Thoughts on the 1-1 draw with Chile

While I didn't get to watch the game with sound on because I was busy doing something else while watching the game, I think I got enough of it to be able to throw out a couple of tidbits that were stewing in my mind after the game was over, most of them on the three Rapids that saw playing time in their first or second national team caps. And no, I won't be pretending that Marvel Wynne had a good game. In fact, there's some chastising of Bob Bradley (From ME!? say it ain't so!) about his use of the Mighty Wynne.

A few quick hits about the game after the jump.

Brek Shea: Hey Brek, you're not helping yourself out any here. I'm part of an ever shrinking group that thinks you have a very bright future in the USMNT if you can just get your act together and you're not helping us out any. After that lackluster performance in your first cap we were hoping you'd deliver this time and... well, it was really kind of sad how Chile's C squad just owned you. People were saying that this was the USA's C squad as well but Brek Shea is not supposed to be on the C squad, he's supposed to be quickly running up the ranks to start on the first team in actual competitions soon. Come on, Brek. (Yes, I realize he's never going to read this but it still felt good to pretend I was yelling at him.)

Bunbury & Agudelo: These two guys make me feel fantastic about the striker position since it has been the worst part of the USA's team for ages now. Robbie Findley and Jozy Altidore? Kill me now. Teal and Juan? This could be big. Those two coming in immediately made the US look... well, competent on offense. I honestly think that Jozy's days as a starting striker on the team are numbered if these two continue to grow in the way they have been in their limited caps so far.

Marvell Wynne: No way to sugarcoat this, Wynne was terrible in that game. Part of the reason is Bob Bradley ignoring all the evidence and playing him as... a center back. Marvell Wynne is a fantastic MLS CB, don't get me wrong. His amazing speed makes up for most of his defensive lapses against MLS strikers and central midfielders, and his being paired with Drew Moor has helped tremendously as well. Unfortunately, if he is ever going to play on the national team level again, he has to do it in his natural position of RIGHT back. The world has players a lot better than your average MLS striker and Marvell simply isn't very good at defending when it comes right down to it. If you're as fast as him and have average but not great defense - which is exactly what he's got - you can probably play some right back on the national team level, but not center. Credit Marvell with trying his hardest, but the guy just wasn't in the correct position during that game.

Jeff Larentowicz: The fact that he played the full 90 minutes in his first ever national team cap says volumes to me about Jeff's game today. He was certainly not flashy, but playing holding mid you rarely have to be. He wasn't the best player on the field by any means, outshined by Diskerud and others but he got the job done which is more than we can say from some people. *cough Shea cough* I don't think Jeff will play much in the future for the USMNT but he can be proud of his performance as he earned his single cap.

Anthony Wallace: Everyone who knows me knows that I am a HUGE Anthony Wallace fan. I think that FC Dallas ruined his career as a promising young back for the national team and for MLS as well by benching him for so long after his injury and I was excited to see him get a shot for a cap today. I wasn't expecting much out of the budding star so the fact that he simply made it through his time on the pitch with minimal mistakes and a couple of good plays is plenty enough to make me happy. This cap should - if Anthony gets his career on the track it should have been years ago - be the first of many. I still believe in Anthony Wallace. Also Sean Franklin kind of sucked today as well so that can't hurt his case.