A Few Thoughts on This Week's Internationals

As we anticipate next month's resumption of 2010 FIFA World Cup European qualifying, let us look back on some important international friendlies from the past week.

USA 2-0 MEXICO
Michael Bradley stole the show in a match that only confirmed what we already knew: Mexico cannot beat the U.S. on American soil and the U.S. cannot beat Mexico on Mexican Soil. I cannot think of many other rivalries in the game where the countries strategically seek out venues that will give them a greater advantage over the opposition. Perhaps other international teams should consider following suit though, because this inexplicably seems to work every single time. I would like to focus on Bradley for a second, a player who is quickly becoming the face of a promising group of young Americans that have the potential, in my opinion, to propel the United States unfamiliar heights. Having recently cemented a starting spot for his new club Borussia Moenchengladbach, Bradley was fantastic from start to finish in a game that generally lacked quality. His two-goal display just goes to show how the 21-year-old has already taken the team on his shoulders and the best part is, he can only get better from here. For Mexico, another poor result puts a lot of pressure on manager Sven-Göran Eriksson, who has been linked with the vacant Portsmouth job. Eriksson is perhaps best known for his dissapointing tenure with the England team, and to be honest I have never really had much respect for him as a manager at the top level. His only truly successful stint in either a major league or with an international team has been with Lazio from 1997-2001. Despite the fact that the Mexican Football Assosciation claims to throw their entire support behind the Swede, I expect him to lose his job soon enough—Mexico is desperate to regain international status and it's quite obvious that Eriksson is not up to the task.

Spain 2-0 England
Despite the hype it received, (and why not with a goal like this!) the result truly does not say much about either side. Spain were convincing, to say the least, but so they should be playing on home soil against an undermanned England side. England's lack of conviction had much to do with the absence of several key players—Rio Ferdinand, Joe Cole, Wayne Rooney, Owen Hargreaves and Steven Gerrard to name a few—and I don't think the way they played accurately demonstrates the progress that the side has made under Fabio Capello. They were also playing against the European Champions and current world #1, and a 2-0 defeat under those conditions is not really that bad a result. The story of the night was David Bekcham, who equalled Bobby Moore's record of 108 England caps for a field player with a second-half appearance. The man of the night for me however, was Spain's midfield maestro Xavi, who almost effortlessly controlled the game with his precision passing and flowing style. All in all, I wouldn't take too much from the friendly.

Brazil 2-0 Italy
The Brazilians were back to their magical best for the friendly in London. Ronaldinho in particular, impressed. I was one of the people who thought that the former World Player of the Year was finished after an unispiring last season with Barcelona. He has proved me, and many others, wrong with his dazzling performances for Milan so far this season. He was toying with the Italians at times, engaging the crowd with no-look passes and clever footwork in a way that only he really can. Robinho's goal, (see a few posts ago), essentially summed up a night where a Kaka-less Brazil danced samba around the world champions. The Italians were actually very dissapointing, seeming to lack any real threat. Italy has actually been on a great international run, but coach Marcello Lippi's bid to go a record 32 games undefeated is now over. I see this as simply a bad game for Italy, and I expect them to return to form in time for the World Cup qualifiers in March.