Absolutely gutted for Ukraine……. Damn The Pure US fan in me prefers this because I think Ukraine would have been extremely tough to beat. We should manage Wales
So striker: You got either Ferreria (the leading scorer in MLS) or Wright (the 8th leading scorer in Turkey) vs Keiffer Moore. Moore scored 5 goals for Cardiff this year before moving to Bournemouth midseason. He got hurt in his first game for Bournemouth and missed nearly the entire 2nd half of the year. He returned for their last 4 games though, where he scored a very impressive 4 goals in only 80 minutes of game time. Wings: You have Daniel James (a starter for Leeds) and Gareth Bale vs Pulisic and Reyna Mids: Joe Allen (a Championship Starter for Stoke) and Aaron Ramsey vs what you'd expect to be the MMA midfield. Fullbacks: Neco Williams who plays on the right for Fullham and left for Wales. He was loaned midseason to Fullham where he was a starter, but that loan is now over and he's back at Liverpool. On the right you have Connor Roberts who was a Premier League starter for Burnley this past season but they were relegated, vs Dest and Robinson. Centerbacks: Back 3 consists of a guy who starts for Spurs, a guy who almost never plays for Spurs, and then a guy who was a starter at Venezia in Serie A (they were relegated) vs Walker Zimmerman and either Chris Richards or Aaron Long. Goalkeeper: Wayne Hennesy, a guy who has plenty of Premier League experience, but spent this past season as a backup of a team who were relegated vs Steffen or Turner who will almost certainly be backups next year
I am not going to go that far and say that... but I feel a lot better playing Wales rather than Ukraine. What a brutal own goal. Commentator said it was "the unluckiest of own goals"... that was not a polite way to say it... it was the wrong way to say it. Dude had no business putting his head on that ball. He looked like an offender going for goal it was so poor. At any rate... should be much more of a neutral game for us now as Ukraine would have been WC darlings. Wales has a lot of talent but I like our chances.
When we conquer half the UK in Qatar…does Pulisic get a formal title of nobility? Or does he just get bragging rights? I mean that’s cool and all…but it really should be Sir Christian Pulisic of Hershey.
You act as if that was some random player who had the own goal…..Andriy Yarmalenko is not some no name player. I feel badly for him.
Interesting, I have never been to the UK so not really sure about the feelings there. I would think that Wales has been feeling like the little brother to England for so long and would relish the opportunity to play them. I don't know this though, just an outsiders perspective. It shouldn't matter if we take care of business against Wales though.
There probably isn't a team that benefits more from having a WC 6 months later than us, and probably not a team it hurts more than Wales. IIRC we are the youngest and they are the oldest team that is going to Qatar. They are going to bunker, so not sure that this is a good matchup for MMA. I think we need to start Reyna or Aaronson in the midfield to break down the low block.
I’d venture to guess that our match with Wales will be viewed as a pick ‘em by oddsmakers, with a draw being a very real possibility. We have a great chance (and probably should) win that match, though.
Have to disagree. If you can block a shot on goal you do. Relying on the keeper for a shot that might be hard to stop if it is heading to the top corner is unwise
I'm very happy we don't have to play Ukraine. Rugged players with great team cohesion and on a mission. They looked much, much better than either Wales or Scotland. Imagine if those games were played at a neutral location? I have growing confidence in our boys but more confidence we can handle Wales than Ukraine.
Gutted for Ukraine but we absolutely have little excuse for dropping points in the opener. Iran scares me more than Wales.
Strangely, the US doesn’t match up well with either of these teams. Wales will score one on the break and one from a set piece and that’ll be that. Ukraine would have triangles around Aaron Long all day. Don’t see the US besting either team.
Ukraine was the better side and was unlucky not to go through. Wales will be a tough nut to crack, but I think we have the Wright [TM] stuff. Bale is a special player who will need special attention, as he can destroy us at any moment. The goal for the USA should not just be to advance, but to win the group, as we did in 2010. I think this can only happen if we get our starting GK playing regular minutes. That probably means each of {Steffen, Turner, Horvath} should go out on loan.
Unless you think Brennan Johnson is going to take the leap in the next 6 months, I don't see how you can look at Wales and think they'll hit us on the break. Daniel James is more likely to dribble his way into a brick wall than he'll be to score on us (or anyone).