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USA vs Nigeria (friendly); Sat 7 June 14; Jacksonville, FLA 1800 ET
Topic Started: Jun 3 2014, 04:34 AM (323 Views)
TonyDE
Advanced Member
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Rufus T. Firefly,Jun 8 2014
11:14 PM
A very pleasing performance for sure. Ok we all know it is just a friendly and who knows how hard Nigeria really were playing (they did look rather lethargic especially in the 2nd half) but what I liked is how the US improved each game it played in the send off series. And of course Altidore getting his mojo back is vital for Us success. as Turkey's coach admitted, Altidore can be a handful for opposing centerbacks. All he needed was to regain his confidence and then we could see the Altidore who roasted Spain at Confed Cup 2009 and who was on fire last summer in WCQ.

Regaining Altidore's confidence, finding a position where Jermaine Jones can run around and harry the opposition without exposing the backline and getting the defense to play solidly were three big goals met in this Nigeria match and that should really have the Us ready for Ghana. We all know this is THE GAME in the group stage, anything less than 3 points and qualifying will be substantially hampered, so the positive way the US ended its warmups can only help the team going into the Ghana match.

I think Rufus' comments are spot on, and the issues he noted involving Altidore, Jones and I'd add finding a centerback partnership and solidifying Johnson at right back were the big takeaways I got from this Nigeria game specifically and the whole 3 game set of warm ups in general.

Lets see now if they can respond to the real pressure of the World Cup?
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