utisdabomb12
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So far so good.
US and Germany tied 0-0 at the half.
Portugal up on Ghana 1-0 at the half.
US and Germany tied 0-0 at the half.
Portugal up on Ghana 1-0 at the half.
World Cup
- Thread starter SFlonghorngirl
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utisdabomb12
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Thanks Portugal.
Here is Toadvine's look at next Tuesdays game with Belgium --
Let's be honest about that game yesterday. It was dour. We played like the Greeks or Hondurans. A pragmatic approach? Perhaps. But still, it was ugly.
Klinsmann needs to make some serious tactical changes to the team going forward. Belgium features Eden Hazard, probably the best attacking player in the Premier League not named Luis Suarez, two giant center midfielders with Valderama-style hairdos in Axel Witsel and Marraoine Fellaini who will ball win all day against us, playing behind Moussa Dembele, a classy passer, but not the most inventive guy in the world. Kevin DeBruyne, a crafty and speedy winger who will be pinching in from out wide, a plethora of other tricky wing players in Kevin Mirallas and the lightning quick Dries Merten, a useless, but direct runner in Nacer Chadli who is big and strong are the other midfielders we will see.
Either Romelu Lukaku (who has been quiet for lack of service) or some other giant 19 yr old striker who is fast and has looked better than Lukaku will be playing up front. The Belgian backline will consist of Vincent Kompany (a monster), Thomas Vermaelen (fast, but mistake prone) in the middle, flanked by Jan Vertonghen (crushing shot, great in the air, positionally suspect, and Alderweireld (not great).
So in sum -- Belgium is very big, very defensively minded, and prone to some vulnerabilities on the wings at the back. Their fullbacks won't be bombing up the field all day. Their attack is based around some tricky and skillful players who won't be well supported out of midfield and out of not letting anyone come at them directly. Attacking straight up the middle just won't be on. Bradley and Jones will be well and truly neutralized.
The only way to attack this team is up the wings. Now the problem: our options are the workman-like Bedoya, the slower than Christmas Brad Davis and the inconsistent and unimpressive Graham Zusi. None of those guys are going to help much there. I'm not thinking we will have Jozy back. So how the hell are we going to support Clint Dempsey and manage more than one shot in 92 minutes (we didn't get a shot on goal until the 92nd minute yesterday)?
You have only a couple of options, but they are worth throwing out there at this point. You probably have to start Johannson or Yedlin out wide. We need pace or chicanery or both coming in from a wide player who can support Dempsey. Asking Jones and Bradley to ball-win and then push up high is just too much -- they struggled to do it against Ghana and this will be tougher than that. In a perfect world, I'd probably start both Yedlin and AJ.
I'm envisioning a 4-1-4-1 formation -- four defenders (Gonzo over Cameron for now -- size will be useful in this game), then Beckerman (wish we had played Cameron here more in qualifying but can't change horses there mid-stream), then Yedlin-Jones-Bradley-Johannson, then Dempsey up top solo. Johannson will naturally play higher and Yedlin will naturally defend more. Put Yedlin on Fabian Johnson's side and Johannson on Beasley's side and let Johnson get forward.
Can we win? Realistically, not without some luck. This isn't the worst team we could have drawn, but it's like a 5-12 seed game in the NCAAs. Belgium will be favored and they beat us earlier this year 4-2. But they were playing better then and we were playing worse. We will not win if we start any two of Davis, Bedoya and Zusi. They aren't giving us anything going forward and we cannot play another game as toothless as we played the last one. Plus, we are going to need to throw the dice a bit if we want a chance. Yedlin has earned more time -- he's been a huge bright spot and has justified his selection. Let the kid play. He's 22 and can handle the heat. Johannson is a goal scorer and we don't have many of those. We need our match-winners on the field.
http://insidetexas.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1013977#post1013977
Let's be honest about that game yesterday. It was dour. We played like the Greeks or Hondurans. A pragmatic approach? Perhaps. But still, it was ugly.
Klinsmann needs to make some serious tactical changes to the team going forward. Belgium features Eden Hazard, probably the best attacking player in the Premier League not named Luis Suarez, two giant center midfielders with Valderama-style hairdos in Axel Witsel and Marraoine Fellaini who will ball win all day against us, playing behind Moussa Dembele, a classy passer, but not the most inventive guy in the world. Kevin DeBruyne, a crafty and speedy winger who will be pinching in from out wide, a plethora of other tricky wing players in Kevin Mirallas and the lightning quick Dries Merten, a useless, but direct runner in Nacer Chadli who is big and strong are the other midfielders we will see.
Either Romelu Lukaku (who has been quiet for lack of service) or some other giant 19 yr old striker who is fast and has looked better than Lukaku will be playing up front. The Belgian backline will consist of Vincent Kompany (a monster), Thomas Vermaelen (fast, but mistake prone) in the middle, flanked by Jan Vertonghen (crushing shot, great in the air, positionally suspect, and Alderweireld (not great).
So in sum -- Belgium is very big, very defensively minded, and prone to some vulnerabilities on the wings at the back. Their fullbacks won't be bombing up the field all day. Their attack is based around some tricky and skillful players who won't be well supported out of midfield and out of not letting anyone come at them directly. Attacking straight up the middle just won't be on. Bradley and Jones will be well and truly neutralized.
