Remember, the quality of Concacaf has really improved. Just how bad was the US to not qualify? Worst team and coaching since 1990
I said it then and I'll say it again several unlikely things needed to happen for us to not make the Cup. 3 upsets, a 30 yrd out fluke goal and a horrible coaching decision to start Old Man Howard on little rest with Guzan rested on the bench. 9 times out of 10 we beat T&T, shit happens.
I'm calling it. Iceland vs. Nigeria is the turning point of not just this world cup but of world soccer. Iceland win and things will never be the same again.
All these WC stadiums in Russia look impressive as hell. Theyve done really well. Hopefully it helps with their domestic teams/clubs too.
Only in Japan: for the analyst on the world cup highlights they have the equivalent of the Japanese Mr.Rogers. he has a long standing childrens show, has a nose stud and the air of a man intimately familiar with the business end of a bottle of sake.
Agreed, they look amazing. Unlike the Olympics, the World Cup can at least be a positive long term if the club teams can make use of the Stadiums.
CL should be a higher caliber than WC. CL teams can get any player they want and they get to play together for most of the year.
RM, Barçam, Liverpool, Man City or Bayer M would easily win this WC. CL is the best quality Cup hands down. They cherry pick the best players in the globo and train year long the same tactics... But WC is to determine which nation has the best soccer program. Beat team is CL It is really hard to beat a 5 defense line with a defense committed team. Every one is having a hard time (Spain, Germany, Portugal). The key is the first goal. CR was going for the draw and created very little (one clear chance?). To me Brazil looks solid enough (balanced team) to go all the way. We shall see.
Watched the replay of Croatia-Argentina. It's amazing how much space Argentina allowed in midfield. Their midfielders had basically vacated that third. Croatia' s high press left Argentina's backfield isolated and scrambling - one of the factors that led to the first goal. What were they thinking? They left so much space in midfield, they looked like the USMNT out there.
Right after the Neymar dive, the Ticos had a golden opportunity to become the crowd favorite. They then ruined all those good vibes immediately with their cynical time wasting antics. That is the worst trait in soccer, and refs should be allowed to have the game go on if they believe that a player is faking to delay the game. I know they have the rule that allows play to go on if a man is down and not a head injury, but once the ball goes out of play they always stop play to tend to the injured player. I would suggest that if the ref is sure that guy is faking, he should be allowed to force the game to continue. You'll see that guy get up real quick if the other team is about to score.
Coutinho scoring 5 hole on Navas was the last thing Navas deserved. He's the only CONCACAF player outside of the US for whom I root. Maybe Chicharito when he's not playing for El Tri. Nigeria were deserved winner against Iceland. I can't believe Jon Obi is still playing this well since his transfer to China. They are going to be a tough opponent for the Argies who will have everything on the line. Good tourney so far.
The UEFA Champions has lost its luster with fans of the traditional game, it's all about Sheiks' money and Russian & American money laundering now. I think traditional teams look weaker since the FIFA Ranking is used to determine the pots. Before that, the pots were made so the "traditional teams" had things as easy as possible.
Masche is like 100 and he wasn't fast even young, Sampaoli pairs him up with the aging, slow Enzo Perez, and in a final act of madness takes Perez out and brings Dybala instead of a midfielder, so in the end it was a 3-1-6 with the 1 being Mascherano. Look ma, no midfield!
I was thinking that Nigeria-Argentina in the World Cup sounded familiar. Apparently, they've been drawn in the same group in three consecutive World Cups, and four times in the last five. Nigeria's lost each time, but still.
Helps that a lot of the second-tier teams categorized as dark horses are actually living up to their potential this time. The previous World Cup, those teams disappointed.
I agree completely. They fought hard, Navas made great saves, and then they acted shamefully. Glad they ended up losing -- and I can't stand Neymar.
I'm at Serbia v Switzerland. Serbia seem to have the better crowd support. However, Switzerland's flag seems to be a big plus.
Yup. CONCACRAP got 3.5 spots. the .5 lost the playoff - OUT Now 2 of the 3 are OUT even before the 3rd group game is played. Mexico is our regions only hope. And we weren't good enough to make it, LOL. But the powers that be are content!