soccer soccer soccer

[wolf stansson]

[tweet]

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Seems about right.

[USSoccer]

The US team all pay their taxes though so we've got that going for us

[SpongeWorthy]

Does michael bradley not have a cluch gene or w/e

[wolf stansson]

Does michael bradley not have a cluch gene or w/e

Only when his dad coaches I guess. He was great in South Africa.

 

Hard to single out one guy right now.

[wolf stansson]

Birnbaum over Nagbe. This is mind blowing. None of it matters but what the actual horsefeathers. Moving Cameron up? What a creative idea to increase pace in the midfield that a manager could've tried 60 some minutes ago if he had any balls at all.

[sneakypower]

that did not look good

[shnsajax]

that did not look good

 

Looked really bad at first, looked like s broken arm. Him getting up was a good sign.

 

 

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[bukie]

Jurgen put out a lineup that dared Argentina to own possession and beat the bunker.

 

And they obliged, repeatedly and embarrassingly.

 

Messi is too good to just let him have the ball and sit back.

[bukie]

Also, the USMNT had zero total shots tonight. Not one.

[sneakypower]

fractured arm for Lavezzi

[shnsajax]

fractured arm for Lavezzi

 

In 20+ years of watching soccer, I can't remember any have a tumble of that velocity off the boards. Really sucks for him especially in a game that was easily in hand and he could have just let the ball sail.

[Banedon]

fractured arm for Lavezzi

 

In 20+ years of watching soccer, I can't remember any have a tumble of that velocity off the boards. Really sucks for him especially in a game that was easily in hand and he could have just let the ball sail.

 

I don't even know why he was going for that ball that far OB.

[wolf stansson]

Beckerman and Wondo can't ever be called in again. Period.

 

The problem last night was that Klinsmann's lineup was too timid AND his tactics were way too aggressive.

 

When I say "the problem last night" I don't mean the reason we lost. He could've gotten everything right and we lose anyway. I'm just talking about why the team looked like chickens with their heads cut off. He tried to replicate a balls-out, high press style that relies on speed and power by replacing speed and power in Jermaine Jones and Bobby Wood with slow and slower in Wondo and Beckerman. Playing a three-man press with Beckerman-Bradley-Wondo is insane against any good team because, like we saw in the World Cup, it makes Bradley an island and he runs himself like crazy to compensate and limits his passing effectiveness. That team was unprepared and unequipped and it's obviously nothing new. There's probably nothing that could've been done to win that game, but there's plenty that could've been done to compete. Marking Messi rather than following decoy runners in the midfield, leaving him with nothing but open grass with the ball at his feet for one. That would've been a good idea. We should've overloaded the midfield and had forwards with speed but Nagbe and Jordan Morris aren't ready yet, I guess.

[Banedon]

BTW, my favorite moment in the game last night was when Wondo got a yellow card and the FS1 graphic said that #18 Ashlyn Harris got a yellow card.

[bukie]

The result last night was about 75% Argentina is really good, 20% bad lineup construction and 5% not playing to the lineup construction.

[sneakypower]

BTW, my favorite moment in the game last night was when Wondo got a yellow card and the FS1 graphic said that #18 Ashlyn Harris got a yellow card.

for me it's hard to choose between the broadcast going to great lengths to not point out who (Birnbaum) made the horrendous giveaway on the 3rd goal, or the color guy showering Klinsmann with adulation for only wasting a full half on Wondo before inserting Pulisic into an already decided result

[UMFan83]

BTW, my favorite moment in the game last night was when Wondo got a yellow card and the FS1 graphic said that #18 Ashlyn Harris got a yellow card.

for me it's hard to choose between the broadcast going to great lengths to not point out who (Birnbaum) made the horrendous giveaway on the 3rd goal, or the color guy showering Klinsmann with adulation for only wasting a full half on Wondo before inserting Pulisic into an already decided result

 

I vote for "audio is still 1-2 seconds ahead of the video as it has been for the entire tournament"

[Banedon]

BTW, my favorite moment in the game last night was when Wondo got a yellow card and the FS1 graphic said that #18 Ashlyn Harris got a yellow card.

for me it's hard to choose between the broadcast going to great lengths to not point out who (Birnbaum) made the horrendous giveaway on the 3rd goal, or the color guy showering Klinsmann with adulation for only wasting a full half on Wondo before inserting Pulisic into an already decided result

 

I vote for "audio is still 1-2 seconds ahead of the video as it has been for the entire tournament"

 

That was driving me nuts early on. Live sports are hard.

