U.S.A. 1-1 Argentina; Howard Man of the Match, 18-Year-Old Agudelo Shines Again
The last time the U.S. Men’s National Team played Argentina was June 8, 2008 at Giants Stadium in front of a record crowd. The teams drew 0-0.
Saturday evening, just feet away from the now demolished stadium, the US played Argentina again, this time to a 1-1 tie in front of a record breaking 78,936 fans at New Meadowlands Stadium. While the game was just a friendly and like the ’08 match ended in a draw, there was something that gave a distinctive feel that the contest had more on the line than just pride.
Argentina was, well, Argentina and passed fluidly, working the back line of the U.S. over pretty well. Finally, after sustained pressure by Argentina and despite heroics by Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard, Esteban Cambiasso scored in the 42nd minute for Argentina.
The second half saw USMNT head coach Bob Bradley bring on 18-year-old Juan Agudelo for Jermaine Jones and 20-year-old Timmy Chandler (who received his first cap) for Jonathan Spector. The change was immediate for the US, who saw better possession, switching from a 4-5-1 to more of a 4-4-2 with Chandler having an effect on the outside right and Agudelo pairing with Altidore.
Agudelo made smart runs and wise decisions for a player so young and it was his opportunistic sense that again allowed him to score his second goal in three outings for the team. That goal came in the 59th minute when Landon Donovan took a free kick from the right side of the field that found the head of U.S. captain Carlos Bocanegra. His deflected header went directly at Argentinian goalkeeper Mariano Andujar, who found the ball too hot to handle and bobbled the ball to a hungry Agudelo, who was crashing the net on the left side with Oguchi Onyewu. Agudelo had run past the goal but stuck a leg back out quickly to snap the ball past Andujar and draw the game even.
The U.S. looked better in the second half and it took a collective defensive effort – often double and triple teaming Lionel Messi – to put out the fires. That and more heroics by U.S. Soccer’s Man of the Match, Tim Howard.
“Whenever we get the opportunity to play against these great teams there are a lot of challenges, and there are things that now we can set our sights on,” said U.S. head coach Bradley. “Argentina was very good with the ball in the first half and found a great rhythm that made it difficult on us, and the goal before halftime changed the thinking. I was very pleased with response from the team in the second half. To come away with a good result against a very good team there are some things to talk about, some things that need to be improved but also some positives.”
Overall, it was a good opportunity for the USMNT to play a very good opponent in Argentina, who are ranked 4th in the world, and to start preparations for this summer’s Gold Cup which runs from June 5–25, 2011.
Game Highlights
– U.S. Men’s National Team Game Report –
Match: USA vs. Argentina
Date: March 26, 2011
Competition: International Friendly
Venue: New Meadowlands Stadium – East Rutherford, N.J.
Kickoff: 7 p.m. ET
Attendance: 78,936
Weather: Clear and windy, 35 degrees
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
USA 0 1 1
ARG 1 0 1
Scoring:
ARG – Esteban Cambiasso 42nd minute
USA – Juan Agudelo (Carlos Bocanegra) 59
Lineups:
USA: 1-Tim Howard; 2-Jonathan Spector (21-Timmy Chandler, 46), 15-Jay DeMerit, 5-Oguchi Onyewu, 3-Carlos Bocanegra (Capt.), 13-Jermaine Jones (9-Juan Agudelo, 46), 4-Michael Bradley, 7-Maurice Edu, 8-Clint Dempsey, 10-Landon Donovan; 17-Jozy Altidore
Subs not used: 6-Tim Ream, 12-Jonathan Bornstein, 14- Edson Buddle, 16-Sacha Kljestan, 23-Marcus Hahnemann
Head Coach: Bob Bradley
ARG: 1-Mariano Andujar; 8-Javier Zanetti, 4-Nicolas Burdisso, 6-Gabriel Milito; 24-Marco Rojo, 20-Ever Banega, 14-Javier Mascherano (Capt.), 5-Esteban Cambiasso (16-Lucas Biglia, 73); 22-Ezequiel Lavezzi, 10-Lionel Messi, 7-Angel Di Maria
Subs not used: 3-Nicolas Otamendi, 9-Jose Josa, 11-Javier Pastore, 12-Adrian Gabbarini, 15-Marcos Angeleri, 17-Fernando Belluschi, 18-Nicolas Gaitan, 19-Mario Bolatti, 21-Augustin Marchesin, 23-Eduardo Salvio
Head Coach: Sergio Batista
Stats Summary: USA/ARG
Shots 7/13
Shots on goal 4/6
Saves 5/3
Corner Kicks 2/6
Fouls 12/9
Offside 0/1
Misconduct Summary:
USA – Maurice Edu (caution) 35th minute
USA – Timmy Chandler (caution) 48
USA – Landon Donovan (caution) 79
USA – Carlos Bocanegra (caution) 90+1
Officials:
Referee: Roberto Garcia (MEX)
First Asst: Marcos Quintero (MEX)
Second Asst.: Victor Calderon (MEX)
Fourth Official: Edvin Jurisevic (USA)
Budweiser Man of the Match: Tim Howard
Comments are closed.
I thought the turf looked terrible last night. It looked like play at some points was filled with awkward bounces and players who looked unsure due to bad footing. I guess this demonstrates to me that the US is not ready to host another World Cup. When MN builds a new stadium for the MN Vikings, I would like to see soccer be a consideration in the overall stadium design and turf.
Really? The US draws with Argentina and your complaining about the turf?
TCF Stadium considered soccer when they built their venue. I’m sure that’s a consideration for almost any football stadium these days.
BTW, how did that Buddle scoring two goals thing go for you?
“I thought the turf looked terrible last night… I guess this demonstrates to me that the US is not ready to host another World Cup.”
How you come to this conclusion based on this game, not a person on Earth will be able to figure out. Come on, Soccerboy.
Agudelo and Chandler really added a lot to the USMNT’s effort in the 2nd half. It’s becoming apparent that Edu, Jones and Chandler are not effective playing midfield together, and that Jozy plays much better with another striker upfront.
Suddenly our national team looks like a lot better with the performance of two such young players as Agudelo and Chandler and with Charlie Davies rebounding from his accident. Looking forward to Tuesday’s game against Paraguay, although Paraguay looked out of sync against Mexico Saturday in Oakland.
Nerts to the 4-5-1. Our national team doesn’t need to rely solely on withstanding constant pressure with the hopes of holding our opponent scoreless and getting lucky on a long ball counter.