Yeah IC really showed they can play but were in a very hard group as well. I guess we can all sit here and say if this team was in this group and this team was in that group then this would happen. But that's the luck of the draw and nothing we can do about it but watch them play.
I don't think Muntari was actually playing that well for Ghana. In my opinion the guy is a ball hog...he takes some ridiculous shots, when he should have setup his teammates. (might be an addition by subtraction) Also Amoah is one of Ghana’s better goal scorers. During qualifications the guy was the man… Asamoah Gyan(the guy who won’t be playing) is actually considered the second option. Therefore if Amoah shows up, the U.S is in trouble... Personally I just don’t think the U.S will be able to handle the speed of the Ghanaians. Eissen and Appiah are the two players that make that team go, if you can somehow neutralize these two guys, you may have a shot. If I was the U.S coach I would start with an aggressive approach and then hope for a goal…then just sit on the lead. I think whoever gets the first goal will win the match.
Everyone outside of USA in the world would rather Brasil win than USA... They play with such skill and flair, awsome to watch.
USA ALL THE WAY MFers seven hours away. GO Italy go, please dont shoot me with your AKs, and cool suits.
you know what. we better score five goals, and ghana better score nothing. i have a feeling that italy and cze will tie though.
I'm also not impressed by brazil this year(however so far few teams have impressed me (exepction is Argentina), however some teams remain dangerous, like brazil, they do not have to play good in the group stages because they will advance without a problem, so they will probably play better in the next rounds. taht being said, brazil does not have a good defense, and ronaldo is not anywere close to what he has been. So maybe the usa can couse an upset.
Yeah Daei should have been on the bench from the begining because of his age. Yes i know he is the all time international scorer and your captain all these years but you have to sit him much like Brasil should sit Ronaldo if they are only hurting your team. Karimi and Zandi both had bad luck getting hurt before the WC. Karimi got the worst of it in the Costa Rica game where he got hurt and he never had enough time to get up to full speed. He is a game breaker type of player. He's a midfielder but an attacking one and his speed really creates problems for defenders. But with him not being at full strenght and speed he couldn't do what he normallly does and be creative. That really hurt us..that coupled with Zandi not playing the first match and not fully fit...it was the end of us...it's sucks because talent wise this was one of the best teams we have had...and injuries slowed us down.
Surprisingly quiet here on the biggest day for Team USA. If Italy plays for pride then the US has a good chance ...
I am pumped as well. I hoped the boys show up with the same determination in the Italy game. I have a feeling that this is going to be the best game showed by the boys. USA advances to the next round with a little help from the Italians. I hope anyway. Go USA.
Let's not downplay the significance of an Italian victory over Czech. It's the necessary condition for US to advance.
I heard the iran coach is going to quit, and the dutch coach Arie Haan will be the next coach of Iran. What do you think about it?
I'm watching Despierta America right now and they are talking to an Astrologer about how well the Mexican team is going to do. They leave no stone unturned I'm telling you. Anyway almost all of my predictions so far have been wrong so I'm not saying anything about today's game except I wish the Americans well.Luckily I have 2 TV's here at work so I'll be watching both games. I do want to hear Swoly's prediction for today's game. Come on Swoly don't be shy, tell us what you think.
wnes I indeed no not downplay the significance of the Italian victory. In fact I am a little more confident with that occurance than us getting the three points against Ghana. The Italians know they need this result as well. If they end in a tie with Czech and Ghana beats the US then Italy will be the second seed and have to face Brazil in the second round which they will want no part of. And worst case if they lose to Czech and Ghana win then they will going home. Italy knows they can not mess around and will go all out for the result. Now go USA and take care of business.
The problem is that if the US gets an early goal, the Italians will hear of it, and will stop the attack and play for a draw. DD
Italy would be playing for more than pride.. If they lose and Ghana wins, they're out. (Czechs and Ghana advance w/ 6 pts each, Italy 4, USA 1) And if they tie and Ghana wins, the Italians would be second in the group to Ghana (Ghana 6 pts, Italy 5, Czechs 4, USA 1), which means a likely date with Brasil in the round of 16.. Right? Or am I wrong? So it's definitely in their best interests to win today- I'm sure they don't want to depend on the US getting a result. Now if the US goes up early, the Italians might sit back and play for a draw. But then they'd be risking a fluke goal from the Czechs knocking them out of the tournament. edit: I see rocketball8 and DaDakota already discussed this. DaDa, I wonder whether the Italians will sit back if the US is only up by 1 goal, because of the possibilty of either an equalizer by Ghana or a fluky goal by the Czechs. Kind of risky..
