USA Vs. Chile: 1-1 Full Time, Esteban Paredes, Teal Bunbury The Scorers

About six months later, Clark might not even be among the USA’s top five center mids. As Daily Soccer Fix’s Steve Davis points out, we are seeing a host of quality emerge in the middle of the field for the U.S.

The best part of all of this for U.S. fans? Jones (29) and Feilhaber (26) are the only two players among this group older than 25.

It was an up and down performance from the USMNT in the so-called “Camp Cupcake” match, but there were plenty of positives to take out of their 1-1 draw with Chile. Some players put in so-so or even poor performances to rule themselves out of competitive United States teams in the near future, but there were just as many players who put in positive performances that make them appear to be viable options for the senior squad.

The first half was rather uneventful, with Dax McCarty creating the United States’ best chance on a 30 yard shot where he attempted to catch the Chile keeper off his line, which was saved. MLS Golden Boot winner Chris Wondolowski was often isolated up top and failed to make an impact on the game. Sean Franklin was the player who hurt his stock and the team the most in the first half, getting caught out of position and committing silly fouls on more than one occasion.

80:00 - Goal Chile...or not. It looked like Esteban Paredes had his second goal of the match through a header, but he was just barely offside. Marvell Wynne did poorly to not step up and allow it to be a close call.

82:00 - Since the United States equalizer, it’s been mostly one way traffic with Chile controlling the play. Sebastian Toro just ruined one of their moves, though, diving when he probably had a shot if he stayed up. He was shown a yellow card. John Harkes said he would have sent the player off. Rules, who needs them?

61:00 - Teal Bunbury and Juan Agudelo are on for the USA in place of Brek Shea and Chris Wondolowski, and the young forward pairing shows their potential to cause Chile problems, as the Americans break quickly down the right but fail to produce a good opportunity. Both Agudelo and Bunbury like to attack down the left, so this pair of substitutions could make the US even more left-side dominant.

64:00 - There’s a fluke chance for the US as Alejandro Bedoya breaks through, the Chilean goalkeeper Garces comes to claim the through ball but drops it, and the ball’s momentum carries it through. Bedoya was already beyond the goalkeeper and wasn’t able to take advantage of the chance, but the USA could have taken advantage if anyone had been making a late run into the box

46:00 - The United States has made two substitutions to start the second half. Marvell Wynne of the Colorado Rapids will replace Omar Gonzalez in central defense, while young Sean Johnson of the Chicago Fire replaces Nick Rimando in goal, as expected. Wynne is a much different player than Gonzalez, so this might be as much about figuring out Tim Ream’s best partner as it is about seeing Wynne. Gonzalez is a towering, slower player while Wynne is smaller and blazing fast.

53:00 - We’re now off the mark in finding the answer -- Chile go 1-0 ahead through Esteban Paredes after a horrendous error from Marvell Wynne. Meneses got past Zach Loyd on the Chilean right wing and laid the ball out for Felipe Seymour, whose cross eluded an overcommitted Wynne. Alejandro Bedoya was back defending alongside Ream and Wynne, but the ball got past him as well and fell for Paredes, the only member of this Chilean side who was in South Africa during the summer.

34:00 - When Chile seems interested in keeping the ball, the United States doesn’t look like they have any chance to win it back. Fortunately for them, Chile’s been trying a fair amount of long ball. Against a team they’re more skilled than and much smaller than. Yeah, I don’t get it either.

37:00 - Chris Wondolowski has not been impressive, but it’s hardly by any fault of his own. He’s getting frustrated at his lack of touches, and he just committed a foul while tracking back to try to find the ball. Hopefully he doesn’t start drifting, because the United States will need him to be in position if they actually do get an attack together. After a solid start, it’ been all Chile for about 10 minutes.

15:00 - This is hardly Chile’s best team, but it has to be said that the central defense pairing of Tim Ream and Omar Gonzalez has been impressive up to this point. Chile’s only opportunities have been set pieces and long shots.

17:00 - A Chilean defender is shown a yellow card for a trip on Brek Shea out on the wing, and it was probably a smart foul. Shea was off to the races. One of Chile’s assistant coaches protests the decision and is sent off.

4:00 - Both teams are failing to settle into the match, but in the opening minutes of a match between two teams of players who have never played together, this is hardly surprising or concerning. Most of the United States’ play is coming down the left hand flank to start the match.

5:00 - Sean Franklin of the United States commits a very silly foul on the edge of the box after getting thoroughly schooled on the wing, very close to a penalty. In a real game, Franklin would have seen a yellow. On the ensuing free kick, Nick Rimando makes a nice save on a curled attempt.

0:00 -There was a problem with the lights just before the match, causing it to be delayed by 10 minutes. MLS fans will recall a similar incident where the lights went out at the Home Depot Center during an MLS Cup playoff game between the Los Angeles Galaxy and the Houston Dynamo. Some Dynamo fans cried conspiracy in that match, as they had the momentum before the problem occurred, but this should put an end to the conspiracy theory that Don Garber flipped a switch and give birth to a new one that the Home Depot Center is secretly run by Enron.

As the players walk out onto the pitch, it’s hard not to notice that the United States’ starting goalkeeper, Nick Rimando, is shorter than their captain, midfielder Dax McCarty. If you are not an avid follower of United States soccer, that is ridiculous.

By position:

Tonight’s match kicks-off at 10 p.m. Eastern from Home Depot Center in Carson, California. It will be televised on Telefutura, with a feed also available via ESPN3.com.

While some have found it difficult to drum up excitement for the match because the U.S. is without most, if not all, of their top players, there is still a handful of players to keep a close eye on for the immediate future. The U.S. is squarely focused on the Gold Cup in 2011 and to be completely realistic, there are six players who will have an opportunity between now and June to make their case for a spot on the tournament roster for head coach Bob Bradley’s squad.

Of course, the six players above aren’t the only ones who can make the Gold Cup roster. With six months to go until the tournament there is plenty of time for anyone to take a dramatic step forward, but the six above are the only ones who appears to have a somewhat realistic path to a roster spot in June. The entire roster for the match is as follows:

Unless you’re a super duper extra crazy diehard fan, you probably will not watch this match, but there is a segment of crazies out there as well as the Southern California locals who think soccer equals beer and soccer plus beer equals fun so they’ll go to match. Truth be told, there is probably more to be gleaned from this year’s January training camp and friendly, affectionately dubbed Camp Cupcake by United States supporters, than there is in most years.

The youth on the team is what makes Saturday’s 10 pm EST friendly versus Chile so interesting though. Not only is the team young, but its full of talent that isn’t fresh out of college. For the most part, the young players with the U.S. have been in a professional set up for several years and are more equipped than past U.S. youngsters to compete at the international level. The young players are sound, dynamic and a few might even be playing with the full national team before long. In fact, a couple already have.