Soccer, footie, football, futbol

[rockymtn devil]

Anyone watching the U.S. game?

It's the same old story. Bad giveaways in the midfield and sloppy, lazy defense is killing the U.S. Despite being up 1-0 at the half, the Yanks have wilted in the second half and now trail 2-1. It be easy to blame it playing a man down (terribly poor call in the first half went against us), but that isn't the issue. The man down didn't lead to a giveaway in the defensive end and it certainly didn't lead to Oguchi Onyewu moving out of the way of a rocket from De Rossi.

Onyewu has been awful today. He looks slow and out of position consistently and his poor ball-handling (always an issue with him) is again getting exposed by a quality opponent. His size and physicality might be an asset against Mexico and Honduras, but he's a liability when the U.S. plays technically skilled teams. I think (hope) he's played his way out of the starting 11 for the rest of this tournament.

Very frustrating game.

[rockymtn devil]

So I don't get accused of being overly negative, some positives have come through.

Landon Donovan has played well today. He's at his best when he dribbles north-south, right at the heart of the defense and his aggressiveness led to several nice chances in the first half.

Michael Bradley has also played well. His touch near the goal was a bit off, but he created chances and always seemed to be near the ball.

Finally, Jozy Altidore is proving that he has to be on the field for the U.S. as much as possible. He is a serious offensive weapon and his wonderful touch led to the U.S.'s goal.

Here's to picking up a point on Thursday against Brazil, whose defense looked shaky today against Egypt.

[Rolvix]

I didn't get to watch anything but they replay of the last goal.

But I did see the replay of the red card call - what crap! I hit people worse than that in High School soccer and don't even get a talking to!
Ahh... Everybody hates America. :roll:

[wilson]

So I should be reading today, but right now I'm kind of in a holding pattern until I head out for research in a couple of weeks anyway, and the USA-Brazil Confederations Cup match is coming on in a few minutes. I'm pretty strongly considering watching it instead. We can't advance in the tourney without winning today (not likely, to my mind). More importantly to me though, this gives us a better gauge than Gold Cup or even most CONCACAF qualifiers as to where we stand heading into next year's World Cup. Should (hopefully) be interesting.

[wilson]

Inauspicious beginning...1-0 Brazil, 6+ minutes in. Yuck.

[Lavabe]

I have been watching games that appear on Madagascar TV at 5PM. A few thoughts:
1) USA vs. Italy: rmd's observations were spot on.
2) Most BIZARRE game: Spain 1-0 Iraq. Why this wasn't 7-0 is beyond me.
3) South Africa vs. Iraq: Umm, I think that's what it was. WHY we're getting the IRAQ games is beyond me.

I better see if they have a feed of the game at the hotel.

Any word as to where Ribery will be playing next season?
Cheers,
Lavabe

[wilson]

I better see if they have a feed of the game at the hotel.

Cheers,
Lavabe

Decent chance...it's on ESPN2 over/up here. I too agreed with rmd's interpretation of the Italy game (though I didn't get to see a great deal of it). And the Giuseppi Rossi thing is still stuck in my craw after a couple of years.

As I type this, Brazil goes up 2-0 after a far too easy breakaway/counterattack. Pitiful coverage by the US. Doesn't look good at all after 20 minutes. I'd change to the US Open, but it's already in a rain delay.
Maybe I could actually do some work today...

[rockymtn devil]

I better see if they have a feed of the game at the hotel.

Cheers,
Lavabe

Decent chance...it's on ESPN2 over/up here. I too agreed with rmd's interpretation of the Italy game (though I didn't get to see a great deal of it). And the Giuseppi Rossi thing is still stuck in my craw after a couple of years.

As I type this, Brazil goes up 2-0 after a far too easy breakaway/counterattack. Pitiful coverage by the US. Doesn't look good at all after 20 minutes. I'd change to the US Open, but it's already in a rain delay.
Maybe I could actually do some work today...

US was awful today. The first and third goals were poor marking. The second was an inexcusable mistake by Demarcus Beasley that allowed Brazil to score on our corner kick. I'm not sure what is up with Beasley (he may still be hurt) but he's killing this team right now. Nobody played well today and this tournament has not been encouraging.

[wilson]

US was awful today. The first and third goals were poor marking. The second was an inexcusable mistake by Demarcus Beasley that allowed Brazil to score on our corner kick. I'm not sure what is up with Beasley (he may still be hurt) but he's killing this team right now. Nobody played well today and this tournament has not been encouraging.

There was one little stretch between about 60:00 and 70:00 wherein the boys played some nice soccer and got a few good shots on goal, but overall a flat, disappointing performance today.

[rockymtn devil]

US was awful today. The first and third goals were poor marking. The second was an inexcusable mistake by Demarcus Beasley that allowed Brazil to score on our corner kick. I'm not sure what is up with Beasley (he may still be hurt) but he's killing this team right now. Nobody played well today and this tournament has not been encouraging.

There was one little stretch between about 60:00 and 70:00 wherein the boys played some nice soccer and got a few good shots on goal, but overall a flat, disappointing performance today.

