soccer - USMNT update

[Beerball]

 

 

The crowd was really great. Michael Bradley called it the best atmosphere for a USMNT game that he's ever experienced. Taylor Twellman said on the broadcast that it raised the hairs on the back of his neck. They had strong chants going all throughout. Pretty gool. The players definitely appreciated it. Big props to Seattle.

Who are you and what have you done with our mascot Gringo Starr?

[Cugalabanza]

Who are you and what have you done with our mascot Gringo Starr?

 

I am still the same dipschitt you have grown to lovingly tolerate.

[ajzepp]

The crowd was really great. Michael Bradley called it the best atmosphere for a USMNT game that he's ever experienced. Taylor Twellman said on the broadcast that it raised the hairs on the back of his neck. They had strong chants going all throughout. Pretty gool. The players definitely appreciated it. Big props to Seattle.

 

Great crowd indeed...I have to imagine that Rochester would have developed a similar atmosphere if they had given them an MLS franchise. From what I understand, the Sounders are one of the strongest backed MLS teams in terms of fan support. Gotta love it!

 

I agree about Panama playing sloppy...the game really should have been more like 4-0, cause I know we missed a couple of shots that were just slightly off. Dempsey had a very clever bounce shot that just missed the crossbar, and I think altidore or beasley or someone had a near miss just wide left.

 

I know you and I have differing opinions on Donovan, but I really feel that they are playing more like a team without him there. I just don't get the impression that Landon is a "Klinsmann guy"...we can win without him.

 

I was surprised to see Mexico draw with Costa Rica...Mexico hasn't been quite as dangerous as I expected given their talent.

[meazza]

The crowd was really great. Michael Bradley called it the best atmosphere for a USMNT game that he's ever experienced. Taylor Twellman said on the broadcast that it raised the hairs on the back of his neck. They had strong chants going all throughout. Pretty gool. The players definitely appreciated it. Big props to Seattle.

 

I like Bradley. Tons of heart though I don't know if he will be a starter under the new coach at Roma.

[Cugalabanza]

I like Bradley. Tons of heart though I don't know if he will be a starter under the new coach at Roma.

Yes. He's a pleasure to watch. He took over that game Tuesday night. Every time he touches the ball, good things happen. If not at Roma, he needs to be starting for a top club somewhere. I've only seen him play for the USMNT--maybe he is somehow not a good fit for the system at Roma. I can't fathom though that he would not be appreciated. His game has gone from good to world class in the last year or so.

[meazza]

Yes. He's a pleasure to watch. He took over that game Tuesday night. Every time he touches the ball, good things happen. If not at Roma, he needs to be starting for a top club somewhere. I've only seen him play for the USMNT--maybe he is somehow not a good fit for the system at Roma. I can't fathom though that he would not be appreciated. His game has gone from good to world class in the last year or so.

 

He's good but Pjanic and De Rossi are way better than him.

[LewPort71]

USA hosts Honduras tonight, June 18,on ESPN.

Match time at 8:00.

[PTS]

I think it's actually at 9pm start time.

 

With how all the other games are turning out, three points tonight would open up a big gap between them and the fifth place team (which doesn't qualify to Brasil or a playoff against New Zealand).

 

Winning the next two would surely do the trick and would allow Klinsmann to try out some new players. There are a few young, promising dual-nationals as well that he might want to cap-tie to the USMNT.

[LewPort71]

Thanks for the time correction. I mis-read the time in the paper.

 

Either way, the match will be over at 11:00 and one can flip over

to ABC to watch the last minute or two of the NBA finals

[ajzepp]

"We-are-go-ing-to-BRA-zilllllllll"

 

U-S-A!! U-S-A!!!

 

Looking forward to another complete team victory tonight.

[linksfiend]

Estimating 4 more points necessary to automatically qualify. 3rd place was 17pts in 2002, 16pts in 2006 and 16pts in 2010.

[Cugalabanza]

Estimating 4 more points necessary to automatically qualify. 3rd place was 17pts in 2002, 16pts in 2006 and 16pts in 2010.

 

Yup, and four games remaining...

