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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| USA v Ecuador: international friendly – live! | USA v Ecuador: international friendly – live! |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 1.24am BST | |
| 01:24 | |
| 14 min: Ecuador look to go left for Montero again, but Yedlin does well once more, and the momentum is lost from the attack. And then Brooks makes a last-ditch tackle to deny Valencia! It’s a corner, but Valencia should have got his shot off more quickly. | |
| 1.22am BST | |
| 01:22 | |
| 12 min: Nicely worked, but Dempsey can’t quite pull off the volley. He got free of his man. | |
| 1.22am BST | |
| 01:22 | |
| 11 min: Zusi, man bun piled extravagantly atop his head, wins a corner, and the big lads come up from the back. | |
| 1.21am BST | |
| 01:21 | |
| 10 min: Montero runs at Yedlin – my word, those two have pace, don’t they? – but the Sunderland man does well to keep at it and win it back. | |
| 1.19am BST | |
| 01:19 | |
| 8 min: Cleared effectively by USA, but it’s been a poor start in defence. And then Guzan has to race out of his box to whack it clear! USA need to shape up. | |
| 1.18am BST | |
| 01:18 | |
| 7 min: Ooh, Montero’s cross, and Guzan had to be alert at his near post! Nervy header from Steve Birnbaum, and Montero was on to it … his cross was deflected, and Guzan had to get down to keep it out! Corner. | |
| 1.17am BST | |
| 01:17 | |
| 6 min: It’s been a low-key start from the home side. Not much going forward so far, although Jones just showed some bite in winning it from Noboa. | |
| 1.16am BST | |
| 01:16 | |
| 4 min: More dopey defending from USA, and Yedlin gives it away, and Ecuador were quick to break as Bolanos ran in behind – but it bounced off his backside, and USA win it back. | |
| 1.14am BST | |
| 01:14 | |
| 3 min: Erazo looks to smash it crossfield for Mena, but it’s overhit. Ecuador have made a decent start. | |
| 1.12am BST | |
| 01:12 | |
| 2 min: Early chance for Valencia, but he completely scuffs his shot! Brooks gave it away, Ecuador recycled it, and Mena, I think it was, found Valencia free in the box, but he miskicked it! A let-off for USA. | |
| 1.11am BST | |
| 01:11 | |
| And we're off! | |
| 1 min: Ecuador get us under way. USA in their reliably dreadful black away shirt with alternate maroon and navy sleeves. Ecuador keep it classy in yellow with the navy sash. | |
| 1.06am BST | |
| 01:06 | |
| Just to confirm: USA line up in what is basically a 4-3-3. Ecuador are more of a 4-2-3-1, and they’re no mugs: they’ve won four of their opening six games in Conmebol World Cup qualifying, and sit top alongside Uruguay. Jefferson Montero and Enner Valencia start tonight, and we like Carlos Gruezo, the young midfielder who’s impressed for FC Dallas. | |
| 1.01am BST | |
| 01:01 | |
| The teams are in the tunnel! Not long now. | |
| 12.47am BST | 12.47am BST |
| 00:47 | 00:47 |
| So Steve Birnbaum and John Brooks start in central defence, and Fabian Johnson comes in at left-back. Beckerman, Jones and Bradley make up an experienced midfield, and Graham Zusi will help Clint Dempsey and Gyasi Zardes in attack. Dempsey is winning his 123rd cap –and he’s one strike away from 50 international goals. | So Steve Birnbaum and John Brooks start in central defence, and Fabian Johnson comes in at left-back. Beckerman, Jones and Bradley make up an experienced midfield, and Graham Zusi will help Clint Dempsey and Gyasi Zardes in attack. Dempsey is winning his 123rd cap –and he’s one strike away from 50 international goals. |
| 12.43am BST | 12.43am BST |
| 00:43 | 00:43 |
| Tonight's teams | Tonight's teams |
| USA: Guzan, Yedlin, Birnbaum, Brooks, Johnson, Jones, Beckerman, Bradley, Zusi, Dempsey, Zardes. | USA: Guzan, Yedlin, Birnbaum, Brooks, Johnson, Jones, Beckerman, Bradley, Zusi, Dempsey, Zardes. |
| Ecuador: Domínguez, Paredes, Achilier, F Erazo, C Ramírez, Noboa, Gruezo, Mena, Montero, Bolaños, E Valencia. | Ecuador: Domínguez, Paredes, Achilier, F Erazo, C Ramírez, Noboa, Gruezo, Mena, Montero, Bolaños, E Valencia. |
| Re: substitutes – presumably the coaches, Klinsmann and Gustavo Quinteros, are able to select the other 12 players already selected in their official Copa America roster. | Re: substitutes – presumably the coaches, Klinsmann and Gustavo Quinteros, are able to select the other 12 players already selected in their official Copa America roster. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 12.43am BST | at 12.43am BST |
| 12.32am BST | 12.32am BST |
| 00:32 | 00:32 |
| Hello and welcome | Hello and welcome |
