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  • Thank you for joining us for this USMNT - Iceland friendly match. This is Jorge Belon, signing off.  

  • The USMNT did not perform in the second half as well as they did in the first half, but the Americans found away to prevail at the end. Klinsmann made some smart substitutions in the second half that really brought life to the attack of the American. Without Morris or Kiesewetter energy the game might have been lost.

  • Final score 3-2. 

  • The game ends with the United States winning the match 3-2, with a last second goal from Birnbaum. 

  • 90' GOAL!!!!!!!!!!! Birnbaum heads in the third goal. Bradley took the set piece and curved the all into the middle of the box where Birnbaum soared in the air to head the ball into the back of the net to make it 3-2. 

  • 88' Nagbe shrugs off a defender and then eludes another to deliver a pass to a running Kieseweeter. The substitute forward takes on the Iceland defender and forces the defender to foul him. Rewarding the USMNT a free kick right on the left hand side of the box (2-2)

  • 85' Morris makes a run into the box, but it is confronted right away by the Iceland goalie. Morris is forced to run to the far right and then attempted to cross the ball to a cutting Nguyen. However the pass is intercepted and the attacks ends. (2-2)

  • 84' The USMNT are in complete control as they keep on pushing the envelope for the third goal. 

  • 80' The two subs Morris and Kiesewetter have been causing the Iceland defense a headache. As the two of them have been involved in every opportunity the United States has had since they entered the game. Their energy has help swing the momentum back into the United States favor. 

  • 79' Kiesewetter waste no time to make an impact in the game as he earns the USMNT a corner kick. 

  • 77' Nagbe almost put away his first goal for the national team, but his close range half volley just went wide of the right hand post (2-2) 

  • 75' The crowd begins to chant as Morris enters the game.

  • 75' The United States have completely lost momentum in the game. So Klinsmann brings in Kiesewetter for Zardes and Morris for Altidore, (2-2)

  • 71' Jones is taken off the game and Tchani comes in and make his first cap for the national team in the process (2-2) : 
    The Europeans nearly jump ahead again at the 69th minute. However, Robles stops the powerful close range shot to keep the score tied at 2-2. As the 70th minute approaches both nations have settled down. Iceland appears to have more confidence on the ball and the USMNT are struggling to keep possession long enough to start an attack. A few minutes later the USMNT defense was nearly punished as Iceland almost recaptured the lead. However, the shot was just wide of the left hand post (2-2, min 63)

  • USA sub: Finlay (out) and Nagbe (in) at the 60th minute, (2-2)

  • GOAL!!!!!!! Orozco heads in the ball to level the match at 2-2 at the

  • 59th minute. Alitdore centered the ball into the heart of the box after controlling the loose ball. Substitute Birnabaum then headed the ball towards the left hand post. Orozco came crashing in and headed the ball to tie the match. 

  • The United States have been rewarded two corner kicks in a row but nothing is coming from it. Once again the movement of Altidore has forced Iceland to foul him near the top the of box. The USMNT now have a prime location for a free kick with Bradley and Altidore standing over the ball (1-2, min 56)

  • The United States are starting to wake up from a slow start to the half. As their movement has forced Iceland to foul Altidore near the right hand side of the box (1-2 min 54). 

  • GOAL!!!! Iceland recaptures the lead with the Americans failing to react quickly to a dead ball. In result Sigurdarson steals the ball and then blasts itl to the upper left hand corner. Robles was not able to react since his shot was deflected (1-2, min 48).    
    USA subs: Brad Evans (out) and Steven Birnbaum (in) at the 45 min. (1-1)

  • 2nd Half starts (45 mins) Iceland kicks off the match (1-1, min 45). Since this is a friendly it is safe to bet that U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann will make some substitutes in the second half. Guessing who they will be might a challenge, but a safe bet will be that Nagbe, Morris and maybe even Trapp see some minutes in the second half. The first half ends 1-1. The United States were in control of the match as they created eight shots compared to Iceland's two. However, the USMNT will need to pick up their efforts and covert their chances at a higher rate, since only two shots were placed on target. Overall though the first half was a success even though they conceded the first goal. The midfield were in charge of the game for the majority of the time and the defense did their job for the most part. It is just the forwards that will need to step up in the second half if they want to start 2016 with a victory. 

  • A couple of minutes later Altidore gets dragged down by Iceland's defender Fjoluson. He brought down the American striker after he noticed the ball has bounced behind him and in favor of Altidore. In result the defender was given a yellow card and the USMNT were awarded a free kick (1-1, min 44). 

