Yep, neuer had a fantastic game and the Algerians just lacked that last bit of quality, that first half they beat the German defense almost at will but neuer really stepped up. Few more hours to the us game!
If Algeria had a Messi, Mueller, or Suarez they'd be deadly. Djabu and Slimani just don't have that deadly, clinical quality, and they're the best scorers on Algeria's team. Still, I thought they'd pull something more out of that game. Except for a couple of lapses, their back line looked fantastic, too, against the German attack.
He and Yedlin were the only consistent attackers, the rest were mostly absent. It's a toss up for me who was the best field player of the tournament for the US: Beasley or Johnson. I don't understand why Dempsey was out there so long, he was totally useless. But how cool for Green, first touch in a World Cup game and he scores and nearly helps bring his team back.
I will add that Jones had a great World Cup performance as well, but I think he played with a chip on his shoulder. Can't forget Tim Howard...one of the best goalkeeping performances in tournament history. I also don't understand where the inspired play during the last 10 minutes was this whole tournament.
I will add that Jones had a great World Cup performance as well, but I think he played with a chip on his shoulder. Can't forget Tim Howard...one of the best goalkeeping performances in tournament history. I also don't understand where the inspired play during the last 10 minutes was this whole tournament.
Totally agree. Vincent Kompany apparently tweeted after the game "Two words: TIM HOWARD." This round was really all about the keepers. At least the goals that Belgium scored were quality goals and not mistakes from our defense.
I will add that Jones had a great World Cup performance as well, but I think he played with a chip on his shoulder. Can't forget Tim Howard...one of the best goalkeeping performances in tournament history. I also don't understand where the inspired play during the last 10 minutes was this whole tournament.
Totally agree. Vincent Kompany apparently tweeted after the game "Two words: TIM HOWARD." This round was really all about the keepers. At least the goals that Belgium scored were quality goals and not mistakes from our defense.
I'm saying Beasley, but mostly because I followed his career since HS. Jones had some great moments but also had some infuriating ones, as well. I was really impressed with Yedlin. Dempsey was gassed at the end and couldn't finish some golden opportunities; I think it affected his decision making, too. He wasn't the only US player. Honestly, there was one shot of Beasley where I thought the "old" man was going to have a heart attack.
But as a 37 YO former goalkeeper, I'm just in awe of Tim Howard. I can't get my body to move anywhere near the way he can anymore.
Yeldin went to Akron University and thats about 5 miles from my house. many of the servers and cooks where i work go there and several of them know Yeldin personally. from what i hear hes a good guy.
ejgorman:
Can't forget Tim Howard...one of the best goalkeeping performances in tournament history.
agreed. most saves since some game in the 50s if im not mistaken .
I'm calling Klinsmann out on this. He knows how to prepare for this, he's been there. Having both played and coached, that can only be due to warm-up imho. It's highly unlikely they're overtraining at this stage. Klinsmann also needs to have a little faith in his squad. They're a talented bunch, but hearing your coach express his doubts in your abilities publicly has to have an effect on your confidence.
i agree with this 100% he may be a good coach but his PR is something to be worked on.
I'm probably alone in my thoughts on this, but I think that what Klinsmann said was very appropriate. Klinsmann is a great coach and a realist. I don't believe for one second that his message was targeted at his players and from listening to the players, I don't believe they took it that way. His message was intended to the "United States." The United States just doesn't have the invested interest in winning on this sort of stage the way other nations do. They really haven't produced anyone of great caliber in 20 years (Landon Donovan). Someone stated earlier that we really don't have anyone with 1-on-1 skills, and hardly anyone that I can note that can turn and make a great run from mid-field to the 18 yard box. All the major clubs in the world have schools that bring kids up from the time they can kick a ball and mold them through a decade of training to raise superstars. They have a vested interest in winning.
The United States simply doesn't have the infrastructure that the top competing nations do. And it's not to say that we should. I think the MLS is doing the best they can to simply survive. They don't have the additional money to invest at this point unless people start filling the stadiums, and that's probably not going to happen for a long time because soccer is pretty low man on the totem pole here behind....well....pretty much every other sport.
ps... I've been silent but I've really enjoyed this thread.
