Pre-match: 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup Quarterfinal: USA vs Curacao - June 30th

Not winning the tournament doesn't mean "second", it can mean "fourth", it can mean QF exit.

 

There are only three time that we didn't come in second, and two of those we came in third. So, technically, you are correct, but not likely.

 

The Jamaica B side, without Orgill, Bailey, and Hector, were unlucky to not put at least 5 on them.

 

Why is Curacao abbreviated CUW? there’s no W in their name.

 

the answer to this is usually find their primary language, then how they spell their country's name in that language.

eta: i poked around a little, and havent found much clarity.

they speak mainly three languages- dutch, papiamentu and english- and none use w in the spelling.

my original thought was misleading, as i suspected, because i was thinking of how networks abbreviate teams/nations- ie you see us listed as estados unidos on spanish-speaking networks. but there are also discrepancies in using two letters or three (or more).

anyways, a few clicks later i found that its the official fifa country code, so i kept poking (assuming "cur" was taken since curacao is a relatively new nation) but alas they were previously coded "cur".

no clue why they/fifa changed it to the current "cuw".

in conclusion, i have nothing helpful to share.

 

Cool. Because I am unwarrantedly interested in this I poked around on the googles and found that when Curacao got its new constitutional status wrt Holland (semi autonomous) it was assigned the country code CW by the ISO.

https://btnp.org/publication/new-is...ory-of-the-netherlands-antilles/?pageNumber=4

Here I am guessing that all the other C countries had been given country codes with the other letters in Curacao. Cuba is CU, Costa Rica is CR etc.

So then based on this presumably FIFA etc went off this but added U to create the third character needed for the abbreviation since it is the second letter in Curacao.

 

The W is a tribute to Andruw Jones

 

Maybe for the capital Willemstad?

 

Maybe they got it confused with this bird?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curassow

 

"Estados Unidos" is either EU, EUA, or EEUU, representing "Estados Unidos" or "Estados Unidos de America". The double letters in "EEUU" indicate that it is plural.

 

I expect Curaçao to become a Caribbean power. When their status changed in 2010, it opened the door for many Dutch players to find an avenue to the World Cup. Now that said they are a Caribbean power, so not like USA or Mexico, but I do think we will see them rise to the status of Jamaica and TnT.

 

I guess I didnt Realize they were a Dutch colony.

Either way, we should smash them and Puli gunna run through them like Butta

 

But not in Portuguese. It is just EUA (Estados Unidos da America).

 

Some pre-match articles:

https://www.si.com/soccer/2019/06/29/usmnt-curacao-preparation-gold-cup-berhalter

https://www.espn.com/soccer/club/un...smnt-players-seek-recipe-for-gold-cup-success

The articles are light on the tactical analysis and focus more on the narrative that the U.S. will not underestimate Curacao. In the video with his article, Carlisle states that he expects 10 new starters + Altidore in the XI and reports that Pulisic will have an entire posse of family and friends in Philadelphia for the match.

 

I truly enjoyed the responses to this bad post over the next few pages.

 

I am for resting some players. If we cannot beat Curacao with a B+ team, we do not deserve to win.

Agree 100% with the post about working backwards from Mexico.

 

Except that’s not how GGG will work. Losing to Mexico in the final is (in his book) an acceptable outcome. Not getting to the final is not.

 

It was a sitter, harder to miss really...

 

My main takeaway is Jeff Carlisle is a lot older than I thought from his twitter photo.

 

The forecast is sunny in Philly today.

 

EEUU kind of seems like European Union for us not in on all the hip wordly acronyms.

 

Some news:

Tyler Boyd & Besiktas have reportedly "reached an agreement on every subject."

Boyd is expected to come to Istanbul after the Gold Cup to sign a 3-year-contract. pic.twitter.com/fj8v7L1gQJ

— USMNT Only (@usmntonly) June 30, 2019

 

Good for him. He’s likely going to get to experience UCL and Europa League with them. Hopefully this move goes well and he doesn’t stay too long. If he shows well enough in Europe he will get an offer to move soon. American players seem to be in high demand right now.

 

It always is.