Figured I'd start a new thread to capture the friendlies lined up, Nations League and COPA in the US this summer.
Colombia confirmed in "DC" at FedEx on June 8.
Just announced friendly against Brazil on June 12, potentially in Orlando.
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Got tickets to the game against Colombia yesterday - I've never been to a USMNT game and bringing the kids to their first game as well, can't wait!
Should be a good atmosphere. DC is a pretty solid international soccer mecca. Enjoy it! Hopefully Gregg brings full squad in the first half.
Columbia is not a Caribbean nation new to soccer with the population of Maine, so I feel good about our chances.
I stupidly showed this to my wife and now I'm $400 poorer.
You'll have a great time!!! Just don't sit under any plumbing at FedEx.
Yeah it adds up quick with three kids and $60(!) for a parking pass
Last 3 games of the W Gold Cup qualifier are tomorrow, then the USWNT starts group play on Tuesday against one of those teams, followed by Argentina on Friday and Mexico on the following Monday.
Nations League Roster announced. Mar 21, 7pm, AT&T Stadium.
https://www.instagram.com/p/C4dxG38O2eY/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
I have lots of thoughts. But first, extra time.
A great summary of Berhalter Ball. Our first goal of the game is an own goal in the final minute of stoppage. Our second goal is from an in-form player who he doesn't call up, but is ultimately forced to due to injury.
Good lord what a mess
Man, nothing like trying to crash after that, coupled with Kaintuck going down.
After sleeping on it, man...
So many thoughts. So many ideas. So many concerns. So many lackluster performances under Gregg.
If you feel like you know what's about to be said next, fine, skip through. Cause I'm going to say it anyway. It's cathartic for me, and so damn frustrating.
To the higher ups in the US Soccer program that have this attitude:
Well then:
When you stack the team with different guys from different European teams, with different European styles, and different levels of European play and success, put them in red, white, and blue (jersey discussion in separate post) with no identity or cohesive thought, well, you end up with last night. Yes, they gutted it out. Did they deserve to win? Well, if you discount the first minute, and just base it on the pressure we put on Blake, probably. But ask Kaintuck about probably deserving to win. You still have to put the ball in the back of the net. You have to play as a team. You have to work together for the crest on your chest. Without direction, or a standard thought consistently, you end up with a bunch of players on the pitch together listlessly moving forward in their own bubble.
I know Pulisic is our #1 guy. But stop getting him the ball in traffic where he can get mauled every single time! He spent more time on the ground last night than with the ball on his feet. He was fouled 6 times last night. And this goes for all of them. Playing Euro ball you'd think they'd understand quick touches, one touches, ball off your foot quickly. There were plenty of times last night that one guy tries to carry it for 40 yards. They put on that jersey and revert back to playing high school soccer every time. And there's only one person that should fall on: Gregg. It is fair to do that? I don't care. He's the head of it. He's the one at the helm. He's the one in charge...and responsible for getting them ready to play and style of play. I'm here to tell you this style of play sucks. I don't care if it's knee jerk. We are better than that. We should be better than that. It's a joke. It's frustrating. And I'm tired of it. I knew when they brought him back this was going to be the direction of things. What's the definition of insanity????
Let's hope the jet lag is gone and they decide to play well Sunday in front of a road crowd.
How bad would Berhalter have looked last night if Wright had gotten on that plane?
Worse than he already does...
I bet his wife was pissed. Mine would be if I bailed on a family vacation for work.
Especially when you weren't on the initial list to be called.
Shocked that the US managed to get it done. Third Concacaf Nations League Championship in a row. That's now seven in a row over Mexico and love that it was another "Dos a Cero".
Match had to be stopped twice due to homophobic chants.
I missed Adams' goal while watching the end of the women's bball game but Reyna's was gorgeous! He needs to start every US match from now on.
#Dos-A-Cero!! ๐๐ โค๏ธ๐บ๐ธโฝ๏ธ
Completely different line up last night, completely different approach out of the box (even outside the 1st minute goal conceded), completely different energy. That was a team with a mission. Tyler Adams is THAT guy. Gio was a little lost at times but found his spots to shine through. Pulisic wasn't trying to carry the ball for 40 yards and getting blown up 87 times.
Robinson looked a little out of sorts though, but had coverage on the back line. Ream is a man and a force back there to cover everyone.
Just like Ertz was the most important player for USWNT, I think Adams is similarly key for. USMNT. You just cannot overstate the important of a midfielder with his skill set. Hope he stays healthy and gets some minutes in the Prem.
Fortunately for us, Mexico is one of the only teams in CONCACAF that will keep the game open and try to outplay us. However, the gap in talent shows when you play that style, hence why inferior teams bunker. They'd never do it, against us or any other team; it's against their DNA. Ironically, it would make them way more competitive against us, even with them fielding their weakest generation of players in recent history.
Good lineup from Gregg but still some critiques on his tactics. I'm fine with Adams/McKennie/Reyna midfield but imo it was organized badly - McKennie too high and Gio too deep. We didn't create a ton in the 1st half; our best chance came from Gio playing Pulisic through from the edge of the box, and took a great save from Ochoa to keep it 0-0.
Great news for us that Adams looks the same as he did before injury. Didn't know he had that type of goal in his arsenal. He's still limited on his passing range (the one thing Johnny has over him rn), so having him in the lineup will dictate how we play. If our CBs aren't having a great day on the ball (Ream is typically good, Richards is serviceable but both missed more passes than usual today. Plus our best ball-playing CB is exiled from the team), then you need another midfielder besides Tyler to carry the ball forward. Gio was dropping back next to Ream at times to get the ball and playmake, but the guy is world-class when operating in the 15-20 yards outside the box. Less so when he has to bring the ball through the middle third himself.
If you play Adams, he needs either be in a double pivot, or instruct the non-Gio midfielder to drop deep to get the ball from him and carry it forward. Then you can get the ball out wide, or have Gio pick a pass to break down the backline.
Great post, fully agree about Gio and Mckennie being out of wack last night.
It's absolutely crazy to me how bad the talent level is for Mexico. I mean unbelievably bad. Even their "good" players are just lost out there.
Why is this scheduled/located so it's basically a home game for the team that isn't hosting the Final?
And at some point, their shenanigans need to be punished. Stopping the game at the end is silly...just call it, send them to the locker room...to the bus, and be done with it. They are petulant fans that shout stupid chants when they can't get their way. The reactions are known, their tactics are know, just ban them (the team) from participating. Or something. It's ridiculous.
Also, I'm hoping they signed off on those jerseys. If they did, great. But Nike and Adidas have been taking liberties with colors and themes for jerseys for too long. They even had various colors on the Cross of St George on England's kits...
When I first saw the blue jerseys, I wasn't sold. But they didn't look that bad on TV Thursday night. The whites though, those were nice last night!!!
It's all about the benjamins, unfortunately. CONCACAF knows Mexico fans are (unfortunately) are the only member nation that can fill a stadium.
Mexico fans are the absolute worst. It's embarrassing to the game and to their proud country and team. They're on the same level as UVA fans to me, cannot beat them enough times. Part of the joy of this run of form against them.
The kits are just meh for me. They look fine on TV, agree there, but there's a reason I haven't bought any of them haha
We weren't hosting as the highest seed, or anything, we were hosting for having the best venue (debatable with the field condition). It wasn't a home game, technically, so most of the major stadiums in the US right now would have ended up with a majority Mexican fans (maybe not the Vikings stadium). Still better for us than playing the game in Azteca, Monterrey, etc.
The issue of course with the US playing El Tri in AMERICA, is that it's mexico fans 80/20... you are playing a road game
When Mexico played second Thursday night, their fans were arriving early just to cheer against us. There were maybe 15,000 in the stands when we kicked off Thursday, but nearly full by the end w El Tri.
They are just like WVU fans. Trbl.
Tribal? Trouble? Terrible?
All of the above, I guess. ยฏ\_(ใ)_/ยฏ
via GIPHY
a resounding Sir Charles "turrible"
They showed a shot of the pitch last night, and I was trying to get an idea of the size. I know its CONCACAF and not FIFA, so there are general wants for pitch size, but still, it looked off. So went to the googles, and found something really interesting.
FIFA wants a pitch width of 75 yards for the World Cup. Well, pitch of 65 then some extra for throw-ins, run-offs, warming up, etc. Neither Met Life nor AT&T have that. Met Life is looking to take out 1,700 seats to expand the playable/grassed area. AT&T? They are proposing to build the field UP by 15' (FEET, not inches) to accommodate the width. Here's a pic of the height that the pitch will be constructed...
Pretty sure they only laid a few inches of sod over the concrete for Nations League.
https://twitter.com/TheKickAround/status/1770557214870155502?t=fFXJb715E...
Players and coaches remarked the surface wasn't great, and no way they would repeat that for an event like the World Cup. I'm curious to see how they end up raising the field and how much is grass vs concrete.
Correct. The elevation will be for the world cup in 2026.
The box in the pic w the flag on top is the mock up of the field elevation and where the corner flag will be.
Still cheaper than building a bunch of stadiums that won't be used again and are taking away space from possible developments that would benefit the local populations. Olympics and world cups should really make it a point that you should be using existing infrastructure that can be improved when reviewing host bids.
Not holding these events in 3rd world countries (brazil) or heinous dictatorships (qatar) would help. Millions were spent on the Rio olympics golf course which is now a dirt track- because ummm brazilians don't play golf. Billions were spent to build and air condition disposable stadiums in qatar - a desert- and a country where recreation by the masses and freedom is frowned upon. But hey - at least the qatar national team (none of which live in qatar) have 15 stadiums to train in. Hold these major events in countries that have the infrastructure and current stadiums- the LA olympics actually turned a profit because it didn't build 20 stadiums. But politics, bribery and greed are always in play
Well, obviously the reason we have the World Cup is after all the controversy around the bribes with Qatar clearly in focus (the one in Russia was obvious as well). I think Real Sports did the expose a few years back about Switzerland and why all of the international sporting associations are based there (FIFA, FIA, etc.) since in Swiss law there is no such thing as bribes, they are literally just classified as "business acquisition costs".
yep- Jerry was a genius. The worst seats for football- field level boxes ( you can't see a thing) charged at more than premium prices. Total genius. Pay a premium to not see any of the game. He was the first to do it- thus there is no removable seats close to the field for the world cup... thus spend millions to raise the field. Makes total sense.
