Crawling from the Wreckage into a Brand New Car

The American team regrouped for the first
time for the first time since their ill-fated
trip to Germany and the World Cup last summer,
facing a B Denmark team with a new line-up
and a new 'interim'coach, Bob Bradley. The
result was a less than awe-inspiring 3-1
victory over the Danes. Watching on a Danish
TV internet feed (!)I saw a poorly-played
first half where the Yanks struggled to
find a rhythm, then gave up a goal,and were
then only saved by penalty call at the edge
of the area which Landon Donovan converted,
but only after kneeling and doing the Catholic
genuflect thing for what seemed like an hour.

The second half was much better with a billiant
midfield run by Justin Mapp, beating two
defenders inthe corner then a lovely cross
which was buried by MLS rookie of the year
Jonathan Bornstein. Then in the 80th minute
a long pass that was probably offside landed
on the foot of newcomer Ken Cooper who then,
as three defenders converged on him, beat the
goalie for a third goal. While this effort
was good enough to beat a jet-lagged Scandinavian
squad, the yanks will need a few good men
from Europe to continue their win streak against
Mexico in Phoenix on Feb 7. It won't be 10,000
quiet Americans watching but over 50,000 mostly
Mexican aficionados bringing the noise. I
predict a Mexican win but I'll cross my fingers.