U.S. falls to Slovenia 2-1

The U.S. men's national team that took the field on Saturday in Bratislava is not the side that will be walking onto the field in South Africa next summer. Players like Landon Donovan, Tim Howard, Ricardo Clark, Stuart Holden and Jose Torres were all missing due to club commitments and Oguchi Onyewu and Jay DeMerit were still out with long term injuries. Today's lineup featured a few notable changes in the starting lineup and featured a couple of substitutes who were trying to establish a place on the national team. This was not a game where the result mattered much in the grand scheme of things and the 1-0 defeat will not cause anyone involved with the U.S. team, whether player, coach or fan, to lose any sleep.

Here's what was important from today's match:

Jonathan Spector played well in the center of defense alongside Carlos Bocanegra and has probably earned the opportunity to win that spot full time. Spector and Steve Cherundolo have been locked in a tight back and forth race to gain control of the right back spot and both are currently in good form for their respective club sides so it makes sense for Bob Bradley to try one of them in the center. With the injuries to Onyewu, DeMerit and, to a lesser extent, Chad Marshall, Bob Bradley needs to find someone who can help Bocanegra in the center and Spector is looking more and more likely to be that man.

Landon Donovan is the most important player on the U.S.A. roster by a huge margin. The team played pretty well overall today but anyone watching the match could tell that Donovan's ability to create chances and dictate the offense was sorely missed. The team struggled to create scoring opportunities in the final third despite controlling the ball and playing a relatively fluid style for good portions of the match. Donovan is the American attack at this point and this match was the perfect way to see just how much he truly means to this team.

Eddie Johnson just doesn't have it right now. I'm not going to say he's done but I think his inactivity at the club level showed today. Whether it was rust or a lack of confidence, Johnson should be behind Jeff Cunningham, who was scoring at will for FC Dallas, on the current depth chart.

Here's ESPN's match report to give you the particulars of the match if you didn't get a chance to see it. If you were disappointed with the play of the U.S. in this match you won't have to wait long to see them in action again. They'll be playing a very strong Denmark team on Wednesday and they'll be bringing a few new faces into the team that should help bolster the attack.