When the United States' scheduled friendly against Egypt in February was cancelled because of the political revolt in the country, the Americans were left with only two matches with their top team between October of 2010 and June of 2011. With the Gold Cup in June, the team needed all the preparation they could get, but when they were left without much of it, they had to make the most of what they had. That meant that the friendly against Argentina last Saturday and Tuesday's friendly against Paraguay in Nashville, TN were of the utmost importance.
USA Vs. Paraguay, Preview: Americans Try To Build On Positive Argentina Result
Saturday's friendly against Argentina was by no means perfect and if it were not for some sparkling goalkeeping from Tim Howard, the U.S. would have likely lost by several goals. Howard did shine though, and the Americans showed some flashes in the second half that earned them a 1-1 draw. Even if they were outplayed, the U.S. is not going to complain about a result against the Argentineans and they enter Tuesday's friendly against Paraguay having answered some questions they needed to answer by the time the Gold Cup begins.
First off, Juan Agudelo continues his meteoric rise up the U.S. soccer charts, scoring his second goal in his third appearance for the senior team. Jay DeMerit showed that with only one professional match under his belt since last year's Gold Cup he's still the best central defender in the U.S. pool, although that might say more about the pool. Third, the right back position after Steve Cherundolo is as much, if not more, of a toss up than it has ever been with Timothy Chandler now in the mix.
For as many questions as Saturday may have answered, there are many more unanswered. How much longer can Jozy Altidore hold off Agudelo for the top striker spot? He scored a hat trick the last time the U.S. visited Nashville so can he replicate that performance and stake his claim to a spot he's been challenged for for the first time in years? Where does Tim Ream fit in and can he push an continually shaky Oguchi Onyewu out of the picture? Who does Bob Bradley look to at right back? Most of all, does Bradley continue to work on a 4-2-3-1 formation when it's been far less effective than the 4-4-2?
After Tuesday, the U.S. has just one more friendly, on June 4 against Spain at Gillette Stadium, before they start a Gold Cup that they have made a top priority. It may be three months away, but in terms of time together, the U.S. is in their stretch run of preparation and their penultimate test comes on Tuesday in Nashville.
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