US wins at Honduras; Germany defeats Russians on plastic pitch
Der Mannschaft has done it again. Miroslav Klose found the back of the net in the 35th minute to give Germany the 1-0 win over Russia on their plastic pitch. Credit has to go to Adler and his defense to hold off the Russian offense lead by Arsenal midfielder, Arshavin. This was definitely match to watch over the weekend. Germany needs to work on their offense a little. The Germans had 14 shots, but only 4 were on goal with 1 getting in. The firepower that this team has between Podolski, Ballack, and Klose alone should be doubling that number. Ozil, I think, should step up a bit more. He is coming in after playing in Germany’s U-21 Euro Championship, and being a big impact player in that competition. I do have faith in Joachim Loew in making the right decisions going into South Africa (since they already booked their offices and hotel rooms prior to qualifying). Everyone is looking at Spain and Brazil as favorites, but you can never rule out the Germans! The United States has made a great conclusion: when you play Connor Casey (who is currently 2nd in the MLS Golden Boot race) he will score goals for you. And then there’s that other guy who put one in (can you tell my thoughts on Landon Donovan?). So step 1 is done for the USA: Qualify for the World Cup. Step 2 needs to be find out where the problems in this team are. Just because players are in Europe, does not mean they are the best. There are some great rising players within the United States. Take note of the players that are being signed to contracts from the MLS Academy teams. Bob Bradley needs watch what he does going into the World Cup. Yes, they beat Spain and gave Brazil a run for their money. Yes, they qualified for their 6th straight World Cup. I think Bradley is still walking on a thin line. If the US does not preform well, I don’t see Bob Bradley being the US manager after the Cup. |
