Amateur Analysis: The USMNT Debacle

Welcome back to another edition of Amateur Analysis, where we give our very unnecessary opinions on the random sport happenings of the world. In this piece, we'll dissect what's going on with the United States men's soccer team, and what their future holds. Enjoy.

Will Landon Donovan ever return?

Well, as you may or may not have known, the USMNT (United States Men's National Team) lost to Honduras yesterday in the first round of World Cup Qualifying by a score of 2-1. An excellent Clint Dempsey goal to take the lead was nullified by a brilliant bicycle kick and a smart, go-ahead finish by the Hondurans.

All in all, Honduras was clearly the superior team in this match. The U.S. looked tired rather quickly (Timmy Chandler seemed gassed at halftime), and Honduras certainly capitalized in the latter stages of the match. Whether it was the condition of the pitch (long grass) or the weather (reports suggested they reached a playing temp of 90 degrees F), the USMNT simply didn't impress. The back line weren't great, which is what you can expect when they've never played together in a game before. The midfield, besides Michael Bradley, were extremely disappointing. They struggled to hold any consistent possession and it seemed impossible for them to string a lot of passes together. Altidore and his front line barely got any service, too. Even the timing of Klinsmann's subs seemed a bit suspect. It just wasn't our day, and it showed.

This loss puts the U.S. in dead last. The good news is that there's 9 games to go and 4 teams tied yesterday. The bad news is that they can't afford another slip up like that, or they'll be in some serious trouble. They play Costa Rica next in Denver, and you can bet that you'll see a much better performance with the crowd cheering them on.

The biggest thing that I noticed coming from this game was the talk about Landon Donovan. It was obvious the USMNT missed him in this game, and if you don't believe me, then you didn't watch the game. Width, leadership, pace, and creativity were missing the entire 90+ minutes, and that is something he brings, especially for the U.S.A. Plus, I wasn't the only one talking about him after the game. You had ESPN, NBC Sports, Yahoo, and Twitter mentioning his name, and making note that he will need to be a factor going forward (just click on the hyperlinks to see the articles from each). Donovan is easily our greatest player ever, and hopefully he can find the drive to come back soon to lead us into Brazil. If not, then we'll have to stick with the group we have now. And the way things have been going with them (loss at Jamaica in the previous round of qualifiers & now this loss at Honduras to open the Hex), many of us won't be very optimistic.

So, let's hope for our sake Jurgen Klinsmann swallows his pride and comes knocking on Landon Donovan's door. If he doesn't come knocking and the USMNT don't qualify, then we'll all be wondering what could have been. I sincerely hope that does not happen.

Photo via soccerbyives