U.S. Soccer Vs. Chile: 5 Things We Learned From Last Night's Friendly Draw

Fans of the United States Men’s National Team watched last night at the Home Depot Center as the US drew 1-1 with the world’s 15th-best team in Chile.  From this draw, however, the American faithful can take away several very important lessons.

Teal Bunbury and Juan Agudelo Are Forming an Impressive Partnership

Although the Americans played decently when the San Jose Earthquake’s Chris Wondolowski was deployed as the lone striker in Bob Bradley’s experimental 4-2-3-1 formation, the attack really began to threaten when youngsters Teal Bunbury and Juan Agudelo entered the fray in the 60th  minute.  Replacing Wondolowski and FC Dallas’ Brek Shea, the two impressive MLS strikers worried the Chilean defense consistently over the next half hour of play. 

Perhaps the most positive sign for the future was the way both strikers gelled quickly with the rest of the attack.  Agudelo and midfielder Alejandro Bedoya fed off of each other excellently, perhaps best demonstrated in the build-up to Bunbury’s 74th minute goal from the spot.  Agudelo, now a presumptive lock to start next season alongside Thierry Henry with the New York Red Bulls, combined with the Orebro man for several give-and-go passes that resulted in Agudelo finding himself in the penalty box being felled by a Chilean defender. 

Bunbury showed great poise in confidently stepping up to take the penalty.  The celebration dance afterward was highly entertaining, as was the Telefutura announcer’s goal call.  Bunbury’s play the rest of the evening was heartening, as well.  He used his big frame to out-muscle Chilean defenders frequently, demonstrating excellent holdup play to help bring in the rest of the American attack. 

The pair nearly combined for a match-winner later in the second half, with Bunbury releasing Agudelo past the Chilean defense.  This partnership clearly is something to continue to watch in the future.  The two appear to be perfectly suited to each other on the pitch.  The pair now possess two caps and a goal in their very young international careers.

Left Backs Wanted

The US Men’s National Team has right backs.  Plenty of them.  And a stable full of centerbacks.  But for some reason, the Yanks are still unable to find a quality left back.  Although Jonathan Bornstein appears to be the left back of choice for the full MNT, his performances for the Yanks still leave something to be desired.  Perhaps his recent move to the Mexican league will benefit him and the rest of the national team more moving forward, but Bob Bradley’s biggest headache remains: There is an extreme lack of depth at left back for the Americans. 

Bradley used several players at that spot through the night, Zach Loyd and Anthony Wallace, and none of them provided enough of a bright spot to be considered a hope for the future at that position.  Loyd was beaten on the wing, leading to the cross that set up Chile’s 53rd minute goal.  While lax defending by wing-back-turned-centerback Marvell Wynne was most responsible for the lone Chilean goal, Loyd struggled to keep up with a fast Chilean midfield all night.

More Midfielders Than Bob Bradley Knows What to Do With

There are already way too many young midfielders near the top of the American depth chart right now.  MNT regulars like Michael Bradley, Maurice Edu and Stuart Holden are all fighting hard for minutes alongside Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, Benny Feilhaber, Ricardo Clark and now Jermaine Jones.  On the basis of the South Africa friendly in November and last night’s match against Chile, Bob Bradley’s headache is going to quickly get worse. 

He now has to consider Mikkel “Mixx” Diskerud and Alejandro Bedoya in that same group of midfielders.  Bedoya played excellently for 83 minutes before Eric Alexander entered the match, playing an excellent through ball to set up the Agudelo penalty/Bunbury goal.  His speed allowed him to play on par with the Chilean midfielders for most of the evening. 

Diskerud went the distance, featuring prominently for all 90 minutes.  His pass to Bunbury began the series that nearly led to a winner for the Yanks.  While it would be easy to dismiss this showing as a one-off, it comes on the heels of the pair’s excellent showing in South Africa, where both did well throughout the affair.  Clearly, Bob Bradley has more midfielders than he knows what to do with.

Tim Ream Has Moved Ahead of Omar Gonzalez in the Centerback Pecking Order

One of the most interesting storylines going into last night’s matchup was figuring out which of the two young and very talented centerbacks would move ahead in the race to earn a place in the Starting XI for the Yanks.  The competition for now (young Gale Agbossoumonde will be a major threat by the 2014 World Cup) is between LA Galaxy’s Omar Gonzalez and Red Bull New York’s Tim Ream.  Of the two, Ream was the better player last night and built on his solid showing in South Africa in November. 

Although Gonzalez certainly did not play poorly, Ream looked to be on top of his game in Carson. His defensive instincts were good throughout the night as he completed 90 minutes of work for his second cap.  His passing out of the back was especially good. It was his pass from the center circle that darted through the Chilean midfield to find Alejandro Bedoya in the buildup to the lone American goal. 

Ream stands 6’2” and has had compliments lavished upon him by pundits and coaches alike.  Although Ream is still behind Oguchi Onyewu, Carlos Bocanegra and likely Clarence Goodson in the depth chart, he is consistently demonstrating the ability to move up quickly when Bocanegra fades from the picture.

Sean Johnson Is a Legitimate Contender for Goalie of the Future

A year ago, nobody knew who Sean Johnson was.  Having experienced a dip in form at the 2010 MLS SuperDraft combine, the ‘keeper who experts said had the best potential of his draft class fell into the fourth round to be selected by the Chicago Fire.  The Fire then inexplicably allowed stalwart ‘keeper Jon Busch to leave, giving Andrew Dykstra the starting job at Toyota Park with the rookie Johnson backing him up. 

Then, late in the season, Dykstra was ruled out for the season due to injury.  Many were worried about Johnson’s lack of experience.  As it turns out, Johnson performed so well that he has locked up the starting job for the foreseeable future in Chicago and appears to be contending with DC United’s Bill Hamid for the future Yank No. 1 shirt. 

Johnson turned in save after highlight-reel save in the MLS season and, although pressed into service relatively little last night, demonstrated a few of the skills necessary to perform well on the international stage.  Perhaps the biggest jump from domestic to international soccer is the increase in the speed of the game.  This can be hardest on goalies who need to time their efforts perfectly to make difficult saves. 

Although not needed frequently, Johnson showed his ability to read the game and keep up with the pace of play.  The fight between he and Hamid in the next few months and years will be very interesting to watch.  One of those two young MLS ‘keepers could easily find himself with the MNT again for the 2011 Gold Cup as the third-string goalie.