Jerry probably doesn't even know what soccer is, in fairness
Do we need a new thread for Copa and Euros? Or just keep going in here?
Either way, anyone hitting FedEX Saturday night for the warm up with Columbia? Wasn't worth the ticket price nor the $8753 to park there for this one...imho.
I'm going and bringing my kids to see USMNT play for the first time, can't wait! Wish it was at Audi Field instead but oh well, should be a fun time.
I'll be there with the fam. Got tickets for $75 and a parking pass for another $75(barf, but cheaper than uber)
I'm very tempted to go the friendly versus Brazil on Wednesday in Orlando, but I have a feeling it will be an away match for the US.
It will be with that attitude.
Only team we play "away" at home is Mexico. Argentina and Brazil "fans" here tend to be casuals with a spare 90 bucks for a jersey.
Interesting starting lineup today. No Adams and no Musah to start. I like the back line though.
Welp. Never mind. That was embarrassing. Lazy passes, bad turnovers, poor goal keeping. Pathetic performance.
Not sure I've seen the back line so out of sorts in a long time. It was odd. Hopefully it's just a one-off.
And hope Musah isn't out for an extended period.
It was just bad. As you said, the back line was all out of sorts, in a bad way. Hopefully we got it out of our system and can spend the next few weeks getting ready for a good run in the Copa America.
340 million people. Can also tap into crazy rules like being born on a US military base, one parent born here etc. Soccer fields on every suburban corner in the country, world class training faciities, etc, etc, etc. And we absolutely stink at world class men's soccer on the world stage. Have for 100 years. Absolutely mind blowing.
Is it crazy when we've only taken soccer with any level of seriousness since the 90's, compared to 100+ years of entrenched soccer history and culture of most nations, where it is the undisputed number one sport, and doesn't have to compete with 3+ sports that are more popular (until recently)? You don't become the best in the world at something in a few generations. You can't just throw money at something, make up for that knowledge/culture gap. It's not like we are terrible. We are a consistent top 25 nation, which is not nothing, considering we had a stretch of not qualifying for a World Cup between 1950, and 1988, because no one cared about soccer.
We for sure have the potential to become one of the top nations, and it's something we are striving towards, but it's not something you waltz into, just because you have a lot of people, and resources. It's a process.
Just imagine if all our top athletes got into playing soccer instead of Football/Baseball/Basketball. Mike Vick on a world cup team? Yes, please!!
I understand that. Much of this is underscored by the fact that we have lost to Trindad and Tobago, Jamaica, etc in critical concacaf matches, etc. Tiny, poor nations with not near the resources we have. We can afford the best coaches, best training, etc. It's not like Brazil has had the same players for 100 years. These world rosters change constantly, and we still can't beat them. Yes, perhaps we are ranked in FIFA's top 25. If we played Germany 10 times on a neutral pitch next month, we would lose 9 of them. Our olympic basketball team dominated everyone in 1984. Granted the russians were not there, but these games were no contest. By 1988- 4 years later, we got beat by Russia and took the bronze. We were losing regularly in international play to the point that in 1992 we had to put the very best players we had- Jordan, Magic, Bird etc to avoid another embarrassment. The world had firmly caught up in a short amount of time. Same for baseball- in the amount of time we have spent trying to get good at soccer, the koreans, japanese, dominicans have caught us in baseball- our sport. Soccer - even with all you said- still doesn't add up to me.
soccer is also a much different sport from basketball and baseball. I'd wager that it's a lot easier to build competent basketball and baseball teams than it is to build a competent soccer team. The complexities of soccer tactics and strategy go pretty well beyond those of basketball and baseball, IMO
Agree here- the internationals figured it out- hire a US coach and teach kids how to shoot the 3 point shot. What they did/do better in Europe to this day is that - everyone- even the post players- 6'10 guys- learn to shoot. Coach K told the Olympic team the first time he met with them as a coach - forget the NBA game, forget the college game- we have to beat them at their game- the FIBA/International game. LOL. how the tides had turned- the USA having to play a different game to win in basketball.
you're kidding right? Soccer has some basic principles and then its all about executing finesse ball control (and maintaining field awareness) while constantly sprinting.
Basic principles stop in high school. Beyond that it's an extremely complex game. It's not for everyone.
And this right here is why the USA is no good at soccer. Lol. Thinking that soccer is simple is the folly that leads to getting blasted by competent teams
No.
First of all, we are good. The US is currently ranked 11th in the world. That's out of more than 200 teams. We're just not great, which is what Team USA fans want, because we're Americans and we're used to winning at things.
And the reason we're not better is because we don't have a lot of great players. It's that simple. It's certainly not because soccer is some 3D chess or something, because it's not.
I don't put a ton of stock into world rankings. It's pretty hard to evaluate world teams because of the nature of how teams play in friendlies. Team USA might be 11th but last week they got absolutely worked by the 12th ranked team and then a few days later managed to draw the 5th ranked team. Not sure what to make of that. Is the USA good? Sure. Are they as good as they could be? I think not.
This feels very "it's the Jimmys and Joes, not the Xs and Os" and while I do believe there is some truth to the idea we don't have a ton of talent I don't believe that is why we are not as good as fans (and the rest of the world?) expect. In fact, it could probably be argued that we're ranked 11th in the world mostly on the quality of the players we do have.
I'm not suggesting soccer is 3D chess. But it is a much more complex game than most Americans understand. It's not just a few simple principles.
Not only are there complexities to overall strategy (like what sort of roster make up you want, the characteristics of the players for each position, the general style of play you want to have) but there is an immense depth to the tactical intricacies of the game. Devising plans to attack certain teams without sacrificing defensive resources can lead to a pandoras box of tactical decisions. And all of the strategies and tactics have to account for the athletes you have at your disposal.
All very fair points.
Just focusing on the player aspect, I think you're probably right that we're as good as we are due to the improved talent the last 10-15 years. My (very much non-expert guess) is that if you could rank the top 1000 players in the world, the US probably has about 10. But we probably don't have anyone in the top 50, which caps (pun intended) our ceiling as a team.
I don't even expect us to be "great", but i really wish that I couldn't predict every frustrating loss, and it would be nice to punch above our weight every once in a while.
Gregg? Is that you?
But we are not losing consistently to smaller countries. We're talking about one-off games in a sport where the lower scoring totals lends itself to those kinds of upsets. I'd think about trying to get to the top level like college football. VT made a huge jump from being what in the 50/60s at the beginning of the Beamer era to consistently in the top 10 at it's peak, but the jump to that top 2/3 is that much harder. It's a zero-sum game. Even as we are improving, the top countries are improving too. Players change, but again, there's an institutional knowledge. culture. Why are certain college football programs good even as coaches, players change?
And I understand your point about baseball/basketball, but you're talking about the rest of the world chasing one country versus one country chasing the rest of the world. That's the difference.
Soccer is a lot closer to football in terms of upset potential than baseball or basketball. Soccer/Football have large teams where "chalk" is much stronger. Baseball and basketball are much easier sports for upsets to occur due to the ability of teams to be hot/cold shooting or having a lights out pitcher (angela tincher vs USA). There is a reason March Madness is one of the best sporting events in the world: on any given day you can have a UMBC get hot.
Still music to my ears
We have the resources to afford the best coaches in the world.... starting at the collegiate level.
But kids need to start learning and be coached in the sport at the age of 4 to compete with the rest of the world at that sport.
When I started playing at the ripe old age of 7, only one of the fathers had ever seen the sport played. That was because he escaped from Hungary during the uprising in the 1950's.
The dads that coached us were learning the rules of the game from these skinny little booklets and then teaching us how to push pass when they had never actually seen it done.
Now the dads coaching their kids to play now are guys like me and my buddies. One generation into playing.
There are some immigrants that grew up playing but not the 100's of thousands of kids to choose from competing with football, basketball, baseball, track and esports.
That is the difference in one tight little ball.
Plus, the most promising kids are going to be snatched up by professional academies before they even hit college. Soccer has as unique position where college isn't the sole viable path into the majors. Honestly, if you're going to play in college, then you're already "behind" in terms of development since most high-level athletes are already playing professionally at college-age.
That's been one of the hurdles for soccer...the parental belief that their kids MUST attend (and graduate, hopefully) college before taking the next step. That's why we see kids that are teens playing for other nations, successfully, and we are struggling with depth trying to discover which 21/22/23 year old is our striker of the future. By that age, the other kids have played in 3 major tournaments while ours are just getting started and riding the bench.
America's best athletes go into other sports. It's been that way for decades. That, and most other countries in the world (especially the competitive ones) are a lot smaller and can much more easily organize clinics and academies so the players learn the same (or similar enough) systems and styles of play so when they reach higher and higher levels they are playing with other players who have played the same system/styles for years and years. That repetition and familiarity really helps. In the US, its seriously disjointed. Also, in the US we have it bass ackwards in terms of incentives. It is prohibitively expensive to play soccer at the types of academies that are required to groom and prepare young players for professional soccer. The kids that end up playing at the highest levels in the US had tremendous financial backing from the start, something most American families can't or won't pay for. So they're not the best players, just the richest. Soccer is super cheap to get into in the US but it gets VERY expensive pretty quickly if you want to take it seriously. I played soccer as a kid because my family couldn't afford to put me into any other sport. But I was pretty limited in my upward mobility because my dad wasn't willing(or able) to pay for me to go beyond Challenge. I went from Rec to Challenge and stopped there. There were at least two or three other levels up that priced me out. And when you're playing at those lower levels, there's very little congruence between teams. I had one or two pretty good coaches and a bunch of dads who only coached because their kid was playing. There was no real teaching of the game. Every different coach I played for had a different philosophy and different ideas for how the game should be played. As a young kid, it was confusing. And what it amounted to, in my case, was basically just using my speed to play hero ball. The only asset I really had was my speed. I could just kick the ball past defenders and beat them to it to get one-on-one with goalies and score. When I played in high school I was put out on the wing because I was really fast and I could beat players to the corner and deliver a cross into the box. That was my job.
America just isn't set up for success in soccer. Another limiting factor is that soccer isn't good for television programming. There aren't a million breaks every few minutes to sell advertising space. Other sports, at least the popular ones, have plenty of breaks sprinkled throughout the contest where the broadcast can step away from the game to sell shit without missing anything. That format just doesn't work when you have only one real break in the game for 15-20 minutes. The way our economics around sports is structured, soccer just isn't ever going to takeoff without major changes being made.
