🏀 KuBuckets Archive

It all starts tomorrow! 29 days of world class soccer!

Can’t wait.

Benzema out for France. tragic. dang. He's one of my favs.

Hell yeah.

and we’re off!

An insane offsides call in the opener, which denied a goal. I’ve watched it over and over and still don’t get it.

I guess they have a ton of tech they are using for this WC.

Holy crap. Berhalter is at it already!

He’s put together a starting 11 that I’m guessing has never started as an 11 before! Yikes.

Zimm and Ream starting at CB I can understand — Ream comfy with his EPL teammate Robinson at LB.

The front three. Wow. Aaronsen? No. Gio? No. Jesus? No.

Pulisic/Sargent/Weah

Wow? WTF? Smart? Crazy?

A lead at the half! can't beat that.

the US picked up 2 yellows early on. Weston and Dest both on alert. The ref is high or nervous.

Otherwise dominance. keep it up!

Well, that did not end well. 1-1 draw, after a tenacious first half full of excitement.

As good as the first half was, the second half was as bad. The Wales game was our ticket out of the group. Now, all sorts of factors will come into play for us to escape. The Iran game just became 100 times more important to get a blowout win. Goal differential in the England game, too. (man did they look good)

Just idiotic, mediocre play and poor decisions in the second half.

Idiotic: Zimmerman's decision to slide through the back of Bale in the penalty box, when Bale had his back to the goal and nobody near him. PK.

Mediocre: Pulisic. He made one excellent pass/assist for the first half goal. After that, hmmm. Just about every cross/free kick he made was dog shit.

Poor: When Yedlin came in, he simply gave the ball away for free more than a few times. I think i'll just kick it out of bounds for no reason! Even one that eventually lead to possession for the tying goal (if i remember). Final third decision making, skill once again was bad -- except of course for one 30 second display of brilliance in the goal.

Just steamed about this result (ha, if you can't tell already). No reason for it. Sloppy, awful second half.

@rockchalkjayhawk Right there with you. Feels like a massively missed opportunity. That first half was about as well as they could play. Some of that was because Wales sat back and let the US possess the ball. I actually had no issues with the starting 11 and was pleasantly surprised to not see Ferreira or Aaron Long start. Very un-Berhalter-like.

You knew the 2nd half would look different and it certainly did. I felt like they handled themselves pretty well and assumed that Wales would have their chances. I just hoped they wouldn't give a cheap one away and the PK was certainly cheap. So not necessary.

Almost feels like a loss post-game, but they would've needed to not get killed by England and then beat Iran to go through regardless so not a whole lot has changed. I'm hopeful to see Aaronson and Reyna get more run against England and hope for the best.

@focojayhawk said in World Cup thread!:

@rockchalkjayhawk Right there with you. Feels like a massively missed opportunity. That first half was about as well as they could play. Some of that was because Wales sat back and let the US possess the ball. I actually had no issues with the starting 11 and was pleasantly surprised to not see Ferreira or Aaron Long start. Very un-Berhalter-like.

You knew the 2nd half would look different and it certainly did. I felt like they handled themselves pretty well and assumed that Wales would have their chances. I just hoped they wouldn't give a cheap one away and the PK was certainly cheap. So not necessary.

Almost feels like a loss post-game, but they would've needed to not get killed by England and then beat Iran to go through regardless so not a whole lot has changed. I'm hopeful to see Aaronson and Reyna get more run against England and hope for the best.

Un-Bernalter-like! funny, and true.

I'm with you on the starting 11. After pondering, i had no issues with it. A bit weird that the "man with the most talent and skill" on the team didn't make it in. Gio. Can only figure he wants him ready for England?

Yup, we knew the second half would be different. For sure Wales at times seemed to push 2 defenders up the field, and abandon the 5-3-2 they started with.

And man was that 6-5 forward huge for Wales! he should have netted a header as well.

Just disappointed in the result. It was there for the taking.

Makes you wonder if the first half or the second half was the real U.S.A.

Let's keep it close with England!

Not inpressed by Yedlin or Mckinnie. Think there should be a “no turning your head into a human snowcone”rule. Especially when youre the slowest player on the field and come in at wingback. As for Mckinnie i wanted to see aaronsen earlier than the 66th. Hes just been in much better form. Zimmerman shouldnt have stabbed at that ball in the box, obvioualy. Loss of composure.

Dont know why we would save anyone for England.

We win this and its easy. Now its hard.

Bale, what a stud man. Welsh GOAT?

@approxinfinity said in World Cup thread!:

Not inpressed by Yedlin or Mckinnie. Think there should be a “no turning your head into a human snowcone”rule. Especially when youre the slowest player on the field and come in at wingback. As for Mckinnie i wanted to see aaronsen earlier than the 66th. Hes just been in much better form. Zimmerman shouldnt have stabbed at that ball in the box, obvioualy. Loss of composure.

Dont know why we would save anyone for England.

We win this and its easy. Now its hard.

Bale, what a stud man. Welsh GOAT?

We had two snowcones on the pitch! Yedlin and Dest. At first i couldn't even figure out who Dest was until a closeup. Ha. And McKennie had the US flag in his hair as well! crazy kids.

