USA 1, South Africa 0

Here are some player ratings from today's underwhelming friendly. Since most of our players were pretty bad, I'm also going to include what I think/hope their long-term projection for involvement with the national team is (ie will they around for the World Cup in 2010). Starters: Tim Howard - 7.0 - made one good save, had nothing else to do. Projection - Clearly our #1. Steve Cherundolo - 7.5 - man of the match, solid defensively and got forward to score a nice goal (surprisingly strong finish from a fullback). It was telling that South Africa's winger on Cherundolo's side, Delron Buckley (a very capable player who gets regular playing time with Borussia Dortmund) had pretty much no impact on the game whatsoever. Projection - obviously locked in as our starting right back going forward. Carlos Bocanegra - 7.0 - looked good, it was telling that the defense looked exponentially shakier in the 2nd half after Boca and Cherundolo had been subbed out. I stand by my theory that Boca is good against the weaker teams but mainly due to lack of speed will struggle against the best teams (more evidence of this when he gave away a PK against Liverpool a few weeks ago, though Fulham did hold Liverpool scoreless for 80 minutes at Anfield, so maybe it isn't the greatest example). Projection - right now he is our defensive anchor and clearly has a spot in the starting lineup for any match that means anything. Oguchi Onyewu - 6.0 - he was fine, pretty much same old - big, intimidating presence in the middle of the defense but overly physical at times. Projection - I like him and think he steps up when challenged by a good center forward but it'll be interesting to see if he maintains his starting spot throughout qualifying and heading up to the next World Cup. If Cory Gibbs ever gets healthy, he could challenge for it, but other than that, I don't think there are too many legit threats on the horizon. Heath Pearce - 4.0 - I thought he played well against Brazil but was thoroughly underwhelmed today. He was so so defensively (though Pienaar coming down his wing is a pretty tough matchup) and gave away possession by just booting the ball forward countless times. Can see how he lost his spot for Hansa Rostock, who I think are actually converting him to a winger right now. Projection - him being made a winger by his club is not good nows for his future since left back is probably our most wide open starting position whereas we've got enough depth on the wings to send arguably our best one up top to play forward (Dempsey). My guess is he'll be in and out of the lineup throughout qualifying but at best will be a backup by the time the World Cup rolls around. Benny Feilhaber - 4.0 - also a pretty pedestrian performance from Benny. Looked out of sync and didn't really do anything of note. Projection - I do not like him playing on the wing, he is not dynamic at all. I thought he was at his best during the Gold Cup playing in the center of the midfield and breaking down the opposing defense with his passing. He's a good passer and a good enough ball-winner, he belongs in the middle imo, though we do have a glut of central midfielders right now, especially with Michael Bradley's seemingly guaranteed place in the lineup. Not getting much playing time for Derby County, one of the worst Premiership sides ever, is not a good sign for Feilhaber's future. I still think he'll be in the picture for WC10 but he doesn't look like a sure thing to be in the first 11 any longer. DaMarcus Beasley - 3.0 - lower grade for him than either Pearce or Feilhaber because I expect more. He was pretty garbage though he did do some decent defensive work. He actually could've easily had a goal but he didn't finish the one chance he had on the long through ball (sent by Dempsey I believe) and Adu never looked up when he hit it horribly wide instead of squaring it to Beasley for the easy goal. Projection - obviously a starter. Maurice Edu - 7.0 - after a shaky start he played quite well tonight. He was an aggressive ball-winner in the midfield and while his distribution was shaky at times, it wasn't hopeless either. He also made a very nice play to set up the goal, carrying the ball forward well before hitting a perfectly placed (and just as importantly, timed) through ball to Cherundolo. Projection - for the immediate future, I would still certainly place him behind Mastroeni as the starting holding midfielder. But Mastro is 31 and Edu is 21, so I think there's a legitimate chance that Edu could be one of our starting central midfielders by 2010. He's not quite the defensive, ball-winning dynamo that Mastro is but looks to have more potential offensively (it should also be noted that with a Bradley/Edu partnership in the midfield, it isn't as set who is the attacking midfielder and who is the defensive one as it is with say Mastro and Donovan). While this might be wishful thinking, Edu looks like he has a chance to develop into a true all-purpose midfielder in the mold of Patrick Vieira or Michael Essien. If he's ever half as good as either of those guys, I'll be thrilled. Michael Bradley - 3.0 - it seems I change my opinion of Bradley every time I watch him play. I thought he was excellent in the last few games but today I thought he was pretty horrible. In particular, he showed absolutely no creativity when he had possession of the ball - I would