3 Obsevations v. Czech Republic

1. Herculez Gomez cemented himself on the final 23

Not only did Gomez score a goal off of a nice play by Clarence Goodson, but he constantly put himself in position to score, and almost scored a second off of a nice turn at the top of the 18. Out of all the forwards that played (Buddle, Johnson, Ching), he was the most dangerous and created the most opportunities. He'll provide Bob Bradley a good option off the bench in South Africa, injecting energy into the team.

2. Injury still a problem for Gooch

While most people will point to the inability to head the ball away which led to the Czech's first goal, Oguchi Onyewu looked sluggish on the field. To be fair to him, it was his first competitive game in 7 months but he did not look completely comfortable on the field. His agility wasn't where it needed to be and his fitness definitely looked to be an issue. He does have time to regain his fitness before the England match, but Bradley definitely has a tough decision on his hands. Does he start and play a weakened Onyewu, or does he bench him in favor of Goodson (who looked good tonight)? Bradley could possibly move Carlos Bocanegra over to the middle, which would shift the entire defense and ultimately allow for Jonathan Bornstein to start.

3. Depth is still not where it should be

Most people will acknowledge that the depth in the national team pool is arguably the strongest it's ever been. That still doesn't mean that the bench/fringe players can compete well. The absense of Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, and Carlos Bocanegra among others really showed the lack of class the pool has. Sacha Kljestan made no impact when he was subbed in, and Jonathan Bornstein looked extremely shaky in the back (and he could conceivably start). Heath Pearce was absolutely torched most of the night and could very well have played himself off a spot on the roster. The main point is that the team relies heavily on the aforementioned quartet (along with Jozy Altidore and Tim Howard), and that isn't going to change anytime soon.

Tomorrow should be interesting as Bradley announces the final 23. I could see Alejandro Bedoya making the team over Heath Pearce. I also found it quite interesting to see Maurice Edu playing in the back. He did misjudge the ball on the 4th goal but it maybe lends to the notion that Bradley is toying with the idea of actually using him at that position in South Africa. Lets just hope it doesn't come down to that point. He's much better in the midfield.
JOGA BONITO