Europe once again, losing to the Netherlands 2-1 on Wednesday night in the
Americans' last match before coach Bob Bradley picks his World Cup
roster.
Dirk Kuyt converted a penalty kick in the 40th
minute after Jonathan Bornstein pushed Wesley Sneijder in the penalty
area. Kuyt sent his kick to the right of goalkeeper Tim Howard, who
dived the other way.
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar made it 2-0 for the
third-ranked Dutch in the 73rd minute with a shot that deflected off
Bornstein and left Howard with no chance to stop it.
U.S. captain Carlos Bocanegra scored in the
88th minute, beating Maarten Stekelenburg to the 6-yard box to head in
DaMarcus Beasley's 35-yard free kick. It was his 12th goal in 77
international appearance.
Beasley had a chance to tie it in the 90th, but
his free kick from just outside the penalty area was easily grabbed by
Stekelenburg.
Rejoining the national team for the first time
since playing poorly in last June's Confederations Cup, Beasley entered
in the 34th minute after Stuart Holden limped off with a bruised shin
sustained from a hard tackle by Nigel de Jong. Holden was taken for
X-rays.
Maurice Edu, Beasley's Glasgow Rangers,
teammate, replaced Jose Torres at the start of the second half, Edu's
first international appearance knee surgery last June.
Robbie Findlay was paired up front with Jozy
Altidore at the start, then was replaced in the 62nd minute by Alejandro
Bedoya. Eddie Johnson entered in the 76th for Landon Donovan, who
hardly touched the ball while playing a day before his 28th birthday.
The 18th-ranked U.S. has lost its last five
matches in Europe and is 4-19-3 on soccer's most powerful continent
since April 1998, with three wins over Poland and one over Switzerland.
The Dutch are 4-0 against the Americans, outscoring them 7-1.
Playing on Bradley's 52nd birthday, the U.S.
debuted new obsidian road jerseys with white sashes that harken back to
the jerseys the Americans wore at the 1950 World Cup, where they upset
England 1-0. The Americans play England on June 12 in their World Cup
opener and complete the first round against Slovenia and Algeria.
The Americans are now off until May 25, when
they play the Czech Republic at East Hartford, Conn. They face Turkey
four days later in Philadelphia before heading to South Africa, where
they may play Australia on June 5 in Johannesburg.