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U.S. loses composure against Guatemala
Prior to the start of the Gold Cup, U.S. coach Bob Bradley said, "The teams that gel during the tournament are the ones who are the most successful." After watching the Americans open the tournament with a lackluster 1-0 victory over Guatemala, one can only hope that this will be the case, because on the basis of this game, the U.S. looked well short of championship quality.
The issue on this evening was not the Americans' ability to break Guatemala down, as had been feared in the run-up to the match. After a few near misses, Clint Dempsey hammered home Taylor Twellman's cross in the 26th minute, and the game appeared to be following the Yanks' dream script. The problems came after the goal, when the Americans delivered a lesson on how not to manage a game.
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Prior to the start of the Gold Cup, U.S. coach Bob Bradley said, "The teams that gel during the tournament are the ones who are the most successful." After watching the Americans open the tournament with a lackluster 1-0 victory over Guatemala, one can only hope that this will be the case, because on the basis of this game, the U.S. looked well short of championship quality.
The issue on this evening was not the Americans' ability to break Guatemala down, as had been feared in the run-up to the match. After a few near misses, Clint Dempsey hammered home Taylor Twellman's cross in the 26th minute, and the game appeared to be following the Yanks' dream script. The problems came after the goal, when the Americans delivered a lesson on how not to manage a game.
(continue)