OK, were Jones and Bedoya two of the better players for the USMNT, especially after Dempsey was injured. Yes. Was it gritty, tough and critcal? Yes. Finest field performance in the history of US Soccer? No.
Irony? Perhaps and if he is just expressing his excitement, super. My player ratings: Howard - 7 FJ - 6 Besler 7 Cameron 7.5 Brooks 8 Beasley 5.5 Beckerman 6.5 Bradley 4.5 Jones 7 Bedoya 6.5 Zusi 7 Dempsey 7 Altidore 6 AJ 4 And "ouch"
Eh, when you get down to a tournament setting it's not about aesthetic standards, it's about getting sh*t done. JJ inflicted about as much legal pain on the opposition as possible over 100 minutes of soccer, which is what he is paid to do. In the end the Ghanaian midfield superiority (on paper) didn't drive the discussion, thanks to the ridiculous activity level of the US counterparts. And yes, that includes Bradley.
Agreed, awesome. We don't see enough of this stuff at this WC. 1. I don't agree with this. We were supposed to be a transition-attack oriented team. We became a bunkering, failed counter-attacking team. 2. Saving energy through holding possession was key. We completely failed at that, for a number of reasons. 3. And Jozy's injury is on Klinsmann. 4. Johannson clearly was not ready (prepared) for this level. I don't get why he was brought in. He's not a hold-up player in the first place. His 2nd half performance was awful. That play was purely on Fab Jon who let his opponent run. Fundamentals. Or maybe due to a lack of fitness. His first touch in the game was so poor it nearly led to a goal. Other than that he looked solid. Could you explain this one? Interesting thought. I would think Klinsmann would sub a striker for a striker. Bringing Mix into the equation would mean changing formations? Muscle injuries = fatigue/fitness; not pace/explosiveness. So far this tournament we've not seen a single team as unfit as the US. It was astounding. I agree. Practicing bunker ball against the likes of Italy and France, for instance, completely paid off. Also the mental strength to bounce back and to pull results no matter how. But the poor possession play and the awful level of fitness ('we have the fittest unfit players in the world') are also on him. And that might be way past repair. It might just be a loss for us that a nutcase like Pepe won't be playing against us. They created a lot of chances against Germany, but mostly thanks to Germany's sloppy play. Mentally they looked weak. I don't see them easily scoring against us, but I don't see us scoring against them either.
Team looks like it was overtrained, which led to injuries and some poor performances. What has fitness coach been doing to them?
im sure they are re evaluating their approach, whether it was over training or what none of us knows, but if the injuries were happening in the first half, you've got to look at your preparation going into the game.
Not my view. I thought the defense, even Beasley, deserved credit as most of Ghana's chances were at best half chances despite having that much possession.
Read the entire thread and just a few thoughts. * I am flabbergasted at how badly we played with the ball in a win at a World Cup. The number of simple giveaways or passes hit too short or too long was just crazy and had me cursing at my TV at least 20 times. We can play a heck of a lot better than this with the ball, and we'll need to, because I don't think we can count on a similar defensive performance. * No yellow cards, which is immense considering a relatively thin bench. Looks like it's the injuries that might plague us this time around. * Funny that we play well in losses to Ghana in 06 and 10 and yesterday we play rather badly and get the win. Almost makes up for the injustice of the penalty against Onyewu eight years ago. * That was the worst game I've seen Bradley play in years. I think he'll show up vs Portugal. * Howard, Cameron, Jones and Beckerman were all exceptional. I have little issue with the goal against Howard; the two Ghana goals from four years ago were much worse. Beckerman had some problems in possession but he did his part. Full credit to Jones for a hustling, professional performance without any yellows. * With all the Ghana attacks down our left and our inability to keep the ball, I forgot at times that Fabian Johnson was on the field. Should have tracked Ayew's run on the goal. Great hustle on the play that led to the corner though. Hopefully with better possession in future matches, he can provide more offense. * Not sure what the solution is at forward. AJ looked a bit out of his depth but he has the pace that Wondo does not. On the other hand, a goal poacher might be just what we need. * I believe Germany play Ghana before we play Portugal, so we'll know that result. A draw vs Portugal would do just fine, thank you. I will not be surprised if Ghana get a result in either of their two games. * Long-time lurker, first-time poster. Was on the old rec.sport.soccer for years. Hi Lloyd!
(My bolding) -- that is quite a pessimistic post overall, that said, the bolded part is a bit hyperbole. Talk to the Portugal fans about how fit their guys were. There have been a number of injuries and a lot of cramping from the games I've been watching. In the England - Italy game the guy who was the least 'explosive' or 'pacy' was the best player on the pitch and the explosive English players all ran out of gas @70 minutes. Spain looked like they were running in mud compared to Netherlands. The US team played to the conditions, the opponent, the situation. They accomplished what they needed to do.
