Official World Cup 2010 thread

[Mulli]

Crowd singing let freedom ring...... Awesome.

That is awesome. I like the us squad much better than 06. Hey, ESPN, feel free to not show Gerrard's hot dogging after goals five times, in slomo. I hate that guy. Punk.

 

[Dr. Jones]

Man Of The Match - TIM FREAKING HOWARD

 

[Dr. Jones]

Clark has to be the lowest rated man in this match. Match ratings should be coming out soon.

Please post it when you find it Zeno

 

[hafey]

Cherundolo was just fantastic as well.

 

[Dr. Jones]

Cherundolo was just fantastic as well.

Yes.... He is my #2 for sure.

 

[Zeno]

Please post it when you find it Zeno

Will do. Probably will start seeing them within the hour.

 

[Dr. Jones]

Everyone giving Jay Demerit some love....

I am more in love with what ***** gave us.

Thoughts?

 

[Dr. Jones]

Goal differential will be the difference between us and the Brits in this group....

 

[Zeno]

Everyone giving Jay Demerit some love....

I am more in love with what ***** gave us.

Thoughts?

Cherundolo and Demerit were the 2 best players on the field IMO

Demerit made himself some money today. He is out of contract right now so technically a free agent

 

[Milgod]

Donovan deserves more credit than he will get. Just his ability to push forward meant that Ashley Cole couldn't come up as much. That was key for us today. Bradley was good in the middle, especially in the second half.

A good result but we have to make sure we beat Slovenia.

 

[Zeno]

First match ratings from Goal.com...

Tim Howard - 7.5 - Little chance when Gerrard was sent clean through on him early on. Took a hefty boot from Heskey but refused to buckle, and stared down the Aston Villa man when he was in on goal in the second half. Can return to the Everton dressing room next season with pride intact.

Steven Cherundolo - 6 - Had a handful of decent crossing opportunities in the opening quarter but couldn't produce the kind of delivery needed. Had the beating of an unfit Milner, but was booked for a foul on his replacement Wright-Phillips.

Oguchi Onyewu - 8 - Along with central defensive partner DeMerit, he refused to be intimidated by reputations and dealt with everything solidly. Perfect example of his night was how he tracked back to deny Lampard a clear shot on goal with the clock ticking down. Nobody contributed more to the USA cause.

Jay DeMerit - 7 - Got too close to Heskey for the opener which made the striker's lay off all too easy. Booked near the beginning of the second half but put in a sterling shift.

Carlos Bocanegra - 6 - Could have scored had he managed to direct Donovan's fierce free-kick on target in the second half. Only struggled defensively when Johnson overlapped to good effect.

Landon Donovan - 6.5 - Fabulous measured cross picked out Altidore six yards from goal on 18 minutes, but the striker headed wide. Some good set-piece deliveries, but Cole did a fine job of keeping America's true star quiet in open play.

Clint Dempsey - 7 - Had already shown his willingness to shoot from distance even before somehow beating Green with a tepid effort.

Michael Bradley - 6 - Held his own against the more heralded Gerrard and Lampard. Some incisive passing and always looked comfortable on the ball.

Ricardo Clark - 6 - Played his part in America's determined midfield effort without ever taking a starring role.

Jozy Altidore - 6 - Probably should have done better from Donovan's cross than head harmlessly low and wide. An even greater opportunity came in the second half but he was denied by a combination of Green and the upright.

Robbie Findley - 6 - Must have thought he was in on goal before being barged over by Carragher with 18 minutes to play. Booked soon after for a lunge on Gerrard.

http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2890...world-cup-2010-player-ratings-england-1-1-usa

Here are some fan ratings on the Guardian...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/playerratings/football/match/3099087

 

[Dr. Jones]

Goal.com agrees with me on *****'s performance.

But in the end.... It is opinion.... ***** and Howard were great in any event. Howard I expected, ***** surprised the hell out of me.

 

[Chaplin]

Those ratings are garbage. ***** is the highest rated player on the pitch? Give me a freaking break. Cherundolo and especially Howard were better. You can't tell me Cherundolo is rated the same as Casper Clark and Robbie Findley.

Didn't like Jozy in the first half, but liked him in the 2nd, and even though he didn't get a lot of big time goal-scoring chances, I liked Dempsey's activity. He was all over the pitch. Michael Bradley also did a good job of controlling the midfield, and Landon had some great free kicks and provided some opportunities to the front men.

Oh, and after seeing that joke of a Greek team, I have serious doubts about my pick of them going through. Had no idea until the broadcast they they have NEVER scored a goal in a World Cup match and that South Korea was undefeated in qualifying.

