Now that the warm-up tournament for 2026 is over for the USMNT, my three and a half year journey to annoy/bribe/extort US Soccer into bringing back the '94 denim jersey begins...
Former Fire legend Frankowski starting for Poland. Could we add to the list of (former) Fire players who have scored in the World Cup? And against France, that would be something.
I imagined some punter moaning about Frankowski's inablity to keep up with Mbappè. It reminds me of a Jim Bouton story from "Ball Four". "We'd get a scouting report that so and so couldn't hit Koufax' curve ball. I thought about it for a minute. No one in baseball could hit a Koufax' curve ball."
Knowing Franki’s speed, it was fairly shocking to see Mbappè glide by him with ease. Announcer said they clocked Mbappè at 35km/hr!
France’s goalie looks like their only weak spot…gotta think Poland will get (at least) one before this game is over.
Poland pretty boring in the group stage games that I saw but came out exciting in the first half Frankowski involved in a lot of action
He was a late “runner” with Poland pushing in the attack. He walked up unopposed because he’s been playing away from everything in order to be free for a counter. Mbappe, lazily walking around (before hitting 35KM!)
I don't know if this should be posted in this thread, the Xherdan Shaqiri NUTRIDER thread or the Political thread or cross posted in all 3. I learned a few things here because South Eastern European politics are so convoluted (Ottoman Empire and religious sectarianism issues) and I was unaware of Shaqiri's lineage and just exactly WHY the Switzerland v. Serbia game was SO chippy and contentious (11 yellow cards). Now I know. Fight in game. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/IyKcEpF2zLc
USMNT’s World Cup run ends vs. Netherlands thanks to three defensive lapses https://theathletic.com/3965868/2022/12/03/usmnt-netherlands-defense-world-cup/ 1) “Tim Ream and Walker Zimmerman both went with midfielder Davy Klaasen on his hard run to the near post, but it was hugely unusual to see Adams fail to track his man after he covered so much ground and defended so tirelessly during the group stage.” 2) “This time, left wingback Daley Blind ran onto it, blowing past inattentive U.S. left back Sergiño Dest and hammering a first-time shot past goalkeeper Matt Turner.” 3) “Left back Antonee Robinson, normally so solid defensively with the U.S., was free to move wide and mark Dumfries, but he never noticed him and instead shaded centrally to help cover Bergwijn.”