remember this name, folks: Benny Feilhaber

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qETrlNYxjyM

here's a clip of his game-winning volley scored in USA's 2-1 win over Mexico in the Gold Cup Final yesterday (Confederations Cup 2009, here we come!).

he's one of the bright young (22 yrs old) stars in American soccer; currently plays (sparingly) for Hamburg SV but will probably be getting a lot more attention after a brilliant tournament. heading down to Venezuela this week to play for the US in the Copa America vs. Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, etc.

I also remember the name London Donovan.

I also remember the name London Donovan.

yes, well. you have me there.

landycakes is an enigmatic player, to be sure. such promise at such a young age, but his petulance and seeming unwillingness to work led his German adventure to flop and flop hard. he seems to like being a big fish in a small pond rather than trying to grow himself. although i thought he was overrated, i at least have to give Claudio Reyna credit for giving it a go in tougher leagues. and then Donovan seems to disappear in some contests.

but - to give him his due - he has been the engine that has led the US team in the past 4 months or so. he put in a great performance in the Gold Cup, and he scored four penalty kicks in the tourney, not missing any. that's actually pretty impressive, especially his final one against Mexico.

The USA were fortunate to be in the final, Canada had a goal wrongly called offside, had that match gone to extra time anything could have happend!

The USA were fortunate to be in the final, Canada had a goal wrongly called offside, had that match gone to extra time anything could have happend!

i agree, but to tell you the truth, all of our opponents -- especially in the knockout stages (Panama, Canada, Mexico) -- were lucky that the match wasn't over well before the final whistle. the US had numerous chances to build a big lead and grind the game to a halt, but because of their youth and relative inexperience on the international stage, and because of some poor lackadasical play, we couldn't find that killer instinct. Twellman had 3 or 4 chances to strike home against Panama, but he blew it; Eddie Johnson and Landon Donovan should have scored several more times against Canada, and Beasley and Dempsey both missed sitters against Mexico.

the call against Canada was a horrendous call, but that's CONCACAF for you. i can't tell you how many times the US has been on the wrong end of horrible refereeing in regional games in the past dozen years, so i'm not losing any sleep over it. plus, i would feel more lucky if the match were even, but except for the last 10 minutes, the US dominated the match. they deserved a win.