Bonzai
Footballguy
so they have him out on the wing?
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***Official Soccer Discussion Thread*** (13 Viewers)
- Thread starter jpeace121
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B Maverick
Footballguy
Donovan was on the outside.
What a difference a 2nd half makes. Man did the US go in the toilet. All of a sudden it became dribble dribble hold the ball to long. Frankie returned to form giving up bad fouls and bad passes, Beasley to scared to shoot the ball, and Eddie Johnson....... What a waste. Cant cross, cant shoot, all he wants to do is dribble out the end line.
What a mess the 2nd half was. Thats the US team i am used too.
DOES ANYONE WANT TO SCORE???
Shoot the damn ball!!!
Gooch did not deserve the first yellow but did deserve the 2nd. He had a bad night, constantly out of position and let ruiz and co get in his head. Settle him down and play.
What a difference a 2nd half makes. Man did the US go in the toilet. All of a sudden it became dribble dribble hold the ball to long. Frankie returned to form giving up bad fouls and bad passes, Beasley to scared to shoot the ball, and Eddie Johnson....... What a waste. Cant cross, cant shoot, all he wants to do is dribble out the end line.
What a mess the 2nd half was. Thats the US team i am used too.
DOES ANYONE WANT TO SCORE???
Shoot the damn ball!!!
Gooch did not deserve the first yellow but did deserve the 2nd. He had a bad night, constantly out of position and let ruiz and co get in his head. Settle him down and play.
B Maverick
Footballguy
The posts above were not painting a good pic of the US. I thought they played well above how i read into the meaning of the comments above. Sorry, right after i said good things about Hejduk, he turns into his crappy self. foul at the top of the box for a free shot by Ruiz, bad passes, too far forward too often. Damn we need a Right Back!And when did it become good form for the wall to jump?? STAY ON THE GROUND. Take one off the chest!!!And the top team in the top league in the world never sucks!
FERGUSON'S RED AND WHITE ARMY!And who knew, nice pics of my girlfriend and her ABS OF SUPER STEEL
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jpeace121
Footballguy
I honestly think that the difference in the second half is that Guatemala stopped hanging back and actually began to attack with more than just Ruiz. I don't think we looked good last night in either half, outside of a couple of players, namely the ones I mentioned above. Howard played well in goal, especially when tested in the second half. We only got the goal we did because a Guatemalan defender was caught flat footed. Demspey nearly shot the ball right at the keeper. Donovan looked like his typical disinterested self. And what a huge letdown for EJ - coming off such high form in MLS, he reverts to his usual international form.
This team tends to wilt under the kind of pressure that is a hallmark of the Central American game, and Central American referees for that matter. They should prepare for more of this against T&T and El Salvador, who will likely play the same kind of extremely physical matches.
Should be interesting to see how Bradley addresses center back with Onyewu out. I think he should give it a lot of thought, because I'm not sure Gooch's personality or skill allows him to be our long term answer at CB.
This team tends to wilt under the kind of pressure that is a hallmark of the Central American game, and Central American referees for that matter. They should prepare for more of this against T&T and El Salvador, who will likely play the same kind of extremely physical matches.
Should be interesting to see how Bradley addresses center back with Onyewu out. I think he should give it a lot of thought, because I'm not sure Gooch's personality or skill allows him to be our long term answer at CB.
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B Maverick
Footballguy
I disagree with your assesment of the 1st half. We played like a team in control and took what they gave us. I liked how we looked. But you are right, the 2nd half, guatamala actually attacked and put pressure on us and we collapsed.Dempsey did put the ball right at the keeper, who was routinely out of position all night, but i will never say a bad thing about any goal. As a former coach, I did all I could to teach the kids that it doesnt matter how a goal looks, as long as it was a goal. Something very few on the US team has learned as well.Oneywu could still develop into our own rio ferdinand. he is physical, which we lack all over the field and has good size. He just needs to get his head on straight.jpeace121 said:
He scares the hell out of me back there.
jpeace121
Footballguy
Maverick, good point about the goal. It went over the line, that's all that matters. And I will agree that between minutes 20 and 45, we looked like the kind of good, attacking, creative team that we are capable of. Its just frustrating to only see glimpses of that, and then have to hang on for dear life in the last 25.
The Z Machine
Footballguy
Gooch scares the hell out of me too. But sometimes, that's good.
I want a Márquez at CB. Where is our Márquez? Gooch doesn't have the touch to play up a bit as Márquez does from time to time.
