***Official 2022 World Cup Thread*** (2 Viewers)

[encaitar]

But I hate how no one is critical of Burhalter.

People have been killing him since day 1. Just a blood bath for 4 years straight. He got significantly more criticism than he probably deserved (and he deserved plenty over the cycle)

Not sure why this quote is messed up. To be clear, I agree with your take. Berhalter gets a lot of criticism relative to his results.

People didn't like the hire when it happened. It felt like(and probably was) nepotism. However, I don't think anyone being honest with themselves could say that Berhalter hasn't lived up to the expectations he was given. If you said WCQ, out of group stage, and 2 trophies at the time of his hire? Everyone would've signed up of that immediately.

 

[NewlyRetired]

But I hate how no one is critical of Burhalter.

People have been killing him since day 1. Just a blood bath for 4 years straight. He got significantly more criticism than he probably deserved (and he deserved plenty over the cycle)

Not sure why this quote is messed up. To be clear, I agree with your take. Berhalter gets a lot of criticism relative to his results.

People didn't like the hire when it happened. It felt like(and probably was) nepotism. However, I don't think anyone being honest with themselves could say that Berhalter hasn't lived up to the expectations he was given. If you said WCQ, out of group stage, and 2 trophies at the time of his hire? Everyone would've signed up of that immediately.

and not just out of group stage, but played well too. We have gotten out of the group stage before with significantly less quality play on the field.

 

[Tick]

Best team we've ever had, they did things we've never been able to do on attack. They were great defensively until this game, then missed a few marks and the Dutch were ruthless.

 

[BobbyLayne]

beautiful goal

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

That moment when you notice that Messi has it on his left foot with a half yard of space is like when you walk in your bedroom and realize your wife has lit candles.

 

[Frostillicus]

I appreciate all you smart guys answers to us dumb guys questions. I also enjoy reading some of your tactical discussions that I in absolutely no way understand.

 

[NewlyRetired]

I also enjoy reading some of your tactical discussions that I in absolutely no way understand.

don't let us fool you. Most of us don't understand it either

 

[Dickies]

That moment when you notice that Messi has it on his left foot with a half yard of space is like when you walk in your bedroom and realize your wife has lit candles.

The only time my wife lights candles is after I go poop.

 

[gianmarco]

That moment when you notice that Messi has it on his left foot with a half yard of space is like when you walk in your bedroom and realize your wife has lit candles.

The only time my wife lights candles is after I go poop.

Probably because it's messi.

 

[Dickies]

Oof

 

[BlackCrowes]

on the bright side, Turner didn’t do that.

 

[bagger]

Aaronson yelling for the ball and waiving his hands is really rubbing me the wrong way.

What should you do when you are insanely open?

 

[bagger]

The most impressive parts were a) their game plan

Hope LvG gets a lot of credit in the press. Had to be a little bit hard not to try and outplay the US for a team with the quality of the Dutch. But they sat back, trusted we couldn't find the final ball around the box, and then countered like a machine.

Did they counter like a machine? Second goal came off a throw in and the third the guy who served the ball stood out there for ages while the guy left wide open probably injured his shoulder waving his arm around for the ball.

just no way to defend not playing Gio more

I heard from a couple of people Gregg and Gio had a disagreement and GGG not having thick skin benched him. Used Gio's injury history to excuse not playing him because of Injury to defend the act. Instead of having the balls and saying he benched him he came up with an excuse most wouldn't question in the first match. He screwed himself though after that match when he said GIO was available off the bench

The person who reported this recanted it. No idea if he was pressured to do so or not, but worth noting that the source of those rumors eventually walked it back.

From someone I know in the know he was probably pressured to retract it. Gregg has a huge ego and thin skin. Yrs ago when he managed Swedish Side Hammarby they were brutal on him for not being offensive enough. They were 2nd division. After he resigned the team ended up promoted to first division. Gregg has friends in US media which is why they aren't as critical of him.

Who do you know in the know on this subject?

The second goal was due to Ferrera not being able to clear it. Guy shouldn’t have been in there.

 

[Dickies]

At least things are a bit more interesting now. This game has seemed a bit dull

 

[Dickies]

Wow

 

[Desert_Power]

That kick save

 

[Desert_Power]

Aaronson yelling for the ball and waiving his hands is really rubbing me the wrong way.

What should you do when you are insanely open?