 

[Lorenzo]

I don't like those ratings either. While I can rest easy with *****'s performance...he shouldn't get a rating higher than tim howard. it was tim who bailed out ***** on one of the worst blundering gamble's of the game. cherrundolo played well and did a good job of keeping wright phillips at bay. although there was a difference after the goal and when right phillips came on cherrundolo did not get forward nearly as much. Cherrundolo looked like he wasn't scared by the bright lights.

Findley was not effective and his speed did nothing, but maybe slightly concern england.

Jozy was up and down as expected, but made a great run late in the game that could and have been a goal. He should have put that donovan cross away to equalize the game. If he does well the USA actually win. Then again england hand many moments themselves.

Dempsey was ok, but looked too tired to be effective later in the game. I don't think jozy wanted to come off the pitch, but bradley moved dempsey up when jozy came off. maybe bradley will push dempsey up earlier in the next game. he just needs to decide what to do up top to have a more effective result.

Donovan was good when the US played with possession, but in games like this when they are watching he is not always going to shine. he did provide good service. I noticed donovan can spend time watching in a game, but he made some strong defensive runs as well.

Clark...as always a lot of watching and let gerrard run by him without the ball to open the scoring right out of the game. Clark did ok the rest of the game, but he does not play like a midfielder. he does not push the ball forward with any confidence. In many ways he is a defender playing midfield. weakest link on the team. If the USA wants a real chance to be a contender, they need a real midfielder at this position.

Bradley...I thought he played well. maybe was the best midfielder in the game for the US. He was comfortable with the ball on his feet, he was patient, and for the most part until late when he was probably tired of chasing, he provided quality passing in the attack. Pretty good when you consider who was up against.

Demerit....had a blonde moment taking the yellow...but in retrospect didn't let him man go. had a couple of miscues early with ***** on communicating, but all in all a lot better than I expected. he was physical and did not make any major mistakes.

*****...I thought ***** played great considering the circumstances. he made a major blunder by running forward and leaving his man, but howard bailed him out. he was all over the place though on a couple of sequences...in a good way.

cherrundolo...very good game.

bocanegra?? probably the weak link of the defense today. he gives you little to nothing in the attack moving forward. nothing like what the USA has on the right side. and he is not the best defender either. but right now he's the best option there. bornstein would give you an upgrade in pace on the left, but that is it. he doesn't have the rest of the tools.

howard-awesome...near flawless.

 

[Stout]

All has been said, for the most part. I will chip in some defense for Dempsey, because he was just being physically brutalized and kept getting back up.

I will definitely take this result!

 

[Lorenzo]

in the first half it looked like there were a lot of nerves and emotions for both sides. I felt like the US responded well to the goal, but you can't give up a goal that easy, that early. clark should be on his last string if he already is not.

second half the USA looked more composed and didn't make any major mistakes. but they seemed content to watch england play for about 30 mins before they decided to at least try to score a goal in the final 10 mins. I understand playing for the draw in this one. However, that will need to change.

 

[Chaplin]

Bocanegra is a great header on the opposite side of the pitch to create chances, the problem is that the ball has to be perfect from Landon or Bradley in order for him to get his head on it--not a lot of that happened today.

 

[Shzm13]

Great showing for the US. Itd be amazing if they can win the group

 

[Dr. Jones]

Jean Luc...... SAY IT AINT SO!!!!

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[Stout]

Oh, and I'll definitely chime in that Clark should in no way be on the pitch for the next match. He also gave up an incredibly stupid and useless foul in a good spot for England.

 

[Chaplin]

It would be interesting to see the game again and see where Clark was in relation to Lampard and Rooney. Lampard didn't even seem to touch the ball much and Rooney didn't get going until the 71st minute. Although I believe all that was do to Demerit marking Rooney well and Bradley and Donovan controlling the midfield, especially in the second half.

I wish we could have won, but I'm VERY VERY happy for the draw.

 

[Chaplin]

ESPN's rankings, which are much, much better:

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-...5279953/ce/us/us-england-match?cc=null&ver=us

After all the hype, the U.S-England match is in the books. Here's our rundown of ratings for all the players, starting with the U.S. squad:

The Grades

Player ratings: (1-10; 10 = best)

United States
Tim Howard, goalkeeper, 8 -- Could do nothing about the goal, and made a brave save at Emile Heskey's feet to thwart an England attack. He came up big against Heskey and Shaun Wright-Phillips on second-half breakaways.

Carlos Bocanegra, defense, 5 -- Held up well initially but simply wore down trying to contain Aaron Lennon and Glen Johnson.

