WOW!
Overdue in my opinion. Our play at the Gold Cup was terrible.
Give me KLINSMANN!
Showing posts with label USMNT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label USMNT. Show all posts
Bob Bradley FIRED
The USA Men's National Team coaching spot is vacant.
WOW!
Overdue in my opinion. Our play at the Gold Cup was terrible.
Give me KLINSMANN!
WOW!
Overdue in my opinion. Our play at the Gold Cup was terrible.
Give me KLINSMANN!
USA ties Slovenia 3-2
After defeating England 1-1, the United States ties Slovenia 3-2 after the worst refereeing decision in a World Cup since Maradona's Hand of God. I don't think any referee can be unintentionally that bad, and I think the game should be looked at for match fixing via the referee.
Highlights here.
FIFA has at least given referee Couliabaly an expediated performance review, however what they really should have is an investigation into betting on the USA vs. Slovenia game. I find it hard to believe that any referee could be that bad on accident. Match fixing is a serious problem in world soccer. If I was FIFA:
a) Couliabaly would never work again,
b) I would have an investigation looking at who placed bets on USA vs. Slovenia,
c) I would lock up all World Cup referees in a gilded cage and monitor their phone calls to be 100% sure on all subsequent matches
Highlights here.
FIFA has at least given referee Couliabaly an expediated performance review, however what they really should have is an investigation into betting on the USA vs. Slovenia game. I find it hard to believe that any referee could be that bad on accident. Match fixing is a serious problem in world soccer. If I was FIFA:
a) Couliabaly would never work again,
b) I would have an investigation looking at who placed bets on USA vs. Slovenia,
c) I would lock up all World Cup referees in a gilded cage and monitor their phone calls to be 100% sure on all subsequent matches
Making fun of Stratfor again
The World Cup has inspired me to blog again, so I figured I should get back to one of my blog's specialties: making fun of Stratfor (example A, example B). This time they try their hand at analyzing soccer, a serious mistake.
I bought a temporary Stratfor subscription a few years ago for my thesis - it was a big waste of money. However as a result they still send me emails, including one about the geopolitics of the World Cup:
This doesn't appear to be sarcastic. So now in addition to learning that Obama has no shot at the Presidency because his middle name is Hussein (example A), you can learn that the United States Men's National Team plays a confident and open style of football. Please disregard all evidence (empty bucket formation, or watching USA vs. England) to the contrary.
I bought a temporary Stratfor subscription a few years ago for my thesis - it was a big waste of money. However as a result they still send me emails, including one about the geopolitics of the World Cup:
Isolated from threats, rich in capital and natural resources, the United States is a country where optimistic thinking and risk taking has traditionally been rewarded. Caution is not necessarily prized because threats and natural impediments are few. America's geographic and economic advantages have helped it to develop the first truly dominant global naval force, which has shaped U.S. history in such a way that clear military defeats are extremely rare. It is therefore no surprise that the American team at the World Cup will play a confident and open style of football, regardless of its slim chances of overall success.
This doesn't appear to be sarcastic. So now in addition to learning that Obama has no shot at the Presidency because his middle name is Hussein (example A), you can learn that the United States Men's National Team plays a confident and open style of football. Please disregard all evidence (empty bucket formation, or watching USA vs. England) to the contrary.
USA defeats England 1-1
Wow. I am exhausted after watching that game. A win against Slovenia looks more likely especially given how good Altidore looked today. And then a win against Algeria should be straightforward. First place vs. second place between the US and England will hopefully come down to goal difference.
USA! USA! USA!
USA! USA! USA!
US and Iran - common ground
Interesting intersection of soccer and politics - Iran names an Iranian-American as their national soccer coach. There's also an interview of Afshin Ghotbi conducted before he was named as Iran's coach at the NYTimes Goal blog. Ghotbi has previously coached in both Iran and the United and was an assisant for the US World Cup team in 1998 (which was so bad, maybe Ghotbi was an Iranian mole!).
Whenever US-Iranian relations start to thaw, I think a big part should be a friendly match played between US and Iran. The ideal result would be a tie.