I'm calling Klinsmann out on this. He knows how to prepare for this, he's been there. Having both played and coached, that can only be due to warm-up imho. It's highly unlikely they're overtraining at this stage. Klinsmann also needs to have a little faith in his squad. They're a talented bunch, but hearing your coach express his doubts in your abilities publicly has to have an effect on your confidence.
i agree with this 100% he may be a good coach but his PR is something to be worked on.
I'm probably alone in my thoughts on this, but I think that what Klinsmann said was very appropriate. Klinsmann is a great coach and a realist. I don't believe for one second that his message was targeted at his players and from listening to the players, I don't believe they took it that way. His message was intended to the "United States." The United States just doesn't have the invested interest in winning on this sort of stage the way other nations do. They really haven't produced anyone of great caliber in 20 years (Landon Donovan). Someone stated earlier that we really don't have anyone with 1-on-1 skills, and hardly anyone that I can note that can turn and make a great run from mid-field to the 18 yard box. All the major clubs in the world have schools that bring kids up from the time they can kick a ball and mold them through a decade of training to raise superstars. They have a vested interest in winning.
The United States simply doesn't have the infrastructure that the top competing nations do. And it's not to say that we should. I think the MLS is doing the best they can to simply survive. They don't have the additional money to invest at this point unless people start filling the stadiums, and that's probably not going to happen for a long time because soccer is pretty low man on the totem pole here behind....well....pretty much every other sport.
ps... I've been silent but I've really enjoyed this thread.
Your information is out of date, MLS is only behind the NFL and MLB, and only the MLB because they play an insane number of games.
And contrary to the ESPN view of the sport, MLS isn't struggling to survive, it's expanding and growing in popularity and respect even outside of our country. It's average attendance is second only to the NBA:
Our national team went a round farther than the English (and in the last cup we were first in our group which included England), Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, and Italians, and only lost by 1 to Germany. In 2009 we beat Spain in a competitive tournament, ending a LONG unbeaten streak, and came in second only to the Brazilians, and even then only by one or two goals. The idea that because we haven't won the World Cup yet we're not a good soccer country is inaccurate, few nations have won it. Even England, the home of soccer, has only won it once 50 years ago. The truth is we are competitive with the world right now. It is true we are lacking a few pieces or skills, but we're not far off. Add to that the only country that bought more tickets than the US was Brazil and the idea that soccer is not an interest here simply doesn't stand up.
As for our midfielders, if you're talking about someone who can dribble through the entire opposition from the half-line, no, we don't have anyone who can do that but really only two players in the world can: Messi and Ronaldo. but if you're talking about midfielders who move up in to the attack well, then you didn't see Jones and Bradley (to a lesser extent this cup, but in 2010 he was excellent as with his club teams). Or how about the runs Beasley and Johnson made from our defensive end? If our team had had better cohesion and a stronger defense they would have been much tougher, but they were a fairly inexperienced team.
All the major clubs in the world have schools that bring kids up from the time they can kick a ball and mold them through a decade of training to raise superstars.
we do too. and we have for quite some time. how do i know? i went to them. every summer i would spend a few weeks with professional coaches and do a very intense 16 hour days of nothing but soccer. these training camps were a to develop players specifically on the international level.
clearly i didnt end up making the cut but a few people i know went farther than me. it was hard core stuff. i wanted to have fun. they wanted to win.
No kidding, I walked into a restaurant for lunch at the 60th minute and saw 6-0 and about died. I seriously thought Brazil would beat Germany, never dreamed they would lose that bad.
Just a surgical dissection by Germany. I've been pretty unimpressed by Brazil's play in this cup. Granted they were missing their star today, but they were not on par with previous Brazilian teams even with Neymar. They were fortunate to get this far and I don't think they were the 3rd or 4th best team in the tournament.
Just a surgical dissection by Germany. I've been pretty unimpressed by Brazil's play in this cup. Granted they were missing their star today, but they were not on par with previous Brazilian teams even with Neymar. They were fortunate to get this far and I don't think they were the 3rd or 4th best team in the tournament.
That's what I've been saying. Some friends were asking if Neymar was that important or if Brazil was off. My response was that Brazil wasn't very good; Germany is excellent.
