7/1: USA vs. Belgium

1ke

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Today was bitter sweet. Extremely sad obviously, they went out. It was always going to be a task to beat a Belgium side with a team loaded with skill, not to mention anchored by the best CB in the world. The glimmer of hope was that Belgium hadn't found their form yet in Brazil.

With that said. Great great game. And yes, IMO great achievement even getting out of that group. They defended well, put up one hell of a fight. Just didn't have enough brass to see it completely out. I thought Hazard underachieved, and Fellaini pretty much useless, and Van Buyten in good form as well. Fellaini looks so lost in life right now. Was not overly impressed with Origi, after my first full viewing of him. I thought the game was screaming for Lokaku, and thought it would have been over much sooner had he been on. Also, why Mou wanted nothing to do with De Bruyne is beyond me.

For America, I dont have words to describe what Yedlin did today. Kid came off the bench cold, and instantly turned into USAs best threat. Jermaine Jones was the best player for America based on the full tourney. He has never played that well for Schalke, I imagine Schalke fans might be wondering the same thing. Obvious credit to Timmy. ANd a huge shoutout to Omar Gonzalez who regained his form for the last 2 games. And Wondo..... Wondo Wondo Wondo.....:angryfinger: That was it Wondo. That was your chance at legend status for ever in this country. It couldnt have fallen to anyone else better at the poacher role than him too. It just wasnt meant to be. And ive been one of the biggest Wondo advocates too. Just couldnt deliver tonight.

I have to say, this is the first time i remember the future being this bright at the end of a WC cycle. the back four should be sorted. With Cameron, Gonzo, Johnson, Besler, and Yedlin. There are 5 defenders and the oldest will be 30 in Russia. That leaves 4 years from now to get a proper midfield, while having Julian Green develop into a true No. 10. Jozy has to develop a little more as well. Slowly but surely, USA is getting there. They have a foundation for Russia, now need the depth. Well done USA today, nobody can be overly upset.
 

JimJohnson

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Yes but there are also some question marks for the future. Tim Howard is 35, not sure he sticks around for another cup. Goalies have more longevity but just not sure he wants to do it again. Clint Dempsey will be 35 at the next cup and for a player like him, that is just about retirement age so not sure he's back either. And those 2 guys are arguably are best players.
 

1ke

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Brad Guzan will replace Howard easily. He has had two very good years in the Prem. GK will be fine.

Replacing Clint won't be easy, but that's what the next for years are for.
 

JimJohnson

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Brad Guzan will replace Howard easily. He has had two very good years in the Prem. GK will be fine.

Replacing Clint won't be easy, but that's what the next for years are for.

In 2013, Guzan gave up more goals than any other GK in the Premier League.
 

1ke

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Dude, he played for Villa. Excuse him for not having a star studded CB pairing in front of him. Shit, he didn't even have Jagielka, Distin in front of him. Are you that daft?
 

CODE_BLUE56

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I like what I'm seeing from Green
 

inactiveuser1

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I missed the game for work ( :mad: :( ) somebody please tell me why that clown Cameron started and played in the midfield over Beckerman?
 

Bear06

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Today was bitter sweet. Extremely sad obviously, they went out. It was always going to be a task to beat a Belgium side with a team loaded with skill, not to mention anchored by the best CB in the world. The glimmer of hope was that Belgium hadn't found their form yet in Brazil.

With that said. Great great game. And yes, IMO great achievement even getting out of that group. They defended well, put up one hell of a fight. Just didn't have enough brass to see it completely out. I thought Hazard underachieved, and Fellaini pretty much useless, and Van Buyten in good form as well. Fellaini looks so lost in life right now. Was not overly impressed with Origi, after my first full viewing of him. I thought the game was screaming for Lokaku, and thought it would have been over much sooner had he been on. Also, why Mou wanted nothing to do with De Bruyne is beyond me.

For America, I dont have words to describe what Yedlin did today. Kid came off the bench cold, and instantly turned into USAs best threat. Jermaine Jones was the best player for America based on the full tourney. He has never played that well for Schalke, I imagine Schalke fans might be wondering the same thing. Obvious credit to Timmy. ANd a huge shoutout to Omar Gonzalez who regained his form for the last 2 games. And Wondo..... Wondo Wondo Wondo.....:angryfinger: That was it Wondo. That was your chance at legend status for ever in this country. It couldnt have fallen to anyone else better at the poacher role than him too. It just wasnt meant to be. And ive been one of the biggest Wondo advocates too. Just couldnt deliver tonight.

I have to say, this is the first time i remember the future being this bright at the end of a WC cycle. the back four should be sorted. With Cameron, Gonzo, Johnson, Besler, and Yedlin. There are 5 defenders and the oldest will be 30 in Russia. That leaves 4 years from now to get a proper midfield, while having Julian Green develop into a true No. 10. Jozy has to develop a little more as well. Slowly but surely, USA is getting there. They have a foundation forthessia, now need the depth. Well done USA today, nobody can be overly upset.

I agree that Jones was one of the best if not the best player for the U.S. MNT in the WC. He had his good games in his time with Schalke, one that standed out to me was their CL win against Arsenal at the Emirates a few years ago. Funny thing is that U.S. fans were hoping that the Schalke version of Jones would show up for the national team, but in this WC he stepped up big time and was even better.
 

Bear06

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I like what I'm seeing from Green

Yeah, the kid has huge talent and potential. It's a great bonus that he is a versatile attacking winger/forward which the U.S. needs.
 

JimJohnson

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Dude, he played for Villa. Excuse him for not having a star studded CB pairing in front of him. Shit, he didn't even have Jagielka, Distin in front of him. Are you that daft?

I'm not saying he's bad. I'm just telling you, he's not Tim Howard.
 

inactiveuser1

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Someone please explain the whole Beckerman/Cameron thing...lol seriously wondering if announcers mentioned anything or if you guys noticed anything
 

JimJohnson

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Someone please explain the whole Beckerman/Cameron thing...lol seriously wondering if announcers mentioned anything or if you guys noticed anything

Taylor Twellman made the observation that the U.S. was having trouble controlling the midfield. He suggested bringing in Kyle Beckerman and then moving Cameron over to the right back position (so substituting for a defender). The problem here is that could possibly mean some hard tackles that would need to be made and since Cameron was already on a yellow, it could mean another one which result in a red card ejection.

It also appeared that Klinsmann was putting in offensive guys so they could be utilized in a potential penalty shootout situation. I think this was the better move because even if Beckerman is brought in, I don't think there was any way the U.S. was going to stop Belgium's attack.
 

BillikenBear

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Really disappointed by the loss, but proud of the effort that everyone on the team showed. The future is very bright with Yedlin, Brooks, and Green on the team. Yedlin could probably win some gold medals at the Olympics. Really happy for Green to get the goal and show the world that maybe the coaches at Bayern might know a little something about soccer. Can't wait to see how their careers progress and see what the US can do in the Copa America 2016 and Russia 2018! I am very confident that the US will be a soccer power in my lifetime!
 

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Twas a good run
 

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