November 29, 20223 yr Author 1 hour ago, CentralChamps21 said: I was looking at the table again and if Wales beats England, then Iran needs a win to advance, so they may not be parking the bus unless England gets out to an early lead. That is the beauty of the games being played at the same time. Let's do this. USA USA USA!!!
November 29, 20223 yr Author 47 minutes ago, Harry Chappas said: My guess is England parks the bus for the most part takes the point and moves on. I expect the opposite - I expect they know Wales is vunerable and will go for the kill, especially knowing Wales is going to play for the win. If England parks the bus they are asking for trouble (imo).
November 29, 20223 yr Author I HATE prevent defense - wow that was an intense finale but nice to get the win. On to the Netherlands on Saturday...maybe they can somehow shock us, but either way - after 4 years ago disaster - this was nice. Now lets hope the injury to Pulisic is not too bad.
November 29, 20223 yr 1 minute ago, Chisoxfn said: I HATE prevent defense - wow that was an intense finale but nice to get the win. On to the Netherlands on Saturday...maybe they can somehow shock us, but either way - after 4 years ago disaster - this was nice. Now lets hope the injury to Pulisic is not too bad. I will be honest. The US offense is abysmal. They should have put Iran down 2-0 or 3-0 but they couldn't convert on chances that elite teams will not miss on. They have their work cut out for them.
November 29, 20223 yr Author 1 minute ago, pettie4sox said: I will be honest. The US offense is abysmal. They should have put Iran down 2-0 or 3-0 but they couldn't convert on chances that elite teams will not miss on. They have their work cut out for them. They have always lacked the true striker. It is a historical weakness and Behralter hasn't made it better with some of his usage whne it comes to some of his more elite pieces.
November 29, 20223 yr 3 minutes ago, Chisoxfn said: They have always lacked the true striker. It is a historical weakness and Behralter hasn't made it better with some of his usage whne it comes to some of his more elite pieces. Yeah it's sad the USMNT is not on par with the USWNT in terms of dominance and winning. Zero excuses the US shouldn't be the top of the food chain in soccer.
November 29, 20223 yr 6 minutes ago, Chisoxfn said: They have always lacked the true striker. It is a historical weakness and Behralter hasn't made it better with some of his usage whne it comes to some of his more elite pieces. I thought Sargent played well today. He held the ball very well and looked miles better than Haji Wright. I hope he and Pulisic are good to go for Saturday.
November 29, 20223 yr 4 minutes ago, chw42 said: I thought Sargent played well today. He held the ball very well and looked miles better than Haji Wright. I hope he and Pulisic are good to go for Saturday. After the game the substitutions were being questioned and the play of Wright specifically. I do not know a lot about soccer but that was very interesting. Need to be healthy. Nice starting time for Saturday.
November 29, 20223 yr 14 minutes ago, pettie4sox said: I will be honest. The US offense is abysmal. They should have put Iran down 2-0 or 3-0 but they couldn't convert on chances that elite teams will not miss on. They have their work cut out for them. Averaging less than a goal per game isn't going to get them any further. I know the old cliché that defense wins championships but drawing your way to a WC isn't doable.
November 29, 20223 yr Author 17 minutes ago, pettie4sox said: Yeah it's sad the USMNT is not on par with the USWNT in terms of dominance and winning. Zero excuses the US shouldn't be the top of the food chain in soccer. It is very different. Us loses a ton of its best athletes to other sports. And the reality is the way we develop here is still different than those upper echelon countries. Less people here Vs other countries end up getting home schooled at young ages to fully focus on soccer. It is starting to happen here and at young ages (think 7 or 8)…but even than that is typically involving people relocating but I know a program in my area that is setting up a home school around lower elementary age into middle school with plan to than send them into international team feeder programs (vs today more of the clubs at best get ties to our MLS clubs that are ultimately sub standard). But if we didn’t have the draw to MLB, NBA and NFL I think you would see our striker play, if nothing else get more on par with the best in the world. And with that said - this is the us team with the most upside I have ever seen in my lifetime and the next cup cycle could be special. Key word is could be. This is no knock cause the Donovan, Altidore, Dempsey era was pretty damn good.
November 29, 20223 yr Author 23 minutes ago, chw42 said: I thought Sargent played well today. He held the ball very well and looked miles better than Haji Wright. I hope he and Pulisic are good to go for Saturday. Personally I don't understand our inability to use Reyna. But I'm a big believer in Reyna (not just in terms of how he could help the team now - but also in the importance he will have 4 years from now).
November 29, 20223 yr On 11/25/2022 at 8:33 PM, SoxAce said: I'll make a prediction that I highly doubt this game ends up tied. One of these teams will beat the other. No question in my mind. Yes sir. USA!
November 29, 20223 yr 22 minutes ago, Chisoxfn said: Personally I don't understand our inability to use Reyna. But I'm a big believer in Reyna (not just in terms of how he could help the team now - but also in the importance he will have 4 years from now). Probably because he's not fit to play more than 30 minutes. I think in a situation where we have to play for a goal late in the game he would make a lot of sense. We haven't really been in those situations so far.
