The Official US Soccer thread

[Zeno]

Boom.

Good lad Jozy.

He built on last week and followed up a strong first half with an even better second half.

I hope everyone remembers the guy is still only 24 years old too. His best years are still ahead of him.

Best game in recent memory by Jermaine Jones.

Besler may have been called for the penalty but it was Gonzalez lunge that caused that to happen. Gonzalez is just in terrible form.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

He built on last week and followed up a strong first half with an even better second half.

I hope everyone remembers the guy is still only 24 years old too. His best years are still ahead of him.

Best game in recent memory by Jermaine Jones.

Besler may have been called for the penalty but it was Gonzalez lunge that caused that to happen. Gonzalez is just in terrible form.

I agree with everything you said. Omar will be lucky to play in the WC barring injuries.

Jozy had an amazing game. He could have had two more tap ins if Dempsey was on his game. Dempsey hasn't looked right in a US shirt for over a year. I know he is the captain, but damn. Get your head out of your ass.

Michael Bradley is the most important player on this team and it isn't even close. If we didn't have a quality keeper behind Howard in Guzan you could argue Howard. This team is flat out better when Bradley has the room to work in the attacking midfield.

Fabian Johnson might be secret weapon going in. He has been clutch in these 3 games.

As much as I have hated on Beckerman on this team. His role was much needed. He had a very good game. Beckerman, Jones, and Bradley should start next week against Ghana.

 

[Stout]

I agree with everything you said. Omar will be lucky to play in the WC barring injuries.

Jozy had an amazing game. He could have had two more tap ins if Dempsey was on his game. Dempsey hasn't looked right in a US shirt for over a year. I know he is the captain, but damn. Get your head out of your ass.

Michael Bradley is the most important player on this team and it isn't even close. If we didn't have a quality keeper behind Howard in Guzan you could argue Howard. This team is flat out better when Bradley has the room to work in the attacking midfield.

Fabian Johnson might be secret weapon going in. He has been clutch in these 3 games.

As much as I have hated on Beckerman on this team. His role was much needed. He had a very good game. Beckerman, Jones, and Bradley should start next week against Ghana.

I agree with almost everything you said. Spot on. Now, if we play like we did early on, we'll be crushed and not gain a point. Absorbing pressure and playing defensively is fine against the big teams, and can be a winning strategy. Doing so and immediately handing the ball back with clumsy passes, outright turnovers, and stupid mistakes will only make the losses 5-0 instead of 1 or 2-0. We play like we did the first 15, 20 minutes, we have zero chance of advancing.

On to my spot of disagreement with what you said. Beckerman sucked, should not see the field, and we will not advance if he plays, let alone starts. Okay, he was put in a defensive midfield role and helped somewhat cover the back four. I cannot count how many times he simply turned around and gave the ball back, or kicked it out of bounds, or just sailed it back to the Nigerians. Making a good defensive play helps the team not in the least if you hand the ball back in a good position, only with the player beyond you, which he did on several occasions too. He sucks. He shouldn't be on the team, let alone in the starting 11. My head will legitimately explode if he starts. Beckerman starts, put a fork in us--we'll be done.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

Agree with most of what everyone has been saying. It was a heartening performance against a decent team. Our defense looked much better, and I fully anticipate Beasley to be starting against Ghana.

Agree with DRC about Dempsey - he shows flashes, but just hasn't been finishing for the national team as of late. I'm hoping he'll step up in the tourney, but he just doesn't seem to be in top form.

That said, Bradley looks to be in top form and as aggressive as ever. I think he'll show again that he's the best player on the team.

Best matters, but it seems pretty clear that Jozy is our most important player. When Jozy scores, the US is 8-0. If he can get hot at the right time, we can get out of the group.

I like Bedoya starting, he plays with a ton of energy and is tenacious as hell on D. I wonder if they can train him to be a bulldog defensive mid. Speaking of bulldog defensive mids, agree that Jones had his best game in a long time. When he's bad, he's overrunning plays, committing stupid fouls and completely out of sorts. When he's good, he's a legitimate disruptive force who not only can be a terror on D, but also create opportunities moving forward.

Before this game, I was feeling pretty negative about the team in general. I think our conditioning and stamina can play a huge role in our success. Considering the combination of the weather, the condensed travel schedule and our play, I think we can get out of the group. Germany is certainly tough, and I anticipate them winning the group, but I also see Portugal as looking vulnerable at this point, especially with C-Ron's injury issues. Can't wait until next Monday.

Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!

