US Men's National Team Soccer Thread! (lower division thread)

[PowercatPat]

Soccer is so rough ridin' dumb

 

[bradleigh]

I started watching the match against Turkey yesterday, but the US looked like garbage so I turned it off.  Were they just sucking because it was a friendly?  I'm assuming they picked it up to get their goals.  I guess maybe they'll put in a full 90 once the cup starts?  Haven't watched this team at all so I didn't know how that performance compared.  If they plan on playing like that in the WC a lot of people are going to be disappointed (myself included).

[j-von]

I started watching the match against Turkey yesterday, but the US looked like garbage so I turned it off.  Were they just sucking because it was a friendly?  I'm assuming they picked it up to get their goals.  I guess maybe they'll put in a full 90 once the cup starts?  Haven't watched this team at all so I didn't know how that performance compared.  If they plan on playing like that in the WC a lot of people are going to be disappointed (myself included).

These warm-up friendlies are definitely not a good indication of what you'll see in the World Cup.  I'm really not overly optimistic about the US teams chances in the WC, but I think we got a pretty good draw, and they are good enough to get into the knock out stages and maybe even win a game there if they play at their best.

[mcmwcat]

2nd half against Turkey was impressive.  if our back 4 can keep from sucking the suck () then the United States of America FIFA World Cup team looks like it can be a dangerous opponent

[mcmwcat]

nice writeup on Turkey match http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/worldcup/story/galarcep-usa-show-glimpses-of-world-cup-promise

[mcmwcat]

in other warmup matches over the weekend:

Algeria 0 Ireland 3 http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2010/8712739.stm

Spain scored in injury time to beat the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 3-2.

Japan scored 3 goals against England.  sadly for them 2 of them were own goals ... England 2 - Japan 1

France 1 Tunisia 1

[steve dave]

So, I assume USA is the overwhelming favorite in this thing just like in every other sport?

[mcmwcat]

So, I assume USA is the overwhelming favorite in this thing just like in every other sport?

it's starting to look that way.  i mean ... USA 2 Turkey 1!!!111!!11

[steve dave]

So, I assume USA is the overwhelming favorite in this thing just like in every other sport?

it's starting to look that way.  i mean ... USA 2 Turkey 1!!!111!!11

I would have made tons of Thanksgiving themed jokes had I known we were going to play them

[Pete]

So, I assume USA is the overwhelming favorite in this thing just like in every other sport?

it's starting to look that way.  i mean ... USA 2 Turkey 1!!!111!!11

I would have made tons of Thanksgiving themed jokes had I known we were going to play them

I'd like to pay at least passing attention to this thing.....


MCMW, can you give us a very basic timeline/rundown of the upcoming events and how/what is good/bad for team USA?  I am a bit baffled by the entire thing.

[mcmwcat]

So, I assume USA is the overwhelming favorite in this thing just like in every other sport?

it's starting to look that way.  i mean ... USA 2 Turkey 1!!!111!!11

I would have made tons of Thanksgiving themed jokes had I known we were going to play them

I'd like to pay at least passing attention to this thing.....


MCMW, can you give us a very basic timeline/rundown of the upcoming events and how/what is good/bad for team USA?  I am a bit baffled by the entire thing.

not sure what you mean.  nothing counts until June 11.  teams are just trying to figure out what combinations of players/positions are best.  and most teams just finalized their roster of 23 players that they are taking to S Africa.  USA arrived there yesterday with their team of 23.  they play Australia in the final warm up game on Saturday.  then play England on the following Saturday (June 12) in the real deal.

what is good for team USA are signs that Algeria and England aren't as strong as previously thought.  Algeria lost their best midfielder and got pounded by Ireland in an exhibition. England couldn't score goals against Japan.  what is bad for USA is the entire back line has had injuries all year long and prior to that they were ungood.