I usually like Weston and his play. Seems like he's been out for a while, and this was his first game back. Maybe didn't have his usual energy. He does have an attitude at times, which can be good.

Aaronsen to me is just an energy guy with a tiny bit of skill. Sometimes he's needed. Today, for sure in the 2nd half.

@rockchalkjayhawk i dont know… people talk about mma likes its a foregone conclusion in the midfield . I think mckinnie looked awful in the last window vs japan and saudi arabia. I would rather see aaronsen acosta and de la torre get time than rolling mckinnie and moussa as long as we do.

I think aaronsen is more skilled than people give him credit for. I think moussa is slow. I think de la torre might be our most creative offensive midfielder and i think acosta hits the best balls of the team on set pieces and i die inside on every flat pulisic corner. Let Acosta play! Coming off of a big run in MLS and in top form.

Entertaining match and I really couldn't care less how US does. Stupid penalty, like really really stupid penalty leads to the draw. That PK in turn was just drilled. Speaking of drilling, England's gonna drill us on Friday and we'll be left waiting for next, next, next, next year.

US can advance by beating Iran.

@wissox assuming we park the bus against England, hopefully keep it close and try to do our own drilling of Iran. We knew our England game didnt matter after they beat Iran 6-2.

@approxinfinity Thanks you too @AsadZ I'm not too knowledgeable about how the world cup works.

@wissox said in World Cup thread!:

@approxinfinity Thanks you too @AsadZ I'm not too knowledgeable about how the world cup works.

I have no idea. Best I can figure it, for us here in the US, we continually: trash the coaches of the team and how they are selected, lament our performances in the Cup over the years (heightened by nonstop disappointment for when we don't qualify), get extraordinarily offended when the corrupt FIFA responds to major bribery corruption by awarding the Cup to brutal host countries whose only qualification is enough assets to generate far more corruption, threaten to protest about the brutal host country's brutality, and seemingly get most upset because an Islamic law country decides not to allow alcohol.

Ok, being satirical here, but I am totally shocked by how much anger was expended by people totally offended before the Cup by virtually everything related to Qatar, but now it is all about the games after all. What would happen if people just didn't watch?

@mayjay I don't really watch that much. Matches on in the mornings of weekdays doesn't help attract my eyes as I still have that daily four letter word to attend to. Not enough invested in it to record matches and watch when I get home, especially when there's college hoops to watch. I honestly don't know what FIFA stands for although I assume one is foosball. The I is for IMLAYINGONTHEFIELDACTINGLIKEIMHURT. The other F is probably some other F word and the A has to be America because it's always about America.

I mainly watch and enjoy the highlights.

I'd like to watch more, but you know, that work thing gets in the way! doh!
I try to avoid scores til i can watch at night, but that's not easy. So, maybe i'll just keep tabs during the day.

US-England game will be interesting for sure. I don't think we've lost to them in a WC game in awhile. So, who knows.

@wissox so the way the group stage works, 2 out of 4 of the teams in our group will advance and we play each of the other 3 teams once. England being one of the best in the whole thing, and having smashed Iran 6-2 in the morning, that put them in the drivers seat and Iran in the hole, leaving us and Wales. Had we beaten Wales, we would likely only need to beat Iran, by any margin, in order to emerge from our group. Now because we tied Wales, and with there being very little chance of us beating England on Friday, that means we probably have to beat Iran by a greater margin than Wales and lose by a lesser margin (in total, those two things) to England. All of that pressure and uncertainty could have been avoided. This is why its a headscratcher to me why we would “save Gio for England” unless he is really just not fit. We should have thrown everything at Wales.

Of course anything can happen.

@approxinfinity said in World Cup thread!:

@wissox so the way the group stage works, 2 out of 4 of the teams in our group will advance and we play each of the other 3 teams once. England being one of the best in the whole thing, and having smashed Iran 6-2 in the morning, that put them in the drivers seat and Iran in the hole, leaving us and Wales. Had we beaten Wales, we would likely only need to beat Iran, by any margin, in order to emerge from our group. Now because we tied Wales, and with there being very little chance of us beating England on Friday, that means we probably have to beat Iran by a greater margin than Wales and lose by a lesser margin (in total, those two things) to England. All of that pressure and uncertainty could have been avoided. This is why its a headscratcher to me why we would “save Gio for England” unless he is really just not fit. We should have thrown everything at Wales.

Of course anything can happen.

I read somewhere today that Gio had a “slight strain,” so they held him out.

@rockchalkjayhawk ok thanks that makes a lot more sense. Berhalter just throwing smoke screens.

How bout those friendlies in our last window? Looking pretty good now… Saudi Arabia and Japan, both won huge first games at World Cup. Maybe we are better than it appeared when we were flat against them.

lol at Canada

@BShark Hey....it's Canada's first World Cup match in nearly 40 years. They are ranked 41, playing #2. Give them a break.

@tundrahok Unlucky in the first half. Belgium adjusted in the 2nd half but it was also only a good strategy change because they managed to pinch the lead.

@approxinfinity National holiday in KSA today.

Canada is a good team. That 0-0 croatia draw this am still leaves it open for them to advance

Canada really created some chances in the first half. But their attempts to finish were no bueno.

Y’all see that crazy half bicycle goal from Brazil today? Wow!