 

[Lorenzo]

sorry in advance for the ramble, but I've yet to talk soccer and i've got WC fever!

I thought it was overall a good send-off campaign, maybe the best i've ever seen from the usa. the games against turkey and nigeria were real tests with players that are either playing in big leagues or have in the past. in those two games there were some major defensive hiccups, but those two teams have attacking mentalities and we were tinkering with our defense in some situations(but that is no excuse)...offensively I truly felt we created the better chances and deserved the win. In particular against turkey and nigeria we were much better in the second half until the waning minutes when were trying to just kill the clock. that is a promising sign for me especially heading this close to the WC with some players having questions about match fitness.

In years past we always relied on defending and sometimes won/drew games we deserved to lose. I still feel that teams like Nigeria and Turkey(like Mexico as well) we view them as very beatable by our standards and maybe they are, but they view us as inferior no doubt. so anytime we are getting these wins against them it is good. I think our mindset has changed, but we have to see it in the world cup before we know because that is the real test against the top teams. and that is where it is ultimately proven.

it appears that klinsmann has done a good job of looking at a lot of different combinations and getting his players to take different approaches with attacking and creating chances at the forefront. there are a lot of concerns. the biggest one is that right out of the gate they have to play three teams that can beat them. so they may not get out of the group. but for me I feel that this team should expect to get out of the group. and that is a good thing considering the weakest link is ghana a team that has bounced them the last two world cups. I actually think that ghana is the measuring stick to determine how far this team has come over the last two years. clearly they have gotten better and to me they could go with a lot of different lineups because a lot of the players are interchangeable with bradley, dempsey, altidore, howard, and jones being the players expected to lead. I really like all of the guys that made the final 23 and I may be in the minority but I'm glad landon is not being leaned on to be our make or break guy anymore.

 

[Lorenzo]

I agree with everything you said. Omar will be lucky to play in the WC barring injuries.

Jozy had an amazing game. He could have had two more tap ins if Dempsey was on his game. Dempsey hasn't looked right in a US shirt for over a year. I know he is the captain, but damn. Get your head out of your ass.

Michael Bradley is the most important player on this team and it isn't even close. If we didn't have a quality keeper behind Howard in Guzan you could argue Howard. This team is flat out better when Bradley has the room to work in the attacking midfield.

Fabian Johnson might be secret weapon going in. He has been clutch in these 3 games.

As much as I have hated on Beckerman on this team. His role was much needed. He had a very good game. Beckerman, Jones, and Bradley should start next week against Ghana.

I agree with your post overall especially beckerman. he's kind of a guy that you sometimes shrug when you see him on the starting lineup, but then you see how well bradley and jones played in front of him and you wonder.......well maybe there is something to beckerman being there. I think bradley is our best player and if you look at history reyna was important in 2002 and look how well we played then. if bradley plays like this our guys up front can score goals. but again it's gotta happen in the real world cup games these are friendlies as bradley said himself. I will be interested to see what klinsmann does in the midfield because he has so many options there. I dont know what he will do they all seem interchangeable aside from bradley and jones. their ball skills are top notch for their team so they will play no doubt. I like zusi and I also like what davis does on set piece delieveries, but wish davis gave you more of what bedoya and diskerud do on their pace up and down the field. maybe he's better than I know I haven't seen enough of him.

I think fabian johnson has been great both in attack and getting back on defense. not perfect, but better than i thought we'd see. he and bradley to me have been better than i thought they would be at least to this point.

I disagree a bit about dempsey's form. I think he is in form and his recent play with seattle(albeit MLS) is very impressive compared to where he was before. his form about 8 months ago was very poor and i was worried then because he wasn't dominating the mls like he should be. I do think he has seen better days obviously in the confederation cup and at fulham he was brilliant, but he looks ok physically. I think dempsey just mistouched a few balls that could have been goals, but so did altidore in previous games. it happens. they both have to be on point with their first touch or they won't score goals or create for one another. I have no problem with his shot when he could have passed it to jozy. jozy too had one of those against turkey and twellman made the comment that a striker is supposed to shoot the ball if he has a window. if he buries that one we perhaps aren't having this discussion about dempsey. just as with jozy before this last game everyone was worried about him (maybe not you all but certainly there were many) but now everyone is happy. I think both jozy and clint have played very well in attack the last 3 games. hopefully they score more goals and end the drought in the world cup. I'm also encouranged by what the two bench guys can do later in the game.

