What's that Olympic motto? Faster, higher, stronger?
I don't know about higher, but the United States were certainly faster and stronger than Canada in both teams’ opening match at the Gold Cup and it was evident from the opening kickoff, wasn't it?
They really did dominate every aspect of this game, especially in midfield where Aston Villa's Michael Bradley spent the evening spraying around passes, making the tough tackles and starting things up coming out of the back.
Isn't that something Julian De Guzman is supposed to be doing for Canada?
He didn't play in this one, as Canada head coach Stephen Hart chose not to dress him after deciding he wasn't quite fit and wasn't quite right coming off a niggling calf injury. Things did not improve for Canada until Hart made some moves that changed Canada’s offensive complexion. Ali Gerba was particularly dangerous with one thunderous strike that forced the save of the match from U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard.
At the other end, Lars Hirschfeld will be thinking about that first goal for a while.
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Letting Jozy Altidore's shot slip under him will be viewed as a mistake by the keeper. Critics will now be calling for Hart to play Milan Borjan against Guadeloupe on Saturday in Tampa, but he was likely going to make that move anyway.
Then again, maybe not.
Does Hart show faith in his keeper and bring him right back again and save Borjan for the Panama match? Borjan has not yet been officially capped by Canada and Hart has said that will happen in this tournament.
Will there be changes to the attack as well? Perhaps Simeon Jackson will move from that central striker role to the wing, to make way for Gerba on the middle. Does that not look like a good option?
Finally, it was a great environment at Ford Field. The climate controlled conditons indoors made it comfortable on a day of brutally steamy conditons in Detroit. It’ll be the exact same conditions Canada will face in Tampa, only there'll be no escaping the heat. The grass sod laid over the artifical surface barely held up however.
By the second half it had deteriorated quite a bit. An hour after the game, it didn't even exist, as stadium crews starting removing it immediately.
Before we go, let me know what changes you would make if you were Stephen Hart, based on what transpired in Detroit.