Dos a dos
The traditional cheer for U.S. soccer fans against Mexico is "dos a zero", the score by which we knocked them out of the World Cup in 2002. The U.S. played Mexico last night in Houston in a "friendly" that saw U.S. keeper Tim Howard put Mexican forward Antonio Di Nigris in a headlock. The final score was a two-two tie, although Clint Dempsey scored a great goal that was wrongly disallowed that would have made it 3-1 USA. 18-year old Jozy Altidore scored on his first start for the US. Both Mexican goals were scored on freekicks from the same position, crosses to Johnny Magallon, beating Drew Moor. I think he's failed his national team test. After the game, an ESPN reporter interviewed Magllon in a mixture of Spanglish - that was pretty amusing as a non-Spanish speaker.
Here are the highlights.
Here are the highlights.
2010 World Cup Draw
A quick note on the recent World Cup Qualifying draw. Some good matchups in terms of politics, beyond the North vs. South Korea matchup that is much talked about.
North Korea vs. South Korea, Asia's Group 3 - obviously huge matches, this matchup has already received a lot of publicity.
Chad vs. Sudan in Africa's Group 10 - Hundreds of thousands of Sudanese refugees from Darfur are in camps in Chad, and Sudan's instability has the potential to spill over into Chad. Sudan has a stronger team than Chad and will probably be fighting with Congo for the 2nd qualifying sport behind Mali, so the games between Sudan and Chad will be very tense.
Australia vs. Iraq, Asia's Group 1 - Australia still has troops in Iraq, although with the recent elections its troops might have been withdrawn by the time these teams play. Both Australia and Iraq have good teams, but I'd expect Australia to win, especially if Iraq's players keep defecting and refusing to play for Iraq for security reasons.
Iran vs. United Arab Emirates, Asia's Group 5 - An expansionist Iran frightens UAE, which has recently bought lots of weapons from the US to guard against Iran. Iran has a very good side however, so this likely won't be much of a contest.
USA vs. Cuba, CONCACAF Third Round - No diplomatic relations since 1962 mean that the only ways Cuba and the United States can interact is through illegal immigration and soccer games! I expect a fairly easy victory for the United States though.
Nothing interesting in Europe in terms of politics - their Kantian universe makes for very boring international soccer games, compared to the Hobbesian world the rest of us live in.
Check out the full draw over at The Offside blog.
North Korea vs. South Korea, Asia's Group 3 - obviously huge matches, this matchup has already received a lot of publicity.
Chad vs. Sudan in Africa's Group 10 - Hundreds of thousands of Sudanese refugees from Darfur are in camps in Chad, and Sudan's instability has the potential to spill over into Chad. Sudan has a stronger team than Chad and will probably be fighting with Congo for the 2nd qualifying sport behind Mali, so the games between Sudan and Chad will be very tense.
Australia vs. Iraq, Asia's Group 1 - Australia still has troops in Iraq, although with the recent elections its troops might have been withdrawn by the time these teams play. Both Australia and Iraq have good teams, but I'd expect Australia to win, especially if Iraq's players keep defecting and refusing to play for Iraq for security reasons.
Iran vs. United Arab Emirates, Asia's Group 5 - An expansionist Iran frightens UAE, which has recently bought lots of weapons from the US to guard against Iran. Iran has a very good side however, so this likely won't be much of a contest.
USA vs. Cuba, CONCACAF Third Round - No diplomatic relations since 1962 mean that the only ways Cuba and the United States can interact is through illegal immigration and soccer games! I expect a fairly easy victory for the United States though.
Nothing interesting in Europe in terms of politics - their Kantian universe makes for very boring international soccer games, compared to the Hobbesian world the rest of us live in.
Check out the full draw over at The Offside blog.
USA vs Brazil
Yesterday, in addition to the Revs vs. DC game, the United States (minus its players on New England) took on a full-strength Brazil. By all accounts they played well and lost 4-2, the final two Brazil goals being a free kick and a penalty kick. I didn't get to watch it, as I was at RFK stadium, but here are the highlights.
USA versus Iraq on the soccer field
With Iraq's recent victory in the Asian Cup Final over Saudi Arabia, Iraq joins Italy (World champion), Brazil (South American champion), USA (North American champion), and South Africa (host country) as the teams currently qualified for the Confederations Cup in June 2009. The remaining three spots will go to an Oceanic team (probably Australia), an African team, and a European team. The Confederations Cup is a warm-up tournament that will make sure South Africa is ready to host the World Cup the following year.
