Random thoughts --
Howard/Guzan -- The brotherhood of bald goalkeepers had very little to do. Howard collected a couple of crosses, and had the nice superman dive/punch on another. I don't think Guzan had to handle the ball except for a few stragglers. So good work from the back line.
Cherundolo -- Dealt well with the few challenges that came down his side, and got forward a little more than usual. He looks ready for the qualifiers.
Cameron -- Obviously had the bad mistake where he totally lost Miller then allowed the ball to bank off him into the net. Otherwise no surprises, he was more adventurous moving up than I cared to see though.
Bocanegra -- Another member of the old guard that's ready for qualifying. Very little came his way, had his assignment locked down well.
Johnson -- Left back no longer looks like a weakness does it? In addition to shutting down his side, his handful of runs with the ball were breathtaking, including one where Scotland had to concede a free kick just outside the arc. He absolutely must be cap tied to the US in the first qualifier.
Donovan -- What a statement. Goals 47, 48, and 49, and he made them all look easy (and I'm sure they weren't). Not only that, but he had the primary assist on the Jones header, plus the perfect cross to Jones on the Bradley goal. I can't wait to see what happens when Donovan and Dempsey are finally on the same pitch in the Klinsmann era.
Bradley -- Another fantastic performance, cementing his status as both the best and most versatile CM in the US pool. The amazing thing about the goal (well, one of) is that it somehow looked good the instant it left his foot. If this were hockey he'd have two secondary assists on the first two Donovan goals, plus the primary assist on the hat trick goal.
Jones -- If this wasn't his best performance in a US shirt then I'm struggling to think what could have possibly topped it. He had the assist on the first three goals, plus the header of course. This is the Jones we were hoping to get when he switched, and this team can do a lot of damage if he keeps playing like this.
Edu -- Filled in well at the defensive midfielder spot, his play didn't stick out in my mind much which is a good thing.
Torres -- He was aggressive yet sneaky, as we saw from him forcing the turnover that led to the first goal. He worked well with Johnson, but with Dempsey set to come back soon did he do quite enough to keep his spot? It's either him or Edu, and Dempsey for Torres would be the simple swap.
Boyd -- He worked hard but not a lot to show for it. Good experience though, having someone who can competently fill in for Altidore will be very useful.
Subs -- Somebody please get Castillo a cheeseburger or something, he looks tiny. Beckerman had two solid blocks but it's obviously hard to gauge his night when after 75 minutes or so Scotland was content to just pass around the ball in the back and the US was content to let them. Great to see Onyewu's towering leap on that header, hopefully that means the big guy's back. Let's get Corona capped as well. Gomez showed good desire in his limited time, passing the ball on to Donovan on that sliding play which led to the Jones header, he was also involved in the third Donovan goal if I'm not mistaken.
NBC -- After all ESPN's done to boost the USMNT (and WNT) profile over the last decade or so (one of their few redeeming qualities in my mind), I'm not a big fan of them being unceremoniously dumped for NBC. Unfortunately that's just how business goes. Arlo White is convincing, but it must be said that Donovan's hat trick deserved the special touch that Ian Darke provides.
Zero of the Match -- The idiot that thought light grey numbers on a white background would be a good idea. Come on Nike. It was easier to read the numbers even in that miserable fog game against Slovenia last year.
Obviously the US won't be able to do the same thing to Brazil, but it was fantastic to see all of the offensive talent finally shine through. If the US can continue to combine the vision and fluid passing that we just saw with their historical strengths of endurance and goalkeeping, they're going to be an extremely tough team to beat.