SOCA represent. I was super excited when they started the challenge level because there was no way my parents were ever going to support the cost or time investment for travel soccer. Then you get to high school and find out that all the starters for all the local teams had been doing lightning together for years and there was no comparison...
I really wanted to try out for the Express league. A lot of the guys I played with on a couple of my Challenge teams (and eventually in high school) moved up to Express but my dad wasn't going to pay for the league or the travel. Lightning wasn't even a pipe-dream for me
Team pullisic
Much better performance all around tonight! Feel much better about the Copa America than I did on Saturday.
We were outplayed, but not by enough to make a difference on the scoreboard. I did not watch the previous match - what did we do better last night?
More aggressive, sharper passes, played from the back instead just kicking it deep and hoping for the best. Turner was lights out and we didn't have lazy passes that were turned into shots/goals.
Playing out of the back is what got us killed late in the Colombia game, and also gave Brazil their goal in the 1st 20 minutes. We starting going deep more often after we conceded, and then also started defending deeper whenever Brazil was in possession. We had maybe one good sequence playing out of the back against the press all game.
Agreed that Turner was lights out (after conceding the first goal) and we didn't have as many lazy passes. Wish we could've played better in transition; there was a lot of space behind Brazil's back line if we could counter faster.
USMNT got the W last night. Personally, fell like it could have easily been 3 or 4, but Pulisic getting one early was nice. 8 shots on target is a good sign as well. I didn't get the full feel since I had to watch it in Spanish, trying to get settled back in from the weekend, and keep a 4 year old straight as well. Take the 3 points. And at least the yellow cards reset after the group stage, so Weston's yellow shouldn't hurt us for the first knockout game...
Nice win. As always, we may get out of the group but will not score a goal against one of the top 6 clubs in this tourney. IIWII the past 60 years.
We scored against Columbia (even though nobody on the team showed up) and Brazil. There's almost no chance we win it all, but saying we're so far behind the competition that we can't score is pretty silly. IMO if we don't win at least one knockout game, it will be a disappointing tournament.
Speaking of those friendlies, I know US Soccer was trashed by everyone after we got embarrassed by Columbia and said we should have scheduled cupcakes, but maybe it was a good wakeup call. Played much more inspired against Brazil and took care of business against Bolivia.
We shall see. I'd take the under of 1 on US goals per game from the quarters on and feel very good about it.
Just my take on the Brazil game...it was like the last pre-season game in the NFL. Play, go thru the motions, don't get hurt, ace the basics, and seize the opportunity if it knocks and the door is easy to open. That goes for both teams. Again, just me thoughts on that last friendly.
And agree hopefully Columbia was a wake up call. I know for sure it boosted them to the thought that they believe they are at least a semi-final team, if not final team for the Copa. That awakening might have been bigger than ours.
I didn't see that game, so can't really comment on it. That said, I'll be happy with a tie against Brazil in almost any circumstance :)
I
I BELIEVE
I BELIEVE IN
I BELIEVE IN MIRACLES
Balogun, WOW, hell of goal and playing great. Should have drawn two yellows against Panama, not sure how neither of those were given when he's clearly being held back from running towards goal.
Weah is a fucking idiot, there's cameras everywhere and VAR loves using them. You can't get away with shit like that anymore.
Ugly game. I think it's unlikely USA will advance. But in the long run it might be for the best. Berhalter shouldn't be the coach anymore and getting bounced from the group might be what it takes for him to be fired
They won't get rid of him. No matter. We are stuck w him. Period. They had a chance to go in a different direction before and chose the asy out by going back w him. We are stuck w him thru 2026.
The soccer version of Jason Garrett.
I hope you're wrong but regardless I don't know who the US goes after in the event they do fire Gregg. I think either way the US is going to be primed to faceplant in 2026.
Hope I am too, but their decision to do a full search and open hire, then go back to their ex shows me they are so afraid of anything that is different. And it sucks. Big time.
It makes no sense for them to be afraid of change. They literally have nothing to lose. Stay with Gregg and you fail to get out of the group stage of Copa America. It would be extremely difficult for them to do worse.
We have tried fucking everything the past 40 years. Let college coach Bruce Arena have the keys forever- the basketball theory circa 1980- hey lets get Bob Knight and John Thompson to coach the mens US team- we tried that, we tried foreign coaches, we tried the German dude who found good players that were born on army bases, etc. Every fucking thing. It may be time to pull kids out of school when they are 8 years old and put them in soccer school. Or fly drones over Germany or Argentina and literally steal their teaching techniques.
We've let the MLS drive the bus with US soccer. And guess what, they run a for profit program. A few years ago it was a ridiculous amount to even TRY OUT for the DC United academy teams. Most clubs charge to try out, make the team, and you get one maybe 2 trainings a week. Nothing like the academies in Europe. Oh, and guess what? Our entire starting 11 are playing in Europe. So what is the MLS doing exactly because pushing kids away from the game by charging $5k a year when all you need is a ball to play? They reinvent the process every few years, lose momentum, and push someone up to the top that has no business being there as a lifetime achievement award. (See Zach Johnson as the Ryder Cup captain..........no different.) I root. I hope. I support. But darn it it's insanity.
Klinsmann was a great coach tactically and probably shouldn't have been fired imo. But his roster moves and player management were indefensible. He took a team with basically no talent to the wire with Belgium, one of the best teams in the world in 2014. But if he includes our top goal scorer on that team, we almost certainly advance another round.
Agreed. Who are you referring to? Altidore and Dempsey were both on the 2014 WC roster.
Landon.
Ahh.. yeah apparently Kilngsmann didn't like him. Just another reason 457,653 that we piss on ourselves in international soccer. Keystone Kops.
Didn't Altidore get hurt early in the first game, making us all sit there and watch Landon in the booth wishing Klinsmann had taken a backup for Altidore?
Donovan was washed. Klinsmann was correct.
Gio spent the entire first game playing very well in a defensive position. So what does Gregg do? Puts JOHNNY CARDOSO on for him. Is this a joke. We then pull Balo too early. God I'm so excited to lose Monday so Gregg will hopefully disappear.
CONMEBOL so pissed they invited us CONCACAF shit show to the party this year ๐คฃ. What an absolute horror show
After watching Uruguay tonight I don't see how the US can possibly avoid getting absolutely clobbered on Monday. I could see Panama either winning or drawing with Bolivia to advance with Uruguay. I think the US will get, at best, 5 shots on target against Uruguay and Uruguay will win easily either 1-0 or 2-0 without really trying.
The upside, and this might be the slimmest upside ever, is that Uruguay is already thru to the knockouts. They may lift a little bit off the gas, but maybe, just maybe, it's not a drubbing. And Bolivia brings a broken plastic knife to a gun fight every game. That's why it would have been really nice to throttle them in the second half the other night, but we played cute and scored zero goals... those goals could be the difference come Monday night at 11pm.
For whatever reason, this team isn't built for tight tournaments. Single games, yes. But thinking out the long game for a tournament isn't in them.
They have the talent to compete, they just can't seem to string performances together.
This a game where you have to earn a point. It's fucking Panama, no reason to come away empty-handed even with the red.
Maybe they aren't as talented as we thought?
Our back line isn't top notch.
Gregg plays a system that is different than what these guys play in their clubs.
There needs to be better prep, direction, lineups, adjustments by the coaching staff.
And our keeper situation is very underwhelming...
I think Turner is a very solid keeper and I think he makes that first save if he didn't get trucked by that shithead Panamanian. It looked like he didn't get much push off of that injured leg. Horvath did not impress me though.
And I agree completely about our back line. Leaves a lot to be desired.
Yeah, I think Turner could keep us in games. But if he's not between the posts, I'm not very confident. That second goal last night HAS to be saved. Feel like it's akin to the F$U qb situation. #1 is a contender. The back ups...
Agree on all points.
I agree that its possible Uruguay will rest starters and anyone sitting on a yellow since they are through regardless. Even so, they have LOADS of talent so their backups are not going to be scrubs at all. I think if they try their hardest and fight through the entire game the way they did last night then they easily win by 3+. I'm hopeful that they take it easier than normal but I still think they have the quality to beat the US by a goal or two. Bolivia clearly had a plan of sitting back and defending with 9 and just relying on the counter when they win possession deep in their defensive half. Uruguay put an incredible amount of pressure on them the entire game. The US is not going to be able to employ that strategy because we need a result. The US will need to be more attack oriented. The unfortunate side effect of that is that Uruguay will have more space to work with in our half and they have the quality to really punish the US. I think Uruguay will win the possession battle at least 55-45, possibly 60-40. They may not press quite as aggressively as they did vs Bolivia (because, they don't really need to) but I do think they will focus on controlling the ball and making the US run around without it which is going to be a disaster for the US. There may only be 7-10 shots on goal, total, through the whole match. It could end 0-0 or 1-0. Here's hoping Bolivia manages to beat Panama by 3 or 4 goals so the US can sneak through with a draw on goal differential.
No chance. None. If they were playing the not evil americans, maybe. But Uruguay will play their A team and play hard here.
if they do, they will likely embarrass the US. This is a tournament, though. There are risks to working really hard to embarrass a team when you don't need to. I could see them doing this in the knockouts but this game basically doesn't matter to them so there is no reason to risk injury or yellow cards. They are sitting on 6 points and +7 goal differential. They can just kick the ball around the park and keep possession and get the job done. Even if Panama wins, they won't jump Uruguay on GD because there's no way Panama scores 9 goals. Panama could beat Bolivia by 5 goals and Uruguay could still win the group with a 1-0 loss to the US. I would be surprised if Uruguay comes out and tries to run the score up on the US. They might try to score 1 quickly and then sit back and defend for 70 minutes but I seriously doubt they do what they did to Bolivia last night.
Maybe. Even so, Panama committed a million fouls and played sloppy for 85 minutes, and we couldn't get a draw against them. Yes we were playing with 10, but yes Weah was a total rube asshole for getting a clear red card in a major tourney. But the US doesn't do major tourneys well as we gave discussed. Yes Pulisic was clearly fouled in the box which should have been a free kick- but again, are you new around here? Your strategy for getting a fucking DRAW at home against the 67th ranked team in the world, can't be to pray for calls. It can't be. Go out and get a fucking TIE buckhalter- that's all you needed you clown.