I don't think either time I saw it he was nearly as open as he thought he was.

 

[Desert_Power]

That was inches away from tying it up. Wow.

 

[BassNBrew]

But I hate how no one is critical of Burhalter.

People have been killing him since day 1. Just a blood bath for 4 years straight. He got significantly more criticism than he probably deserved (and he deserved plenty over the cycle)

Not sure why this quote is messed up. To be clear, I agree with your take. Berhalter gets a lot of criticism relative to his results.

He gets a ton of criticism on FBG and Twitter, but I think DP was speaking about the media where he gets very little. Not playing Gio is pretty much the only thing that's come up for the media. I don't think I've seen once on any of the postgame TV coverage the mention of how huge the advantage LVG created for the Netherlands tactically in that game was.

The xG was nearly evenly. Unless tactical advantage is getting your guys to convert their chances and make skillful shots instead of missing them I would say the coaching was pretty even. Might even tilt the scale in favor of GGG if you think the Dutch had the superior talent n the field.

 

[Desert_Power]

But I hate how no one is critical of Burhalter.

People have been killing him since day 1. Just a blood bath for 4 years straight. He got significantly more criticism than he probably deserved (and he deserved plenty over the cycle)

Not sure why this quote is messed up. To be clear, I agree with your take. Berhalter gets a lot of criticism relative to his results.

He gets a ton of criticism on FBG and Twitter, but I think DP was speaking about the media where he gets very little. Not playing Gio is pretty much the only thing that's come up for the media. I don't think I've seen once on any of the postgame TV coverage the mention of how huge the advantage LVG created for the Netherlands tactically in that game was.

I wasn't speaking about anything cause that quote is from Djax and not me

 

[QuizGuy66]

on the bright side, Turner didn’t do that.

Even though he gave me like 20 heart attacks thinking he was about to.

-QG

 

[QuizGuy66]

Well Said

-QG

 

[Desert_Power]

Simon Clancy
@SiClancy


Messi’s first ever goal in a World Cup knockout game. Neither he or Ronaldo have ever scored one till now.

 

[Desert_Power]

Having the World Cup the same time as football has been fun. A bit exhausting.

 

[titusbramble]

Having the World Cup the same time as football has been fun. A bit exhausting.

Tell me about it, with a bunch of our domestic teams having moved kickoff times today for fear England would play when USA did I was able to watch live games at 1pm and 3pm and still get back to the pub for the Argentina game, but I'm knackered now

 

[QuizGuy66]

For the XG nerds




-QG

 

[The Commish]

I appreciate all you smart guys answers to us dumb guys questions. I also enjoy reading some of your tactical discussions that I in absolutely no way understand.

Feels good to not be on this island alone.

 

[ChiefD]

Having the World Cup the same time as football has been fun. A bit exhausting.

Tell me about it, with a bunch of our domestic teams having moved kickoff times today for fear England would play when USA did I was able to watch live games at 1pm and 3pm and still get back to the pub for the Argentina game, but I'm knackered now

So, do English fans have any kind of respect for what we are building here or do they think we play football like savages?

 

[encaitar]

Having the World Cup the same time as football has been fun. A bit exhausting.

Tell me about it, with a bunch of our domestic teams having moved kickoff times today for fear England would play when USA did I was able to watch live games at 1pm and 3pm and still get back to the pub for the Argentina game, but I'm knackered now

So, do English fans have any kind of respect for what we are building here or do they think we play football like savages?

We're "athletic and well organized."

 

[AAABatteries]

That moment when you notice that Messi has it on his left foot with a half yard of space is like when you walk in your bedroom and realize your wife has lit candles.

Your inner monologue at that point is Ray, right?

MAGESTERIAL!

 

[Frostillicus]

Today I learned a 9 is a center forward who should be able to score goals and we don't have a good one.

If only Lebron had chosen soccer.

 

[The Z Machine]

Having the World Cup the same time as football has been fun. A bit exhausting.

Tell me about it, with a bunch of our domestic teams having moved kickoff times today for fear England would play when USA did I was able to watch live games at 1pm and 3pm and still get back to the pub for the Argentina game, but I'm knackered now

So, do English fans have any kind of respect for what we are building here or do they think we play football like savages?

Who cares about them. The US is more likely to win a world cup before they win another one.

 

[AAABatteries]

Today I learned a 9 is a center forward who should be able to score goals and we don't have a good one.

