2010 World Cup Thread

[Hairyducked Idiot]

England at least looked like holding their lead until the interval, before a moment of complete calamity engulfed Green. Dempsey's left-foot shot from 25 yards barely merited the label of speculative, but every aspect of Green's technique collapsed as he allowed the ball to squirm through his grasp and over the line.

[wolf stansson]

http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l3x1hpbWR31qz82gvo1_500.jpg

 

 

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4015/4694136095_977218bbdf_o.jpg

[brinoch]

That is hysterical.

[17 Seconds]

I'm about the biggest soccer noob ever, so could someone tell me what the expectations were/are for the US in the World Cup? I have no idea if they're supposed to be really good or if they aren't supposed to have a chance.

[Guest]

I'm about the biggest soccer noob ever, so could someone tell me what the expectations were/are for the US in the World Cup? I have no idea if they're supposed to be really good or if they aren't supposed to have a chance.

 

Best odds are the US finishing 2nd in their group and probably losing to a team that's a bit better than them in the first knockout game. Today's draw improves their odds of not screwing up the first part, in addition to giving them an outside shot of winning the group if England chokes on their tongue again.

[imb]

I'm about the biggest soccer noob ever, so could someone tell me what the expectations were/are for the US in the World Cup? I have no idea if they're supposed to be really good or if they aren't supposed to have a chance.

 

Think of the US as like, a 6 seed in an NCAA tournament.

[brinoch]

I'm about the biggest soccer noob ever, so could someone tell me what the expectations were/are for the US in the World Cup? I have no idea if they're supposed to be really good or if they aren't supposed to have a chance.

 

They should advance out of the group stage. If they don't, it would be a huge disappointment. With a decent draw in the round of 16 (our opposing group is D with Germany, Serbia, Ghana and Australia), they stand a decent chance to make the quarters.

 

The USMNT are generally considered to be a good, but not great national team. They aren't on the level of England, for example. We're generally ranked in the mid-teens by fairly decent ranking systems, though it's pretty tough to come up with a realistic ranking for national teams given how rarely there are international competitions and the coaches and players change dramatically. In addition, teams often experiment in friendlies (like USA vs. Czechs). We're not a top team -- I think those would be Brazil, Spain, England, Argentina, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, Italy, France (not for long though) and probably Chile. But, we can hang with the big boys and sometimes get a result.

 

There's a clump of teams on a similar level to us -- including probably Chile and France. They are teams like Mexico, Uruguay, Serbia, Australia (we are better than they are), Denmark, Cote d'Ivoire, Paraguay, and probably Switzerland. Seeing how well we played against Australia re-opened my eyes to how bad Asia is. Of the teams that have played, I think we're generally a better team than Korea, Greece, RSA, and Nigeria. Matches against Mexico, France, and Uruguay could go either way. Argentina and England are better than we are, but Argentina could really flame out since their coach is a moron.

 

But like today showed, you can't take anything for granted. It's one game, and crazy things happen. We could lose to Slovenia or Algeria on a bad day.

[17 Seconds]

thanks dudes

 

is there a specific team that is considered the favorite?

[wvcbxl]

Props to the US team for getting the draw yesterday. England put them under pressure during the second half, but I thought the US played a very mature game.

 

England are delusional if they think this side (or is it this kind of play) is going to win the WC.

[wolf stansson]

is there a specific team that is considered the favorite?

Spain and Brazil.

[brinoch]

I think Capello underestimated the US. Despite months of saying they wouldn't, I think he did. How else do you explain putting Milner on the wing and using the terrible Lampard/Gerrard partnership?

[wvcbxl]

How else do you explain putting Milner on the wing and using the terrible Lampard/Gerrard partnership?

 

The Premiership may be one of the elite leagues in the world, but that doesn't mean it's loaded with Englishmen that are a) complementary as a team and b) can adapt to styles of play that are fundamentally different to the English game.

 

The opening game in a tournament is all too often more about "not losing" than it is about winning - if anything, I feel England were too cautious in the first half, and I think that was a deliberate choice by Capello.

[USSoccer]

I think Capello underestimated the US. Despite months of saying they wouldn't, I think he did. How else do you explain putting Milner on the wing and using the terrible Lampard/Gerrard partnership?

 

Gerrard not being on the left made the English side far more static. The loss of Barry and the absence of Hargreaves really hurt them tactically.

 

Gerrard on the left would pinch in, forcing Rooney left and Cole upfield, creating far more movement. It's worth noting that the only real move they had involving supporting runs was Gerrard's goal.

 

They essentially played a typical English game-get it wide, bang crosses in or hit it over the top. Unfortunately for them, the one direct play they had released their worst striker 1 v1.

