It's honestly sickening but soccer is really the one sport where money doesn't matter. Think about it, all you need is a field and a ball. Every other sport requires some sort of equipment. IMO, the difference between being 31 and say 20 is very minuscule. Basically a coin flip and depends on matchups. But the top teams in the world? Completely different level. There was ZERO shot we were winning yesterday. That's why two years ago when we played Portugal and were winning until Ronaldo's 90th minute goal tied up was devastating. That would have been a legit upset.
yes, but they're still the third best side in their own continent, arguably. South American domination as Mexico and the US get routed.
It's probably better for international soccer that the USA doesn't dominate it like Basketball and Baseball. I'm curious about why Russia and China haven't done better in international competitions.
Top four is a really good result. We were outclassed by Argentina and are nowhere close to them talent-wise. Same goes for Chile. Home field advantage pushed us through to the semis. After the Argentina game, Klinsman was asked how long it will take to get to Argentina's level (World #1) - he laughed and didn't answer. To get there, we need to have a more viable professional league and revamp our entire youth development structure from one where parents pay for little Johnny to play for his local club in hopes of getting a college scholarship to one where little Jose is scouted and recruited to play for a professional team's academy (all expenses paid) at an early age where he receives the best equipment, facilities, training and coaching. This will result in a much more ethnically diverse team (like France, Belgium, and Germany), because our current system doesn't go looking for those kids because they can't afford to play on a team where they will be "seen". There's a slow change happening as the MLS becomes more viable and teams begin investing in academies, but it's going to take a while before we see any gains at the national level.
Fucking Belgium. It offends me that such a small and piddly-ass country has such a large share of global control in so many ways.
USA vs Colombia in 3rd Place game tonight at 8 pm Eastern Time. Argentina vs Chile for 1st Place tomorrow night at 8 pm Eastern Time
