World Cup Open Thread Day 13 (not 12)- Go USA, Advance!
I think we had 2 day 8's, so even though yesterday was "Day 11", since it started on Friday, this would actually be Day 13. Big USA game vs. Algeria to seal the advancing to the next round...and hopefully an insignificant England/Slovenia game at the same time.
USA, USA, USA!!!
It's win or go home here. I'm not banking on a tie helping us. England is going to feel lots of pressure from underachieving and will force a win I believe. That means that we HAVE to force a win against Algeria.
Before someone asks, here are the ways for the US to make it into the second round:
- The US defeats Algeria
- The US tie Algeria AND Slovenia defeats England
- The US tie Algeria, England ties Slovenia AND the US keep our plus-2 total of goals scored, compared to England’s total
- The US tie Algeria, England ties Slovenia and makes up the difference in goals scored compared to the US AND the US win a drawing of lots, which will be held one hour after the conclusion of the two games.
Best case scenario is to just win and control our own destiny.
can we really root for the advancement of a team that doesn't win one game out of three?
Go, fight, WIN.
Only if they actually won game 2 and got robbed.
As an American you definitely can
As an American, I want us to be better than the other countries. I think that rewarding mediocrity is harmful to our nation, yet I see it in many forms daily. Advancing after three draws is a great e.g. of rewarding mediocrity.
If we can show we're better, we should advance. If we can't, we should figure out how to get to where we need to be and spend the next four years getting there.
I forsee a negbang in your future
I've got my participation trophy to comfort me through the dark times. And I've got a long list of excuses that remind me that it's not my fault.
at least you are happy.
If we make it to the next round, then we will have made it further than soccer powerhouses like England and France. Even Germany dropped a game.
We won. We earned our way to the next round. You're definitely right about the US going farther than France, and though you're currently wrong about us staying in longer than England, this link (as well as our future performance) will bear out who makes it further when the next round finishes:
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-cup/scores?date=20100627&league=fifa.world&cc=5901&ver=us
Go. Fight. WIN.
took er joooobs
The point is to win the tournament. Individual games are meaningless. If they advance to the next round they have done their job.
Perhaps you should learn the sport of soccer better before claiming that the U.S. has been mediocre.
Maybe on paper ties mean mediocre, but in reality they are far from it. Ties can provide a morale booster or can kill any momentum. In our case, Tieing England was a huge morale booster.
Besides, we got robbed of a win against Slovenia. Everyone knows that. With a win here we SHOULD be 2-0-1, but 1-0-2 is fine with me because we scored points in every game.
anosognosia?
All I've got to say is: USA! USA! USA!
Grant Wahl just tweeted that Bornstein is starting. Not good.
Kick me in the jimmy!
Howard; Cherundolo, DeMerit, Bocanegra, Bornstein; Donovan, Bradley, Edu, Dempsey; Gomez, Altidore.
Not a big fan of Bornstein, but I can understand as Onyewu has been lacking. Surprised with Gomez over Buddle, but I'm willing to roll with it.
Bornstein will keep me uneasy for the full 90. He is the worst player on our 23-man squad. Also, what's going on with Holden? I trust Bob Bradley but I would've thought that Holden starts out wide today and move Dempsey up top with Jozy...
Bradley prefers any lineup that lets him keep Dempsey out wide I'm pretty sure. Plus I think Gomez played well enough in his 13 minutes to earn a chance to start. I'm sure Holden --> Dempsey up top will be one of the changes if need be.
I thought we thoroughly got outplayed by England. As much as we got screwed by the soccer zebras vs. Slovenia, we should have gotten no points vs. the Brits. If we can't beat Algeria, we don't deserve to advance. First 1.5 games, we showed no offense and had multiple defensive lapses. I think the USA as a whole is becoming more competitive in men's soccer, but we might not be a top 16 team for 4 more years.
If size was more important than mobility for a central defender, we'd have Shaq playing center back. Algeria doesn't have the players that England did on the wings to harass the left back position, so I'd rather sacrifice a little on the outside to shore up the middle, especially since a lot of the dangerous balls have come from defenders not being quick enough to step out on shooters. Also, Gomez has at least played in this World Cup, and made the run that opened the space for Bradley's goal, so I'm fine with him. If we still need a goal late, Buddle or Holden can come in to bolster the offense, or if we are up one or two late, we can bring in Onyewu and play five defenders.
Complete mess right now.
Not a big fan of starting Bornstein at LB but obviously Algeria has somebody with some speed on that side of the field and it scares Bradley. One good thing about Gooch not being in the lineup is both CBs can stay flat instead of having Gooch hang back which creates a huge gap between he and Demerit. Love Edu starting though!
Bornstein just got beat so easily down the flank, but did well to recover. He is making me nervous.
Completely misses the ball, and Algeria puts it off the crossbar. Huge bullet dodged.
I'm trying to watch the game online and ESPN's livefeed isn't working. Does anyone know of another site that is streaming this game for free?
That site's not working for me, does anyone know any others?
Algerians have a lot of frosted tips. I feel like this world cup is actually taking place in the 90's.
Dempsey offside, looks like a good call, but aaaargh.
Edit: That should have been a goal. I hate refs.
im really liking what i see from Hercules Gomez. He is aggressive and will take any shot. We need that mentality
Thought we had one for sure
EDIT: Wow. After watching the replay he was definitely onside. Robbed again.
Now we need to score.
Jermain Defoe scored for Enlgand
dempsey was not offsides
But man that looked like a slide tackle from behind in the box that should have been a PK and most likely a red.
Did you not see the replay? You still think that was offsides?
I take it back. Again that was another close one that shouldn't have been called.
*ugh*
Sorry double post
I played keeper for a Class B Intramural Championship team in college so I think my opinion carries some serious tonnage here, lawya.
Not offside.
borderline call...
ANOTHER DISALLOWED GOAL. WTF
Looked like a good goal on the replay!
they call the foul when Altidore is on the break? I know its coincidence...but we are getting SCREWED by officials....
Im refreshing this page like a mofo cuz I can't stream anything at work. This is sounding F'ing ridiculous! 2 dissallowed goals!!?? If they do it again I bet one of the Americans punches a ref.
but this seems to work - it's the FIFA.com version of game cast.
http://www.fifa.com/Live/Competitions/worldcup/matchday=13/day=1/match=…