Led by a goal and an assist from Los Angeles Galaxy star Landon Donovan, the U.S. national team recorded an impressive 2-0 win against archrivals Mexico on Wednesday night at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.
But perhaps even more importantly, a number of young and less-experienced U.S. players based in Major League Soccer were able to take part in an important match in front of a hostile crowd. Additionally, former Chivas USA coach Bob Bradley likely moved a step closer to having the "interim" tag removed from his U.S. coaching title.
"We keep talking about the start of this new cycle. There are two things that have to happen," Bradley said. "One is we have to introduce new players into the team, and secondly we need players that have been part of the national team to step up and take bigger roles, to take more responsibility and to help the younger guys around them."
Donovan is used to being a leader and fans of the U.S. team will surely be hoping that his performance in Arizona marks a return to his dominant days. But it wasn't just Donovan who stepped up; Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards) and Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado Rapids) each played critical roles in the defense and midfield, respectively, helping to guide newcomers like Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA) and Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo).
Mastroeni and Clark formed a solid barrier in front of the back line Wednesday, taking the steam out of numerous Mexican forays before they could truly penetrate. Both players made mistakes along the way and each was responsible for a few giveaways in the midfield which could have proved more costly, but overall, Bradley was happy with how the duo performed.
"Both are great competitors and as we started this season, we felt the games in January and the beginning of February sometimes are competitive and you need players in the center of the field that make it hard for the other team," he said. "I think there were some moments where we were able to get a grip on things and settle in and pass it and keep it and spread the ball around. That's something that still needs to improve, but as a starting point it gives us steel in the center of the field."
When the U.S. defense was tested, Conrad and his comrades were usually able to diffuse the situation. Goalkeeper Tim Howard also made a few important saves, but Conrad's solid play in the center seemed to help Bornstein's confidence as the game wore on. Conrad also proved to be an offensive weapon, heading home Donovan's corner kick early in the second half to put the home side on top.
"We've been working on set pieces and talked about them the last couple of days and knew we had some dangerous guys," Conrad said. "I took a step to the near post and kind of ran the guy who was marking me into some traffic and Landon played a great ball and I just picked a good spot and put it away."
The result was sealed when Donovan rounded Mexican goalkeeper Oswaldo Sánchez in stoppage time to add the exclamation point. Donovan's running mate up top was Chicago Fire striker Chris Rolfe for most of the game. While Rolfe has shown well at the club level and been somewhat effective in other international friendlies, he struggled to get into a rhythm Wednesday and didn't combine well with Donovan, particularly in the first half.
Eddie Johnson (Kansas City Wizards) came on as a substitute and rifled one dangerous shot at Sánchez, but there is still plenty of time for one of Bradley's other offensive options - Kenny Cooper of FC Dallas or Taylor Twellman of the New England Revolution, just to name a couple - to step into a more prominent role.
But trumping everything is the fact that a U.S. side made of a blend of experienced and young talent was able to defeat an unquestionably talented Mexican team. The result builds confidence all the way around as the first national team camp of 2007 comes to a close. The MLS-based players will now join their respective sides for preseason camp before Bradley recalls his men for a pair of matches in late March.
"I always focus on what we are doing, and what we are trying to do at the moment is make the best decisions we can to start this cycle," Bradley said. "To get players on the field. To put them in tough games. To see how they respond. To challenge some of the players who have been around to be better leaders and to lead on the field and I think those things are going in the right direction. The rivalry (with Mexico) will always be there and is only going to get better. ... The rivalry is great, but we are trying to focus on the things that we need to do to move our national team forward."
Jonathan Nierman is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