[Careless]

Sorry guys. When Nate Silver's on my side, I feel pretty darn comfortable that I'm correct.

Nate Silver thinks that meteorologists are less accurate in monthly forecasts than long term climate models. He has large areas (well, at least one) of very bad stupidity. Maybe he know a hell of a lot about soccer, but [citation needed]. Statistics usually need context

 

Too bad I didn't have a popular blog to raid his wallet last summer.

[bukie]

Not to continue the argument, but even if the England draw didn't technically increase advancement odds much, it likely increased the chances of winning the group significantly.

[CubInOK]

Not to continue the argument, but even if the England draw didn't technically increase advancement odds much, it likely increased the chances of winning the group significantly.

Since I personally see Germany and Serbia as equals, I'm not sure that means anything anymore.

[wolf stansson]

I think Capello underestimated the US. Despite months of saying they wouldn't, I think he did. How else do you explain putting Milner on the wing and using the terrible Lampard/Gerrard partnership?

Lampard/Gerrard partnership is easy. They are world class. Carrick isn't. They needed to be out there.

 

I also think the Milner thing was because of the amount of attention and respect they've given to Landon Donovan. Milner is their best defensive left winger and they were VERY focused on stopping Landon.

 

And you know what? If you think about it, he was dead on. They stopped Landon and they should have beaten us 1-0. Barring the howler, they did. All of a sudden, Capello looks like he made the right call.

[Guest]

Quick thoughts after catching the first half live and the last 20 mins on DVR:

 

- A tie was a fair result, we played level with England.

 

- Clark is a dope

 

- Howard is awesome

 

- Heskey's cleat to Howard's chest was bush league, and it was delicious karma that he got an incidental knee to the nose shortly thereafter.

 

- Carragher's arm bar takedown of Findley on that breakaway is pretty staggering it wasn't at least a foul

 

- Capello bringing in Phillips-Wright for Milner was pretty brilliant

 

- We've had problems playing to the level of the competition in the past. Hopefully starting with the group's strongest opponent gives us a baseline of effort that we maintain through Slovenia and Algeria

 

This sums up my thoughts pretty well.

 

If any team deserved to win, it was England, but it wasn't like they dominated the game. We had our chances.

 

I thought that Findley went down way too easily with Carragher but I only got the initial viewing and I think one replay in the bar so I didn't get a good look at it. Thought it was a call that could have gone either way and if it does, Carragher's gone since he already had a yellow and, I believe, was the last defender.

 

I was terrified of Wright-Phillips and Lennon just destroying us on the wings in the second half.

 

Others have said it, but I think the fact that England now has to try in their final game against Slovenia and at least get a tie is big, but I hope it doesn't matter.

 

Here's hoping for a draw in the morning.

[wolf stansson]

ESPN is doing a helluva job covering the World Cup, but I do have one concern. I think they need to change their font in graphics.

 

http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/11/2010/06/500x_custom_1276380860873_photo.jpg

[CubsBears29]

ESPN is doing a helluva job covering the World Cup, but I do have one concern. I think they need to change their font in graphics.

 

http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/11/2010/06/500x_custom_1276380860873_photo.jpg

 

Maybe they're pandering to the English viewership. I'm sure that's a mere shadow of what their soccer fans were calling Demps after that massive stone-hands move Green pulled.

[Guest]

Between that stripe on their jerseys and their keeper playing untucked, Slovenia looks like a U-12 team.

[Jon]

Between that stripe on their jerseys and their keeper playing untucked, Slovenia looks like a U-12 team.

I prefer the Algerian keeper's lilac shirt, black pants, and purple/orange shoes.

 

Haven't been paying the closest attention, but neither of these offenses have done much threatening.

[Guest]

Between that stripe on their jerseys and their keeper playing untucked, Slovenia looks like a U-12 team.

I prefer the Algerian keeper's lilac shirt, black pants, and purple/orange shoes.

 

Haven't been paying the closest attention, but neither of these offenses have done much threatening.

 

The haircut really tops it off too. Nice save on that tip a minute ago though.

 

The game seems to be going at a lethargic pace.

[Jon]

Between that stripe on their jerseys and their keeper playing untucked, Slovenia looks like a U-12 team.

I prefer the Algerian keeper's lilac shirt, black pants, and purple/orange shoes.

 

Haven't been paying the closest attention, but neither of these offenses have done much threatening.

 

The haircut really tops it off too. Nice save on that tip a minute ago though.

 

The game seems to be going at a lethargic pace.

No, I think the look is still missing zubaz and a hi-top fade.

 

These two teams do realize that getting 3 points is kind of necessary, right?

[USSoccer]

Algeria down to 10 men. Cards and a 0-0 draw is pretty great so far...