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Official 2014 World Cup Thread (Spoilers)

mikeg_74 said:
Does anyone know why Beckerman was not in or subbed? Felt his presence could have been a good thing.
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I saw it surmised somewhere that they wanted to get Cameron's height in knowing that there would be a lot of crosses. If Fabian doesn't pull the hamstring, I think the substitution strategy might have been different, but with one sub already made, I don't think tactics allowed going more defensive which is what Beckerman would have provided.
 
arydolphin said:
Nice gesture from the Belgian captain.



adwillingham mentioned that Wondolowski is 31 and won't be a part of future World Cup teams. The bad news is that Dempsey is the same age. I wonder how much high-level play he still has in him.
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If Dempsey is still fit and still scoring goals by then, I think Jurgen would pick him. He's an awesome role model and leader for the young squad. Can't wait til Terrance Boyd, Jack McInerney, and Aron Johannsson start really playing on a high level.

In terms of the game, I'm putting alot of the blame on Wondo. Everyone else did their part in staying organized with 2 lines of 4 and shutting down Belgium. All you have to do (and what your job to do is) is score. 6 yards out. Goal gaping, just tap it in the far corner. Sorry Wondo, but you missed your chance. By the time ET rolled around, you got an absolute bull in Lukaku with fresh legs. There was no way our D could hold him down.
 
JTnumbers said:
In terms of the game, I'm putting alot of the blame on Wondo. Everyone else did their part in staying organized with 2 lines of 4 and shutting down Belgium. All you have to do (and what your job to do is) is score. 6 yards out. Goal gaping, just tap it in the far corner. Sorry Wondo, but you missed your chance.
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I wouldn't put the blame on him at all. You lost because you played a better team on fine form. Check the stats.... Belgium had 38 shots on goal, 27 on target. They also had 19 corners. Those sorts of numbers are pretty much unheard of in international football, let alone the last 16 of a World Cup. That being said, I did think Wondo was a pretty ineffective sub that had little impact on the game.
 
Mark_UK said:
I wouldn't put the blame on him at all. You lost because you played a better team on fine form. Check the stats.... Belgium had 38 shots on goal, 27 on target. They also had 19 corners. Those sorts of numbers are pretty much unheard of in international football, let alone the last 16 of a World Cup. That being said, I did think Wondo was a pretty ineffective sub that had little impact on the game.
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Regardless of the stats, when you get that chance, you need to take it. The better team won, and they deserved it. I'm just saying you need to take your opportunities.
 
For the US to take further steps, they have got to get a couple higher level forwards. In CONCACAF, we get away with putting guys like Dempsey and Donovan at forward, but we have yet to have that guy who will convert those opportunities at the levels of 6-8 guys we played against this WC. Altidore is a nice target, but he's not going to generate many opportunities on his own.

That was one of the differences to me looking at Belgium today. They were able to bring guys like Mirallas and Lukalu (both EPL starters) off the bench, and we have no one better (particularly with Altidore's injury) than a Wondo.
 
Really unexpected that USMNT made it out of group play, and I think really unexpected that most players (except Jones and Howard) didn't show up until about the 110' mark. Really disappointing to see Howard turn in one of the all time greatest performances and lose. Dempsey needs to be done from the team now, and I'm sure Beasley is. Very exciting to see some good young talent coming up...US is going to be closing the gap on the rest of the world.
 
Mark_UK said:
I wouldn't put the blame on him at all. You lost because you played a better team on fine form. Check the stats.... Belgium had 38 shots on goal, 27 on target. They also had 19 corners. Those sorts of numbers are pretty much unheard of in international football, let alone the last 16 of a World Cup. That being said, I did think Wondo was a pretty ineffective sub that had little impact on the game.
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The real shame for me is this. Belgium is a better team. But we have to start thinking of the US as the better team, every once in a while.

Globally, I'm not sure enough minds and pundits are going to say that the USMNT is a better fútbol team than many of the giants that looked lost and bad (Spain, Italy, England, Portugal).
 
adwillingham said:
For the US to take further steps, they have got to get a couple higher level forwards. In CONCACAF, we get away with putting guys like Dempsey and Donovan at forward, but we have yet to have that guy who will convert those opportunities at the levels of 6-8 guys we played against this WC. Altidore is a nice target, but he's not going to generate many opportunities on his own.

That was one of the differences to me looking at Belgium today. They were able to bring guys like Mirallas and Lukalu (both EPL starters) off the bench, and we have no one better (particularly with Altidore's injury) than a Wondo.
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I know I put it in the USMNT thread, but I'll put it here as well. I'm looking at 4 guys to lead the charge in 4 years and all have MASSIVE amounts of potential.

Terrence Boyd (23-Scored 28 goals in 59 appearances for Rapid Wien in the Austrian league)
Aron Johannsson(23-Scroed 20 goals in 39 appearances for AZ Alkmaar in the Dutch league)
Juan Agudelo(21-Scored 3 goals in 18 games for Utrecht in the Dutch League)
Jack McInerney(21-Scored 25 goals in 95 apps for Philly Union. Currently 6 goals in 10 apps for Montreal.)

