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Quick Latvia Grades
Monday, May 29, 2006 Keller - 7. Probably deserved a six until that late save. Again, his distribution was off. Bruce said four years ago that Friedel was a touch better than Keller distributing the ball. I'm finally starting to think he was right. Sad that Keller is one of the best keepers in the world, and he'll likely be the third best keeper in Group E. Cherundolo - 7.5. A much better game from Dolo this time out. Great cross finding McBride's head for our only goal. Great job pushing up on the right throughout the game. Same questions as four years ago, though--will our outside backs, who we know can get into the offense, actually be able to DEFEND against the tougher competition we'll face in the World Cup? Sanneh and Hejduk answered the call masterfully four years ago. Let's see what Dolo and Lewis can do this go-around. Conrad - 5. Deserved lower, but he gets credit for playing a full match just two days after he played the Venezuela match. Pope - 7. Very nice game. It's amazing how Eddie has gone from a borderline roster guy to one of our most trusted players on the field. Lewis - 6. Made some great runs and got into the offense very well. I (and everyone else) worry much more about his defending than Dolo's. Mastroeni - 5. Looked OK in the first half, but got tired in the second half and had several very sloppy giveaways. He's been battling the flu, so I'll got him some slack. I still think Reyna will be our starting defensive midfielder against the Czechs. I still think Pablo is very good, but Reyna is a difference maker. O'Brien - 8. Another extremely strong effort from JOB, and this time for 65 minutes. I'd put him in the starting 11 against the Czechs, with a plan to replace him at about the 70 minute mark. Beasley - 5. Come on Beasley, you're better than this. The one encouraging thing was that he looked faster than most of the other players in the 90th minute, which means his fitness is where it needs to be. But Beasley's form is now officially my biggest worry going into this World Cup. He can be so damn good too. DaMarcus Beasley. One time. Donovan - 6. A strong, energetic game running the offense, but he's driving me crazy with his lack of finishing. He was a little more aggressive tonight than in his previous two games, but he still has to go at goal a lot more often, or at least find a way for the offense to score more often. It's really laughable that we only knocked in one against these clowns tonight. Johnson - 7. He did everything but score. Still, it's hard to give a striker higher than a six if he doesn't score. I give him a seven because he played in the Friday match and didn't look winded tonight at all. That's a great sign. And it really looked like he would find the net tonight. The $6400 question right now is, will Eddie start against the Czechs? We looked much more comfortable in the 4-4-2 formation than we did in the 3-5-2 or the 4-5-1/4-4-3 (whatever you want to call it). Do we taylor our lineup to fit our best formation, or taylor our formation to get our best lineup out there? If Johnson doesn't start, he'll be a fantastic option off the bench if we need a goal. McBride - 7. There is no question McBride was more effective in the 4-4-2. Having Johnson running at defenders all night left McBride with a couple of clear chances, and he buried one of them. Convey - 6. Much less effective tonight, as he looked pretty tired. But let's give him a break--he basically sprinted for 70 straight minutes just two days ago. Here's my prediction for the Czech lineup (I reserve the right to revise this lineup as the match approaches), bearing in mind that Bruce says, "I think there's a chance that we'll make a few decision in the first eleven for the first game that will probably surprise some people." Hmmmm.... Keller Dolo Gooch Pope Lewis Reyna Convey O'Brien Donovan Johnson McBride substitutes: Beasley for O'Brien, 60th minute then either Mastroeni for McBride or Dempsey for Reyna, depending on whether we need to attack or defend 12 days until kickoff.
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