USA Vs. Paraguay 2011: Bob Bradley Quotes And Game Notes

Paraguay defeated the U.S. men’s national team 1-0 on a cold, rainy night in Nashville, Tenn. Despite the weather, the crowd was the largest in the state’s history for a soccer match.

The United States held the advantage in shots, 13-5. The two teams were equal in shots on goal at 3-3.

USMNT head coach Bob Bradley spoke on the multiple chances the Americans had after the game, saying the U.S. lacked “The ability for a player to make a play in that part of the field…in an overall good performance, those are the plays that let them down.”

Paraguay had 18 fouls compared to just eight for the U.S. This led to a lot of set pieces for the Americans, but they weren’t able to cash any in for a goal. Bradley said on those set pieces that, “the deliveries were not where they needed to be…Paraguay is, physically, a big team.”

Bradley also felt that those fouls by Paraguay were key in stopping his offense’s rhythm. Despite all of the fouls, Paraguay’s Enrigue Vera received the game’s only yellow card in the 29th minute.

The U.S. used its full allotment of six subs, while Paraguay used five. The only dressed U.S. player that didn’t see the field was Mixx Diskerud. Bradley talked about the play of some of the young guys, with mixed reviews. His highest praise came for defender Tim Ream, who he felt had, “Composure on the ball.”

This is the last time the USMNT will be together until many of the European league’s end in May. At that time they will begin preparation for a match with Spain and the Gold Cup.

USA Vs. Paraguay 2011 Fulltime Update: Paraguay Defeats The US, 1-0

Paraguay was able to strike early and then withstand an American charge for the rest of the match and come out with a 1-0 victory in the US-Paraguay friendly Tuesday night in Nashville, Tennessee.

Paraguay forward Oscar Cardazo scored off a set piece in the 18th minute and that completed the scoring for the entire match. Paraguay was aggressive early-on, but dropped back after taking the early lead and were able to stop a series of US scoring chances.

The best of those came in the 67th minute as sub forward Eric Lichaj made a run by two defenders and crossed to Clint Dempsey in front of the net. The crowd groaned as Dempsey hit the ball into the 20th row.

Paraguay goalkeeper Justo Villar made two very impressive saves in the final minutes to preserve the victory. The first came in the 87th minute off a beautifully struck ball from Michael Bradley just outside the box. Villar was forced to leap and dive and just barely got a finger on the ball to tip it away.

Jermaine Jones was able to strike the ball from around the penalty spot in the final minute of stoppage time and force Villar to make another diving save.

The attendance for the match was 29,059, the largest for a game in the state of Tennessee. Clint Dempsey was named Man of the Match.

For more on the match, see the rest of the US-Paraguay StoryStream.

USA Soccer Vs. Paraguay Hafltime Update: Paraguay Leads 1-0

The United States and Paraguay have reached halftime with Paraguay holding on to a one-goal lead.

Paraguay dominated the first twenty minutes of action. They had several scoring chances and were much more aggressive than their American counterparts. A few defensive mistakes, the most obvious being an intercepted pass from U.S. defender Tim Ream, led to some near-goals in the opening moments.

Forward Oscar Cardazo was able to put Paraguay on the board in the 18th minute. After Jonathan Bernstein defended to prevent a Paraguay cross, a corner kick was earned. Off the kick, the ball bounced around between players before Cardozo found himself open right in front of the net for an easy goal.

The United States looked decidedly different from that moment on. A flurry of free kicks led to some very close U.S. chances. The last, and possibly best of those, was a beautiful ball from 30 yards out by Landon Donovan that found the head of Jay DeMerit inside the box. DeMerit made contact, but the ball sailed just over the net.

Immediately following that chance, Carlos Bocanegra came in for DeMerit as the first substitute of the match in the 42nd minute.

For more on the match, check out the rest of the US-Paraguay StoryStream.

USA Soccer Vs. Paraguay: Oscar Cardazo Strikes First, Paraguay Leads 1-0.

The first portion of the US-Paraguay friendly has been played largely on the American defensive half of the field. Numerous defensive mistakes led to several early chances for Paraguay.

