It would have to be better than old Hodgson, no disrespect. Hodgson seems a good man but dynamic? motivating? NO. If it takes a fat Spanish waiter to get England going get him on the horn tonight.
Day 19: Belgium vs. United States
- Thread starter gooDevil
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It would have to be better than old Hodgson, no disrespect. Hodgson seems a good man but dynamic? motivating? NO. If it takes a fat Spanish waiter to get England going get him on the horn tonight.
Enjoyed this game!
Fair play USA. I wasn't routing for them before the game but they won me over with their fight and desire.
Fair play USA. I wasn't routing for them before the game but they won me over with their fight and desire.
Well I just got back from a bar that typically has 10-20 people in it. Easily 200 in there this afternoon. No parking left. People leaving work early to watch. Great atmosphere. Wonderful to see the newbies falling in love with the game. As an aside, there happened to be a women's pro team sitting next to me. Nice bunch of ladies. Apparently they get 2000-4000 at each game. Not bad.
As I said "if not for Howard" doesn't apply. Another keeper might have done as well, or not; doesn't apply. We'll agree to disagree.
How can he stop hanging around with himself?
You are right, Belgium played great tonight, I really hope you make the finals it will be a great game no matter who against.
You don't need to get Americans interested in the sport in order for them to be good at it.
Yuppies across the States jumping on the "soccer" bandwagon will not make the US a heavyweight in the WC. Its exposing the sport to the areas of the country where the athletes in other sports are coming from.
The truth of the matter is America produces some incredibly athletic people, and a vast majority of its athletes come from inner cities. Start setting up football camps for inner city youth across America, that is the way to start investing in the sport. Expose it to those kids who otherwise dream of being basketball players, and offer them the option of football instead. In 10-15 years you'll start seeing some real quality talent coming out of the US.
Yuppies across the States jumping on the "soccer" bandwagon will not make the US a heavyweight in the WC. Its exposing the sport to the areas of the country where the athletes in other sports are coming from.
The truth of the matter is America produces some incredibly athletic people, and a vast majority of its athletes come from inner cities. Start setting up football camps for inner city youth across America, that is the way to start investing in the sport. Expose it to those kids who otherwise dream of being basketball players, and offer them the option of football instead. In 10-15 years you'll start seeing some real quality talent coming out of the US.
Howard has made most saves in a World Cup in the last 50 years, case closed
I don't want to get caught up in a pissing contest. Some of you seem jealous that the US had gotten that far and in your eyes were being overly hyped and praised and if so, we can't change that. Speaking for Americans here, all we want out of the rest of the football world is some respect and recognition for how far the game has come in the states. We are very late to the party and sure, there are lots of haters of the beautiful game in our country.
We aren't among the best in the word but damn all we're at least heading in the right direction. Shoot, next WC we might get drawn in a shit group (IF we qualify) and start making plans for who we'd be playing in the next round...and then we night lose. US Football is growing up right before your eyes and it isn't going to happen over night.
To have Spain, England, Portugal, Italy and others watching the US on tv is a fecking massive step for the US. Sure, luck is involved both bad and good but we're getting closer. Better get used to having us around every now and then.
We aren't among the best in the word but damn all we're at least heading in the right direction. Shoot, next WC we might get drawn in a shit group (IF we qualify) and start making plans for who we'd be playing in the next round...and then we night lose. US Football is growing up right before your eyes and it isn't going to happen over night.
To have Spain, England, Portugal, Italy and others watching the US on tv is a fecking massive step for the US. Sure, luck is involved both bad and good but we're getting closer. Better get used to having us around every now and then.
Who's to say another keeper may not have done the same thing? Don't get me wrong, Howard is a beast and one of SAF's mistakes in personnel, but he is not the only player on the squad.
The fact people are praising the USA is why we're so shit. They conceded 38 shots and forced Tm Howard into making the most saves in World Cup history. We should be trying to emulate the Belgians who were fantastic tonight, they shut their doubters up in emphatic fashion.
How is what the US did in this tournament any different from Greece who the entire footballing World hates?
How is what the US did in this tournament any different from Greece who the entire footballing World hates?
Don't know where you are, but one of the conditions KLinsman laid down before accepting the job was that he be given complete autonomy to dismantle the US youth developmental system and start building it up again from scratch. I think eventually the US will become consistently good instead of occasionally good.
England lacks belief, I think the talent is there. A 1-0 victory is not exactly emphatic but by heck Belgium is loaded with talent.
Really good point and 100% correct.
Some bitter bastards out here tonight
America actually look to break/counter attack when they get the chance - Greece attack when they're forced into it by a sending off / the last minute of a game / Yaya Toure being an idiot.
