That was a game of two halves, that's for sure. In our final warmup on home soil, we found a way to beat Turkey even though we could have been down 3 or 4 to 0 at halftime. Our defense looked shaky, especially Spector at right back. Based on today's performance, I think Cherudolo might get the start against England instead of Spector. He was solid when he subbed on at halftime.
In the first half Turkey played great. They passed the ball around us all half and created many chances. Things were not looking good. Luckily, they only made us pay for one of our mistakes. We had exactly 1 chance to score a goal in the first half. Otherwise, Turkey had the ball the entire time and we were on the back foot. In the second half we made about 5 or 6 changes (it's a friendly). As I already mentioned, a couple in defense, a couple in in midfield and one up top. For some reason, whether due to personnel changes or Turkey's fatigue, we looked fantastic in the second half. We played as well as I think we could play. Our first goal was a thing of beauty, the second a great individual effort by Dempsey. Our big guns (Bradley, Dempsey, Donovan) really took over the game. However, Findley, Torres, and Cherudolo/Onyewu really made it possible for them to operate.
I think we learned some good things today. Given the right personnel, we can really be a handful for some teams. Turkey were more skilled and proved it in the first half, as many of the teams in the World Cup will be. When we out work other teams and mix it up, i.e. we don't let them dictate the play and we close them down, we can compete. We have to out hustle and win the battles otherwise we are toast. I feel a little better today about our chances as long as we play hard and smart. Still, I'm not sure which team will show up game in, game out.