US National Team

Canales Daily: Work It Harder, Make It Better

Goal.com's Andrea Canales has returned from San Salvador with a new perspective on the U.S. team's close call.

Mar 30, 2009 3:30:48 PM

Frankie Hejduk (USA), El Salvador v. USA, WCQ, March 28 (ISI)

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Frankie Hejduk (USA), El Salvador v. USA, WCQ, March 28 (ISI)

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By Andrea Canales

The day after El Salvador nearly pulled off an upset win over the U.S., people in the country were still buzzing about the match.

"Almost, almost," Francisco, the hotel porter, lamented. "We should have had a penalty there!"

Indeed, since Frankie Hejduk had knocked down a player in the box as both went for a ball, there was easily an argument that could have been made for that call. Then again, Hejduk told the press that part of the reason El Salvador had scored its second time was because goalscorer Cristian Castillo had surreptitiously pulled Hejduk when he tried to clear the ball, causing a miss and a chance for Castillo to take advantage.

The late effort the U.S. made to draw level had many players and coach Bob Bradley generally looking at the positive side of the outcome.

Yet team captain Carlos Bocanegra didn't sugarcoat the situation, which had the U.S. struggling mightily against a squad many consider the weakest of the Hexagonal.

"We're disappointed that we didn't get a win," Bocanegra acknowledged. "They had a good game plan. They played really well and had lots of energy. We ended up with a draw. In the end, it's a little bit disappointing, because we want to win these games."

Strategy-wise, El Salvador's coach, Carlos de los Cobos, clearly out-performed Bob Bradley. He sat a couple of experienced veterans for young talent that was eager and able to run quick counterattacks. They played the ball fast and low. The short, quick passes negated much of the obvious height advantage of the Americans and were perfect for the uncertain playing conditions.

"The field was a little bumpy," Hejduk noted. As such, few of the repetitively unsuccessful long passes of the U.S. would roll true, leading to more frustration as El Salvador would manage to reclaim the ball and nimbly pass around the slower midfield of the U.S.

De los Cobos also made sure that his team was able to cancel out another key weapon of the U.S. attack, Landon Donovan.

"They had a guy following me around most of the game," Donovan said.

With such constantly tight marking, it was difficult for the American playmaker to have his usual impact, as he resorted instead to tracking back long distances, using his superior fitness to wear down his assigned defender.

"I was trying to make it uncomfortable for him and give our guys more space to move," Donovan explained. "It was the kind of game where I had to sacrifice my own personal success to give other guys room to make plays happen."

Except that for a good while, no one else was making those plays.

"We weren't sharp," Donovan acknowledged. "Guys did a nice job of getting into good spots, but when the ball came, we didn't make the best decisions."

The U.S. midfield didn't seem capable of creative soccer, and it looked like an error to have a tricky player like Freddy Adu not even available as a sub.

It's telling that midfielder Sacha Kljestan has had his greatest success internationally against a European team like Sweden, where his size worked well for him in matching up with their physical and direct style. Kljestan has been far less effective against smaller, more skillful squads like Mexico and El Salvador.

If Bradley had miscalculated how best to confront El Salvador, he showed better tactics in his substitutions. When he sent in Jose Francisco Torres, Bradley entrusted him with a specific playmaking mandate.

"He just told me to go in there and have fun and do the things that I can do," Torres explained. "He told me to try to stay up top and create opportunities. That's what I tried to do."

The little midfielder maintained possession well against the tiring El Salvador players, helping the U.S. comeback.

"Coach Bob has given me the confidence to go in as a sub or starter," said Torres. "I think I'm feeling better, knowing my teammates well."

Bradley's other substitute, Jozy Altidore, scored the first U.S. goal. The young forward was unfazed by the goal deficit and the frenzied, partisan crowd.

"You want to play in games like this," Altidore noted. "I just tried to put it on frame."

Despite how unprepared the Americans looked at times in the first half, Altidore didn't put that on the coaching staff.

"You come out here in a hostile environment and you can't predict," Altidore explained. "You don't know what to expect."

Perhaps predictions don't work, but plans are always necessary. As Bradley prepares for Trinidad and Tobago, it's not as simple as granting starting spots to those who performed well against El Salvador. T & T is a bigger, more athletic team.

In certain ways, there is more than qualifying at stake. It's unlikely that the U.S. Soccer Federation would, barring a total team collapse or player mutiny, replace coach Bradley. Yet Bradley does need to prove he is the ideal coach for the team, one who can inspire players to an improved World Cup performance in 2010. Rolling out a team that appeared so hapless for so long against El Salvador leaves a bad impression.

When the U.S. looked clueless and unmotivated in the 2006 World Cup, it was against the likes of the Czech Republic and Ghana. Appearing similarly befuddled against El Salvador's level is a disheartening development that even the late turnaround doesn't redeem.

Yes, despite everything, the U.S. almost won. However, so did El Salvador, and the manner in which they did so could provide a template for future teams to confound the Americans.

Perhaps the U.S. was due for a bad game and needed to be snapped out of the general assumption that they are CONCACAF's best. Games can't be won on reputation. Status needs to be proven in every game, big or small.

Andrea Canales is Chief Editor of Goal.com North America

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