Ghana penetrated all the time, and their technical abilities are lower than Portugal's. Yes, there were not that many really dangerous moments, but that's the point! If low Ghana was getting chances, Portugal will have double. My biggest problem was that US just gave away the ball and the middle immediately after they scored. Absence of Pepe will mean nothing if we don't cross the midfield. I really hope this was due to what you said -- needing to adjust to the injuries on the fly. They better use these days off wisely because Portugal is pissed and has a lot to prove and this is just the desperate, high-quality, pissed off and embarrassed team that might pile up 5+. I really hope I'm wrong, but smart money will be on over, and not in a good way.
They showed him coughing it up when he went on the sidelines after the injury. Does he wear a mask now?
I agree with Barry. Also it is easier to game plan against an opponent when all you need is a tie. That said, Portugal I watched today, will probably find at least 3-4 very good opportunities. I am pretty sure they will score against us. Questions is, will we be able to score? Pepe is their defensive leader. He is also one of the dirtiest players in entire world. Not playing against him is a plus.
I think Ghana is better than you are giving them credit for, they have some very high caliber players. I worried about some of the bad passes by Bradley even in the 95th minute he made a crucial mistake but I can't see him playing 2 bad games in a row. That being said can we count on Jermaine Jones to play 2 great games in a row? I think Ghana matches up very badly with the US. Sure Portugal has a World Class player in Ronaldo but I think the speed factor will be much less an issue. I think the US will make some adjustments and you may see an extra midfielder as opposed to 2 strikers. We lost Jozy, a very young inexperienced and not physically prepared to go into at the 23rd minute Johannsson and Dempsey playing with a broken nose. I think Ghana will give Germany some problems but Germany is much higher of a caliber a team than we are so they should be more adept at dealing with Ghana. I would not be in the least bit shocked to see Ghana beat Germany.
I think it would be Group H not F, Belgium, Algeria, Russia and South Korea. I am guessing the US would draw Belgium if they get through unless they can pull one out against Germany then in that case I think they would get either Russia or Algeria, don't think S.Korea has a shot.
Honestly it'd be a dream come true to somehow get Algeria or Russia. Obviously we need to take care of business against Portugal first but you never know. Belgium should win that group, S Korea has no shot
I got some soccer questions for you experts, I admittedly know nothing but I am interesting in learning a little... Does certain countries/regions have styles of play that are unique and all their own? Like is there a contrasting European style vs. a South American style - if so could you give a little bit of the attributes? Are there certain countries known for their unique style? Follow up questions: If this is true - what style would you characterize the U.S. teams? or what style should they try to emulate? Yesterday was the 1st time in my life I watched a soccer game from beginning to end. A few things stood out to me.(i'm dumb I know): -The offsides rule really bugged me. It's not like hockey's. It seems to me it helps the defense out too much. .almost rewarding them for not getting back. I didn't like that. I also didn't like that there isn't a line on the field to tell where they are going offsides at. it's confusing for neanderthals like me. -I was surprised at how there is little stoppage time and very few actual penalties. Maybe it was just this particular game. -The U.S. goalie seemed really awesome to me. Is he actually awesome or am I just dumb? Seems to me we could win this thing just by having him do his thing back there and carry us to the title.
