The Soccer Thread (Version 13) — Winter World Cup Edition

It is interesting to look at the let's say modern history of the US in the World Cup. From 1994 to 2010 it was an every other Cup showing. And the bad was pretty bad. Then they broke it in 2014 by advancing out of a very tough group and playing a competitive match against Belgium and some of us maybe thought the US was ready to finally take the next step. Then 2018, and like you, I think the program hasn't rebounded from that. I am hopeful this go, as always, but I am not super confident they get out of pool play. Shouldn't totally feel that way after a tie, but I just do. Really hoping they watched Costa Rica today and maybe at least try to pack it in Friday for a one-goal loss or something.

Anyway, these first games have been crazy. I don't think it's necessarily being careful, although no one wants to lose which can lead to a lot of draws. But Argentina losing to Saudi Arabia? To a lesser extent Germany and Japan? A couple of huge blowouts? Been interesting. Is it the winter World Cup and not a traditional lead-in?

 

I have been proudly not watching the early games, so I can't speak too much to the ARG-KSA game. The reffing in the USA game was pretty bad for international standards, though more in the chaos department than the biased or dangerous department. There was a very sketchy VAR call early in the opener that seemed to point toward giving Qatar a little help but they're so crap that there's really no helping them.

Was listening to the Brendan Hunt/Roger Bennett USA WC history pod in the deer blind last week, and you know, you could definitely argue the US didn't really play well at all in Brazil but caught more than a few breaks. They score in the first minute against Ghana, were mostly outplayed in the middle 70 minutes and stole a late winner on a set piece. Against Portugal, they fell behind in the fifth minute and were down a goal past the hour mark, and though they were fantastic late in that game, they stone-cold blew a chance to put that away. They were never really in the Germany game, though that was played in a downpour. They advanced on goal difference, mostly because the Germans hammered Portugal 4-0 in the opener. Against Belgium, Tim Howard has a worldy to bail them out of a game they probably should have lost 3- or 4-0 and Wondo flubbed a chance at a smash-and-grab.

 

It's a crime they didn't beat Portugal. I am not sure where that would have put them, but still. Belgium had twice as many shots (and that was a lot of shots), but the US should have won it in regulation and missed a point-blanker at the end. Then had two ridiculous chances to tie it in extra time. Better team won, but in soccer, as we saw with Canada today, that doesn't always happen, and the US had several fantastic chances to move on.

Maybe there can be some sort of magic from here on out, but not sure with this group.

 

Had Portugal not found that equalizer, it would have been USA 6, Germany 4, Ghana 1, Portugal 0 going into the Germany game, so they would have been assured of qualifying but it wouldn't have functionally changed a lot as Germany would have still won the group with a win. Instead it was 4-4-1-1. Ghana would have beaten us on goal difference had they won, but they lost to Portugal in the last game and ended up last in the group. As mentioned, Portugal's GD was shot because they lost their opener 4-0.

 

USA needed a signature win and Portugal would have been it, but for the Ronaldo goal at the death. That was a gutting draw, even though it didn't mean much in the end.

 

Sidebar: Get a deer?

 

I dealt with that for a better part of 2 years as a MUFC supporter and a listener to Talk Sport.

 

No. Our location is probably more comfortable than strategic, and I'm a pretty terrible hunter. My dad, however, has gotten a few over the years but mom would probably not let him go out without me since she hates both guns and venison. Also, since we're together and only carry one gun between us, I don't have to buy an out-of-state tag. One of these years we're going to get lucky and I'm going to get some venison to experiment with in the kitchen, but this year wasn't it. We've been doing this arrangement for five or six years now, not counting 2020 and we've only seen one buck (and couldn't get a clear shot). Saw one doe on our last afternoon but that was about it. I had a tough time this year. I work second shift and am a night owl, so switching to pre-sunrise alarms is a sort of jet lag that f'ed me up all week.

On the other hand, Dad and I enjoyed each other's company, the other relatives I share the camp with are good guys (so long as we don't talk politics or football), and the weather was seasonally tolerable in the Yoop all week. My uncle took a forkhorn and my cousin, who came in from college the night we went home, bagged a 5-pointer the following day, so it was a good year. The food was pretty good and I took two good saunas.

 

If we're honest? Virtually none of our advancements have been that great.

By current rules? We don't advance in 1994. Remember that when it was a 24-team World Cup, several third-place finishers moved on to the knockout and we were one of them. Plus? We know now that the Colombia match wasn't on the up-and-up. As much as I love the 1994 Cup team for the thrills they gave and how they moved the soccer needle off zero and towards where we are today, they're also the 1919 Reds of my lifetime.

In 2002, it started great with the win over Portugal. Honestly? The draw against South Korea on their home soil was probably more impressive, given what South Korea did afterwards, but then we laid a big egg against Poland in the final group match and were fortunate that South Korea beat Portugal to keep us in second.

The 2010 advancement was an absolute game-changer for soccer in the U.S. and one of my personal favorite sports moments ever, but let us not forget why that Donovan goal was so dramatic besides being in injury time ... we were seconds away from going out in the group stage. And it was built on an extremely lucky Rob Green-fueled draw against England and then a first-half no-show against Slovenia. Yeah, we came back against the Slovenes, and should have beaten them outright (remember Koman Coulibaly?), but we didn't, and Slovenia was one "distribution ... brilliant, etc." and Algerian uber-shithousing away from advancing out of the group instead of us.

In 2014, everything UP cited is true. We were competent, but far from brilliant.

My disappointment/satisfaction scale is based on whether we get out of the group, but if we don't? I'm not rolling to the airport with rotten fruit in my possession. Save that for not qualifying for the Cup at all, a la, 2018. The current team is young and has obvious flaws, particularly at striker. If we make it out, great, if we don't? Meh.

That said, Berhalter had Jesse Marsch-style deer in the headlights tactical brain freeze when Wales put Kieffer Fucking Moore on the pitch and that should never happen.

 

If the US team was an NFL team, what would the comp be? The Chargers? The Vikings?

 

The Houston Texans. Newish team, a few good seasons but nothing memorable.

 

He crossed it and Varela scored on the header.