Full-time: Switzerland 1-1 USA
For the seventh time since the World Cup, the United States has held a second-half lead. They’ve only won two of those matches, yet most will consider today’s 1-1 draw – on the road against a very good Swiss side playing a man down for 25 minutes – a positive result for Klinsmann’s men. A far more cohesive and tactically sound showing for the US team after last week’s lackluster outing against the Danes. An encouraging performance moving forward.
Updated
90+2 min: No meaningful chances for either time in stoppage time so far.
90 min: Three minutes of stoppage time. Should be an interesting ride.
88 min: Two more subs for the US: Tim Ream on for Alfredo Morales, Jordan Morris on for Gyasi Zardes.
More subs coming for the #USMNT! pic.twitter.com/0dFCQMzi4p
— U.S. Soccer (@ussoccer) March 31, 2015
Updated
85 min: Into the final five minutes here in Zurich. Can the Americans hold on for a draw? Yarbrough taking a leisurely time on that six-yard kick, suggesting the 10-man US aren’t exactly in a hurry to made a go for the three points.
83 min: A foul by Chandler 25 yards from the net gives the Swiss yet another dangerous set-piece opportunity.
GOAL! Switzerland 1-1 USA (Stocker, 80 min)
The Swiss score on their seventh corner of the match. That was inevitable.
Stocker ties it up with 10 minutes to go as Switzerland take advantage of being up a man. #USMNT http://t.co/hJ9RucmGLw
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) March 31, 2015
Updated
78 min: Confusion in the back for the US. Widmer’s low cross is saved and cleared from immediate danger, but not entirely. It’s worked back in by Widmer and deflected backward by Brooks: nearly an own goal. The Swiss really turning the screw here.
76 min: Yedlin on for the United States in place of Bedoya.
74 min: The Swiss really threatening now. Shaqiri finds a teammate along the back post that’s saved by Yarbrough, then another for Kasami that misses the mark. A total of three headers for the Swiss inside the six-yard box just now and nothing to show for it. Getting frenetic for the US in the back.
72 min: Yet another substitution for the Swiss: Seferovic on, Fernandes off.
Red card! Altidore off!
68 min: Altidore is sent off after a sequence along the left flank that saw him nick a Swiss player from behind then (clearly) swear at the Italian referee. A yellow for the foul, a second for the dissent. The US will be playing the rest of the way with 10 men. OptaJack notes the US had gone without a red card since January 2012.
Jozy Altidore is sent off for swearing at the referee. #USMNT down to 10 men with 15 minutes to go on @FOXSports1. http://t.co/I2z3vPNxr9
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) March 31, 2015
Updated
66 min: A clattering challenge by Bradley there on the Swiss right back but he avoids the referee’s book.
62 min: Altidore wins a free kick. Bradley fires it toward the near post but Switzerland clears.
60 min: Here we are at the hour mark with the US nursing a 1-0 lead and the Swiss gaining steam with five substitutions on the field. Ten of the 14 goals conceded by the United States since the World Cup have come after the 60th minute.
55 min: Fan favorite Embolo on for Switzerland – a Cameroonian-born teenager making his first international appearance – in place of Drmic.
Updated
52 min: Another great ball from Chandler targeting Zardes in the area forces the keeper off his line. He punches it away but it falls to Bradley, but it’s recovered nicely by Xhaka before the captain can put it on net.
49 min: Zardes very nearly makes it 2-0 for the US there. A speculative ball in from Chandler finds the Swiss keeper hesitant to come off his line. Zardes manages to out-jump him to head it toward the net, but it just bounces wide.
46 min: We’re underway in the second half in Zurich. Young goalkeeper William Yarbrough getting the start for the US in the second half in place of Rimando, along with Ventura Alvarado in place of Orozco.
Four subs for the Swiss team: Stocker, Widmer, Xhaka and Kasami on for Frei, Fernandes, Lichtsteiner and Shaqiri.
Half-time: Switzerland 0-1 USA
The US were edged in the possession battle, but earned three solid chances before striking gold on the fourth with Shea’s gorgeous free-kick goal from 20 yards – his fourth international goal and second of 2015. The Americans looking incredibly comfortable in today’s 4-4-2. More efficiently applied pressure and better movement off ball. Overall a more cohesive display.
GOAL! Switzerland 0-1 USA (Shea, 45 min)
A beautifully struck ball by Brek Shea on the edge of the area is powered into the top-right corner, leaving the Swiss keeper frozen in his tracks and giving the US the lead right before half-time. What a goal. The United States’ first free-kick goal since August 2013.
Brek Shea gives #USMNT the 1-0 lead just before halftime with a perfect free kick. http://t.co/q7v9qREd9q
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) March 31, 2015
Updated
44 min: Morales brought down by Inler on the edge of the area and the US will have a quite dangerous set-piece opportunity here near the end of the half.
