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American Soccer |OT| Life, liberty and the pursuit of the beautiful game
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Awesome!
bronkonagurski
Member
They did play like shit tonight but damn it, they won. They found a way. It was a feelgood moment.
The hardest game was conquered. Now well steamroll the other two games
Avon Barksdale
Member
Looks like everyone predicted a 2-1 victory and were right!
Definitely. Don't know about steam rolling Germany. If anything, that game will be for top spot. Portugal looks done after today.
I didn't as much predict as i just hoped it would be a USA win by the same score that ghana has won that last two times. Just makes the win that much sweeter.
John Brooks on his dream that he would score today:
http://www.espnfc.us/fifa-world-cup/4/video/1887845/brooks-i-had-a-dream-i-would-score
http://www.espnfc.us/fifa-world-cup/4/video/1887845/brooks-i-had-a-dream-i-would-score
What a game! I was exhausted by the end. So happy we got the Ghana monkey off our back. Now to start praying that Jozy miraculously only suffered a Grade 1 sprain. A couple thoughts:
- There were some heroic efforts from the defense. Jermaine Jones was everywhere, Beckermen always turned up where he needed to be and made the right pass to release some pressure, and lost amid the goal was Brooks' fantastic work in and around his own box. His first touch was bad, but he instantly recovered and then made several big defensive plays throughout the rest of the game.
- Jozy and Bradley are probably the two players the US can most ill afford to lose. So of course one gets hurt. I don't like having to go against Portugal or Germany without Altidore.
- The silver lining is that Portugal will be shorthanded. Pepe is out with the red card suspension, and Coentrao and Hugo Almeida will miss the game with injuries. And Ronaldo hasn't been a huge factor in a game since picking up his knee injuries. The US could have a shot to steal another victory there.
- We all know that as Michael Bradley goes, so goes the team. Well he looked awful and therefore the team didn't look much better. I can't remember ever seeing him play that poorly. I really hope he's not secretly hurt or sick. And I hope the conditions didn't get to him. Manaus on Sunday against Portugal will only be worse.
- Brooks' reaction to scoring was great. He seemed to instantly know how important it was.
- I loved the reaction to the goals from the US Women's team. Of course, I just love the US Women's team in general, so...
- I swear to you this is true: Right after the final roster was announced, I told my parents that I thought one of the young guys on the roster would make a huge play during the tournament.
Without Jozy up top that's the best we can hope for. Aron and Wondo aren't suited to his role at all. It's funny how everyone was calling for him to be replaced and now that he's injured everyone realizes all the work he does up top.
We put Wondo up top, start Zusi over Bedoya and go for corners, crosses and free kicks. Not much else sadly, even if it's a grade 1 sprain Jozy won't be back until Germany at the earliest--if we get lucky.
http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/...cup-but-still-needs-a-point-against-portugal/
FiveThirtyEights World Cup predictions now give the United States a 63 percent chance of advancing, up from 33 percent on Monday morning.
FiveThirtyEights World Cup predictions now give the United States a 63 percent chance of advancing, up from 33 percent on Monday morning.
smokeandmirrors
Banned
cant believe the injuries last night. so fucked up. hope everyone gets healthy. god... Jozy. fuck.
thank god the defense stepped up for the most part, because Bradley was MIA all game. so strange. hopefully its all uphill from here for him. we need better. looking for him to step up big next game like we all know he can.
all of the goals last night were great goals. i was gutted when Ghana scored and the joy when Brooks scored on that corner... holy shit... so amazing.
that was a tough game. i was stressed all day long from the time i woke up, and that game was exhausting. so so happy about the result.
that was step 1! lets do this.
thank god the defense stepped up for the most part, because Bradley was MIA all game. so strange. hopefully its all uphill from here for him. we need better. looking for him to step up big next game like we all know he can.
all of the goals last night were great goals. i was gutted when Ghana scored and the joy when Brooks scored on that corner... holy shit... so amazing.
that was a tough game. i was stressed all day long from the time i woke up, and that game was exhausting. so so happy about the result.
that was step 1! lets do this.
