***Official 2022 World Cup Thread***

clonedude

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Apr 16, 2006
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We've got a lot of talent, speed, and athleticism..... the only thing holding us back today was Berhalter and that stupid ref.
 

pulse

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Mar 24, 2006
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Did you see England’s subs, they have depth. There’s a reason they’re currently #5. We have guys like Jordan Morris subbing in. And that’s not a complement.
 

Gunnerclone

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Jul 16, 2010
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We've got a lot of talent, speed, and athleticism..... the only thing holding us back today was Berhalter and that stupid ref.

And we don’t have a legit, proven goal threat. US soccer needs to identify the next Ehrling Haaland (ridiculous player from a country that isn’t a traditional power) and pay his family 1 billion dollars to move to the US.
 

mj4cy

Asst. Regional Manager
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Mar 28, 2006
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And we don’t have a legit, proven goal threat. US soccer needs to identify the next Ehrling Haaland (ridiculous player from a country that isn’t a traditional power) and pay his family 1 billion dollars to move to the US.

Yep we seem to get down in their territory, cross it around a couple times then when no one's home lose the possession.
 

PickSix

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Aug 25, 2013
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Lots of people in the thread are talking about how the U.S. let up, but I see it differently.

Wales completely adjusted their style of play in the second half by being a lot more aggressive with their first line of defense. This created a more open and free flowing type of game that we did not respond well too.

It's not as if we could have just played the same way after the goal as we did before. Criticize the team for not effectively adjusting all you want, but I think saying we "let up" is a gross oversimplification.
 

Gunnerclone

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Yep we seem to get down in their territory, cross it around a couple times then when no one's home lose the possession.

That was the worst 20 minutes of the game for us. Could have held possession forever and kept them running. The most under appreciated facet of soccer is the mental part. Switch off for one second and it’s ****** (just like those worthless balls and the penalty). It’s the hardest game to recover from a big mistake.
 

Gunnerclone

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350 million people and our #9 plays in for second division Norwich.

Is Reyna not fit?

Has to be injured. The US focuses way too hard on ball skills and personal technique. Those are the kids that move up through the ranks now. A guy that just scores isn’t attractive because “all he can do is score”. Same for a legit set piece guy “all he can do is take free kicks and corners”. Instead of building a team that can cover up those kind of guys in the rest of the game they get pushed out because they can’t do 30 stopovers or they can’t turn on a dime and flick a lob over the top of a defense. /rant.
 

jctisu

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Jun 11, 2017
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Can’t complain still hope. We did the minimum but a loss there would have been the end of the tournament for us.
This. We should have absolutely had 3 points, and now our work is cut out. But a loss today and we were already out. At least we get to enjoy the rest of the Group Stage knowing we have a shot.

Side note, not sure why everyone is just assuming Wales beat Iran. Wales didn't impress me at all, and Iran is very stingy minus today's performance against England. They could absolutely draw us or Wales, so it's not like Wales is a given to beat Iran.
 

mj4cy

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This. We should have absolutely had 3 points, and now our work is cut out. But a loss today and we were already out. At least we get to enjoy the rest of the Group Stage knowing we have a shot.

Side note, not sure why everyone is just assuming Wales beat Iran. Wales didn't impress me at all, and Iran is very stingy minus today's performance against England. They could absolutely draw us or Wales, so it's not like Wales is a given to beat Iran.

I guess my take is if you want to be respected and you want to prove you belong, go give England hell. Otherwise, I'm sick of this having to rely on others to lose and tie so we can squeak in. Go earn it or go home.
 
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tim_redd

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Mar 29, 2006
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This. We should have absolutely had 3 points, and now our work is cut out. But a loss today and we were already out. At least we get to enjoy the rest of the Group Stage knowing we have a shot.

Side note, not sure why everyone is just assuming Wales beat Iran. Wales didn't impress me at all, and Iran is very stingy minus today's performance against England. They could absolutely draw us or Wales, so it's not like Wales is a given to beat Iran.
Hopefully Iran can take a point off Wales.
 

Gunnerclone

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I guess my take is if you want to be respected and you want to prove you belong, go give England hell. Otherwise, I'm sick of this having to rely on others to lose and tie so we can squeak in. Go earn it or go home.

It’s not out of the question but a lot will depend on the officiating of that game. I can definitely envision a scenario where Pulisic gets kicked in to the ground while Harry Kane gets breathed on and it’s a call every time.
 
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pulse

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Mar 24, 2006
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This. We should have absolutely had 3 points, and now our work is cut out. But a loss today and we were already out. At least we get to enjoy the rest of the Group Stage knowing we have a shot.

Side note, not sure why everyone is just assuming Wales beat Iran. Wales didn't impress me at all, and Iran is very stingy minus today's performance against England. They could absolutely draw us or Wales, so it's not like Wales is a given to beat Iran.
Iran is getting 0 pts
 

Bigman38

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Jul 27, 2010
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Lots of people in the thread are talking about how the U.S. let up, but I see it differently.

Wales completely adjusted their style of play in the second half by being a lot more aggressive with their first line of defense. This created a more open and free flowing type of game that we did not respond well too.

It's not as if we could have just played the same way after the goal as we did before. Criticize the team for not effectively adjusting all you want, but I think saying we "let up" is a gross oversimplification.

I think they were a lot sloppier in the second half, especially towards the end. Lot of bad angles, forced passes, etc. But I'd agree, them opening up should have led to us getting better chances and it kind of happened for a bit and then disappeared.
 

Clonefan32

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Nov 19, 2008
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Kinda nice for the World Cup to come along every 8 years (for us) and remind us why it's a sport that pretty much everyone quits caring about after 5th grade.

I'll refuse to care about something we can't be dominate in because after all, that's the American way.