BigRedBuster Posted March 24, 2022 Share Posted March 24, 2022 Do any of you pay attention to this? The last time they made the World Cup, I enjoyed watching the games. Trying to get into it earlier. Quote Link to comment
default_28 Posted March 24, 2022 Share Posted March 24, 2022 We’ll be without McKinnie and Aaronson two of our best midfielders, so I’m not sure we can get a point at the Azteca. But hopefully we can and then the big matchup will be Sunday against Panama, where if we win we’re qualified. 1 Quote Link to comment
Minnesota_husker Posted March 24, 2022 Share Posted March 24, 2022 17 minutes ago, default_28 said: We’ll be without McKinnie and Aaronson two of our best midfielders, so I’m not sure we can get a point at the Azteca. But hopefully we can and then the big matchup will be Sunday against Panama, where if we win we’re qualified. I would be happy with a draw. If we draw, we stay tied with Mexico plus still have a better Goal differential. We have matched up with Mexico well, so not outside the possibility. Just need to hope Canada beats CR and then we handle business against Panama. Some concerns about Reggie Cannon having Covid. Hopefully Yedlin can help out. Also some concern with a few guys who are a yellow away from being suspended. Lots of moving parts, but lets just leave the week with 5 points and I will be happy. Guarantees us a top 3. 1 Quote Link to comment
BigRedBuster Posted March 24, 2022 Author Share Posted March 24, 2022 Wow...you guys know more about this than I do. I just started following them on twitter trying to get a feel for the team and players. At this point, pretty much all I know is we're sending a team down there to hopefully kick the ball into the net more than Mexico does. Has the turmoil around management of the team subsided? I remember a few years ago there were lots of fans upset thinking it was mismanged. Quote Link to comment
default_28 Posted March 24, 2022 Share Posted March 24, 2022 49 minutes ago, BigRedBuster said: Wow...you guys know more about this than I do. I just started following them on twitter trying to get a feel for the team and players. At this point, pretty much all I know is we're sending a team down there to hopefully kick the ball into the net more than Mexico does. Has the turmoil around management of the team subsided? I remember a few years ago there were lots of fans upset thinking it was mismanged. Do you mean at the team level? Or the US Soccer Federation level? There will always be USMNT fans that are unhappy with the current coach and his style of play, but as long as we qualify I don't see Berhalter going anywhere. If it's the federation, then I would say that current president Cindy Parlow-Cone is viewed better than past presidents Carlos Cordeiro or Sunil Gulati. Cordeiro mishandled the women's team pay and other stuff. Gulati was chummy with former infamous FIFA president Sepp Blatter. None of this has much effect on the team, but as far as mismanagement goes, this is what comes to mind. Quote Link to comment
BigRedBuster Posted March 24, 2022 Author Share Posted March 24, 2022 5 minutes ago, default_28 said: Do you mean at the team level? Or the US Soccer Federation level? There will always be USMNT fans that are unhappy with the current coach and his style of play, but as long as we qualify I don't see Berhalter going anywhere. If it's the federation, then I would say that current president Cindy Parlow-Cone is viewed better than past presidents Carlos Cordeiro or Sunil Gulati. Cordeiro mishandled the women's team pay and other stuff. Gulati was chummy with former infamous FIFA president Sepp Blatter. None of this has much effect on the team, but as far as mismanagement goes, this is what comes to mind. I don't remember the specifics. But, I thought a lot of the angst was after the USMNT did very poorly in a World Cup. So, are the predictions that the US will qualify? If they do, how do you think they will do in the WC? Quote Link to comment
ColoradoHusk Posted March 24, 2022 Share Posted March 24, 2022 22 minutes ago, BigRedBuster said: I don't remember the specifics. But, I thought a lot of the angst was after the USMNT did very poorly in a World Cup. So, are the predictions that the US will qualify? If they do, how do you think they will do in the WC? The US is in good shape to qualify for the World Cup. They are currently in 2nd place in the CONCACAF qualifying standings, with 3 matches left. The top 3 teams automatically qualify, and the US and Mexico own a 4 point lead over 4th place Panama. Even the 4th place team would then go into a playoff with another International team for the World Cup. As far as the World Cup goes, that's anyone's guess. So much will depend on the draw, and I think with the expanded WC this year (48 teams, 32 into the knockout round) the World Cup could be "different" this year. Plus, with the tournament being shifted to Nov-Dec due to the hot weather in Qatar, who knows how that will impact things. 2 Quote Link to comment
