Soccer: Assessment of the US Team After the 2-0 Loss to England

On the whole, the 2-0 score doesn't do justice to how badly the US was outplayed. England (and Manchester United) midfielder Owen Hargreaves simply said "We should have scored more goals," and he was right.

Here's a recap of how each section of the team, both individually and collectively, performed against the Three Lions.

Goalkeepers:
Both goalies fell prey to some suspect defending, and neither were really to fault for the goals that were scored. Everton goalie Tim Howard got the start, and played well in his first-half performance. John Terry's header was perfectly placed, and Howard could do little with it despite having a read on the direction. Chivas' USA goalie Brad Guzan was equal to the task in the 2nd half, and was left absolutely helpless on Steven Gerrard's goal.

Defenders:
Overall, the US back four didn't do a great job marking the English forwards on their runs, and committed too many fouls too close to the penalty area. Teams with as many weapons as England will make lesser teams pay for free kicks outside the box, and David Beckham's free-kick to Terry was the perfect example. Steve Cherundolo looked totally overmatched most of his time on the pitch, and was rightfully substituted at the intermission. Oguchi Onyewu and Carlos Bocanegra were both solid if not unspectacular in the back, forcing most of the English attack to the outsides. Heath Pearce was rather unnoticeable for the majority of the match -- no major errors, but no spectacular flashes either. Frankie Hejduk's appearance after the half solidified the right side of the defense, and Frankie was able to get in to the offense better than Cherundolo as well. Onyewu and Bocanegra weren't much of a threat on any of the set pieces the US were able to try in the England end of the field.

Midfielders:
In my mind, the game was lost by the US midfield's inability to hold the ball for any significant length of time. Ricardo Clark gave the ball away far too easily, and was eventually replaced by Maurice Edu, who wasn't much more effective in his short stint on the pitch. Michael Bradley provided some solid challenges, but didn't distribute the ball well enough. On the wings, DaMarcus Beasley and Clint Dempsey had moments where they were threatening, but didn't get the support they needed from their counterparts in the center of the field. Eddie Lewis' play off the bench was a rare bright spot for the US, as he showed versatility on both sides of the field.

Forwards:
For me, this was simply a woeful performance by the starters Josh Wolff and Eddie Johnson. Wolff looked lost on the field, and I can't think of a single memorable moment for him on the field. As for Johnson, he struggled with getting solid delivery from the midfield, but he was at least making runs and trying to get something going. He was clearly overmatched by the Enland back line, as Terry seemed to win every ball that came Johnson's way in the air. The insertion of Freddy Adu added some much needed spark and creativity, but he lacked the service that plagued Johnson. Nate Jaqua wasn't on long enough to have any impact.

Overall, a disappointing performance. Hopefully next week will yield better results against Spain.