The Confederations Cup is run like so: two groups of four in a round-robin style, followed by semi-finals and then the final. Assuming Australia qualifies for the Confederations Cup, it is likely that Iraq will play either a former (Italy) or current occupying power (USA, Australia). Iraq and the USA have a 50-50 chance of playing each other in the group stage, and if either team were to advance (likely for the USA, unlikely for Iraq) the chances naturally go up. It is further possible that England, Poland, or the Czech Republic could qualify through the European spot by winning Euro2008, further occupying countries that could meet Iraq. If the European spot is taken by a member of the Coalition of the Willing, then it is a mathematical certainty that Iraq will play a current or former Coalition member.
Violence at the game will be unlikely - I don't foresee large numbers of Iraqi hooligans traveling to South Africa to attack Americans when they can do it at home (a new iteration of the flypaper theory!). Furthermore, the presence of South Korean troops on Iraqi soil didn't seem to be raised as an issue during Iraq's semifinal against South Korea. However, given the "special relationship" between Iraq and the USA, if any American troops are still in Iraq in June of 2009, I'd advise them to stay indoors.
The US team is much better than Iraq's team, especially if many of Iraq's players use the opportunity of their success to get contracts playing abroad and leave Iraq permanently (adding to the diaspora), or are assassinated. However, in the event of a Iraq vs. USA, Iraq vs. Australia, or Iraq vs. England, Iraq will be singularly motivated. This far out, I will refrain from offering a prediction on the match itself.
The Confederations Cup is run like so: two groups of four in a round-robin style, followed by semi-finals and then the final. Assuming Australia qualifies for the Confederations Cup, it is likely that Iraq will play either a former (Italy) or current occupying power (USA, Australia). Iraq and the USA have a 50-50 chance of playing each other in the group stage, and if either team were to advance (likely for the USA, unlikely for Iraq) the chances naturally go up. It is further possible that England, Poland, or the Czech Republic could qualify through the European spot by winning Euro2008, further occupying countries that could meet Iraq. If the European spot is taken by a member of the Coalition of the Willing, then it is a mathematical certainty that Iraq will play a current or former Coalition member.
Violence at the game will be unlikely - I don't foresee large numbers of Iraqi hooligans traveling to South Africa to attack Americans when they can do it at home (a new iteration of the flypaper theory!). Furthermore, the presence of South Korean troops on Iraqi soil didn't seem to be raised as an issue during Iraq's semifinal against South Korea. However, given the "special relationship" between Iraq and the USA, if any American troops are still in Iraq in June of 2009, I'd advise them to stay indoors.
The US team is much better than Iraq's team, especially if many of Iraq's players use the opportunity of their success to get contracts playing abroad and leave Iraq permanently (adding to the diaspora), or are assassinated. However, in the event of a Iraq vs. USA, Iraq vs. Australia, or Iraq vs. England, Iraq will be singularly motivated. This far out, I will refrain from offering a prediction on the match itself.
USA beats Brazil
The US U-20 team continues its fantastic play. After opening the tournement with a tie against South Korea and then beating Poland 6-1, they played against Brazil yesterday, who needed at least a tie to be sure of advancing to the next round. Here are the highlights.
Copa America, and the U-20s
The United States was invited to participate in the South American championship, the Copa America.
The American team is basically a B team - only three players would conceivably start on a full-strength American squad: Taylor Twellman, Eddie Johnson and Benny Feilhaber.
Despite a weak squad, the US played well against one of the best teams in the world, Argentina, before falling apart in the last stages of the game and losing 4-1. On Monday, the USA played well against a good Paraguay team, but couldn't finish its chances and lost 3-1. It was frustrating that, despite bringing two of its best strikers (Twellman and Johnson) and creating a dozen chances or more, it could only manage one goal - although that one goal would have been enough had it not been for mickey-mouse defending from Jimmy Conrad and Feilhaber.
The United States is still mathematically able to qualify for the second round as the second-best third-place team in its group (Americans should be rooting for Mexico to beat Chile by as large a margin as possible), but I expect that they'll be heading home after (hopefully) beating a poor Columbian team.
Here are the highlights from USA vs. Paraguay.
