U.S. just beat Egypt 3-0 and now move on to the semi-finals vs Spain
I'm just happy there are at least 2 more matches to watch.
(There is a third place match next Sunday too, that I fully expect the US to be in.)
but those fucking trumpets make it completely unwatchable. I can't think of anything more grating on my nerves.
Apparently the official name for them is "vuvuzela," and FIFA is trying to ban them from the WC next summer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRd5bK1Us6Y
On the other hand, part of me wishes we could try this out at Michigan Stadium for a game, just to see how the "down in front" crowd would respond.
Wow. I totally assumed Italy would destroy Egypt and didn't pay any attention after our loss to Brazil until just now.
guess the american who left us for italy can watch his homeland move on while he sits at home ... omg so pumped
although it is ironic that the US are moving on....
The Azzuri are still the World Champs, and they still beat the Americans in this particular tournament.I don't think he'll be regretting his decision to play for the Azzuri if that's what you're trying to imply.
idc if he regrets it or not ... its sweet for me because we advanced and they didnt ... basically italy won a battle but the US won the war
I like your take on it. Hopefully you guys can play as well against Spain as you did today. Like most people, I find Spain a little overrated. Should be a fun match to watch.
You guys? If you don't mind me asking, are you from somewhere outside of the United States?
I'm Canadian. I think there's some other Canucks around here somewhere as well.
Guilty of being a Canuck- luckily I hate soccer though
Overrated how? Because they are the European champions? I mean, I guess if you say that they were lucky to win the Euro, like the US is lucky to be in the semis, that they are overrated, that's fine. But the Spanish haven't lost since the World Cup three years ago. It's hard to knock that.
Plus, they have not one but two of the best strikers, if not the best strikers, in the world with Torres and Villa. For God sakes, Cesc Fabregas doesn't usually start for the team and he's an all-world player.
I'm still a little bitter over Spain beating us (Italia) in pk's at Euro last year. Granted, Italy had no business being in that game, but it's still tough getting over, haha. That being said ,I think Brazil vs. Spain would be a great matchup in the finals, assuming they both get there.
I would prefer Brazil meet Spain in a tournament that actually mattered, like the World Cup.
Italian soccer is unwatchable with the constant diving, acting and complaining. Also gatusso is dirty.
is the one Italian I respect. He is dirty, but he is physical and (in international play at least) seems to understand that if he is going to give some he is going to get some.
He is the exact opposite of the storkish poontang Fabio Grosso.
had just about the luckiest run of any player in history in the 06 World Cup:
Flopping for the PK against Australia.
THE Goal against Germany
The winning PK against France.
Shocking.
I agree that he is a physical player, dirty at times. I was more explaining his dirty facial hair.
dude.
dude.
the world cup is arguably the highest honor in all of sport. The world cup is easily the biggest, most watched sporting event in the world.
if you're suggesting that he made a mistake to play with Italy, World Cup champs, and that he learned his lesson by losing you're an idiot
im not saying he made a mistake, though i think he should play for the US as ive stated here before ... im saying its sweet for me to have the US moving on while Italy and Rossi go home
ah, gotcha
beating Ohio State is more important than winning the World Cup.
I just want to see Brazil vs. Spain, something I've been waiting a long time to see.
to see Spain v Netherlands in the WC finals next year.
Even though a nice accomplishment to move on in a FIFA tournament, this does not mean Bradley is doing well as a coach. Yes, we are not competing as a full squad, but look at our play as of late. Alexi Lalas was not joking when we said our "core" young players are not that promising to build around. ooooo well...... we have to contain Spain's mids and control possession as much as we possibly can. I have a feeling Xavi will dink around and dominate us though. We will see.
Welcome to mgoblog Ronaldo.
EDIT: And don't ever listen to Alexi Lalas, especially when he is evaluating talent. He's successfully driven every MLS franchise he's touched into the ground.
depressed by the actual play?
Their play wasn't good at all. I do think there is more of a problem (just slightly) with the coaching than talent however. I'm just saying that the opinion of Alexi Lalas shouldn't hold much weight.