There were 8 total shots on goal (5 for Uruguay, 3 for the US) and the US lost 1-0. This was pretty much exactly what I expected. I don't think I can take US soccer seriously as long as Berhalter is at the helm.
Oh another major tournament, on home soil no less, and another USMNT loss in the group stage. It's surreal and wash rinse repeat. I stated on here we wouldn't score a goal in the knock out stage, so Im not monday morning QBing here. We aren't good at the soccer thing.
So not just me thinking that was a shit show of a 2nd half?
Canada thru. Mexico not.
Ecuador manager suspended for the game. Prob makes zero difference. If anything, might free up the players a tad as they won't have el capitan on the touchline to judge, bark, hold against them. For me, I don't believe it's the advantage some believe for the USMNT.
Projected score for Panama-Bolivia is 2-1. Their last meeting was 2-1 as well...
Tie breakers are as follows:
1. Goal differential.
. if they win by one, and we lose by one, the GD is even.
2. Goals scored.
. if it gets here we have to score more than Panama tonight.
3. Head to head...we go home.
I hope i am wrong, but Uruguay's second team could beat the US easily if they wanted to. I see a 2-nil type game today, and a ticket home.
Uruguay's coach is notorious for being chaotic and unrelenting in pushing his squad to the limits - I've seen tweets from Uruguayan accounts saying he's not planning to use much rotation. I expect an A- squad at worst with most, if not all, of the usual starters to play - at best they'll play the 1st half or get subbed on late.
Beer on me if the US doesn't get dusted. Hope I am wrong. Red card or no, on home soil losing to Panama shows you this squad isn't ready to compete at this level.
Agreed. One of my biggest criticisms of the past 6 years is the lack of signature wins coupled with head-scratching and/or embarrassing losses. We're not consistently good enough against the teams we should outclass and we don't punch above our weight to compensate for that.
Remind you of any other teams we root for? /s (sobs into glass uncontrollably)
I think you meant the Uruguayan manager. Yeah, I agree it's not some major advantage for the USMNT.
We need a similar or better result than Panama against a much tougher team. If we both win, then we have to hope that they don't run the score up. USMNT 1-0 and Panama 3-0 still sends us home on the 2nd tiebreaker (tied on a +2 GD, but Panama would have 6 goals scored while we're on).
Uruguay technically still has the top of the group to play for (not realistically, we'd have to win by 4 to jump them). Bolivia has nothing left to play for (a 3-0 win vs Panama and an USMNT loss would put them through - so not happening either), so I expect them to get walloped by Panama. The only silver lining is the stupid red card that Carrasquilla picked up for Panama late in our match, and he's their best player imo and the engine in their midfield.
That's a heck of a zoom from the space station. Sheesh.
Also, poor poor poor attendance in KC. Shame.
I don't think this ref is getting a Christmas card from either side.
Yeah. This ref sucks. On the flip side a lot of these players could easily make a career in WWE as a lightweight with the acting that is going on
That continuation was brutal as he's showing a yellow.
Conmebol at its finest. We got the visitors locker room despite being the A team. Camera angles. Inexperienced ref. All of it.
Change the jerseys on that goal and the goal is overturned, no doubt. Pitiful VAR
My all Citra beer is really cold and really yummy tonight.
Nice!
If Berhaulter is still our coach tomorrow morning, we aren't serious about being good at soccer. Fire all coaches! ๐ก๐ก๐ก๐ก
For reference, while they were "searching" for the next coach after Gregg's contract was up,Callahan was 4-3-0 (79%), w an average of 3 gf vs 0.57 ga.
Gregg is at 44-13-16 at 2 gf and nearly 1 ga.
Same players.
Slightly an apples to oranges comparison, but you aptly put the finger on, what I think is the real issue under Berhalter: this team has struggled for a while ti score goals, especially against good teams. Need some new ideas to improve our ceiling. Gregg has to go.
Apples to pears. But point being we didn't lose those silly games, or struggle to score against teams we should be rolling over.
That Bolivia game should have been 4-0 at a minimum. Easily. We scored zero in the second half. #85 in the rankings. Lowest in the field.
I stated before the tourney started we wouldn't score a goal against a top 6 Copa/Conmebol team and I was correct. We can't compete at this level. We only have 50 years of evidence. Friendlies are fine, the Pulisic's that come along are fine- but ultimately they are no different than the Landon Donovans, Clint Dempsey's etc- in a big international match, they aren't good enough. When you can't score goals against the top 16 teams in the world - ever- its hard to win. You could see last nights match coming a million miles away. Our best hope was a 1-0 miracle. No chance this team was ever scoring 2 goals against a good team. Yes Uruguay was off-sides on their goal, but yes 2 US players got beat to the rebound badly. Uruguay's goalie freaking FELL 20 yards off the goal late in the game and not only could we not score, our effort was a meek left footed try by Pulisic. We are simply not competitive on the world stage in men's soccer. Never have been.
Admittedly I haven't watched a lot of usmnt matches but based on what I've seen in this tournament there are two reasons I see that make it hard for us to score.
1. We don't have any polished strikers who can operate in the box with defenders on them. Granted, it's tough to find them but they are difference makers.
2. Our build up is impatient and disjointed. We have too many players making runs to the same spaces and we rely too heavily on the long ball which is hard to get right on both ends (accurately delivering and then trapping). Against Uruguay we failed to utilize the space between the lines which simultaneously made our job harder and theirs easier. Once we get into the attacking third our passing is too rushed and we seemed to always try for the difficult "hero" pass instead of looking for the short easy passes.
In other words, our attack is too direct. I don't think we have a very sophisticated attacking philosophy. It just seems to be once we cross midfield everyone crashes the box and whoever has the ball tries to needle a pass in to a streaking runner.
Carly just said it. We hated our coaches, but won titles........
Oh Carly. I heard about it but didn't see the clip yet. Is she saying the coach is or is not the problem?
She was talking about the women's teams. And how the men's team "like" Gregg.
She basically said our managers sucked, we hated them, but we lifted trophies...so you know what guys, stop being buddy buddy with your manager and go win games. Stop with excuses and buck up.
Basically all of them, but more about the culture of the locker room instead of a single person or small group.
Really leaning on that "royal we", eh Carly? I still think the Jill Ellis hate is overblown and don't really understand it besides Carly being salty she was a bench player in 2019.
I also hate the "you have to hate your manager to win games" argument. There's so many examples of that being not true. Gregggggg has flaws, obviously, but why is it bad for a manager to create an environment where players feel
Comfortable? Especially when that was not the case before Gregg. You don't want complacency to set in, obviously, but it shouldn't be torture to represent your country. (Looking at you England ๐ฌ)
in fairness to Southgate, the torture isn't coming from him so much as it is coming from the pressure from the media and fans
also, I don't think she was saying that you have to hate your coach to be successful. I think she was making the point that whether you like or hate your coach is irrelevant. A good coach is one who helps you lift trophies, not one who hands out pats on the back.
England cracks me up. They are only -slightly- better than the US on the world stage the past 50 years, but there is this insane arrogance and right of passage with them. Yes, their professional league is one of the best in the world- hmmm maybe use that to make your national team better?
the arrogance is there for the fans, for sure. And as an England fan myself, I know it's there and it's obnoxious but it's not all of us. England have had deep runs in the previous 3 international tournaments but getting over the hump has been painfully difficult. I think it's fair to say that England are more than - slightly - better than the US on the world stage in the last 8 years, particularly.
England have a similar problem to the US: A lack of identity. The squad is chock full of talent (definitely more talented than the US) but until relatively recently it's been a pretty piss poor culture within the team and lack of real direction. England, the team, the players, probably also deal with more public scrutiny and pressure than any other team in the world. That pressure gets to them (it's one reason why I think England's track record in games that go to Penalty Kicks is atrocious). Unlike the US (with the exception of perhaps the last 4 years or so), England haven't really had a talent issue. They've just had an issue with getting the talent to jell. The teams that do well at international tournaments have a healthier team culture than either the US or England and are more confident in what they are doing tactically.
Spain, Brazil, Germany, Argentina, France and Italy generally do well because they have talent AND organization. They know what their identities are and how to play together. That is something both the US and England lack, IMO. But England is more talented than the US and is much closer to having a well organized side.
I don't see it as a binary you have to either like or hate your coach. As VPIhokieME says below, it's been the excuse to keep him around. There was a lot of discussion around this clip, so it wasn't just a statement in a vacuum. She wasn't saying you HAVE to hate your manager to win, but saying the buddy buddy relationship with Gregg has gotten in the way of moving forward with either the current situation or another manager.
this was essentially my interpretation too. And Lalas made a similar point as well that Gregg has these qualities that the players like, blah blah blah, but so what, we're not winning games. Basically, the defense of Gregg is that the players like him and he's worked hard to have a good relationship with them. The point is that's basically just fluff and being likeable isn't going to win trophies. We don't need a coach who the players like. We need a coach who knows how to put the players in the best positions to succeed. Gregg ain't that, clearly. Losing to Panama and crashing out of Copa America, on our home soil, is a big embarrassment. If Berhalter is still the coach for the WC then I would expect a similarly disappointing showing. We'll probably get a favorable draw for group stage but even if we get to the knockouts I wouldn't expect us to win any knockout games.
You can be a coach players like as long as they respect the things you are coaching and you put them in position to win. Players love Andy Reid and he's consistently had great teams his entire career. Paul Maurice just won the Stanley Cup and he's been loved everywhere he's been. So I don't but it that you have to have a toxic situation with a coach you dislike to win.
You just need a good coach who can motivate, and that ain't Berlhalter
100% agree. I'm just speaking to Carli's overall point which was, basically, that being likeable isn't the critical attribute of a winning coach. Some great coaches are likeable and some aren't. Winning doesn't require being likeable. IF you had to choose between a likeable coach who doesn't win, or a winning coach who isn't likeable, which would you take? Obviously, it's possible to have your cake and eat it too, but if you had to choose...
