World Cup 2014

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Re: World Cup 2014

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Misc. Blues wrote:USA makes it though but Belgium will smoke us...
I wouldn't bet on Belgium just yet. Germany obviously didn't have much to play for but they are head and shoulders above Belgium and US only lost 1-0 and had its looks at goal too late in the game. Belgian defense is suspect (Company notwithstanding) and their midfield is too attacking minded, so catching them on a counter could work with US having lots of speed on the flanks. They obviously have a beast of a goalie (Courtois) but he can be beaten. There is also a mental factor as US clawed its way through a group from hell while Belgium had an easy ride in its group. I am optimistic about USMNT's chances.
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Re: World Cup 2014

Post by not_a_wings_fan »

The odds I saw are 60/40 in favor of Belgium... but that's really not that big. I think we can have a good showing.

Belgium is better on paper, but we have to actually play this game to know who will win.
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Re: World Cup 2014

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I'm optimistic and for one reason, we haven't played our best game yet. It's still there and I think we can pull off the 'upset.'
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Re: World Cup 2014

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I don't think we have played our best game yet, either. We have yet to see a full match with Altidore.

We looked TERRIBLE against Germany. Flat, slow, poor first touches, no linking in the middle or attacking third. Only bright spot was the back end played well to keep it even close.

Zusi had a poor game. Jones was all over the field but never a threat.

It looked like we needed to do a better job of controlling non-productive emotion and stay committed to the game plan. I'm sure they had a better plan than what was executed on the pitch.

I don't blame the officiating, but there were numerous non-calls that were shocking. I was particularly annoyed when the USA lost a counter attack because they were all looking back expecting a (well deserved, I might add) foul that was never called. They seemed quite rattled and made some poor decisions in the wake of that sequence - frustration tackles, the kind that get you a card. That can't happen if we hope to advance.
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Re: World Cup 2014

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Misc. Blues and dmiles, I spoke to someone who went to a few AC St.Louis games and he said they were more than half empty! He said the problem is many soccer fans don't consider this real soccer. You know soccer fanatics even think MLS is crap!

I couldn't disagree more how MLS is a joke compared to the Euro leagues. THEY ARE ALL CRAP! I tried watching EPL, LaLiga, and Serie A and couldn't watch more than a few minutes before changing the channel. Even the "high" EPL ratings here still mean that 99.8% of people don't watch.

We are all hockey fans so don't you guys see hockey is a superior version of soccer? It's faster, more exciting, and more physical! The only advantage soccer has is it's easier to see the ball but who cares when they move at 2 mph! :lol:

I TOTALLY agree about what a snoozefest baseball is! Soccer beats boreball anyday!

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Re: World Cup 2014

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The EPL is the best league in the World. They essentially have rosters full of All Stars. That's far from crap. I know you don't like the sport, but c'mon. The EPL is the equivalent of MLB, NBA, NFL, and the NHL. Best leagues for their sports in the World.

As for AC St. Louis, that's why I said that St. Louis needs to stop sitting on their 'we're a great soccer town!' laurels and actually show up. It's essentially a minor league team, so yeah, the quality is not going to be tip top. But I think anyone who buys a ticket to go to the game is going to know that. The city needs to embrace this team as it's own, they're only going to get so many chances to field an outdoor soccer team. If people want to have an MLS team in St. Louis in the future, they need to support this one right out of the gate. Sacramento FC, who is in the same league that STLFC will be in, were pulling in 18,000 a game earlier this year. Indy Eleven, which is in NASL, has sold out every game at their stadium, which holds about 12,000. St. Louis Soccer Park can hold up to 5500-6000 or so, I believe. So you can see the difference there. My point is I always see people online demanding an MLS franchise but then they won't go support a lower level team. But that's the problem, St. Louis will never get an MLS team if they can't prove that they'll support this team. Several teams that have made the jump from USL-Pro to MLS have done this model. Great fan support on lower levels earns them financial backing and interest from MLS. It's simple.