Jay DeMerit, defense, 6 -- Struggled in his aerial battles with Heskey and was slow to deny him the ball on Steven Gerrard's goal, but he did well to keep Wayne Rooney quiet for the most part. He got better as the game went on.

Oguchi Onyewu, defense, 6.5 -- Another player whose positioning looked suspect on Gerrard's goal, as he got pulled forward, creating space in behind. He was fairly composed the rest of the way though, repaying Bob Bradley's faith in him. Had a vital late challenge on a Frank Lampard effort.

Steve Cherundolo, defense, 7 -- Forced England into an early sub by continually beating James Milner. The introduction of Wright-Phillips changed things but he continued to defend well.

Clint Dempsey, midfield, 6 -- Sure, his goal was lucky, but he made his good fortune by doing what he does best, taking risks. Gave a huge effort on defense as well.

Michael Bradley, midfield, 6 -- Did his usual yeoman's work in midfield, clogging the passing lanes, although his distribution was poor at times.

Ricardo Clark, midfield, 4 -- Bore the most responsibility for England's goal as he failed to track Gerrard. Clark did recover to make some vital tackles and interceptions but struggled to connect with his teammates.

Landon Donovan, midfield, 5.5 -- Starved of service early on, Donovan forced his way into the game with some excellent crosses into the box. His influence was limited in the second half as he was restricted to mostly defensive duties.

Jozy Altidore, forward, 6 -- Showed some good hustle and was unlucky not to score on a surging run in the second half when he was denied by Robert Green.

Robbie Findley, forward, 5 -- Threatened with his pace, but his decision-making needed to be quicker.

Subs:

Edson Buddle, forward, 4.5 -- Had little impact after coming on for Findley.

Stuart Holden, midfield, not rated -- It was a very late cameo for the Bolton midfielder.

England
Robert Green, goalkeeper, 2 -- His terrible error on Dempsey's goal threw the U.S. a lifeline when it needed it most. While he did have a nice save from Altidore's shot, Green cost England the win.

Ashley Cole, defense, 5 -- Solid defending and had an easier time once Wright-Phillips entered the match. Wasn't as much of a threat going forward as was expected.

John Terry, defense, 6.5 -- Was largely untroubled in dealing with Altidore and Findley.

Ledley King, defense, 6 -- Looked to be having a solid game before being substituted at halftime.

Glen Johnson, defense, 6 -- Was a constant threat going forward, which nearly was the difference.

Steven Gerrard, midfield, 7 -- Took his goal with aplomb and did his bit on the defensive end as well.

James Milner, midfield, 3.5 -- Was getting abused by Cherundolo before being mercifully subbed for after 30 minutes.

Frank Lampard, midfield, 5.5 -- Seemed to struggle to find his game in the first half but got more involved in the second half.

Aaron Lennon, midfield, 6 -- Had some dangerous crosses that were denied only by some desperate American defending.

Emile Heskey, forward, 6 -- His clever touch set up Gerrard for the opener. He also won plenty of head balls, but his teammates were rarely around to claim them. As good as his hold-up play was, his finishing was suspect.

Wayne Rooney, forward, 5 -- Was kept quiet by the U.S. even when he ventured into midfield. Had a slightly bigger impact in the second half, but much more was expected.

Subs:

Shaun Wright-Phillips, midfield, 4 -- Did plenty to shore up the left side of the England defense but offered little in attack. Should have done better on a late chance that was set up by Rooney.

Jamie Carragher, defense, 4 -- Seemed a step slow and was cleanly beaten by Altidore, only to be bailed out by Green.

Peter Crouch, forward, 5 -- Offered less than Heskey, even in the air.

 

[Zeno]

More ratings...

http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/world_cup/845719/Our-player-ratings-for-Englands-clash-with-USA.html
Highest rated players Demerit & Cherundolo

http://www.dailyfootballblog.com/england-usa-ratings/573.php
Highest rated players Howard & Cherundolo

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/international/article7149201.ece
Top rated Donovan, Dempsey & Howard

 

[Renz]

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[English on tour]

What a shower of shi....

Looked like two bad teams on the face of it. Now i know thats not the case, we didnt play well and you guys without hitting your stride didnt do bad i guess (seems to be the case upon reading this thread too).

Its easy to point fingers at Green and Heskey etc but the fact that we could string 2 passes together or find one decent ball all game has me more worried. I think thats four out of five WC's that we have started with a draw and do tend to get better, so fingers crossed we pick it up again.

Credit where its due, after going behind early it would have been easy for your lot to jack it in, they didnt and that can only bode well for the rest of the competition. Me...i am off to boil my head!