I'd say a draw through the first half is a victory for USA soccer, no?

Draw against England is a win for US, chance of advancing has improved.

Fabulous result today!

And I was very impressed with the US squad today. excellent game all around.

All about Iran now. I skimmed thru their game earlier with Wales. No game's a pushover at the WC.

Bottom line: we gotta score some goals and win.

Crazy that we could still win the group if England draws Wales

man, didn't even cross my mind, @approxinfinity .
I'd settle for any result where we advance!

@rockchalkjayhawk said in World Cup thread!:

Fabulous result today!

And I was very impressed with the US squad today. excellent game all around.

All about Iran now. I skimmed thru their game earlier with Wales. No game's a pushover at the WC.

Bottom line: we gotta score some goals and win.

US was better than England today. Our midfield talent is :fire: :fire:

Not sure what happens this year but give these lads another 4 years...could be REALLY special in 2026.

@BShark said in World Cup thread!:

@rockchalkjayhawk said in World Cup thread!:

Fabulous result today!

And I was very impressed with the US squad today. excellent game all around.

All about Iran now. I skimmed thru their game earlier with Wales. No game's a pushover at the WC.

Bottom line: we gotta score some goals and win.

US was better than England today. Our midfield talent is :fire: :fire:

Not sure what happens this year but give these lads another 4 years...could be REALLY special in 2026.

The first 15 minutes were a little suspect, but the lads did indeed step up and adjust very nicely. Easily could have been 3 pts. damn!

I still love Weston's game. Not sure why others do not. Midfield was awesome beyond awesome today.

@rockchalkjayhawk said in World Cup thread!:

@BShark said in World Cup thread!:

@rockchalkjayhawk said in World Cup thread!:

Fabulous result today!

And I was very impressed with the US squad today. excellent game all around.

All about Iran now. I skimmed thru their game earlier with Wales. No game's a pushover at the WC.

Bottom line: we gotta score some goals and win.

US was better than England today. Our midfield talent is :fire: :fire:

Not sure what happens this year but give these lads another 4 years...could be REALLY special in 2026.

The first 15 minutes were a little suspect, but the lads did indeed step up and adjust very nicely. Easily could have been 3 pts. damn!

I still love Weston's game. Not sure why others do not. Midfield was awesome beyond awesome today.

Yeah McKennie is very good. I think we have at least 4 guys better than Pulisic but the narrative is that he is our best player. Super super impressed with Musah, MASSIVE to get him instead of England. Adams is incredible.

@BShark i didnt get to watch most of the game, was at my sons tournament. Thrilled with the outcome. That being said, i think aaronsen is legit challenging mckinnie for the attacking mid role and its debatable musah makes the roster on england. If he did hed be the last mid on. I do think hes a good place for the US but i also want to see De la torre get minutes.

@approxinfinity said in World Cup thread!:

@BShark i didnt get to watch most of the game, was at my sons tournament. Thrilled with the outcome. That being said, i think aaronsen is legit challenging mckinnie for the attacking mid role and its debatable musah makes the roster on england. If he did hed be the last mid on. I do think hes a good place for the US but i also want to see De la torre get minutes.

Oddly i've seen De la Torre look decent and not so decent in a US uniform.

He's pretty stiff. But, i liked DLT early on. Not much of a challenging defensive presence?

Aaronsen deserves some PT for sure, but not at the expense of Weston IMO. Not sure BA has a set position so maybe he floats and fills in as needed between the front and mid lines.

I think he's better suited as a mid. Can use that energy to cover a lot of ground.

@approxinfinity Yeah I don't think he would start for England but honestly that might make it even more important. We see all the time now guys that could be starting for their African team riding the bench for a European side. Heck the guy that scored the game winning goal for Switzerland against Cameroon was...born in Cameroon.

My coaching soccer started in 2000. Until around 2012 I had little experience with kids getting cleated. My son and daughter both played and never once complained about it happening. But the last decade I started noticing it. It's one thing when it's an organized pro team with trainers and such, but when you're a lone varsity coach on a sideline and one of your kids comes off because he's been cleated, and it keeps happening, it becomes a major problem. Junior high kids are doing it where I coach and kids are getting hurt.

This world cup has seen the exit of one of its stars from Brazil when someone from Serbia when cleat first into his ankle. Seeing guys rolling around on the field grasping their ankles is getting tiresome. Matches get to the 90th minute and the referee is adding 7-9 minutes to the match nearly every time.

Despite my coaching experience I'm not an expert on the international game. So my comments may be unwarrented, but it's an observation I've made based on my experience. And just as I'm typing a guy from Denmark gets cleated by a frenchman.

Story link on the US midfield.

https://www.goal.com/en-us/news/USMNT-England-World-Cup-Adams-McKennie-Musah-Bellingham-Rice/blt72cafda7687d7cbc ↗

Costa Rica beat Japan so they still have a shot. Got my eye on Croatia Canada today should be gooood.

@BShark said in World Cup thread!:

Costa Rica beat Japan so they still have a shot. Got my eye on Croatia Canada today should be gooood.

Major bailout for Germany. Still alive

@rockchalkjayhawk enjoyed the read, thx

@approxinfinity Spain will murder Germany shortly.

Wow Belgium were horrid today.

