I think Wondo and Davis were like reward for a long time of Nat team service players. I honestly would have rather seen Green earlier, or Johanssen. DD
Belgium got tired. I definitely think they let up and the Green goal was part of them switching off a bit mentally. Then that in turn made them shocked a bit and they forgot they had Big Rome up front to get the ball to and give them a breather. The US turned things up after Belgium went up 2-0 breh. It happens, we've seen a few teams do that this tournament.
My only problem with it though, is poaching is his only discernible soccer skill. I'm not as much mad at him as I am his inclusion. If a guy's gonna get put on the team solely because he does one thing well, he damn well better do that well when he gets the chance. And obviously is doesn't help with whom he was picked over.
Not happy but I'm happy that most of the "fake" USA soccer fans errr... all of the idiotic drunks will leave Washington Ave causing wrecks, starting fights, etc. ****ing douche bags.
Well, US wasn't tired? They definitely pushed more and had more possession and were more of a threat to score when they got down. Until that point it was all Belgium. They defended the entire game and this seems to be a thing with them. I'm saying after the first goal I felt they looked a different team, Belgium went up two off a counter pretty much.
Nah he also creates chances for others with the space he opens up. He is excellent at that, with his runs. Unfortunately he didn't get to do that much. I have to rewatch the match later to see how his runs were when he came on. Ideally he'd be dragging defenders out of position and creating space for Dempsey to operate. But yeah, goal poachers suppose to poach and he didn't poach.
We need all the folks to start caring, and build the MLS up even better so we can finally CONTEND for a WC. DD
Both teams were tired but the USA have always been one of the fittest teams at every wc and then Klinsmann made that even more of a focus this summer. Meh, I hear you that they looked a different team but it wasn't as pronounced until after the 2nd goal. IIRC Belgium went up one through a counter as well. Maybe we can say Belgium started to take the foot off after the 1st goal and definitely did after the 2nd. Either way the USA were starting to look lively after the 1st and definitely showed that after the 2nd Belgian goal.
I'm going to go out on a limb and say that more kids play soccer growing up than any other sport in this country. Soccer isn't foreign to anyone in the US, and while I don't disagree with your opinion on the "fake" fans, I can't blame them either as there is no other option. If there was a better product than the MLS at our disposal, soccer would be as big as football.
We need to start telling kids that you can be a superstar millionaire playing soccer too. Fact is, most youth (especially urban poor youth) don't even consider it a way to uplift their situation as compared to Basketball and Football. I do think raising expectations will help though Yeah, well I just want to add I'm not saying like "Oh if only USA played this way the whole game, they'd win this!" Belgium was obviously much better, and if the US won it would have been a upset. I think that was clear for anyone that follows soccer even moderately. Although Belgium hasn't looked great in the tourney, they still have a lot more quality than the USA. USA just seems to play with a different urgency and desperation when down. It's probably a combination of the opposing team letting up and the USA themselves realizing they really have nothing more to lose.
Not easy at all. The US did play an aggressive but technically inferior style of soccer. There are philosphies in futbal-soccer. England has the best league in the world and they always got kicked out of the WC. Today's soccer it is based on fast, technically perfect style of play, a step ahead of Tiki Taka. Dutch, German Style. Decent percentage of ball control, one touch passing, effective goalscoring, Using the wings, using space from one side to the other, nerves of steel
And you probably have to go youth academies of Barca, Arsenal, Ajax, Manchester, Bayern, Real and so on
Looked at some stats. 1-1-2 W-D-L record overall, 4pts secured. Total Shots - Against 92 For 41 Total Shots on Goal - Against 53 For 27 Goals Against 6 For 5, -1 differential. I sorry but I don't think Klinsmann accomplished anything revolutionary compared to what Bob Bradley did in the past or was capable of doing. Oh let's not forget, Klismann selected no backup for Altidore and left Donovan out in what should have been his swan song tournament.
Great game by Howard. Wow, just wow. What a keeper. Seriously, if it wasn't for him... And great game by the US defence, they defended for 90+ minutes and did a great job. However in the end, for anyone watching the game, the Belgian domination was clear. US could of done a huge hold up if they scored at the 92nd. However, the logical and better team won in the end. Great D and goalkeeping by the US though. Dissapointed we didn't see no Altidore.
They added 2 minutes in the 1st extra time. Second of all most 45 minute halves get 3 minutes added on, you want them to add much more off of only 15 minutes? That's not how soccer works.
Could have been much worse. I should be pissed, but right now just relieved we didn't totally embarrass ourselves or give up at the end. Pro's: Made it out of group of death (especially considering the ridiculous travel schedule we had), back to back elimination round appearances, the play of Tim Howard. Con's: played too defensive for too long, giving the ball away way too often, no 2nd option up front to help Dempsey, Michael Bradley, we still can't beat European teams, and we only seem to play with more urgency from behind. I wish we could have gone further in the tournament, but that's life. I rather take away the positives and focus on qualifying for the next WC. Because we have a huge task ahead of us in Russia. We have never played well in European WC's. Only 1 point out of a possible 27. Never advanced or won a match. So for all the negatives of this WC, the next one will show if we have truly progressed or if we will continue to be only the big dogs of Concacaf and not much else. That is much more of a worry for me.
You made some very good points. The stat about the US in European based WCs is one I didn't know. I think the US is producing more and more technically sharp players in midfield and defence and that will serve them well in 2018.
I never really understood this. A LOT happens off the ball. The players movements off the ball is incredibly important and fun to watch. There maybe a few goals in the entire match but generally there are several chances created. Personally, I appreciate the goal scoring chances as much as I do the goals. There is a lot going on tactically on the pitch as well. But I guess the lazy way to watch is to just follow the ball and wait for a goal, in which case, I can understand how it can be boring to some.... ....but then the same folks get excited over a golf game *shaking head*
