This. They also won with two of the better midfielders in the entire world not really playing (Essien, who is out injured, and Muntari, who played 3 mins at the end). All these people whining and complaining about Ghana are most likely bandwagon fans who either watch soccer once every four years or just started watching a couple of weeks ago (i.e. they don't know what they're talking about).
When thinking about the USA, consider this. Their forwards did not score a single goal in 4 matches....not one..... That tells you all you need to know about where we are as a nation, we have a good midfield, and a decent defense and keeper, but we lack a creative closer or two up front. Until we get that, we will not rise to the top level of soccer. We need to find someone that can put the biscuit in the basket. DD
Or..play that football that the US plays in 2nd half of games throughout the whole game consistently..
Having Essien would have allowed some of the other guys like Kevin Boetang and Ayew to play more offensive roles, too bad he couldn't play cause it would have made a huge difference, can't replace a guy like him. These guys are all so damn young, will be interesting to see where they progress to in 4 years. The game against Germany showed me that these guys are no fluke, they have real talent throughout the squad, too young to win it this year, but 2014 will be interesting if they continue to develop. In regards to the next game, Ghana is really going to miss Ayew, he's vital to the defensive end of Ghana, he's always all over the field, playing great. Jonathan Mensah is out with two yellows as well, they better hope Vorsah comes back to health, I don't want to see Addy playing CB again after the Australia showing, he needs to stick to LB. Man you make it sound like Muntari is an old man, the guy is 25 years old. The guy knows how to be a general on the field, also he's shown a touch for goal, they could really use him. Too bad he doesn't get along with the national team coach (btw never heard he had problems with his club teams)...you don't waste a talent like that on the bench....send him home or play him!
Starting clark and findley sure didn't help the cause. I would've like to see Gooch start in this game. Get your best athletes out there.
That's not very classy if it happened, you're right. But let's not leave out the other clasless part of the game where someone is lying on the floor in front of you requiring attention and you cross the ball into the box, and still after that when the referee stops the game you whine about it. Frankly I'm sure a lot of people are feeling hurt right now by the result, but Ghana won fair and square, they deserve it. The US had their chances and they were squandered, no excuses.
Oh definitely, they are the better team. Like I said in my first post, they might have been classless, but we should never ever been down 2-1 in the first place. Bocanegra and DeMerit made some questionable choices. Heck, Bocanegra gets beat by Gyan and then stops and looks up. Yeah, Clark gave it up in the midfield, but that is why we have defenders on the play too. Oh well, Viva Mexico and such.
No excuses but Clark shouldn't have been out there period. We don't concede the first goal if he doesn't get the start. Edu's substitution for him at the 30 min mark shows that was a big mistake. Sucks bc it impacted the game even more since it went into extra time.
I don't think Clark was the problem on that play, why DeMerit gave Prince that much space was beyond me.
Well he gave up the ball at a pretty inopportune time. Howard played that all wrong too. Man so many what-ifs. A deep run is what would've changed American futbol. We've gotten here in the past so I'm not sure this run changes much in the grand scheme of things.
Very true, if only we could have evened it up and let it go to PK's. I think what team USA needs is someone not American to take the helm. I love Bradley, but I think we need a new approach to American soccer. Maybe a European perspective. We also need a magical midfielder, someone who can act as a lightening rod when things get tough. I told my girlfriend that I think we are 8-12 years away from a world cup champions appearance, and I still stand by that.
I've told many people the same thing and they think I'm crazy. I want to remain positive with this group though. They can still do some things in big tourneys that will be eventually coming around.
I did think Gooch was hurting more than helping in the previous matches, but I think you're right about this match. I got the impression that the Ghana players were "beefier" and we needed someone to match their size - not to mention the million headers that one striker on Ghana got. Although I'm dissapointed with this match result, overall I'm proud of our guys. USA futbol continues to trend upward.
You're spot on. We just looked small out there. I'm really disappointed. I'm not sure if we could have asked for a better draw to go deep into the tourney. These opportunities don't come around every time around.
8 years sounds about right. Honestly, I think the progress so far is excellent. As long as the side remains realistic and doesn't become obsessed with arbitrary objectives (2nd round or quarter finals) the team will get better. Just keep improving the league and the coaches and the scouting and the training.
What class I can't believe people are so mad over a very fair game. The better team won deal with it.
Wow.... just... damn. and to think a lot of these people don't even give a flying rats ass about soccer outside of the world cup. Some of the stuff that were said are really sad and uncalled for from a "1st world" country. These are supposedly educated people.