@BShark reports of Germanys demise were highly exaggerated!

@approxinfinity Indeed. Could have won that even.

Canada effed around and found out with Croatia. A game that should clearly dispel the "if the best athletes played" garbage but the people that spew that don't understand athleticism and aren't interested in discussion either.

@BShark said in World Cup thread!:

Canada effed around and found out with Croatia. A game that should clearly dispel the "if the best athletes played" garbage but the people that spew that don't understand athleticism and aren't interested in discussion either.

I don't think yesterday disproves the best athletes thing because it's more complicated than just that. I don't think Canada's best athletes play soccer, hockey is their #1 sport and basketball, especially in the Toronto area where the biggest population pool is, as the second biggest sport.

Also, infrastructure and money matter at national team levels. How many Canadian soccer players are playing over in European top divisions compared to how many are playing in Canada or the MLS?

Compare that to Croatia and how many of their top players are playing in top leagues in Europe?

Canada's soccer program is where the US was about 10-15 years ago. If they keep investing, they'll have a chance to advance to the knockout rounds next World Cup because they have a lot of really good, young players. Davies is an incredible player and not even in his prime yet at only 22.

@Texas-Hawk-10 Canada was more athletic than Croatia. Croatia had better technical players (which does go to the point of it being the most important sport there) and a much better tactical plan.

@BShark said in World Cup thread!:

@Texas-Hawk-10 Canada was more athletic than Croatia. Croatia had better technical players (which does go to the point of it being the most important sport there) and a much better tactical plan.

Davies is so fun to watch.

Some really interesting tensions in this US-Iran match today.

Well, a few interesting lineup decisions today.

Sargent starts up front.

CC Vickers in for Zimmerman at CB. interesting.

I know all our forwards are a dime a dozen offensively, but I liked what Haji did on the field. Covered a lot of ground pressing.

This is it, Berhalter. Don’t eff it up! Just win!

I’m assuming Iran will sit back, let the US have most of the possession today, Then counter. Maybe that’s why CCV is starting over Zimm? Quicker?

Holy jeebus.

Knockout stage!

Wow. The US tried so hard to mess that up. Pretty close to a PK for Iran at the end there. Hmmm. Close call.

Shocked they never really showed us a replay/offsides freezeframe of the Weah goal in the first half that was disallowed.

Jeez was that stressful!

@rockchalkjayhawk said in World Cup thread!:

Holy jeebus.

Knockout stage!

Wow. The US tried so hard to mess that up. Pretty close to a PK for Iran at the end there. Hmmm. Close call.

Shocked they never really showed us a replay/offsides freezeframe of the Weah goal in the first half that was disallowed.

Jeez was that stressful!

I WANTED TO STRANGLE BERHALTER HOLY CRAP

@BShark said in World Cup thread!:

@rockchalkjayhawk said in World Cup thread!:

Holy jeebus.

Knockout stage!

Wow. The US tried so hard to mess that up. Pretty close to a PK for Iran at the end there. Hmmm. Close call.

Shocked they never really showed us a replay/offsides freezeframe of the Weah goal in the first half that was disallowed.

Jeez was that stressful!

I WANTED TO STRANGLE BERHALTER HOLY CRAP

i wanted to strangle a few players today. Haji at the end? With a soft, meaningless shot on goal instead of taking it to the corner to waste time??? game over and no idiotic calls for a PK if he does! my god.

So much effort from our guys, but very loose with the ball in important moments.

Why Berhalter?

Dest Musah and Aaronson were beasts. Jedi too. Adams was solid. CCV wasnt good. Shaq Moore was clueless and had me holding my breath. McKinnie doesnt go hard enough, but did contribute in the run up to the goal with a nice ball. All our corners were flat. Pulisic and Aaronson took them all, we got nothing there and makes me want to smash my head into a wall at this point. You have Acosta in the game who can drop the ball on a dime. PLEASE. I dont know why we never tried weah at the 9 since we are still soul searching there, but Sargent was good i thought. Played in the flow and offense came from the overlap runs by our wingbacks, then crossing.

@approxinfinity said in World Cup thread!:

Dest Musah and Aaronson were beasts. Jedi too. Adams was solid. CCV wasnt good. Shaq Moore was clueless and had me holding my breath. McKinnie doesnt go hard enough, but did contribute in the run up to the goal with a nice ball. All our corners were flat. Pulisic and Aaronson took them all, we got nothing there and makes me want to smash my head into a wall at this point. You have Acosta in the game who can drop the ball on a dime. PLEASE. I dont know why we never tried weah at the 9 since we are still soul searching there, but Sargent was good i thought. Played in the flow and offense came from the overlap runs by our wingbacks, then crossing.

We will continue to soul search for a No. 9 for years to come. Best we can hope for is a guy who can press and cover ground when offense turns to defense. We simply do not have a world class striker. Sucks to say, but it is what it is.

I think everybody played very hard today. Musah was everywhere. He made some bad decisions with the ball a few times though. Sophomoric stuff. But he's young, like a lot of our team.

Adams was way more than solid. way more. And i know you have a thing for McKinnie. ha! He's looked a bit slow and out of shape so far. But, ironically he's normally known for playing hard, and making some hard challenges.

I got no clue about Acosta's free kick abilities.

