Scouting USA and England after their first friendly

With the USA and England both not featuring their full sides in their respective friendlies against the Czech Republic and Mexico this week, it's difficult to draw too many conclusions before their June 12 first-round match in the World Cup.

The most troubling sign for the USA was the performance of Oguchi Onyewu. The big central defender allowed a far-post header on a corner kick for a goal, which does not bode well given England's strength in the air.

The English were lucky to be ahead 2-0 at halftime as they allowed too much possession to the Mexicans. A header by Ledley King and another goal in the penalty area by Peter Crouch (on an attempted header that clumsily went off his midsection) masked the team's inability to close down space and time for Mexico, whose failure to finish could haunt them in Group A.

Bob Bradley has already announced his 23-man squad, so let's hope the Americans can show better on Saturday against Turkey in Philadelphia. It's time to see how he will use Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan in the attacking positions.

On Sunday England plays Japan, which did not show well against South Korea in its friendly this week, and it'll be interesting to see whether Fabio Capello will try out more fringe players on the squad before announcing his final 23-man roster by the June 1 FIFA cutoff.

Among those who were rested by Capello were the Chelsea contingent since they were coming off the FA Cup final. My next post will be about using the knowledge from your club football to help you foresee the opening stages of the World Cup.