World Cup Only Weeks Away!

Off Topic
41

[quote]Amsterdam Animal wrote:
Dude, I was crying when we did not make the world cup 4 years ago and when we lost in the semis of the European cup 2 years ago, as were a lot of the fans, players etc. I was also crying tears of joy when we beat Germany 2-1 in 1998 (dahum I had to reach back for that one!!).

Sweden? I thought they barely made it in…

A

[/quote]

I cry every time I see Phill Neville in an England shirt or Emile Heskey! Shed a tear when we went out AGAIN to Portugal thanks to a Neville AGAIN!!

As for tears of joy for England - 5-1 vs Germany and obviously the Euro '96 against Holland match. The two best England performances I have ever seen.

42

[quote]Amsterdam Animal wrote:
Agreed, but come on dude, these latest FIFA rankings are a joke. I think I saw the US at like 4 or something? US soccer has come a long way but I just dont see that.

UtahLama wrote:
rbnlaw wrote:
UtahLama wrote:
As one of only 467 soccer fans in the U.S. I have a couple of comments.

  1. Every year the U.S. gets no love and with the exception of ‘98’ they have overachieved.

  2. All of my friends in England are in a tizzy over Jenas and Theo Walcott.

  3. Once again the U.S. is stuck in the Group of Death while Mexico, who we placed over in CONCAF qualies gets a easier road.

My 2 cents

Agree about Mexico. Most overrated squad each year in the WC. The year they should have goe the furthest (in Mexico) they disappointed. They’re tough, as long as you’re playing them in Azteca.

As for the U.S., we have a great squad and the results of the friendlies shouldn’t be casue for too much concern. That was mainly MLS players waiting for the Premiership and Euro players to get back to the squad. The MLS is torture to watch. I prefer my daughter’s U-12 games.

We should be dangerous with speed and aggressive play. I do worry that our defense tends to get confused easily and allows to many entries to the box. With the group of death draw, we’ll be fortunate to get to the 2nd round.

Otherwise; Up England!

Never underestimate U.S. Soccer. We play in front of Hostile fans even in home qualifiers (ever seen us play a Latino team in the continental U.S.?)
So our guys are used to the heat.

Second there are virtually no expectations from the home fans, the mainstream media could give two shits! Whereas the English media could tell you what Wayne Rooney had for breakfast.

Last… it all comes down to Goalkeeping, if Kasey Keller gets hot we can advance farther than 02.

[/quote]

Hi to all. U.S. soccer fan #402. Nice to meet all y’all.

In terms of the FIFA rankings, the U.S. did get astoundingly high during 2005 (I believe as high as #7) but I think we ended up at around #10 come time for the World Cup pairings. What makes little sense to me is that if FIFA does those rankings and selects the groupings for the World Cup… why did the U.S. end up with such a horrific grouping while so many other squads like Mexico got off so much lighter? How many times do we need to beat Mexico over the last 3 or 4 years for that to mean something?

Regardless, I’m looking forward to all of the World Cup madness. I work with a lot of internationals at my job, so there is some excitement buzzing around. I think the U.S. will be hard pressed to escape their grouping and even if they do finish as the runner-up, they would be playing Brazil in the 2nd round. Yikes. Either way, I will be rootin’ hard for our boys.

Kuz

43

[quote]UtahLama wrote:
Never underestimate U.S. Soccer. We play in front of Hostile fans even in home qualifiers (ever seen us play a Latino team in the continental U.S.?)
So our guys are used to the heat.

Second there are virtually no expectations from the home fans, the mainstream media could give two shits! Whereas the English media could tell you what Wayne Rooney had for breakfast.

Last… it all comes down to Goalkeeping, if Kasey Keller gets hot we can advance farther than 02.

[/quote]

Have you ever been to a derby match in Britain, or a match between the big rivals ie Man Utd and Liverpool or Celtic and Rangers or Millwall and well… Anyone…? However they come across on tv they are incredibly hostile. You’re lucky if there’s not bloodshed every time they meet.

Other countries have the same thing - Some Italian fans have even beaten up their OWN players when they feel they haven’t put in enough effort. Now European-based (including some Americans granted) players deal with that every match, not just when playing qualification matches for their country.

I don’t think being used to playing against hostile opposition (See US vs Iran in '98) is a big deal for the majority of the players who will be at the World Cup.

I think the lack of expectation/interest of the US press might alleviate some pressure and allow the team to play with a little more freedom, but again, Brazil have won a gazillion times and are expected to by the entire world each time.

And Jesus, what are you thinking pinning your hopes on Kasey Keller? You can do better than that. What about Adu? Reyna for Gawd’s sake…

What happened to Friedel anyway?

If you feel your best chance is an ex-Millwall (I live very close to the ground) player you are in serious trouble! lol

I personally think this WC has come too soon for this group of American players. Next WC I expect them to shine but to get out of their group this time out would be a major achievement.

44

[quote]Amsterdam Animal wrote:
Agreed, but come on dude, these latest FIFA rankings are a joke. I think I saw the US at like 4 or something? US soccer has come a long way but I just dont see that.