I take most issue with Weah's play today. Shoot the freaking ball when you're at the net, man!!! Dude should have had three goals today. not even hard ones either.

I about crapped my pants when i swear i saw Zimmerman late in the game try a bicycle clearance in the box, with Iranians on his ass. PK waiting to happen! man oh man.

But, we won!!!! Victory! :)

@rockchalkjayhawk lol :hundred_points:

:united_states: :united_states: :united_states: !!!

Ok i agree. Adams was a beast as well.

And Musah seemed gased by the end, but yeah his decision making was a mixed bag but he worked his ass off.

@approxinfinity said in World Cup thread!:

@rockchalkjayhawk lol :hundred_points:

:united_states: :united_states: :united_states: !!!

Ok i agree. Adams was a beast as well.

And Musah seemed gased by the end, but yeah his decision making was a mixed bag but he worked his ass off.

U-S-A! :)

@approxinfinity Adams is our best player and performed like it today imo. The three you mentioned and McKennie are all guys I like A LOT as well though.

Agree the corners STUNK and Sargent was fine :trade_mark:

With this midfield we can compete with anyone and could be a real threat to actually win the whole thing in 2026.

@rockchalkjayhawk said in World Cup thread!:

Adams was way more than solid. way more. And i know you have a thing for McKinnie. ha! He's looked a bit slow and out of shape so far. But, ironically he's normally known for playing hard, and making some hard challenges.

I take most issue with Weah's play today. Shoot the freaking ball when you're at the net, man!!! Dude should have had three goals today. not even hard ones either.

W takes. Weah is not good.

@BShark i dont like whatever controversy we seem to have brewing with Gio. Wonder if thats weighing on Weah. Added pressure to perform.

@approxinfinity said in World Cup thread!:

@BShark i dont like whatever controversy we seem to have brewing with Gio. Wonder if thats weighing on Weah. Added pressure to perform.

I wonder what’s up there with Gio? Something’s amiss.

It has to be about trusting him with his fitness and his injury concern, right?

I know I’m likely the lone dissenter here — I’m not quite on the Gio train yet. I say that only because I’ve never really see him do much in a U.S. jersey. Injuries likely the reason for that.

Maybe Berhalter agrees? I dunno.

I read somewhere today or yesterday that Gio may not be a formation fit for Berhalter’s system. He likes his 4-3-3. His midfield is set in stone. That leaves Gio on the front line, on the wing. And he says he prefers a more central midfield role I think.

So unless we switch to a 4-4-2, or 4-2-3-1, maybe Gio doesn’t have a home.

I just wonder if the question is about where Gio would play. I would also be an advocate like some of you for trying Weah as the 9 so Gio could play winger. That said...assuming GGG is going to stick with one of Sargent/Haji/Ferreira as the 9...where would you want Gio in the lineup? You're taking one of Pulisic/Weah or MMA off the field to get him on...nevermind Aaronson as another option as well. It's a great problem to have, but we'll have quality on the bench in there somewhere regardless of who we play.

I also don't find fault with GGG for playing Sargent again...I think he played pretty well before he got nicked. CCV playing was a surprise, but more so was that he played instead of Zim. I wholeheartedly agree with keeping Ream in there...just pleasantly surprised that GGG would've played CCV for Zim over him.

Shaq Moore should never touch the field again.

@focojayhawk said in World Cup thread!:

I just wonder if the question is about where Gio would play. I would also be an advocate like some of you for trying Weah as the 9 so Gio could play winger. That said...assuming GGG is going to stick with one of Sargent/Haji/Ferreira as the 9...where would you want Gio in the lineup? You're taking one of Pulisic/Weah or MMA off the field to get him on...nevermind Aaronson as another option as well. It's a great problem to have, but we'll have quality on the bench in there somewhere regardless of who we play.

I also don't find fault with GGG for playing Sargent again...I think he played pretty well before he got nicked. CCV playing was a surprise, but more so was that he played instead of Zim. I wholeheartedly agree with keeping Ream in there...just pleasantly surprised that GGG would've played CCV for Zim over him.

Shaq Moore should never touch the field again.

Poor Shaq Moore. Saw this quip in one of the player ratings...

Shaq Moore (On 82′): 6 — Wyd, Gregg? Moore’s only job should’ve been to shut down crosses. He didn’t.

Ha!

And this about Weah, which i agree with 100%

Tim Weah (Off 82′): 7.5 — The team’s second-biggest threat, could’ve had this match salted away at the hour mark with a hat trick on another day.

And this blurb about Pulisic and crossing/set pieces just to soothe @approxinfinity :)

There are issues with Pulisic’s performance here: his corners were not useful in a game where set pieces could have been a major factor.

REST IN PISS MEXICO YOU WON'T BE MISSED.

@BShark said in World Cup thread!:

REST IN PISS MEXICO YOU WON'T BE MISSED.

I was torn by that. root for Concacaf, or just root against El Tri. Tough call.

@rockchalkjayhawk It was very easy for me but I understand. I was definitely pulling for Canada but damn Croatia COOKED them.

@BShark thats what Canada gets for announcing they were going to “f croatia” . Who’s f’d now?

Canada need to get their players into big boy leagues, it would help.

