Everything Soccer

[phillyirish]

People are shitting on England, as they should. But they have a great shot to win the tournament. Somebow lucked into the B side of the bracket, opposed to the 4 best teams on the other side (Spain, Germany, France and Portugal).

Yea they are playing like shit, but they will scrape by outmatched opponents until the final and then finally somehow find it all click. They essentially only need to play one good game all tournament to win it, which will be the final. They are easily a top 3 team in terms of individual talent in the Euros.

Look I hate England, and love to see them struggle. But I just can’t help but look at the amazing hand they’ve been dealt.

 

[gregm83]

Watching France play is absolutely brutal.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

Watching France play is absolutely brutal.

Other than Germany and Spain, this can be said of just about everyone.

And they play each other next.

 

[gregm83]

watching ronaldo act like he still has it is also rough

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

watching ronaldo act like he still has it is also rough

0-4 on Free kicks today.

Maybe give someone else a shot? He's 0-33 in the Euros for life. 1-59 in all tournaments for Portugal.

 

[gregm83]

lol

 

[InKellyWeTrust]

Portugal was brutal in the 2nd half and extra time today. Give Slovenia credit but there was just no creativity from the midfield or forwards. Ronaldo should have won it with the PK but Bruno, Silva, Leao were all pretty bad today. Their best attacking player was Cancelo at RB.

 

[NDRock]

US playing with passion. Fun game so far.

 

[NorthDakota]

Other than Germany and Spain, this can be said of just about everyone.

And they play each other next.

Germany should let Muller rip up top. Germany is best when they play direct. Unleash the King

 

[stlnd01]

US playing with passion. Fun game so far.

Fun game but also the United States has 100 times as many people as Uruguay and yet they appear to have a better 11 soccer players (yes I know Dest is hurt and Weah isn't available, still). This isn't the old days when American kids didn't play soccer. This is supposed to be the team. At what point do we win these games?

 

[NDRock]

Fun game but also the United States has 100 times as many people as Uruguay and yet they appear to have a better 11 soccer players (yes I know Dest is hurt and Weah isn't available, still). This isn't the old days when American kids didn't play soccer. This is supposed to be the team. At what point do we win these games?

I don’t know but this is why I always feel like we overrate our guys. I hear about how great we are and then I watch them and just don’t see it. Some of the first touches I see from our guys are painful. Uruguay just seems more talented on an individual and team basis. At least we’re playing with some fire.

 

[stlnd01]

I don’t know but this is why I always feel like we overrate our guys. I hear about how great we are and then I watch them and just don’t see it. Some of the first touches I see from our guys are painful. Uruguay just seems more talented on an individual and team basis. At least we’re playing with some fire.

I mean, Pulisic, who is seemingly the best American player of his generation, Captain America and all that, was not a starter for Chelsea. Most of our other best players have dual citizenship or eligibility in international play, and play for the US because they wouldn't start for England or Netherlands or whereever. None is a top player on a top club. But top players on top clubs are the guys we're up against on the stronger international teams.

 

[NDRock]

I mean, Pulisic, who is seemingly the best American player of his generation, Captain America and all that, was not a starter for Chelsea. Most of our other best players have dual citizenship or eligibility in international play, and play for the US because they wouldn't start for England or Netherlands or whereever. None is a top player on a top club. But top players on top clubs are the guys we're up against on the stronger international teams.

Yeah. I’m not hating on our guys, they played hard tonight for 90 minutes. Thats all you can ask. I hope I’m wrong and it’s just a matter of getting the right coach in there, like many US fans think.

Still got 6 minutes to shock the world…

 

[Rizzophil]

US playing with passion. Fun game so far.

It was offside on that goal

 

[NDRock]

It was offside on that goal

Maybe but the way they have VAR and the shitty camera angles, I would prefer they keep the call on the field. The replay they have at the Euros seems much more legit. Not sure why the EPL doesn’t use it.

 

[IA4irish]

They played hard tonight. Fun match. Uruguay is just a more talented squad. Our lack of offensive firepower outside of Pulisic is tough to watch. So many poor first touches as well.

Obviously, the tournament was a complete failure to not get out of group stage. What happened against Panama was a disgrace. Berhalter has to be gone.

 

[stlnd01]

Yeah. I’m not hating on our guys, they played hard tonight for 90 minutes. Thats all you can ask. I hope I’m wrong and it’s just a matter of getting the right coach in there, like many US fans think.

Still got 6 minutes to shock the world…

Yeah. I've no beef with individual players and or any strong opinion about the coach. I'm just flabbergasted we're not better, at this point. It's 2024. Every kid plays soccer. There's tons of resources. Just based on numbers you'd think we could produce a better team than countries a fraction of our size. We should be a top 10 to 15 international team. But here we are.

 

[NDRock]

Yeah. I've no beef with individual players and I've strong opinion about the coach. I'm just flabbergasted we're not better, at this point. It's 2024. Every kid plays soccer. There's tons of resources. Just based on numbers you'd think we could produce a better team than countries a fraction of our size. We should be a top 10 to 15 international team. But here we are.

My daughter plays college soccer and went through the whole club scene. I’m not 100% sure how it’s done in every country but from what I’ve seen of our club programs, it’s a shitshow. Or at least a money grab.

