So, while waiting for USA-Wales, what's everyone rooting for in the first Group B game? 0-0 to minimize points in the group? England win to provide an easier avenue to 2nd in the group? Iran 2-0 because England is the worst?
Intellectually I think an Iran loss is probably best for the US, but emotionally I'm not going to shed any tears if England faceplants.
I'm ok with 1-0 for England. IMO, it's the best result that allows us to win the group. And some red cards or injuries (not wishing injuries on anyone!)
if England is to win, you want them to win as big as possible against both Wales and Iran. Tie breakers are very likely to come into play and since the first tie breaker is GD, big losses to either Iram or Wales helps the US.
Any other result beyond a England win against Iran will throw the group into a bit of a tail spin and it is also very very likely to get England's tail feathers up when playing against the US rather than hopefully overlooking us if they play well against Iran.
My going in thought was if any team gets points off of England, their chances of advancing sky rocket.
I think it all comes down whether you think we can get a point off England. I should have expanded on my post and said - if the goal is to just advance then yes, a huge England win is what you want. I'm greedy and want to win the group. So, draw against England and win your other two with better results. I acknowledge that first goal should be to advance. I will say, there's also a question of whether England playing really well coming in to the match with us is good or bad. Are they overconfident or does it give them a boost and take some pressure off? A dodgy 1-0 win against Iran with the US beating Wales puts some pressure on England.
I am with you. I am rooting for 1st place in the group.
We are far from favorites for anything, but for the first time we can pretty safely say that the majority of our players playing in these matches will be playing against the same caliber of player they play week in and week out, if not weaker. These guys are used to playing against Manchester City and AC Milan and Real Madrid, there isn't going to be any talent shock when they try and dribble or pass the ball in these games.
It's not Berhalter's personality, so we probably won't see it, but I'd just love to see us go for it. Forget playing for draws, playing it safe, and trying to limp in with 4 points. Let's go out there and try and win these friggin games and not just get to the knockout stage, but get there with confidence rather than just feeling like we eeked are way in by not quite screwing up too much.
And let's stop treating England like they're some world cup juggernaut. Hopefully the players will remember that England, despite all their talent, has 3 wins in their last 9 world cup group stage matches. They're far from invincible.
if Dest had to ask Weston what to say, it feels like GGG might be trying something new and that has not worked well in the past