What do we do for the next game? I suspect Bradley will be much better (how could he not after that sht performance). But man, our left side is terrible. Beasley was straight up awful. Our other option is chandler who was terrible in the warmup matches too but at least chandler has more pace
Yes, that is just ESPN's numbers. We should get the full numbers, including total audience, later today.
jamesinclair
Banned
I was hoping there would be more discussion here about how terribly the US played.
Yes, they won, but WTF happened?
Its like this was their first time as a team. They couldnt hold the ball for 3 seconds, they couldnt pass, they couldnt attack....
They were on par with Honduras IMO. A huge contrast with Bosnia that really impressed me with their ball control. Im sure the game was about as interesting as Nigeria-Iran for neutral viewers.
Look, we all know the US doesnt quite play like Germany or Holland, but weve all seen them play better.
What went wrong? Is there a problem with the coaching? Are they missing Donovan that much?
If they play like that against Germany, it will be an Oceania-level blowout.
Edit: Im posting in here for a serious response
Yes, they won, but WTF happened?
Its like this was their first time as a team. They couldnt hold the ball for 3 seconds, they couldnt pass, they couldnt attack....
They were on par with Honduras IMO. A huge contrast with Bosnia that really impressed me with their ball control. Im sure the game was about as interesting as Nigeria-Iran for neutral viewers.
Look, we all know the US doesnt quite play like Germany or Holland, but weve all seen them play better.
What went wrong? Is there a problem with the coaching? Are they missing Donovan that much?
If they play like that against Germany, it will be an Oceania-level blowout.
Edit: Im posting in here for a serious response
jamesinclair
Banned
Absolutely.
I was talking to my friends about how the US has an advantage over European teams because some of their players are in MLS and FMF, which play in the hot summer. That means theyd have no issue.
And then they all started falling over. I dont think any other team had as many injuries, or looked as unfit. Even the game in Manaus.
It was shocking to me. Did they spend the last month at the buffet?
Don't think so. We'd probably lose something like 4-0. Big teams usually take their foot off the gas in the 2nd half if the game is out of reach.. Germany could have and "should have" beat Portugal by 6 or 7 after their first half dominance.
I don't think there's really much to discuss. Everyone who watched the game can acknowledge we were poor. It's obviously not the coaching as we've never had better coaching than we do now. Let's hope it was a one off, because it was obviously significantly worse than we've played before. What was strange to me, was even when Ghana weren't pressing, we looked to make a long pass and failed spectacularly with regularity.
Bradley was awful and we got battered around -- the next game should be much less physical, especially with Pepe out. I'm sure Jurgen will spend the next few days working on passing and hopefully Bradley irons out his touch issues because you could only describe him as uncharacteristic.
The Culture Vulture
Member
I think they got an early lead and were too protective of it. Add a couple of injuries and a couple of knocks. Bradley having one of the worst games I've seen from him and that's why we had so little possession. It's a good thing Jermaine Jones and Tim Howard were on the top of their game since the rest of the core middle players were Altidore (OUT) Dempsey (Injured) Bradley (Out of form) and Beesler (Injured then OUT).
I don't think it's missing Donovan because they looked really solid during the warm up matches.
jamesinclair
Banned
Ok, I agree, most teams stop at 6. And if Germany is at 6 points, they wont want to risk injuries....
But they have players looking at records, so they could throw in Klose and Mueller just to score big personal benchmarks.
Again, assuming the US plays just as badly.
Yes, Pepe is out, but Ronaldo could easily walk around the nonexistent defense that was shown.
If Tim Howard isnt 100%, its over for the US. Hes the only guy who really showed up. Problem is, if you let the other team keep kicking at your goalie, one eventually gets in.
