Some thoughts from the match. And remember, I’m a fan so you won’t be getting tactical breakdowns here.
- We better hope Dempsey is alright. It seems he is, but would Klinsmann tell us if it were otherwise?
- We should quit hoping for an injury, Donovan will not be the one recalled.
- It is time to move on from Donovan. Our team is set and they need our support.
- If these are our World Cup numbers make no sense. Yedlin, who should not play, # 2? Altidore, our main scoring threat, # 17? Zusi, nearly a certain starter, # 19?
- Could the American Outlaws not hear the music for the National Anthem? They were so far off in their singing. Did ESPN shut off the sound of the actual music? My wife thought the stadium turned it off, but clearly the players were listening to it and not the Outlaws as they stood down with over a verse of singing left.
- If Altidore would get in the same positions as Wondo, he would have no trouble scoring for anyone.
- I’ve said for awhile that Klinsmann likes Bedoya. I think he’ll be a regular starter in Brazil.
- If our three best defenders are Besler, Gonzalez, and Cameron, can’t we get them on the field at the same time, like in much of qualifying?
- As someone who has wanted a red jersey for years, I probably shouldn’t complain, but it would look so much better with different color shorts and socks–say white. And why is the blue not a navy blue (like our flag?)
- Back in the early AOL Chatrooms, a term that was used often to describe our hopes for the team was “Flow On.” This team does look to have a flow about it. They play together and for one another.
- Why didn’t Atletico Madrid sponsor Azerbaijan’s uniforms?
- Diskerud and Johannsson are great options off the bench.
- Jon Champion is a fantastic announcer.
- People love to criticize Alexi Lalas and to a lesser extent Taylor Twellman, but they bring their opinions with authority. I love that.
- I’ve always loved DeMarcus Beasley, but his is not the first name that comes to mind when I think of veteran leadership.
- If this is our lineup against Ghana (with Dempsey in for Wondolowski), I am fine with it.
Stay tuned for my next post when I will tell you if the US will advance or not.
23 Days in Brazil 
Nice Points, Love the Skippy Picture, “This referee is the closest thing to a hanging judge” was a funny announcement.due to his overwhelming red card distribution.
Yes, that was funny! I wish I’d made notes of funny lines throughout the match. I should also note that Stuart Scott thought the match was in Azerbaijan, until they told him Bob Ley was in the next studio!
Additional thoughts:
Bedoya quietly had ann outstanding season in Ligue 1 with Nantes. I say quietly because since he’s not playing in England…
Not sure Gonzales is one of our “top defenders”
And *really* not sure why we played Azerbijan. We could have easily scheduled a Concacaf side if we were looking for a team to park the bus and put 11 men behind the ball (or perhaps Chelsea?)
We played Azerbaijan because their coach is a good friend of Klinsmann and who is now an assistant for us!
Great line in the online ESPN article about the match where the author worried that Beasley might be blown away by the stiff winds.