The Official US Soccer thread

[Zeno]

I was going say the long ball isn't working but neither is short and intermediate balls.

 

[Lorenzo]

So we are playing a 6-4-0


I mean 10-0-0

 

[Zeno]

This is some of the worst passing I have seen by the US in a long time,

 

[gmabel830]

Messi being Messi.. and the route is on!

 

[Zeno]

Wow! Messi is just awesome.

 

[SO91]

No presence in the middle, and nothing coming from the wings. And we just got Messi'ed.

 

[SO91]

Guzan has been trash.

 

[Ronin]

Wow.

 

[Lorenzo]

Beautiful shot. Not that we had a chance to win. I just wish we played to win. Klinsmann talked out of his ass all week. You don't say things like that and keep your best talents on your bench.

 

[Zeno]

What is possession 85% for Argentina?

 

[Zeno]

There better be some halftime subs

 

[Lorenzo]

What is possession 85% for Argentina?

Yes and for me if we don't make this a competitive game this tournament is a disappointment. To get dominated like this at home is not something to say hey we are happy about this.

 

[Zeno]

Fabian Johnson and Michael Bradley must lead the team in giveaways tonight

 

[Lorenzo]

There better be some halftime subs

Guzan should be subbed out. Let Tim Howard get a swan song like wondo and beckerman do.

 

[Zeno]

Guzan should be subbed out. Let Tim Howard get a swan song like wondo and beckerman do.

I hope Howard gets a chance to start the third place game. He deserves that much at least.

 

[SO91]

At least we get the 3rd place game in Glendale. Anybody going?

 

[Zeno]

Seriously I can't believe how bad Bradley and Johnson have been, they just continuously give the ball away.

On a positive Brooks hasn't embarrassed himself tonight.

 

[Zeno]

Not sure who was worse on that 4th goal Bradley or Birnbaum. Embarrassing

 

[football karma]

That was disappointing but not totally unexpected

I thought Guzan should have saved one of the first two goals - just wasnt decisive

Agree that both Fabian and Bradley weren't good. Bradley's worst give aways always seem to be when he wants to go backwards with the ball-- it compounds the mistake.

Yedlin is at his best going forward-- and at his worst making decisions in tight spaces in his own end -- Argentina attacked him over and over.

Might have been the level of competition, but the difference between Bobby Wood and Wondo was huge.

While Zardes first touch really puts him at a disadvantage-- but he was one of the few that seemed to be willing to turn with the the ball and run at defenders.

Finally-- I thought the entire US team showed far too much deference to Argentina. I kind of agreed with Donovan at the end of the broadcast -- too few fouls. The US didn't bring much of a physical presence on challenges. Seemed like there were a variety of loose balls where the US had a chance to step up and win it, but backed off to play it safe.

 

[Zeno]

I didn't expect the US to win but I did expect the team to at least compete. They were outshot 10-0, they had the ball around 32% of the time, and that is figuring time it took for restarts etc. I haven't looked at the completed passes charts but I would not be surprised if the total isn't the lowest in years.

We at least looked competent against Germany and Belgium in the last WC--clearly outclassed but not in this manner. It just feels like a major step back IMO.

I am hoping the team just goes for broke in the third place game...normally the 3rd place games are pretty entertaining.

 

[Stout]

I didn't expect the US to win but I did expect the team to at least compete. They were outshot 10-0, they had the ball around 32% of the time, and that is figuring time it took for restarts etc. I haven't looked at the completed passes charts but I would not be surprised if the total isn't the lowest in years.

We at least looked competent against Germany and Belgium in the last WC--clearly outclassed but not in this manner. It just feels like a major step back IMO.

I am hoping the team just goes for broke in the third place game...normally the 3rd place games are pretty entertaining.

Meh, the third placed game is meaningless now. We didn't play to win or even coach to win in the game that mattered. JK proved he hasn't learned his lessons.

You know what, I don't give a damn how well we did in this tournament--I'm back on the fire JK bandwagon. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Hell, he should have been fired when the lineup was announced.

 

[SO91]

I think most predicted the lineup JK would go with, and I can't find many that thought it would be a good idea to do so. Whatever the 'plan' was at the start, it got thrown out in less than 4 minutes with that idiotic early goal. When you're clearly inferior in both talent and composure, you can't give up a goal like that. They looked completely demoralized after that.

 

[cardfaninfl]

Rewatching the match was tedious and even more horrific than the first viewing. Players up-top showed no interest in creating space, players in the middle showed no effort in receiving passes, and the backline looked confused as to what they were doing, who they were playing against, or even who they were playing next to.

Watching players like Fabian seeming to not care, DeAndre constantly looking confused if he should move up or play back, and Bradley sending close to 100% of his passes to Argentine players along with so many physical and metal errors showed me this team was tired to the point of being completely spent. Maybe they had the fitness to play 90 minutes, but heavy legs and exhausted brains had as much to do with how lopsided this match was, as playing the World's best. The only reasons for that showing (from every player) is either a lack of intelligence or just having so little fuel in their tanks to perform mentally and physically.

As for Guzman, you set the wall and place yourself in positions that will force the set-piece taker to make a bending shot that is almost impossible to save. With Messi that likelihood increases, but a shot with pace to the open post is what a keeper should be expecting. Guessing Messi would try to go around the wall and getting wrong-footed on simple shot with power, is on Brad. The only reason he is getting a pass from the media is the foul was caused by a player that should have never been on the roster.

As for my boy Jurgen, you sucked. He wanted to get to the Semis, put all of his eggs in that basket, and when he got there... he also seemed too tired to perform. Wondoboner does not belong on the pitch with class players and even if he somehow became that good - choosing to pair him with Deuce is counterproductive to the point of sabotage. They do not complement each other, and never have. Medusa Hair is a veteran that could be useful in a 4-5-1 or Diamond deep Mid, but worse that useless in a 4-4-2. I stopped counting after 3 incidents where he and Michael occupied the same space, effectively getting in each other's way and allowing one Argentine player to defend (or make a pass around) them both. If Kyle was not given the sole responsibility to mark Messi; what was the use of him?

Hopefully this embarrassment (on home turf) shows Klinsmann he has to rotate players or roll the dice with the "B" team during tournaments because the USMNT doesn't have the dept to win multiple knockout rounds, without taking chances. More importantly, the backlash from this match hopefully ends Jurgen's love affair with veterans that are prone to unbelievable gaffs, lacking talent, or decide to send a hand to an opponent's face that jeopardizes the team.

 

[Stout]

JK may just be hired away, so we might not need to fire him:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...n-klinsmann-usmnt-southampton-coach/86278518/

 

[SO91]

If JK leaves/gets canned, who do you want replacing him?