Jozy, Bradley, Adu, Torres and Spector are pretty promising and I could easily see them playing for some of the upper level clubs in Europe (Everton/A Villa level and higher*). I wouldn't be surprised to see Jozy, Adu and Bradley playing for a Big 4 team or the like before their careers are done
Also guys like Feilhaber, Wynne and Davies could find themselves at a mid level team (Tottenham/Portsmouth)if they put in the work.
I think the core of young players are there to build around but we're missing the depth. We're not going to be contenders until we get the point where our coach has to decided to sit a player like Alves, Pato, Gerrard or Toni in favor of a Lampard, Maicon, Robinho or Gilardino. Not say our guys have to be at that level but there is quite a big drop off in talent after 1 or 2 deep.
*I'm not advocating all our players play in the EPL, I was just using those teams as a point of reference.
1) Adu can't crack the lineup for Benefica; he's in no way ready for the EPL. Personally, I think he should head to Ajax. I'd say Ajax is a lateral move from Benefica, but Ajax of late has become a developmentally factory.
It's a sad reality in the Netherlands, but no team has the money to hold onto it's talent for very long. But that means there's an atmosphere conducive to players performing well and moving on.
2) Jozy is already in Spain, and Bradley is already playing in the Bundesliga. Sadly, they're probably the only two promising futures on the team.
3) Spector is a facepalm machine. He's got some promise, but it's the kind of promise where at best you're projecting uninspired competence.
"*I'm not advocating all our players play in the EPL, I was just using those teams as a point of reference."
^ I was just using EPL teams as a reference point because the EPL is the most popular league in the world so it might be easier for the less informed mgoblog reader to relate. Bradley would thrive in the EPL and Jozy would/will do well in the EPL or La Liga. I do not want to see Adu in the EPL, Netherlands would be good along with La Liga.
"I wouldn't be surprised to see Jozy, Adu and Bradley playing for a Big 4 team or the like before their careers are done”
^ a big 4 team or the like (R. Madrid, B. Munich, Barca, Inter, AC Milan, etc...) are superior in talent and coach than Villareal and far superior than Borussia Monchengladbach.
How dare you call Tottenham a mid level team in the EPL!!
COME ON YOU SPURS!
Signed,
A jaded and delusional Tottenham fan.
I didn't see the game but from from the sound of it the US played really aggressively, which I like. It seems like when the US tries to be conservative and defensive they get crushed but when they play aggressively and use their speed they have a chance. So hopefully they push forward and try to put some pressure on Spain, because I think if they sit back and play defensively Spain will pick them apart.
This is the first major international tournament in which we've gotten out of the Group Stage since '02... I'll take it however we did it. Can we please play with this same desperation and grit against Spain?
Does this really qualify as a major international tournament?
NOT.
"All of the critics in America who said we were no good after losing to Italy and Brazil, let's see what they say now," Michael Bradley said.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=266847&&cc=5901
Look, I'm a fan of US soccer and excited to see if they can give Spain a match but to suggest that a win over Egypt and subsequent advancement in the tournament thanks to Brazil pasting Italy should silence the "critics" is just absurd.
Does this mean the guy can't coach? Of course not, but it's another example of the "us against the world" mentality being expressed in a way that just sounds stupid.
Not trying to be a wet blanket, but since I have seen approximately no soccer from this tournament, I've got no other frame of reference to comment on this tournament run.
Bob and Michael Bradley are 2 different people.
And you are correct. That statement was ridiculous.
about this. This has to be the ugliest advance to the knockout round I've ever seen. But then I start to wonder what they might have looked like had they NOT played 90 minutes down a man in the previous two matches. There might be hope yet.
I guess they can come out of this tournament looking respectable by reasoning of "what if"?