 

[Lorenzo]

4. To further bury the ludicrousness of your statement, we have managed to pull upsets and advance fairly well in the WC at stages in the past. We gave Germany a run for their money, your beloved Germany, and almost made them crap their pants. For a sport our country by and large doesn't give a damn about. If soccer suddenly became the top sport in the U.S., we would eventually dominate the sport. Period.

5. To your continued hate and vitriol?

that is an interesting point. in 2002 we outclassed germany and we deserved more i felt especially with a blown handball that stopped a goal. I thought that team to this point was our best i've seen. we beat portugal(a pre world cup favorite) and we drew with the host who made the semi finals. we lost to poland, but we beat mexico. then if you go to 2006 a disappointment, we drew with italy the champion. maybe we deserved a better referree in that game too.

in the end we've beaten teams like spain for instance(ending their streak) and we were clearly outplayed at times in that game. but hey we pull off huge upsets historically. we tend to show up against the big teams and either surprise them or play well. it's the teams like nigeria, turkey, ghana, etc that we struggle with historically. even algeria and slovenia we had to sneak out victories/draws when we should be beating them. to me that is why the ghana match is the true test. if we want to say we are improving and we are an up and coming nation we have to beat ghana. if we lose to portugal and germany so be it. they are great teams. I tend to think we can possibly beat one of those two or at least earn a draw if tim howard is amazing and the ball bounces nicely. but for me if we want to say we are improving we have to beat ghana. they feel the same way going into it with us so we will see very soon. I can't wait.

 

[Lorenzo]

Haha absolutely not I fought with a few here who were thought it is ludicrous to think he could be playing for 18. This clears up all doubt.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

i think he's coaching for the future, but that doesn't mean he is not trying to win now either. that's where I don't understand the media types that are saying he is coaching for 2018 not 2014. are you talking about his world cup final comments or his roster choices?

I think he is trying to motivate this team the best that he can. he said that they couldn't win a world cup back in decemeber didn't he? I may be wrong but that's what i thought I read and only now that has become a big story including one famous espn personality telling him he should go back to germany LOL. jurgen is pulling all the right chords and the media seems to love him for better or for worse in the case of wilbon.i thought jk's comments on kobe were absolutely true LOL. I mean just look at the last year kobe couldn't even play.

of corse who would pick this team to win a world cup now? no one. behind closed doors i'm sure he's telling his team they can win the next game.but i doubt he is talking about a world cup final. that's a tough subject even for the best teams.

 

[Lorenzo]

Germany and Portugal are better than England and Italy, easily.

But Uruaguay is far better than either USA or Ghana. That makes that group harder. Costa Rica does not matter they will finish 4th anyway.

I think that is a subjective arguement. england usually cannot live up to expectations because they are always too high, but maybe this team with youth can play well. italy are always tough, uraguay is good and so is costa rica when they are on their game.

both are tough groups and either one will say their group is tougher. I think USA's group is tougher overall, but only time will tell.

for me all 8 of those teams could beat one another on any given day albeit the ghana's usa's costa rica would need to play their best and maybe have a bounce or two go their way. maybe you could throw england in too as an underdog for me, but they always seem to be slightly overrated because of their history. I've never seen them as one of the true elite teams since I've been alive watching soccer when you look at their actual results. maybe the best i've seen them was in 98. but don't be surprised if there is a team from each of those groups that go home early or sneak into the final 16. it seems like it often happens that way. but I do give them credit for always making the world cup and the round of 16. that is not easy to do especially where they play.

 

[cardfaninfl]

Donovan to be ESPN commentator during World Cup

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/espn-donovan-analyze-us-team-163115062--sow.html

"We'll be back with more 'Second Guessing Jurgen' with your host Landon Donovan, right after these messages from our sponsors."

 

[dreamcastrocks]

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/espn-donovan-analyze-us-team-163115062--sow.html

"We'll be back with more 'Second Guessing Jurgen' with your host Landon Donovan, right after these messages from our sponsors."

I hate that fake Yahoo reporting. No wonder why they lost ground to Google.

This commercial is more like it.

http://www.businessinsider.com/landon-donovan-la-galaxy-world-cup-ad-2014-6

 

[crisper57]

Hope Solo arrested for domestic violence in Seattle.

 

[Zeno]

Germany and Portugal are better than England and Italy, easily.

But Uruaguay is far better than either USA or Ghana. That makes that group harder. Costa Rica does not matter they will finish 4th anyway.

Genius.

 

[SO91]

LOL

 

[Milgod]

Genius.

He'll find a way to back track somehow.

 

[SO91]

He'll find a way to back track somehow.

