Now That a Play Strategy Is Cemented... Who's The Starting Goalie?

After an overwhelming win over the Egyptians, the Americans just might have a basic blueprint of their starting 10...what about that last guy?

That last guy who has avoided all the scrutiny throughout this whole tournament has been the goalie. Who WILL get the goalie spot in the game against Spain and perhaps afterwards?

After much time, I defended Tim Howard from the accusations of him being a horrible keeper. I savagely read off his skills and when he would make a good save, I would point them out ferociously towards the accuser, however I never actually realized how poorly he has played recently.

In the game against Italy, the three goals scored could have been avoided with well...better keeping.

Rossi's goal from way out was by no means the defense's fault. Surely Onyewu or Spector could have stepped in and maneuvered a body block but in the end, the ball going in the net or not depends on the keeper, especially on a kick from that distance.

The same occurred for Del Rossi's score in the second half from way out. The goal was the result of a powerful shot and poor keeping. 

Perhaps we are scrutinizing Tim Howard too much. Maybe I'm just saying that because Tim Howard could be reading this and I feel bad for speaking so bluntly about him with him reading this article. Or maybe Tim Howard has been overrated over the past defeats and given too many chances.

Bob Bradley was probably the one man who saw this keeping flaw, and with that, he placed Brad Guzan at the goalie spot against Egypt. Perhaps the defense prefers Guzan because both the side and center backs worked together harmoniously under the thunderous commands of Guzan throughout the game.

Guzan's instincts seemed sharp, unlike Tim Howard who was beaten by many shots outside of the box (before and during the tournament), on a play where Egypt was offsides, the Egyptian player continued the play anyways aiming for goal, oblivious to the flag up, yet Guzan's sharp instincts gave us a peek at what exactly the Americans were missing: A goalie who had a camaraderie with his fellow defensemen, and yes, a goalie who could make a save in the open field.

The man in-game who was most to blame for the American attacking mindset was indeed Guzan in the game against Egypt. Goal kicks were opportunities for the keeper to push his men forward and push back the Egyptians. The offensive mindset was evident in that every ball Guzan received was pushed forward, inched out of the box then booted towards the other end of the field for the strikers to get a hold of.

Perhaps Tim Howard, like Damarcus Beasley, is in a slump, perhaps not as bad, but not good enough for American soccer. Legacies trade off all the time and perhaps the United States Men's National Team will be under Brad Guzan until he decides to go off and get injured. But surely, I'm just a Bleacher Report writer, what authority do I have?

The starting goalie in the next game will be a major indication of who the starting goalie will be at the Gold Cup and perhaps even the World Cup. Bob Bradley might possibly stick to the roots and place back his starter or possibly he might stick Guzan in permanently. As much as I love Tim Howard, right now, I'm crossing my fingers for Guzan. 

See USA take on Spain in a match which could possibly be one of the greatest upsets in football history if the United States happens to pull off a victory over the mighty Spain.

This will be a game for the ages, a game I'm gonna end up telling my kids about (similar to the World Cup 2002 performance). American fans, show your colors on Wednesday as we (yes, I'm a fan) root for our team and fellow countrymen.