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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2018/mar/27/usa-v-paraguay-international-soccer-friendly-live
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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| USA v Paraguay: international soccer friendly – live! | USA v Paraguay: international soccer friendly – live! |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 14 min: It’s a good, lively crowd in Cary, N.C., a town in the Research Triangle area that also includes Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill. Tons of college students in the area. | |
| Shot-putters no more: | |
| This is also one of the smallest #USMNT XIs. Besides GK Steffen and CBs Miazga and CCV, no player talller than 5-foot-10. | |
| 11 min: A U.S. counter-counter-attack sees Nagbe play the ball to Wood, but the move swiftly fizzles. | |
| 10 min: Both U.S. fullbacks are in the attack. Villafaña races down the left to collect an impressive diagonal ball, plays it across the box, and Yedlin’s there on the other side. | |
| We’ve mentioned Paraguay’s interest in counter-attacking, yes? | |
| 9 min: The USA do little with a free kick, so Paraguay slams the ball forward for a counter-attack as if they were down 1-0 in the 89th minute. | |
| If you’re thinking the name Matt Miazga is familiar, and you’re not a fan of the Red Bulls, there may be two explanations: 1. You’ve memorized the names of all 35,972 players Chelsea have sent out on loan. | |
| 2. You remember this incident from February. | |
| 5 min: Miguel Almiron, ever dangerous, goes against Matt Miazga through the right-center of the field. But Miazga allows nothing, and Almiron gives up the ball. | |
| 3 min: So if the tone for the game has been set, expect the USA to possess the ball all night, with Paraguay looking for a quick break. | |
| And as I type that, the USA go over the top to lone striker Bobby Wood, who’s offside. | |
| 1 min: The USA open with some possession in the Paraguay half. Then they decide to play it all the way back to goalkeeper Zack Steffen. | |
| Our officials are Caribbean, led by Kimbell Ward of St. Kitts and Nevis. | |
| And at 7:45 p.m. ET, we have kickoff ... | |
| The national anthem of Paraguay is on. Sounds very dignified and calming, but the title translates to “PARAGUAYANS: REPUBLIC OR DEATH.” Then it breaks out into a sprightly section. The U.S. anthem will be performed live. Through the “pear-o-lus” fight, indeed. | |
| Kickoff time update: 7:45 p.m. ET. So ... 10 more minutes. How is everyone tonight? | |
| A pessimistic take on the lineup: | |
| Dual 8s, no 10, a pair of non-inverted wingers and a lone center forward who hasn't scored in months. Feel the excitement! #USMNT | |
| Other scores today ... | |
| (Skip this if you’re recording things) | |
| Japan 1-2 UkraineRussia 1-3 France Switzerland 6-0 PanamaEgypt 0-1 Greece Hungary 0-1 ScotlandGermany 0-1 BrazilColombia 0-0 AustraliaEngland 1-1 Italy | |
| Meanwhile ... | |
| No seats left for Mexico vs. Croatia tonight at AT&T Stadium. You can stand on the big decks, though. Done it for a few football games...not the worst option if you really want to get in #ElTriEng pic.twitter.com/1f5NuEegyy | |
| Meet the midfield ... To some extent, the U.S. defenders here are known quantities. DeAndre Yedlin is getting his 50th cap, the most on this team, and he’s coming into his own with Newcastle. Jorge Villafaña has been in and out of the mix for a while. Center backs Matt Miazga and Cameron Carter-Vickers played together at youth international level. | Meet the midfield ... To some extent, the U.S. defenders here are known quantities. DeAndre Yedlin is getting his 50th cap, the most on this team, and he’s coming into his own with Newcastle. Jorge Villafaña has been in and out of the mix for a while. Center backs Matt Miazga and Cameron Carter-Vickers played together at youth international level. |
| The midfield is full of unfamiliar names. Out left is Kenny Saief, who was born in the USA but spent most of his childhood and his early soccer career in Israel. He now plays for Anderlecht in Belgium and is getting his second cap (first start) tonight. | The midfield is full of unfamiliar names. Out left is Kenny Saief, who was born in the USA but spent most of his childhood and his early soccer career in Israel. He now plays for Anderlecht in Belgium and is getting his second cap (first start) tonight. |
| Darlington Nagbe (right mid) is getting his 25th cap. Wil Trapp (defensive mid) is getting his fourth, but we’ve seen him for years in MLS. | Darlington Nagbe (right mid) is getting his 25th cap. Wil Trapp (defensive mid) is getting his fourth, but we’ve seen him for years in MLS. |