Hey guys! I've been a consistent reader here for the last year or so. With that said, I thought now would be an opportune time to interject and potentially give my $.02. I look forward to great discussion with you all! Here are my ratings from the stellar 2-1 victory over Ghana. Let me know if you agree or disagree with any in particular! GK: Tim Howard [7.0]: A fairly standard game from Howard. He does a phenomenal job of not giving up second shot/rebound opportunities and had a brilliant save around the 40-minute mark on a rocket from 22 yards out on the left side; he pushed it wide and prevented any further damage. However, he was caught leaning on the goal, but it would have taken a brilliant effort to save that shot regardless. That was a ridiculously incisive run and to respond with a save would have been incredible. LB: DeMarcus Beasley [4.5]: Beasley was poor in possession I thought. One could get the sense that Ghana was really pushing that right wing for the first 50-60 minutes and it showed. His throw-in obviously led to Clint's brilliant finish, but apart from that, Beasley was incredibly shaky in positioning and in possession. He should have been burned for a goal at the end of the first half when he was caught dramatically out of position, but luckily Ghana mismanaged that opportunity. This is a big red-flag moving forward. CB: Geoff Cameron [7.0]: I really thought Cameron was a solid physical presence. He didn't make any dramatic mistakes nor was he out of position. The communication seemed to be decent enough and the shape of the back line seemed to be a consistent positive, even with their backs up against the wall for 95 or so minutes of the game. CB: Matt Besler [5.5]: Besler was adequate. He seemed to clean up a lot of the crosses coming in from Beasley's territory and that was nice. The confidence was there. I'm disappointed to not see a full 90 from him; Besler was a guy I was really interested in watching under pressure. CB: John Brooks [7.0]: Nothing more needs to be said about his goal. He's so damn lengthy that his physical presence alone could cause teams troubles. He seemed to calm down as the game progressed and had some good link-up play with Beckerman and Jones. I don't mind moving forward in this tournament with him. Additionally, he has enormous potential moving forward. RB: Fabian Johnson [4.5]: His effort in winning the corner was phenomenal. He made a good overlap in the first half but added little in the attack during the remainder of the game. He was also poor in possession for the most part. LM: Jermaine Jones [7.5]: He was an absolute physical specimen this game. He really seemed to be our only guy who matched and overwhelmed Ghana at times. I counted on two hands the number of physical and clean challenges from him that really made things difficult on Ghana's finesse/agile midfield. Further, it seems to be that Jones has found that elusive line between dominating a game and doing it within the context of the rulebook. Not picking up a yellow was huge moving forward, and I thought that he did great in hold-up play in the first half to win a few free kicks. CM: Michael Bradley [4.5]: Supremely disappointing in possession and added virtually nothing to the attack. The most noticeable mistake came with a minute or so left in stoppage time on his early ball from the right wing when the best decision was to kill the clock. He'll rebound offensively. But even in spite of these creativity and possession woes, Bradley really made things difficult on Ghana in the midfield with his incessant pressure and movement. For all of those upset at his performance, one must acknowledge that his conditioning alone made things easier in terms of cutting down passing lanes and making things difficult on Ghana. CM: Kyle Beckerman [6.0]: He'll never woe us in the attack and I doubt he ever picks up a goal or an assist. But with that said, Beckerman does a ton of dirty work and his positioning on a few Ghana attacks was superb. He cut down lanes consistently and his motor never runs cold which, with our backs up against the wall for the majority of the game, is invaluable. I would like to see his link-up play with the forwards and outside midfielders to improve. He seemed poor when his passes weren't directed to Bradley or to our back line. RM: Alejandro Bedoya [5.5]: He was great defensively and his work-rate is top notch. He added very little in the attack but that was a team failure rather than on his part individually. RM: Graham Zusi [5.5] He came up huge with a great service on Brooks' finish. Aside from that, Zusi clearly wanted to slow things down a bit and own the ball, which was refreshing, but that mattered little when Ghana equalized. ST: Clint Dempsey [7.0]: His 7.0 is a reflection of the attitude, world class finish, and general grit that inspired the others if nothing else. ST: Jozy Altidore [N/A]: One can't help but be disappointed for Altidore. He looked like he would be our only physical/attacking threat against Ghana. ST: Aron Johannsson [4.0]: He generally looked lost and lacked confidence. A few other points: 1. There were several huge disappointments, but psychologically this was a massive step forward. To be able to play while reshuffling on the move with Altidore and Besler going down is a considerable challenge, and a bunch of guys stepped up to get the job done. One must acknowledge the momentous nature of such a win and what it can do moving forward for the guys. 2. We're inexperienced and playing with a lead in the face of such adversity is so difficult for such a group. If you've played the game, you'll know that sometimes you want to just hang on. Going down two starters within 45 minutes, playing against a relentless attack, and managing to come out with a win is just refreshing and important moving forward.
