Where was Eddie Johnson???

US 1 - 1 Italy. A tie against one of the world's soccer powerhouses, while playing a man down most of the second half...sounds like a great result for the American team. And it was. But I can't help but come out of that game with a bitter taste in my mouth. This is a game that the US should've won. Plenty has been said about the referees' role in the match, so I'm not going to discuss that any further. What ticked me off in the end, is the fact that we went into the locker room after the game with a substitution left, unused.
With the team being down a player for the whole half, and with 9 players on its side, the team had really heavy legs towards the end of the game. Both teams did. Beasley came in and used his speed against a tired Italian side. And it worked. Why couldn't Eddie Johnson come into the game? The result would've been the same...Eddie has tremendous speed and with his fresh legs it would've created a lot of trouble for the Italian defense. Even if it was a straight forward for forward swap, with McBride coming out, that would've worked. It would fit two roles: EJ's legs would allow him to pressure more and run around more than McBride; and two his aforementioned speed would've created more chances up front. So if Arena was trying to come out of there with the tie, it wouldn't hurt to make another sub. If he was trying to get a much-deserved win, then the sub would've helped.

Yes, the end result was not bad. In fact, it was an epic tie that brought back some respect for the American side. But it was a missed opportunity to really shock the world.

In other news, Brazil plays today against a tough Aussie squad. I'm looking forward to it. After the game I might try to go play some indoor soccer. First time touching a soccer ball in about a month...should be interesting.