The only way to attack this team is up the wings. Now the problem: our options are the workman-like Bedoya, the slower than Christmas Brad Davis and the inconsistent and unimpressive Graham Zusi. None of those guys are going to help much there. I'm not thinking we will have Jozy back. So how the hell are we going to support Clint Dempsey and manage more than one shot in 92 minutes (we didn't get a shot on goal until the 92nd minute yesterday)?
You have only a couple of options, but they are worth throwing out there at this point. You probably have to start Johannson or Yedlin out wide. We need pace or chicanery or both coming in from a wide player who can support Dempsey. Asking Jones and Bradley to ball-win and then push up high is just too much -- they struggled to do it against Ghana and this will be tougher than that. In a perfect world, I'd probably start both Yedlin and AJ.
I'm envisioning a 4-1-4-1 formation -- four defenders (Gonzo over Cameron for now -- size will be useful in this game), then Beckerman (wish we had played Cameron here more in qualifying but can't change horses there mid-stream), then Yedlin-Jones-Bradley-Johannson, then Dempsey up top solo. Johannson will naturally play higher and Yedlin will naturally defend more. Put Yedlin on Fabian Johnson's side and Johannson on Beasley's side and let Johnson get forward.
Can we win? Realistically, not without some luck. This isn't the worst team we could have drawn, but it's like a 5-12 seed game in the NCAAs. Belgium will be favored and they beat us earlier this year 4-2. But they were playing better then and we were playing worse. We will not win if we start any two of Davis, Bedoya and Zusi. They aren't giving us anything going forward and we cannot play another game as toothless as we played the last one. Plus, we are going to need to throw the dice a bit if we want a chance. Yedlin has earned more time -- he's been a huge bright spot and has justified his selection. Let the kid play. He's 22 and can handle the heat. Johannson is a goal scorer and we don't have many of those. We need our match-winners on the field.
http://insidetexas.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1013977#post1013977
MikeV73
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Was at that game as well, lots of nuts on both sides. Number one was the Brazilian guy dressed as a woman, had two soccer ball boobs positioned in his dress. Stay classy! Awesome game and best atmosphere of the Dallas cup games. Nigerian fans were fun, drumming and chanting the entire game. German striker, not Klinsmann, sent home after shooting the bird to the crowd after a red card. Maradona getting kicked out of tourney the day prior to Argentinas game at the cotton bowl for positive drug test, disappointing! Lots of memories from the 1994 cup. Positive memories of lots of great games and teams and players, hopefully not a once in a lifetime opportunity in the states.
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MikeV73
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I'm a fan of Mix Diskerud at midfield . Skilled player who seems to make things happen on the field. Put him in over Zusi. We need Dempsey to play behind a striker, insert johanssen/ wondoloski if altidore is out and see if we can create chances. Got to get some offense!
Everyone seems to agree on the problem, even the coach and the players. And the stats back it up. But there are only so many combinations possible with this roster. For me, the key is still Bradley - I am still somewhat stunned how his performance has fallen off. Our passing is worse than sloppy, it is horrendous.
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The U.S. had just 72 attacks during three group-stage games, according to FIFA. That ranked 31st among the 32 teams, ahead of only Costa Rica’s 69.
The Americans were dead last in attacks from the left with 21 and tied for last with Iran with 29 from the center. Right back Fabian Johnson seems to be providing the spark for most forays upfield, advancing more often than left back DaMarcus Beasley.
While Klinsmann wants his team to play attractive, attacking soccer, it hasn’t worked out that way. The Americans had scored in eight straight World Cup games before getting shut out Thursday..
“It’s definitely something that we learned out of the Germany game. We were too deep — especially the first 20 minutes,†Klinsmann said. “I was screaming my lungs off there to get the back line out and to move the entire unit high up the field. We will work on that in next couple days in training, to shift our entire game up forward. So that will put more pressure on the opponents and create more chances.â€.
The U.S. had 41 percent possession in its 2-1 win over Ghana, 48 percent in its 2-2 draw against Portugal and 37 percent versus Germany. The Americans have been outshot 54-27 in the three matches
And this had occurred in a World Cup in which offense is up. There were an average of 2.83 goals a game in the group stage, up 35 percent from 2.10 in South Africa four years ago and the highest in the initial phase since 1958’s 3.37, according to STATS.
* * * *
In the last two games, Klinsmann opted for a 4-2-3-1 formation with five midfielders to feed Clint Dempsey as the lone striker.
Thus far, the U.S. has had just four solo runs into the penalty area, in a four-way tie for 27th, and the formation frequently morphs into a 4-4-1-1.
“We have to bring up the players higher up and create chances, get more support for Clint and come down the line more often on the sides,†Klinsmann said. “This is something we will work on in the next few days.â€
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/soccer/u-s-seeks-more-offense-for-next-world-cup-match/article_e0faf146-0f5d-51e2-bc3e-c291b226d8be.html
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utisdabomb12
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Wow, what a choke job by Mexico.
Shevis Irons
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Massive depression in Mexico. It's so bad they may even leave the country in droves.
Wait. Wut? Nevermind.
Wait. Wut? Nevermind.
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UTK66
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Soccer makes the NBA look like a bunch of kindergarteners with all the flopping. Just reminds me why I only watch the World Cup. If they'd start tossing people out or sitting them down for extended periods of time for it, they'd be better off and the sport might actually be worth watching for the casual fan.
utisdabomb12
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It's a flop, but also a foul. Either way even if it wasn't a foul the Netherlands should have had a penalty in the first half.
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