Netherlands. March 3. In Amsterdam.
Who knew they had this one in the works? One day after announcing plans to play Honduras at home on January 23rd Bob Bradley and his men have officially scheduled a game against the Netherlands in Amsterdam on March 3rd. This is a daunting task, but a necessary one.
U.S.A. soccer has been drawing some criticism, and deservedly so, for scheduling Honduras for a fifth time in the current calendar year. In the months preceding the World Cup, teams are expected to schedule other national squads OUTSIDE of their qualification federations and preferably ones that simulate their WC group opponents. Honduras is a good team, but doesn’t quite fit the bill. On the other hand, Holland is absolutely the right choice.
When they face the Dutch the Yanks will be taking on a fast and tremendously offensively talented team in a hostile environment. The Dutch backline is good but not great, and many of their attacking players possess world class skills. This match should be a great tune up for England. Aside from the fact that most of England’s best attacking players are in the midfield and that the Dutch strikers outclass every England forward sans Wayne Rooney, the two teams share many of the same strengths and weaknesses. Preliminarily, scheduling this game is a great choice for both the U.S. and the Dutch who will want to test their mettle against what I’m sure they perceive to be a scrappy American squad that counterattacks and poses a major threat on set pieces.
Sweet pic, but we’ll take Timmy!
And as a final note, this game is in Amsterdam Arena. The place is awesome. I cannot express how badly I want to go there. Do yourself a favor and click on the link and just look at the place, your life will be better for it. It truly is the perfect venue for watching Jozy Altidore overpower John Heitinga on his way to scoring a goal to put the Yanks up 1-0! Sorry I had to do it to your Everton boy Blackmon.