guess he didn't even look upfield at least half the time he received the ball, instead opting to either play it square or backwards (with the next player inevitably, hopelessly, launching it long). This was even worse because South Africa wasn't exactly applying tons of pressure in the midfield so several times, he had time and room to turn and try to make a more positive play. The thing is, I'm not sure if this is Bradley or simply the way he is told to play by daddy. I've never actually seen a Heerenveen game but right now they're sitting at 4th in the Dutch league and Bradley has scored 5 goals in 13 matches, so it seems he gets forward while playing for his club. Of all the US players, Bradley is the one who confuses me most. Projection - not taking into consideration that his dad is the coach, even if he's been somewhat inconsistent, Bradley has shown a lot playing for the US this year, and he's still only 20. Like Edu, he seems to have the tools to develop into an all-purpose midfielder. A few months ago it looked like it'd be a tandem of Bradley and Feilhaber going forward but now it looks like Bradley and Edu could be the future. It's exciting because if they keep playing together, develop chemistry over the next 3 years while they also develop as players (in particular offensively), they could be a really good pair by 2010. I would still like to see more Ricardo Clark (I don't follow MLS at all but I did see he received a 9 game suspension for a violent foul, which is discouraging, but from what I've seen of him with the national team, he could have a future) and with Bradley, Edu, Feilhaber, and Clark (ages 20, 21, 22, and 24), if they all continue to develop, we should be set at this position for the foreseeable future. Freddy Adu - 5.0 - I won't be too harsh on Adu since the service into him sucked ass for the most part. He had a couple nice touches and runs but was too selfish when he was through on goal (and simply made a poor attempt at a finish) and as Jeremy pointed out to me earlier today was basically the opposite of Bradley. Whereas Bradley was always playing the ball backwards, Adu was too aggressive, always looking to make the killer pass and in the process needlessly gave away possession (mostly with through balls to the goalie) several times. While this is far from the optimal way to play the game, there is something to be said for this over Bradley's approach. I mean, if Adu plays 10 hopeful balls forward and 9 roll right to the keeper but just 1 of them sets up a goal, he's done well. Unfortunately, none of his balls even set up a chance on goal today. Projection - he seems to finally (I say finally partly in jest because the dude is still only 18) be growing as a player and fulfilling some of his potential. He has done well at Benfica recently, scoring several goals in their league cup (where they rest first team players and let the younger guys play) and even breaking into the first team as an often used late sub (coming on in champions league matches and scoring a late winner in a league game). It really seems like, after a few years of stagnation, Adu is growing into a potential star, and if his growth continues, he has a great shot to be heavily involved in the WC qualifying and in South Africa '10. What I'm curious is where he'll end up playing. Forward, winger, or central midfield/withdrawn forward are the three options I see. I would say withdrawn forward but Landon has that position locked down for the US, so it'll be interesting to see where Adu ends up. Clint Dempsey - 5.5 - did next to nothing as a 'striker' (though he did almost score a true goal scorer's goal when he snuck in and got a touch on Mokoena's header back to his keeper) but looked good when dropped back into the midfield and gained possession (like when he sent a great through ball to Adu). Not Clint's best day but he wasn't horrible either. Projection - obviously will be involved in one way or another but the question is at what position? He's definitely best in the midfield but we need forwards right now. Hopefully, we can find a real solution to our striker problem because playing Dempsey as a forward not only gives us a relatively ineffective striker but also deprives us of our most dangerous midfielder (outside of Donovan I guess). Subs: Jon Spector - 6.0 - of the subs, he looked the best defensively. Did give away possession on occasion but who didn't in the 2nd half? Our best 'possession' was probably stringing together 3 consecutive passes before 'passing' it long to South Africa's keeper. Projection - he's young (21) and gets some playing time at a competitive club (West Ham). The thing is, he's stuck behind Cherundolo at right back, so if he becomes a regular over the next 3 years, it'll have to be at another position. He is versatile so he would be a valuable bench player on a World Cup roster (I think he could play in the center of the defense and even played as a defensive midfielder his last game for West Ham) but I doubt he'll be a starter unless he gets a serious look at left back. Brad Guzan - 6.0 - I paid exponentially more attention to him when the announcers mentioned Arsenal had scouts watching him (I guess they want someone else around besides Almunia and Fabianski with Lehmann possibly leaving). While he didn't have a whole lot to do, he looked solid back there and was noticeably vocal, which is a