UtahLama wrote:
rbnlaw wrote:
UtahLama wrote:
As one of only 467 soccer fans in the U.S. I have a couple of comments.

  1. Every year the U.S. gets no love and with the exception of ‘98’ they have overachieved.

  2. All of my friends in England are in a tizzy over Jenas and Theo Walcott.

  3. Once again the U.S. is stuck in the Group of Death while Mexico, who we placed over in CONCAF qualies gets a easier road.

My 2 cents

Agree about Mexico. Most overrated squad each year in the WC. The year they should have goe the furthest (in Mexico) they disappointed. They’re tough, as long as you’re playing them in Azteca.

As for the U.S., we have a great squad and the results of the friendlies shouldn’t be casue for too much concern. That was mainly MLS players waiting for the Premiership and Euro players to get back to the squad. The MLS is torture to watch. I prefer my daughter’s U-12 games.

We should be dangerous with speed and aggressive play. I do worry that our defense tends to get confused easily and allows to many entries to the box. With the group of death draw, we’ll be fortunate to get to the 2nd round.

Otherwise; Up England!

Never underestimate U.S. Soccer. We play in front of Hostile fans even in home qualifiers (ever seen us play a Latino team in the continental U.S.?)
So our guys are used to the heat.

Second there are virtually no expectations from the home fans, the mainstream media could give two shits! Whereas the English media could tell you what Wayne Rooney had for breakfast.

Last… it all comes down to Goalkeeping, if Kasey Keller gets hot we can advance farther than 02.

We came within one Unreal/Illegal Ollie Kahn save from OT and possible semi’s in 02.

The U.S. has the biggest talent pool to choose from, it’s only a matter of time.

Just think who would play futbol in the U.S. if it was the #1 sport. Michael Jordan in Goal, Allen Iverson at Striker, Ronnie Lott at Sweeper, Kobe Bryant at center mid…someday.

45

[quote]1-packlondoner wrote:
UtahLama wrote:
Never underestimate U.S. Soccer. We play in front of Hostile fans even in home qualifiers (ever seen us play a Latino team in the continental U.S.?)
So our guys are used to the heat.

Second there are virtually no expectations from the home fans, the mainstream media could give two shits! Whereas the English media could tell you what Wayne Rooney had for breakfast.

Last… it all comes down to Goalkeeping, if Kasey Keller gets hot we can advance farther than 02.

Have you ever been to a derby match in Britain, or a match between the big rivals ie Man Utd and Liverpool or Celtic and Rangers or Millwall and well… Anyone…? However they come across on tv they are incredibly hostile. You’re lucky if there’s not bloodshed every time they meet.

Other countries have the same thing - Some Italian fans have even beaten up their OWN players when they feel they haven’t put in enough effort. Now European-based (including some Americans granted) players deal with that every match, not just when playing qualification matches for their country.

I don’t think being used to playing against hostile opposition (See US vs Iran in '98) is a big deal for the majority of the players who will be at the World Cup.

I think the lack of expectation/interest of the US press might alleviate some pressure and allow the team to play with a little more freedom, but again, Brazil have won a gazillion times and are expected to by the entire world each time.

And Jesus, what are you thinking pinning your hopes on Kasey Keller? You can do better than that. What about Adu? Reyna for Gawd’s sake…

What happened to Friedel anyway?

If you feel your best chance is an ex-Millwall (I live very close to the ground) player you are in serious trouble! lol

I personally think this WC has come too soon for this group of American players. Next WC I expect them to shine but to get out of their group this time out would be a major achievement.
[/quote]

Have no Idea about Friedel…But Keller’s no slouch. And the EPL is not the last word on international futbol, it’s strong up top but weak on the bottom.

How has England done in the last 3 cups anyway. :wink:

46

We came within one Unreal/Illegal Ollie Kahn save from OT and possible semi’s in 02.

The U.S. has the biggest talent pool to choose from, it’s only a matter of time.

Just think who would play futbol in the U.S. if it was the #1 sport. Michael Jordan in Goal, Allen Iverson at Striker, Ronnie Lott at Sweeper, Kobe Bryant at center mid…someday.

47

[quote]Kuz wrote:
Hi to all. U.S. soccer fan #402. Nice to meet all y’all.

In terms of the FIFA rankings, the U.S. did get astoundingly high during 2005 (I believe as high as #7) but I think we ended up at around #10 come time for the World Cup pairings. What makes little sense to me is that if FIFA does those rankings and selects the groupings for the World Cup… why did the U.S. end up with such a horrific grouping while so many other squads like Mexico got off so much lighter? How many times do we need to beat Mexico over the last 3 or 4 years for that to mean something?

Regardless, I’m looking forward to all of the World Cup madness. I work with a lot of internationals at my job, so there is some excitement buzzing around. I think the U.S. will be hard pressed to escape their grouping and even if they do finish as the runner-up, they would be playing Brazil in the 2nd round. Yikes. Either way, I will be rootin’ hard for our boys.

