Observations from watching 2002 World Cup games

Today I've watched USA v. Portugal and USA v. Mexico from the 02 World Cup replayed on ESPN Classic. Here's some observations:

1. Brad Friedel is an awesome goalie. He was phenomenal in the 02 Cup. And yet Kasey Keller may be an even better pure shotstopper than Friedel.

2. Landon Donovan looks really young. Personally, I loved seeing Landon have space. He wasn't as tightly marked as he will be this Cup, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Landon Donovan on the flank at some point this cup, despite the fact that he mostly played in the center during qualifying.

3. I'd forgotten how much Bruce Arena mixed around with his lineup in each game. I'm going to put a separate post up: expect the unexpected.

4. The US outworked and outhustled Portugal. They were always on their toes, always aggressive. Portugal's technical ability was certainly better, but the US wanted it more. Donovan also had some great vision for runs and where to be...something we haven't seen as much lately, because he's often the playmaker for the US now.