AKA: MLS in CONCACAF tournaments. How many 1-0s have turned into 1-6 because the MLS team takes a lead, bunkers, and then collapses in the last 20 minutes? Its a failed strategy every time.
lastflowers
Banned
What happened: We got a goal early. Bradley sat back and then the whole team sucked. We are an attacking side that is dependent upon our ability to pressure the opposing team. Without stretching teams via attack, our defense is exposed. Bradley HAS to stay higher on the pitch for us to have any chance. He also needs to pass the ball with a hint of skill. He was the worst player on the pitch last night, and acted more as a player for Ghana than for usmnt. His defending was atrocious, his passing was atrocious.
jamesinclair
Banned
I will subscribe to your future analysis
I watched the Men In Blazers post game thing on ESPN3 and Rog had a pretty funny part where he said he'd asked Jurgen during filming Inside if he was "over training" them and Jurgen would just laugh and say no, they'll be fine. He likened it to when he was a kid and would tell a joke because Jurgen seemed genuinely amused at the question apparently. I imagine there will be a few less strenuous days in prep for the next match.
yep. dunno wtf his issue was last night, but his poor play put us under a lot of pressure. a lot of our defenders had to play well to keep us alive last night because we had very little going forward, and that's putting it nicely.
the fitness is a real concern as well. way too many players looking like they were playing injured. scary stuff. if we can get that figured out in the next few days we should have a much better game against Portugal.
i cant see us playing this poorly in the next two games. thats assuming that Bradley gets his head screwed on straight, and injuries dont sink us.
when looking for serious responses, try to avoid trolling. it's difficult for you, i know.
HerbertFish
Member
How do you guys think our tactics will change going from Jozy to Aron
I don't think it will be Aron, but Wondo. I think the US will look to play the ball wide and send crosses into the box for our poachers to direct onto goal. No Coentrao, so I expect the US will attack the right side. And with no Pepe in the box, hopefully we can get on the end of more than a few of those crosses.
FelixOrion
Poet Centuriate
For you guys:
This team is so bad at utilizing width. It's what they should do, but I don't think the midfield has the situational awareness to actually do it.
The amount of times the team gives up the ball because two guys are too close together is hilarious if not sad.
What mask should Clint wear on Sunday's game?
http://meninblazers.com/post/89074081590/clint-dempsey-is-our-hero-laughing-at-pain-in-the
http://meninblazers.com/post/89074081590/clint-dempsey-is-our-hero-laughing-at-pain-in-the
If Dempsey wore a DeuceFace mask.....
Not a big deal
How many Twitter followers did John Brooks have before the World Cup? Because he currently has 121K...
The main thing i did not like was that they took the lead and then spent the next 80 minutes defending. No one complained because OMG Klinnsmann !!! Go back 4 years and guess who used to bunker down as well? Bob Bradley.
Asides from Dempsey, everyone that should have been playing well didn't. Bradley sucked. I don't get how Beasley made the squad. Brooks scored but aside from that kept giving the ball away. Johansson got a great opportunity to make a name for himself but only managed to show just how inexperienced he is.
Hats off to Jones. he gave was a surprise excellent performance.
And no, it won't be an Oceania level blow out. You are not going to be able to have a serious discussion if you keep posting like a bitter Mexico fan first and a futbol fan second.
Oh, and don't mention donovan anymore. Meier might have a meltdown.
Not yet, I've got a google alert set to his name. I really hope it's not too bad of an injury, maybe we'll get lucky.
what about besler and bedoya? Nothing there right?
NoRéN;117010655 said:
Nope, nothing there either. Maybe Klinsmann doesn't want to say anything until he knows for sure what he's going to do next.
EDIT: If it is his hamstring, Jozy won't be back for Portugal. If it's grade 1 and it heals well maybe we can have him back for Germany.
lol really? Guess i should take a peak in there for entertainment purposes.
Hopefully it's nothing. Bedoya seemed to be grabbing the hip flexor and those injuries suck hard.
lastflowers
Banned
NoRéN;117009596 said:
This was a bob Bradley game, and we were lucky to escape with the win. We should not be playing like that, and I'm not sure many people would agree with your statement that we wanted 80 minutes of defending. Some might, but with our weak defense we should cause opponents to stay off balance by being wary of our counter. Jozy going down didn't help. The one good thing that came out of yesterday was that I think our defense is actually better than I thought. We can't do the same thing against Germany, but Fabian/Cameron/Beeler/Brooks did very well (excepting the lapse leading to the goal by Fabian).
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