I want a Márquez at CB. Where is our Márquez? Gooch doesn't have the touch to play up a bit as Márquez does from time to time.
El Floppo
Footballguy
Phew! Both for the win and that I finally caught the damn game...
I tend to agree with most of what you guys are saying.
- The first half was most definitely controlled by the US, but without much purpose. They didn't get the ball wide enough against the packed D and MF of Guatemala. But when they did, they seemed to open up opportunities.
- 2nd half was a mess- and full credit to the Guatemalan side for pushing forward more and getting under the US skins and into their heads. The US didn't seem to have an answer for the taller guy up front- fortunately he wasn't able to link up at all with Ruiz or his midfielders, or it could have been real trouble for the US.
- Feilhaber and Bradley were invisible. When they got involved more, the US did more- but that didn't happen much. Seemed like they were marked out of the game for the most part. They needed to get the ball off their defenders feet and direct the attack instead of forcing the defenders to crank the ball up to Twellman.
- Beasley is now to be called #####foot. ####### HIT the shot- don't pass it. And yeah- you're going to come across the goal from the left and STILL use your left to bend it way from goal? Use your ####### right foot!
- Bornstein looked really out of sorts at times- but I liked his pace.
- Gooch... bleh. Pretty much a nightmare game where Ruiz owned him, especially psychologicially. I still don't know what the first yellow was for (but Ruiz is crafty that way) but that 2nd yellow was a disaster.
- Hejduk- thought he and Donovan jammed eachother up a little too much trying to make runs on the flank. I liked that he was getting up there, and he had a decent first half, but he and Donovan will need to work on their spacing and timing if this system is used in the future. I completely agree he reverted to Dopey Hejduk in the 2nd half, flying into every tackle and completely out of control.
- Boca- thought he had a decent game. Kept his cool until the yellow for dissent (I think it was for dissent)
- Donovan- thought he was pretty good in the 2nd half, at least offensively. His touch was on like Donkey Kong and he looked comfortable going at guys. I really liked his play when he roamed across the field and didn't stay planted on the right. He showed Beasley how to strike the ball when you get a chance (right at the end of the 1st half), but also how not to (IIRC, in the 2nd half when he worked his defender well in the box to open up a left footed shot that dribbled to the keeper).
- Dempsey- solid game, but didn't seem to link well with Twellman who's only thought was to one time the ball back or to the side. I liked Dempsey's swagger in taking guys on (didn't get enough chances at that) and I was impressed that he seemed to keep his cool as Guat's #2 mugged him all game with 2 footed tackles and knee-led tackles. (how that guy stayed in the game, let alone didn't pick up a yellow is beyond me).
- Twellman- don't know that I can blame him for not linking well with Dempsey. I do wish he would try and turn with the ball... even once- but his head and chest one-touch passes almost always found a team-mate, so no real complaints. That missed header was absolutely horrific, and would have changed the complexion of the game completely.
- EJ- other than a couple of nice worked plays with Twellman, and taking on players (not succefully) he was a mess. Lacked touch, lacked vision- dunno what was going on out there with him.
Meh. A win's a win in this region. Doesn't matter if the US is the far superior team, seems like most games with Central Amercian teams are like this... especially when playing as the visiting squad (in ####### LA). I'd love to see the team play better- and hopefully that will come as some of the new guys settle in to their roles (or outright win those roles)- but I'd rather they play like they did in the 2nd half and win.
I tend to agree with most of what you guys are saying.
- The first half was most definitely controlled by the US, but without much purpose. They didn't get the ball wide enough against the packed D and MF of Guatemala. But when they did, they seemed to open up opportunities.
- 2nd half was a mess- and full credit to the Guatemalan side for pushing forward more and getting under the US skins and into their heads. The US didn't seem to have an answer for the taller guy up front- fortunately he wasn't able to link up at all with Ruiz or his midfielders, or it could have been real trouble for the US.
- Feilhaber and Bradley were invisible. When they got involved more, the US did more- but that didn't happen much. Seemed like they were marked out of the game for the most part. They needed to get the ball off their defenders feet and direct the attack instead of forcing the defenders to crank the ball up to Twellman.
- Beasley is now to be called #####foot. ####### HIT the shot- don't pass it. And yeah- you're going to come across the goal from the left and STILL use your left to bend it way from goal? Use your ####### right foot!
- Bornstein looked really out of sorts at times- but I liked his pace.
