Let me first say that the US team, coach, Gulati, etc is to blame for not qualifying. They should have never been in that position going into the last mtach. But...... It really makes me sick to my stomach seeing the phantom goal. Does anyone else feel this way. Its like pouring salt into the wound of losing to TnT. As someone wrote in another thread, 'we've been CONCACAFed'. Sick. just sick.
We were CONCACAFed in a game we weren't even playing in. I will like to see how much money Fifa might lose since they will probably have less of our sponsorship money and our fans buying tickets. More Americans bought tickets to games in Brazil then other country that wasn't Brazil. As much as this hurts I think this could be the best thing to happen to US soccer. It will force real change and break up the GOB system that have stagnated US soccer.
If the Canaleros play the same way at the World Cup as they did in qualifying, they won't finish a single match with 11 men on the field.
We shouldn't rely on other results when one point against a depleted Trinidad is enough to get us through.We don't deserve a spot in the WC.
Is anyone actually filing a protest? The article doesn't mention any, just says that there's precedent as another match in this WCQ cycle is being replayed.
Man if they make Panama and Costa Rica replay and the Ticos win then Hondo is out right? We would get 4th and Tab would take a focused team into Australia. That would be ridiculous. I would love it but I doubt they would do it.
Depends on the ref. See Web , Howard, 2010 final where multiple straights reds were let go. See also Brazil Colombia which both teams engaged in a hackfest
I believe that unless there is actual corruption by the ref involved shown the only team that can file a protest over a mistake is a team directly involved on the field. In this case that would be Costa Rica. In spite of the effect on the US I do not think, under FIFA regulations, the US has any standing to file a protest. It was pretty clearly a mistake at it impacted the US (and Panama) directly but, unless it came from corruption on the part of the ref(s) involved. I doubt there can be any protest or that any protest could be upheld. My guess is that things will remain exactly as they are and the only effect will be a somewhat stronger push for VAR throughout the World Cup tournament including at least the last stage of qualification like the HEX in CONCACAF. I also think that VAR will be used in the WC finals starting in Russia but I think that would be true even without this error.
Yeah, but most of those tickets were bought by fans of other NTs. There won't be money lost, the games will still sell out and Panamanians will spend just as much in food, hotel, Russian entertainment, etc. FIFA already received their money from FOX, so there's no issue there either. I disagree. Disagree here as well, I think both teams will do CONCACAF proud.
Sounds like you were not in Recife. There must have been about 20K Americans there. They shouted down the Germans on the streets and in the bars and restaurants. What will Panama have? 1K? As for doing CONCACRAP proud, would not losing every game 4-0 make you proud? Hope so, 'cause that might actually happen.
You know, I'm really not pissed at that call. I keep coming back to this (some of you may have seen this already posted elsewhere)... 17 17 22 20 22 12 Those are the points totals in the Hex for the US going back to the 1998 cycle. 20 years of work are represented in those 6 numbers up there. I'm pissed at that 12. The Panama non-goal is a footnote. The 12 is the story.
Where was the ref from? He was probably anti-America. I think it was a penalty anyway leading up to the 'goal'.
I keep fixating on how annoying it is that Honduras could make the World Cup again, and they have a really good chance too. Australia really struggled putting away mediocre teams in Asian qualifying (Thailand, Syria, Iraq, UAE). If Honduras can get a tie or keep it to a 1-0 loss in Australia, then they'll probably be favorites to finish the job in Honduras. ...but back to why I'm annoyed...Honduras scored a grand total of 1 goal in the last two World Cups (although they should have beaten Switzerland late in 2010). At least Panama got the direct qualification slot. If we're going to send a team that is unlikely to achieve anything, I'm happy it's at least a different team. We at least know Panama will fight for a win, even if it is ugly and borderline disgraceful.
I am upset that we failed to qualify but I am not upset about the phantom call. If the goal would not have been counted, I would accept it with the feeling that we really didn't deserve it but am glad to be going to the wc where we can, hopefully redeem ourselves. . Kind of like scoring a goal on a miss hit cross that hit the upper 90. I would feel embarrassed but never fought to have the goal disallowed.
First match is in Hondo. Aussie's have no clue what they are in for.. http://www.espnfc.com/australia/sto...uras-over-united-states-as-base-for-qualifier Montevideo will be like a vacation in Tahiti next to what they are going to experience.
I 100% agree with your point. The US face-planted in general, and very specifically in the final match when everything was on the line. That is the #1 issue. But that doesn't mean I'm not PO'd about the phantom goal, too. Team's make their own luck based on performance. Win the final match against the weakest Hex opponent and get to 15 points and the US is in. Obviously, underwhelming as those 15 points would have been in a historical context, but it still would have been a bottom line number that gets you to the show. Argue about the roster and the lineup all day long, but the US had plenty of solid to good professionals capable of getting the necessary result, but the coaching staff and the players choked horribly and lost control, shifting the focus to good/bad luck. And then all the luck went the wrong way. 1) A cross from 40 yards deflects just perfectly right (wrong) to spin up and over Tim Howard and into the far top corner of the goal. 2) a Honduran shot hits the crossbar and deflects away from goal, only to hit the back of the Mexican keeper's head and rebound in. 3) Panama gets credit for a goal in which the ball never actually crossed the goal line. No matter how you slice it, that's a sh1t-storm of incredibly bad luck. Any one of those 3 things goes for the US and the team is still playing for the Cup. Two teams that the US beat twice and tied twice and posted a 12-2 goal differential advantage over finished ahead of the US. That's certainly plenty worth being PO'd about. And yet, play better and with some heart in that final match and luck doesn't matter. The big picture is correct, but the bad luck still hurts and I will always be PO'd about it.
Haven't watched it but it doesn't matter. These are the rules of Concacaf, NEVER put yourself in a situation where you have to win on the last day to go through. That's the number #1 rule of Concacaf and we broke it. For people complaining that the reffing is biased remember Gonzales gave up a dead cert penalty against T&T only for the ref to wave play on. I don't think Concacaf reffing is as biased as it is incompetent.