Futbol Talk

[GGGG]

Two observations from the Panama game. 

1. I was sorely disappointed that the Van Halen song isn't their national anthem.

2. I don't have any more observations because I fell asleep about 15 minutes in.  That game was dull.

[WarriorInNYC]

The KC crowd rocked last night.  That was one hell of an environment.

[ttheisen]

The KC crowd rocked last night.  That was one hell of an environment.

Crowd showed well - rough game, enough to get out of that one without Zardes getting a massive head wound.

[jesmu84]

First game of the GC I watched from start to finish.

Can we leave Wondo at home from now on?

Disappointed in the development of Timmy Chandler. I expected him to be more like Fabian.

Very good performance in short time from Aron.

Bedoya continues to show me why he should be in the top 11 for this team every game.

Beckerman has lost a LOT in since the WC.

Seems we began moving on from Besler and Gonzo early, perhaps? Better second half, but I don't trust JAB or Alvarado as full-time starters

Zardes could be special with further development. Same with Yedlin.

First half was awful. Totally disjointed. Second half much improved. Clint made a big difference.

[JWags85]

Brooks acquitted himself well in the second half after falling asleep on the Panama goal.  He was everywhere in the box in the second half, killing plenty of chances.  He'll be missed next game.

Love the combination of Dempsey and Zardes.  They really click and it was just a shot of energy to start the second, just like against Haiti.

I thought Bedoya was great.  Criminal that there was no card on the tackle against him just outside the box in the first, CONCACAF'd real hard there.  Otherwise he was very good and his assist was beautiful.

Chandler must have some heavy blackmail on JK cause he was f-ing atrocious and still wasn't subbed off.

[WarriorInNYC]

First game of the GC I watched from start to finish.

Can we leave Wondo at home from now on? Yes, yes, and yes.  Please no more Wondo.

Disappointed in the development of Timmy Chandler. I expected him to be more like Fabian.  Agreed.  He looked good against Guatemala, terribly awful since then.  Need to explore additional options at RB.

Very good performance in short time from Aron.   I'm loving what I see out of Aron.  Need to find a way to get him on the field more often.

Bedoya continues to show me why he should be in the top 11 for this team every game.

Beckerman has lost a LOT in since the WC.  Agreed.  I may be a bit biased on this one, but I think Mix can play that spot well.

Seems we began moving on from Besler and Gonzo early, perhaps? Better second half, but I don't trust JAB or Alvarado as full-time starters   I think a pairing of JAB and Gonzo would do great.  I don't like moving away from him, and possibly Alvarado can develop into a solid starter, but he isn't close yet.  JAB made a few mistakes, but I really like what I see out of him.

Zardes could be special with further development. Same with Yedlin.  Agreed.  These two are the future of this team.  Along with a few other individuals not on the GC roster (Danny Williams, Jordan Morris, etc.)

First half was awful. Totally disjointed. Second half much improved. Clint made a big difference.

[jesmu84]

Brooks acquitted himself well in the second half after falling asleep on the Panama goal.  He was everywhere in the box in the second half, killing plenty of chances.  He'll be missed next game.

Love the combination of Dempsey and Zardes.  They really click and it was just a shot of energy to start the second, just like against Haiti.

I thought Bedoya was great.  Criminal that there was no card on the tackle against him just outside the box in the first, CONCACAF'd real hard there.  Otherwise he was very good and his assist was beautiful.

Chandler must have some heavy blackmail on JK cause he was f-ing atrocious and still wasn't subbed off.

Agreed. I thought Dempsey, Zardes, Aron, Bradley, Bedoya was very impressive moving the ball quickly in confined spaces.

[Henry Sugar]

The KC crowd rocked last night.  That was one hell of an environment.

Agreed. Nice job by the home crowd even late in the game.

Remember when the US were a supporter's underdog in almost every match played in the states? That sucked.

[JWags85]

Agreed. Nice job by the home crowd even late in the game.

Remember when the US were a supporter's underdog in almost every match played in the states? That sucked.

I went to the US vs Honduras at Soldier Field in 2009 during World Cup qualifying.  We won 2-1, but I think the stands were 4-1 Hondurans to US fans.  They scored the first goal and I thought the stadium was going to collapse.  It was insane.  Glad we've come back from that.

[brewcity77]

I went to the US vs Honduras at Soldier Field in 2009 during World Cup qualifying.  We won 2-1, but I think the stands were 4-1 Hondurans to US fans.  They scored the first goal and I thought the stadium was going to collapse.  It was insane.  Glad we've come back from that.

Yeah, for me it will always be the 2007 Gold Cup at Soldier. Played Mexico and I bet it was 20-1 Mexican fans. I expected to be outnumbered, but not nearly that badly.

[WarriorInNYC]

With Jamaica winning tonight, USA will face the higher finisher between the third place teams in Groups B or C (most likely to be El Salvador or Guatemala).  Winner of that match would then face winner of Jamaica and Haiti.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Not that surprising.  Jamaica played spirited ball in Copa America.  We've looked flat this entire tournament except against Cuba, which isn't saying much.  Defense was awful in the first half.

First time I've seen MB score from point blank in a long time.

[jesmu84]

Brutal. I would say Klinsy's job is on the line if we don't win the Confed playoff game, but I think Gulati is tied to Klins until after 2018.

[jesmu84]

Unbelievable PK again for Mexico.

And then Mexican fans throw debris at Panama bench. Stay classy.

[GGGG]

That Panama hand ball call was absurd.  Really going to benefit from two bad calls in consecutive games.

