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USMNT/Soccer Thread

CardHack said:
I don't care how you cut it, getting a point at Azteca in this cycle is a major plus; anything less than four points would have been a setback, and the US did what they had to last night and against T&D.

My one biggest surprise and takeaway was the rationale behind Guzan; I can be sold on pretty much any personnel decision by a coach, but Guzan against Mexico at Azteca would have been one I'd have lost serious money on if it was part of a wager. Arriola and Gonzalez make sense due to playing in LigaMX. Beasley does also (although the same rationale could be applied to Villafana). But Guzan was a headscratcher.
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A. Villafana was hurt. That is why beasley started.
B. The reasoning on starting guzan was interesting. After the match Arena said that they were concerned with the # of kickoffs they thought he would have to take and he questioned whether or not Howard's previous injury would hold up with only 2 days rest and playing at altitude. They supposedly made the decision on Howard on the first day of camp. He told both keepers when they would play.
 
goukcatsgo said:
I hope we draw iran.
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iran-map-sketch-with-pencil-on-grid-paper-vector-id521984178
 
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Asia (AFC) and CONCACAF have been in the same pool the last three World Cups, so its doubtful we will be in a group with Iran. Four AFC teams....three CONCACAF teams and the winner of the AFC-CONCACAF playoff will be the eight teams in one of the pools.
 
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Did anyone else watch the England v. France friendly yesterday? France went down to 10 men in 65th minute and absolutely dominated England from then on. Won 3-2.... should have been 6-2 at least. England is so bad.,. France could have won the game with 7 players... But I think if France makes this their lineup what it was:

Lloris

Sidibe (23), Varane (24), Umtiti (23), Mendy (22)

Kante (26), Pogba (24)

Ousmane Dembele (20), Thomas Lemar (20) , Kyllian Mbappe (18)

Giroud

Thats the best team in the world IMO. Now its really young. And they are going to make mistakes. But their combination of pace, power, and skill going forward is unbelievable. When France plays Payet, Matuidi, Sissoko, and Giroud all at the same time there just isnt enough pace. And Kante is so good at patrolling the middle it enables Pogba to act as a second CAM which is where he is best.
 
BigBlueSean said:
But I think if France makes this their lineup what it was:

Lloris

Sidibe (23), Varane (24), Umtiti (23), Mendy (22)

Kante (26), Pogba (24)

Ousmane Dembele (20), Thomas Lemar (20) , Kyllian Mbappe (18)

Giroud

Thats the best team in the world IMO. Now its really young. And they are going to make mistakes. But their combination of pace, power, and skill going forward is unbelievable. When France plays Payet, Matuidi, Sissoko, and Giroud all at the same time there just isnt enough pace. And Kante is so good at patrolling the middle it enables Pogba to act as a second CAM which is where he is best.
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You have one obvious omission...Griezmann.

When I'm not watching the US, I most love watching the French. They have tremendous depth, and it's young. I thought they were the most clearly talented of the U20 World Cup squads as well.
 
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CardHack said:
You have one obvious omission...Griezmann.

When I'm not watching the US, I most love watching the French. They have tremendous depth, and it's young. I thought they were the most clearly talented of the U20 World Cup squads as well.
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Sub Griezmann for Lemar. That should be the team for 2018 Russia. They leave off guys like Lacazette and Kingsley Coman.... I also noticed how French football has vastly benefited from African immigration
 
Just off the top of my head:

Paul Pogba
Patrice Evra
Ngolo Kante
Blaise Matuidi
Anthony Martial
Moussa Sissoko
Kingsley Coman
Alexandre Lacazette
Samuel Umtiti
Bacary Sagna
Ousmane Dembele
Kyllian Mbappe
Steve Mandanda
Mamadou Sakho
Layvin Kurzawa
Eliaquim Mangala
Alphonse Areola
Tiemoue Bakayoko
Bafetimbi Gomis
Paul Ntep
Kurt Zouma
Loic Remy
Benjamin Mendy
Geoffrey Kondogbia
Dimitri Payet
 
Brad Stuver should be left in Cincinnati. What a horrible gaffe on that goal.
 
is there a more overrated national team than England? I know their U-20 team just won their World Cup, but color me skeptical of that group breaking the string of underwhelming English teams.
 
NKYWildcat said:
is there a more overrated national team than England? I know their U-20 team just won their World Cup, but color me skeptical of that group breaking the string of underwhelming English teams.
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It's a pretty interesting issue they have right now over there. I read an article that said that that they think part of the issue with their national team is that so many really talented kids go straight to huge academies and never learn how to play "street soccer". They spend their entire lives training in perfect conditions and being told how amazing they are. Sure they develop great skills, but they never develop the toughness and drive needed to succeed.

Contrast that with the French, Spanish and Portuguese teams in Europe and then Argentina and brazil. Most of their great players have stories of being raised in really tough conditions and playing street soccer until at least their pre-teen years.

Even our USA team kids usually don't really break through until they are 15-17.

Again, it's an interesting argument. England certainly appears to have the pieces to be good. But I just can't identify a single guy i'd classify as tough. In contrast, if you look at the other top national teams, even the USA, I think you see multiple "tough" guys who lead on them.
 
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And very cool for 3 USL teams to make it to the quarterfinals of the US Open cup.
 