In contrast, the US U-20 team is doing well at the U-20 World Cup. Here are the highlights from their latest match against Poland
The American team is basically a B team - only three players would conceivably start on a full-strength American squad: Taylor Twellman, Eddie Johnson and Benny Feilhaber.
Despite a weak squad, the US played well against one of the best teams in the world, Argentina, before falling apart in the last stages of the game and losing 4-1. On Monday, the USA played well against a good Paraguay team, but couldn't finish its chances and lost 3-1. It was frustrating that, despite bringing two of its best strikers (Twellman and Johnson) and creating a dozen chances or more, it could only manage one goal - although that one goal would have been enough had it not been for mickey-mouse defending from Jimmy Conrad and Feilhaber.
The United States is still mathematically able to qualify for the second round as the second-best third-place team in its group (Americans should be rooting for Mexico to beat Chile by as large a margin as possible), but I expect that they'll be heading home after (hopefully) beating a poor Columbian team.
Here are the highlights from USA vs. Paraguay.
In contrast, the US U-20 team is doing well at the U-20 World Cup. Here are the highlights from their latest match against Poland
USA wins gold cup
The USA won its fourth Gold Cup this past Sunday, beating Mexico 2-1. Here's the game-winning goal from Benny Feilhaber:
The extended highlights are on CONCACAF's Youtube site.
The extended highlights are on CONCACAF's Youtube site.
USA through to the semi-finals & other soccer items
The US beat Panama today by a score of 2-1 to advance to the semi-finals of the Gold Cup, where they will play Canada. It was a strange game - they dominated the first half but couldn't score, with Taylor Twellman hitting the crossbar and post. Panama played very rough and could have had an ejection or two by halftime. In the second half, the US played poorly, but scored off a penalty and a free-kick. Then Panama did finally have a player ejected. After that, the US fell asleep, Panama scored and the last five minutes were rather stressful. They will have to play much better to beat Canada, which has actually looked pretty good.
More possible corruption in Italian soccer, involving (surprise surprise) Juventus.
Real Salt Lake (dumbest name ever) was playing a exhibition match in Utah against the Chinese national team, when several fans were kicked out for waving Tibetan flags (Chinese flags were allowed). There's more at Blue Blooded Journo, including video. From the video, it seems to me like the protesters were just messing around and trying to heckle a soccer team, rather than make a political statement.
And as a grand finale:
Americans are soccer-savvy ... and that scares little Englanders
Some choice quotes:
More possible corruption in Italian soccer, involving (surprise surprise) Juventus.
Real Salt Lake (dumbest name ever) was playing a exhibition match in Utah against the Chinese national team, when several fans were kicked out for waving Tibetan flags (Chinese flags were allowed). There's more at Blue Blooded Journo, including video. From the video, it seems to me like the protesters were just messing around and trying to heckle a soccer team, rather than make a political statement.
And as a grand finale:
Americans are soccer-savvy ... and that scares little Englanders
Some choice quotes:
Witness the fact that soccer-playing America is massively liberal, loving, caring, socially conscious and nice. While soccer-hating America consists of increasingly isolated gangs of Bush-supporting, bible-bashing, gun-crazed, dungaree wearing, banjo-playing, quasi-fascist chicken-lovers and their twelve fingered, pin-headed, cyclopic, drooling monster children.
...
Why are we scared? Because as a nation we have a desperate need to feel superior to the vibrant barbarian culture that's replaced us as top global ass-kicker.
Face it, feeling superior to Americans is about all we've got left. But the list of things we actually do better than the Yanks is slim and getting slimmer. Did you know that the bastards even brew decent beer these days?
USA vs Guatemala
The USA beat China pretty easily on Saturday. They won 4-1 and should have won by more - the US team looked pretty disjointed at times (a lot of players playing who wouldn't have normally seen the field). Tonight they go against Guatemala in their first Gold Cup match with a full strength team. Guatemala is better than China, but the US should still win fairly easily. My prediction is 3-0 USA.