The future is bright.
 
JTnumbers said:
I know I put it in the USMNT thread, but I'll put it here as well. I'm looking at 4 guys to lead the charge in 4 years and all have MASSIVE amounts of potential.

Terrence Boyd (23-Scored 28 goals in 59 appearances for Rapid Wien in the Austrian league)
Aron Johannsson(23-Scroed 20 goals in 39 appearances for AZ Alkmaar in the Dutch league)
Juan Agudelo(21-Scored 3 goals in 18 games for Utrecht in the Dutch League)
Jack McInerney(21-Scored 25 goals in 95 apps for Philly Union. Currently 6 goals in 10 apps for Montreal.)

The future is bright.
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Whether the issue is opportunities to succeed at larger clubs, development, or whatever, I just haven't seen a track record of the high potential guys panning out to be much. One thing I would like to see is the youth teams have better success at qualifying and playing in things like the Olympics and different tiered World Cups. I think Jurgen is the right individual to lead our MNT and have his hands on the other tiers as Technical Director, but I hope he wants to keep going with the job (understanding he is currently contracted through 2018).
 
Heck of a extra time in this game. So much excitement. The US had multiple opportunities to tie it 2-2 in the end. Great game.
 
Nate said:
Saw this posted earlier on twitter:

"This feels like your favorite hockey team defending a two-man power play ... for 90 minutes."
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It's disappointing to read this, despite it being woefully true. It was the same against Germany.

And the possession being comparable yet the opportunities being heavily in Belgium's favour has a large part to do with the USA's complete inability to move the ball in a fluid motion upfield. Their reads, their passing, and their reception is just a step below many of the other teams in the WC.

I was really hoping they would continue on, but it's safe to say the better team won the game.
 
JTnumbers said:
Regardless of the stats, when you get that chance, you need to take it. The better team won, and they deserved it. I'm just saying you need to take your opportunities.
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I agree with that 100%. Not sure how this country is with scapegoats, in England we love em. I think it would be unfair if Wondo was made any sort of a scapegoat for his miss.
 
Canadan said:
It's disappointing to read this, despite it being woefully true. It was the same against Germany.

And the possession being comparable yet the opportunities being heavily in Belgium's favour has a large part to do with the USA's complete inability to move the ball in a fluid motion upfield. Their reads, their passing, and their reception is just a step below many of the other teams in the WC.

I was really hoping they would continue on, but it's safe to say the better team won the game.
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They were a better team than half of field. Say what you will about how they got to the round of 16. The fact is they did.
 
At the end of the day, if you told me this is where their WC trip would end before the tournament started, I'd have been happy with that. US Soccer isn't going to be a contender overnight, but I think Klinsmann has them on the right track.
 
blugold said:
The real shame for me is this. Belgium is a better team. But we have to start thinking of the US as the better team, every once in a while.

Globally, I'm not sure enough minds and pundits are going to say that the USMNT is a better fútbol team than many of the giants that looked lost and bad (Spain, Italy, England, Portugal).
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Doesn't matter what the pundits think. Personally, I don't think the US is a better team than either Spain, Italy, Portugal or England. But I'll bet my house that there's a whole lot more respect for the US football team outside of the US now than there was before. Even my Facebook page was full of messages of encouragement for the US throughout the game and 98% of my contacts are from back home.
 
Just proud of our guys. A few missed opportunities that would've equaled a result, but that's sports. Never gave up. That was very impressive. 2018 looks promising.
 
Mark_UK said:
Doesn't matter what the pundits think. Personally, I don't think the US is a better team than either Spain, Italy, Portugal or England. But I'll bet my house that there's a whole lot more respect for the US football team outside of the US now than there was before. Even my Facebook page was full of messages of encouragement for the US throughout the game and 98% of my contacts are from back home.
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The names on the front and back of the shirts of those other squads carry more weight and reputation than they earned at the WC.

You can't tell me that England has looked great. Portugal struggled to get in and Italy was old. Spain flames out. Granted, against two really good teams.

But again, it's a lack of respect for a squad that has earned it.
 
Gonna just process this and move on. 2018 here we come.... Jurgen at the helm
 
Canadan said:
I see that now, i just don't have a clue why he quoted me to say that. *shrug*
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It was a response to the "step below many other teams" part of your quote.

The US isn't as skilled or fancy as Brazil or The Dutch. But is is better than 16 of the other teams at this tournament.
 
I can't even read some of the garbage in this thread right now. Haters gonna hate..... US got further than so many other nations and then should be proud of that I know I am..... To all the Haters shhhhhhhh
 
TheCrest4 said:
I can't even read some of the garbage in this thread right now. Haters gonna hate..... US got further than so many other nations and then should be proud of that I know I am..... To all the Haters shhhhhhhh
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If the Stars and Stripes was replaced with Three Lions, then the US over achieved with and aging team. Instead, Sam's army fluke in.

It is what it is.
 
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