We’ll be providing full coverage of tonight’s friendly match in Chicago between the US and Poland. Keep it here for all the pre-match and in-match commentary, and we’ll follow it up with a post-match recap.
FINAL WHISTLE: An entertaining match between USA and Poland ends in a 2:2 tie. That’s all from the press box. Look for post match reaction in a separate post.
90+2 One last free kick chance for Holden.
90′ Corner from Holden starts a pinballing sequence in front of goal–but no luck for the US. Of course, it’s at the goal opposite my position, and I can’t tell if the one cleared off the line was over.
88′ Free kick goes into the wall, Dempsey calls for a handball, to no avail.
86′ Dempsey fouled hard on the edge of the box. US will have a free kick almost dead center.
84′ Yellow card to Altidore.
78′ The attendance this evening at Soldier Field is 31,696
77′ Pietrasiak sees a yellow card after a wild challenge on Holden.
76′ With the slow stranglehold of the Americans broken, the stadium has come alive. The Polish fans rock the house looking for the matchwinner.
73′ GOAL Kuba. A deflected ball at the top of the area rolls to an unmarked Kuba, and the Dortmund star calmly goes bottom corner on Howard and equalizes, against the run of play. USA 2:2 Poland
71′ Niedzielan in, Mierzejewski off
70′ Holden with another clumsy clearance but Poland fail to take advantage.
68′ Edu can’t match Onyewu’s feat and head’s a corner over the bar.
66′ Dempsey’s shot gets deflected, making an easy save for Boruc.
64′ Bedoya plays on the right, and Holden shifts to a more central position.
63′ Bedoya, in; Feilhaber out.
62′ Alejandro Bedoya preparing to come on for the US.
60′ The Polish contingent in the crowd doesn’t like Jones’ whiplash of Murawski, but no card is in evidence.
58′ Altidore misses a golden opportunity when Poland gives it away in front of goal. Due credit to a quick reaction from Boruc, however.
57′ Dempsey, who had been playing above the other midfielders has now swapped positions with Feilhaber, who had been playing on the left wing.
56′ Bocanegra does well to steer a cross from the left out of play.
52′ GOAL! Oguchi Onyewu. The Gooch soars over the packed defenders in the box, and heads the Holden corner into the net. USA 2-1 Poland
51′ Holden picks Murawski’s pocket, but Poland do well to recover. Increased US pressure leads to a corner.
48′ Dempsey breaks up the more deliberate pace of the opening minutes of the 2nd half with a floater that eludes Boruc for a moment before getting covered by the Polish keeper.
46′ No changes to start the 2nd half.
Halftime Stats:
Shots: USA 6:6 Poland
On Goal: USA 1:5 Poland
Saves: USA 4:0 Poland
Corners: USA 2:0 Poland
Fouls: USA 2:5 Poland
HALFTIME An aggressive approach from both sides has seen a good amount of end to end action, but the US has to be disappointed that a failure in basic fundamentals has allowed Poland an equalizer before the half. USA 1:1 Poland
45′ Matuszczyk outruns Edu yet again, but Howard comes out and averts the danger.
43′ POST! Bradley feeds Altidore at close range on the right, and the shot grazes the bar.
41′ Matuszczyk dekes Edu and puts a screamer toward Howard, who manages a solid stop.
39′ Another bad clearance by Edu leads to an extended sequence of Polish possession. Howard finally grabs a cross to no one to end the sequence, but the US defense continues to be leaky indeed.
37′ Bob Bradley gives a bit more than just a piece of his mind to the fourth official.
36′ Good position just outside the area for a US free kick. Holden chips a millimeter of paint on the crossbar.
29′ GOAL! Matuszczyk; A comedy of errors in front of the US goal as Stuart Holden’s clearance goes directly vertical and allows the Cologne midfielder to slot one bottom left. A giveaway plain and simple by the US. USA 1:1 Poland
27′ Matuszczyk lays one down the right for Piszczek coming forward, but it’s a bit too long.
25′ Howard stops Matuszczyk; the lights in the press box finally come on.
22′ Howard with a tremendous save 1 on 1 against Lewandowski.
20′ Feilhaber is definitely making his case to be the first man subbed off. Poland continues to successfully penetrate the American left.
