U.S. wins send-off match 2-1

In front of 55,407 at Lincoln Financial Field, the U.S. defeated Turkey, 2-1, in its final send-off match before flying to South Africa for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

The U.S. flies out of Washington D.C. tomorrow.

You can check out the behind-the-scenes video -- of the team as it moved from the mixed-zone media area to the bus -- in the video player below on the right. We listed Bob Bradley's starters in the previous blog post, but here's the post-game update: at halftime, Jose Torres came in for Ricardo Clark, Robbie Findley came in for Benny Feilhaber, Steve Cherundulo for Jonathan Spector, and Oguchi Onyewu for Clarence Goodson. At the 81st minute, Stuart Holden came in for Jozy Altidore.

In the first half, the U.S.'s defense looked, um, not very good. Spector got caught a couple of times, one mistake ending in Turkey's only goal, scored by Arda Turan in the 27th minute. Bradley's substitutes seemed to change the entire complexion of the game. The defense looked much tighter in the second half. Findley opened up the offense for Landon Donovan, who didn't get many touches in the first half, but assisted on both second-half goals. And Torres did a nice job controlling the middle of the field.

Donovan assisted goals to Jozy Altidore (58th minute) and then Clint Dempsey (75th minute).

Here are a few quotes from the team's post-game availability:

Bob Bradley: "The type of game we were in today pushed the team very hard and that's what you want from a game like today. The response, especially in the second half, was a strong one. We did a good job pushing through the second goal, we had a couple of chances to get the third goal, but when you consider everything that's gone on the last few weeks it puts us in a good position and I think now we're ready to move on to South Africa."

Carlos Bocanegra: "

Donovan: "Our organization was a lot better in the second half and from there we had a lot more opportunities."

Jay DeMerit: "Instead of just individually trying to close down our markers, we just didn't work very well together, as a group, in the first half."

Clint Dempsey, on his goal: "I didn't want to go in too hard because I didn't want to kick the ball away from me or have the goalie pick it up, so I tried to absorb the hit and get a good bounce."

Here are a few more notes: Bradley mentioned that the coaching staff made a conscious decision to play Onyewu only 45 minutes today. The staff felt with the quick turnaround after Tuesday's match, Onyewu needed a break. Bradley said the staff decided to play Onyewu the second half of the game. Bradley was also pleased with the play of Findley and Torres, saying both made the most of the opportunity.

Finally, here was what Bradley had to say about the opportunity to play in Philadelphia: "It comes at a great time. Whenever a new team comes into the league – the Philadelphia Union – and when there's such a good initial response from the fans in this area towards the team, I think it's a great fit when we have a chance to come and show our appreciation for the soccer fans in this area. It was perfect in that regard."

U.S. plays Australia in an exhibition match on June 5 in South Africa.

--Kate