| Center midfield is intriguing. Tyler Adams is the pride of the Red Bulls’ academy, and he’s the youngest player in the starting XI at 19. Marky Delgado is getting his first cap. | Center midfield is intriguing. Tyler Adams is the pride of the Red Bulls’ academy, and he’s the youngest player in the starting XI at 19. Marky Delgado is getting his first cap. |
| And how will that look? | And how will that look? |
| USMNT PR was nice enough to come over and confirm that this is what the lineup looks like pic.twitter.com/PWhbSdIHZ0 | USMNT PR was nice enough to come over and confirm that this is what the lineup looks like pic.twitter.com/PWhbSdIHZ0 |
| USA starters: | USA starters: |
| 12-Zack Steffen; 2-DeAndre Yedlin, 3-Matt Miazga, 5-Cameron Carter-Vickers, 19-Jorge Villafaña; 20-Wil Trapp (capt.); 6-Darlington Nagbe, 8-Marky Delgado, 4-Tyler Adams, 10-Kenny Saief; 7-Bobby Wood | 12-Zack Steffen; 2-DeAndre Yedlin, 3-Matt Miazga, 5-Cameron Carter-Vickers, 19-Jorge Villafaña; 20-Wil Trapp (capt.); 6-Darlington Nagbe, 8-Marky Delgado, 4-Tyler Adams, 10-Kenny Saief; 7-Bobby Wood |
| Paraguay: | Paraguay: |
| 1-Roberto Fernandez; 3-Gustavo Gomez, 4-Fabian Balbuena, 5-Bruno Valdez, 7-Nestor Camacho, 8-Rodrigo Rojas, 9-Federico Santander, 13-Junior Alonso, 16-Cristian Riveros (capt.), 21-Oscar Romero, 23-Miguel Almiron | 1-Roberto Fernandez; 3-Gustavo Gomez, 4-Fabian Balbuena, 5-Bruno Valdez, 7-Nestor Camacho, 8-Rodrigo Rojas, 9-Federico Santander, 13-Junior Alonso, 16-Cristian Riveros (capt.), 21-Oscar Romero, 23-Miguel Almiron |
| So we’ll have a matchup of Atlanta United teammates in Nagbe and Almiron. | So we’ll have a matchup of Atlanta United teammates in Nagbe and Almiron. |
| Good evening everybody! Are you ready to watch the USA play Paraguay? Do you know who any of these guys are? We’ll try to explain as the game goes on. | Good evening everybody! Are you ready to watch the USA play Paraguay? Do you know who any of these guys are? We’ll try to explain as the game goes on. |
| Beau will be here shortly, in the meantime here’s a little something on the saga of Jonathan Gonzalez: | Beau will be here shortly, in the meantime here’s a little something on the saga of Jonathan Gonzalez: |
| The United States Soccer Federation must better engage with America’s Latino population and hire coaches who “think outside the box” if it doesn’t want a repeat of rising star Jonathan González’s defection to Mexico. That’s the takeaway from those who say the sport’s governing body is “arrogant” and ignoring the country’s ever-growing Hispanic population. | The United States Soccer Federation must better engage with America’s Latino population and hire coaches who “think outside the box” if it doesn’t want a repeat of rising star Jonathan González’s defection to Mexico. That’s the takeaway from those who say the sport’s governing body is “arrogant” and ignoring the country’s ever-growing Hispanic population. |
| González, an 18-year-old American-born midfielder who never quite fit the US youth system, dreamed of playing for the US. The feeling wasn’t mutual. He wasn’t included in an experimental US squad that faced Portugal in a friendly last November – the Americans’ first run out since their World Cup qualification failure – nor the current national team winter camp. No big deal, maybe. Except in Mexico, González is considered an exceptional talent. | González, an 18-year-old American-born midfielder who never quite fit the US youth system, dreamed of playing for the US. The feeling wasn’t mutual. He wasn’t included in an experimental US squad that faced Portugal in a friendly last November – the Americans’ first run out since their World Cup qualification failure – nor the current national team winter camp. No big deal, maybe. Except in Mexico, González is considered an exceptional talent. |
| The backstory reads like a love-gone-wrong romance novel. He appeared for US youth teams but was hardly a central cog. He did, however, stand out at the 2013 Sueno Alianza, a free-to-enter talent contest pitched at Hispanic players in the US that is heavily scouted by Liga MX clubs. | The backstory reads like a love-gone-wrong romance novel. He appeared for US youth teams but was hardly a central cog. He did, however, stand out at the 2013 Sueno Alianza, a free-to-enter talent contest pitched at Hispanic players in the US that is heavily scouted by Liga MX clubs. |
| Click here for the full article: | Click here for the full article: |