- Gooch... bleh. Pretty much a nightmare game where Ruiz owned him, especially psychologicially. I still don't know what the first yellow was for (but Ruiz is crafty that way) but that 2nd yellow was a disaster.
- Hejduk- thought he and Donovan jammed eachother up a little too much trying to make runs on the flank. I liked that he was getting up there, and he had a decent first half, but he and Donovan will need to work on their spacing and timing if this system is used in the future. I completely agree he reverted to Dopey Hejduk in the 2nd half, flying into every tackle and completely out of control.
- Boca- thought he had a decent game. Kept his cool until the yellow for dissent (I think it was for dissent)
- Donovan- thought he was pretty good in the 2nd half, at least offensively. His touch was on like Donkey Kong and he looked comfortable going at guys. I really liked his play when he roamed across the field and didn't stay planted on the right. He showed Beasley how to strike the ball when you get a chance (right at the end of the 1st half), but also how not to (IIRC, in the 2nd half when he worked his defender well in the box to open up a left footed shot that dribbled to the keeper).
- Dempsey- solid game, but didn't seem to link well with Twellman who's only thought was to one time the ball back or to the side. I liked Dempsey's swagger in taking guys on (didn't get enough chances at that) and I was impressed that he seemed to keep his cool as Guat's #2 mugged him all game with 2 footed tackles and knee-led tackles. (how that guy stayed in the game, let alone didn't pick up a yellow is beyond me).
- Twellman- don't know that I can blame him for not linking well with Dempsey. I do wish he would try and turn with the ball... even once- but his head and chest one-touch passes almost always found a team-mate, so no real complaints. That missed header was absolutely horrific, and would have changed the complexion of the game completely.
- EJ- other than a couple of nice worked plays with Twellman, and taking on players (not succefully) he was a mess. Lacked touch, lacked vision- dunno what was going on out there with him.
Meh. A win's a win in this region. Doesn't matter if the US is the far superior team, seems like most games with Central Amercian teams are like this... especially when playing as the visiting squad (in ####### LA). I'd love to see the team play better- and hopefully that will come as some of the new guys settle in to their roles (or outright win those roles)- but I'd rather they play like they did in the 2nd half and win.
Sammy3469
Footballguy
After we went down to 10 men I thought Johnson played very well. He kept possession, didn't force any 1v3 situations, and won a few headers. He was the outlet for pressure and I think performed very well. I also thought Donovan had a good game and thought everyone else was meh. I think we'll look like that until one of Feilhaber or Bradley really steps up and "replaces" Reyna.
The Z Machine
Footballguy
As usual, EJ disappoints on the int'l stage.
B Maverick
Footballguy
Floppo,
The 1st yellow was given to oneywu when he got turned upside down by ruiz (or someone) and as he fell his leg went towards the player that uprooted him. By NO means was it a yellow or even a foul on the US. Heck, I thought the ref was giving the opposing coach a yellow on it!
well,
Just got done watching the best Sylverster Stallone movie evah! No not his pre-Rocky porn, his 1981 foray into Soccer movies......
VICTORY!
With Stallone, Michale Caine, Max Van Sydow, PELE', Bobby Moore, Kaz Deyna, etc........
Pele and his bicycle kick. thats a beautiful goal. And in the credits: Soccer plays designed by: PELE
The 1st yellow was given to oneywu when he got turned upside down by ruiz (or someone) and as he fell his leg went towards the player that uprooted him. By NO means was it a yellow or even a foul on the US. Heck, I thought the ref was giving the opposing coach a yellow on it!
well,
Just got done watching the best Sylverster Stallone movie evah! No not his pre-Rocky porn, his 1981 foray into Soccer movies......
VICTORY!
With Stallone, Michale Caine, Max Van Sydow, PELE', Bobby Moore, Kaz Deyna, etc........