The other huge problem of the English team is the fact that their domestic league is globalized now. Very few English owners...You have a ton of Russians, Americans and now Middle East/Chinese investors who could give two shits about bringing along English talent. Compare that to Spain and the Bundesliga as well as Italy and its a very different story. The only Premiere League team of worth that has all English ownership is Tottenham. Which then makes sense looking at the National Team.... Danny Rose, Kyle Walker, Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Eric Dier.... England has a great striker in Kane, where they really miss the mark is the midfield. France just absolutely overran them. I mean for England when you talk about the midfield you are talking about Lallana, Wilshere, Dele Alli, Jordan Henderson, Ross Barkley etc... France you are talking Griezmann, Pogba, Payet, Ngolo Kante, Matuidi, Ousmane Dembele, Mbappe, --- Dele Alli, Englands best midfielder and IMO player couldnt crack the C team of the French midfield or Spain, Germany, Italy, Brazil etc... I honestly dont see much a difference between the US and England. England has a world cup, but its the most controversial one ever.
 
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you're right about how the English Premier League is English is name only. And, you are also right about how there really isn't a big difference between the quality of the England and US teams. England is still a little better, but not enough to where the US could be put into a group with them and not have a realistic change of getting a full three points.

goukcatsgo also makes a good point about how perhaps England soccer has gotten away from the working class and are putting these kids into structured environments without really learning how to play creative soccer. I don't necessarily agree that they "develop great skills", though....they seem to play a style that's similar to what the US does...straight forward on offense when the opportunity arises, no creativity from individual players, and relying on fitness and athleticism.
 
I'm starting to think they'll actually go to Newport. It's ready to build right now, it's a great location, and I think NKY/Newport is more likely to offer some incentives than Cincinnati/Ohio. They have so much momentum now, if they play their cards right the next few months they'll be in the MLS in 2019.
 
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Cincy won't offer incentives after the gabp and paul brown stadium fiascos. Will Newport? Will the state? To get our first top level pro team it would be worth it m.
 
NKYWildcat said:
you're right about how the English Premier League is English is name only. And, you are also right about how there really isn't a big difference between the quality of the England and US teams. England is still a little better, but not enough to where the US could be put into a group with them and not have a realistic change of getting a full three points.

goukcatsgo also makes a good point about how perhaps England soccer has gotten away from the working class and are putting these kids into structured environments without really learning how to play creative soccer. I don't necessarily agree that they "develop great skills", though....they seem to play a style that's similar to what the US does...straight forward on offense when the opportunity arises, no creativity from individual players, and relying on fitness and athleticism.
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Skill and creativity aren't the same thing. Rashford, Ali, Kane, sterling etc... are world class skill wise. But I agree. They aren't creative. And that's a bi-product of not playing street soccer...
 
BigBlueSean said:
The other huge problem of the English team is the fact that their domestic league is globalized now. Very few English owners...You have a ton of Russians, Americans and now Middle East/Chinese investors who could give two shits about bringing along English talent. Compare that to Spain and the Bundesliga as well as Italy and its a very different story. The only Premiere League team of worth that has all English ownership is Tottenham. Which then makes sense looking at the National Team.... Danny Rose, Kyle Walker, Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Eric Dier.... England has a great striker in Kane, where they really miss the mark is the midfield. France just absolutely overran them. I mean for England when you talk about the midfield you are talking about Lallana, Wilshere, Dele Alli, Jordan Henderson, Ross Barkley etc... France you are talking Griezmann, Pogba, Payet, Ngolo Kante, Matuidi, Ousmane Dembele, Mbappe, --- Dele Alli, Englands best midfielder and IMO player couldnt crack the C team of the French midfield or Spain, Germany, Italy, Brazil etc... I honestly dont see much a difference between the US and England. England has a world cup, but its the most controversial one ever.
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England, just like Germany and even *cough* France (Frankreich) is packed full of local talent. The club systems have yielded some legends over the years. But ya gotta cultivate it.
 
These announcers suck. Better address this before the World Cup. I don't care what you gotta do to get the guys like Ian Darke and the BeIn Sports guys but the ones I listened to today were trash. I literally changed the channel to Univision and listened to both in Spanish.
 
Vandalayindustries said:
Completely agree on the announcers. For some reason, it has to be a Brit.
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I agree, and I don't even think it necessarily has to do with knowledge. With american guys they literally talk NON-STOP and it is just too much. Brit's just understand the flow and when to narrate and when to just let the game play and the atmosphere play out. This is the best example of it IMO:



Ian Darke: "Would'nt drop to a white shirt.....now it has.........................jones.................OHHH..........YES!, Jermaine Jones! ( PAUSES to allow the atmosphere to be heard) WHAT A CRACKER FOR HIM!, USA LEVEL! (Lets atmosphere keep building)
 
Wow, who would've thought that New Zealand v. Mexico would be the best game so far. End to End. Huge fight just now....
 
Just saw where US has received 3 huge bits of news from some young players that could be part of our future.

1st - Kenny Saief switched from Israel to USMNT. He currently plays for Gent in Belgium. He is 23 and can play a variety of positions in the midfield but is most notably a winger or attacking midfielder.

2nd - Jessie Gonzales, FC Dallas 22 year old Goalkeeper has officially submitted his paperwork to switch to US and will likely be cap-tied in the upcoming Gold Cup.

3rd - Kekutah Manneh has his papers for US Citizenship. He is a 22 year old striker/winger dual-citizen from Gambia.

Good things for the US....
 
https://t.co/6xGQAdwpx9?ssr=trueWhy is Nashville a more viable mls market than people think? Because publicly funded stadiums have been very popular politically compared to other markets line stl, cincy and san Diego.

They also don't have a major summer sport to compete with.
 
FCC vs. Chicago Fire on ESPN2 Wednesday, 8pm. Impressive for a minor league team.
 
Went to a Cincinnati FC game recently. Must admit it was pretty cool and I would never consider myself a soccer fan. Cincinnati FC is the talk of the town right now. Their stadium might end up being located in Newport although I think the owners will get smart and put it in Oakley which is much closer to the core fan base.
 
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