America have been a very entertaining side in this tournament, and have taken the game to all their opponents for periods of all their games bar Germany. The distinction between them and Greece is fairly apparent.
what do you mean?
I'm pleased that the match was decided faily by the players on the field. No bad calls or diving to take away from the victory.
Belgium was the better team, we knew that going in. I'm still extremely proud of the US team for giving them a real game and taking it the full 120 minutes. It was an Everton style performance, respectable and unspectacular but almost enough to win the match. We absorbed the pressure, Howard played a blinder, and Yedlin was a revelation.
I saw in my mind's eye the ball go in the net when it fell to Wondolowski in the 92nd minute, I tasted the celebration and the joy, all in the moment before he scuffed it wide.
Once again we are a bit limited in midfield and lacked a goalscoring threat. We only won one game out of four, but it was enough to create a very enjoyable world cup that revealed a lot to look forward to. The team has a future.
Belgium was the better team, we knew that going in. I'm still extremely proud of the US team for giving them a real game and taking it the full 120 minutes. It was an Everton style performance, respectable and unspectacular but almost enough to win the match. We absorbed the pressure, Howard played a blinder, and Yedlin was a revelation.
I saw in my mind's eye the ball go in the net when it fell to Wondolowski in the 92nd minute, I tasted the celebration and the joy, all in the moment before he scuffed it wide.
Once again we are a bit limited in midfield and lacked a goalscoring threat. We only won one game out of four, but it was enough to create a very enjoyable world cup that revealed a lot to look forward to. The team has a future.
I really don't get the hate the US national team gets some times. Many teams who've gone out have also received massive amounts of praise for their performance because they've played some great matches and exceeded many people's expectations. Why should it be any different in this situation? Sure, Belgium had their chances to end the game early on but they didn't and in the end we got one of the best games of the tournament. Both teams played really well tonight and should be given credit for doing so.
It's ok to say US Soccer, that's the name of the organization
The future does look bright, I think Klinsmann is locked in as coach with a long-term plan and we have some fresh, young, dynamic players. And I get to enjoy the next 4 years of reminding every England/Spain/Italy/Portugal poster who has something unkind to say about US Soccer that we progressed in Brazil.
until you get 200+ week in week out for club matches, it won't move the needle much IMO.
it is easy to get behind a 'festival' vs. the actual sport week in week out, year in year out.
and yes i know in big cities, certain bars get lots of patrons for club games - i'm talking about nationwide.
What do you think it means?
The bars I go to don't get 200 for American football. It won't take that but I get your point. Having been here 20 years I can say the needle has moved each and every year with larger moves in world cup years. Is tend by a point I made a few weeks ago. Give it a generation of two. When I first came here parents with no knowledge of the game were sending their kids to practice and also getting involved with coaching (albeit very poorly) . Now parents who have played up through high school are coaching. These things just take time.
off the top of my head, we're not the slowest team on Earth when we counter attack. Part of the reason Greece is so horrible to watch is their incredible lack of pace
Why??? Why can't a dual citizen be a patriot???
For both countries, too! You can be a dual citizen of USA and England and feel a patriot for both of them!
mate its a matchday thread of a world cup in a multinational forum, you should expect some posters rooting against your team
go to the swiss vs argentina thread and take a look at how many of our posters wanted switzerland to win, even though they didn't know any of their players
don't take it personal
More than 3 times as many tickets as Argentina. Some of them were probably for other countries matches though.
What are you talking about????
Greece had 23 shots, 13 of them on goal. Costa Rica had 6 shots, 2 of them on goal.
In England-Costa Rica, England had 8 shots, 3 of them on goal. Costa Rica had 4 shots, 3 of them on goal.
In Belgium-USA, USA had 14 shots, 9 on goal.
More than 3 times as many tickets as Argentina. Some of them were probably for other countries matches though.
thank you mate, didn't know that
Today was bitter sweet. Extremely sad obviously, they went out. It was always going to be a task to beat a Belgium side with a team loaded with skill, not to mention anchored by the best CB in the world. The glimmer of hope was that Belgium hadn't found their form yet in Brazil.
With that said. Great great game. And yes, IMO great achievement even getting out of that group. They defended well, put up one hell of a fight. Just didn't have enough brass to see it completely out. I thought Hazard underachieved, and Fellaini pretty much useless, and Van Buyten in good form as well. Fellaini looks so lost in life right now. Was not overly impressed with Origi, after my first full viewing of him. I thought the game was screaming for Lokaku, and thought it would have been over much sooner had he been on. Also, why Mou wanted nothing to do with De Bruyne is beyond me.