Belgium are out what a blessing. Great WC so far, UEFA down bad between Belgium, Wales, Serbia and Denmark. France, Spain and England are good after that blah.

@BShark Who are your favorites to take the whole thing right now?

@benshawks08 How many?

This would be in a rough order for me assuming guys like Neymar get healthy: Brazil, France, Spain, Argentina, England.

Morocco is an interesting dark horse they were very good in group play.

England has put the ball in the net a lot. Spain too. If Portugal wins again they could get the full 9 points which is never a bad sign. That said, it may be Brazil's to lose.

I do not trust Portugal's defense one bit against good teams.

I hope Costa Rica get another goal to send Spain packing. Punish them for trying to coast.

Whew boy. Japan counterattack is something! So fast.

What a story for Japan WOW. If you would have told anyone that Japan would lose to Costa Rica and advance before the tournament they would have called you crazy.

Anyone have two better wins?

Japan punished us in our friendly in the last window as well. Deserve to be there. Good stuff.

i haven't watched Japan play this tourney. what are they doing well?

@rockchalkjayhawk It seems like they are sitting back and letting the other team control the game, but then they strike in an instant and they've been good at finishing when they get the opportunity.

@benshawks08 said in World Cup thread!:

@rockchalkjayhawk It seems like they are sitting back and letting the other team control the game, but then they strike in an instant and they've been good at finishing when they get the opportunity.

Wow. Great to have players who fill the back of the net.

Best out of the blue line of the night on the World Cup tonight show, by Ochocinco…had Kate Abdo peeing her pants in laughter. She was almost rolling on the floor,

“It’s like having a one night stand and lasting two minutes!”

A former fav whom I’ve grown to dislike really shit the bed today. Romelu Lukaku for Belgium.

He really choked away at least three goals in front of the net today. For a man who whines and pouts about everything, he should be embarrassed by his play.

Heck of a world cup for for Asia/Australia so far. Iran was actually the highest ranked AFC team coming in but they had a brutal group.

There is a really small chance we see 3 CAF teams advance but 2 is still good.

Suarez and Uruguay go down in a teary-eyed, referee surrounding mess!

Couldn't make me happier.

Tyler Adams jogging behind the play, trail man scores. Rough

Dest loses Blind on the second goal

We have chronically not marked men

Unmarked 3rd goal. Robinson. Zero awareness

Mark up people. Basic soccer.

So we need to get some production out of counters or out of corners. We got very little from either

Well, there ya go.

You can't say we didn't have a good chance to win that game. Going into the game i thought this would be a loss, but sad in the way it turned out to be a loss. Didn't need to be.

Generally speaking we played well. We have a lot of possession, a lot of good possession, too. Today the loss came down to very poor individual decisions and execution.

Tyler Adams. Man. the only mistake this guy has made the entire tournament. honestly. he's been amazing. didn't track back. basic stuff. And it was infuriating to watch as he didn't even make an effort, seeing the guy lollygagging to the top of the box. that was a heart breaker.

Sergino Dest. Just decides to not bother to cover a dude breaking into the box for another easy goal. makes no sense. I don't see how you can blame either of those Dutch goals on youth.

They capitalized on our basic errors, and we didn't even come close to capitalizing. So many good chances. We really just don't have the poise, or skill compared to other world cup teams to finish at the net.

Pulisic??? Jesus, dude. He puts that first opportunity in, and we have a different game. He needs to be banned from any free kick/corners in the future.

Pleased with most of today's effort, but very disappointed with a few bad choices.

Don't get me started on passes from Zimmerman and Ream from the back that seemed straight forward but were picked off easily.

I think we exceeded expectations.

I concur that the disparity is very obvious between skill level of US and other teams left in the world cup.

We need to develop talent at grass roots level and focus on player and skill development.

Outcoached today, it happens.

@BShark said in World Cup thread!:

Outcoached today, it happens.

Nah, today's loss had nothing to do with coaching.

All individual mistakes, judgment calls.

@rockchalkjayhawk i dont agree. If you get beaten 3 times not marking men, have your supposed face of the team blasting away toothless shots every counter from before the final 3rd, with space ahead of him, and get nothing from flat corners, thats coaching.

At least it speaks to that being acceptavle behavior in training.

Watch Jedi defending corners. Has anyone ever told him to mark the man attacking far post?

If he ever did what he did today on defending corners in practice he should have gotten strong correction. And i like jedi.

I guess another possibility is that they need higher level of training at club but these guys are EPL (adams,
Robinson) and serie a (dest)

Ive been watching a lot of All or Nothing about EPL teams on prime. One consistent theme is that top coaches expect players to give it all in training.

@approxinfinity said in World Cup thread!:

@rockchalkjayhawk i dont agree. If you get beaten 3 times not marking men, have your supposed face of the team blasting away toothless shots every counter from before the final 3rd, with space ahead of him, and get nothing from flat corners, thats coaching.

At least it speaks to that being acceptavle behavior in training.

Watch Jedi defending corners. Has anyone ever told him to mark the man attacking far post?

If he ever did what he did today on defending corners in practice he should have gotten strong correction. And i like jedi.

I guess another possibility is that they need higher level of training at club but these guys are EPL (adams,
Robinson) and serie a (dest)

I dunno. Who knows. Maybe it's long term coaching. I generally found no fault in our game plan today, so that's what i meant by not a coaching issue today. If you want to blame long term coaching issues for the detailed decisions we made today, OK.

