USA vs. Canada REVIEW

UNITED STATES - 2

CANADA- 0

A great victory for the USA and just what the doctor ordered in terms of kicking this Cup off with a bang. Now with the hardest opponent behind us in the group stage, we can advance with confidence, but also with caution. The team in the first half was hitting on all cylinders and was great to see. The second half we did slack from our form in the first, but still looked better than we have in a long time. Great victory for Bob, great victory for the fans, great victory for the team, and great victory for America.

BREAKDOWN

Goalkeeper- Two words. Tim Howard. What more can you say...The man is easily the best player on the team and shows it each and every game. He coaches and encourages the players and makes some incredible saves. While he didn't have to make too many saves tonight, he had a few moments of brilliance especially toward the end when an unexpected barrage of balls came toward him in the final minutes. I don't think a brick wall could do as well as Howard in the net. Great clean sheet by Howard.

Defense- Great effort as a team and individually. The combo of Goodson and Ream really meshed together well and they showed some great chemistry. This is what the US has lacked for years. I don't want to jump the gun and say we have found a great pair yet, but they did do well tonight and I was impressed by their performance. Great to see a clean sheet for these guys.

Midfield- It's so obvious when the USA takes the field that this is where their strongest player reside. They all play so well together and show alot of promise for the future. Dempsey scored a wonderful, well time goal and looked great on his runs. Donovan looked great on his runs and supplying the ball in perfect positions. Jones did well in holding the midfield and making key tackles and plays, and Bradley seemed to cover every inch of the pitch and every time you looked up he seemed to be on the ball or near it.

Fowards- Agudelo played well and did a good job, but it was obvious that he was the sidekick to the hero Altidore tonight. Altidore scored the first goal in the 15th minute and showed just how much in meant to him in his celebration.  He later assisted Dempsey in his goal scoring effort. This is just what we all wanted to see, a forward step up and take control. Altidore finally gave us that tonight and hopefully will continue to play well for the rest of the tournament. A great goal and now with Altidore having his confidence back again....This could be a great beginning.

All and all, it was a great game that really showed the USA's improvements. While Bob will catch hell for allowing a weak club to face Spain and get embarrassed 4-0, it was the right move after all and he can raise his hands in victory as the USA leave Detriot with 3 points and Panama on their minds.

PS: Check my predictions for the game.....I said...."Dempsey and Altidore score for the USA and kicks us off with a nice, well needed victory against the neighbor's up north." Stick around folks...Just sayin.....

USA USA USA