For America, I dont have words to describe what Yedlin did today. Kid came off the bench cold, and instantly turned into USAs best threat. Jermaine Jones was the best player for America based on the full tourney. He has never played that well for Schalke, I imagine Schalke fans might be wondering the same thing. Obvious credit to Timmy. And a big shoutout to Omar Gonzalez who regained his form for the last 2 games. And Wondo..... Wondo Wondo Wondo.....
That was it Wondo. That was your chance at legend status forever in this country. It couldnt have fallen to anyone else better at the poacher role than him too. It just wasnt meant to be. I have to say, this is the first time i remember the future being this bright at the end of a WC cycle. the back four should be sorted. With Cameron, Gonzo, Johnson, Besler, and Yedlin. There are 5 defenders and the oldest will be 30 in Russia. That leaves 4 years from now to get a proper midfield, while having Julian Green develop into a true No. 10. Jozy has to develop a little more as well. Slowly but surely, USA is getting there. They have a foundation for Russia, now need the depth. Well done USA today, nobody can be overly upset.
I am glad we went down fighting; a fitting end. Excited to see where we go from here...hopefully Russia doesn't try to annex Alaska anytime in the next four years...
I know it's fun to have a dig at our cousins but they showed more fight and more spirit that our lot. Outscored us as well. Overall, a creditable performance from the Americans.
Congratulations to both teams , it was one of the best game in the World Cup so far and I enjoyed it a lot !
Hell I'm wasted as feck but I haven't seen our people reunited like this ever before, it's brilliant to watch. Big thumps up to the US, they came out to play and we all thought it to be an entertaining game to watch For once, Belgium showed their qualities from the start, but I enjoyed the game throughout, could've gone either way although we should've scored earlier. I strongly believe we can get past Argentina because they haven't been that good at all this WC, would be AWESOME if we could get to a Holland-Belgium semi-final. But let's not get carried away and enjoy this result, we did an excellent job today. Big probs to the US Team.
For once, Belgium showed their qualities from the start, but I enjoyed the game throughout, could've gone either way although we should've scored earlier. I strongly believe we can get past Argentina because they haven't been that good at all this WC, would be AWESOME if we could get to a Holland-Belgium semi-final. But let's not get carried away and enjoy this result, we did an excellent job today. Big probs to the US Team.Really happy with how the US played this World Cup, but still, feck you Wondolowski.
To be honest your 100% correct.
You are wrong. You need the money. If you have the money, the players will follow. Yuppies have the money. Talent follows the money.
Aren't those yuppies notoriously known for losing interest once the twitter hype finds something new? That is... every 2 minutes apparently? I swear the attention span of the average hype can't be more than that. :P
This is definitely the biggest takeaway from the US World Cup Run. Since Klinsmann took over, the team was always looking towards the future, culminating in Donovan's omission from the roster. Yes, bringing him would have been fine, would have eliminated a lot of unnecessary media attention and scrutiny, and would have been just as useful as bringing Timmy Chandler (who didn't play a minute), but it sent a message that the US is looking towards the future.
With Yedlin, AJohan, Green, Jozy, Diskerud, Bradley, the future is bright. More importantly, the fact matter is more and more kids are becoming fans of the game and wanting to play soccer. The more you can distribute the love for the game the more players you have in the pool to choose from.
Think back to 1994 WC when the USMNT was composed of all college students and 1 or 2 professionals. 20 years later we have escaped the group of death and lasted 120 minutes against an excellent Belgium squad. This is not by accident. The soccer fever from '94 had the effect of converting many adults and kids into soccer fans, which mean their kids would be soccer fans and want to play. The more kids that want to play the higher probability you will strike gold in finding a player for the USMNT.
Not only will the talent pool increase, but we are now coming into a golden age of US soccer coaching. Again, treating 1994 as the catalytic year, very few Americans knew how to play soccer at a high level, let alone teach. Now 20 years later, all those 10-15 yr old kids who began playing soccer in 1994 and went on to become top semi-professionals or professionals are now at the age where they can begin coaching. This higher level of coaching will drastically improve the now larger amount of young players. This is part of the reason why small countries in Europe continue to produce fantastic players: 1) they love soccer since birth 2) they have coaches who also loved soccer since birth and have had professional experience to give invaluable advice.
The US is coming into this period of their growth. Green, Yedlin, and others are the first wave of the improvement. There's a kid (Ben Lederman) at La Masia who could be next. The future is bright for US soccer and I'm glad that other countries are beginning to see it.
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