Minnesota_husker Posted March 24, 2022 Share Posted March 24, 2022 3 hours ago, BigRedBuster said: Wow...you guys know more about this than I do. I just started following them on twitter trying to get a feel for the team and players. At this point, pretty much all I know is we're sending a team down there to hopefully kick the ball into the net more than Mexico does. Has the turmoil around management of the team subsided? I remember a few years ago there were lots of fans upset thinking it was mismanged. Not really. US Soccer is poorly ran and Berhalter is mostly crap. He had a nice stretch last summer with some wins over Mexico and that quieted down some of the anger but his system is just fairly boring. I assume we get exposed in the World Cup and he is fired--but who knows. The Klingman days sort of ruined bringing in an outsider. Quote Link to comment
BigRedBuster Posted March 25, 2022 Author Share Posted March 25, 2022 So, This was impressive. Wish they could have scored that one goal. Quote Link to comment
ColoradoHusk Posted March 28, 2022 Share Posted March 28, 2022 With today's 5-1 win over Panama, US is in great shape to qualify for the WC in Qatar. They just need a win, draw, or loss by less than 5 goals against Costa Rica on Wednesday's final qualifier match. I was also wrong in my earlier post about the WC expanding to 48 countries and 32 advancing to knockout stage. That's happening in 2026, when US, Canada, and Mexico are serving as co-host countries, and all 3 countries will get automatic spots. Quote Link to comment
BigRedBuster Posted March 29, 2022 Author Share Posted March 29, 2022 23 hours ago, ColoradoHusk said: With today's 5-1 win over Panama, US is in great shape to qualify for the WC in Qatar. They just need a win, draw, or loss by less than 5 goals against Costa Rica on Wednesday's final qualifier match. I was also wrong in my earlier post about the WC expanding to 48 countries and 32 advancing to knockout stage. That's happening in 2026, when US, Canada, and Mexico are serving as co-host countries, and all 3 countries will get automatic spots. This was clearly a team the US over powered. I’m assuming Costa Rica should be the same. Quote Link to comment
ColoradoHusk Posted March 29, 2022 Share Posted March 29, 2022 9 hours ago, BigRedBuster said: This was clearly a team the US over powered. I’m assuming Costa Rica should be the same. Not necessarily. For some reason international matches/WC qualifiers have big swings in how teams play at home vs. the road. This final match is at Costa Rica, so I wouldn't be surprised if the US loses. But, US has a 10 goal lead in goal differential vs. Costa Rica. So, it would take a 5-0 win by Costa Rica to even the standings, which would be a miracle for Costa Rica. The US will probably play very conservatively, packing the D, limiting Costa Rica's goal scoring opportunities, and looking for their own counter attacks to generate a couple goal scorings opportunities of our own. 1 Quote Link to comment
Crusader Husker Posted March 29, 2022 Share Posted March 29, 2022 So, as someone who only occasionally watches the USMNT, how good is this group compared to the past? Are we getting better? Quote Link to comment
default_28 Posted March 29, 2022 Share Posted March 29, 2022 18 minutes ago, Crusader Husker said: So, as someone who only occasionally watches the USMNT, how good is this group compared to the past? Are we getting better? We have more talent than we’ve ever had. Guys like Pulisic, McKinnie, Reyna and Dest that play for some of the biggest clubs in the world. Ten years ago we only had goalies playing meaningful minutes in Europe, now we have guys in England, Germany and Spain and young guys coming up in Portugal and Holland. That said, we don’t have elite CBs or Striker yet, so it’s hard to say how far this team can go. But the World Cup is still eight months away or whatever so a lot can change. But definitely getting better. 1 Quote Link to comment
Minnesota_husker Posted March 29, 2022 Share Posted March 29, 2022 13 hours ago, BigRedBuster said: This was clearly a team the US over powered. I’m assuming Costa Rica should be the same. We have never won a WC qualifying game in San Jose, Costa Rica. That place is a nightmare to play at. Costa Rica despises the USA(mad we made them play in the snow in Colorado) and the crow is super hostile. They have gone as far as to not allow any soccer programs near by rent their fields out to practice on. Government has made it a pain to get through customs. We have more talent then them but it is a pain to play there. That being said, they might rest some guys who are on yellow cards so they can play in the playoff game.(CR is going to most likely finish 4th) Quote Link to comment
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