I've been wanting to get a jersey for a while now but I didn't know if I wanted a club one or a national team. So I finally decided I should support the old Stars and Stripes but I can only find ones that are Small. Does anyone know where I can find one? Also is the jersey that they wear now the same as it will be for the World Cup in a year, or should I wait until the new design comes out?
http://www.kitbag.com/stores/kitbag_4_5/football/product_browse.aspx?ci…
^They have the home whites in all sizes. ussoccer.com has the home in small and i think xl and they have the away in all sizes (i think) for cheap.
They will be same ones for the WC but they will get new designs the year after the cup. If you dig around a bit in a few months you can probably find some for real cheap.
I just want it known that I hate these. Gray? Seriously? Do you have any idea how bad that confused me when I turned on a qualifier for the first time? I liked the offset stripe we had for 2006. Who on earth decided we would be dark gray?
I think Nike's assorted attempts have been disastrous. The offset stripe was probably as good as it's been yet. The white home jersey is merely accented with red and blue. It's a declaration of nothing. If you don't look badass, how can you play badass?
the gray is whack.
Thanks a lot
I used Eurosport [www.soccer.com] to buy my offset-stripe Donovan jersey (only named player they sold at the time) before living in Germany for the 2006 World Cup.
It looks like they sell quite a few other names now (Adu, Altidore, Torres, Onyewu, ...) Unfortunately, I couldn't tell you about the styling. It seems like they like to have something fresh for the World Cup, but who knows. Either way, the ones on sale now look nice.
http://www.soccer.com/Navigation.process?Ne=645&Srp=24&N=4294959190
I wanted to post a new thread on this hours ago, cept the wonderful new changes to the site mean I'm a n00b who can't do shit.
1) Anyhoo, today was an impossible confluence of events. Italy always scores late, its like their motherfucking MO. So staying shutout, even against Brazil, is unbelievable.
2) Also, we show what can nearly be described as disdain for scoring. I blame this on the MLS. The level of competition in our domestic league is so low that sloppy finishing is a kink that has never needed to be ironed out.
3) Moreover, Coach Bradley is a fucking moron. I'm sorry, but anyone who thinks, in 2009, that Beasely is an event half-decent player needs to be kicked in the nards. I know he didn't play today, but one's attitude towards Beasely is an aptitude test of sorts. If you believe he is puppy cancer, you are allowed to coach at the world stage.
If you not only put him into a game, but give him the starting nod, a full 3 or 4 years after hes dropped below the mendoza line of sucktitude, you need to hand in your coaching license and hang yourself.
I mean for god sakes, Beasely was in for the full first half, even his crippled play for a corner that led to Brazil's fast break goal.
4) Our team performed shamefully against Brazil and Italy. If we lost 15-0 each game but put in solid, respectable efforts I wouldn't bat an eye. "The realities of fielding a squad from an indifferent nation," I would say.
But against those two teams we saw players dogging it, players incapable of completing simple passes, players that saw 5 yards of space and sprinted into it like high school forwards only to realize they hadn't planned on what to do next.
If a team gives up a goal in the first 7 minutes FOUR CONSECUTIVE GAMES (prior to the Egypt match), then that is on coaching.
5) All that said, we looked better today. Egypt is not a bad team - they've been in Africa's top tier for quite a while now. Losing their best player to injury certainly hurt them, but its not an excuse for what could easily have been a 6-0 loss.
6) Also, my opinion of Donovan -- inability to consistenly finish aside -- has only gone up. Seeing him coming back 80 yards on defense, then push the attack forward shows hes one of the few that gives a damn about the team. This isn't any new development or anything, but I like him.
I also think Coach Bradley is not a very good coach. He needs to stop his loyalty to older players and start giving the younger more athletic players some playing time. It is not possible for players like Adu, Torres, Feilhaber, Clark and Davies to get experience if he never plays them.
So Italy and the US play in the same pool, both finish 1-2, and Italy beats the US 3-0, and the US advances due to goal differential? That's dumb.
I am not even close to a soccer fan, so maybe this is a long debated and accepted practice, but it doesn't really make any sense to me. Italy smoked the US and they had the same record, Italy should advance.