In our current case, Gregg isn't winning. It's not enough that he's likeable. Being likeable isn't an adequate defense for keeping him employed given his record
Yes sir, there is volumes of evidence that both approaches work in sports, depending on the team culture. Popovich and Bellichick are all time assholes- and big winners. Coach K is a relentless prick, Jim Calhoun constantly cussed out his players. It works - cussing, screaming, being demanding if you have the right team. On the flip side, Andy Reid, Kyle Shannahan simply call ball plays and if you can't execute them, you get cut. Both are a lot more successful than Mike Singletary was. Bill Self has no discipline in is program, yet he got the best of task master Bob Huggins- one example. In terms of the USMNT- We have tried everything. We aren't good at this sport. It's a tough pill for American's to swallow. I liken it to some of the winter Olympic sports - Cross country skiing, the rifle/skiing thing, bobslead. We try, we never beat the best. We can compete in downhill skiing, hockey, etc- but some of those sports we just are not good at. Like soccer.
Well said, agree. Sucks...he's done a lot for the program, hate that he couldn't/cant/hasn't (whatever happens) gotten us over the next hump.
Carly is lucky that the US women's program was 40 years ahead of Europe and South America, and women had more respect and freedom here, else that program would be the same as the mens.
Not much different now....
Now I'm slightly disgusted. Pulisic went to shake the center's hand after the game and he physically put his hands behind his back and ignored Christian. Man....................
Pulisic literally questioned his integrity and screamed at him to go celebrate with Uruguay about 5 seconds before offering to shake his hand. I'd have told him to fuck off, too.
Doesn't mean the refs weren't completely in the bag for the game, though.
Still gotta shake a hand, look him in the eye and tell him to eff off...
He was telling them to come to the center to shake hands like they should have been
Good call, had to watch a few times because it's hard to read his lips but he does clearly say "come to the middle".
Berhalter definitely should've been fired after the world cup. He's the Fuente of US soccer
US soccer is rudderless. There is no development, we have no national style we want to play. Our best players are off bouncing around in reserve roles in Europe, mainly because Europe doesn't even trust US talent, and they're training to play slightly different ways. And we have no effective feeder development programs and systems.
I agree that we need a direction change, but I'll push back a bit about the Europe stuff. More American players are playing abroad than ever before; I don't think it's that European clubs don't trust American talent. It's just that American soccer talent isn't elite enough yet (outside of a small few) to really play on for high profile clubs in high leverage moments.
We do have feeder programs and systems, but they're still super young compared to the European and South American ones. There are examples of them working and producing quality players (Philadelphia, Dallas to name a few), but I think everyone forgets that we are decades and decades behind the rest of the world.
Not an excuse, just explanation. Gregg needs to be dismissed and this Copa has been a disaster.
I've been saying the style of play thing for a long time. To expand, these guys ARE playing and training in Europe in a different system than Gregg wants to play. So they come back and have to adjust to a different style, approach, attack, defense then what they play the other 11 months of the year. Coming back across the pond for a game is tough enough with time change either in-season or at the end of the season...then you have to overthink things because Gregg wants you to play a different style than what is natural to you while playing 6 to 10 straight games with your club and training with them every day.
They are talented. It's a matter of finding the right spots for them in the right Euro system. And removing the bad habits allowed to bloom by being coached by a teammate's dad. But when they do fit, don't reinvent them when they put on the US kit....
What are the differences in style that you're seeing between European club teams and USMNT? I feel like the 4-3-3 weve been playing under Gregg has guys mostly where they're playing for club doing pretty much the same things.
The flying wings. Whether it's Dest or Robinson, the backs are taking off to push forward, wide. We try to push the ball wide when we play in this hemisphere...the only team that does that. All other teams play up the middle for the most part.......so they are used to seeing that, defending that, plugging that. Gregg wants a cross to get deflected. When the other team has already plugged the middle, it's 2 (if we're lucky) attackers versus 4 defenders. Then we push up high and the counter kills us.
And when the wings play high, it leaves the back "4" as 3. They play as 4 in Europe. Meaning they know their spacing. Take one away........and it changes the math, the coverage, and when there's a push on the counter, we don't have the numbers to cover.
Just a smidge of it. We also need to find a 6 that can just clean house. Adams has been solid, but he's a better 8. But then there's Weston. We are deep at like 6 positions, then just fill in the others.
"Cross and inshallah" - I heard somebody else describe it this way, and there's really no better way to phrase it. Very little combination play through the middle. Slow ass transitions as we try to hold possession while we get numbers forward on the wings. It's not how the modern offensive game is played, and we don't even have the right players to do it half the time. Balogun is not an aerial threat, our wingers/fullbacks are average crossers at best, and we rarely send late runners into the box.
I'm not sure where we go in the midfield. Adams used to be dominant as a destroyer playing as the lone 6 before the injury. But he's been shaky recently when pressed, and his distribution leaves a lot to be desired. He was successful at Leeds when he would win the ball and get it away to an open teammate immediately, but he's holding onto the ball way too long nowadays for someone limited in possession. I don't even think he's a good 8, all he does right now is put in hard challenges to win the ball but he's definitely not carrying the ball box-to-box like you want from an 8. Maybe we give Johnny the keys at the 6 and see what we've got there since he's shown to be serviceable protecting the back line and can possess the ball when pressed?
Wes was awful this tournament compared to his club form and played way too many minutes given his play. Musah was pretty anonymous last night imo - his floor seems to be a non-factor and his ceiling is a highlight-worthy dribble into the final third to break the press but never really creating a real chance. Gio's floor seems to be an average to good performance, but he needs to be more ball-dominant and impact the game in the final third, not constantly tracking back to defend and build out from our own third. He'll put in a shift, but are we getting the best out of him (see Nations League where he was constantly breaking lines, putting dangerous balls in the box. and slipping folks behind with his passing)? Tillman hasn't seemed up to the international level whenever he comes on. I don't know what we have in LDLT at the 8 since he's the last man off the bench in our deepest position. With a lot of entrenched names above him that won't get benched even if they're not full match fit or not performing.
One difference is that Slovenia is really really good with the population of New Mexico. The US is much richer with many more potential soccer players to choose from. We also invest orders of magnitude more in soccer than Slovenia, and many better world clubs.
At least we get to watch Brazil-Colombia tonight without anything riding on the line. If Brazil wins, they win the group. Second place in the group gets Uruguay.
Had a great time hanging with the Columbia fans in Phoenix last Friday. fun bunch
My goodness Canada has created a ton of chances! Haven't finished but the chances are there. And they are Hella fun to watch!! I would love their coach for the US
Canada wins on penalties. They definitely deserved it. Looked like the better team for the parts of the game I saw
(We had a shot at Marsch and turned it down...)
... Oh what could have been....
Rumor is the the US Federation will announce a decision on Gregg mid next week.
What happens first? Our new jersey reveal or decision on Gregg?
I think the decision on Gregg has already been made. Only the announcement is delayed to give the illusion of deliberation. I think it's highly unlikely that they fire him, unfortunately. Why bother rehiring him in the first place? I am pretty sure they don't believe they can hire anyone better
I think they believe they can't hire anyone else that will allow them to continue on, without calling them out on their ish, and asking them to spend millions (of their quarter billion) on grass roots growth. Gregg has just be-bopped along, ignoring anything outside the 30-40 deep player pool.
They should follow the example of the USWNT - underachieved during the world cup, fired the coach at the airport and went and hired one of the best women's coaches in the world away from a world class European club. Looking for a US coach or within the MLS is shopping for another JV team.
If the US Federation cares, they should go get a world class coach that has hardware to show to these players to get their attention to immediately adopt their style for the next 24 months. I would think this is an attractive role for 2 years for a lot of people. Klopp, Tuchel, Poch, Zidane, Mourinho, Simeone, etc. could all draw a huge salary, live in the US, take a team from bad to okay, and jump back into Europe in 2024.
I doubt Klopp would ever consider it but I would 100% be on board with the usmnt hiring him. Pipe dream I'm afraid. But would be legit af
Bye Bye Berhalter
So many gifs.....
But all I can say is woo hoo.
How bout this?
Yes!!! Finally!!
And there was much rejoicing!!
I liken this to VT football. What are your expectations? Lose to fucking Trinidad? Lose to the reggae boys? Give it the ole college try against Columbia and Uruguay? Get bounced out of an easy group? Scrape by Iran? If the USMNT expectations and goals for 26 are to score 1 goal in group play - cause "soccer is hard" - then hire fucking anyone. Hire a mid MLS coach. If the goal is to actually compete on the world stage, then you hire a big time fucking coach and go from there. You can hire Fuente and get smoked by Ghana on home soil. Or you can hire a big coach. Pretty binary.
Side bar, but important to US Soccer...
I hope they have some really good meetings in the next 2 years. We as a nation are NOT soccer ready for the 2026 World Cup. I know, I know, CONMEBOL has had control of a lot of things...but...
-The security in the stadium last night was, well. I realize it's Colombia and Uruguay. But the World Cup is going to have similar fan bases, and if games get out of hand, or the ref'ing is a sus as we've seen in a few situations, the fans WILL riot.
-The fields have been laughable. Last night was grass laid over turf. And the size has been a joke. If you wanted the true dry run, expand the fields to what they will be in the World Cup. They shrank "normal" widths to fit in the stadiums they chose. So, in 2 years, all of a sudden, it will be different. The fields were horrendous within the space they had. Now we are supposed to believe that they will easily expand the fields by 4 meters when many of the corner flags were 2 steps from the message boards this tournament. I just saw they are changing the grass in Miami for the final for the second time during the tournament.....ugh. The seems in the Meadowlands were curling during the game, and they put so much sand on the pitch there were rooster tails on ground balls in the semi final!
.
It's not just me.....
.
They need a better reffing pool. Man, some of these guys were less than stellar. And not for carding. For the basic play stuff...stopping the play when the ball hits them, calling on the med staff, calling throw-ins...
None of this played into the US's result, but it does reflect on our ability to host a large scale tournament. CONMEBOL got us this time. Argentina is the reigning WC champs, and they invited the schmuck to dinner and made us cook for everyone. Again, I know they had control of some things, but we were responsible for pulling it off. The US cannot control the reffing, or the players, or the decision to shrink fields, but the condition of the grass and such, yeah, we have some there.
(From what I'm gathering, they tried to use the SAME grass for all fields. From Miami to Cali, Texas to New Jersey. Completely different climates and completely different weather patterns. Hope there is a lessons learned debrief on THAT.)
Come on man, The Carolina Panthers get 440 million dollars per year from TV rights alone. The Cowboys closer to 600 million. This is BEFORE tickets, parking, beer, food, local pre-season TV money and revenue sharing, etc. You can't possibly expect them to shell out roughly one million dollars to install a proper turf field for the summer soccer matches. Come on be realistic here.
