The United States Men’s National team will be playing a meaningful match in Philadelphia for the first time since 1968 this Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field. They will be taking on a Panama team that finished third in Group C.
The main focus has to be consistency for the US. They have often lacked shape and substance against lesser opposition. Yes, Coach Bob Bradley wanted to give some guys a run out, but he has consistently waited too long to react to a situation or mismatch. This tournament alone has seen the US scuffle against Honduras and Haiti before late subs turned our B team into a B+ or A- level team.
This tournament doesn’t have the importance of the Confederations Cup or World Cup Qualifying, so while to the fans every game is a must win, Bradley also needs to bleed new players into the National Team pool. One hold over from our A team to our B team is Charlie Davies. A revelation in South Africa, Davies is now the player to watch on this team. He has become everything that Freddy Adu was supposed to be. He can change a game with his pace and skill.
If you haven’t been to a live game before, make it down to the stadium on Saturday. The supporters section is expected to have at least 1,000 fans already and they will be wearing red, part of a long standing, well ok since Sam’s Army was created, tradition. We will have articles all week as part of soccer’s return to Philadelphia.