43 min: This guy.
Jurgen. pic.twitter.com/12vUnBs7wH
— Mark McClure (@mrkmcclr) March 31, 2015
39 min: Bad mistake by Chandler to completely lose track of Shaqiri, who darts by himself up the left flank and crosses to Mehmedi, who badly misses a sitter.
37 min: Long ball to Drmic into the area, but he’s held up just long enough – first by Orozco – for three defenders to close and snuff out the danger. Switzerland wins its first corner of the match, but Shaqiri sends it harmlessly long and the US wins a goal kick. A fine effort by Orozco thus far today.
34 min: Switzerland looking a bit disoriented and vulnerable as the US move quickly into the counter-attack. The Americans win their first corner of the game. Bradley – either trying to replicate the Olimpico he scored against Panama or (more likely) to find Altidore on the back post – puts it just out of play.
31 min: Another chance for the Americans but a header by Bedoya off the cross by Shea is fired directly at Burki’s solar plexus.
29 min: Preemptive joke watch from Elliot Turner, who will be happy to know I’ve never had a taste for low-hanging fruit.
I beg of you, no Swiss cheese jokes. As any connoisseur knows, that cheese is actually relatively hard and lacks any odor. Why not pick on Feta cheese, which crumbles easily and gets stinky when in a humid area?
26 min: A great chance for the US! Chander all the way up from right back plays it into Altidore, who gives to Bedoya, who finds Bradley on a well-timed through ball. The ball takes a tricky bounce but the captain will lament missing that sitter.
Michael Bradley misses biggest chance of the game so far for the #USMNT. http://t.co/w4mOrpbL6w
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) March 31, 2015
Updated
23 min: After a quiet spell for both sides, Brek Shea fouls Shaqiri giving the Swiss a dangerous free-kick opportunity. Five men in the box for Switzerland. Poorly taken by Shaqiri, a low cross easily cleared by Bradley. The sun is back out here.
17 min: Bradley leads a 3-v-3 break for the US, but it’s snuffed out by the Swiss defense. Americans looking more cohesive than last week, with less rudderless, sideways passing than against Denmark.
15 min: First real threat as Bedoya dribbling up the right side curls a gorgeous ball that finds Zardes in space, but he mishits the volley. Best chance of the match for either side.
Zardes....that is a diving header kid, no 2 ways about it. #SUIvUSA
— Taylor Twellman (@TaylorTwellman) March 31, 2015
12 min: Bradley and the Americans trying to pressure the Swiss high, but it has yet to faze the hosts. A note on today’s teams:
FWIW ... today's Switzerland lineup has six guys that started in World Cup loss to Argentina. USMNT has two from the loss to Belgium.
— Mike Cardillo (@thatsonpoint) March 31, 2015
9 min: Switzerland forcing the Americans to chase. They work the ball into the area where Drmic uncoils a shot that’s blocked by Chandler.
Updated
6 min: A quick break for the Swiss off a turnover but Orozco instinctively intercepts a Shaqiri through ball. Switzerland beginning to move the ball well.
4 min: First thing resembling danger as Zardes darts with the ball past his man up the right side towards the goal line and delivers a low cross into the area, but no one is there and it skids harmlessly past the goal.
3 min: Teams have traded possession early, feeling one another out. Bradley, earning his 95th cap today but only second as captain (after last week’s first), seems to be playing higher up than usual.
1 min: And we’re off. The US attacking from left to right wearing the new blue away kits they debuted against Denmark last week. Switzerland in all-white straps from right to left.
Updated
Not much longer now
The teams are out of the tunnel and the anthems are underway. Kickoff any minute now.
The teams walk out and here's the Star-Spangled Banner! Some U-S-A chants after it ends! Now Switzerland's anthem. pic.twitter.com/aq7wWQ0uGs
— U.S. Soccer (@ussoccer) March 31, 2015
Updated
Klinsmann: Players need to provide short-term results
Jurgen Klinsmann spoke with FOX Sports ahead of today’s friendly. A quick excerpt:
I think the biggest opportunity is the players realize this is now a very special phase in their careers. Not only the Golf Cup. Everything is like a chain reaction, everything that happens afterwards builds on this summer. If you win the Gold Cup, we’re qualified for the Confederations Cup. We’ll have Copa America in 2016, then Confederations Cup [in 2017] leading into the World Cup in 2018. We already started that process. The players need to realize that we look at them already in the long term, but they have to also provide short-term results. It’s really important that everybody is on top of that message. We want to see that personality now coming out of the players to take their careers in their own hands and prove to us and everybody else out there what they have.