17′ The US is fortunate to stall a Polish attack with numbers. The lead may be tenuous.
15′ Kuba is taken down hard by Bocanegra. The American captain dodges a card however.
13′ GOAL! Jozy Altidore scores for the US! Jermaine Jones makes an immediate impact on his debut, looping a ball over the Polish back line, and Altidore has a clear path to strike past Boruc. USA 1:0 Poland
11′ First good chance for the U.S., but Dempsey sends it into low orbit.
9′ Jozy squanders a nice through ball from Holden with a bad first touch.
8′ Kuba vs. Bocanegra is the match-up to watch thus far.
6′ The US defense has already been caught flat-footed by long balls on two occasions.
5′ Steve Cherundolo is down after a rough collision on the right wing. He comes to the sideline, but looks able to continue.
3′ Polish captain Michael Zelakow is celebrating his 100th cap this evening.
7:07 P.M. And we’re underway!
7:06 P.M. A warm round of applause for Brian McBride, who takes part in the coin toss.
7:04 P.M. The anthems have completed; we are ready for soccer from the lakefront in Chicago!
7:01 PM The teams have emerged from the tunnel; the flashbulbs go wild at Soldier Field. The procession music sounds like it’s from a Lifetime movie of the week, however.
7:00 P.M. The US will be in white this evening, Poland in red.
6:59 P.M. There’s no denying it; it’s a red and white crowd here that will probably be supporting Poland more loudly than the US.
6:49 P.M. All players have now left the pitch after completing warm-ups; a 10-man hose relay takes over for one final watering.
6:47 P.M. In case you’re channel surfing looking for the match, it can be seen in the U.S. on Fox Soccer Channel and on Galavision.
6:41 P.M. The last time these two teams met in March 2008, Carlos Bocanegra and Oguchi Onyewu scored first half goals and US defeated Poland 3-0 in Krakow.
6:38 P.M. At first glance, the attendance looks a bit disappointing. Although I can’t see much of the east side stands from my vantage point, there isnt a soul 3rd and 4th decks in Soldier Field’s west side stands.
6:33 P.M. On the bench for the U.S. : GK: Guzan, DF: Spector, Lichaj, Parkhurst, Goodson; MF; Bedoya;
6:29 P.M. Poland lines up this way: G: Boruc; DF; Piszczek, Pietrasiak, Zewlakov, Mierejewski; MF: Kuba (Blaszczykowski), Matuszczyk, Murawski, Mierzejewski, Obraniak, F: Lewandowski
6:24 P.M. The US lines up this way: GK: Howard; DF: Cherundolo, Onyewu, Edu, Bocanegra, MF: Holden, Bradley, Jones, Feilhaber, Dempsey; FW: Altidore
6:19 PM First cap for Jones. Jermaine Jones will start in his first appearance for the US team. The rest of the lineup in a moment.
6:13 P.M. The first US players make their way onto the field to chants of “USA! USA!”
6:11 P.M. For west coast NASL fans from back in the day, Poland coach Franciszek Smuda may be a familiar face. He spent the 1978 NASL season with 3 California-based teams, the Oakland Stompers, Los Angeles Aztecs and the old San Jose Earthquakes.
5:50 P.M. Spotters guide: Jermaine Jones will wear #15 for the US, while Eric Lichaj will don #13.
5:40 P.M. US Soccer has announced that former US international Brian McBride will be honored on the field prior to the match. McBride, who hails from suburban Arlington Heights, has announced his retirement from professional soccer at the end of the season. He scored 30 goals in 96 appearances for the US.
5:25 P.M. The Polish players have come out on the field, but are currently standing around idly. The first fans are entering the arena as well and predictably, these die-hards are setting up behind the goals.
5:09 P.M. Welcome to Chicago. Even by the Windy City’s standards, it’s a busy sports weekend in town. The throngs of American and Polish fans drifting towards the lakefront are finding a wide variety of streets blocked off. That’s because the Chicago Marathon will step off just about 10 hours after the end of tonight’s match. If that wasn’t enough, the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks will raise their Stanley Cup Championship banner this evening which will unfortunately drain off some local attention from the match.
The glitz and glamor of the upcoming World Cup bid process has centered around 
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