9/6 at Costa Rica

9/10 HOME against Mexico

10/11 HOME against Jamaica

10/15 at Panama

 

We're in good shape right now. I think the goal now should be qualifying in first place. That should mean a better draw for the group stage in Brazil next summer.

[PTS]

For those of you that don't know, the FIFA Under 20 World Cup is going on right now with US playing in the Group of Death.

 

After losing to Spain 4-1 in their first match on Friday, US got a big 1-1 draw against France this morning. Now they need a good result against Ghana on Thursday to move on.

 

Overall, I'm very impressed with the style the young Yanks are playing with and how Tab Ramos is coaching them. I think we are starting to see an overall vision that Klinnsman wanted from the youth level up.

 

The scoreline from Friday was not indicative of how the game was played. The USA was very aggressive, held much of the possession against Spain but was killed on counters. Spain's goals came from guys that already play for Barcelona and Real Madrid and are already considered stars. The French team is no different. They featured a player in Pogba who plays central mid for Juventus. Pretty much the entire team is made up of guys that play in France's Ligue 1.

 

For a team of a few budding MLS stars and college players, they are doing well. I just hope we don't trip over the Ghana hurdle like the men's team has done twice in last two World Cups.

 

Next game against Ghana is Thursday at 1pm on ESPN or ESPN2.

 

On a side note, I closely follow the U20 team and believe it's a good indication of where the national team will be in 3-5 years. I attended the Under-20 World Cup in Canada in 2007 and that US team featured many of the mainstays on the current USMNT. If not for torrential rain and what I would consider anti-American officiating in the knockout stages, that team would and should have won that tournament or at least played in the finals.

 

This current U-20 side is missing three or four top class guys that would be starting in some key positions. There is a lot of talent coming up the system and I think we are going to see a big boost in the quality of the national team as depth gets much better over the next cycle.

[Cugalabanza]

For those of you that don't know, the FIFA Under 20 World Cup is going on right now with US playing in the Group of Death.

 

After losing to Spain 4-1 in their first match on Friday, US got a big 1-1 draw against France this morning. Now they need a good result against Ghana on Thursday to move on.

 

Overall, I'm very impressed with the style the young Yanks are playing with and how Tab Ramos is coaching them. I think we are starting to see an overall vision that Klinnsman wanted from the youth level up.

 

The scoreline from Friday was not indicative of how the game was played. The USA was very aggressive, held much of the possession against Spain but was killed on counters. Spain's goals came from guys that already play for Barcelona and Real Madrid and are already considered stars. The French team is no different. They featured a player in Pogba who plays central mid for Juventus. Pretty much the entire team is made up of guys that play in France's Ligue 1.

 

For a team of a few budding MLS stars and college players, they are doing well. I just hope we don't trip over the Ghana hurdle like the men's team has done twice in last two World Cups.

 

Next game against Ghana is Thursday at 1pm on ESPN or ESPN2.

 

On a side note, I closely follow the U20 team and believe it's a good indication of where the national team will be in 3-5 years. I attended the Under-20 World Cup in Canada in 2007 and that US team featured many of the mainstays on the current USMNT. If not for torrential rain and what I would consider anti-American officiating in the knockout stages, that team would and should have won that tournament or at least played in the finals.

 

This current U-20 side is missing three or four top class guys that would be starting in some key positions. There is a lot of talent coming up the system and I think we are going to see a big boost in the quality of the national team as depth gets much better over the next cycle.

 

Thanks for the info. I'll be recording that game on Thursday.

 

Damn you, Ghana!

[ICanSleepWhenI'mDead]

Yup, and four games remaining...

9/6 at Costa Rica

9/10 HOME against Mexico

10/11 HOME against Jamaica

10/15 at Panama

 

We're in good shape right now. I think the goal now should be qualifying in first place. That should mean a better draw for the group stage in Brazil next summer.

Don't all 3 or 4 CONCACAF teams that make it to Brazil participate in a random draw that determines the other teams in their group? If so, there is no advantage to qualifying in first place (other than psychological):

 

http://www.footballworldcup.org/finals-format.html

 

The under 20 match against Ghana will be televised on ESPNU (not ESPN or ESPN2).