Paraguay’s Oscar Cardazo broke through in the eighteenth minute off a bouncing ball right in front of the goal. Paraguay earned the chance via a corner kick when Jonathan Bornstein stopped a previous scoring attempt.

The Americans came right back down and nearly tied the game less than a minute later, as Clint Dempsey sent a header over the net. Another chance came on a foul and free kick just outside the box.

The United States seem to have been ignited by the goal and have been playing with a lot more intensity the last 7 minutes of the game. They’ve had three very good opportunities and it seems inevitable that they will break through.

For more on the game, check out the rest of the US-Paraguay StoryStream.

USA Soccer Vs. Paraguay Lineups: Juan Agudelo Leads The US Into Action

The starting lineups for the US Men’s soccer friendly with Paraguay have been announced and they include some Northwest flavor. Seattle’s own Marcus Hahnemann gets the start at goalie for the USMNT tonight. Tim Howard is not listed as a substitute and will not play.

Head Coach Bob Bradley looks to have the U.S. in a 4-4-2 alignment.

Michael Bradley, Maurice Edu, Clint Dempsey, and Landon Donovan are the midfielders. Tim Ream, Jonathan Bornstein, Jay DeMerit, and Timmy Chandler are the starting defense. Jozy Altidore and Juan Agudelo man the forward positions.

Head Coach Gerardo Martino of Paraguay will run a 4-3-3 alignment with Captain Justo Villar in goal.

Marcos Caceres, Victor Hugo Mareco, Paulo Da Silva, and Miguel Samudio will man the backline. Enrique Vera, Osmar Molinas and Christian Riveros are the midfielders. Hernan Perez, Oscar Cardozo, and Mercelo Estigarribia are the forwards.

The referee is Jose Benigno of Honduras. The assistant referees are Oscar Velasquez of Honduras and Hector Vergara of Canada. The fourth official is Edvin Jurisevic of the United States.

The game will be televised on Fox Soccer Channel and Telefutura.

USA Vs. Paraguay Friendly: Preview, Time, Broadcast Information And More

On the heels of an impressive result against Argentina on Saturday, the United States Men's National Team heads back to the pitch on Tuesday to take on Paraguay in an international friendly. Juan Agudelo's second half goal against the Argentinians leveled the score at one on Saturday. The result held, giving the USA a draw with a full-strength Argentina squad that featured the best soccer player in the world: Lionel Messi.

It's back to work on Tuesday as the USA prepares for the summer's CONCACAF Gold Cup with another tune-up match against Paraguay. Tuesday's match is the second of three friendlies ahead of the Gold Cup, giving the US team precious few chances to solidify a lineup and formation before the real games begin.

Game time: The match gets underway at 5 p.m. here on the West Coast.

Location: Nashville, Tenn. has the hosting duties this time around after New Meadowlands Stadium secured the hosting rights to the marquee friendly on Saturday. The game will be played at LP Field, home of the NFL's Tennessee Titans.

Television information: Unlike Saturday's game, which was readily available to the masses on the ESPN family of networks, the broadcast will be a bit harder to find. Fox Soccer Channel has the broadcast rights, though many don't have the channel readily available. You can find it with the premium sports channels.

What to watch for: All eyes are, once again, on Juan Agudelo, the 18-year-old striker that's been on a tear in his short time on international duty. In three appearances, Agudelo has scored two goals and earned a penalty, including the game-tying goal in Saturday's friendly. Will Agudelo get the start and be paired up top with Jozy Altidore? We'll find out shortly when manager Bob Bradley releases his lineup.

The shape of Bradley's squad is also a concern as the team tries to find a formation and set of tactics that works consistently. Against Argentina, Bradley began the match with a five-man midfield, though the results left much to be desired. At the half, Agudelo came on, Bradley transitioned back his trusty 4-4-2 and the results were markedly different for the United States as it found the back of the net and looked much better in a general sense. You can read more about Bradley's tactics over in SB Nation's USA vs. Paraguay StoryStream.

Craig Powers, from SB Nation's Washington State site, CougCenter, will be live-blogging the match from LP Field on Tuesday evening. Stay with this StoryStream for the latest on the game, and lineups as they're announced.