Since Eddie Johnson scored a second hattrick in a row last Saturday against New York, I'm going to revise the starting eleven that I posted last week for this game in order to get him in there. My new starting eleven is:
-------Twellman---Johnson-------
Beasley-----Donovan-----Dempsey
------------Feilhaber--------------
Simek-Onyewu-Parkhurst-Spector
------------Howard---------------
I don't think Feilhaber will have too much trouble controlling the midfield against Guatemala, and if does, Donovan, Beasley and Dempsey can all drop back to help him out. One thing's sure - this lineup would get a lot of goals.
The game is 9pm ET on FoxSoccerChannel and Telefutura.
Since Eddie Johnson scored a second hattrick in a row last Saturday against New York, I'm going to revise the starting eleven that I posted last week for this game in order to get him in there. My new starting eleven is:
-------Twellman---Johnson-------
Beasley-----Donovan-----Dempsey
------------Feilhaber--------------
Simek-Onyewu-Parkhurst-Spector
------------Howard---------------
I don't think Feilhaber will have too much trouble controlling the midfield against Guatemala, and if does, Donovan, Beasley and Dempsey can all drop back to help him out. One thing's sure - this lineup would get a lot of goals.
The game is 9pm ET on FoxSoccerChannel and Telefutura.
U.S. Men's National Team
A bunch of U.S. Men's National Team (USMNT) games coming up.
USA vs. China - June 2nd, 8pm (All times EST)
USA vs. Guatemala - June 7th, 9pm
USA vs Trinidad & Tobago - June 9th, 5pm
USA vs El Salvador - June 12, 7pm
The China game is a friendly, serving as a warmup for the other three games which are part of the Gold Cup, the biannual championship of North America (including Latin America and the Caribbean). This year, the Gold Cup is being held in the US. For some reason, the friendly game is the only one that will be on ESPN2, with the other games on Telefutua and FoxSoccerChannel.
In my eyes the United States is the favorite to win. Our main competition is Mexico, although Trinidad & Tobago and Costa Rica have decent teams as well. Since 2000, the US has played Mexico on American soil 7 times, winning 6 and drawing one, all of which have been shutouts.
Assuming the US wins its group (you can assume nothing in this sport), the US'll play its first quarterfinal on June 16th. Both semifinals are on June 21st, and the final is June 24th.
A lot of the MLS players will be missing for the China friendly, as there are MLS fixtures scheduled on that date. However, with a full camp, here is how I would line them up against Guatemala on Thursday:
-------Twellman---Donovan-------
Beasley-------------------Dempsey
-------Feilhaber-----Bradley-------
Simek-Onyewu-Parkhurst-Spector
------------Howard---------------
As a New England Revolution fan, I am very curious to see how Parkhurst, a quick player who reads the game well and has great positioning, will pair up with Onyewu, a very physical player. In theory they should complement each other well.
Donovan would drop deep, grab the ball, and if he's on his game, make some runs with the ball and unbalance the defense. If he's not on his game he can just get it wide to Beasley and Dempsey so Twellman can knock in some crosses (he's good at that).
I'd be sure to get Eddie Johnson and Justin Mapp on the field at some point as well.
Point of interest - midfielder Michael Bradley is coach Bob Bradley's son.
Link to the Gold Cup roster for the USMNT.
Link to the USMNT schedule.
USA vs. China - June 2nd, 8pm (All times EST)
USA vs. Guatemala - June 7th, 9pm
USA vs Trinidad & Tobago - June 9th, 5pm
USA vs El Salvador - June 12, 7pm
The China game is a friendly, serving as a warmup for the other three games which are part of the Gold Cup, the biannual championship of North America (including Latin America and the Caribbean). This year, the Gold Cup is being held in the US. For some reason, the friendly game is the only one that will be on ESPN2, with the other games on Telefutua and FoxSoccerChannel.
In my eyes the United States is the favorite to win. Our main competition is Mexico, although Trinidad & Tobago and Costa Rica have decent teams as well. Since 2000, the US has played Mexico on American soil 7 times, winning 6 and drawing one, all of which have been shutouts.
Assuming the US wins its group (you can assume nothing in this sport), the US'll play its first quarterfinal on June 16th. Both semifinals are on June 21st, and the final is June 24th.