[PTS]

Don't all 3 or 4 CONCACAF teams that make it to Brazil participate in a random draw that determines the other teams in their group? If so, there is no advantage to qualifying in first place (other than psychological):

 

http://www.footballw...als-format.html

 

The under 20 match against Ghana will be televised on ESPNU (not ESPN or ESPN2).

Yes, unless they get one of the top eight seeds -- which will not happen even if they win every game 5-0 between now and the draw.

 

I believe the top eight seeds (actually seven as the host nation is always the first seed) will be based on the flawed World Rankings. That said, FIFA has a history of changing the seed formula if they want to favor certain nations.

 

http://www.fifa.com/worldranking/rankingtable/index.html

[ajzepp]

For those of you that don't know, the FIFA Under 20 World Cup is going on right now with US playing in the Group of Death.

 

After losing to Spain 4-1 in their first match on Friday, US got a big 1-1 draw against France this morning. Now they need a good result against Ghana on Thursday to move on.

 

Overall, I'm very impressed with the style the young Yanks are playing with and how Tab Ramos is coaching them. I think we are starting to see an overall vision that Klinnsman wanted from the youth level up.

 

The scoreline from Friday was not indicative of how the game was played. The USA was very aggressive, held much of the possession against Spain but was killed on counters. Spain's goals came from guys that already play for Barcelona and Real Madrid and are already considered stars. The French team is no different. They featured a player in Pogba who plays central mid for Juventus. Pretty much the entire team is made up of guys that play in France's Ligue 1.

 

For a team of a few budding MLS stars and college players, they are doing well. I just hope we don't trip over the Ghana hurdle like the men's team has done twice in last two World Cups.

 

Next game against Ghana is Thursday at 1pm on ESPN or ESPN2.

 

On a side note, I closely follow the U20 team and believe it's a good indication of where the national team will be in 3-5 years. I attended the Under-20 World Cup in Canada in 2007 and that US team featured many of the mainstays on the current USMNT. If not for torrential rain and what I would consider anti-American officiating in the knockout stages, that team would and should have won that tournament or at least played in the finals.

 

This current U-20 side is missing three or four top class guys that would be starting in some key positions. There is a lot of talent coming up the system and I think we are going to see a big boost in the quality of the national team as depth gets much better over the next cycle.

 

Love it! Thanks for posting this.

 

The culture shift that Klinsmann can bring about is the biggest reason why I wanted him coaching here. There's just no reason why we can't be competitive at the international level, but it's gotta start with the younger kids. I was watching Mexico play the other night and seeing guys like Dos Santos and Hernandez was inspiring. Two young, impressive players who were on their U-20 team, now starting for their national team and playing in the Premiership and La Liga, respectively.

[PTS]

Game's not over but Ghana will do the US in yet again. They are up 2-0 and the Young Yanks look sub par today. Disappointing way to end the tournament. Still think there are a players we will see soon on the national team. Gil, Yedlin and Cuevas to name a few.

[ajzepp]

That's a bummer for the young'ns...

 

A bit of an aside here, but is anyone else sick to death of friggin Spain? I really wanted Italy to win that match today, but now I have to watch Spain in the finals of yet another tourney. Hopefully Brazil will close the door on them, but enough with the Spanish. I'm glad they have mastered the art of passing and they play great team ball, but dammit man, it's time to knock them off the throne.

 

Looks like Prima Donovan will soon be back on the MNT...I hope he doesn't disrupt our Klinsi Mojo

[ajzepp]

Was running through some of my podcast subscriptions and found that Colin Cowherd interviewed Jozy yesterday (6/27). I've always sort of had an inkling that Jozy was a very cerebral player, maybe more so than his years would lead you to believe, and hearing this just confirms it for me. I think this is actually the first time I've ever heard him interviewed. Usually I'm reading quotes in print, so it was great to see what he had to say. He touches upon where the team is in relation to the world powers, the impact of Prima Donovan deciding he's now into soccer again, and a few other topics. I love that Colin put him on...I didn't realize that he was pro-soccer. Seems that he and his family are fans of the game, even though based on a couple of his questions I'm not sure how much he really understands it. Nonetheless, I hope we hear more of our USMNT guys getting national time.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnradio/podcast/archive?id=2799707