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Jose Torres and
Robbie Findley made a late bid for World Cup starting roles for the
U.S. after coming off the bench to inspire Saturday’s 2-1 comeback win
over Turkey.

The U.S trailed 1-0
at halftime after a listless opening 45 minutes but the introduction of
Torres in midfield and Findley up front transformed the team.

Clint Dempsey, who
had not looked comfortable in attack alongside Jozy Altidore, was able
to drop into a deeper role after the change and Landon Donovan, lost in
the first 45 minutes, came alive.

A few days ago
Torres and Findley were not even sure of their places in the final 23
but Dempsey had no hesitation in putting the U.S. revival down to their
introduction.

“I think (what made
the difference) was Findley coming on with his pace, forcing the
defence to drop back so that me and Landon were able to get into the
pockets,” he told reporters.

“Also bringing Jose
into the game — he was able to get on the ball and I thought he looked
very confident and helped keep possession for us and caused them to
tire a little bit.”

Findley surprise

Findley was a
surprise inclusion in the 23 ahead of the experienced target man Brian
Ching but it is clear that Bob Bradley sees his speed as being a vital
weapon.

“He brought
energy,” the coach said. “He was a threat in terms of getting behind
them, going at people, holding the ball. He was sharp and confident
which is something we want — we want him to be aggressive when he has
chances.”

Findley created the equaliser with a nicely lofted pass over the top to Donovan, who found goalscorer Altidore.

Torres, who holds
Mexican as well as American citizenship, replaced Ricardo Clark in the
centre of midfield and slotted into a deeper, holding role where he was
able to prompt play.

“I thought Jose was sharp, found the right people and covered all the holes very well,” said Bradley.

But the U.S coach
was, not surprisingly tight-lipped when asked about his likely team to
face Fabio Capello’s England on June 12.

“Shall I just call Fabio next week and tell him?” he said.