Yeah I was going to post the same thing. Even though they barely tied it up the other night, so far this season anyway, the Quakes have been very exciting to watch. At least as opposed to last season. In the end, clubs , in theory , should always play better than national teams as they are together longer.
Not for once, since the Earthquakes were certainly rewarding to watch throughout The Golden Age (2001-2005). But then again, the USMNT was pretty rewarding to watch during that time as well, so your statement about the two teams in the present may indeed be right after all. GO SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES!!! -G
And after having gotten used to watching games on MLS Season Pass’ 1080p resolution (i.e. Blu-ray Disc quality) , it’s been tough watching FOX’s 720p resolution again. Still, besides announcing the game itself, it’s been nice having the TV announcers also mention the San Jose Earthquakes a few times, as well as Sunnyvale “up the street”, Diego Luna having played in the San Jose Earthquakes Academy, and about how Luna’s father played for WSL/WSA version of the San Jose Earthquakes… and all on a televised national stage. GO SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES!!! GO USA!!! -G
We went. The weather was great, attendance was announced at 12,610. So, equivalent to a well-attended Quakes game. The area behind the east goal was the most filled. The area in front of the LOBINA had no fans, which I guess means they sold no tickets for that section. It was pretty quiet, only one U-S-A cheer at the end of the game. Hard to say how good the USMNT was, as T&T was really awful. The ball rarely went into our 1/3 of the pitch until the last 15 mins or so. But Diego Luna did some clever things on 2 goals. He has a very good soccer brain, great anticipation and quick feet. But doesn’t appear to be a very good center mid, and doesn’t really defend, altho he looks for and is quick to catch rebounds off players. We hadn’t been to a USMNT game since 2018, so we were glad we went, even tho we had to pay $90 to park in the Audi Lot. (It wasn’t necessary, as attendance was so low, but we didn’t know that until we got there)
I think US Soccer simply does not want “seating” by LOBINA. It was empty during a sellout for the 2017 WCQ vs Honduras.
Concacaf forbids spectators from non-safe standing areas. That is why the Scoreboard Terrace was closed and the Ultras Terrace was open for the Outlaws even though organizers had not sold tickets there. In 2017, US Soccer built a grandstand on the scoreboard side.
It was a good time, and yes the weather was perfect. Warm but with a nice breeze. 1st half I sat near the top in section 124, and there were a lot of people there (cheaper tickets), and it was pretty spirited. I was wondering where all of these USMNT fan weenies are when the Quakes play. Just don't care? I didn't get the impression that these were Quakes fans coming out to support USMNT. I got the impression that they were USMNT fans who don't care about the Quakes. Second half was a bit of a letdown. I did my patented JazzyJ SeatPoach™, having seen a lot of empty seats around 101 / 102. That way I got to watch USMNT attack both halves (and that's where most of the action was anyway). Second half, until the later goals, it got a little snoozy and we let T&T have some really good looks at goal. We were lucky they didn't score a few. We weren't great in the 2nd half but the subs did well late to get us a few more goals. There was a Luna contigent below me in 102. They had a real cool 2-sided Luna sign. After the game I asked if I could get a photo. I don't know if these folks were related to Luna. They looked like they might be. But they could also have been RSL fans who made the trip.
Luna's family was definitely there, you could ID them by the fact that everyone across all three generations was wearing Luna USMNT jerseys... also they're not very tall, especially the kids.