[Sammy Sofa]

https://youtu.be/pkRKzj-FPXo

[UMFan83]

So I love soccer, watch soccer, enjoy soccer, but I'm definitely not at the point where I can understand nuances in the game so maybe you guys can help me understand better...

 

What is the difference between 2016 Argentina that destroyed us 4-0 and 2009 Spain who we beat 2-0 in a knockout round? I mean I know the Spain result was a fluke, we likely had no business beating them. But regardless of the actual result, we hung with Spain who hadn’t lost in like 3 years prior to that. And this despite doing the typical American hang back and attack on the counter, which is what we have done against good teams for years and still do.

 

But in this game, we didn't belong on the same field as Argentina.

 

So is it....

 

A) Spain result was the flukiest fluke ever, we should have been creamed, Spain wasn’t taking us seriously, etc

 

B) We are less talented (or at least less cohesive as a team) than the 2009 Confed team

 

C) Wood, Jones and Bedoya suspensions made a big difference

 

D) This Argentina team is so much better than that Spain team

 

E) This result was flukiest fluke ever

 

F) The style of football that Argentina played is less likely to result in fluky results like the Spain game.

 

G) Something else?

[wolf stansson]

What is the difference between 2016 Argentina that destroyed us 4-0 and 2009 Spain who we beat 2-0 in a knockout round?

There are so many differences that it's hard to know where to begin. The Spain game was a fluke in that they probably looked past us too much, the tournament meant less (this Copa is huge for Messi's legacy), we had our best players healthy and on-form and for whatever reason we took them out of their game plan. They stopped playing through the middle because Mike Bradley and Ricardo Clark had the speed and strength to harass them in the midfield. So they resorted to sending in crosses that Gooch Onyewu just ate for lunch all day. Then Bradley did what Jurgen should have done and substituted a striker for a midfielder who could combine, could distribute and press high in Benny Feilhaber. Maybe Jurgen does that if they have the lead, I don't know.

 

People remember that game but they forget that we got worked by Giuseppi Rossi & Italy as well as Brazil in the group stage and only qualified by fluke. We were 1-2 in the group stage. It was a bad tournament, Spain win & feisty performance against Brazil in the final aside. That's why one-game referendums on programs are bad.

 

That said, Bob Bradley was more tactically astute and better at preparing his teams to have the mentality necessary against more talented opponents. He told them what to do and when/where to do it. Jurgen is much more about giving players the freedom to figure it out themselves (some people like me would argue that means he's bad at preparation) which means they can come totally unglued in the face of adversity at times.

 

What's strange is that the US record under Jurgen isn't worse than Bradley or Arena. It's just that under his predecessors, the US seemed more prepared. They mostly beat the teams they should beat and mostly lost to the teams they should lose to but it always seemed like they hit the levels they should hit, win or lose. It was easier to take losses because you knew they were doing all they could have done to play that game. That's just never the case with Jurgen because of his player selection or his team choices or his tactical set up.

[UMFan83]

Appreciate the detailed reply, that all makes sense. I expected Argentina to win, but in most cases I'm not used to the MNT to be completely outclassed and blown out on the scoreboard. We've certainly been dominated before but we've always been able to do enough little things to keep the score respectable, and the style of play we played last night doesn't seem that different than how we always play against better teams so it seemed a bit jarring, yet not unexpected.

[shnsajax]

Portugal and Hungary came to play today.

 

 

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[Transmogrified Tiger]

I say it again, Peak Portugal

[stitchface]

Very disappointing show by USMNT. I don't think that was any better than Mexico, who at least took a shot.

 

For me, the disappointment is that the US is not advancing measurably. Getting out of the group stage is still the goal. We should be able to compete against the top teams and we can't. For starters, the US should play Copa America every time.