We knocked Boliva all the way down to 84th in the world. I feel bad for them, but they ran into us. It happens.
Panama totally outplaying Uruguay in second half but nothing to show for it. Better score soon or goodnight.
there's some good wine in Uruguay, mostly Tannat, which is a blending grape in Bordeaux, much like Malbec is. the wine growing region of Uruguay is roughly the same latitude as Mendoza in Argentina, a latitude it shares with the wine growing regions of South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.
Such an underwheming start for the USMNT. Fantastic goal by Pulisic and the Balogun goal was good as well. But everything in between is just so Berhalter like. Milquetoast mediocrity. If you can't put your feet on the throats of a team like Bolivia, how do you honestly expect to compete with Uruguay? Now, if they do their job against Panama, the game against Uruguay isn't going to matter. But the least they can do is play with the energy and attitude that they did against Brazil a couple weeks ago. Bring that against these minnows and you win 5, 6, 7-0. Yes, the Bolivian keeper made some good saves. But many were right at him. Pepi should've had a hattie but he turned into Lukaku and couldn't finish even when presented easy balls inside the 6. I'm tired of moral victories. It's not good enough any more.
Sure they do. And I'll be happy if they win the tournament winning 1-0 every time. But that was the 84th ranked team in the world and by far the worst team in COMNEBOL and this tournament. And we let them hang around and be in the game. To be truly successful, they're going to have to learn how to punish teams like that. Not only that, it was sloppier than it looked because Boliva are such s***. Passing wasn't good. Finishing was terrible. You're not going to get 20+ shots against Uruguay so you have to put away a much larger percentage of chances. 3 points is good. A clean sheet is good. I just want to see more. We've been up and coming for over 30 years now. It gets old
My dream is actually Carlo Ancelotti. He loves being in the US and spends much of his free time in the PNW and Vancouver. He actaully almost took the job at Vancouver a few years back and was reportedly interested in the Canada job before the decision was made for him to stay with Real. I'd love for him to express interested after this summer and to have him come over next summer.
Brazil and Costa Rica finish 0-0. Brazil dominated the ball but couldn't get shots on target (20 taken, only 3 on target). Just too much passing for the sake of passing. There were moments but they're just not what Brazil is about. One thing I've heard pundits say recently was that Brazilian players are leaving for Europe too early. They're becoming European players at their clubs and the Brazilan way is being taken out of them. Can't blame them when you take the money into account...but they are not the group of players we think of anymore. The individual brilliance and flair is gone. On a side note...this Geico commercial that has the dudes with the 2-way radios telling the ref what to do is possibly the worst commercial on tv right now. Just f***ing stupid.
I am fine with the Bolivia game, we had at least 5 other GREAT chances that we didn't finish - and sometimes the ball just doesn't go in......Pepi should have scored at least 2...... I like Pulisic in the role of creator, really wish he could play the 10.....but he gets knocked around too much and Gio is good there too, so to the left he goes. DD
Ideally, as strange as it is to say, I'd prefer Brazil...but that means we'll have to win the group. Though Brazil's participation is still very much up in the air. They're going to have to beat Paraguay and need Colombia to beat Costa Rica. Paraguay is no push over. They'll pack the box like CR did...but have better offensive players like Enciso and Almiron. They can punish Brazil on the break if they don't start finishing.
That's for a different thread. She's 35 now and not producing for her club. Emma Hayes is right to move on.
Hate making score predictions but we should win this fairly easily. Panama is going to pack the box (they're playing a 5-4-1) which we don't typically handle all that well. Maintain possession, don't do anything stupid, and finish the opportunities. Would be nice to win by a healthy margin and at least put pressure on Uruguay to have to score more if they want to win the group...though they'll likely crush Bolivia later tonight.