 

[calvegas04]

I mean, that is what you get when you re hire a coach that was fired for being a bad coach

 

[IA4irish]

My daughter plays college soccer and went through the whole club scene. I’m not 100% sure how it’s done in every country but from what I’ve seen of our club programs, it’s a shitshow. Or at least a money grab.

What do you mean by shit show? Poor fundamentals?

 

[BabyIrish]

In watching the game, I didn’t see the same “Uruguay is more talented” play out on the field. Uruguay had equally both bone headed poor touches/decisions, and moments of dynamic play (Nunez and Valverde). US had Reyna and Pulisic make plenty of those dynamic plays. Both teams hardly created any legitimate scoring opportunities and I don’t even count the actual Uruguay goal as one as that was clearly offsides. For the US this was due to the stellar play of Adams and the two center backs. For some reason this team has not progressed in the final third in scoring goals. It was an issue at the World Cup and continues two year later. I can’t imagine it’ll get any better in two years time with Berhalter as coach. He’s maxed out what he can do. I think it’s time for a change but I also worry that there isn’t a good candidate out there at the current moment.

 

[MacIrish75]

My daughter plays college soccer and went through the whole club scene. I’m not 100% sure how it’s done in every country but from what I’ve seen of our club programs, it’s a shitshow. Or at least a money grab.

Half of all “travel” ball programs are moneygrabs, regardless of sport. I’m fairly involved in the travel basketball scene and I can’t tell you the number of families I see every week from April-July shelling out $1200 dollar team fees PLUS travel costs to watch their kids lose by 30-40 points every game.

But those directors are absolutely raking it in. It’s about turning a profit.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

Berhalter never should have been hired again. It makes absolutely no sense. If the USMNT isn't totally out of excuses by now, it's really damn close.

 

[fightingirish26]

Uruguay has beaten Brazil and Argentina 2-0 in the past year. There's obviously some issues with US soccer but at the same time that's a team that routinely does a lot with a "little" population

 

[gregm83]

Certainly european countries have different programs for youths. I am not allowing my 8 year old to play soccer year round though there are certainly options. If she lived in England they are talking about contracts at that age. Schooling gets changed. All prior to puberty. Shit is crazy.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

Uruguay has beaten Brazil and Argentina 2-0 in the past year. There's obviously some issues with US soccer but at the same time that's a team that routinely does a lot with a "little" population

Correct.

Most of the nations that are good in world football don't have anywhere near the people we do. If it was down to population, we'd be up there with China and India by that logic, but it isn't about population so we are not. You have Brazil who is pretty heavily populated and then you have to scroll pretty far down to find Germany.

Uruguay has the infrastructure because they have the tradition and passion for the game. Same goes for Netherlands, Argentina, Spain, etc. They've given a shit about the sport for well over 100 years and don't have baseball, football, hockey competing with it. Air Jordan and the Barcelona Dream Team's impact on global basketball isn't even middle aged yet.

That goof on Fox made a great point last night: the current program in 2024 has more advantages than any of their predecessors and just because you play for a club in Europe doesn't translate to what you do on international breaks. That's just a fact. They had an opportunity to start fresh with a new coach and decided not to do that. The women's team did the complete opposite, knowing they needed a reset, they went out and got one of the best candidates available to them. Meanwhile, for the men, they're out and Canada is playing Venezuela in the knockout. Yes, we all know who Canada's manager is.

 

[Pops Freshenmeyer]

The thing that bothers me more than any particular aspect of the US team or coaching is the broadcast commentary we are subjected to. I despise Alexi Lalas who has somehow made a living out of having a weird haircut thirty years ago.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

U.S. Soccer to conduct 'comprehensive review' after Copa America exit

The United States Soccer Federation (USSF) will conduct a comprehensive review after a disappointing Copa America tournament on home soil “fell short of expectations”. The U.S. men’s national team beat Bolivia 2-0 in its opening game but then lost 2-1 against Panama and were beaten 1-0 by...

www.nytimes.com

I'm not sure why it would have to be so comprehensive.

 

[nsisk157]

We severely lack a creative, central midfielder. One who can carry the ball and pick a pass. It should be Reyna but he just hasn't taken the next step just yet and prefers coming off a wing.

Also, I think Cardoso has to start over Adams. Adams is fine in defending but offers nothing in terms of passing ability and moving the ball up the field.

Obv, GGG out.

 

[Cackalacky2.0]

U.S. Soccer to conduct 'comprehensive review' after Copa America exit

The United States Soccer Federation (USSF) will conduct a comprehensive review after a disappointing Copa America tournament on home soil “fell short of expectations”. The U.S. men’s national team beat Bolivia 2-0 in its opening game but then lost 2-1 against Panama and were beaten 1-0 by...

www.nytimes.com

I'm not sure why it would have to be so comprehensive.

It will be comprehensive in that their moneyball metrics will bring them right back to GGG AGAIN! After the Acolyte, the SCOTUS ruling on Presidential immunity and now the USA unable to even get out of group play against Panama and Bolivia on home soil ....I fucking give up. Im done. I just can't anymore.