Postgame thoughts

1. The second half was very flat for the US. The midfield let down, and the defense got a little sloppy itself. Center back Conrad had a less-stellar second half than first, I thought.

The announcers seemed a little overly congratulatory to the US team, I thought. Latvia had several very good scoring chances at the end of the game, and we're fortunate that the result wasn't 1-1 or even worse. Sure, we had much the better of play for almost all the game, but Latvia isn't a world power by any means.

I know it was also the third game in 6 days, but most of these players only played two of the three. So I don't want to just give them a pass for being tired.

2. Arena put youngster Michael Bradley in the game with about 10 minutes. I'm not really sure I understand why he's giving minutes in warmup games to a guy who's not on the World Cup roster unless he's planning on somehow switching him into the world cup roster. I mean, I don't think defender Gregg Berhalter got in any of the warmup games at all, and yet Bradley gets two caps? Odd.

Individual assessments:
* Eddie Johnson. I thought he looked good. He was active, he was aggressive, and he was making runs. He didn't finish one, but he could've. He was called offsides at least 5 times, and those calls looked very close. One of them (the only one where ESPN bothered to show us whether he was offsides or not) he was definitely onsides, and not even that close to being offside. But he didn't seem to have the finishing instict -- and not just because he didn't score. He just seemed a little more nervous the closer to the goal he got. Nonetheless, despite Marcelo Balboa's on-air assertion that Johnson probably won't start, I think Johnson will get at least a couple starts.

* Brian McBride: He was the lone finisher for the game, and stayed in despite taking a head-to-head shot from a defender that left an immediate golf-ball sized swelling. It was disgusting, but McBride stayed in, and scored a goal on a nice header. I've not been a huge McBride fan in the past, but he's playing as well as he ever has. He's full of confidence and lethal in the air after a stellar year for Fulham in the English Premier League.

* Landon Donovan: I thought he had a solid performance. He tracked back well, and had some nice touches. He still has a tendency to get lost in the game sometimes, which he can't do as our centerpiece.

* DaMarcus Beasley: Where's the speed? Where's the aggression? Where's the Ronaldinho-like stepovers while he's blowing by defenders? As I saw it, his defense was pretty good, and is way better than four years ago, so I wouldn't be surprised to see him match up with Czech superstar Pavel Nedved. Still, I know he was playing out of position on the right, but Beasley and Donovan are going to have to elevate their games for the World Cup. They surprised the world four years ago, now they are going in as known quantities. But Beasley -- despite getting a bit out of the rotation at his Dutch club team -- has some experience in big matches in Holland. I think he'll be ready.

* John O'Brien: I thought he was quality. He seemed a little tentative at times on the flank, but there's just no doubt that he's one of the best Americans ever on those rare occasions when he's healthy. He will have to be on the field, even if he can only give us 60 minutes of all-out play. Hopefully he stayed healthy despite many, many reckless Latvian challenges.

* Pablo Mastroeni: Delay, deny, destroy. He was solid in the defensive central midfield. He filled in well for Claudio Reyna against Morocco. He's unlikely to start, but will definitely see some time if the US has a lead and goes into defensive mode.

* Eddie Lewis: I think Arena feels confident putting him in the left back. I didn't see any reason in this game why he can't play defense, even though it's not his normal position. He adds some danger going forward.

* Jimmy Conrad: Solid performance, a little less so in the second half. He took a weak stab as a challenge once on the left side within the penalty box, which makes me a little nervous. Still, for the guy who was probably the last pick for the original World Cup roster (before injuries), I feel better knowing he can fill in.

* Steve Cherundolo: I thought he was bad in the Morocco game, even before his giveaway gave the Morrocans the late goal for the 0-1 loss. He was much better this game, and had some nice crosses, including the one to Brian McBride for the goal.

* Kasey Keller: That save in the 90th minute was very, very nice, although it was really the only thing he did all day. But that's why he's so good: he didn't lose focus, and came up with a huge save in order to preserve the win. We're so lucky that after 2002 US goalkeeping star Brad Friedel retired from internatinal play, Kasey Keller was there to be so amazingly stellar.

Subs:
* Brian Ching: Was in the game less than 10 minutes.
* Michael Bradley: Looked okay subbing in for the defensive central mid.
* Bobby Convey: For awhile, I didn't think Convey was living up to the hype. But lately, you have to respect his confidence and play. I still don't think he starts -- maybe once -- but I think he'll see some minutes.

Halftime thoughts

1. We're dominating Latvia. Not a surprise, but still good to see. We're only 16 years removed from the ragtag bunch of college players we sent as sacrificial lambs to Italia '90.

2. I think this is likely to be similar to the lineup we see in the World Cup. Eddie Johnson has been very inconsistent, but he's the perfect complement to Brian McBride's target game. I've always felt he would start with McBride up top. You have to put the players with the greatest potential on the field in the World Cup. If they don't play to the best of their abilities, then yank them for a more solid performer. I think Johnson will start

3. John O'Brien on the left midfield is interesting. He's much more a central-mid, but when he's healthy, he is the best player to ever come out of the United States.

4. Beasley on the right mid is fascinating. The least obvious starting slot over the past month is the right mid slot. Bobby Convey is playing with so much confidence that Arena really appears to be considering

5. Jimmy Conrad has looked very solid the last two games. Very solid. Granted, it's against Venezuela and Latvia, but you've got to think that he's playing very well in camp to get on the field. And he's performing well on the field.

6. Losing Gibbs on the backline hurts so much.

7. What the heck is with the ref? Latvia is just fouling the heck out of us. Eddie Johnson and John O'Brien are particularly taking some hard fouls, and those aren't players who've been known for their durability. Arena has to keep O'Brien in the game, because he has to see how long he can go (he's probably played less than 20 games since starring for the US in World Cup 2002). But every hard takedown that O'Brien keeps taking is making me very nervous.

If this ref wants to keep control of the game, he's going to have to go into his book and give some cards. He's given quite a few, but he's been very kind to Latvia. The first double yellow/red would go a long way towards bringing some accountability into Latvia's tackling.

8. I believe Eddie Johnson has been taken down 4 times inside the box. Many of these were close, but the ref can't keep letting them push the line that much.

About me

Once upon a time, I played soccer fairly seriously.

Those days are long over. However, one thing I always wanted to do was watch every televised game of the World Cup. I've never had cable until this World Cup, so this is my opportunity.

More about me is here, from one of my other blogs.

And that's where the name comes from. My first blog was called Rick Perry vs the World, and so I've named my subsequent blogs after the first. It's a brand...yeah, that's it.