[injuryBug]

that was a joke mexican fans even worse

[jesmu84]

Mexican fans STILL throwing things on the field. Just total trash

[ChicosBailBonds]

that was a joke mexican fans even worse

Been that way for a long time.  You should see when they play here in So. Cal....what a wonderment it is.  Shutting down freeways, wrecking cars, trashing the neighborhoods.    

[JWags85]

Brutal. I would say Klinsy's job is on the line if we don't win the Confed playoff game, but I think Gulati is tied to Klins until after 2018.

I don't have as much of a problem with JK after this.  The US came off a great run in Europe and honestly, minus the lack of finishing, they looked dangerous and effective moving the ball and attacking today.  Jamaica got 2 set piece goals against the run of play.  US outshot Jamaica 10 to 3.  I liked the lineup today (minus Beckerman, which was remedied at half), but at the end of the day, players need to execute.  Our finishing was poor all tournament.

The Mexico game is disgusting.  The straight red was a poor call, yellow at worst.  The penalty to tie the game was one of the worst calls Ive seen.  Not to mention it followed a leg sweep by the Mexican player which caused the defender to fall.  And of course they were awarded an additional penalty in extra time.  Mexico will be in the final despite not scoring a non-PK goal in 210+ min.

[MUfan12]

Mexican fans STILL throwing things on the field. Just total trash

And CONCACAF won't do a thing about it. If this happened in Europe, they would be playing matches in empty stadiums.

The whole thing is disgusting, really. Costa Rica and Panama were both robbed by borderline crooked refereeing. All to benefit Mexico and their horrendous fans.

I really would love to see Jamaica win on Sunday.

[brewcity77]

After the USA game, I didn't have it in me to watch the second game, though it would have been hilarious to see USA/Mexico in the third place game.

It won't happen, but I really wish the Jurgen experiment would end. We do great in meaningless friendlies after going down, but when it matters, we are poor. Outplayed by Honduras and Haiti but won, finally play a halfway decent game against Jamaica, but lost. After scoring to start the second half, I was convinced we would attack constantly and break through. Instead, we could barely manage meaningful possession in the second half and once Gordon came on, we took a page from the WWC team with Wambach and all we did was play longball.

Our backline is infuriating. Every time out it seems we have a new back four. Honestly, you could argue that three of our best defenders (Besler, Goodson, Cameron) didn't even make the team. And why is Kyle Beckerman still playing while Danny Williams can't even get a call? Bradley constantly out of position and being asked to play the role of 6, 10, and box-to-box. Zardes still deployed at wing despite probably being our best forward. Yedlin sitting until darn near the 80th when we were chasing the game. Bring in Beasley only to have him sit on the bench when the thought process was it would allow Fabian Johnson to push further up the pitch. Just nonsensical moves from Klinsmann.

He's a great recruiter but poor tactician. A buddy of mine compared him to Calipari, but I think that undersells Cal's recruiting ability and oversells Jurgen's tactical ability. Dempsey and Bradley had some spectacular plays this competition and that's the only reason we went as far as we did. Of course, we'll carry on with Jurgen, win some friendlies, and qualify for the World Cup, so he's set until 2018.

Honestly, the October playoff should absolutely be for his job. If we don't make the Confederations he should be gone. Having that path to the final and not reaching it, we are at the point where we might fall out of the top-40 of the FIFA rankings. Behind such heavyweights as Iceland, Scotland, and Tunisia.

Just a very frustrating night. I wasn't a fan of the JK hire at the time. He's shown some flashes, given some encouraging moments, but the bottom line is these are the games you have to win. There is no excuse for losing to Jamaica at home. First time we missed the GC final since 2003 (lost to Brazil in the semis) and first time we lost to a Caribbean team at home since 1968 (Haiti). Inexcusable.

[brewcity77]

Bottom line, love the players he's brought in, but hate the way the team is managed. We'll have JK through 2018, but my hope is that we get a better tactician when he leaves who can take advantage of the players he's recruited to the best of their abilities.

[JWags85]

Bottom line, love the players he's brought in, but hate the way the team is managed. We'll have JK through 2018, but my hope is that we get a better tactician when he leaves who can take advantage of the players he's recruited to the best of their abilities.

If JK serves as the Crean to the USMNT, I'm fine with that.  He's also the US Soccer technical director, and strides in that area have been good.  The US has A LOT of promising talent in the 16-20 year old range.

[Golden Avalanche]

It's better to be lucky then good. Mexico has had an unbelievable amount of luck over the past 24 months with a World Cup Qualifying campaign that would embarrass even the mighty Fijian federation only to become a darling of the early rounds last year in Brasil. Follow that up with piss poor organization in this Gold Cup only to receive the luck afforded by classically incompetent CONCACAF officiating.

I found it funny that the day Tim Howard announces he's ready to return to the squad, Guzan put in a terrible performance and was the primary culprit on both Jamaican goals. Howard walks right back into his position as the #1.

[MUfan12]

I found it funny that the day Tim Howard announces he's ready to return to the squad, Guzan put in a terrible performance and was the primary culprit on both Jamaican goals. Howard walks right back into his position as the #1.

That thought crossed my mind last night as well. Not great timing for Howard to come out with that.

Guzan hasn't inspired a ton of confidence, though. Mistake last night aside, he has been shaky whenever he has had to come off his line. Reminds me a bit of Simon Mignolet at Liverpool, very good shot stopper, but doesn't exactly command his area.