November 29, 20223 yr 33 minutes ago, Chisoxfn said: It is very different. Us loses a ton of its best athletes to other sports. And the reality is the way we develop here is still different than those upper echelon countries. Less people here Vs other countries end up getting home schooled at young ages to fully focus on soccer. It is starting to happen here and at young ages (think 7 or 8)…but even than that is typically involving people relocating but I know a program in my area that is setting up a home school around lower elementary age into middle school with plan to than send them into international team feeder programs (vs today more of the clubs at best get ties to our MLS clubs that are ultimately sub standard). But if we didn’t have the draw to MLB, NBA and NFL I think you would see our striker play, if nothing else get more on par with the best in the world. And with that said - this is the us team with the most upside I have ever seen in my lifetime and the next cup cycle could be special. Key word is could be. This is no knock cause the Donovan, Altidore, Dempsey era was pretty damn good. Adams and Musah should see a huge boost to their reputation and value after this WC. Adams could get a transfer to a big team. He simply doesn't make mistakes as a holding mid and covers so well for our defenders. Musah is only 20 with a huge motor and already plays at Valencia. Both are playing out of their minds for us. Musah will be a monster with 4 years of development at a big club. Our midfield should be amazing by 2026. We just need somebody up front to finish our chances. Edited November 29, 20223 yr by chw42
November 29, 20223 yr Author 17 minutes ago, chw42 said: Probably because he's not fit to play more than 30 minutes. I think in a situation where we have to play for a goal late in the game he would make a lot of sense. We haven't really been in those situations so far. Wales was a perfect game for him to be used. The US was clearly dead and did a poor job utilizing substitutions and even the England game we had a shot and could have used that injection of energy up front and they were very slow to bring him in. I agree he may not be able to start - but leveraging him more in the back half of the game would make a lot of sense.
November 29, 20223 yr 4 minutes ago, Chisoxfn said: Wales was a perfect game for him to be used. The US was clearly dead and did a poor job utilizing substitutions and even the England game we had a shot and could have used that injection of energy up front and they were very slow to bring him in. I agree he may not be able to start - but leveraging him more in the back half of the game would make a lot of sense. They fucked up his sub against England too, tbh. He only played for 10 minutes but he was ready to sub on at least 5 minutes before that. Berhalter's subs have mostly been bad and untimely. Shaq Moore is awful and he keeps getting playing time late in games over Yedlin and Scally.
November 29, 20223 yr 6 minutes ago, Chisoxfn said: Wales was a perfect game for him to be used. The US was clearly dead and did a poor job utilizing substitutions and even the England game we had a shot and could have used that injection of energy up front and they were very slow to bring him in. I agree he may not be able to start - but leveraging him more in the back half of the game would make a lot of sense. Bringing him on for Seargant today instead of using Wright would have been good as well.
November 29, 20223 yr Author 1 minute ago, chw42 said: They fucked up his sub against England too, tbh. He only played for 10 minutes but he was ready to sub on at least 5 minutes before that. Berhalter's subs have mostly been bad and untimely. Shaq Moore is awful and he keeps getting playing time late in games over Yedlin and Scally. So by my count we could have gotten at a minimum an extra 20-30 minutes of him including use in a game where he could have been the difference in the US playing Netherlands vs. Senegal. With that said - it is truly unfortunate he had the soft tissue injuries he did and they just kept getting him. In general this squad was snake bitten when it came to availability, especially given the youth of some of its better players. Hoping Pulisic's injury is more mild and he can end up being himself on Saturday.
November 30, 20223 yr Author I very much enjoy Landon Donovan and his game calling. Does a nice job as an analyst.
November 30, 20223 yr 1 hour ago, Chisoxfn said: I very much enjoy Landon Donovan and his game calling. Does a nice job as an analyst. I like Darke/Donovan better than Strong/Holden but I guess the American guy gets all the US games.
December 6, 20223 yr One of the biggest issues is the quality of finishing. I watch teams in the world cup and their shots on goal. Quality hard shots happen multiple times in the game. We get lazy headers directly at the goalie, or guys who are trying to audition for the NFL crushing 40 yard field goals way over the goal mouth. Our players hesitate and mess up their shots over and over. This needs to be the focus in the youth program. How to deliver quality strikes. The other thing, why is one of your best goal scorers delivering the corners. Its insane.
December 8, 20223 yr On 12/5/2022 at 11:10 PM, southsideirish71 said: One of the biggest issues is the quality of finishing. I watch teams in the world cup and their shots on goal. Quality hard shots happen multiple times in the game. We get lazy headers directly at the goalie, or guys who are trying to audition for the NFL crushing 40 yard field goals way over the goal mouth. Our players hesitate and mess up their shots over and over. This needs to be the focus in the youth program. How to deliver quality strikes. The other thing, why is one of your best goal scorers delivering the corners. Its insane. Especially since he seems to be not particularly good at it.
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