I think this is a common theme among soccer neanderthals but I am starting to understand the rationale. Suffice it to say, the rule is an important part of the fabric of the game from a defensive tactical standpoint and to guard against hangars--so even though to us novices it seems weird, if you're a true soccer fan it's just as reasonable as some of the rules we have in football, hockey and basketball. _
The non-stoppage of time is also weird. Guys celebrating a goal can go on for a while and the clock still churns. Or a ball goes out of bounds, the team in the lead has no incentive to hurry up play. Ball in the stands? Who cares--clock's running down. Part of the game. _
Hi BN As a Turkish guy, futbol is the first sport I fell in love back in 1986 when I was 7 years old. We had legends back then, Diego Armando Maradona for example. Michael Jordan of futbol. Maybe even better than him as he didn't need a great coach or a supporting cast to make Argentina World Champions. Well, enough for futbol romance. Let me answer your questions. 1) Not regions but certain countries have their own futbol style. Not every country have their own style. Futbol is a generic game. But a few teams have their own style and with some tweaks, they keep the same style from generation to generation. Some styles for you Brazil : Samba!!!. Their style is artistic. Very talented players. Their creative players dance with the ball. They rely on technique and win. After 1994, their style became a combination of style and physicality. Since 1994, they won 2 World Cups but not with their stylistic play. Thru tehcnique and physicality. There are total 20 World Cups played so far. Brazil won 5 of them. Italy : Defensive minded play. Though they had creative players throughout history, they are well known for their defense. The term Catenaccio is used to define Italy's defense - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catenaccio. Italy won 4 of 20 World Cups so far. Germany : A physical style. Not defensive oriented but heavily physical on the field. They will hustle, they will run, they will win. Gary Lineker, legendary English forward quoted this after England lost to Germany in 199o world cup semi final. "Football is a simple game; 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans win." Germany won 3 of 20 World Cups so far. Spain : Pass, pass, pass, ball movement. Called tiki-taka futbol. Move the ball until opponent gives up and score after like 30 passes. Barcelona(A Spanish soccer team) won multiple club championships like this and this translated to Spanish success. Spain won 2 back to back European Cups and a World Cup in the last 6 years span. Netherlands : Total futbol. Spanish tiki-taka style is a derivative of Dutch total futbol. Please read more here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_Football Although Netherlands generated awesome players like Johan Cruyff throughout history, they never won the World Cup. Now, not every country have their own style. For example Turkish team is a team without identity. Same for American futbol. Current US coach Klinnsman won the world cup as a player and he is German. He is trying to make USA play like a mixture of Spain and Germany. Be physical but also pass the ball as much as you can. Yet USA team can't do it at a perfection yet. Also US players are playing at various leagues so it makes it difficult for the team to have an identity. Now your other questions 1) I will defer to Stokes on this one. Offside rule for us futbol fanatics, is a must. Without it, the game as we know now wouldn't exist. Yes defense has an advantage but again if you take it out, futbol will transform into something weird. 2) The game clock never stops. It is in the nature of futbol to have stoppages like gola celebrations. it is considered a part of game. Stoppage time now is calculated based on how long it took to replace players on the field and how many minutes was used for injuries. 3) US goalkeeper Tim Howard plays in English Premier League. One of the best and prestigious leagues in the world. He is good. Buit not good enough to win a cup. No goal keeper can win a cup because unlike hockey, futbol goalies need to protect a much bigger net. And when a goalkeeper is one on one against a forward, 80% or 90% of the time he will lose the battle. In hockey goalies save a lot of penalty's because the net is small and they can close the net with their boyd etc.
THIS IS A MUST WATCH Love it^ Great game yesterday...Today, all Mexicans are taking off work for the Brazil game haha...At least it starts at 3 PM. The US played stellar defense to cover up the wing play of Ghana, there were some horrendous shots by Ghana. So I know Jurgen is trying to infuse German youth into US soccer and I personally think he is a great coach bringing in all foreign youth players. I TOTALLY believe if Jurgen was coach that Giuseppe Rossi would be a US player. Personally, our style reminds me of Italy as a scheme and similar type of players. However we are like 5 notches below in skill level of Italy. Bradley is no Pirlo, Altidore is no Balotelli, Howard is no Buffon. I've got long distinct Portugal roots however Portugal remind me of the 2013 NY Knicks. A super under-achieving squad with one player who is worth a damn (Ronaldo is like Carmelo for Portugal)...They have alot of idiots on Portugal, there is no Deco or Figo running that ship. The US can draw against Portugal, but things are really shaky without Altidore there...Portugal is going to send the cavalry at us from a attacking standpoint...We need to possess the ball and get ready for a solid counter. BUT possession of the ball is vital.
Thank you Brooklyn, this was informative. I appreciate you taking the time to explain the game a little to me, without overloading and not being snobby about it. Some of my soccer fans are snobby when I ask things like this - but I suppose if someone was asking me basic football stuff like pass interference and first downs I'd be snobby and impatient with them as well. So I do appreciate your answers.
That's crazy that that is part of the game. Can you imagine if Belicheck was a soccer coach. That smuck looks for every advantage / loophole he can find. As soon as they got a lead he'd be telling his guys to boot it into the 5th row all game or put on a 15 minute goal celebration...
Posted that the other day but it wouldn't imbed. Hillarious. Loved the spot on the Anheiser Busch "I don't mean to be arrogant but fook your laws and your pooblic sahhftey". But it does point out the difference between the US and the rest of the world. We live and die by football--but I don't think we've taken it to the religion level like so many places across the globe. _
But that is usually added to stoppage time.... it's not just for injuries but if teams take extra long with a throw in, free kick or celebration it should be added to stoppage time. To be fair the goalie only has a set amount of time he can hold the ball as well.