After last night, someone, anyone, better do a solid review. There are 7 games planned in Miami in 2026 during the WC.
I think the US just completely underestimated just how crazy south American football fans are. You're right, though. A thorough review is needed and more work needs to be put in to make sure stuff like this doesn't happen in two years. Colombia will be back and so will their fans.
CONMEBOL refused help from the USSF to host this tournament. They wanted to control everything so they could pocket all the proceeds, and this is what you get when one of the world's most corrupt sporting organizations handles an event at this scale in a foreign country.
This didn't happen in 2016 when we hosted last. This didn't happen when we hosted the 1996 World Cup nor did it happen when we hosted any of the previous Olympic Games, let alone that venue and their ability to host numerous Super Bowls and 2 Formula 1 races over the past 14 months (drawing 300k per weekend). Anyone who is questioning the ability of the US to host the World Cup right now is pushing an agenda.
I think it's cultural. I think the US is absolutely capable of hosting a world cup. Certainly more capable than the last two hosts. But I don't think the US fully understands football hooligans. Particularly those from South America. Miami and Charlotte can both learn lessons from the issues and be better prepared to handle fans in 2026
Pushing an agenda? Hahaha. Conmebol didn't supply the cops or the ticket takers or install the grass or provide security in the stands around the players families. Things got out of control. And the USSF let it. We invited them in. Maybe it's for the best because it shows the weaknesses, no matter the root cause. These things happened. There's no agenda behind reality.
Crazy= a fucking goon that would break into a stadium for a major event with police around without purchasing a ticket, go to a seat that is not theirs, refuse to leave, and tear up the fucking place. Crazy fans, eh? Fucking lawless goons.
A) you're not wrong
B) my point stands. South American soccer fans are crazy and the US wasn't prepared for it. Colombia, and their fans, will be back in two years.
I went to the Columbia/Costa Rica group match in Phoenix a couple weeks ago. Yes apples/oranges - noted and about a 1/4th full stadium- 99% Columbia fans, BTW. The security was higher than a diamondbacks or cardinals game- meaning you had to empty pockets, and take your belt off. There were the standard e-only tickets that were scanned at stations outside and well staffed. No issues. I will also say that the Columbia fans I encountered were great- friendly, no vulgarity, they were there to have fun. Absolutely no issues. Now, a 1:10pm local start and huge 75% empty indoor stadium does not compare. FWIW
I believe you. And the Colombian fans that went to the final may not have gone to any of the prelim games. Those that arrived in Miami last night were from a different cloth. But seeing their team in COPA, they will make a run again in the WC. They also expanded the knockouts to another round for 2026, giving all fans an extra shot at acting a fool.
I'm not sure how many Colombians live in Phoenix but there is an estimated 300K Colombian Americans and immigrants living in the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area. As soon as they earned that spot in the final, CONMEBOL, the stadium, and local police should have immediately reacted by increasing security.
The head of the Colombian Soccer Federation (and also CONMEBOL) was arrested after the game alongside his son for assaulting a security guard.
the only thing dirtier and more corrupt than top level international soccer is P5 college football
Oh my sweet summer child. FIFA makes the NCAA, the $EC/B1G, all the bagmen and their recruiting shenanigans look like amateurs. International soccer is sooooooo corrupt, you just would not believe. I don't think the IOC is as corrupt as the FIFA power brokers and their billionaire-owned clubs across Europe, Asia and South America. There's just so much money in international football and nobody seriously policing the system other than the Spanish tax collectors.
Hard Rock supposedly had 2x the security personnel recommended by CONMEBOL's proposed security plan, with over 800 law enforcement officers present. If that's true then CONMEBOL really had no idea what it was doing and imagine how much worse it could have been? Have seen estimates of as many as 100K people without tickets showed up to at least the parking areas around the stadium.
There are now at least two federal class action lawsuit pending from fans that either didn't get in that had bought tickets or those that did get in with tickets that felt threatened by the environment.
Canada is a lot of fun to watch. They created a bunch of chances against Uruguay but just couldn't finish. They deserved to win that one. It's a shame they couldn't get the penalties. Fun game tho!
According to the Washington Post, Luis de la Fuente is interested in the usmnt job. I'm not sure if I believe that but it's intriguing. Firstly, why would anyone who just made a historic run to a major tournament trophy win want to leave their current gig? If his agents did indeed reach out to express interest it feels like just a ploy to get Spain to pony up more money to keep him.
But man, that could be exciting. Spain has well balanced tactics and if de la Fuente could bring that to the usmnt it could seriously elevate the squad! They are capable of attacking and solid in defense. After England defended well in the first half they made a tactical change to overload Foden and create space for Nico Williams which led to their first goal. England made a tactical blunder in the match by being so passive which made it easy for Spain to exert pressure for nearly the entire match but Spain was up to task and happily did so. I have never seen a usmnt do that. I'd love to see it in 2026
So with the men's olympic soccer tournament being capped at the under 23 level with three overage players allowed per team, does that mean good or bad things for the US chances?
I found it interesting that the women don't have the same age restrictions.
"three overage players allowed per team" Why do we do this in sports? Why do we have stupid shit like this? Why can't it simply be "under 23"???? Any particular reason? besides cheating, corruption, money? Under 23... pretty simple, pretty easy. But noooooo
maybe an exception for players who turn 23 a few weeks before the tournament begins?
It was to allow the stars that were older than 23 to play if they wanted. It occurred more frequently in the past, but not so much now. Mbappe wanted to play, but after his move to Real, they said no.
Sure, that's reasonable- you turn 23 in the year the event occurs (2024) then you can play. That's fine and reasonable. But this rule is not for that. Its for teams to cherry pick 32 year old stars to compete against honest nations that field an actual U23 team in the spirit of the olympics.
According to this:
https://fansided.com/posts/power-ranking-men-s-2024-olympic-soccer-teams-01j1sy4af6t4
We're the #5 U23 team in the tournament. Not sure who we'd take that's over 23. And even some of the guys that are under committed to the COPA and had restrictions on number of games played this summer per their home clubs.
looks like Miles Robinson and Walker Zimmerman are on the roster since they didn't see the pitch in COPA.
Southgate is available. Wouldn't hate it for the US. He's been solid, getting England at least as far as the quarterfinals in 4 major tournaments and to the finals twice. I think the pressure he faced at the helm for England was ultimately why he decided to step down. He'd never see anything close to that level of pressure in the US and getting them to deep stages of international tournaments would endear him to the fans and media. It'd be a easy gig for him.
Southgate is like the early 2000s Beamer/Foster/Stinespring of soccer. Dominant defensively, wants to shorten games by completely dominating time of possession and will be in most games. Unfortunately, despite having some legitimate weapons, you also really have no idea where the offensive scoring will come from because it sputters so badly.
I mean, the US did pretty well with a counterattacking system around that same time, so it probably would be a good hire. But I'm not sure if we have the players to control play like Southgate wants to, and I really don't think we have the players to score the ways in which England needed to.
Is he Fuente? Will lose to ODU, Liberty and a dogshit Cuse? Meaning will Southgate drop key matches to Barbados, Trinidad, Iran, Qatar? Or will he actually get the team mentally tough enough to beat those dogs and actually compete with Uruguay, Columbia, etc? Bottom line. Our expectations should be to beat terrorist dictatorships ranked in the 100's and tiny islands the size of New Hampshire. Too high?
I think Southgate would be fine. I wouldn't love the hire but I would prefer it to anyone currently coaching in the MLS. I don't think the US can pull the type of coach I'd be excited about but we'll see.
I could be ok with it as long as they vet EVERY ONE of the options and he rises to the top. And this is because he's in Europe, and knows that game, which is where everyone on the senior team currently plays, and most likely, will continue to be based in the future.
I'm split on Southgate. He's obviously gotten England to achieve better results in major tournaments, but never quite gotten them to the top despite having the best player pool in the world. I've questioned some of his player selections and in-game substitutions in the same manner I did for Gregg - at times it seems as if he lacks a feel for the game.
I'm not 100% convinced he could make our team play better than the sum of its parts. They only managed a draw against us in the World Cup despite having better players at every spot on the field. Arguably, we outplayed them and a better manager would have gotten the US a win against them. I think England as a whole has underachieved greatly before Southgate, and he's gotten them to where they're at least achieving what they should be given the talent pool. I don't think he's an awful option, but I don't think he's the best.
wholeheartedly agree. Southgate was good for England at the time (2016 England was in absolute shambles) and he's made them half-way respectable. He's going to go down as one of the better managers in England's history (not a tough bar to cross, tbh). He was too conservative, IMO, especially given the talent he had to choose from.
England was clearly playing for the draw and got the result they wanted. I'm not sure why that was their plan, but it was their plan. The US did outplay England in that match but the US couldn't finish and I think England counted on that. A better coach for the US likely would have resulted in a better result for the US. But, if the US had a better coach, England may have had a different approach, so who knows?
I think a more aggressive manager for England could have done a bit more. I'm not sure anyone was going to beat that Spanish team this year but surely a more offensive approach against Italy would have gotten England a trophy in the previous Euros.
The US would be better with Southgate but only marginally so, I think. I hope the US goes after a more offensive minded coach. I think Luis de la Fuente is a pipe dream but that would be one hell of a coup for the USMNT and would be very exciting. If we end up just hiring from the MLS I'll be pretty disappointed. I think Southgate is a 'safe' option for the US but I also believe the US can do better. The question, really, is will they? I don't think de la Fuente is seriously interested but if he is the US would be absolutely foolish not to consider him seriously. And, frankly, I'm not sure if there is a better candidate that the US could realistically get.
It'll be interesting to see where chips fall. I can't decide if it's a good thing for the US or a bad thing that England is also on the market for a new manager.
I feel Englands pain. It would be like our mens hoops team floundering for 50 years on the world stage. Their pro league is arguably the best in the world and they piss on themselves with the national team. It has to be maddening to them.
While England has been solid, they've never been THE team. At least not in the past 58 years...
They did have a balloon d'or winner in 2001 in Michael Owen. Than you have to go back to 78/79 to find he next one from England in Kevin Keegan.
FIFA world rankings started in '92. England has never been higher than 3rd. Opened in 5th in '92, fell to 27th in Feb '96, climbed back to 4th in Dec '97 and have bounced around mostly between 4th and 10th. They have reached 3rd a few times, and were there in Feb of this year. Their media is like New York focusing on just one sport. And have a ton of arrogance to go along with it.
