These games, from now until the WC starts, are considered our path of punishment and humiliation for our failures. For the next 9 months or so we will serve as the Washington Generals to all those happy Globetrotting teams that are going to go to the Big Show. Doesn't matter if we win, or not; they will leave the field as winners while are reminded that losers get nothing. I suppose the only genuine consolation lies with this. They will have to then go to the Russian front, while we get slink to bars and watch them enjoy beautiful, cosmopolitan, Irkutsk....
We might not get any meaningful friendlies against Europeans in the future, as they will be starting the Nations League.
Both those places are pretty nice. Big tourist destinations. No no, Norilsk is what you want. The only city in the world that is so polluted it kills every living organism for 30 km in all directions including sterilizing an entire river.
Can we make that official. Instead of the send off games these are all the path of punishment games. Or the I hate life games. I honestly don't know if I can stomach a game with the old players. I'm still too mad. Doesn't help the Cheifs just lost now too.
1. that IS exactly what an outlier is 2. well... *shrugs* 3. he's been the best player at literally every level hes been at. to suggest otherwise, is a bit silly.
I think about a week or so ago there were rumors of a match against Slovakia (https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/nov-14-slovakia-vs-usa.2073366/), but ever since all the reporting has been that Portugal will be our only friendly during the November window.
I think it was reported expressly that this would be the only match of the camp, to the dismay of many. I think they either should have had no games to recover from the hangover or 2 to start the rebuild. 1 is mostly just going to be a quick reminder of the failure.
We've always given Portugal a headache, they suffer against physical teams. It made sense for them wanting to prepare for the World Cup facing us, back when everybody was thinking we'd make it. Now, though, we're likely to play an experimental squad. They won't be happy about it.
Well, it seems to me they might look at it as an opportunity to ask Tab to field players for certain purposes since we don't really have any aim here other than starting at square one of a whole new roster for 2022 - of course with 2019 2020 in mind as well but it's not like that's near future in soccer terms. They might have a winger they would like to test against somebody like Yedlin, e.g. or maybe a fullback they want to see against Pulisic, etc. Also, if Tab has evolved to vertebrate status since Arena's departure, maybe he would let them have a look at somebody they could consider for Portuguese league. (Or are we still in "we stink don't pay them anything" mode? That didn't work out too well. ) How about starting Hamid and EPB (if ManCity see it as plus). It's not like we have anybody decidedly better than those anyway so nobody is being cheated of seeing our best. We'll know nothing's changed if Kellyn Acosta is out there.
A 4-2-3-1 with only yanks abroad: Horvath, Yedlin, Miazga, Cameron, Lichaj (scored a goal today), Williams (played 90 in HT's win over ManU today), McKennie, Chandler, Pulisic, Fabian (scored a goal today), Wood. Subs: Wright, Ream, Johannsson, Gooch,?,?. Might give Portugal a decent game despite Tab Ramos as interim coach.
Scratch Chandler, he's out with a no-contact knee injury and unlikely to be back soon enough, I'd say. http://www.espnfc.com/eintracht-fra...handler-injures-knee-with-eintracht-frankfurt
Gooch can play that outside mid position then? Scored a goal a few weeks ago. That thins out the subs: Green didn't dress for Furth today. Who else is there really? MLS players on teams that have been eliminated from playoffs? Gonzalez from the Mexican league?
Couldn't agree more. Obviously thanks for everything he has done in the past. Say what you want he always showed up at the boarding gate thru rain, sleet, snow, like they say. Mike's choice of playing with Nagbe and Acosta/Arriola in midfield was ill advised. He showed no command. He knew what the problems were and skated. Hwvr, irrespective of various opinions, the results speak for themselves and broach no argument. Bradley, you're fired.
Does anyone else get really depressed when they start thinking about this game? "Oh Gawd, a meaningless friendly to start our road to sitting on the couch next summer." I admit, it makes me incredibly pessimistic when I start looking at the roster projections. "Who cares - it'll be the same rejects that lost it in Trinidad" - that thought keeps bouncing in my head. I'm half-expecting to see "Headline: Bruce Arena hired as interim manager for Portugal friendly".
Meh, it should be Euro heavy since MLS can't be arsed to make their games legitimate by stopping play during intl breaks. I don't really care until we get our real manager. Hopefully that won't happen until after the Jan USSF election. This whole thing is weird to me since USWNT WWC win really hooked me into football. I started watching the men more closely and then following players teams, etc. you guys know the pattern, and now I can't be all that arsed about intl footie. I find intl play is often deleterious to a players club performance, which is fine if there is some point to the intl side of things. Despite the result in COPA, and securing the half berth for confeds cup, the football has been terrible. As in consistently less than the sum of its parts
It should still be young euro heavy. Call in the players you want to take a look at that won't be called in January.
You can't be arsed about int'l football because the MNT is so terrible. The WNT wins World Cups without even breaking a sweat. Look at how backward the MNT is. Every level is just a cluster********. The people running it are delusional and out of touch with reality. At this rate, the only thing the MNT will be doing is watching all future world cups from home (including Qatar and beyond). Everyone here should remember that men's soccer in this country can very quickly become irrelevant if the USSF does not turn the ship around and fast. Personally speaking, when it comes to the MNT, I'm beyond depression. I've lost all faith and confidence in this federation. They are a joke. A sad, sad joke. And the joke ... is on us, the fan base.