None of them can turn the team into world beaters single-handedly. There are no red, white and blue Peles, but everyone on this list should have gotten multiple looks already:

10)*KENNY COOPER (F) - Coop is like Brian Ching, only he can score some with his feet. He's not by any means prolific, but his performance last season for FC Dallas should have earned him a consistent spot among the subs, if not a few starts. Bradley has something against him, and their relationship seemed to completely ice over when Cooper turned down a call up from his country to help his club. Time to thaw out those hard feelings.

9) JERMAINE JONES (D/M) - There's probably not enough time to get him cleared to play for the U.S. before the Gold Cup, but the U.S. should do their due diligence on Jones and get him on the team sooner rather than later. Building a World Cup squad should be about quality and depth, and we need players like Jones to step in if our key defenders should get injured.

8) *SANTINO QUARANTA (M) - News from Goff is that he will be called up for the Gold Cup and I think it's an excellent decision (cough, cough ... agreeing with Bradley ... cough, oh no!). Following Convey and Adu, he was DC's next great protege, but he had a run in with a monkey and has struggled to stay on the pitch. He has tremendous upside, however, and might surprise a few fans.

7) TAYLOR TWELLMAN (F) - Where's he been? Hurt for much of last MLS season, Double-T is still the best answer to the U.S.'s scoring issues. The problem is he hasn't been used enough on the international stage to know if he could be the next Brian McBride or if he's just the next Jason Kreis. Time to find out.

6) BRAD DAVIS (M) - Davis has seven assists to lead MLS so far this season. Now I'm the first to admit that the assist is kind of a meaningless statistic for the most part (especially in MLS where you can get an assist for tapping the ball to a forward who then runs the length of the field beats 11 guys and scores). But Davis always seems to be in the middle of Houston's scoring opportunities and I believe he's earned a second look. Plus, he's got a pretty good free kick, so we could keep Lando from shanking all of them into row ZZ.

5) GABRIEL FERRARI (F) - "I'm American. I'm born American, grew up in the U.S. and that is the country I would like to play for if I get the chance." Unlike Rossi, Ferrari wants to play here. He's already made four appearances for the U20s and has three goals. He scored against the full Haitian national team in his first appearance. But enough of his wikifacts, no one has really gotten a chance to see if this kid has the goods. Serie A club Sampdoria thought enough of him to bring him over (and then loan him to Perugia). Let's find out.

4) DANNY SZETELA (M) - The U.S. has a lot of depth in the midfield, but Bradley has done little to maintain this advantage by playing the same players in every tournament and friendly (i.e. his son). Szetela should be called in and given a start or two. The kid is extremely talented and he's being wasted. Maybe it's a case of "out of sight, out of mind" since he plays in Italy like Ferrari, but he needs to get back on Bradley's radar. I really think he could end up making the 2010 squad, if not starting next summer.

3) *STUART HOLDEN (M) - Holden is another vastly underrated player with potential to play next summer. He has pace, crosses well and plays smart (unlike many of the current left-sided players we have on the team now). To give Bradley some credit (wow, twice in one article), he called him in prior to the Sweden friendly, but Holden injured his hip. He was named to the Gold Cup roster.

2) MARC BURCH (D) - I personally think that Jonathan Bornstein should get the nod at left back, but if he can't go, Burch (not Beasley for chrissakes!) should be his back-up. Burch, a converted forward, is arguably the best left back in MLS (which is why you haven't heard of him), and he's been DC United's best kept secret for two seasons. Great left foot and he delivers deep crosses as well as any American LB I have ever seen. This is not the first time I've campaigned for him.

1) *ROBBIE ROGERS (M) - Rogers was dropped from the squad for this tournament, but he's back on for the Gold Cup. An outside midfielder with pace that can play either left or right well? He'll be on the 2010 team. It's a no brainer. So, that means even Bradley gets it. Right?

Vacation: All I ever wanted

So, if you're a loyal YH reader, you know that I've been MIA for a while. MLS has started. The U.S. national team played two matches (one terrible, one spectacular -- what a difference a Jozy makes), but I've written little about the goings on. Truth is, life intercedes in all things, even those things that keep us sane and happy and stress-free. I don't mean to be cryptic, but I'll be taking a little vacation from blogging for a while. I hope to return in a couple months refreshed and ready to go. I might even time my comeback with Beckhamdict Arnold's return to MLS. Or maybe not. We'll see. Keep watching and supporting U.S. soccer.

TYH