Braving the midday heat, more than 80,000 fans turned out at the Rose Bowl to watch PSG beat Atletico de Madrid The first weekend of the Club World Cup and Gold Cup produced crowds across the country seen only in England on a regular basis. There were 13 games that produced crowds of 20,000 or more and 23 games that produced crowds of 10,000 or more for the Club World Cup, Gold Cup and U.S. men’s and women’s pro leagues on Friday-Sunday. • After much speculation about the turnout for the new Club World Cup, the first five matches averaged 47,825 fans. • The USMNT drew only 12,610 fans for the 5-0 win over T&T in San Jose, ranking 21st among soccer crowds this weekend. Top 5 U.S crowds (June 11-15) 1. Paris SG 4-0 Atletico Madrid (in Pasadena, Calif.) 80,619 2. Inter Miami 0-0 Al-Ahly (in Miami Gardens, Fla.) 60,927 3. Mexico 3-2 Dominican Republic (in Inglewood, Calif.) 54,309 4. Palmeiras 0-0 Porto (in East Rutherford, N.J.) 46,275 5. Seattle Sounders 1-2 Botafogo (in Seattle) 30,151 Gold Cup (June 14-15) Mexico 3-2 Dominican Republic (in Inglewood, Calif.) 54,309 USA 5-0 Trinidad & Tobago (in San Jose, Calif.) 12,610 Saudi Arabia 1-0 Haiti // Costa Rica 4-3 Suriname (in San Diego, Calif.) 7,736 Club World Cup (June 14-15) Paris SG 4-0 Atletico Madrid (Pasadena, Calif.) 80,619 Inter Miami 0-0 Al-Ahly (in Miami Gardens, Fla.) 60,927 Palmeiras 0-0 Porto (in East Rutherford, N.J.) 46,275 Seattle Sounders 1-2 Botafogo (in Seattle) 30,151 Bayern Munich 10-0 Auckland City (in Cincinnati, Ohio) 21,152
I watched the game. There were obvious moments when Chelsea were clearly better but I definitely wouldn't say lafc looked like a second division team....at all. As a matter of fact with any decent finishing lafc should have scored 2. I mean Chelsea brings $120M Enzo Fernández off the bench to score the second. Who in MLS is going to compete with that?? Now Munich vs the amateurs was embarrassing.
Auckland City is an amateur club and even some of their players could not make it this trip because they could not take time off from their regular jobs. Auckland City is the champion of Oceania Football Confederation and that's why they are in this tournament. The professional team in Auckland is Auckland FC and they play in A-League (Australia and New Zealand) which is affiliated to Asian Football Confederation. Teams from Japan, Korea, Saudi Arabia and UAE represent AFC in Club World Cup.
Yeah, I think the 2-0 score in the Chelsea-LAFC was fair. Chelsea was clearly better, but it wasn't a beatdown.
I don’t know, I watched LAFC closely and they in no way were in the same league as Chelsea. I doubt they would be a mid table EPL side. Maybe a team fighting for relegation but that’s about it.
Wow bold statements about LAFC a team currently 13th tied with two other teams in MLS meaning just one point lower and they would be 16th which would be the equivalent of "fighting for relegation" in the EPL... thank you for the expert analysis that they are not close to Chelsea who finished two points below Man City this season.
So glad you agree! Down with the LAF Clown LAF! Club World Cup: Chelsea beats Los Angeles FC in drab affair in front of ‘almost empty’ stadium | CNN Pedro Neto explains Chelsea goal celebration after feisty LAFC clash at Club World Cup - Yahoo Sports Club World Cup (June 16) Boca Juniors 2-2 Benfica (in Miami Gardens) 55,574 Flamengo 2-0 Esperance de Tunis (in Philadelphia, Pa.) 25,797 Chelsea 2-0 LAFC (in Atlanta, Ga.) 22,137 Gold Cup (June 16) Panama 5-2 Guadeloupe // Guatemala 1-0 Jamaica (in Carson, Calif.) 18,262
I know the pundits will not be satisfied but it was a decent performance by the US. Saudia Arabia was tough to break down. They broke through on a set piece. Berhalter and McGlynn are both really good set piece takers and it's a big help. As great a player as Pulisic is, his set piece delivery was poor, at least last WC cycle.
I'm not sure I'd watched Saudi Arabia play before, but they hung in there. I haven't checked the Nats board, though -- they're probably hating on everyone, as usual.