  • Altidore went one on one with a defender, but he was not able to shake him. In result, he lost the ball in the box and then was whistled for a foul as he attempted to recover the ball (1-1, min 42)

  • Finlay attempts to cross the ball into the center of the box, but it gets deflected for a corner kick (1-1, min 40)

  • As halftime approaches Iceland begin to control more possession of the ball. As the United States attacks starts to slow down. 

  • Against the run of play Iceland's midfielder Sigurdarson almost recaptured the lead with his shot inside the box. However, his ball just curved over the crossbar. (1-1, min 36) 

  • The rain might have gone away, but the wind is kicking in. The strength of the wind will force the two nations to play on the ground more. However, the wind will prove to be a nightmare for both goalie as they attempt to read the movement on a shot. 

  • The USMNT won a corner. However, the opportunity was wasted as the Iceland was awarded another goal kick (1-1. min 29) 

  • Iceland has been struggling to get out of the United States midfield since the opening goal. They now have resulted to counter attacks as the Americans have taken over the game. 

  • Bradley, Altidore and Zardes have had an active start to the game. The three of them have been involved in almost every chance the USMNT have created up to now. 

  • Bradley nearly gave the United States the lead, but his close range shot was deflected for a corner kick in the last second (1-1, min 24)

  • The Americans have been dominating the match but they were lacking a clean touch in the box. Now after scoring the USMNT is putting a lot of pressure of the Iceland back line (1-1, min 23)

  • GOAL!!!!!! Jozy Altidore receives a crisp low pass from Bradley. The experienced American striker then placed the ball into bottom left hand corner to level the game 1-1 at min 20. 

  • The USMNT nearly responded back with a Zardes close range header. He bounced the ball to the ground and it seemed to be entering the net, but the last bounce went over the crossbar for a goal kick (0-1, min 16). 

  • GOAL!!! Iceland surprise the USMNT as the defense was slow to clear a bouncing ball in the penalty box. In result midfielder Kristinn Steindorsson recovers the loose ball in the center of the box and gives Iceland a 1-0 lead at min 12

  • The United States are attacking but their execution in the final third is lacking. They have gifted Iceland too many harmless goal kicks. (0-0, min 11)

  • Bradley believers a long ball directly into the path of Altidore, but he fails to control the ball and the plays ends with a goal kick for Iceland (0-0, min 10)

  • A series of small passes ends with Altidore being whistled off sides in the penalty box (0-0, min 9)

  • The rain is starting to pour onto the field. The rain will make the ball move faster and might cause a defensive relapse or two. (0-0, min 7)
    Iceland wins an early corner, but nothing comes from it. As the American defense heads the cross out of the penalty box (0-0, min 5)
    Brad Evans attempts to feed a ball to Zardes, but the ball goes out for an Iceland goal kick (0-0, min 4)

  • An early chance for the Americans goes out of bounds for an Iceland goal kick. (0-0, min 3)

  • The United States start to build up tier attack through the right wing. Zardes is involved early in the game. (0-0-, min 1)

  • 1st Half (45 mins) and the game kicks off with the USMNT in position. (0-0)

  • The players take pictures together and then run off to their positions as the game is about to kick off. 

  • Then the United States national anthem. Iceland's national anthem is first. The starting eleven for both national teams are coming out as the referees lead them out onto the field. The officials for the game: referee Jeffrey Solis (Costa Rica), then linesmen Warner Castro (Costa Rica), Carlos Fernandez (Costa Rica) and fourth official Ricardo Montero (Costa Rica)

  • The players from both nations are heading back to the locker rooms as game time approaches. 

  • Iceland is also practicing tier shooting and showing off tier accuracy as well. The USMNT players are taking warm up shots. It appears Nguyen and Zardes are ready to start the game. The two of them are so far three for three in this drill. The fans are starting to pile into the StubHub Center while making noise. Regardless of the cold weather and rain that is hitting Carson.

  • Iceland's Substitutes: Gunnleifur Gunnleifsson (GK), Aron Elis Thrandarson (FWD), Hjortur Hermannsson (DEF), Garder Gunnlaugsson (FWD), Kjartan Henry Finnbogason (FWD), Diego Johannesson (DEF) and Aevar Ingi Johannesson (MID)
    USA's Substitutes: David Bingham (GK), Eric Miller (DEF), Darlington Nagbe (MID), Jordan Morris (FWD), Mix Diskerud (MID), Steven Birnbaum (DEF), Jerome Kiesewetter (FWD), Will Tapp (MID), Perry Kitchen (MID) and Tony Tchani (MID)

  • Both national teams are warming up on the pitch. 

