Olsen Golazo Sinks Frozen Guatemala

UPDATE (2/21): Looks like all my links to goal clips are now broken. I'll have to update soon. Sorry! Ben Olsen hit a rather sweet 25+ yard volley to start the scoring as the US Men's National Team romped 4-0 over a Guatemalan team that looked as if they'd rather be a few thousand miles closer to the equator. On a day where the gametime temperature was hovering in the mid-20s and the Guatemalan players were borrowing long sleeve T-shirts from the USSF, several American players improved their chances of making the trip to Germany. Chris Klein looked infinitely better in midfield than he did at left back against Japan and his 2 assists and a goal has to leave Arena scratching his head against about the right side of midfield. Eddie Johnson came on in the second half and scored within minutes to prove that he is getting healthy just in time for a run to the World Cup. Once again Conrad and Pope were solid in the back together and Olsen showed a lot tenacity and veteran leadership on the left side of the 4-3-3 the US played today. I thought this may have been his best game for the National team in years. On the other hand, I think time has run out on players like Ching (even though he scored today) and Wolff who have both been terribly inconsistent lately. Rolfe also doesn't look like he's ready for Germany but I do see a lot of potential there. I think he will figure significantly in our next qualifying campaign.

-- Jarrett @ 2/19/2006 03:56:00 PM