The Soccer Thread

[Guest]

I'm not sure I've ever seen a team not make a PK until its fourth attempt in a shootout.

[Guest]

How stupid, two fluke goals after getting dominated for 120 minutes.

[Mark Priors Calves]

We should've won this.

[Guest]

First time the US has ever lost its last game at the World Cup (two 1st, three 3rd).

 

Also, there have been six different runner-ups in the six World Cups.

[Guest]

How stupid, two fluke goals after getting dominated for 120 minutes.

 

They should have taken advantage in the first 30 minutes. They should have been up at least a goal at halftime (if not more), and then it would have been smooth sailing in the second half.

[shnsajax]

Thats what happens when you don't finish opportunities. The US had 31 shots and only 6 on goal.

[wvcbxl]

Terrible penalty taking.

 

Dunno. No male goalkeeper would have stopped that final Japanese PK.

 

But the US have only themselves to blame for not finishing this in regulation time, imho.

First Japanese win ever against the US after 22 losses and 3 draws, apparently.

[Guest]

Terrible penalty taking.

 

Dunno. No male goalkeeper would have stopped that final Japanese PK.

 

But the US have only themselves to blame for not finishing this in regulation time, imho.

First Japanese win ever against the US after 22 losses and 3 draws, apparently.

 

He was referring to the first three US kicks.

[shnsajax]

If this was the men's team in the WC final I would be balled up on the ground crying like a little baby. Sucks to lose that way.

[Derwood]

I expect ESPN will run features about the strength of the Japanese spirit, and how Japanese exceptionalism led them to victory....

 

/*crickets*

[Exile on Waveland]

I'm not sure I've ever seen a team not make a PK until its fourth attempt in a shootout.

 

Well . . . Brazil missed all four today in the Copa America . . .

[shnsajax]

I'm not sure I've ever seen a team not make a PK until its fourth attempt in a shootout.

 

Well . . . Brazil missed all four today in the Copa America . . .

 

This makes me very very happy. Argentina and Brazil out in the Quarters is pretty shocking.

[bukie]

I'm not sure I've ever seen a team not make a PK until its fourth attempt in a shootout.

 

Well . . . Brazil missed all four today in the Copa America . . .

 

This makes me very very happy. Argentina and Brazil out in the Quarters is pretty shocking.

A Peru-Venezuela final would be really weird.

[USSoccer]

I saw both pks in a bar...never have i seen such terrible pk's at that level

[wvcbxl]

Hey, maybe putting every PK in the center third of the goal isn't a good idea.

 

Depends - if you wait until the keeper moves (like that first Japanese PK) it can work.

Best is off course to put it as close to the post as possible, and either high or very low - anything too close to the center and mid-height is asking for trouble.

 

He was referring to the first three US kicks.

 

I know. Wambach did show the right way to do it (on a very short run-up) as did the final Japanese girl.

[Guest]

I'm not sure I've ever seen a team not make a PK until its fourth attempt in a shootout.

 

Well . . . Brazil missed all four today in the Copa America . . .

 

Awesome. Of course it happens a matter of hours after I posted that.

[wolf stansson]

Their coach did a great job.

 

The US's weakness this whole tournament has been giving up easy turnovers and failing to finish chances unless it's coming off of Wambach's head. Japan played their possession, made their little Barcelona passing triangles, but really, had no problem letting the US gain possession at which point they'd drop 10 behind the ball. If you can't possess in the final third and you can't finish chances, a team like Japan that can maximize their own chances and bunker the defense will have a good shot at upsetting you.

 

 

That said, the US was by a long way the better team and by a fair margin the best team in that tournament. That's why tournaments are cruel though. You can be the best, but if you're not the best on the day, you're out.

[Banedon]

Really disappointed in the US's loss yesterday, but man...that Alex Morgan is gonna good. She was involved in everything positive the US did in that second half. A combination of young talent and good looks, she's gonna be a star.

[kujay]

Really disappointed in the US's loss yesterday, but man...that Alex Morgan is gonna good. She was involved in everything positive the US did in that second half. A combination of young talent and good looks, she's gonna be a star.

