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American Soccer |OT2| Party Like It's 1999.

B-Dubs

No Scrubs
Eugh, this has been tough to watch. But I feel for whoever we play when Giovinco is back. He'll come out swinging.

It's a damn shame, you guys need someone from the midfield to step up because outside of Jozy no one else seems to be finishing chances. You guys should be running away with the shield if not for that injury.
 

imBask

Banned
Most important game of the season and Biello uses Drogba as a super sub for the 2nd game in a row. The guy's got massive balls
 
Every time the Ginger ninja scores via a header the world instantly becomes a better place to live in.

First MLS game I ever watched was when he scored the same way late vs. RSL years ago. When he flung his shirt off and I saw that pasty white skin, I knew I'd be a Red Bull fan for life.

Also, GSU were dicks again last night. People from my section kept yelling at them to get in tempo. There were also Union fans sitting in my section too and, once they noticed them, kept flipping them off and yelling at them. They were minding their own business. If they were being annoying, I wouldn't mind them yelling but, if they're not doing anything, leave them alone.
 

imBask

Banned
RIP Orlando indeed! And we're one step closer to the playoff spot aww yea

The game against TFC is going to be something else
 

B-Dubs

No Scrubs
Damn, I'm always sad to see Orlando go down at the end of the season. I always like watching them play, when Kaka is on he's probably the best in the league.
 

Arials

Member
21 July: US consortium buy controlling stake in Swansea City
3 October: US consortium elbow incumbent manager out of the door and appoint their preferred candidate

The accusation that his appointment was nepotism, rather than best man for the job, is going to follow Bradley around especially if he doesn't do amazingly well. The squad has the quality to stay up.
 

B-Dubs

No Scrubs
21 July: US consortium buy controlling stake in Swansea City
3 October: US consortium elbow incumbent manager out of the door and appoint their preferred candidate

The accusation that his appointment was nepotism, rather than best man for the job, is going to follow Bradley around especially if he doesn't do amazingly well. The squad has the quality to stay up.

Didn't he beat out a guy who has never been a head coach before?
 

Arials

Member
Didn't he beat out a guy who has never been a head coach before?

The fact that the only other candidate supposedly being considered didn't have great credentials - beyond being Welsh and a high profile ex player - isn't really going to increase confidence in the decision making of the board.
 
US - Cuba details:
The U.S. Men’s National Team gears up for the final round of qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup with an historic friendly at Cuba on Friday at Estadio Pedro Marrero in Havana. Kicking off at 4 p.m. ET, the match can be seen live on ESPN2 and UniMas. Fans can also follow the game live on Twitter at @ussoccer and @ussoccer_esp.



Bob Bradley's first Swansea presser:
Bob Bradley: "I'm glad Jürgen says some nice things now. When he did commentary on the 2010 World Cup, he was already jockeying for the job"
Not pulling any punches.
 

RR30

Member
Meh seems like sour grapes to me. There nothing wrong with what Jurgen said on ESPN following that WC loss. His point was and still continues to be right.
 
US lineup:

rtHwRNx.jpg
 

RR30

Member
Julian Green starting is interesting, especially since it seems to be out wide in the midfield instead of as a striker where Bayern used his this summer.
 
Good lineup. Does anywhere show the formation...
Presumably it's

Yedlin - Cameron - Brooks - Johnson
-----------------Bradley--------------------
Pulisic---------Kljestan---------Green
----------Altidore--------Wood-----------

or something like that. Might be more 4-4-2ish when defending.
 

Mory Dunz

Member
"good will game, good will game, good will-"

ok, but why the eff are we playing a good will game a month before Mexico?

And why are we not winning >_>
(field is garbage but still)


EDIT:
And Shaka Hislop just said what I said.


wondo on the wing....?
 

Cystm

Member
Bob Bradley is a fascinating man. I can listen to this guy talk forever. Genuine, Honest, and just lays it all out. Not just through my American tinted lenses, but just a human being that appreciates someone who is willing to take on something like this and not change or pretend to be something he is not.

Bob Bradley's first press conference
 
Roster changes for the USMNT:
Wash Post said:
Following the 2-0 victory over Cuba in Havana on Friday, Klinsmann summoned Hamid; defenders Kellyn Acosta, Matt Besler, Michael Orozco and Tim Parker; and forwards Juan Agudelo and Terrence Boyd.

The exiting group includes goalkeeper Ethan Horvath; defenders John Brooks, Geoff Cameron, Timmy Chandler and Fabian Johnson; and attackers Pulisic, Chris Wondolowski, Jordan Morris and Bobby Wood. All play in Europe, except Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes) and Morris (Seattle Sounders).

It’s uncommon to alter the roster in a tight window between World Cup qualifiers, except in the case of injuries, but with two lightweight friendlies on the docket, Klinsmann had planned all along to shuttle players in and out after the Cuba trip. The moves leave 20 players for Tuesday’s match, 14 from MLS and Liga MX and six from European sides.
 

zroid

Banned
LONDON (AP) — World Cup qualifying in North America is set to be overhauled to avoid shutting out the majority of countries in the CONCACAF region so early.

CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani has instigated a review of an “archaic” format that leaves only six out of the region’s 35 teams still in with a shot at qualifying for Russia in 2018.

Alongside a potential new name to replace the corruption-tainted CONCACAF brand, revamping qualifying to be more inclusive has emerged as a key objective for Montagliani after five months in charge of the confederation covering North and Central America and the Caribbean.

“Something needs to change because you can’t have 85 percent of your members who are on the outside looking in two years before the World Cup,” Montagliani told The Associated Press. “It doesn’t make sense.”

Since qualifying for the 1998 World Cup, CONCACAF has used a system where teams play home and away in early rounds. Once 12 nations are remaining there are three groups of four, which produces six teams for a final round.

The United States, Costa Rica, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, and Trinidad and Tobago are the last teams standing , chasing three of CONCACAF's automatic qualification places. Starting next month, they play each other twice in a league.

"It's great for those six teams over the next year and a bit but how about the other ones?" Montagliani said. "It's hard."

Hard for players to raise their standard and hard for teams to generate revenue to fund soccer development.

"Caribbean countries have problems climbing the FIFA rankings, just because we are not able to play as many international games as you want to," John Krishnadath, president of the Suriname soccer federation, told the AP earlier this year, while also highlighting the high cost of traveling to matches.

Suriname's World Cup journey ended in June 2015 immediately after entering in the second round of CONCACAF qualifying. The first seven CONCACAF teams were eliminated back in March 2015. It's so long ago that Montagliani is the third president CONCACAF has had during qualifying for the 2018 tournament.

Former CONCACAF head Jeffrey Webb was first arrested as part of the sprawling American investigation into soccer corruption in May 2015 and his temporary replacement, Alfredo Hawit, was also indicted seven months later. Montagliani said CONCACAF competitions and the interests of teams were neglected in an era when the leadership was motivated by corruptly extorting money from the confederation and its commercial backers.

"Can you imagine you are a country trying to find a sponsor and they say, 'I'm all for it, when's your next big game?' And it's three years from now," Montagliani said during an interview in London.

"So we seriously need to look at our World Cup qualifying system that is a bit archaic. We need to be a bit more all-encompassing. We're looking at how we balance competitions with our commercial (priorities) without putting too much stress on already too busy calendars as well."

But Montagliani is certain qualifying must change, although there could be a proliferation of games that draw smaller crowds and little broadcast revenue.

Discussing a new configuration, Montagliani said: "Maybe it's like the Europeans or maybe it's like the South Americans with a league — or it's a hybrid of the two."

In Europe, countries are split into nine groups, balanced according to their rankings, and play games from September 2016 to October 2017. The group winners qualify automatically and the eight best runners-up will contest playoffs for the remaining four UEFA spots in Russia.

In South America, the ten CONMEBOL members are in a two-year league that started in October 2015. The top four have guaranteed World Cup places and the fifth-place team has to go through a playoff against a country from Oceania.

.
 

Dartastic

Member
Man. I just want Providence Park to install natural grass. I feel like we're missing out on so many high profile contests because of that. We could become one of the premier spots for US soccer, if only we had grass.

...an extra 10k seats wouldn't hurt either.
 
Game info for tonight:
US Soccer said:
The U.S. Men’s National Team plays its last match before the final round of qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup when they take on New Zealand on Tuesday at iconic RFK Stadium in Washington D.C. Kicking off at 8 p.m. ET, the match can be seen live on ESPN and UniMas. Fans can also follow the game live on Twitter at @ussoccer and @ussoccer_esp.

Coming off a 2-0 win against Cuba in Havana on Friday, the MNT faces New Zealand for the third time and first since a 2-1 victory on June 8, 2003 in nearby Richmond, Va. The two sides first met in the opening match of the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup, also a 2-1 win which pushed the U.S. on to a third-place finish at the tournament in Mexico.

Just as the U.S. will use the game as its last test before opening “the Hex” next month against Mexico (Nov. 11) and at Costa Rica (Nov. 15), New Zealand will also utilize Tuesday’s contest as its final warm-up before embarking on the third round of Oceanic Football Confederation qualifying, which opens next month against New Caledonia.

U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION

GOALKEEPERS (3): David Bingham (San Jose Earthquakes), Bill Hamid (D.C. United), William Yarbrough (Club Leon)
DEFENDERS (7): Kellyn Acosta (FC Dallas), Matt Besler (Sporting KC), Steve Birnbaum (D.C. United), Omar Gonzalez (Pachuca), Michael Orozco (Club Tijuana), Tim Parker (Vancouver Whitecaps FC), DeAndre Yedlin (Newcastle United)
MIDFIELDERS (6): Paul Arriola (Club Tijuana), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Lynden Gooch (Sunderland), Perry Kitchen (Hearts), Sacha Kljestan (New York Red Bulls), Danny Williams (Reading)
FORWARDS (4): Juan Agudelo (New England Revolution), Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC), Terrence Boyd (RB Leipzig), Julian Green (Bayern Munich)
 
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