If only Lebron had chosen soccer.

All 11 positions have numbers but you rarely hear about several of them. Most common are:

• 9 - striker
• 10 - central attacking midfielder
• 6 - central defensive midfielder
• 8 - central midfielder

But those positions also depend on formations and tactics so it’s nowhere close to universal the way baseball positions and numbers are (for example).

 

[DJackson10]

But I hate how no one is critical of Burhalter.

People have been killing him since day 1. Just a blood bath for 4 years straight. He got significantly more criticism than he probably deserved (and he deserved plenty over the cycle)

Not sure why this quote is messed up. To be clear, I agree with your take. Berhalter gets a lot of criticism relative to his results.

People didn't like the hire when it happened. It felt like(and probably was) nepotism. However, I don't think anyone being honest with themselves could say that Berhalter hasn't lived up to the expectations he was given. If you said WCQ, out of group stage, and 2 trophies at the time of his hire? Everyone would've signed up of that immediately.

Here's the thing I don't think GGG deserves that much credit. This team won a lot of games they shouldn't have because of the horrible spots he put them in to begin with. I think the talent level made up for a lot of that. It reminds me of the 198O Phillies who won inspite of Dallas Green.

 

[encaitar]

But I hate how no one is critical of Burhalter.

People have been killing him since day 1. Just a blood bath for 4 years straight. He got significantly more criticism than he probably deserved (and he deserved plenty over the cycle)

Not sure why this quote is messed up. To be clear, I agree with your take. Berhalter gets a lot of criticism relative to his results.

People didn't like the hire when it happened. It felt like(and probably was) nepotism. However, I don't think anyone being honest with themselves could say that Berhalter hasn't lived up to the expectations he was given. If you said WCQ, out of group stage, and 2 trophies at the time of his hire? Everyone would've signed up of that immediately.

Here's the thing I don't think GGG deserves that much credit. This team won a lot of games they shouldn't have because of the horrible spots he put them in to begin with. I think the talent level made up for a lot of that. It reminds me of the 198O Phillies who won inspite of Dallas Green.

Maybe. Maybe not.

You can only judge someone by the resume they put out there. Here's Gregg's resume... Qualified for the WC. Got out of group stage at the WC without losing a game. Won both significant CONCACAF trophies.

Also on his resume... Took 3rd in WCQ despite what is obviously the best roster in CONCACAF. Losing record away from home. His USMNT has scored multiple goals in a game just 4 times in the last 18 games, despite having what most people consider significant attacking options.

So, while I agree that the US needs a better coach, I don't agree with ****ting on the current one. He accomplished what we asked, but no more. Now it's time to shoot for the stars and I think his resume shows he's not the man for it, but I'd rather thank him for his service and send him on his way than spit on him on his way out.

 

[titusbramble]

Having the World Cup the same time as football has been fun. A bit exhausting.

Tell me about it, with a bunch of our domestic teams having moved kickoff times today for fear England would play when USA did I was able to watch live games at 1pm and 3pm and still get back to the pub for the Argentina game, but I'm knackered now

So, do English fans have any kind of respect for what we are building here or do they think we play football like savages?

We're "athletic and well organized."

That can be the case without being disrespectful and/or also recognising that there was more to the US game. Pretty much every fan here recognises we were the second best team in the game in question, and a large part of it was that you didn't allow us to play how we would want to. Southgate's answer, while maybe not being the most expansive or diplomatic, certainly wasn't wrong, and you wouldn't expect him to say that our team sucked.

In terms of knowledge of the US game in general, it's hard to say. Obviously we can see what the likes of Pulisic and the guys at Leeds are doing, maybe to a lesser extent with Reyna, McKennie etc when we see them in the Champions League, we can also see that the squad is pretty young and, while clearly not just punting this time around, is gearing towards 2026. As for the development of the game as a whole in the US, we basically don't get much of any coverage of the MLS - I'm not sure if it even has a TV deal here, if it does, then football as a whole is a hugely oversaturated market and wouldn't really be watched by much of anyone outside of expats. As such, rightly or wrongly, it's still perceived by many as a developing league and only generally noticed in the media if someone from here (e.g. Bale, previously Beckham, Rooney etc) is moving there for what's seen as one last pay day (or, in the case of Bale, better golfing options than Madrid could provide), and really hard to say how good the US players coming through are.