 

I liked Darke's story about how when Morgan was younger her Dad promised her a Lexus if she scored a certain amount of goals.

 

But yes, she's going to be quite the star.

[wolf stansson]

Frankly, I'm shocked at how few stories about how much sheer "Americanness" and "American Spirit" Japan showed in never giving up, fighting to the death and achieving their manifest destiny.

 

Seriously, kiss my ass ESPN, stop propagating nonsense stories like this whenever a US soccer team wins. I know as an American sports media outlet that can't resist the easiest story line ever, you love it when we are the perceived under dogs, but just shut up. Soccer style as metaphor for national identity is an old, worn out cliche and you can't call it manifest destiny when they win and ignore it when they lose.

[wolf stansson]

Also, screw Julie Foudy, Hope Solo and whoever else wants to perpetuate that myth when it's convenient. Stop running your mouth and just win the game. Beating Brazil in dramatic fashion doesn't validate our national superiority complex. It just means you beat a good team in dramatic fashion. Enjoy it for what it is. Stop shoving your whack patriotism down our throats.

[Banedon]

That was most annoying part of the coverage. It seemed like Foudy, Chastain, and even Ian Darke would dismiss talent and tactics for the intangibles and patriotism all the time. It really drove me nuts.

[wolf stansson]

Hey Michael Bradley, stop being a [expletive].

 

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/andrea_canales/07/14/mbradley.incident/index.html?sct=sc_wr_a2

According to a witness who spoke on the record, but declined attribution, midfielder Michael Bradley was upset that Fox Soccer pundit and former U.S. national team player Eric Wynalda had suggested other players on the U.S. roster as more deserving of playing time -- especially given Bradley's lack of game time with Aston Villa. Specifically, it was Wynalda's quotes in an ESPN.com article about how midfielders Maurice Edu and Jermaine Jones had "earned" consideration for the national team with their club play that bothered Michael Bradley.

While Wynalda was at the U.S. team's hotel to film player interviews before the Gold Cup final, Michael Bradley came at him angrily, poking a finger into his chest and yelling, while accusing Wynalda of saying he should not be on the national team.

Wynalda, according to the source, denied ever saying Michael Bradley didn't deserve to be on the national squad, but acknowledged he had said there were players who played Bradley's position who deserved more time on the field.

Bradley persisted in taking issue with the statements, accusing Wynalda and media in general of always stirring the pot with critical comments about the U.S. team. Wynalda, no shrinking violet himself, fired back at the player.

"Grow the [expletive] up," Wynalda reportedly said. "You have a problem with me complimenting players who play your position."

[Derwood]

Frankly, I'm shocked at how few stories about how much sheer "Americanness" and "American Spirit" Japan showed in never giving up, fighting to the death and achieving their manifest destiny.

 

Seriously, kiss my ass ESPN, stop propagating nonsense stories like this whenever a US soccer team wins. I know as an American sports media outlet that can't resist the easiest story line ever, you love it when we are the perceived under dogs, but just shut up. Soccer style as metaphor for national identity is an old, worn out cliche and you can't call it manifest destiny when they win and ignore it when they lose.

 

Apparently winning when you're the underdog epitomizes the American Spirit[tm], but losing when you're heavily favored is just something that happens aw shucks oh well

[XZero771679666304]

Frankly, I'm shocked at how few stories about how much sheer "Americanness" and "American Spirit" Japan showed in never giving up, fighting to the death and achieving their manifest destiny.

 

Seriously, kiss my ass ESPN, stop propagating nonsense stories like this whenever a US soccer team wins. I know as an American sports media outlet that can't resist the easiest story line ever, you love it when we are the perceived under dogs, but just shut up. Soccer style as metaphor for national identity is an old, worn out cliche and you can't call it manifest destiny when they win and ignore it when they lose.

 

Apparently winning when you're the underdog epitomizes the American Spirit[tm], but losing when you're heavily favored is just something that happens aw shucks oh well

 

That spirit was established in 1776, and never existed prior. Now other countries have to co-opt it to beat us. Well, we lend some of it out as an act of charity, which is why stuff like this happens.