Men's Soccer (Football) Thread [ARCHIVED] Soccer • Page 1306

Lol at Dempsey saying "Why we gotta watch all this?"

 

I guess I just don't get what our game plan was because we literally played directly into how they wanted and they played brilliantly.

 

I don't think our players know either lol

 

If you take away our rock ball mistake for their goal, our game plan was actually really solid in the first half, just lacked finishing. It's when this team panics that they don't know what to do. We desperately need an in-prime Jozy-esque #9 in the middle of the front line.

 

6 points this window and 4 points next window are mathematically safe for top 3, I think. 9 gets dicey.

Will we get our second ever draw in Azteca or our first ever point in Saprissa? Hahaha. We're totally going to have to play New Zealand in the desert in June, aren't we?

 

Alphonso Davies wasn't on the field today

 

This match is very representative of a long-standing issue for the USMNT: we can’t beat a parked bus to save our lives. Thinking back to even Landon’s famous goal vs Algeria, vs Jamaica in that one Gold Cup semi, the away games in Panama, Jamaica, and El Salvador earlier this cycle… how can you even fix that?

 

Canada are definitely going to win the world cup

 

It's funny that Jonathan David could have played for the U.S. and clearly made the right decision to play for Canada.

 

Coaching change? Time?

As an aside to your comment about this being a long standing issue: I know a lot of people think this WCQ cycle is the defining cycle for this generation of USMNT players but I strongly disagree. Many of our strongest talents are only now getting a taste of their first full qualification cycle and, although I and many others expect their individual talent to shine through and patch up a lot of problems, I think it's becoming more evident how desperately they need to mature. The real perspective might be to consider how surprising it is that they've done as well as they have up to this point.

 

At the same time, this Canada team might as well be as fresh and inexperienced as ours and clearly there are a lot of issues we can't seem to sort out.

 

I know it won’t happen but fuck I will have to delete so many posts if our idiots sign Dembele.

 

I think that keeps coming up in large part because we don’t have to qualify for 2026 (but also same for Canada and Mexico). These are some of the last high stakes games this group will play until their 30s. So in some way, this is quite impressive that we’re still in a pretty good place to qualify because they are so young (and with a new wave of young talent flooding into Europe). So I guess I agree maturity is important. Only really Acosta and Pulisic were around the last cycle of the folks we’re seeing regularly.

 

Concacaf WCQ table—10/14
: Canada 22 points (+12 GD, 17 GF)
: USA 18 points (+6 GD, 13 GF)
: Mexico 18 points (+5 GD, 13 GF)
-
: Panama 17 points (+2 GD, 14 GF)
-
: Costa Rica 13 points (-0 GD, 7 GF)
: El Salvador 9 points (-5 GD, 6 GF)
: Jamaica 7 points (-6 GD, 9 GF)
: Honduras 3 points (-14 GD, 5 GF)

Other results today mostly went in our favor. Would’ve been nice for Jamaica to hold on and steal a point vs Panama.

Home vs 8th
Away vs 3rd
Home vs 4th
Away vs 5th

It really helps us that Panama has to face CAN-USA-MEX still. CRC could play spoiler too but also have CAN-USA left. Get the six points at home first and foremost. Nothing is predictable this go around.

 

Not sure if I should even comment on this one but that thread was a rollercoaster of emotions for me. As someone who lost his Dad to a cardiac arrest 26 years ago, this hit home very much. I actually had to cry while reading all of it. Thanks for sharing nonetheless. It was kinda hard to get through but also very wholesome at the same time.

 

Romano’s photoshops always look so strange. Uncanny valley shit.

 

I am quietly excited by this signing, having heard some opinions from European football pundits. I mean, whether he's what we need right now and whether we can actually stay up and keep players like this is a big scary thought, but the recruitment so far looks promising.

 

Panama winning and Costa Rica getting a point off Mexico both seem bad for us. Though I guess as long as we win the home games, Costa Rica needs to run the table to knock us out of top 4. So win those home games I guess

 

Honestly think you guys are doing a very good job with recruitment so far.

 

Wish the last two seasons had gone differently for Auba, and I hope he smashes it in Barcelona.

Seems like a bizarre deal on Barca's side though.

 

Apparently he has taken a massive wage cut to join them too