It'll probably get more coverage as things ramp up towards 2026, where hopefully some more of your players become established starters at the higher levels of the European game. It's always a weird parallel to try to measure how football is developing in the US compared to how (American) football is in Europe despite the obvious differences in league structures and the effective absence of an international game in the latter

 

[QuizGuy66]

Hungry for kielbasa fondue for some reason...
-QG

 

[NewlyRetired]

It's always a weird parallel to try to measure how football is developing in the US compared to how (American) football is in Europe despite the obvious differences in league structures and the effective absence of an international game in the latter

How is the investment in infrastructure in American football in Europe?

Here in the US, billions have been spent this last decade on infrastructure on football(soccer) in the forms of beautiful soccer stadiums and development centers/academies all over the country

 

[titusbramble]

@NewlyRetired Deleting multi-quote to avoid tagging people not interested in non-WC derail. Still pretty niche in terms of playing. Germany probably has the best setup, but a lot of the teams there will just be using the same stadium as soccer teams, and certainly not those of the size that they used in the NFL Europe era. In terms of fan engagement it's pretty big, probably not quite as comparable in terms of numbers (% wise) as soccer is in the US, but it's not far off, I can go watch Redzone in a bar a few minutes walk from my house which is something that wouldn't be possible ten years ago. Same as how I expect I wouldn't have been able to watch our game vs Spurs at 9am in the same last time I was in the US. There's plenty of discussion on the subject as a whole in the international games thread somewhere where it'd be better to continue if needed

 

[NewlyRetired]

@NewlyRetired Deleting multi-quote to avoid tagging people not interested in non-WC derail. Still pretty niche in terms of playing. Germany probably has the best setup, but a lot of the teams there will just be using the same stadium as soccer teams, and certainly not those of the size that they used in the NFL Europe era. In terms of fan engagement it's pretty big, probably not quite as comparable in terms of numbers (% wise) as soccer is in the US, but it's not far off, I can go watch Redzone in a bar a few minutes walk from my house which is something that wouldn't be possible ten years ago. Same as how I expect I wouldn't have been able to watch our game vs Spurs at 9am in the same last time I was in the US. There's plenty of discussion on the subject as a whole in the international games thread somewhere where it'd be better to continue if needed

Thank you for the info. I apologize for asking it here, I did not in any way mean to derail the thread as I was interested in the comment you made. I won't broach it again.

 

[The Z Machine]

@NewlyRetired Deleting multi-quote to avoid tagging people not interested in non-WC derail. Still pretty niche in terms of playing. Germany probably has the best setup, but a lot of the teams there will just be using the same stadium as soccer teams, and certainly not those of the size that they used in the NFL Europe era. In terms of fan engagement it's pretty big, probably not quite as comparable in terms of numbers (% wise) as soccer is in the US, but it's not far off, I can go watch Redzone in a bar a few minutes walk from my house which is something that wouldn't be possible ten years ago. Same as how I expect I wouldn't have been able to watch our game vs Spurs at 9am in the same last time I was in the US. There's plenty of discussion on the subject as a whole in the international games thread somewhere where it'd be better to continue if needed

Thank you for the info. I apologize for asking it here, I did not in any way mean to derail the thread as I was interested in the comment you made. I won't broach it again.

Eh, it's fine IMO. Only @El Floppo can be thread police and he seems busy these days.

For @titusbramble , as American football grows in popularity in the UK, is there any discussions on the health of the players, especially related to CTE? Have they been similar concerns about rugby and does that sport have fans turning away from it due to players' health concerns?

 

[Alex P Keaton]

Just checking in to see if the WC is still happening. Really quiet in here despite a fun match taking place now.

 

[Moe.]

I generally for pull the underdog but not today, really want to see France-England in the quarters.

 

[The Gator]

hfs how does Poland not score

 

[prefontaine]

oh come on Poland!

 

[Moe.]

How did Poland not get one there

 

[heckmanm]

Just checking in to see if the WC is still happening. Really quiet in here despite a fun match taking place now.

No kidding. Last couple minutes especially

 

[QuizGuy66]

Better play than expected - Poland mixing it up a little at least

-QG

 

[QuizGuy66]

Poland does kind of fit the form of the occasional random Euro country that makes a run that falls just short (Croatia, Bulgaria, Hungary, etc...)

-QG

 

[QuizGuy66]

Poland doing a US impression with that late-first-half concession...
-QG