US v Azerbaijan

Overall this was an OK performance against a team that did nothing to prep the US for their WC opposition.

Up Front

Jozy did fine. He wasn't stellar but he wasn't awful. He did look much better partnered with Aron than he did with Wondo. Wondo did what Wondo does and got on the end of a couple of chances by being in the right place at the right time. Johannsson was solid and put his WIDE OPEN header away beautifully. My hope is Dempsey will return to help glue the midfield and Jozy together as a cohesive unit.

In the Middle

High praise for both Mix and Bedoya with impact performances from both. Both are coming on strong and perhaps peaking at the right time for the US. Zusi had a very good first 45 and Davis had a very good second 45. Bradley and Jones were both OK. I would have liked to see a bit more on the attacking end from Bradley but I have no doubt he will come on strong when there is more pressure and space in the midfield. Jones was not asked to do much since the opposition rarely pressured the US defense so it might be a bit harsh to critique him for playing the deep defensive midfield position against a team with a limited ability to get out of it's own half.

The Rearguard

I am very much OK with the idea of pairing of Cameron and Besler at CB but I do wish it had happened sooner to allow them to gel as a pairing. I also wish Goodsen were here as back up over both Gonzalez and Brooks. Gonzalez once again looked like Bambi on ice to me under very little pressure while Cameron looked pretty flawless under the same circumstances. Besler had one bad pass out of the back but was otherwise solid. On the left I didn't see a whole lot of difference between Beasley and Chandler. Neither was really asked to defend much so hopefully the Turkey match will help sort that position. Fabian Johnson is the best RB the US has and the only RB that has any hope of matching up against the US World Cup opponents. It was nice to see him played in his club position for a change. Yedlin did fine but his reported strength is going forward and he was allowed to do that without the worry of defending.

The Keeper

Timmy must have been quite bored on the whole for the evening. It would be nice if he has that litte to do in the WC but since he won't I am glad he will between the sticks.