Pele and his bicycle kick. thats a beautiful goal. And in the credits: Soccer plays designed by: PELE
Floppo,The 1st yellow was given to oneywu when he got turned upside down by ruiz (or someone) and as he fell his leg went towards the player that uprooted him. By NO means was it a yellow or even a foul on the US. Heck, I thought the ref was giving the opposing coach a yellow on it!well,Just got done watching the best Sylverster Stallone movie evah! No not his pre-Rocky porn, his 1981 foray into Soccer movies......VICTORY!With Stallone, Michale Caine, Max Van Sydow, PELE', Bobby Moore, Kaz Deyna, etc........ Pele and his bicycle kick. thats a beautiful goal. And in the credits: Soccer plays designed by: PELE
El Floppo
Footballguy
Floppo,The 1st yellow was given to oneywu when he got turned upside down by ruiz (or someone) and as he fell his leg went towards the player that uprooted him. By NO means was it a yellow or even a foul on the US. Heck, I thought the ref was giving the opposing coach a yellow on it!well,Just got done watching the best Sylverster Stallone movie evah! No not his pre-Rocky porn, his 1981 foray into Soccer movies......VICTORY!With Stallone, Michale Caine, Max Van Sydow, PELE', Bobby Moore, Kaz Deyna, etc........ Pele and his bicycle kick. thats a beautiful goal. And in the credits: Soccer plays designed by: PELE
That was my standard response to any coach asking me what I was going to do on the field.A college team-mate named his band "Hatch" after Stallone's character in that.Another silly war/soccer movie- something like "The Boys from Company C"
Senor Schmutzig
Footballguy
Donovan looks pretty excited sitting there on the bench.
Donovan =
US is certainly pushing things and getting LOTS of chances in the first 5 minutes. This should be a blowout and looks like the lineup is set to get some of the younger guys some chances. They have something to prove so the aggresiveness is there...
Donovan =
US is certainly pushing things and getting LOTS of chances in the first 5 minutes. This should be a blowout and looks like the lineup is set to get some of the younger guys some chances. They have something to prove so the aggresiveness is there...
El Floppo
Footballguy
Jeebus... this should really be a bloodbath, not a 1-0 nailbiter.
T&T are playing a bunch of guys from Joe Public FC in T&T and only one guy returning from Germany 06'. Their federation should be ashamed of themselves for not resolving the financial dispute with their players.
Even with US's B squad, this is pros vs Joes (literally) and 3 or 4 horrible non-offsides calls not withstanding, this game should be put long away and should never be played in front of the US goal.
T&T are playing a bunch of guys from Joe Public FC in T&T and only one guy returning from Germany 06'. Their federation should be ashamed of themselves for not resolving the financial dispute with their players.
Even with US's B squad, this is pros vs Joes (literally) and 3 or 4 horrible non-offsides calls not withstanding, this game should be put long away and should never be played in front of the US goal.
whoknew
Footballguy
What an awful showing by the US in the last 15 mins.And excellent camera work by Fox.
El Floppo
Footballguy
Amazing how bad the announcers are too- one game removed from Brettos and Sullivan, we get these clowns. Is that JP Dellacamera? And it's not just the announcers- whoever's producing/directing this is ####### up as well- lingering on replays while the action is going on- not showing the right replays... as ugly a production as the US played the last part of the half.
El Floppo
Footballguy
And excellent camera work by Fox.
How hard can this stuff be? Seriously? Point the frigging cameras at the action and let the Director pick which angle and replay to show... it's not rocket science.
wow...Donovan beats the offsides trap and gets in alone on the keeper with nobody within 20 yards of him.
tap-in goal for EJ.
tap-in goal for EJ.
I re-watched on tivo in slow-mo. He was onsides by the defender who was playing the ball. the defender marking Donovan just stopped to try and get the call but he was clearly onsides.Even now after the goal... they're showing the goal, but not the controversy of what might have been offsides.[Mr.Furious] They're making me angry. [/Mr.Furious]
El Floppo
Footballguy
Cool... not trying to say he was offside- just that the entire T&T defense stopped as if he was- it should be shown at least once in replay.I re-watched on tivo in slow-mo. He was onsides by the defender who was playing the ball. the defender marking Donovan just stopped to try and get the call but he was clearly onsides.Even now after the goal... they're showing the goal, but not the controversy of what might have been offsides.
The Z Machine
Footballguy
BTW, the La Liga games here in Spain tonight were incredible.
This is the second to last week right now and 3 teams are still viable to win the title: Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Sevilla.
Real Madrid was down all night against a quality Zaragoza squad, while Barcelona was up all night against a crap Espanyol squad (playing in Camp Nou no less). Right about the same time in both games 87th minute or so, Real Madrid equalizes, and Espanyol does the same.
Me and cstu were watching in a bar and the place literally erupted in joy on one side, and agony on the other. It was quite the display of soccer emotion.
Sevilla also drew tonight, which means that next week's games will essentially be the same mathematically as this week's. Real Madrid and Barcelona are both up top with 72 points with Sevilla 2 points back. Sevilla can still win with both a Barcelona and Madrid loss. If all teams win, Madrid is champion. If Barcelona wins and Madrid loses or ties, Barca is champ.