We were indeed beaten on every goal today by guys not marking. horrendous. We've been pretty good at that in the lead up to today, so can we say the coaching was good then? Just seems like tired legs, bad decisions, no conversations between players. Maybe you can blame GGG for not swapping out some players who have played major minutes? Fresh legs would have helped?

Obviously i'm no world cup payer or coach, but when i played, you were constantly screaming at each other about marking, who's got who, who needs to cover what ground, who needs to switch, who needs to cover near and far post if somebody has to cover a run up the middle, recognize an overload, etc. Something went wrong today for sure.

So, maybe that's coaching. Seems if you have guys with experience in the back like Ream, Zimm, Dest and Jedi, they should know better -- at the very least from their club experience.

The toothless shots were a bit embarrassing, i agree, as were the corners.

So, i'm assuming GGG is a goner after this WC. Time for some fresh ideas?

Now if only we could find a dude who can play striker... :(

@rockchalkjayhawk i think we are 100% on same page, well stated. I dont know if hes a goner tbh. But i kind of hope so while i do appreciate him getting us back to the cup and out of group play, bearing the torch.

I also want to know who makes the personnel decisions and if switching head coaches will create too much volatility

The hunt should be on for both a striker and CBs. When netherlands got up and packed it in we attacked the central channel unsuccessfully. We desperately needed to be able to generate offense by getting it wide and crossing in to an aerial attack. Or from corners. But this team was chronically incapable of both those things. Need an aerial game. Its been non existant for a while.

@approxinfinity said in World Cup thread!:

@rockchalkjayhawk i think we are 100% on same page, well stated. I dont know if hes a goner tbh. But i kind of hope so while i do appreciate him getting us back to the cup and out of group play, bearing the torch.

I also want to know who makes the personnel decisions and if switching head coaches will create too much volatility

The hunt should be on for both a striker and CBs. When netherlands got up and packed it in we attacked the central channel unsuccessfully. We desperately needed to be able to generate offense by getting it wide and crossing in to an aerial attack. Or from corners. But this team was chronically incapable of both those things. Need an aerial game. Its been non existant for a while.

Ha. we can always dream about having a striker! We've had some past success (Donovan, Dempsey, McBride, maybe Jozy), so it doesn't seem out of the realm of possibility that we can uncover another.

Dunno about GGG's future. That will be interesting. Are McBride and Ernie Stewart in charge of talent?

Reading more about GGG and his potential to stay or get booted. Good read about his tactics and players, with praise and criticism.

Interesting paragraph in there about demanding his high press for 90 min, which obviously tires his players. Maybe we did need to make more tactical subs.

https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/even-with-world-cup-results-usa-fans-divided-on-gregg-berhalter ↗

Oh my!

Two massive showings by goalies in PKs. Love it!

@BShark did you watch Brazil carve up Korea yesterday? Filth!

@approxinfinity Yeah they were violent in the first half.

Portugal look a lot better without Ronaldo as expected.

Amazin saves by the goalie

If Portugal decides to keep playing a useful player instead of #7 I am higher on their chances.

Hat trick by Ramos. Go ahead and smile young man!

I heard #7's replacement went nuts! wow. gonna have to check out the highlights.

Goncalo Ramos. Ronaldwho?

Man, no soccer today! Bummer.

Roger Bennett, host of American Fiasco, had a spot on heartfelt take right after the US loss, if you still need a little commiseration: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/men-in-blazers-12-03-22-do-it-live-usmnt-instant-reax/id908407811?i=1000588630513 ↗

Wow! this argentina/netherlands game is getting out of control! fisticuffs!

What a day.

Just Incredible

Kinda disappointed they didn't show us a replay when an Argentina player knocked over a Netherlands guy in the box. this after they gave Argentina a PK. we'll never know...

@approxinfinity Did you know Roger Bennett is a big White Sox fan? When he first came to live in the US it was in the Chicago area and his host family took him to some Sox games he was hooked. Bennett is great on MSNBC on Monday Mornings.

Just took a dark turn. Grant Wahl is dead. Confirmed by NPR.

@BShark Wow. His brother believes foul play from the Qatar government? Seriously?

@wissox Quite possible yes. He was kicked out of a game and detained for a bit earlier. Then the last article he published last night was about how they just don't care about all the migrant worker deaths.

Something I will be following for sure. Very sad.

I think most here know but he is from Kansas originally. Wrote the Mario's Miracle article for SI.

Ok, I was trying to remember the name, thinking I knew it for some reason. Didn't know he was a Kansas. This is going to become a big story this weekend it looks like.

Corrupt FIFA will have blood on their hands for awarding the world cup to this repressive country.

Reading more about Wahl…sad.

He said he’d been pretty sick, but tested negative for covid earlier in the week. Been to the medical clinics. They gave him antibiotics for bronchitis. Said he got worse, felt his chest get worse.

So, not sure about the conspiracy theories.

Spectacular goal by Morocco.

@wissox Feeling like a team of destiny.

@rockchalkjayhawk I saw where Wahl's wife is claiming he was not sick so things are murky for sure. Sad that we even have to think about it.