And seriously, can you stop hating on soccer in a soccer thread? We get it. You don't like it. I love hockey. It's my favorite sport. Soccer is a slower pace, yes. There are things I like about each sport. Nothing will ever knock hockey off the top of my list, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy other sports.
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Re: World Cup 2014

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Actually I like soccer more than baseball. Boreball is the most brain dead boring sport on earth! I'll never get why a sport where players stand still 95% of the time is popular AT ALL! It makes soccer look like the most exciting sport on earth! :lol:

And YES, EPL is boring. I know fulwell it's the best soccer league on earth. I have tried watching many times but change the channel after a few minutes. Remember it's cultural. Most Europeans hate baseball and American football just like how most Americans hate watching soccer.

So why do you think FCSTL will turn out any different than ACSTL? Many hardcore soccer fans even see MLS as a joke so why would they show up for an even lower league? I am sure it will start out well like AC and then tail off.

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Re: World Cup 2014

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JesusNEVERexisted wrote:So why do you think FCSTL will turn out any different than ACSTL? Many hardcore soccer fans even see MLS as a joke so why would they show up for an even lower league? I am sure it will start out well like AC and then tail off.
I didn't say it would. My point about St. Louisians sitting on their laurels as this inherited great soccer city needs to change. In fact, I agree with you. I think they'll sell out game 1 and then attendance will fall after that. Let's be fair though, almost immediately after that first game for AC St. Louis, the money problems started and no one knew if the team would be around the next week. So they had that working against them.

But my point is that St. Louisians need to show up, stop saying how great a soccer city they are, and prove it. The Louligans (the St. Louis soccer supporters group) will show up. They'll be loud, rowdy, and dedicated. It's the 'casual' fans that need to show up game in and game out. The place needs to be packed every night. People need to force the issue of them expanding the stadium (which they said they have the means to do, if needed). I get so frustrated by people acting like an outdoor team is a given. The fans have to prove they want them to stay. I live 2 hours away. I'd go to every game if I could. Since I can't, I'll probably try to go to the first one and then try to make it over 2-3 more times throughout the season (as long as they have games on the weekend).
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Re: World Cup 2014

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This tournament has been sensational. I really feel for Mexico, even though I was pulling for the Dutch. They were so close.

And I'm calling it now, US beats Belgium tomorrow. We haven't played our best game yet. And Belgium, while having great players, isn't as good top to bottom as we are (or so I hope).
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Re: World Cup 2014

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Dmiles, and if you're wrong?

Mexico has a right to be pissed. That Dutch player clearly dove.

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Re: World Cup 2014

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JesusNEVERexisted wrote:Dmiles, and if you're wrong?
If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. It will suck, but we've made it farther than most thought we would at this point. But I've got faith in our guys. We made the final 8 in 2002 and we're due.
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Re: World Cup 2014

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Miles you can't know if the U.S. has played their best game till after the tourney. If they lose 2-0 or 3-0 to Belgium then either the Ghana game or Portugal game was their best game.

Some are already saying they are getting worse with every game. A win, a tie, then a loss.