  • Here is the starting lineup for Iceland: GK: Ogmundur Kristinsson. DEF: Birkir Mar Sarvarsson, Hallgrimur Jonasson and Jon Gudni Fjoluson. MID: Gudmundur Thorarinsson, Aron Sigurdarson, Runar Mar Sigurjonsson, Arnor Smarason and Kristinn Steindorsson. FWD: Eidur Smari Gudjohnsen and Ari Freyr Skulason.  
    Here is the starting lineup for the United States: GK: Luis Robles. DEF: Brad Evans, Matt Besler, Kellyn Acosta and Michael Orozco. MID: (CAP) Michael Bradley, Ethan Finlay, Jermaine Jones, Lee Nguyen. FWD: Jozy Altidore and Gyasi Zardes 

    Welcome to VAVEL Soccer's LIVE coverage of a friendly match between the USMNT and Iceland. I'm Jorge Belon, and I'll be providing minute-to-minute updates, commentary and the result of the match. The game starts 3:45 P.M. ET, and there will be coverage pregame, mid-game, and post game.

    The United States and Iceland are going to meet at the StubHub Center for only the seventh time. Both nations come into the match filled with an inexperienced players on their roster. However, the Americans do have a bit more of a veteran presences among the players on the roster. Captain Michael Bradley, Jozy Altidore, Jermaine Jones, Brad Evans, Matt Besler and Mix Diskerud all have 25 and more caps to their names. Bradley and Altidore lead the way with the most caps on the national team. Bradley has 109 and Altidore has 89 for the national team. It is a safe bet that the two of them will be starting against Iceland. 

    However, in the goalie position for the USMNT it is a free for all since Sean Johnson has the most caps with five. The next two (Luis Robles and David Bingham) only have represented the United States once between them. It will be interesting to see who U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann selects to start in between the post today. Will he go with Major League Soccer (MLS) goal keeper of the year Luis Robles or Sean Johnson? Neither have experience with the senior team, but Robles is coming off an impressive season with the Supporters' Shield winners the New York Red Bulls. At age 31, Robles might be making a late push to the national team set up, but for the game against Iceland he should be a lock to start. 

    In the defense it is a safe bet that Matt Besler, Brad Evans and Michael Orozco will start. Those three are the most experienced between the other nine defenders on the roster. At time Klinsmann is known for taking a risk and giving a younger player a chance to start. Someone like former U.S. under-20 national team defender/midfielder Kellyn Acosta might benefit from that. At 20-years-old, Acosta has made the jump from bench player to starter for his MLS club FC Dallas. He helped the Hoops finish in first of the Western Conference with 60 points. Dallas finished tied with the Red Bulls in points for the Supporters' Shield, but they finished in second place due to goal differential.  Klinsmann might be willing to give the Acosta a chance to start against Iceland.

    However, if Klinsmann goes another direction then Acosta then his pick will be Steve Birnbaum. The D.C. United defender has been a starter for United for the last few seasons and Klinsmann has already used him before. Against an Iceland team that brought most of tier "B" squad players to play against the Yanks, it is tough to predicit who he will start on defense. The safe picks are Besler, Evans and Orozco after that it can potentially be anybody. 

    Iceland come into this match with the sole purpose of finding players to take to the 2016 UEFA Euro's in France this summer. The European nation qualified to tier first FIFA tournament last year by finishing second place in their group. Now being draw with Portugal, Austria and Hungary for the group stages of the Euro's Iceland must have a competitive roster ready for the prestigious European tournament. So far Iceland has already played in two matches this year. They defeated Finland 1-0 on January 13th and then three days later they lost to United Arab Emirates. Both games were played at the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium. Now they travel to Carson in hopes of getting their calendar year back on track and potentially see any younger or older players step up to make the roster who will compete in the Euor's. 

    For the United States this match represents the perfect medicine to erase the memories of 2015. The year where the Yanks failed to win the Gold Cup and also failed to secure their ticket to the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia. The frustration only became worst for the Americans when their passage to the Confederations Cup was denied by rivals, Mexico in the CONCACAF Cup on October the 10th. The USMNT lost to Mexico 3-2 at the Rose Bowl. 

    In 2016 the Yanks have a chance to start fresh and also win a trophy. The Copa America Centenario is the place where Americans fans can forgive the national team for a frustrating 2015 by having a solid performance in the tournament that will take place in the United States in June. Plus if the Americans can take care of business in the CONCACAF World Cup Qualifications and advance to the fifth round with ease then slowly 2015 will begin to fade away. 

    However, all the wounds must first began to heal here for the USMNT. Klinsmann has a busy 2016 and this match against Iceland will represent the perfect opportunity for him to decide who he will want to bring a long for the ride.