Gotta love it, even if there wasn't a phat ### part in the streets here in Madrid. Hopefully next week.
This is the second to last week right now and 3 teams are still viable to win the title: Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Sevilla.
Real Madrid was down all night against a quality Zaragoza squad, while Barcelona was up all night against a crap Espanyol squad (playing in Camp Nou no less). Right about the same time in both games 87th minute or so, Real Madrid equalizes, and Espanyol does the same.
Me and cstu were watching in a bar and the place literally erupted in joy on one side, and agony on the other. It was quite the display of soccer emotion.
Sevilla also drew tonight, which means that next week's games will essentially be the same mathematically as this week's. Real Madrid and Barcelona are both up top with 72 points with Sevilla 2 points back. Sevilla can still win with both a Barcelona and Madrid loss. If all teams win, Madrid is champion. If Barcelona wins and Madrid loses or ties, Barca is champ.
Gotta love it, even if there wasn't a phat ### part in the streets here in Madrid. Hopefully next week.
andy_b
Footballguy
Random comments from the first two games
1) Is it me or are some of the middle ranked CONCACAF teams looking horrendous? Not that the US is looking great or anything but these teams look abysmal. Of course I always need to remember that these average teams suddenly become 4 times better when the US has to play them in their own stadiums for WCQ
2) Going along with point 1, if Canada gets its ### in gear, they should have a great chance to make the final round of qualifying this year. A strong Canada is good for US/MLS soccer IMO
3) Couldn't really figure out the lineup too well in game 1. Bradley really likes a fluid team though
4) DMB is the poster child against every nut who screams "go to Europe son, you will get instantly better instead of playing in MLS"
5) Picking Kasey Keller does not make a lot of sense to me. Why not continue to groom Marcus for the #2?
6) The US is awful deep. Look at left midfield, their really is not a lot of drop off from DMB, Convey or Mapp. The flip side is that non stand out either
7) I really like Benny. Great instincts. Needs a touch more bite in his game if he wants that holding midfielder role to be his own
8) If you have not seen the second US goal against T&T watch it and pay attention to one item. Watch how fast Landon goes from one penalty area to the next. His speed is just scary at times.
9) I have not seen any other games yet. How do Mexico and Canada look? Is Mexico blooding their next young stud yet (I forget his name right now)?
10) I don't think the assist should ever be recorded. I mean really, look at the 3 US goals so far, are you telling me anyone but the goal scorer deserves any recognition?
11) I can't believe the US game is going to be played 14 minutes from home on Tuesday and I can't make it. I think this is the first local US game I will be missed since 1989
12) When you look at the US's group, its almost exactly what the second round of qualifying should look like in terms of group quality and depth
13) I am hopeful that the quality of the games will pick up in the knock out rounds and force the US to step up their game.
ok thats it for now
1) Is it me or are some of the middle ranked CONCACAF teams looking horrendous? Not that the US is looking great or anything but these teams look abysmal. Of course I always need to remember that these average teams suddenly become 4 times better when the US has to play them in their own stadiums for WCQ
2) Going along with point 1, if Canada gets its ### in gear, they should have a great chance to make the final round of qualifying this year. A strong Canada is good for US/MLS soccer IMO
3) Couldn't really figure out the lineup too well in game 1. Bradley really likes a fluid team though
4) DMB is the poster child against every nut who screams "go to Europe son, you will get instantly better instead of playing in MLS"
5) Picking Kasey Keller does not make a lot of sense to me. Why not continue to groom Marcus for the #2?
6) The US is awful deep. Look at left midfield, their really is not a lot of drop off from DMB, Convey or Mapp. The flip side is that non stand out either
7) I really like Benny. Great instincts. Needs a touch more bite in his game if he wants that holding midfielder role to be his own
8) If you have not seen the second US goal against T&T watch it and pay attention to one item. Watch how fast Landon goes from one penalty area to the next. His speed is just scary at times.
9) I have not seen any other games yet. How do Mexico and Canada look? Is Mexico blooding their next young stud yet (I forget his name right now)?
10) I don't think the assist should ever be recorded. I mean really, look at the 3 US goals so far, are you telling me anyone but the goal scorer deserves any recognition?
