USA - Poland

Watched the game last night on the DVR. Does the defense ever need work. Not sure what we are doing starting a guy who hasn't played a club game in a year next to a central midfielder who hasn't played defense since when? Neither am I.

The plus side was that Jermaine Jones looks like he will fit in extremely well. Good motor, great vision, nice touch. I can see how he occasionally gets into trouble with the cards at Schalke (see the aforementioned motor). All in all thought, very excited to see him in the mix going forward.

Looking very much forward to tonight's game and seeing some new blood (Shea and Lichaj). It will be interesting to see if Bradley goes with a different central defensive pair.

Another one bites the dust...

You gotta love Queen man, you gotta love them.

Nigeria's Jon Obi Mikel joined a growing list of star players ruled out of the World Cup or on the ropes. Recovery from knee surgery did not proceed quickly enough and he has been dropped from the roster.

Teams are busy making last minute adjustments to tactics and plans as key cogs in the machine have been dropping like flies over the last few weeks. On top of that players' dreams are being shattered. Many players only get one chance to play in a World Cup, certainly only one chance during the "peak years" of their career. Some of the big names include

Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast - not officially ruled out but needs elbow surgery)

Rio Ferdinand (England's captain)

Michael Essien (Ghana, ruled out a month ago)

Andrea Pirlo (Italy, not ruled out but currently back in Italy resting a fresh calf injury)

Jozy Altidore (USA, day to day with an ankle sprain)

Bradley tips his hand?

A lot of speculators have either Maurice Edu or Jose Torres ahead of Ricardo Clark on the depth chart for central midfield. However it was Clark who started and went (almost) the distance in today's tune-up against Australia.

The team on the field was presumably the starters against England with the exception of resting Altidore (see above). In addition, Bradley is nothing if not predictable and he knows what he is going to get from Clark (even if the fans don't agree). The only thing that may keep him from starting June 12th is the knock he limped off with around the 90th minute today.

Netherlands 2-1 United States

Managed to get through the first half live and watched the rest about an hour later.

Disappointed but not unduly surprised. I’ll leave it to other sources to break down the game and just give you a few thoughts on a few players who likely improved or solidified their chances of making the final World Cup roster.

Jay DeMerit and Maurice Edu – both players for me showed why they were consistently a part of the national team prior to injuries last year.

Sconnie native DeMerit was solid throughout in central defense picking up right where he left off during his fine run last summer in the Confederations Cup and qualifying. Jay is one of the top three center backs right now in Bradley’s eyes.

Edu solidified the defense in the second half slipping in to the defensive midfield role. He consistently popped up in exactly the right spot to cut off Dutch passes and showed excellent poise on the ball and in distribution. I think as long as he stays healthy he has to be on the plane to South Africa as well.

DeMarcus Beasley – of course we know that he fell off the map last year following the Brazil debacle and the injury bug. Tonight he wasn’t brilliant or even consistent but he showed flashes of the talent he hasn’t brought to the team in a few years. I have a feeling that he may make the roster after all. Bradley knows exactly what he gets from Beasley and as long as he is healthy it may be a case of going with the devil you know.

A few quick hits...

Another example that the team goes as Donovan goes, if the best player on the squad is not involved they have a steep hill to climb to win games against top teams.

I wish Jonathan Bornstein didn’t have a tendency to make boneheaded plays in key situations.

Jozy Altidore had a few nice plays, the back heel was sweet, splitting the defenders for the final shot was slick – needs to be more consistent (I know Harkes, he’s young, blah, blah, blah).