While they have arguably the best league in the world, there's a lot of countries represented there. MLB might be a better comparison...we have a lot of American players in the domestic league, but not sure we'd be THE team on a national stage, although we did win the World Baseball Classic a few years ago.
Michael Owen was my childhood soccer idol - he came up through Liverpool's academy and played for them before becoming a journeyman and that is really the only reason I'm a Liverpool fan. I don't have any other allegiance to any other teams. My family is from a small town in the south of England and the closest clubs are probably the ones in London, so I could take my pick of those. My dad traced our ancestry back to Hadrian's wall in the north of England, so if I wanted to go waaaaaaay back I guess I could be a Newcastle fan.
If all of our young/prime american born players played in the WBC and were healthy, we would win it every time, IMO. If it was prioritized, it would be like USA mens basketball. Yes, a ton of latin talent out there- but they don't all play for the DR or Venezuela- its spread out. Japan is very good too, but their very best players have played against a hodge podge US teams.
you begin to understand the angst of their fans. It's been 58 years since England have won a trophy which is way too long for a nation that has oodles of talent as they do. Mismanagement and poor team culture and cohesion have damned them for nearly 6 decades. Its understandable how impatient they are with managers. Southgate has caught quite a lot of criticism but he's been really good for England. The next manager needs to get them over the hump, though. The foundation is there, mostly.
I mean, we did just fire Berhalter...
Very good. Raise expectations. And to be clear, mine aren't crazy. Stop losing to tiny islands. I'm not asking to beat France regularly, etc.
what would be the Brent Pry equivalent for international soccer? Mitchell van der Gaag? Played center back and coaches under Erik ten Hag. I think if we get any coach from Europe who either has won consistently or worked under a coach who has won consistently the US will be in way better shape than they have been under Berhalter. Extra points for getting a coach who comes from a background of effective offensive soccer.
I think the priority is hiring a coach with international experience. The international game is a different beast than coaching at the club level, mainly in terms of tactics and squad selection. You've got to fit your system to the players you have, adjust on the fly during games, and be able to keep it simple since you've got limited time with the players during international windows. Even more so now that we don't really have any major tournaments for the 1st team between now and 2026 unless the rumors about expanding the 2025 Gold Cup are true.
Agreed. Beat the teams you should beat consistently, and make life tough for the teams at or above your level.
And no more of this BS "it's tough to win away in CONCACAF". The USMNT should be able to beat Panama/Costa Rica/etc. regardless if it's on a cow pasture, a swamp, the moon, wherever. It's not like South American teams that have to play every WCQ cycle in Bolivia at a stadium 2+ miles above sea level.
Olympic Soccer kicks off today.
The US opens with France at 3.
Then New Zealand Saturday at 1.
Then Guinea Tuesday at 1.
If we win the group, we play second in Group B.
If we come in second in group, we play the winner of Group B.
If we don't qualify for knock outs, Gregg will be fired, AGAIN. Just because.
Group B: Argentina, Morocco, Iraq, Ukraine
One site has France beating us 4-3 today.
Morocco just got absolutely jobbed by the officiating. They were winning 2-1 and holding Argentina most of the game and they added 15 minutes of stoppage which is insane and then Argentina had a wild sequence at the end and scored in the 16th minute of stoppage to tie the game. Morocco should have won. I feel gutted for them.
They cleared the field, and the stands. Then called the goal OFFSIDES. And then, told the teams the game wasn't over. AND then, let them warm up again. And THEN, restarted the game more than 2 hours after it "finished" the first time for 4 minutes more of stoppage time. Morocco win.
Soccer is a hell of a drug
Was the ACC in charge of the whole thing? /s
wow. I hate the way that went but glad for Morocco that they got the W.
Ditto- they outplayed Argentina for most of the game and would have won anyway but for the absurd amount of stoppage time added. Even in Premier League games, the most I've seen is ten minutes added to a half...
yeah, I've never seen anything like that before. Most I had seen previously was +8, I think. +15 is absolutely ridiculous. Even the commentators were shocked by that figure
I wonder what soccer would be like if the technology existed to link the referee's stopwatch to the scoreboard
Hell of a game between Morocco and Argentina today. Argentina gets the draw after FIFTEEN MINUTES of stoppage time at end of the game and the tying goal at 15 + minute mark in stoppage time. Morocco deserved the win imho.
edit- drinking lol
(Side comment...the USA-France rugby 7's game is on Peacock after the Spain soccer game. France is wearing white with red and blue. USA is wearing all blue. Coming from soccer, I'm so used to seeing Les Blues and the color match-up swapped.)
I've liked the way the US has looked against France so far. They look confident and organized at the back. The attacking still needs work but it's been more exciting than the senior team at the Copa
France had a player clearly offside on that goal...
edit: I guess standing front and center in the box is not considered being part of the play..
welp. US getting chances but not finishing. Reminiscent of Canada in the last couple tournaments. France is doing what the US can't. Finishing. With fewer opportunities too. oh well.
i'm no analyst by any stretch of the imagination but my impression from this is that we look weak in midfield. We're not really able to hold possession in the center of the field at all. We rely on making runs down the outside channels and hoping to get a cross in
sloppy passing, not much individual quality in 1v1s, lack of control, particularly in the middle of the pitch, inability to finish the opportunities created. If this is to be the future of the USMNT in international tournaments we're going to need more than just a genius manager. The team looked confident and relatively organized in the first half but this second half has been dismal aside from a few great chances created. I think France's first goal really shook the team and they haven't looked good since.
Wanted more out of Mihailovic - he's supposed to be the rock in midfield as one of the overage guys, but didn't think he had a great game outside of the one rocket he put of the crossbar. Busio looked better in midfield thatn I was expecting.
1st goal was pretty weak by the GK, but I thought the response was great. Looked goal dangerous and were unlucky not to equalize afterwards. The second goal definitely shook the team and ended any thoughts about a comeback.
Canadian women's coach sent home! And they struggled yesterday, being down 1-0 at the half.
To say it's been an interesting tournament so far is an understatement. FIFA is not involved, but that' hard to notice.
DC United fans are PISSED. The Leagues Cup game scheduled at Audi Field on 31 July between United and Santos Laguna is being moved to Philly because of the field conditions at Audi Field.
Give us your best company line, DC United spokesperson....
But seriously, does that involve not playing a rugby match during soccer season? Among other things. There are good agronomy peeps out there that should be paid well to maintain these sort of things. But it seems like there's more and more issues all the time. And not just in soccer.
RE: Morocco game...
I don't get a chance to peep the U23 team much. Generally they are the junior team...and well, bandwidth and all.
BUT, some lay person observations.
I'm not knocking the MLS per se. I'm knocking our development of young talent. As Americans we are so enamored with scoring, that we let defending slide. This game, and the second goal is a prime example. (Along with several other moments today.) We, as American players, allow the opponent to turn with the ball and defend face-to-face too much. We parade and escort them for yards while they are gaining offensive ground. We wait for them to make a move, then react. Instead of actually competing for the ball, pressuring them tight, not allowing them to turn or stopping, or *gasp* even slowing them down from gaining 20-40 yards of ground. (If you pay attention, our offensive players also attempt to dribble too long because this is the way they've been defended in the US for so long...) Yes, our senior team does this better, and they have been products of the Euro system "growing" up in the game. But for the younger guys who aren't on the big boy club, this is still an issue. (Actually, this is one of my big issues with Miles Robinson, so seeing him this squad is a "sure" from me...)
I just want to stop the ball ocassionally. Don't allow them to gain ground. Don't ball watch and wait. Defend! Go get it.
Yes, we got boat raced today. And Morocco is a solid squad. Not taking anything away from them. Just venting about the state of US soccer in general. Now, let's go find a solid coach that will inspire us, improve us, and lead us to some hardware!
I'm pretty much totally in agreement here. Berhalter, I think, was outclassed tactically at his level. I think a lot of us want to have a more tactically astute manager in charge. But at the end of the day, it's the guys out on the pitch that need to get the job done and we just don't have the quality to win at the top level. When you drill down and try to find out why we don't have the quality to match with top teams around the world, it's plain to see that our player development is nowhere near where it should be. The lack of player development in the US has, I imagine, several root causes. Two that I can think of off the top of my head - 1) soccer is prohibitively expensive to play at the elite levels so the best athletic talent in the US just doesn't find its way to soccer as a sport. 2) there is no real structure to develop players into a congruent system for the nation. This second point can probably be broken down much further but basically what I mean is that as a nation we don't have a soccer identity and so with no direction our academies (which, again, are too far and few between and expensive) are kind of floundering. When the best players we have are the ones who are developing in foreign nations that's a huge problem - for one thing, their true development doesn't really start until they are overseas at advanced ages. England, Germany, France, Italy, and especially Spain have homegrown academies aplenty that can help to identify talent as young as 6 and funnel them through academies up through to the professional levels. These guys grow up playing in the same academies with the same young stars for years. They learn the same principles and are immersed in a like-minded soccer culture. They understand their systems, identities, ideologies, and roles within the systems. They grow and learn and develop as individuals as well as team players. The US just doesn't have that. So when the most gifted of the rich kids whose parents can afford to put them through academies are identified by foreign clubs in their teens they go overseas and learn and grow more until they become serviceable pros at the elite levels. And then they are superstars in the States. Pulisic is a great example of this - he's not a superstar in Europe but he is in the States. What's that tell you?
today's game looked a lot like the game against France. We got better chances against France, though, oddly enough. This is what I said after the first match.
I think you can pretty much copy-paste that for today too.
Yup. That's the one thing the Americans do, streak up the outside, try to cross, and hope for a deflection or header. Copy, paste, ugh.
Please please please can we drop a blank check in the mail for Thierry Henry to lure him to coach our Sr Men's team?!! We were paying Gregg $2.3mil a year...
And it appears that Matarazzo may not have been offered officially. There have not been any talks with Hoffenheim, allegedly, so fingers crossed it's just a headline.
so how yall feelin' about Pochettino?
