meazza Posted May 24, 2014 Posted May 24, 2014 Another team that might surprise everyone is Switzerland. They are impossible to score against at the moment. I know everyone is doubting the USA to advance to the round of 16, but I think Klinsy knows what he is doing, and has assembled the best team USA has fielded in many years. We have to beat Ghana, and at least tie Portugal, and we have a chance. Ghana is good but for some reason, you guys seem to be underestimating portugal. Ronaldo has been phenomenal though i would be too if my girlfriend is irina shayk.
Tolstoy Posted May 25, 2014 Posted May 25, 2014 Ghana is good but for some reason, you guys seem to be underestimating portugal. Ronaldo has been phenomenal though i would be too if my girlfriend is irina shayk. You are absolutely correct. Wishful thinking I guess. Portugal does always seem to underperform, given their talent, but there is no guarantee that this year will be like previous years.
meazza Posted May 25, 2014 Posted May 25, 2014 You are absolutely correct. Wishful thinking I guess. Portugal does always seem to underperform, given their talent, but there is no guarantee that this year will be like previous years. Well ronaldo didn't have a great game today. Damn madrid.
meazza Posted May 26, 2014 Posted May 26, 2014 Donovan top all time scorer in mls and not called up???
Cugalabanza Posted May 27, 2014 Posted May 27, 2014 (edited) Is he on the standby list? CBF Yes, he is. By the way, the first warm-up Friendly is tonight, against Azerbaijan. 10pm on ESPN2. Edited May 27, 2014 by Cugalabanza
Canadian Bills Fan Posted May 27, 2014 Posted May 27, 2014 Crap I dont get ESPN in Canada just TSN and TSN2 CBF
meazza Posted May 27, 2014 Posted May 27, 2014 Crap I dont get ESPN in Canada just TSN and TSN2 CBF To watch the World cup? It's on CBC I believe.
Canadian Bills Fan Posted May 27, 2014 Posted May 27, 2014 To watch the World cup? It's on CBC I believe. Ya I get the World Cup I meant the USA game tonight CBF
KD in CA Posted May 27, 2014 Posted May 27, 2014 BTW, the 30 for 30'Soccer Series has been great, the one Hiilsborough was just riveting. We watched 3 of those in a row one night....my wife was practically in tears they were all so depressing. Hillsborough was really good; such a colossal !@#$ up. The other doc that I thought was incredibly well done was the Columbia/Escobar story.
PTS Posted May 27, 2014 Author Posted May 27, 2014 Just a heads up, the first of three pre-World Cup friendlies is tonight at 10PM EST on ESPN2 vs Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan is probably slightly better than the average CONCACAF team. Maybe. US should win and should dominate. It will be interesting to see who lines up where as Klinsmann said that the starters will be close to what he expects for the opener against Ghana next month. And I'm still confused, pissed and emotionally charged about Donovan. There is NO VALID reason he should have been left off this squad.
Cugalabanza Posted May 27, 2014 Posted May 27, 2014 (edited) And I'm still confused, pissed and emotionally charged about Donovan. There is NO VALID reason he should have been left off this squad. I'm still pretty worked up about it too. The concern I have now is for the morale of the remaining 23. I think it's important that they believe strongly in each other and the group. We need a Herb Brooks / Lake Placid type of brotherhood feeling about this team. They need to fight for each other. I hope that Klinsmann doesn't have guys just scratching their heads with his odd decisions lately. Goodson was another very surprising omission for me. I don't have a feel for the vibe in camp. I just hope it's good. I'm really curious to watch tonight. I have no idea what the lineup will be. Some guys, (Cameron, Bedoya, F. Johnson, Chandler) it's hard to predict even what position they will play. Edited May 27, 2014 by Cugalabanza
Cugalabanza Posted May 27, 2014 Posted May 27, 2014 Supposedly, they were in warm-ups this morning with this lineup: --------------------Altidore----------------- Bedoya-----------Dempsey-----------Zusi -------------Bradley--------Jones------------ Beasley---Cameron---Besler---F.Johnson -------------------Howard------------------- Probably this or close to it to start tonight’s game. Lots of subs to follow though.
Tolstoy Posted May 28, 2014 Posted May 28, 2014 My comments on the game: I thought Bradley had a bad night. He gave up the ball too many times and didn't generate much by way of creative offense. Will we never get a creative attacking center midfielder? In fairness to Bradley, it was windy as hell, and he looked tired. Training has been intense from what I hear. Wondo, whom I am not a rabid fan of, played well and created chances. Our backs were not tested very much, so hard to say how they looked. I thought Zusi looked good, and jones did well in defensive midfield. Altidore did ok, but didn't impress me too much. He had a nice volley opportunity and skied it. Credit to mix and Aaron for putting the ball in the net. Overall, they got the job done, and we should be happy.
Cugalabanza Posted May 28, 2014 Posted May 28, 2014 I agree about Bradley. I've never seen him turn the ball over so much. His passing was crap. I'm not really worried about him going forward though. He will be sharp when it counts. I think we learned a little more about the back line. Besler will start--that's a lock. I think for the spot next to him, Cameron is ahead of Gonzalez, who has looked foolish lately. Fabian Johnson I feel good about on the right side. On the left, I think everyone is hoping for Chandler to take the spot away from Beasley. Beasley, god bless him for all he's done, but he's just going to be a liability against top competition. Chandler looked ok last night but I want to see more. Loved seeing Diskerud and Johannsson do well. Those guys both bring exciting positive creativity. I think they will both see some minutes in the real games. Overall, a pretty blah effort. I think there were some heavy legs as a result of hard training in camp.
Cugalabanza Posted May 28, 2014 Posted May 28, 2014 Who won? CBF Portugal, Ghana and Germany. Just kidding... 2-0 USA
Magox Posted May 28, 2014 Posted May 28, 2014 It's more of a 4-4-2 Sorta Dempsey the way he could possibly be envisioned is as the withdrawn striker. Altidore the guy who would hold the ball up top on fast breaks. Bradley as the playmaker that pushes up (even though I believe his natural tendency is to stay more withdrawn), Jones as the pitbull midfielder (Even though he has a tendency to sometimes play a little undisciplined and pushes up at times more so than he should). Bedoya a guy that can be effective on the offensive side (5 goals for Nantes (first division French league) this year, more than any midfielder on his team) but excels playing defense on the wings, very good up and down abilities. Zusi has some excellent crossing abilities. ----------Altidore----------------- ---------------------Dempsey-------- --Bedoya-----------Bradley-------------Zusi -------------------Jones----------------------- Beasley---Cameron---Besler---F.Johnson -------------------Howard-------------------
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