Advanced statistics still how Costa Rica is trash. /s

 

[Mulli]

Ther US are not a top 20-25 Team I think, probably around 30.

Germany, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, Netherlands, Italy, France, England, Belgium, Switzerland, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Croatia, Bosnia, Ivory Coast, Columbia, Serbia

That is 18 that are clearly better, the USA is in the next tier with a bunch of others, hard to say who is better..

Japan, Cameroon, South Korea, Greece, Mexico, USA, Poland, Ukraine, Denmark, Turkey, Ghana, Sweden, Austria, Egypt, Montenegro, Nigeria, Czech

:claphat:

 

[Lorenzo]

:claphat:

Hahaha oh well who cares what we know to be fact is that we are one of the final 16 coming out of a group that was as tough as any other.

 

[Mulli]

Yep, look at Mexico barely qualifying and now playing really well. Just survive to play another game.

 

[Milgod]

Ther US are not a top 20-25 Team I think, probably around 30.

Germany, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, Netherlands, Italy, France, England, Belgium, Switzerland, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Croatia, Bosnia, Ivory Coast, Columbia, Serbia

That is 18 that are clearly better, the USA is in the next tier with a bunch of others, hard to say who is better..

Japan, Cameroon, South Korea, Greece, Mexico, USA, Poland, Ukraine, Denmark, Turkey, Ghana, Sweden, Austria, Egypt, Montenegro, Nigeria, Czech

Any updates Slin? Just checking if you wanted to change any of your rankings.

 

[MadCardDisease]

Any updates Slin? Just checking if you wanted to change any of your rankings.

As a fairly new World Cup fan I can't believe I was almost suckered into his "Knowledge" of this tournament. The dude had more misses than Bradley.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Any updates Slin? Just checking if you wanted to change any of your rankings.

As a fairly new World Cup fan I can't believe I was almost suckered into his "Knowledge" of this tournament. The dude had more misses than Bradley.

Not sticking up for slin as a disagree with a lot of what he says at times, but he clearly has some knowledge of the game. I'd say that I would agree with most of his top 15. Don't you?

Germany, Brazil, Spain, Netherlands, Italy, France, Belgium, Argentina, Uruguay, (with Suarez) Chile are clearly better. England, Portugal, Switzerland, Ivory Coast, Columbia, Croatia, Bosnia, are arguably better. Serbia probably not. So even with that list, we aren't top 10. FIFA has us ranked at 16.

I'd put the US in the next tier like he mentioned with England, Portugal, Switzerland, Ivory Coast, Columbia, Croatia, Bosnia, Japan, Ukraine, Sweden, Mexico, Ghana etc.

He is clearly a Germany homer, but you can't just completely dismiss everything he says. He hits and misses with the rest of us.

 

[Mulli]

How you put them in the same class as sad England and teams that didn't qualify for the World Cup?

I really want to know.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

How you put them in the same class as sad England and teams that didn't qualify for the World Cup?

I really want to know.

Europe has stronger teams that the rest of the world. It has been argued several times that they don't get enough spots. Sweden with Zlatan is a team good enough to be at the WC. Ukraine was tied with England in points in their group before losing the second leg of the playoff. England in 6 or 7 of the other groups would have advanced. I wouldn't put Algeria or Nigeria ahead of England, Italy, or Spain just because they advanced to the knockout round and they didn't.

You can't look at everything in a vacuum.

 

[slinslin]

How you put them in the same class as sad England and teams that didn't qualify for the World Cup?

I really want to know.

Qualifying for the best of 16 doesn't make anyone better than others. It's based on 3 games.

A lot can happen in 3 games and better teams can lose to worse teams or draw especially since the lesser teams often play with no interest to attack and just sit back and force the favorite who have the pressure to win to attack them.
Spain won 3 straight tournaments and dropped out before the knockouts. Anyone want to tell me now that the USA are better than them?

Portugal played hilariously bad for example, still they are clearly a better team than Ghana or the USA.
Same for Spain, Italy or even England.
You match them up in 100 games in a final game against teams like Nigeria, USA, Algeria and so on and you will see that they will probably win 50%, draw 30% and lose 20%.

Some of the big teams struggle internally with chemistry or crumble under the huge expectations.

These teams have far more talent than several of the qualified teams for the last 16.

Also I am not changing my rating for the USA team at all. Their win against Ghana was extremely lucky and not deserved at all - huge individual error by that Ghana kid to go ahead after 30 seconds, then scored one off a corner at the end but between the first minute and the last minute only Ghana attacked.

I suspect that most of the Cinderella teams will be taken care off now in the knockouts now.