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Re: World Cup 2014

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Belgium Squad top players in red
1 GK Thibaut Courtois 11 May 1992 (aged 22) 17 Spain Atlético Madrid
2 DF Toby Alderweireld 2 March 1989 (aged 25) 34 Spain Atlético Madrid
3 DF Thomas Vermaelen 14 November 1985 (aged 28) 47 England Arsenal
4 DF Vincent Kompany (c) 10 April 1986 (aged 28) 59 England Manchester City
5 DF Jan Vertonghen 24 April 1987 (aged 27) 56 England Tottenham Hotspur
6 MF Axel Witsel 12 January 1989 (aged 25) 48 Russia Zenit Saint Petersburg
7 MF Kevin De Bruyne 28 June 1991 (aged 22) 21 Germany VfL Wolfsburg
8 MF Marouane Fellaini 22 November 1987 (aged 26) 50 England Manchester United
9 FW Romelu Lukaku 13 May 1993 (aged 21) 29 England Everton
10 MF Eden Hazard 7 January 1991 (aged 23) 45 England Chelsea
11 MF Kevin Mirallas 5 October 1987 (aged 26) 44 England Everton
12 GK Simon Mignolet 6 August 1988 (aged 25) 14 England Liverpool
13 GK Sammy Bossut 11 August 1985 (aged 28) 0 Belgium Zulte Waregem
14 FW Dries Mertens 6 May 1987 (aged 27) 25 Italy Napoli
15 DF Daniel Van Buyten 7 February 1978 (aged 36) 79 Germany Bayern Munich
16 MF Steven Defour 15 April 1988 (aged 26) 43 Portugal Porto
17 FW Divock Origi 18 April 1995 (aged 19) 2 France Lille
18 DF Nicolas Lombaerts 20 March 1985 (aged 29) 25 Russia Zenit Saint Petersburg
19 MF Mousa Dembélé 16 July 1987 (aged 26) 57 England Tottenham Hotspur
20 MF Adnan Januzaj 5 February 1995 (aged 19) 1 England Manchester United
21 DF Anthony Vanden Borre 24 October 1987 (aged 26) 25 Belgium Anderlecht
22 MF Nacer Chadli 2 October 1989 (aged 24) 20 England Tottenham Hotspur
23 DF Laurent Ciman 5 August 1985 (aged 28) 8 Belgium Standard Liège
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Re: World Cup 2014

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JesusNEVERexisted wrote:Miles you can't know if the U.S. has played their best game till after the tourney. If they lose 2-0 or 3-0 to Belgium then either the Ghana game or Portugal game was their best game.

Some are already saying they are getting worse with every game. A win, a tie, then a loss.
US has played progressively stronger opponents in Ghana, Portugal and Germany, with the last two games being played in completely inhumane conditions. Versus Germany, US had one less day of rest and they just played in Manaus in 100F heat with 80%+ humidity. That took a huge toll on their bodies. Germany played their first two games in much cooler (colder, not more hip) cities. Losing only 1-0 was no small task, and they had their chances to even it up too.

So you can't just compare these games based on the result alone. It's as if to say that Blues beat Columbus, then tied (let's hypothesize that they could) the Ducks and then lost 1-0 to the KIngs in a back-to-back having to spend the night at the airport. Not the best run score-wise but you can't really say outright that the Blues played worse in each consecutive game than in the previous one. Back to USMNT, what you can say is that they survived an incredibly tough group and are full of confidence. Belgium on the other hand was not very convincing despite winning the group, and its opponents weren't nearly the same class as the teams the USMNT faced.
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Re: World Cup 2014

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USA Squad top players in blue

1 GK Tim Howard 6 March 1979 (aged 35) 100 England Everton
2 DF DeAndre Yedlin 9 July 1993 (aged 20) 4 United States Seattle Sounders FC
3 DF Omar Gonzalez 11 October 1988 (aged 25) 20 United States Los Angeles Galaxy
4 MF Michael Bradley 31 July 1987 (aged 26) 86 Canada Toronto FC
5 DF Matt Besler 11 February 1987 (aged 27) 17 United States Sporting Kansas City (edit because I'm an idiot and forgot one of my MLS players)
6 DF John Brooks 28 January 1993 (aged 21) 4 Germany Hertha BSC
7 DF DaMarcus Beasley 24 May 1982 (aged 32) 116 Mexico Puebla
8 FW Clint Dempsey (c) 9 March 1983 (aged 31) 105 United States Seattle Sounders FC
9 FW Aron Jóhannsson 10 November 1990 (aged 23) 8 Netherlands AZ
10 MF Mikkel Diskerud 2 October 1990 (aged 23) 20 Norway Rosenborg
11 MF Alejandro Bedoya 29 April 1987 (aged 27) 28 France Nantes
12 GK Brad Guzan 9 September 1984 (aged 29) 25 England Aston Villa
13 MF Jermaine Jones 3 November 1981 (aged 32) 42 Turkey Besiktas
14 MF Brad Davis 8 November 1981 (aged 32) 16 United States Houston Dynamo
15 MF Kyle Beckerman 23 April 1982 (aged 32) 37 United States Real Salt Lake
16 MF Julian Green 6 June 1995 (aged 19) 2 Germany Bayern Munich
17 FW Jozy Altidore 6 November 1989 (aged 24) 70 England Sunderland
18 FW Chris Wondolowski 28 January 1983 (aged 31) 21 United States San Jose Earthquakes
19 MF Graham Zusi 18 August 1986 (aged 27) 23 United States Sporting Kansas City
20 DF Geoff Cameron 11 July 1985 (aged 28) 27 England Stoke City
21 DF Timothy Chandler 29 March 1990 (aged 24) 13 Germany 1. FC Nürnberg
22 GK Nick Rimando 17 June 1979 (aged 34) 14 United States Real Salt Lake
23 DF Fabian Johnson 11 December 1987 (aged 26) 22 Germany 1899 Hoffenheim
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Re: World Cup 2014