| The Copa Centenario starts in nine days, and time is of the essence for Jürgen Klinsmann. The USA coach still has much to decide on tactics, strategy and team selection, so tonight’s friendly against Ecuador gives him another chance to fiddle and tinker and ponder and theorize before the big event. USA have one more friendly to play, against Bolivia on Saturday, and then it’s crunch time: the hosts open against Colombia next Friday night, and for Coach Klinsi anything less than a semi-final place will be a failure. | The Copa Centenario starts in nine days, and time is of the essence for Jürgen Klinsmann. The USA coach still has much to decide on tactics, strategy and team selection, so tonight’s friendly against Ecuador gives him another chance to fiddle and tinker and ponder and theorize before the big event. USA have one more friendly to play, against Bolivia on Saturday, and then it’s crunch time: the hosts open against Colombia next Friday night, and for Coach Klinsi anything less than a semi-final place will be a failure. |
| “The next level is: win your quarter-final,” Klinsmann said this week. “Win your quarter-final against whoever that will be in order to make the final four. This is our goal, so we want to be in that tournament very long. We want to play six games in this tournament, and we believe that this roster is very, very hungry, very determined and very aggressive going into these games.” | “The next level is: win your quarter-final,” Klinsmann said this week. “Win your quarter-final against whoever that will be in order to make the final four. This is our goal, so we want to be in that tournament very long. We want to play six games in this tournament, and we believe that this roster is very, very hungry, very determined and very aggressive going into these games.” |
| Kick off is at 7pm in Frisco, 8pm Eastern. | Kick off is at 7pm in Frisco, 8pm Eastern. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 12.38am BST | at 12.38am BST |
| 7.50pm BST | 7.50pm BST |
| 19:50 | 19:50 |
| Tim will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s Andrew Helms on the Jordan Morris conundrum: | Tim will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s Andrew Helms on the Jordan Morris conundrum: |
| In the American press, the Morris saga turned into a proxy war between Jürgen-phobes and Klinsmann-philes, engaging in circular debates about the relative merits of MLS and Europe for young American players. But after several tortured weeks for Sounders fans, Morris decided to come back. “When I was over there, I was just like I really want to play at home, and I want to play in Seattle,” says Morris. “I feel like I trusted my heart before staying another year at Stanford, and it always paid off for me. And it was telling me to go home. You know, I listened to it and came back here.” | In the American press, the Morris saga turned into a proxy war between Jürgen-phobes and Klinsmann-philes, engaging in circular debates about the relative merits of MLS and Europe for young American players. But after several tortured weeks for Sounders fans, Morris decided to come back. “When I was over there, I was just like I really want to play at home, and I want to play in Seattle,” says Morris. “I feel like I trusted my heart before staying another year at Stanford, and it always paid off for me. And it was telling me to go home. You know, I listened to it and came back here.” |
| While some have criticized Morris for staying in school and not jumping immediately to Europe, ignoring the hype was in some ways the harder choice to make. “Sometimes with young players, they get caught up early,” says Schmid. “You know, whomever it may be, Freddy Adu or others. And they jump. And hey, the money, the glory, but maybe it wasn’t the right time, right place. Jordan has been good about making his decisions step-by-step.” | While some have criticized Morris for staying in school and not jumping immediately to Europe, ignoring the hype was in some ways the harder choice to make. “Sometimes with young players, they get caught up early,” says Schmid. “You know, whomever it may be, Freddy Adu or others. And they jump. And hey, the money, the glory, but maybe it wasn’t the right time, right place. Jordan has been good about making his decisions step-by-step.” |
| “There’s more pressure here on Jordan than there would have been in Germany,” adds Lagerwey. “I think he made the decisions that were mature and were things that he thought were best for him long-term. And when you have a little bit more perspective like I think he does, I think it’s going to serve him really well over the course of his career.” | “There’s more pressure here on Jordan than there would have been in Germany,” adds Lagerwey. “I think he made the decisions that were mature and were things that he thought were best for him long-term. And when you have a little bit more perspective like I think he does, I think it’s going to serve him really well over the course of his career.” |
| Related: Jordan Morris, Jürgen Klinsmann and surviving the US Soccer Hype Machine | Related: Jordan Morris, Jürgen Klinsmann and surviving the US Soccer Hype Machine |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 11.13pm BST | at 11.13pm BST |