It's an interesting hire. He's the most accomplished (at least, at the club level) of any previous coaches. His record, though, is a little spotty. He seems to do best when he has ample time to mold the team. He revived Tottenham but was fired after one season at Chelsea and had a disappointing stint at PSG with Messi, Neymar and Mbappe. They weren't bad. Just not as good as people probably expected. Maybe the expectations were unfair. He had 3 of the best players in the world and only has a single Ligue 1 title and a Coupe de France to show for it. He was sacked from each of his last 3 jobs (Tottenham, PSG, Chelsea) which isn't a fantastic look.
Tactically, and from a player development aspect, I think he's a great fit for the USMNT. I like his attacking, high-pressing style. He typically employs a 4-2-3-1 with a high press and building from the back. All things that are proven effective tactics in modern football. If nothing else, the USMNT should be fun to watch under him. He's also willing to promote younger talent - I don't think he's going to play politics the way Gregg did. If a young player deserves to play he'll play instead of just sticking with the old hats because they're known.
My main concern is whether the US has the type of players that can make a 4-2-3-1 formation with the attacking high-press style work. It requires some really special players at certain spots and I'm not sure we have the quality to make the system work. The other, minor concern, is that the best managers tend to be former midfielders. Pochettino was a defender. Small thing, but something to think about.
He's not going to have much time before our Sept 7th friendly with Canada so I wouldn't expect to see much in that match. The way Canada is playing and the taste that US soccer evidently left in Jesse Marsch's mouth I would expect Canada to beat the US pretty soundly. It'll be interesting to follow over the next 18 months or so leading up to the 26 WC. Cautiously optimistic but I'm not sure Pochettino will really have time to get the US to a competitive level by then. If we get out of the group stage that will be a success, I think.
He shouldn't have been sacked at Chelsea. That team was playing really well their last 10 games once he had a chance to work with a consistent roster. Not sure how tactical he is (compared to others) but I think he does well getting younger players to buy into his system. That locker room was bought in right up until he was let go.
I think does his best with a younger, high potential (low expectations) team. His highlights were at Spurs, rebuilding Chelsea vs. PSG.
I'm pretty stoked. He checks a lot of boxes, and is a good balance of "best coach available" vs "pie (or cake!) in the sky options that were never gonna happen.
Plus, he's not Gregg Berhalter ๐คท๐ผโโ๏ธ
It's definitely a big name splash hire, so if that's what you were hoping for, then it's great.
There's only so much an international manager can do with a team, though, given the limited amount of time they spend with the players, so I'll be interested how much of his pressing system he can implement. A lot of that relies on fitness gained from club training, but we have a lot of younger athletic guys, so it may work out.
The player pool is what it is, though. It's good, and mostly improving, but it's not world class. It's not like Berhalter was calling in guys who didn't deserve to be there, most of the selections were pretty straightforward, and his tactics aren't too dissimilar from from Poch (high press 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1). But marginal gains could get us from a top 20 to top 10 team, so I'm excited to see what he can do.
I'm excited for the possibilities. Under Gregg there wasn't a high ceiling, especially outside North America. Maybe we met our expectations, maybe exceeded a little, maybe fell short. But we were never a contender for a final 4 of the World Cup. Does Ponch give us a true shot? Maybe, but I do feel like it's a better shot than Gregg. He always had a rev limiter on things. Whether real or placebo effect, Ponch to me gives us a greater opportunity to succeed. And without the chance of a let down like Copa this year.
As far as game play, he has the chops to teach, engrain, and manage the players in his style. I feel like Gregg rolled the ball out after handing them a self-destructing mission statement, and hoped it all worked. Ponch will be a true manager on the sidelines. And get the best from all the players wearing the crest. I'm excited. At least to see them play more free and open.
I believe!
1. eliminate the bullshit politics and favoritism and get the best 11 US players playing for the national team. 2. Stop losing/drawing to tiny 3rd world islands in critical matches/qualifying. 3. Get out of ridiculously weak groups in gold cup/concacaf, etc. Those are very realistic expectations. We aren't winning world cups in the USA- ever.
Get that Bill Brill attitude outta here!
"Ponch" made me literally lol
One game down after the announcement of Poch as manager, but still no agreement with him. And Marsch and company were given plenty of bueletin board material (and the USMNT team, if used properly, plenty of talking points!!!)
No friendly is a must win game. But tonight should be an easy walk despite the USMNT losing their last 3 games. New Zealand hasn't won a road game in 9 tries. I'll prob tune in because I'm a sucker for this team. (I'm a Hokies fan and tune in to football games too.)
I believe.
Poch (if and when he ever arrives) is going to have a tough time preparing the team for the world cup. Hard to do when you're just in a bunch of friendlies. I think if he's able to get out of the group stage that will be a success for the US. The hope is that he shows improvement and sticks around for another cycle to maybe make some noise in 2030
Finally official! Poch is signed and named.
Welp underachieving is what they do
The comments from Pulisic really show that when he says they need a manager to come in that the guys will "fight for." I'm extremely confused by that statement since he was a strong advocate for bring Gregg back last time and retaining him after that. Also, why isn't anyone that's wearing that crest not already fighting for the team, teammates, country, crest, championships anyway. There seems to be a huge culture issue inside that locker room. And I don't know where it stems from. But he has a steep hill to climb with a short period to work with. I wish Poch luck, support him, but the players are the ones that need to get it together and get it right.
unpopular opinion incoming - I've never liked Pulisic - he seems arrogant and petulant to me. He might actually be part of the problem more so than the solution. I think you're right though. I think there are cultural issues within the team to go along with the talent issues we already have. I'm not sure that a different manager cures all ills but my hope is that Poch is the type of manager who can adapt to the players he has available and get the best out of them. We shall see.
Well he IS more talented than an Altidore, Donovan, etc. but of course we are getting the same results- losing to small islands, losing in weak groups, etc.
sure, he's talented. But I get the sense he's a bit toxic. The two are not mutually exclusive.
I like watching him play, and glad he's on our team. Are there guys I'd trade for him, sure. But there are others I'd skip over in a heartbeat. But when he came out in support of Gregg after the first release, I started to question his leadership abilities. I know this is a stretch, but I liken it to Ronaldo. They both want a lot of control; on and off the field. And both are inside such a bubble, and given a long leash where they may not be able to see the entire picture because they are so far at the front of the line.
I don't follow the team as deeply as others....I don't attend American Outlaws meetings, or read deep insider stuff, or go out of my way to drill down to the 5th guy in line for the left wing position and understand the nuances of each player. So I never paid a lot of attention to Pulisic and his thoughts...but the main stream writers look for him as the anointed "leader" of the team by default. His sound bites end up being the talking points for the team then. But, like I said, after the support of Gregg, I kinda turned a deaf ear on what he says. And after the comments this week about the fight in the team..........fully agree that he may be one of the leaders lacking in leadership. Not all best players can be that guy. I mean, personally, Tyler Adams would be my captain. But I understand the interactions with the center ref and such, and Pulisic does carry a little weight wearing the band. We all need him to wear it at all times!!!!!!!! (I liken this to the Capitals, where Ovie has the C, but Backstrom might be the main guy during the other times not facing another team.)
I've always gotten the sense that with our current player pool, they treat NT camps like a vacation. Most of the time we're playing friendlies that don't matter, or CONCACAF teams that we outmatch on paper with talent. But when these guys go back to clubs in Europe, they're having to compete daily to earn a spot on the field. A lot of the USMNT roster picks itself as long as guys are healthy, and that extends to a large chunk of the starting XI as well.
I think what I like most about the Poch hire is that he's managed big clubs, and he won't be afraid to bench guys that aren't performing. Also, I think his tendency to play a high pressing style will force the players to be more locked in and hopefully get us playing better in transition where a lot of our best players thrive.
USWNT added Hokies Alum Mandy Haught to the roster this week. She will be available tomorrow against Argentina.
Hokiesports had this summary on Haught
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3K6W-6A3ezI&ab_channel=NationalWomen%27sSoccerLeague
Started and got the shutout win against Argentina.
Fantastic goal in the opening 5 tonight, then a hang on for dear life. Decent flow for the new skip and Turner standing on his head for the red, white, and blue!!!
And...just saw...with tonight's win, Poch ties Gregg for Concacaf road wins.
Solid effort last night. A few defensive lapses led to the two goals, but we were clearly the better team and it showed.
I didn't actively watch the game, but I had it on while I was on my laptop. It seemed like Jamaica just couldn't handle our attacks. One of the goals was technically an own goal off the defender, but even that goal was caused by a lot of US pressure.
Seems like the new coach has got the team playing pretty well already.
When's the last time you thought that WRT USMNT?
Agree. We had Jamaica on their heels for most of the game. Lots of pressure in the final third and we probably should have had a couple more goals. There were a few well placed crosses to Pepi that he whiffed on.
Saw the first half and that was actually fun to watch. Lots to like from last night, really hope to see that consistently.
Best was seeing these 2 made to watch "their" team actually attack and score goals!!!
I don't think I'd be going to watch the team that just fired me...
I wouldn't either, but hopefully he was taking notes.
Gregg is still boys with several in the front office, so at least it shows he's not fully turned his back on the guys on the pitch. That's something. But still funny.
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Oh boy.............need to just come back later to this one.
Yeah there were no good points in losing to Panama. Guys were sleepwalking out there.
Does Germany lose regularly to Sardina? Azores? Santorini?
Panama is 36th in the world. The others you mention aren't even ranked. Apples to spaghetti.
Question remains. Do Germany Spain France lose to tiny small populated islands regularly like we do in International competition?
All 3 of them are ranked substantially higher than the USMNT and have a lot longer history of having a system to feed the national team than the US.
US is 16th. But the number of points between 3rd Spain and us is greater than between us and #56 Iraq.
France lost to Croatia literally yesterday, a country with a population of 3.8 million (smaller than Panama). So yes.
I don't understand how the third most populous country in the world can't find a striker that can actually score goals. It's sad we are reminiscing on the days of Jozy Altidore.
Primary reason are athletes in the US are groomed into other sports. Soccer probably fifth or sixth on the list for becoming pros.
This. And our two others that should have gotten the nod over Sargent are hurt.
Losing is not great.
But, I very much appreciate the message that Poch had after the loss. The effort was unacceptable. The style we are playing is unacceptable. He wants us taking more risks and chancing more 50/50 opportunities rather than sitting back and trying to grind out a win.
Honestly, we should be playing that kind of game. A flamboyantly aggressive attack could help keep more kids in the sport through their training, and pay off in spades down the line. Especially if you're encouraging a country the size of the US to try and find the next great player.