11) I can't believe the US game is going to be played 14 minutes from home on Tuesday and I can't make it. I think this is the first local US game I will be missed since 1989
12) When you look at the US's group, its almost exactly what the second round of qualifying should look like in terms of group quality and depth
13) I am hopeful that the quality of the games will pick up in the knock out rounds and force the US to step up their game.
ok thats it for now
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I think he's doing it purely to get Keller his 100 caps.
andy_b
Footballguy
ahh ok thanks.I figure Kasey is keeping fit as well waiting for RSL to complete the signing.On a side note, if RSL uses a DP slot on Keller I might just have a nutty
The Z Machine
Footballguy
I'm telling ya man, they need to get rid of CONCACAF and just merge the two American Soccer Federations. Right now CONCACAF gets 3.5 WC berths and CONMEBOL gets 4.5... just make it 8 spots total for both continents.
Simply put, the US won't get to the elite level as a national side without being challenged on a regular basis. Games against Peru, Chile, Colombia, and Paraguay are orders of magnitude more relevant than playing Guatemala or El Salvador on a rain soaked, potholed field in front of 20,000 fans.
Hell, they can even keep the regional tournaments, with Copa America retaining its members for the championship, and CONCACAF Gold Cup can retain its current members. Although, what I'd really to see is the Copa America and Gold Cup tourneys be the feeder tournament for a top 4 round robin style super copa or something. This was sort of what happened when the Copa America invited Mexico, USA, and I think Costa Rica and Honduras as well. Those games were quite useful in the building of the US National Team in the 90s.
A boy can dream, can't he?
Simply put, the US won't get to the elite level as a national side without being challenged on a regular basis. Games against Peru, Chile, Colombia, and Paraguay are orders of magnitude more relevant than playing Guatemala or El Salvador on a rain soaked, potholed field in front of 20,000 fans.
Hell, they can even keep the regional tournaments, with Copa America retaining its members for the championship, and CONCACAF Gold Cup can retain its current members. Although, what I'd really to see is the Copa America and Gold Cup tourneys be the feeder tournament for a top 4 round robin style super copa or something. This was sort of what happened when the Copa America invited Mexico, USA, and I think Costa Rica and Honduras as well. Those games were quite useful in the building of the US National Team in the 90s.
A boy can dream, can't he?
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No, those slots should be used for marketing purposes. And marketing a GK in the US is like trying to market a FG kicker. They're both worth their weight in gold on the field but they don't create all that much excitement with the fans. Especially casual ones.I can just see it now: Come see Keller . . . and fewer goals.
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El Floppo
Footballguy
I love the idea- but it may as well be Europe and CONCACAF, in terms of proximity (at least to N America). Plus, they got the whole toilet-flushing-the-wrong-direction thing down there... it would be a disaster.
El Floppo
Footballguy
Metric system?
I'm guessing they only bought the rights to the US games. I watched the first half of Mexico v Honduras (1:0 Mexico at the half) on one of the local spanish speaking stations. Honduras missed a PK and several pretty clear cut chances (oof... just hit one off the bar to open the 2nd half) in looking VERY evenly matched, or ever superior, to Mexico. Mexico scored on a PK of their own by Blanco. Mexico might be playing a younger team- I don't see ... oh-oh! Red Card for MExico- Blanco just got the boot for an off the ball play on a corner! Whoa.. they just showed it- clearly elbowed a guy in the gut with full intent to do harm. NO brainer rosso.This game should get real interesting. Honduras really should be leading this one 2-1 as it is after getting some great play on the wings and getting behind the Mexican defenders repeatedly- they just lacked the final pass.
El Floppo
Footballguy
Don't forget that wasn't the real T&T team- just a bunch of scrubs filling in.And sadly- no matter how bad Guatemala and T&T looked- they still controlled posession for stretches against the US, and each of them had legitimate scoring opportunities that would have drastically changed the complexion of each game had they gone in.I also feel that the US was the weaker skilled team each game. They won both games through tactics and fitness, and enough skills to finish a couple of scoring opps- but not because we possess any one player capable of winning a game or creating opportunities for himself.This is completely embarrassing to me, in this day and age. We don't have a single forward who is willing to take a player on, or capable of holding defenders off the ball for more than a touch. Justin Mapp showed a willingness to go at guys, as did Donovan when on the flanks... dunno- maybe this is a tactic by the US to only try and beat guys on the flanks from MF and have the forwards take 2 touches maximum. It pisses me off.
The Z Machine
Footballguy
I know it's passé to root for Mexico, but aside from being dickfaces when playing against the US, I actually like them. Borgetti and Márquez are both quality players (Borgetti's a bit long in the tooth) that the US doesn't come close to having.
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