It looked like things were going well for the USMNT in Philadelphia Saturday night. Clint Dempsey scored his 51st international goal and the US looked pretty in control of their match against Paraguay, carrying a 1-0 lead into halftime.
But then the second half started. Just over a minute into the half DeAndre Yedlin received a yellow card for a challenge near midfield. The decision to book Yedlin was questionable at best but nevertheless a yellow card is a yellow card.
Yedlin was understandably upset about the booking. Unfortunately he decided to express that anger just over a minute later on the field. The problem was it was directed at Paraguay. Yedlin came sliding in with another rash challenge and saw his second yellow of the match, sending him to the showers and leaving the US with 10 men for the final 40 minutes.
The US now faces a tough task as should they advance to the quarterfinals Yedlin will be suspended. That could be problematic as, aside from Yedlin, the US doesn’t have a natural right back on their roster. They could in theory move Fabian Johnson over from his left back position, but they don’t have a natural backup left back on the team either.