Post by Misc. Blues »

These are of my opinion of course but the quality has to go to Belgium. I have seen most of the players play (on television) and Belgium has World Class players and the US has Beckerman and Howard who are very good but not World Class. Dempsey and Johnson are quality players but not World Class. Belgium has Courtois, Kompany, Vertonghen, Witsel, Hazard who are World Class and others that are top quality if not almost World Class. Belgium are the dark horse this year and I could see them going far.
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Re: World Cup 2014

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Misc. Blues wrote:These are of my opinion of course but the quality has to go to Belgium. I have seen most of the players play (on television) and Belgium has World Class players and the US has Beckerman and Howard who are very good but not World Class. Dempsey and Johnson are quality players but not World Class. Belgium has Courtois, Kompany, Vertonghen, Witsel, Hazard who are World Class and others that are top quality if not almost World Class. Belgium are the dark horse this year and I could see them going far.
Good comparison you posted. They say EPL is the best soccer league on earth and Belgium is stocked with players there while the U.S. has very few. I agree Belgium has a big advantage here.

Comrade and Miles, there is still no way you can know if the U.S. already played their best game. You can make the case the game against Ghana was their best because they had lost to them 2 Cups in a row and caught them flat footed in the first few seconds this time and were able to hold on. The USMNT may have set a record for fastest goal the USMNT has scored in a World Cup game. Even if not it's very close.

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Re: World Cup 2014

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JesusNEVERexisted wrote:Miles you can't know if the U.S. has played their best game till after the tourney. If they lose 2-0 or 3-0 to Belgium then either the Ghana game or Portugal game was their best game.

Some are already saying they are getting worse with every game. A win, a tie, then a loss.
The results are one thing. We played better in the 2nd game than we did in the first. We didn't play well in the 3rd. It's an expression man. What I mean is this team hasn't played up to their potential, or at least the potential I believe they have. You can hate all you want, but I feel like they've got a knockout punch in them. I think it comes today.

Take the Blues-Hawks series. Didn't you feel like, somewhere in games 3-6, that the Blues had a better game in them? That they hadn't played a full 60 minutes up to their potential? It's no different. Yeah, I could be wrong. But I'm being optimistic. Same as Comrade. We can do this. Just because they have a bunch of EPL players, doesn't mean they're a better team than we are. Algeria almost knocked off Germany yesterday. Mexico almost beat the Netherlands. It can happen.
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Re: World Cup 2014

Post by JesusNEVERexisted »

Miles, the Blues came back down to earth during games 3 to 6. Those first 2 games were very close that either team could've won. I think the Blues played to near peak during games 1 and 2.

The USMNT doesn't have the skill to score a bunch of goals like Germany and Brazil so I don't see why you think they have a knockout punch against world class competition. They're not playing East Timor or Burundi or something! :lol:

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Re: World Cup 2014

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JesusNEVERexisted wrote:Miles, the Blues came back down to earth during games 3 to 6. Those first 2 games were very close that either team could've won. I think the Blues played to near peak during games 1 and 2.
You completely missed my point. I meant as those games were going on, when you didn't know the results or how anything would turn out, didn't you feel like the Blues had another win in them? It didn't turn out that way, but I think we all felt the Blues would win again, that we had one more good game in us. That's what I was saying.

As for not having elite talent against a good team, the 1980 US Men's Hockey Team sends their regards.
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