The sun is out in Zurich
A crowd of 15,000 expected for today’s friendly. Expected kickoff at 12.08pm ET.
Sun is out in Zurich as warmups conclude! #USAvSUI pic.twitter.com/7w5KQ8Zp3W
— U.S. Soccer (@ussoccer) March 31, 2015
Throwback Tuesday
The United States’ most memorable match against Switzerland came before 77,000 fans at the Pontiac Silverdome in their opening match of USA 1994, where they drew 1-1 to log their first World Cup points in 44 years. SI.com has a thoroughly enjoyable photo gallery from the match – and those sartorially stupendous denim kits.
Updated
Newsy notes
Some pre-match notes, courtesy of US Soccer.
- The United States is 1-3-3 all-time against Switzerland and undefeated in the last three matches between the two teams. In seven games, the pair has combined to score 13 goals, with five coming from the US and the other eight from the Swiss.
- The most recent encounter between the two was the USA’s 1-0 victory on 17 October 2007, at St Jakob Park in Basel, Switzerland. On a rainy night, Michael Bradley broke a scoreless tie in the 86th minute to give the US its first win against the Swiss.
- US defender John Brooks and Switzerland’s Fabian Lustenberger and Valentin Stocker all play for Bundesliga club team Hertha Berlin. Midfielder Julian Green is teammates with Johan Djourou and Valon Behrami at Hamburg. Defender Timmy Chandler plays with Haris Seferovic at Frankfurt, while midfielder Fabian Johnson is teammates with Switzerland’s Yann Zommer and Granit Xhaka at Borussia Monchengladbach.
Fabian Johnson out
Fabian Johnson (illness) omitted from matchday squad. #USMNT
— Kyle McCarthy (@kylejmccarthy) March 31, 2015
Too much tinkering, Jurgen
“I’d like to see Jurgen show a little more consistency and continuity in his line-up choices,” writes Daniel Strauss. “This team tends to give off the impression that they aren’t all that familiar with each other. At some point, to pick a random spot, Klinsmann has to settle on a back four and let those guys get time together. Then again, I don’t make the big bucks for a reason.”
The teams!
Switzerland: Burki; Lichtsteiner, Schär, von Bergen, Mobandje; Frei, Inler (c), Fernandes; Drmic, Shaqiri, Mehmedi
USA: Rimando; Chandler, Orozco, Brooks, Shea; Bedoya, Williams, Bradley (c), Morales; Zardes, Altidore
Welcome to Zurich’s Stadion Letzigrund where the US national team is roughly 35 minutes from kickoff of today’s tangle with Switzerland, the second of five high-profile friendlies ahead of July’s Concacaf Gold Cup.
While it’s admittedly early in the World Cup cycle, there’s no doubt a sense of discomfort has emerged regarding the US team’s extended funk. Jurgen Klinsmann’s men have won just two of 11 matches since defeating Ghana in their group-stage opener. Even more harrowing is the Americans’ alarming penchant for late-match swoons: they’ve conceded seven goals after the 80th minute in as many matches, including two in a 3-2 loss to Denmark on Wednesday.
Reversing that form will be no small task against a No12-ranked Swiss side who have reached the knockout stage at two of the last three World Cups and were one of the top eight seeds at Brazil 2014. A promising result today would be welcome with tricky challenges against Mexico, Netherlands and Germany right down the way. Stand by for the teams.
It's a blustery afternoon in Zurich. Expecting 15,000 for #USAvSUI pic.twitter.com/PQXcUQzekB
— U.S. Soccer (@ussoccer) March 31, 2015
Bryan will be here shortly, in the meantime here’s a little something from Graham Parker on one of the country’s most talented prospects:
Monday’s news that Haji Wright, the 17-year-old US prospect, had signed with the New York Cosmos offset what’s been a difficult week for the North American Soccer League (NASL).
The announcement of Minnesota United as the latest MLS expansion team last week, was greeted with congratulations through gritted teeth by their current home NASL, which has done its best to portray that deal as an endorsement of its own league’s quality, but whose staff privately feel aggrieved by what they see as yet another encroachment on their terrain by MLS.
But having one of their teams, albeit the somewhat rogue state of exception that is the Cosmos, land Wright from under the noses of MLS, is possibly a rather more tangible endorsement for the league from one of the USA’s brightest young prospects.
Wright has been part of the international set-up since being called up for the under-14 side three years ago, but has really come to the fore in his performances for the U-17 team — helping them qualify for this summer’s World Cup in Chile, and scoring 18 goals in 22 games for them in 2014. While much of the focus on his particular generation of players has been on the eligibility of Arsenal’s Gedion Zelalem, three months Wright’s senior, there’s been at least as much excitement about the homegrown talent of Wright, albeit with the usual caveats about making premature judgements on players.
.png?w=600)
