Colombia vs Costa Rica June 11th [R]

I think, coupled with home advantage, the US has a shot at making the semis. Plus, the South Americans are bound to underestimate us. Just look at how they talk about this competition. Look at how the Paraguayan coach talked about the US. Look at how the Uruguayan coach took his loss to Mexico, of all CONCACAF teams to overlook. They've already come in expecting to walk away with this, and if they lose, it's only because they've been somehow been blindsided by the reality of playing a Copa America here in the US. I'll take that.

If anything, a good strategy for Jurgen Klinnsman to approach (as far as mind games are concerned) is to feed into that. Do anything and everything to make them feel more comfortable going into the match. Talk up your opponent. Make pre-match predictions of formation-changes that you have no intention of making. Talk about this player or that player that you have no answer for. Talk about this player or that player that you wish you could have selected for the team. It's all fair in war.

George Foreman beat a man half his age because that man assumed that beating a 40-something year old who couldn't move very well would be easy and was shocked to find out that the man still packed a punch that could kill a mule. Was George Foreman a better fighter than Michael Moorer at that point in his career? No. Not by a long-shot. But all I cared about when he knocked out Michael Moorer was that he knocked out Michael Moorer and became champion again. And that's all we'll care about if the US catches South America by surprise.

The mental aspect is part of sports. It's why some athletes succeed and others don't. Look at Lebron. Probably the best basketball player of his generation and because of some of his mental shortcomings will likely only have 2 titles to show for it after yet another Finals. And he lost one partly because he, and his teammates, drastically underestimated Dirk Nowitzki's resolve and skill. Now, many emulate his fall-away jumper. So that is a weapon that we can use. And don't tell me that that doesn't work in football. It worked very well for the US in the Confederations cup when they shocked Spain and nearly did the same to Brazil. Both teams took the US for granted. And don't tell me that the big teams have learned from that and won't overlook the US, because they haven't. And they probably never will for a long time. Hell, Korea and Japan still inexplicably get more respect than the US and they've never shown close to the level of consistency against other confederations that the US have. So I feel that this is a real weapon that can be exploited. For how long, who knows. This is also a reason why taking on Argentina makes sense (at least for the US) earlier rather than later. Because had, by some contrivance of events, the US found themselves in a position to make a final against La Albiceleste, then it would not matter how much they underestimate the US, they're bringing the A++ game with a trophy so close to fruition.

See, I don't think the US will win the Copa America, but I also want to see that happen and I'm sure that this is the goal of every player in the USMNT and every US fan. And our best shot of making that happen is to play Argentina in the second round imo. You'll have the momentum of one knockout game behind you while still retaining at least some of the "surprise factor". So this is actually the best-case scenario for us if winning the whole damn thing is a goal. I want to be Greece in the Euros. I want to be Nottingham Forest or Celtic in the European Championship. I want to be Leicester City. I'd take a title that I had no business winning and I'm sure that the USMNT would happily do the same. The USMNT came close in the Confederations Cup in 2010 because the World's Best overlooked them. And I don't see anything different now. The World's Best teams have short attention spans, and to be one of the best you almost have to be because you always have to have that confidence. But it's a double-edged sword.

Damn, I've written too much now... okay, noone has to read that... stream of consciousness...

 

So, what is the prize for finishing 1st in the group? A cross-country hike thru three time zones to Seattle, to face a though Ecuadorian side on 4 days rest, while Colombia gets the easy ride up I-95 to meet Peru instead of Brazil, on 5 days rest....Did Pekerman know this all along????

 

I did say that B looked like a weak ass group.

 

I don't think Ecuador are going to underestimate the US - quite the contrary actually. I see both teams as being on a pretty similar level. The US maybe has a slight upper hand, but we'll see. I think both teams are going to look at this game thinking they've got more than a decent shot at the quarterfinals.