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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.
Disappointing. Ecuador have been much slicker, and have worked the ball very nicely in the final third, but haven’t created all that much. USA have been ordinary, but they’re still level. See you shortly!
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12 min: Nicely worked, but Dempsey can’t quite pull off the volley. He got free of his man.
Half-time: USA 0-0 Ecuador
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That’s the whistle. It’s been pretty low-key.
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11 min: Zusi, man bun piled extravagantly atop his head, wins a corner, and the big lads come up from the back.
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45 min + 2: Claimed well by Dominguez. Poor ball in from Bradley. Although it looks like Dominguez has a problem, and the trainer is on.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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3 min: Erazo looks to smash it crossfield for Mena, but it’s overhit. Ecuador have made a decent start.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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The teams are in the tunnel! Not long now.
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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.
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.
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Hello and welcome
45 min +1: Two minutes of stoppage time, and it’s a free kick 30 yards out. Final chance for USA, maybe.
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.
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“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.”
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Kick off is at 7pm in Frisco, 8pm Eastern.
44 min: Ecuador have been pretty impressive, but they haven’t really tested Guzan. Another yellow card, this time for Mena, for a foul on Beckerman. Weird: it hasn’t been a game with any needle. In fact, it has the slight feel of a practice game; as though no one really cares, or is arsed.
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42 min: Gruezo, in the stadium where he plays his club football, breaks clear down the right hand side, but his cross is diabolical. Shame.
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Tim will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s Andrew Helms on the Jordan Morris conundrum:
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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.”
40 min: Poor corner, and easily cleared by Zusi.
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.”
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“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.”
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Related: Jordan Morris, Jürgen Klinsmann and surviving the US Soccer Hype Machine
39 min: More good attacking play from Ecuador, and Brooks did well to intercept and prevent Valencia from getting in. Corner, taken short, and Noboa is almost in at the back post! Headed behind by Johnson for another corner.
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38 min: Long ball from Achilier into the channel for Valencia, and, ooh, that looked like a foul! Valencia was complaining to the linesman, and Brooks seemed to get the wrong side, but no call from the officials. Lucky Brooksy.
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37 min: A slight lull in play: Dominguez and Zusi both needed treatment after taking whacks, and that’s just taken some of the impetus out of the game.
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35 min: Another yellow card, this time for Ramirez, who came through the back of Zusi. It was deserved.