 

[Pete]

So, I assume USA is the overwhelming favorite in this thing just like in every other sport?

it's starting to look that way.  i mean ... USA 2 Turkey 1!!!111!!11

I would have made tons of Thanksgiving themed jokes had I known we were going to play them

I'd like to pay at least passing attention to this thing.....


MCMW, can you give us a very basic timeline/rundown of the upcoming events and how/what is good/bad for team USA?  I am a bit baffled by the entire thing.

not sure what you mean.  nothing counts until June 11.  teams are just trying to figure out what combinations of players/positions are best.  and most teams just finalized their roster of 23 players that they are taking to S Africa.  USA arrived there yesterday with their team of 23.  they play Australia in the final warm up game on Saturday.  then play England on the following Saturday (June 12) in the real deal.

what is good for team USA are signs that Algeria and England aren't as strong as previously thought.  Algeria lost their best midfielder and got pounded by Ireland in an exhibition. England couldn't score goals against Japan.  what is bad for USA is the entire back line has had injuries all year long and prior to that they were ungood.

 

Perfect, this is the kind of thing I needed to know.  I have imported computer developer types that I have to have conversations with and this will loads of help in trying to do that. 

2:30 pm eastern time.... http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-cup/?cc=5901&ver=us ....should be a doozy.   

[Pete]

Also, I found this to be helpful for a casual observer, like me.

The World Cup features 32 national teams (the host nation and the 31 best teams from the qualifying tournaments). The games are played over a month in the host nation(s).

There are two stages of the month-long World Cup; a "Group Stage" and a "Knockout Stage".

In the first stage (the "Group Stage"), the 32 teams are placed into eight groups of four teams each. Each group consists of one "seeded" team based on FIFA Rankings and recent World Cups, and the other teams in each group are selected at random from the top finishers in qualifying play and the host team. Groups are set up so that no group contains more than two European teams or more than one team from any of the 5 other FIFA zones (there are six FIFA continental zones; Africa, Asia, North and Central America and Caribbean, South America, Oceania and Europe). Each group plays a round-robin tournament, guaranteeing that every team will play at least three matches. The last round of matches of each group is held simultaneously to prevent COLUSION between nations. Three points are awarded for a win, one for a draw and none for a loss. The top two teams from each group advance to the second stage (the “Knockout Stage”). If two or more teams finish even on points, tie-breakers are used: the first is “goal differential” then total goals scored, then head-to-head results, and finally drawing of lots. In the Group Phase, games may end in a draw.

The second round, or "Knockout Stage," is a single-elimination round in which teams play each other, and there are no draws; extra time and penalty kicks are used to decide the winner. The "Knockout Stage" begins with the "Round of 16" in which the winner of each Group plays against the runner-up from another group. This is followed by quarter-finals, semi-finals and a final. The losing semi-finalists play a match for third place.

So, it looks like we are pretty confident about getting to the "Knockout Stage," correct? 

[Pete]

Also, also....

Why don't they call the "Knockout Stage" the "Sweet Sixteen?"    Better for t-shirts, IMO.

[MeatSauce]

So, I assume USA is the overwhelming favorite in this thing just like in every other sport?

it's starting to look that way.  i mean ... USA 2 Turkey 1!!!111!!11

I would have made tons of Thanksgiving themed jokes had I known we were going to play them

I'd like to pay at least passing attention to this thing.....


MCMW, can you give us a very basic timeline/rundown of the upcoming events and how/what is good/bad for team USA?  I am a bit baffled by the entire thing.

not sure what you mean.  nothing counts until June 11.  teams are just trying to figure out what combinations of players/positions are best.  and most teams just finalized their roster of 23 players that they are taking to S Africa.  USA arrived there yesterday with their team of 23.  they play Australia in the final warm up game on Saturday.  then play England on the following Saturday (June 12) in the real deal.

what is good for team USA are signs that Algeria and England aren't as strong as previously thought.  Algeria lost their best midfielder and got pounded by Ireland in an exhibition. England couldn't score goals against Japan.  what is bad for USA is the entire back line has had injuries all year long and prior to that they were ungood.