In the other world cup, aka NCAA D1 soccer, Indiana and Syracuse will meet in the NC Monday evening, I think it's at 6 central. Indiana in case you didn't know is a multi generational dynasty. Coach Yeagley is the son of the coach who built it into a powerhouse and he's continued. His dad won 7 rings and the son now is in his 3rd NC game, but yet to win one.

Their goalie was spectacular last night and has a clean sheet for the entire tournament.

How about Morocco?

Wow.

Amazing win.

@BShark said in World Cup thread!:

@wissox Feeling like a team of destiny.

@rockchalkjayhawk I saw where Wahl's wife is claiming he was not sick so things are murky for sure. Sad that we even have to think about it.

Meh, I don’t buy into conspiracy theories. Certainly hope nothing fishy was going on, but he himself was updating us on his poor health. Sucks all around. Hope they do an autopsy to reveal cause of death.

“What had been a cold over the last 10 days turned into something more severe on the night of the USA-Netherlands game, and I could feel my upper chest take on a new level of pressure and discomfort,” Wahl wrote on his website.

Sad news indeed.

Sorry to hear the news, especially about a fellow Kansan. He lived here in Seattle for a while in the early 2000s.

When Grant was with Sports Illustrated as a soccer & college basketball analyst, he wrote a great article about KU's win in the 2008 NCAA title game. I've got that issue stashed away somewhere.

https://www.si.com/more-sports/2008/04/08/champions0414/ ↗

FR vs Eng was an incredible game, some amazing shots and saves.

I hope that Kane can get over the missed penalty sooner rather than later, he is a fantastic player.

@wissox said in World Cup thread!:

@approxinfinity Did you know Roger Bennett is a big White Sox fan? When he first came to live in the US it was in the Chicago area and his host family took him to some Sox games he was hooked. Bennett is great on MSNBC on Monday Mornings.

Had no idea! Nice.

@BShark at the risk of being awkward did you see what i msgd you?

@approxinfinity I did. Really didn't have a response but I read any dm I get.

@BShark awkward! ;) ha. I was just shocked that he pulled it.

https://sports.yahoo.com/gregg-berhalter-says-he-almost-sent-usmnt-player-reportedly-gio-reyna-home-during-world-cup-234625787.html ↗

Aha! Shit is rolling down hill about Gio and his lack of effort and general poutiness in Qatar.

That explains his lack of playing time.

I don't subscribe to The Athletic, which is where the original story came from. Others are aggregating.

Sounds like the emotions of a 20 year old not getting his way. Good to know in some respects, but not good to know he's acting that way.

Reporting from Paul Tenorio and Sam Stejskal described team-wide frustration at Reyna’s lack of intensity in a pre-Cup friendly against Al-Gharafa SC of the Qatari league on Nov. 19, a game the US won 6–0.

@rockchalkjayhawk said in World Cup thread!:

Reading more about Wahl…sad.

He said he’d been pretty sick, but tested negative for covid earlier in the week. Been to the medical clinics. They gave him antibiotics for bronchitis. Said he got worse, felt his chest get worse.

So, not sure about the conspiracy theories.

Well, the conspiracy theorists can relax. The autopsy for Grant Wahl is out. He died from ruptured aortic aneurysm. Sounds like that explains his chest symptoms. Sad passing.

Same thing John Ritter died from, usually happens pretty quickly once it ruptures. My dad had that surgery, triple A they called it. They found it early and were watching it. I saw an article where he wrote Rock Chalk Jayhawk after we won the national championship! Maybe I mentioned that. Still young for an AAA!

Thus ends the greatest world cup ever

@approxinfinity non-UEFA winner thank god

What an amazing final, one of the best ever.

Glad to see Messi & Argentina win. I have a bit of Argentina team swag that my brother gave me. When he was at the Naval College in Newport RI he taught some of their naval officers, and still stays in touch with them.

Curious as to whether Messi will leave PSG and sign with Miami in MLS as rumored. He'd be a hell of a draw. When he toured the US with Barcelona a few years ago for a series of friendlies, the stadiums were jam-packed.

Finally got to watch the final. Whew. What a game!

I was really rooting for Messi to go out on top. Good for him.

So many amazing plays today. That DiMaria Argentina goal was a spectacular display of passing and touch. Wow.

was that the 7 touches on 6 passes 2nd goal? That was beautiful.

We were at futsal when the final was wrapping up. All the parents were watching their phones while the boys were "warming up" before their game, we telling them what was happening in the shoot out, and they were clearly distracted in their warmup drill. Almost every single person there was rooting for Argentina. Then when they won, the kids on both teams were screaming running around together and sliding like they had just won a game. It put a big smile on my face.

Looking back at the games, Qatar did an outstanding job in hosting the event.

There were some bad moments as well especially the treatment of migrant workers but overall, they deserve a credit.

Ronaldo signed a $75/yr contract to play in KSA, richest in sports history.

He will make at least $225M over 3 years.

Mind boggling.

I saw that! wow!!!
But not unexpected.
I'm willing to be his personal gopher, call screener, crazy girl screener all for only for .25 percent!

@AsadZ thats a tough one. I enjoyed this WC immensely and i hope it has a positive impact bridging the gap between the middle east and the western world.