This. Bradley's getting hated on these boards (which I understand), but Cameron screwed up terrible on BOTH goals! He pissed me off so much!
wtf? Dude lost this game all by himself on many levels I don't understand how anyone can defend Jeremy Lin on this...It's like you don't know anything about soccer to say so. Micheal Bradley did not deliver...and he had many opps to do so. And he lost the game all by himself at the end...not kicking that ball away Anyone who defends Bradley on this WC just sucks, That's all there is to it
While it was no doubt a brutal tie, the odds are still heavily in our favor to advance. Updated Soccer Power Index odds to advance: - Germany: 99.7 percent - United States: 76 percent - Ghana: 19 percent - Portugal: 5 percent
Which Germans do you know? First, we are not overrating our national team and most people were very pessimistic before WC. Portugal game changed that a bit, but Ghana got those people on their feet again. Second, World Cup is the best sports tournament in the world and everyone here in Germany can't see the four years between the WCs go fast enough. It's the most important tournament for every player and fan, four weeks of football, the whole world watching and competing for the biggest title in sports. Germans are crazy for this, you'll see the German flag on cars and houses, car parades after victories, public viewings everywhere(outside and at work!). Your German friends saying WC isn't important are truly one of a kind.
Oliver Bierhoff (German team manager who is best buddies with Klinsmann) gave a really stupid interview on live TV yesterday in which he said that "if Germany was to advance as 1st in the group and the USA 2nd, he would sign that right now". It was in German, so I hope it doesn't make too many waves. As was pointed out, Germany was at the center of one of the biggest scandals in world football in 1982, when Germany went up 1-0 against Austria through a goal of Horst Hrubesch and afterwards, both teams knew that if the score wasn't going to change, they would both move on and Algeria would be out. They basically stopped playing, just passed the ball around, and it was totally obvious that neither team was trying anymore. I don't think there was any explicit agreement or bribery or anything, it was just a tacit understanding not to hurt each other. It was shameful. I watched that match live. The Algerian fans in the crowd went apesh!t and were waving dollars, and they were right to be angry. <iframe width="640" height="480" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/1n9WQYq7u9M" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> But that won't happen again. The world is watching, and we are still embarrassed about that 1982 match. It's true that like half of the US team are actually Germans, and the coach is German, and Klinsmann is very close with Bierhoff and Löw. But they won't be that stupid. Plus, there is little love lost between most of the German players and someone like Jones. Germany will want to make sure they win. They won't let up before they are up by two goals.
Didn't catch the game but that was some terrible goal-keeping by Howard on the two goals. First one he sits down way to early, and second, even though it is from close range, he doesn't extend his arm.
It is the same in the Netherlands. I know a couple of people who do not care much for the WC (and more for their club), but ehy are in the minority. It is funny, the Dutch fans were also very pessimistic before the tournament, and the Spain game changed that. But the Australia match also made the negative people more focal.
'Strategic moves' like this are the reason that we will never be able to watch both final group games live.
Interntional Interns who work at my company. The two biggest fans are from Dortmund so obviously their club is Borussia Dortmund. Both are season ticket holders. I'm not sure how you got that from my post. They both like Germany a lot. They simply profess to have fairly low knowledge of World Cup power ranking as opposed to Bundesliga. I'm not a football fan. So that's why I didn't make the generalization that who they are represent German fans in general. But they have told me that they care much less about Germany success in the World Cup than BVB success. I can't speak for other Americans. But personally I feel the same way about America success in any international competition compared to Houston Rockets/Astros/Texans success. If you tell me Harden and Howard go to the Olympics and get shamed into a Bronze, but the Rockets win the title, I would take the NBA title everyday of the week and twice on Sundays.
What a bunch of weirdos. I've never met Europeans like that, and I'm from Europe. I mean, most people don't know the ins and outs of some of the World Cup teams. That's normal, club tournaments go on for most of the year every year, there's a much bigger stream of information. To know a lot about Schalke 04, you just have to watch your club team plus marquee matches of other teams. To know the ins and outs of Ghana, you have to watch Ghana in the African tournaments and friendlies, follow its news, and that's not what people do. But to care more about a league than how your national team performs in the World Cup, that's extreme.
As to that, I would feel that way too (if I was American). The NBA is competitive, an NBA title is a very rare achievement. Basketball Olympic gold is kind of cheap. The US has by far the biggest talent pool. They could stop sending NBA players there, and anyone who knows basketball still wouldn't have any doubt that the US is by far the best basketball country.
The USA has a chance, and Germany looks like we can compete, so bring on Thursday and Go Portugal! BTW- pretty weird that head to head is not a tie breaker. DD
I think it depends on the region they're from and whether they feel part of the country in general. I know that in England it's more common to see people that prefer their clubs over the national team in the north of the country (e.g. Newcastle United) - though there's still strong support. I think it's a social thing as well - if they feel marginalised from the rest of the country and Westminster, they're more likely to feel closer to their local teams compared to the national one. I'm assuming this is similar in other countries as well and I'm not talking about obvious ones like Catalonia...
By the same token, the US basketball team losing in the Olympics is much more of a fail than any country not winning the world cup. I felt worse after the Lillard shot than I did the US Bronze medal finishes at Olympics/World Championships. When the US team failed, I was just felt like they were facepalm moments. Losing to the Blazers was like a kick in the nuts... over and over and over.
That is because basketbal is not a global sport. It ia American sport that some other countries also play. Which means the competition on an olympic tournament is not that impressive. When the US teams doesn't win it doesn't mean that they werent the best country in basketbal (since we all know they are). I would be much hapier when the Rockets win a championship than when the Dutch become a world champion in basketbal (Which is never going to happen) With a soccer WC it is different, soccer is really a global sport. It is exciting to see your best athletes play against the best from other countries. Every WC is exciting, since we do not know which country is going to win.
Here are the scenarios: If the U.S. wins: They are through to the next round as the winners of Group G and will play the second place team from Group H. (Belgium currently leads Group H, followed by Algeria, Russia and South Korea) Germany would finish second unless Ghana or Portugal won and passed Germany on goal differential. Germany currently is plus 4, Ghana is minus 1 and Portugal is minus 4. The second place finisher plays the winner of Group H. If Germany wins: Germany wins the group. The U.S. would finish second unless Ghana or Portugal won and passed the U.S. on goal differential. The U.S. is plus 1, Ghana is minus 1 and Portugal is minus 4. So, if the U.S. loses to Germany, they will be rooting for Portugal, because it’s less likely that Portugal could pass the U.S. on goal differential. If Germany and the U.S. draw: Germany wins the group and the U.S. finishes second. The result of the other game is meaningless. If Ghana and Portugal draw: The U.S. and Germany advance. Germany wins the group unless the U.S. defeats them.
