The Soccer Thread (Version 7.0)

I've been following Twitter. The timeline was incredible when Evans scored. I just wish this hotel had beIN so I could have seen it.

 

Finishes scoreless. For all of Mexico's attacking talent -- pretty clearly the best in Concacaf -- they've been strangely toothless in the Hex. Five games, one win (1-0 at Jamaica) and four draws (three 0-0s, two at home). Costa Rica visits Azteca next, and the Ticos are the only team to win a competitive game there. With a glamor matchup with Italy in Brazil just five short days away, is there another famous upset on the cards?

Job done for the US. Four points away from home is a whole round's worth, and if the previous four Hexes are any indicator, the Yanks could even afford a home draw and still qualify comfortably. Is Brad Evans the new Frankie Hejduk or Sasha Victorine 2.0? I want to see more before anointing him the Next Big Thing, but this is a nice start.

Also, Phil Schoen and Cobi Jones make me long for the days of Jack and Ty. Beckford was clearly offside for Jamaica's goal -- he had at least half a body length between him and the last defender after he pushed off of Bradley. There are still reasons to worry about the US defense, but not because of that play.

 

Great victory. We have four of our last six matches at home, so that is good, too. I'd be surprised if Mexico is not in the top 3 when it sorts out. The U.S. has to keep the foot on the gas Tuesday.

 

How could the refs miss the offsides of the Jamaica goal?

We basically played scared right after Jozy scored and were lucky to get all 3.

 

Outside defense is the biggest weakness for the USMNT. Beasley is solid at denying, but if someone dribbles at him, it's over.

Zusi continues to play as well as anyone in WCQ, but is he suspended for the next game? I don't recall a yellow card, but I thought I saw in twitter he's suspended. And it's nice to see Altidore with a couple goals in the last couple of games.

Jamaica's goal was indeed offside (my 7-year-old son immediately said so when we watched the DVR replay ... smart little turd). Both teams clanked the post in the first half. Ultimately, you don't apologize for three road points in WCQ. I don't care if it was lucky or not. Six points the next two games should put us in pretty good position.

Still not sold on Mexico being a threat next year. They just cannot score. I wonder if the expectations are too high for Mexico and they simply cannot live up to them.

 

Beckford (ex-Leeds!) was offside by a wide margin. Can't believe it wasn't called.

For those of you who don't have beIN Sport? It was awful. Schoen (who isn't terrible) and Jones (who is close to terrible) were actually the highlight of the broadcast. They had two clowns doing the halftime and postgame on-site in Kingston that made the Boom Goes The Dynamite Guy seem like David Brinkley in comparison. Amateur fucking hour.

Worst of all, they broke in a couple of times with Paraguay-Chile in-game highlights that either took you completely away from the match, or worse, was in a box on the bottom of the screen SUPERIMPOSED OVER THE ACTION GOING ON IN THE USA-JAMAICA MATCH.

I know beIN has the rights to CONMEBOL, and I'm certain they have a demographic that skews Latin American in a big way, but do they think anyone watching USA-Jamaica gives two shits about Parafuckingguay and Chile? Especially when they were showing Paraguay-Chile immediately after the USA-Jamaica match? Good Christ.

Their studio is, to put it mildly, unique. It looks like the Korova Milk Bar from Clockwork Orange as imagined by the set designer from the original Rollerball (think white instead of black), combined with the art sensibilities of 10-year-old Teutonic girl, combined with the hillbillies who put neon lights under their Pussy Wagon trucks. No one, not even sexy boy Schoen, look good in its loud, harsh light.

I take that back. Terri Leigh looks good, but she is approximately 50 pounds.

I'm glad beIN Sport exists because I can watch my dog-ass fave Leeds United once in a while, but they have a long, long, long way to go on production value/on-air talent, etc.

 

Zusi got booked for the foul that led to the free kick that led to Jamaica's goal. The outstanding camerawork missed the whole thing, and Schoen only barely bothered to mention it.

http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminaries/nccamerica/matches/round=258372/match=300222000/index.html

 

Thanks. Never saw the referee book Zusi and I never heard from the commentators.

 

This has never been my feeling. The USA will get in. Yes, Mexico will get in as well. However, why worry about teams like Jamaica getting points off of them? The USA needs to qualify by winning the games they play not by getting by because Mexico took all of the points. I would love it if it came down to a “win in Columbus or you aren’t making the World Cup” scenario.

Besides, of all the teams in CONCACAF, I’d rather have Jamaica in the race than places like Guatemala and Honduras. Those two, in particular, love to dive, cheat and hack through their games.

I’d like to see this evidence that Mexico has the best attacking talent.

For all the bluster about Hernandez, he’s the most over-rated striker on the planet right now. He’s a poacher. The kid can finish, that’s plain to see. But he can’t dribble past you. His passing is ok, if you give him time. His game is summed up by great runs and good finishing inside the box. Kris Boyd used to be able to do that too.

You didn’t enjoy Tony Meola? I was watching at a bar and there was no sound for the game on. He showed up and I just laughed.

 

Same reaction at my (sound-free) local bar, possibly because we were both in Jersey? ;D

I'd be interested to hear the beIN commentary at some point, because I've seen mixed reviews -- and I know most of the journalists (OK, talking heads) involved for a long time. Except the microscopic blonde, who likely hasn't been alive for a long time.

I thought the studio was fake, a green-screen projection to cover the fact that Tony and the blonde were actually in a Miami office. A real TV network actually created that monstrosity?