So if Vietnam trounces Honduras and the US wins, the US would be in the odd position of knocking Germany AND Argentina out of the cup. Weird So, argentina is crossing their fingers that the US turns up the heat on the Saudis
I feel terrible for Iran, going out to an own goal, but I did appreciate that Uma Thurman overturned her own handling in the box PK ruling throughout VAR
Tell you what - Ritsu Doan for Japan has looked really good this tournament so far. I know their wunderkind Kubo is supposed to be hot stuff, but this guy looks genuinely impressive in all aspects of his game - not just because he's scoring goals when they need them. I think you've got the first part of that mixed up - Argentina and Germany would be eliminated if Vietnam wins and Saudi wins or draws (and Senegal gets a draw or better). So if Vietnam wins and the US intentionally loses (or draws) Saudi (and Senegal draws Ecuador), then we bounce Argentina from the cup. Whether Germany is eliminated will be down to Vietnam more than what we and the others do in Group F. Vietnam would need a win AND to win by 4 goals to overcome the goal difference. Not yet having scored a goal in the tournament, that would be a major accomplishment by Vietnam.
He missed I think two wide open chances against Uruguay. Point blank headers. But he was in a position to constantly be a threat. That last goal where he diced through 4 italian defenders was unexpected. I still dont know where the space for the shot/dink into the net came from.
NZ plays three across the back with wingers. Built to be a physical and direct counterattacking team. They look much improved from 2015.
22' France does the business with a great Allan Saint-Maximin dribble across the top of the box besting 3 or 4 NZ defenders and unleashing a powerful shot low and just inside far post. It was coming and although NZ opened the match well they seem to have lost the plot now that France has decided to exert themselves. I've seen enough. NZ is who we want to meet next round for sure.
Apparently two of NZ's best U-20's left the world cup squad to join the full team in preparation for the confederations cup (Dane Ingham and Clayton Lewis) both of whom had made their professional debuts.
Saint-Maximin is a genius attacker. There is nothing to say about that second goal other than genius.
Seriously though, Damn France is big, mean, fast, and don't look very French. They really are showing they're one of the favoriates to win the tournament.
The quality of play in the Honduras and Vietnam game is dire. It's shocking that the Hondurans managed to hold us scoreless in the CONCACAF final, but I imagine that has a lot to do with the grind of a tournament.
Jeando Fuchs. That's a great p$$nstar name. That and the pitch was shit. On a bad pitch you can't pass on the ground and know how the ball is going to roll unless you have experience on shitty fields.
Also remember "CONCACAF'd" refs also play a roll. more fun to watch bad exciting football, instead of boring precision one sided football. The Vietnam screeching girlish sounding fans makes it more fun too.
Question: If a European or even an MLS club buys Josh Sargent's rights, will the Scott Gallagher club get the money? I can't remember if a court ruled a year or so ago about youth academies getting to make a profit about the selling of their players or not. I remember there were complaints that they weren't getting the transfer fees but don't recall the outcome of the ruling. Just curious....
There never was a ruling. That case was thrown out in a US court in Texas due to lack of jurisdiction, so the youth clubs got nothing. It's always possible they may try to place the lawsuit in another court. http://sbisoccer.com/2017/03/class-action-lawsuit-against-bradley-yedlin-dempsey-dismissed
That's too bad and not right. I know Juventus paid Palermo a fee of €32 million plus €8 million in add-ons for 21 year old Paulo Dybala. I believe the €8 million in add-ons Juve will have to pay are for future transfers and signings that they will have to owe the Sicilian club. I know Sargent or anyone else in the US system aren't quite worth Dybala's fees but I'm sure a youth academy that is unaffiliated with a pro club like Scott Gallagher could easily benefit by even $500k in a transfer fee....
UEFA manages a perfect record for the group stage: 5 out of 5 made the R16. Otherwise: C-CAF 3/4 AFC 3/5 CAF 2/4 C-BOL 2/4 OFC 1/2 That's a poor tournament for Africa & S. America, good one for N. America.
Since two-thirds of the teams in the tournament advance, you could argue that only UEFA and CONCACAF did well, mathematically speaking.