 

Any connection here?  http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_al_qaida_believed_killed

[mcmwcat]

So, it looks like we are pretty confident about getting to the "Knockout Stage," correct?  

since 2 teams come out of each group i would think we are favored to advance.  we got a pretty good deal when the names came out of the hat determining which teams were in our group.  i think it will be a huge managerial failure if they don't get to play in the knockout stages.

England - of the 7 seeded teams (8th seeded team is only seeded because they are the host) i would put them at #7

Algeria - of the 5 African teams and 3 non seeded South American teams that came out of this hat Algeria was the worst team.

Slovenia - of the 8 non seeded European teams that came out of this hat Slovenia could be the worst team. Denmark and Switzerland could make arguments for that spot but they both have tradition on their side.

basically it was the best draw the U.S. could get

[_33]

So, it looks like we are pretty confident about getting to the "Knockout Stage," correct?  

since 2 teams come out of each group i would think we are favored to advance.  we got a pretty good deal when the names came out of the hat determining which teams were in our group.  i think it will be a huge managerial failure if they don't get to play in the knockout stages.

England - of the 7 seeded teams (8th seeded team is only seeded because they are the host) i would put them at #7

Algeria - of the 5 African teams and 3 non seeded South American teams that came out of this hat Algeria was the worst team.

Slovenia - of the 8 non seeded European teams that came out of this hat Slovenia could be the worst team. Denmark and Switzerland could make arguments for that spot but they both have tradition on their side.

basically it was the best draw the U.S. could get

Take that group stage and run. 

[michigancat]

white people like the World Cup because it allows them to pretend they are European for a few weeks, and more importantly, it allows them to get drunk at odd hours.

http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2010/06/01/133-the-world-cup/

[AbeFroman]

Rossi got cut from Italy's squad. That's what you get for turning your back on your country of birth.

[mcmwcat]

white people like the World Cup because it allows them to pretend they are European for a few weeks, and more importantly, it allows them to get drunk at odd hours.

http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2010/06/01/133-the-world-cup/

i like to act like euro trash all year long.  it's hard work being elite so i take a few weeks off every four years and act like a stupid american geeking out over the world cup.

[mcmwcat]

Serbia's disappointing pre-World Cup run continued on Wednesday as the popular darkhorse pick settled for a scoreless draw against Poland in Austria.

The draw comes after Serbia suffered an embarrassing 1-0 loss to New Zealand on Saturday, a defeat that sparked major protests in Serbia.

 

http://www.soccerbyives.net/soccer_by_ives/2010/06/evening-ticker-liverpool-pushing-rafa-out-serbia-stumbles-again-and-more.html

Serbia has a central defender who played for the U.S. youth national teams as a teen then moved back to Europe and chose to play for Serbia.  Nevin Subotic.  could use him in our crap back line.

http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/worldcup/story/Loss-of-Neven-Subotic-to-Serbia-still-haunts-US-program

[mcmwcat]

USA v Turkey tactical breakdown.  any HSIQ guys out there want to summarize this for me 

http://theshinguardian.com/2010/06/02/tactical-breakdowns-usa-v-turkey/

[AbeFroman]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/7800260/World-Cup-2010-Diego-Maradona-hails-Argentina-World-Cup-23-as-wildcats.html
 
Maradona is elite.

[mcmwcat]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/7800260/World-Cup-2010-Diego-Maradona-hails-Argentina-World-Cup-23-as-wildcats.html
 
Maradona is elite.

lolz http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/sportvideo/footballvideo/7744994/Diego-Maradona-runs-over-a-journalist.html

[mcmwcat]

"To those who didn’t believe, with apologies to the ladies: they can suck it. They can keep sucking it. I’m either black or white – I’ll never be gray in my life. Eh? You people who treated me like you did? Keep licking it. Now, next question?"

http://theoffsiderules.blogspot.com/2009/10/in-case-you-missed-it-maradona-post.html