A lot of the MLS players will be missing for the China friendly, as there are MLS fixtures scheduled on that date. However, with a full camp, here is how I would line them up against Guatemala on Thursday:
-------Twellman---Donovan-------
Beasley-------------------Dempsey
-------Feilhaber-----Bradley-------
Simek-Onyewu-Parkhurst-Spector
------------Howard---------------
As a New England Revolution fan, I am very curious to see how Parkhurst, a quick player who reads the game well and has great positioning, will pair up with Onyewu, a very physical player. In theory they should complement each other well.
Donovan would drop deep, grab the ball, and if he's on his game, make some runs with the ball and unbalance the defense. If he's not on his game he can just get it wide to Beasley and Dempsey so Twellman can knock in some crosses (he's good at that).
I'd be sure to get Eddie Johnson and Justin Mapp on the field at some point as well.
Point of interest - midfielder Michael Bradley is coach Bob Bradley's son.
Link to the Gold Cup roster for the USMNT.
Link to the USMNT schedule.
USA beats Denmark 3-1
The US Men's National Team played their first game under new interim coach Bob Bradley yesterday, beating a Danish B team 3-1. The US team was also a B team, without the European-based players.
Here's a good Boston Globe article by Frank Dell'Appa on Bob Bradley.
The US had a bad first half and a good second half. You can read about it here.
Players who's stock rose (in my opinion):
Ricardo Clark (looked dangerous going forward, won a penalty kick, looked composed and had a good second half)
Kenny Cooper (first cap, first goal, also looked very smooth on the ball and his size created real problems. Could be our Mark Viduka)
Johnathon Bornstein (first cap, first goal)
Justin Mapp (incredible run to set up Bornstein's goal)
Players who stock fell:
Chris Albright (terrible marking on Denmark's goal, was beat by Simon Poulsen all day)
Landon Donovan (was anonymous against the Danish B team, almost had his penalty saved, and was totally upstaged by Justin Mapp)
Pablo Mastroeni (you have to try to get a yellow card in a friendly match, but that's what Pablo did)
Nate Jaqua (very slow, looked like he had no idea what to do when he got the ball)
Players in the middle:
Jimmy Conrad (terrible marking on Denmark's goal, but had an OK game otherwise)
Matt Reis (Denmark's goal wasn't his fault, had nothing to do the rest of the game)
Bobby Boswell (did well enough)
Eddie Johnson (didn't get much service, but worked hard on defense)
Chris Rofle (was played at both midfield and forward, looked better as a forward)
Bryan Namoff (wasn't the disaster Chris Albright was at right back)
I was disappointed to see Michael Parkhurst wasn't even on the team sheet. I really think he is a better defender than Boswell and that when paired with someone bigger he could be very effective on the international level. Also I want to cap him as soon as possible for the USA so that Ireland doesn't steal him (he is a dual-citizen).
Here's a good Boston Globe article by Frank Dell'Appa on Bob Bradley.
The US had a bad first half and a good second half. You can read about it here.
Players who's stock rose (in my opinion):
Ricardo Clark (looked dangerous going forward, won a penalty kick, looked composed and had a good second half)
Kenny Cooper (first cap, first goal, also looked very smooth on the ball and his size created real problems. Could be our Mark Viduka)
Johnathon Bornstein (first cap, first goal)
Justin Mapp (incredible run to set up Bornstein's goal)
Players who stock fell:
Chris Albright (terrible marking on Denmark's goal, was beat by Simon Poulsen all day)
Landon Donovan (was anonymous against the Danish B team, almost had his penalty saved, and was totally upstaged by Justin Mapp)
Pablo Mastroeni (you have to try to get a yellow card in a friendly match, but that's what Pablo did)
Nate Jaqua (very slow, looked like he had no idea what to do when he got the ball)
Players in the middle:
Jimmy Conrad (terrible marking on Denmark's goal, but had an OK game otherwise)
Matt Reis (Denmark's goal wasn't his fault, had nothing to do the rest of the game)
Bobby Boswell (did well enough)
Eddie Johnson (didn't get much service, but worked hard on defense)
Chris Rofle (was played at both midfield and forward, looked better as a forward)
Bryan Namoff (wasn't the disaster Chris Albright was at right back)
I was disappointed to see Michael Parkhurst wasn't even on the team sheet. I really think he is a better defender than Boswell and that when paired with someone bigger he could be very effective on the international level. Also I want to cap him as soon as possible for the USA so that Ireland doesn't steal him (he is a dual-citizen).
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