If the USA play my Portugal like that I don't see how Portugal don't win I've posted here before so I'm not trolling just saying Yeah we lost 4-0 to a fluid Germany team and we were down 2-0 when Pepe was red carded so we only conceded 2 goals a man down against argueably the best team in the group if not the World Cup itself Against Germany we created chances and had great chances Braga striker Eder looked so close to scoring twice but enough of this game it's over The USA played Ghana and with no disrespect would of been lucky to draw let alone will Congrats by the way but Ghana pressed and pressed and pressed had Gyan been in better form it would of been deadly Atsu is an animal he was chasing balls and preventing goal kicks from those runs and if his crossing had been better I don't see Besler getting into those but there own flair was their demise Portugal fans hoping Bradley has a game like that I know a lot of USMNT fans ask why people underrate him and people don't he is great on his day but terribly inconsistent The USA looked ********ed on Ghanas counterattack and that is something portugal are champs at even against Germany done a man we nearly scored on the counters and picked up fouls in great areas had Ronaldo been in the game would of been a softer score line Portugal are most likely gonna play high tempo fast interchanging passes quick counters and breakaways in this game somewhat like our 6-2 Bosnia win in 10 Pepe will be replaced most likely with Zenit St Petersburg defender Luis Neto with Almeida or Veloso or Costa at LB In my opinion Portugals next two games are easier than the USAs but Paulo Bemto is not underestimating anyone he said on RTPi By game three Ghana will be out and will more then likely finish on 0 points while USA play Germany in the last match day and Germany doesn't take it easy for anyone. So this Portugal USA game is what will decide 2nd place unless Ghana do the impossible and win Germany Notable misses Altidore and potentially Besler Pepe and Coentrão
Eh. I have a feeling we can get a draw from you guys with a chance to even win comfortably. I am not impressed by portugal at all... I don't get where all the hype comes from, but since the draw I thought we easily could take something from this game. I think Ghana may even finish above you in the group.
Agree. Portugal doesn't have the mentality to survive the German demolition. CR7 is not 100% and they're already talking to their travel agents about summer vacations.
Each US positive result against a decent team is down to 'luck'. Think the foreign teams' supporters should avail themselves of a more realistic appraisal of events....
What was so great about how he played against Ghana in '06 and '10? Black Stars simply had a more conservative stance in those matches ceding possession making the US look 'in control' or whatever.
I have to agree with this. All the apparent soft tissue, non-contact injuries the US exhibited yesterday point to errors in physical preparation for the game. Frankly, given JK's interest in maximizing the physical aspect of the US team's game, this is shocking to me. Its hard for me to grasp how the teams doctors and trainers could allow this to happen. The good news is that provided none are serious muscle pulls that require prolonged rest , the 6 days the team has off should help immensely....provided they are not overworked in the run up to Portugal !
We aren't smaller than Ghana. They are one of the smaller teams at the tourney, and it was because of their weakness in the air that we won. We are slower. But we should have been "fitter" for all the lip service our coach gives it. There is such a thing as too much. We saw it in cupcake two years ago. We've heard rumblings of it in the past. You simply cannot chalk up 4-6 guys with muscle issues to "thems the breaks". Something is wrong between training and diet/fluid intake.
I agree. Under what circumstances would a foot normally go that high ? He was not trying to make ball contact. He was leaning back, but not that off balance. I think it was intentional. Its been brought up already but the late challenge from behind on Jones that was not carded was also an example of poor officiating. Live action, I thought it was an obvious yellow. In slo mo it looked red.
In two tourneys(with this second one just getting started) under Klinsmann we've lost 3 players to non-contact injuries; Stuart Holden to the acl and now Altidore and Besler to hamstring injuries.
I had no idea Johnson had any black in him until the anthem yesterday. I've seen him dozens of times and never picked up on it.
US had 51% possession against Ghana in '10 vs %38 in '14(40% in the 1st half) in '14. Big difference was Ghana's high pressing this time around.
Mutnari slide tackles from behind? That team was anything but clean. I was pleased to see us soak up pressure because I knew it would keep the "anti american" calls to a minimum.