I'm struggling with a bit of the cocktail flu and dozed off during that stretch. Hopefully that will translate into a solid showing on Saturday.

[rockymtn devil]

Pretty incredible turn of events today in the Confederations Cup. After two less than inspiring performances, the US actually entered today's game with a chance--albeit tiny--to move onto to the semifinals.

In order to move on, the US needed to beat Egypt by 3 (seemed unlikely given how awful we've been and how good the Egyptians have played) and have Brazil beat Italy 3-0 (again, unlikely that such a blowout would occur between two top-notch teams, especially since the game was meaningless to Brazil).

Both things happened and the US gets to take on #1 ranked Spain next week. The Spaniards have not lost in 35 games and have won 15 straight. Both are incredible streaks in soccer, especially for a team currently qualifying for the World Cup in Europe.

Today the US played with fire and ability which allowed them to take advantage of a lot of space on the offensive end. On defense they got solid play in the net and smart, mistake free soccer from the back line.

[Lavabe]

Pretty incredible turn of events today in the Confederations Cup. After two less than inspiring performances, the US actually entered today's game with a chance--albeit tiny--to move onto to the semifinals.

In order to move on, the US needed to beat Egypt by 3 (seemed unlikely given how awful we've been and how good the Egyptians have played) and have Brazil beat Italy 3-0 (again, unlikely that such a blowout would occur between two top-notch teams, especially since the game was meaningless to Brazil).

Both things happened and the US gets to take on #1 ranked Spain next week. The Spaniards have not lost in 35 games and have won 15 straight. Both are incredible streaks in soccer, especially for a team currently qualifying for the World Cup in Europe.

Today the US played with fire and ability which allowed them to take advantage of a lot of space on the offensive end. On defense they got solid play in the net and smart, mistake free soccer from the back line.

Thanks for the update. I did a double-take when I saw that the US is playing Spain. What did the US do to beat the Egyptians by that much? And who was on fire for Brasil?

I don't expect the US to score against Spain, but you never know!
Cheers,
Lavabe

[CameronBornAndBred]

The US is beating Spain 1-0 at the half.

[windsor]

The US is beating Spain 1-0 at the half.

'Watching' the Gamecast on ESPN - Spain sure has taken a lot of shots in the 2nd half - still 1-0 USA!

[windsor]

SCOOOORRRRRREEEEE !!

US 2 - SPAIN 0

[CameronBornAndBred]

Sweet, we won!

[rockymtn devil]

I haven't watched the game (don't worry, this thread didn't spoil it for me; I already knew) because, apparently clients frown on being billed for me watching soccer. Who knew?

Anyway, from what I've read, the gameplan was perfect and Tim Howard was magical in the net. I plan on watching the replay tonight and will post my thoughts then.

[windsor]

I haven't watched the game (don't worry, this thread didn't spoil it for me; I already knew) because, apparently clients frown on being billed for me watching soccer. Who knew?

Anyway, from what I've read, the gameplan was perfect and Tim Howard was magical in the net. I plan on watching the replay tonight and will post my thoughts then.

Then you need more sensible clients!

[Lavabe]

I fell asleep by the end of the first half... and it's just as well. If I had watched any more, Torres was going to score, and the US would have lost. Thankfully, I didn't watch more.

Go figure!!

I guess that 1-0 Spain/Iraq game gave the US a clue of what to do.

Amazing!

[rockymtn devil]

After watching the replay...

The game plan was pretty much perfect. Bob Bradley had the team clog the middle of the field to frustrate Spain's attacking mids (especially Xavi) and force them to make less threatening passes. This forced the game to the wings where the US was confident that its back line could win balls played in the air into the box. Such a strategy would be disastrous against Germany, England or Holland, but it's exactly what you do to a creative, playmaking team like Spain (and Brasil). It worked.

On offense, the US picked its spots nicely (only attempting 9 shots all game) but kept enough pressure on Spain to keep them honest. Landon Donovan was again great at going forward, using his speed to blow by defenders. Michael Bradley is turning into a smooth, smart playmaker to compliment Landon's speed and aggressiveness, and he played well (we'll miss him on Sunday). And Jozy Altidore is the most exciting young goal scorer the US has had come along since, well, Landon Donovan nearly a decade ago (hard to believe its been that long! I can remember watching a 16-year old Donovan play for the U-21 US team at Columbus Crew stadium in 1998). He has a nose for goal and works hard for himself and his teammates, which is why he, and not Freddy Adu, is on the field.

Tactics aside, the US won this game because it played with the grit and determination that had become its calling card, but was missing for the past month. They won 50-50 balls, scrapped for balls in front of the Spanish goal, and sacrificed their bodies on defense. Without the technical skill of the rest of the world--which we don't have--this is how the Americans have to play to beat world class teams.

The only downside was the lack of respect and class shown by the Spaniards after the game. With the exception of Fernando Torres (who is a class act), the Spanish pouted off the field and refused to trade jerseys with the Americans (this is akin to not doing the handshake line at the end of an NHL playoff game). We expect that from the Mexican side. It shouldn't be done by a top-notch European side.