good trait in a keeper. Huge minus in my eyes - he was annoying the fuck out of me with his time wasting (for christ's sake, it's a goddamn friendly!!! just punt the ball and get on with the game). How shocking that he plays for the Mexican MLS team (Chivas USA). Projection - looks to have a good chance at our #2 keeper spot. Keller should be out of the picture by 2010, so now it looks like it's between Guzan and Hahnemann, and I must say Hahnemann has never impressed me a whole lot. Dan Califf - 2.0 - he was pretty dreadful, probably the worst player in what was a godawful 2nd half performance. Projection - hopefully we won't ever have to rely on him in an important game. Jonathan Bornstein - no rating - only played the last 5 minutes so no rating. Projection - figures to have the inside track at left back after solid performances over the summer unless something has changed that I'm not aware of (poor play in MLS? Like I said, I don't follow it). Sacha Kljestan - 2.0 - he was pretty damn bad too, several bad touches, no positive influence that I recall. Projection - don't know enough about him to say. He is only 22 so that's a positive. Jozy Altidore - no rating - no rating because he had like 1 touch on the ball. He did win several headers (though he didn't really direct them well and there was really no one up top to direct them to even if he was more precise) and made one good run that was overlooked by Edu I believe. Projection - rumors that Real Madrid are interested in him as a long-term replacement for Ruud van Nistelrooy. It would be pretty awesome if they did bring him in in January, especially if he got even a little bit of playing time (substitute appearance here, Copa Del Rey start there). If RVN taught him some of his goal-poaching tricks, it'd be all the better. I hope from here on out, unless it's because he's heavily involved in club duty (whether it be at Real or some other European club that grabs him in the winter transfer window), he's involved in every friendly just to incorporate him into the national team picture. I don't want to get too optimistic but he could be the answer to our striker problem. Other players who I figure could be important leading up to the next World Cup: Landon Donovan - wish he'd move to Europe but whatever, he's still our best player. Danny Szetela - another promising youngster who made his first appearance for Racing this past week in the Copa Del Rey. Eddie Johnson - will be interesting to see if he ends up moving to Europe in the next month. Supposedly, there's a good chance he will. I still haven't given up on him as a potential starting forward. Cory Gibbs - I've always really liked him. Mobile, good speed, but he hasn't played in forever. If he returns to what he was before injury, he at the worst, is great depth behind Bocanegra and Onyewu, and could possibly challenge for a starting spot. But at this point, that seems like a long shot. Marvell Wynne - I have absolutely no idea how he did for Toronto FC in the MLS this past season (other than that he got a lot of playing time) but I've had my eye on him since he looked great in the U17 world cup 4 or 5 years ago. Maybe the answer at left back? I really need to watch more MLS... Bobby Convey - I've always been a big fan... if he gets healthy, he should challenge for a starting wing spot and if nothing else, he'll be a great sub to use if we need more offense. While there are other old standbys who could have a role to play like Twellman, Ching, Ralston, Conrad, and (god I hope not) Josh Woolf, I'm not nearly as excited about any of them as the guys above. Anyways, while the performance today was poor, the future for the US looks bright. Howard, Bocanegra, Cherundolo, Onyewu, Dempsey, Donovan, and Beasley all are solid players in their prime while guys like Bradley, Edu, Johnson, Feilhaber, and Convey are young and should keep improving. What's really exciting are the Adus, Altidores, Wynees, and Szetelas, who haven't done anything yet for the national team but could have a big impact over the next 3 years. We should have absolutely no trouble qualifying (though if this group of players was in Europe, South America, or Africa, that would be another story entirely) and if given a non-impossible draw (like last World Cup), we should at least make the 2nd round. I also think we could easily better our performance from South Korea '02, though probably not our quarterfinal result (people forget now, but a lot of things fell our way in that cup, getting a weak host nation as our seed, Portugal overlooking us 1st game, losing to Poland but still advancing, drawing Mexico instead of Italy in the 2nd round). We're moving in the right direction, if Altidore and Adu can provide that attacking cutting edge we've never had, we could reach a new level... On a side note, unfortunately, Mexico's prospects are looking better than ever as well. They have numerous players in the Champions League right now (though they are concentrated at only a few clubs, PSV, Stuttgart, and Barcelona) and have a potential superstar striking combo with Giovanni dos Santos (only 18 and getting playing time this year at Barcelona) and Carlos Vela (also 18, playing on loan at Osasuna right now but probably on his way back to Arsenal at some point). We've been dominating them in recent years but it looks like we'll have to really step up to continue it.