Running, all-purpose World Cup thread

How? They can't score. Period. This U.S. team can't score points. No offense.

 

Not a soccer insider by any means, but here's a generalist's take on the US. Can't judge anything from Czech game. The US came out and played so badly, their performance wasn't worth analyzing.
Against Italy the US played damn well. And they left me agreeing with the skeptics here. Offensive spark seems missing. Even when the US had 11-10 advantage, their attacks were deliberate in the extreme, like a 4-year old attempting to create his first complex Lego structure.
That's nor merely bad for the team's chances of advancing, it's hor a promotional tool. The World Cup is the sport's chance to reach out to the many Americans whose most basic complaint about the game is there's not enough scoring, and we field a national team that has trouble scoring even by the rigid defense-first standard of the World Cup.
If the US remains a long way from winning a Cup, or even reaching a final (a point on which there's little disagreement I can find), then promotionally its next best step would be to create an entirely new philosophical identity for the 2010 team. It should become the all-out, watch us go, defense goes around de yard team of international soccer-its Phoenix Suns, its Air Coryell, its 1977 Red Sox. THAT would draw many soccer-ignorers here to its cause.
If the US can't beat Ghana Thursday, it should aim for a 5-4 loss.

 

Just got back yesterday. Will post in depth when I get climb out from my pile of work, but the only phrase to describe our effort against Italy was fucking heroic.

 

Fuckity fuck fuck! Togo is out! There goes my kids' college fund.

 

Nice shot by Rece Davis at Wynalda.

Those two and Foudy are are on the pseudo-pitch discussing goal celebrations. Wynalda says "I never planned anything before the match." Davis replies "Kind of like this show."

 

Wynalda is smug as hell, but sometimes, I like smug as hell. He hasn't bothered me as much as he's bothered some others. Neither has Julie Foudy, for that matter.

 

Foudy doesn't have a clue. She's better suited to talk to the 8 and 9-year-olds at her camps. The sooner she's gone, the better.

Chingalia is a bag of douche. That's it, plain and simple. He's a cocksucker of the highest order, one who appears hell bent on ruining soccer in this country once and for all.

Lalas is a tool, but he's always been a tool.

I usually don't watch studio shows, simply because they seem geared toward the least competent fan. Give me something I don't know instead of rehashing the fact the US had never beaten Italy.

 

Ukraine is laying the smackdown on the Saudis

 

Whatever happened to that Saudi guy who was the "Pele of the desert" when the WC was over here?

 

Poland in 1982 did zilch in its first two games, tying both 0-0. Then ... boom! 5-1 over Peru and three more a game later against Belgium. I'm sure Polish fans in 1982 were saying "No offense."

No, the USA's offensive play has been offensive, but that doesn't mean that they can't/won't figure it out against Ghana.

 

Exactly. Chinaglia is a piece of shit. This is a guy that is all well and good about MLS if they give him a contract, but when they left him out... bash, bash and bash some more.

He is a complete and utter failure of a human being.

Now, enough of King of Crap...


The US should be able to beat Ghana. The question is, can Italy beat the Czechs? Would Italy be willing to risk a tie just to advance? I'm just not so sure.

It is very likely that Brazil decides to give up on Ronaldo in the next round. Now that they have advanced, Brazil's next game will have a lot of plays to get Ronaldo involved. After that, I just can't see the coach being that arrogant.

 

I guess the question Italy should answer is if they would prefer to play Brazil or try to play Australia?