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Bradley Optimistic About USA Chances At World Cup
On a day of roller-coaster emotions for the USA squad, coach Bob Bradley commended their fighting spirit.
Oct 15, 2009 3:27:56 AM
WASHINGTON D.C. -- Immediately after the United States Men's National Team clinched the top spot in CONCACAF World Cup qualifying with a 2-2 draw against Costa Rica at RFK Stadium, manager Bob Bradley spoke about what the culmination of an 18-month process meant.
"Obviously, we're really proud to win the group," he said. "It took a really determined strong effort by our team."
Although the Americans had a number of good opportunities in the early stages of the match, the Ticos' Bryan Ruiz beat the U.S. defense twice and gave his side, which would earn the third automatic qualifying spot with a win, an early advantage. Despite being down two goals, the U.S. created a number of chances and at halftime, the manger didn't need to tell his players much.
"The biggest thing I was unhappy with was just the times that we weren't playing the ball fast enough," he said. "I got on the team for that, and the fact that you need to play the ball quicker, you need to push the game harder, and making sure that we understood that we came here to win the game and win the group and the first half was behind us. We got on the guys a little bit, but it really wasn't necessary either. They knew it and the respond came from all those guys."
The Stars and Stripes would not be denied, earning the draw on Jonathan Bornstein's goal in the 95th minute. The result meant that the Americans earned 11 of their 20 final round points in games where they trailed at one point. Bradley sees this trend as both a positive and a negative.
"It's a plus that we can compete and keep pushing when we're behind, and it's a minus that of late we've had too many situations when we have gone down," he said.
One undeniably bad part of the otherwise successful night in RFK was the injury to Oguchi Onyewu, who tore his left patellar tendon and will be out three to four months. The U.S. coach, however, expects to see his centerback stage a full recovery.
"He's young. He's healthy." Bradley said. Our doctors are good, and so he's someone that we're sure is going to get back and be ready to go, but nonetheless it's another setback for us."
Now that the qualification process is finished, the coach's attention shifts to preparing his team for South Africa.
"It's great to get there, but there's a responsibility once you get there: To be ready, to step on the field, to win games, and to be successful," he said. "We're proud that we finished first in the group but we understand what's left."
When asked if he thought the Red, White, and Blue could win next summer's tournament, Bradley answered simply.
"Sure."
Noah Davis, Goal.com
"Obviously, we're really proud to win the group," he said. "It took a really determined strong effort by our team."
Although the Americans had a number of good opportunities in the early stages of the match, the Ticos' Bryan Ruiz beat the U.S. defense twice and gave his side, which would earn the third automatic qualifying spot with a win, an early advantage. Despite being down two goals, the U.S. created a number of chances and at halftime, the manger didn't need to tell his players much.
"The biggest thing I was unhappy with was just the times that we weren't playing the ball fast enough," he said. "I got on the team for that, and the fact that you need to play the ball quicker, you need to push the game harder, and making sure that we understood that we came here to win the game and win the group and the first half was behind us. We got on the guys a little bit, but it really wasn't necessary either. They knew it and the respond came from all those guys."
The Stars and Stripes would not be denied, earning the draw on Jonathan Bornstein's goal in the 95th minute. The result meant that the Americans earned 11 of their 20 final round points in games where they trailed at one point. Bradley sees this trend as both a positive and a negative.
"It's a plus that we can compete and keep pushing when we're behind, and it's a minus that of late we've had too many situations when we have gone down," he said.
One undeniably bad part of the otherwise successful night in RFK was the injury to Oguchi Onyewu, who tore his left patellar tendon and will be out three to four months. The U.S. coach, however, expects to see his centerback stage a full recovery.
"He's young. He's healthy." Bradley said. Our doctors are good, and so he's someone that we're sure is going to get back and be ready to go, but nonetheless it's another setback for us."
Now that the qualification process is finished, the coach's attention shifts to preparing his team for South Africa.
"It's great to get there, but there's a responsibility once you get there: To be ready, to step on the field, to win games, and to be successful," he said. "We're proud that we finished first in the group but we understand what's left."
When asked if he thought the Red, White, and Blue could win next summer's tournament, Bradley answered simply.
"Sure."
Noah Davis, Goal.com
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