Just a surgical dissection by Germany. I've been pretty unimpressed by Brazil's play in this cup. Granted they were missing their star today, but they were not on par with previous Brazilian teams even with Neymar. They were fortunate to get this far and I don't think they were the 3rd or 4th best team in the tournament.
agreed.
a few people i know were saying "but they didnt have Neymar!!" but you know what? He was NOT a defender. the defense was just awful. total break down. they would have lost that game if Neymar was on the field or not.
if Germany plays like that for the Final, there is no team that can stop them. when i started this thread i thought Argentina would win the tournament, now i seriously doubt that. Germany has been amazing to watch.
Just a surgical dissection by Germany. I've been pretty unimpressed by Brazil's play in this cup. Granted they were missing their star today, but they were not on par with previous Brazilian teams even with Neymar. They were fortunate to get this far and I don't think they were the 3rd or 4th best team in the tournament.
agreed.
a few people i know were saying "but they didnt have Neymar!!" but you know what? He was NOT a defender. the defense was just awful. total break down. they would have lost that game if Neymar was on the field or not.
if Germany plays like that for the Final, there is no team that can stop them. when i started this thread i thought Argentina would win the tournament, now i seriously doubt that. Germany has been amazing to watch.
Agree 100%, Thiago Silva was the bigger loss, but I don't think he would have mattered much, maybe cut the loss to 4 goals, but still, Brazil was just bad all over the field. I was sorry to see Argentina go through, they have been one of the most boring teams of the tournament, but as a friend reminded me, that's the way Spain made it last Cup, 1-0 the whole way.
Comments
But as a 37 YO former goalkeeper, I'm just in awe of Tim Howard. I can't get my body to move anywhere near the way he can anymore.
agreed. most saves since some game in the 50s if im not mistaken .
The United States simply doesn't have the infrastructure that the top competing nations do. And it's not to say that we should. I think the MLS is doing the best they can to simply survive. They don't have the additional money to invest at this point unless people start filling the stadiums, and that's probably not going to happen for a long time because soccer is pretty low man on the totem pole here behind....well....pretty much every other sport.
ps... I've been silent but I've really enjoyed this thread.
http://www.statista.com/statistics/207458/per-game-attendance-of-major-us-sports-leagues/
It's also third on the participation list for boys, well above baseball:
http://www.humankinetics.com/excerpts/excerpts/a-closer-look-at-some-trends-in-youth-sport-participation
And contrary to the ESPN view of the sport, MLS isn't struggling to survive, it's expanding and growing in popularity and respect even outside of our country. It's average attendance is second only to the NBA:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/chrissmith/2013/11/20/major-league-soccers-most-valuable-teams/
Our national team went a round farther than the English (and in the last cup we were first in our group which included England), Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, and Italians, and only lost by 1 to Germany. In 2009 we beat Spain in a competitive tournament, ending a LONG unbeaten streak, and came in second only to the Brazilians, and even then only by one or two goals. The idea that because we haven't won the World Cup yet we're not a good soccer country is inaccurate, few nations have won it. Even England, the home of soccer, has only won it once 50 years ago. The truth is we are competitive with the world right now. It is true we are lacking a few pieces or skills, but we're not far off. Add to that the only country that bought more tickets than the US was Brazil and the idea that soccer is not an interest here simply doesn't stand up.
As for our midfielders, if you're talking about someone who can dribble through the entire opposition from the half-line, no, we don't have anyone who can do that but really only two players in the world can: Messi and Ronaldo. but if you're talking about midfielders who move up in to the attack well, then you didn't see Jones and Bradley (to a lesser extent this cup, but in 2010 he was excellent as with his club teams). Or how about the runs Beasley and Johnson made from our defensive end? If our team had had better cohesion and a stronger defense they would have been much tougher, but they were a fairly inexperienced team.
clearly i didnt end up making the cut but a few people i know went farther than me. it was hard core stuff. i wanted to have fun. they wanted to win.
a few people i know were saying "but they didnt have Neymar!!"
but you know what? He was NOT a defender. the defense was just awful. total break down. they would have lost that game if Neymar was on the field or not.
if Germany plays like that for the Final, there is no team that can stop them. when i started this thread i thought Argentina would win the tournament, now i seriously doubt that. Germany has been amazing to watch.
A: A Brazilian.