International Friendly - USA 1 Argentina 1

U.S.A. 1-1 Argentina; Howard Man of the Match, 18-Year-Old Agudelo Shines Again

The last time the U.S. Men’s National Team played Argentina was June 8, 2008 at Giants Stadium to a record crowd. The teams drew 0-0.

Saturday evening, just feet away from the now demolished stadium, the US played Argentina again, this time to a 1-1 tie in front of a record breaking 78,936 fans at New Meadowlands Stadium. While the game was just a friendly and like the ’08 match ended in a draw, there was something that gave a distinctive feel that the contest had more on the line than just pride.

Argentina was, well, Argentina and passed fluidly, working the back line of the U.S. over pretty well. Finally, after sustained pressure by Argentina and despite heroics by Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard, Esteban Cambiasso scored in the 42nd minute for Argentina.

The second half saw USMNT head coach Bob Bradley bring on 18-year-old Juan Agudelo for Jermaine Jones and 20-year-old Timmy Chandler (who received his first cap) for Jonathan Spector. The change was immediate for the US, who saw better possession, switching from a 4-5-1 to more of a 4-4-2 with Chandler having an effect on the outside right and Agudelo pairing with Altidore.

Agudelo made smart runs and wise decisions for a player so young and it was his opportunistic sense that again allowed him to score his second goal in three outings for the team. That goal came in the 59th minute when Landon Donovan took a free kick from the right side of the field that found the head of U.S. captain Carlos Bocanegra. His deflected header went directly at Argentinian goalkeeper Mariano Andujar, who found the ball too hot to handle and bobbled the ball to a hungry Agudelo, who was crashing the net on the left side with Oguchi Onyewu. Agudelo had run past the goal but stuck a leg back out quickly to snap the ball past Andujar and draw the game even.

The U.S. looked better in the second half and it took a collective defensive effort – often double and triple teaming Lionel Messi – to put out the fires. That and more heroics by U.S. Soccer’s Man of the Match, Tim Howard.

“Whenever we get the opportunity to play against these great teams there are a lot of challenges, and there are things that now we can set our sights on,” said U.S. head coach Bradley. “Argentina was very good with the ball in the first half and found a great rhythm that made it difficult on us, and the goal before halftime changed the thinking. I was very pleased with response from the team in the second half. To come away with a good result against a very good team there are some things to talk about, some things that need to be improved but also some positives.”

Overall, it was a good opportunity for the USMNT to play a very good opponent in Argentina, who are ranked 4th in the world, and to start preparations for this summer’s Gold Cup which runs from June 5–25, 2011.