Confederations Cup

It's been pretty entertaining in Russia in this World Cup tune-up tournament.  The pre-tournament favorites all advanced to the semis.  Of the makeweights, Australia (Asia) gave a good account of themselves, drawing with Chile, but the rest did no better than expected.  Host Russia looked poor, New Zealand was hapless, and Cameroun did not impress.  Mexico sent a strong team and looked good even in their 1-4 semifinal loss to Germany, in which they went down two goals in the first seven minutes.  They had plenty of possession and made several good scoring chances, but their only goal was a very late long-range strike.  The other semi was just as much fun despite 120 scoreless minutes from Portugal and Chile.  The woodwork was hit but neither keeper was beaten until "kicks from the spot", and then only Rui Patricio was, as Chile executed Portugal with maximum efficiency, 3-0.  That's right, Claudio Bravo saved all three kicks.  They weren't great, but they weren't terrible either.  He read which way they were going, went early, and got two hands on the three strikes.  Alexis got Chile's third kick.  The final will be a replay of the 1-1 group game between the tournament's youngest team (Germany) and its oldest.  I'll be hoping for a Chilean win.

Mexico 1 - 1 USA

I admit I was expecting Mexico to win this game.  Were Klinsmann still at the helm, they would have.  But Arena organized these guys superbly, and boy did they deliver on defense.  Two excellent strikes in the first half set the stage for a high-energy affair that was a good spectacle.  Guzan always makes me nervous, but he was fine tonight.  I was surprised DaMarcus Beasley was still playing anywhere, let alone on the national team, but I don't follow MLS closely.  He was good!  The team selection worked really well.  Pulisic seemed like more of a decoy than anything else; he was the danger man the Mexicans had to follow around and mark out.  It's no surprise that Mexico had most of the ball and most of the chances.  They couldn't put them away, though, and the result was just about fair.

The other two games in the group are on Tuesday.  I'm hoping for a draw between Panama and Honduras.  Costa Rica should beat T&T easily.  It's looking pretty good:  we play Costa Rica and Panama at home, and I like our chances for three points at Honduras and T&T.  Confidence should be flowing through the team now.  They were quite good today.  Mexico had 76% possession, but just one (of ten) shot on goal--Vela's equalizer.  We had two (of seven).  Had Mexico finished a bit better, they'd have won, but they didn't, so they deserved just the point.  If we play like this anywhere but Azteca, we'll win.

Well done, guys!

USA 2 - 0 Trinidad and Tobago

T&T were game but in the end did not bring enough to the party.  They had two or three great chances--Kenwyne Jones crashed a header off the bar in the first half for their best--but we had more, and wunderkind Christian Pulisic scored twice in the second half--both very nice finishes too--to put this one to bed.  I was annoyed at some of the casual play from our guys (though I bet Bruce Arena was more annoyed).  I'd have liked to see more urgency from them in this must-win game.  But they got the job done.

Other than Pulisic, it's hard to pick a standout player in this game.  Bradley was steady, Nagbe frequently threatening.  Dempsey played well.  Altidore got outmuscled a couple times and didn't hold the ball up well.  They'll probably be more switched on for Sunday's game at Estadio Azteca.  They'll have to be, if it isn't going to be embarrassing again.

It's hard to see Panama, Honduras, or T&T finishing above the US.  We're in third now (pending the later games, both scoreless at the half hour as I type), and I think that's where we'll finish in the hex.  That means a trip to Russia, where I hope Bruce can at least duplicate the 2002 success.

Juventus 1 - 4 Real Madrid (ECL Final)

Well, damn.  Real made it look routine as they put four past Buffon (none of them his fault), when Juve had shipped only three in their previous 12 ECL games.  The first half was fairly even, with Ronaldo's deflected effort (it may have beaten Buffon anyway) canceled out by a magnificent bicycle kick goal from Mandzukic.  In the second half, things got Real.  They dominated.  I don't remember a shot on goal from Juve, and only one or two off target.  Real could have had more.  Depressing stuff, as Ronaldo preened and strutted after his goals, and the game got chippier and chippier.  Juve got frustrated and somehow Kroos's performance after a perfectly understandable effort from Cuadrado to get to the ball so he could take a throw-in convinced the referee to give a second yellow to Cuadrado.  No matter; it was 3-1 by then and in fact Juve seemed to play better with 10.  Better, but not well.

I am not sure what was different after the break.  But in neither half did Dybala impose himself on this game, and that was key.  I'd seen signs of vulnerability in the Monaco games, but Real cut Juve's vaunted defense to ribbons.  Real was clearly the better team and deserved the cup.  Bale got his chance to run around in Wales and act relevant towards the end, but this game was won by Casemiro, Modric, and Kroos, as far as I'm concerned.  They cut off the pipeline forward for Juve, and cycled the ball around and up to an overlapping Marcelo or to Benzema, Ronaldo, and Isco.  Their defenders were better today than Juve's as well.

Juventus is 2 for 9 in ECL finals.  Who knows when they'll be there again?