The Soccer Thread (Version 7.0)

Mexico in shambles.

 

Breaks my heart, really. <Stifles full-throated laughter>

 

When does this alleged Golden Age of Mexican soccer begin? It's cute and all that they've recently done well at the FIFA kiddie tournaments, but this year, in major competition, Mexico has won two games - at Jamaica and vs. Japan in the Confed Cup. And that game didn't really count since both teams already had been eliminated.

 

It happens when its league goes to a more traditional format and when players start to leave Mexico for Europe and breakthrough bigger sides. Dos Santos is the perfect example of a player with so much promise and not being able to break through Barcelona (expected) and Tottenham (not expected) and then struggle to find another interested club.

The Mexican league's schedule is also a disaster and so is the amount of movement players have from team to team. There is not enough stability.

Oh, and a good coach would be a positive for the national team. But that will never happen with the demands of the fans.

 

Jozy needs an early season goal and to get service, which should happen if Di Canio has time to get the squad playing a more European style. He is not a holdup forward and Di Canio needs to recognize that. He's a mobile forward with size who likes to find space and get himself out wide. Hull made the mistake when he was there on loan thinking he could hold up play and it didn't go well.

 

I'm disappointed the USMNT surrendered a goal to Belize. And Wondolowski should keep the misspelled jersey.

 

Donovan with two assists and a PK goal. Holden with one as well. Good win tonight.

 

Other than the keeper, who looked pretty decent despite the 6 goals conceeded, Belize made Cuba look like Brazil in 1970. Even with 9 field players behind the ball, they couldn't sniff possession or stay with anyone on the wing.

 

I just hope Diskerud is OK. That tackle on him was a potential career-ender. A Stoke special.

 

When they show videos of what a quintessential red card foul looks like, that's the kind of foul they show. If that referee couldn't recognize that, he has no business doing any more games.

I was glad to see Wondo score a hat trick, but it's too little too late. He had his chance to unseat Jozy Altidore. Wondo could still make the World Cup team, but he will be hard pressed to find the field unless it's as a supersub.

 

The odds of Wondolowski unseating Altidore as the starting striker were so long as to barely be noticeable. As I've said elsewhere, Wondo is the latest incarnation of Taylor Twellman, Jason Kreis, Roy Lassiter or Joe-Max Moore -- guys who can score consistently at an MLS level but don't have what it takes to separate themselves on the international stage.

Just like Bob Bradley made use of Charlie Davies and Robbie Findley, I'd rather see a potential game-breaker with speed such as Terrance Boyd taking up a World Cup roster spot than a Wondolowski whose best attributes are cleaning up garbage in the box and looking pissed off.