US-Latvia

... match report is here, penned by yours truly.

All in all, as comfortable a victory as 1-0 is ever going to get. It was fascinating to see both teams collectively run out of gas at about minute 70 and watch the match come to a grinding halt, but that's just fine with me; an 89th minute injury to McBride or somebody would have been too much to bear. Really, the dynamic of these games is excrutiating. You want your team to play hard, but every tackle makes you wince, much more so than opposing shots on goal.

Steve Goff at the Post presents a set of unresolved questions from these three matches:

· Has the oft-injured John O'Brien, who absorbed several hard challenges without incident Sunday, displayed enough endurance to regain the prominent role he held four years ago? And if so, where would he play?

· Is Landon Donovan more effective as a scheming midfielder or a withdrawn forward?

· Has the enigmatic Eddie Johnson earned Arena's trust to start alongside McBride on the front line?

· And what to do with team captain Claudio Reyna, currently sidelined with a hamstring injury?

Here are my guesses based on these three matches.

1) I think JOB will be primarily used as a sub. You want to have Mastroeni in the center of the field and you need to have Reyna. That leaves little room for JOB, assuming the other two are fit. If Mastroeni or Reyna have knocks, JOB plays.

2) I think he's more effective in the midfield, but I think it will be determined based on who the fifth attacking player in the lineup would be. If it's Convey or Dempsey, he's up front. If it's Johnson, he's in midfield.

3) I really don't know. I think McBride and Johnson, with Donovan behind, gives opposing defenses a lot more to think about than any other configuration. But is Johnson in enough form? Personally, I would take the gamble.

4) If he's fit he plays.

UPDATE: In his match report, Grahame Jones eschews optimism and instead traffics in his trademark crabbiness.