Kuz[/quote]

Hi Kuz,

If I remember rightly, FIFA rankings are based on friendlies, qualification and tournament results from the prior 3 tournaments so that’s going back to '94. IMO opinion this is totally adsurd as most teams bear no relation to one 12 years previous although I know Reyna was in the US squad in '94!

I guess theoretically you could bump up your ranking by arranging a friendly with (and beating) Peru, Scotland or Luxembourg every fortnight.

Very silly. The thought that Mexico is better than France, England, Portugal and Argentina is frankly fucking ridiculous.

Just cut n’ pasted this from the fifa website - last updated March '06

1 Brazil
2 Czech Republic
3 Netherlands
4 USA
5 Spain
6 Mexico
7 France
8 Portugal
8 Argentina
10 England

Hmm…Need to do something about that.

Of that top 10 my current order would be:

1 Brazil
2 France
3 Argentina
4 England
5 Czech Republic
6 Netherlands
7 Spain
8 USA
9 Portugal
10 Mexico

I probably just opened up a pandora’s box there… I’m awaiting the flaming…

48

[quote]UtahLama wrote:
rbnlaw wrote:
UtahLama wrote:
As one of only 467 soccer fans in the U.S. I have a couple of comments.

  1. Every year the U.S. gets no love and with the exception of ‘98’ they have overachieved.

  2. All of my friends in England are in a tizzy over Jenas and Theo Walcott.

  3. Once again the U.S. is stuck in the Group of Death while Mexico, who we placed over in CONCAF qualies gets a easier road.

My 2 cents

Agree about Mexico. Most overrated squad each year in the WC. The year they should have goe the furthest (in Mexico) they disappointed. They’re tough, as long as you’re playing them in Azteca.

As for the U.S., we have a great squad and the results of the friendlies shouldn’t be casue for too much concern. That was mainly MLS players waiting for the Premiership and Euro players to get back to the squad. The MLS is torture to watch. I prefer my daughter’s U-12 games.

We should be dangerous with speed and aggressive play. I do worry that our defense tends to get confused easily and allows to many entries to the box. With the group of death draw, we’ll be fortunate to get to the 2nd round.

Otherwise; Up England!

Never underestimate U.S. Soccer. We play in front of Hostile fans even in home qualifiers (ever seen us play a Latino team in the continental U.S.?)
So our guys are used to the heat.

Second there are virtually no expectations from the home fans, the mainstream media could give two shits! Whereas the English media could tell you what Wayne Rooney had for breakfast.

Last… it all comes down to Goalkeeping, if Kasey Keller gets hot we can advance farther than 02.

[/quote]

Agree again. I live in So. Cal, or Northern Mexico. The US can’t play at the Colleseum without a fight. I’d rather see them play in Foxboro or Columbus in front of rabid (?) US fans.

Should be a great cup.

49

[quote]UtahLama wrote:

Have no Idea about Friedel…But Keller’s no slouch. And the EPL is not the last word on international futbol, it’s strong up top but weak on the bottom.

How has England done in the last 3 cups anyway. :wink:

[/quote]

lol, I seem to remember us doing okay against you in Chicago last year. :slight_smile:

As for being weak at the bottom, Both West Ham and Wigan who were two of the three teams promoted this season managed to finish in the top ten and both got great results against the big teams.

I think that myth has been dispelled, especially this season as more and more good players are wanting to come to the premiership (most recently Ballack and Shevchenko), plus the fact that Boro, who were in a relegation battle until very recently, got to the UEFA Cup final whilst Man City and Bolton did well in the competition too.

BTW Brad Friedel at Blackburn and Tim Howard at Man Utd must be ahead of Keller. Seriously. Both are class. Keller is a hack.

50

[quote]UtahLama wrote:

The U.S. has the biggest talent pool to choose from, it’s only a matter of time.

Just think who would play futbol in the U.S. if it was the #1 sport. Michael Jordan in Goal, Allen Iverson at Striker, Ronnie Lott at Sweeper, Kobe Bryant at center mid…someday.

[/quote]

I agree. The US has a long history of producing great athletes. Now to get them interested in a game where scoring is hard and where games don’t finish 99-98! JOKE! :wink:

51

[quote]1-packlondoner wrote:
rbnlaw wrote:
UtahLama wrote:
As one of only 467 soccer fans in the U.S. I have a couple of comments.

  1. Every year the U.S. gets no love and with the exception of ‘98’ they have overachieved.

  2. All of my friends in England are in a tizzy over Jenas and Theo Walcott.

  3. Once again the U.S. is stuck in the Group of Death while Mexico, who we placed over in CONCAF qualies gets a easier road.

My 2 cents

Agree about Mexico. Most overrated squad each year in the WC. The year they should have goe the furthest (in Mexico) they disappointed. They’re tough, as long as you’re playing them in Azteca.

As for the U.S., we have a great squad and the results of the friendlies shouldn’t be casue for too much concern. That was mainly MLS players waiting for the Premiership and Euro players to get back to the squad. The MLS is torture to watch. I prefer my daughter’s U-12 games.

We should be dangerous with speed and aggressive play. I do worry that our defense tends to get confused easily and allows to many entries to the box. With the group of death draw, we’ll be fortunate to get to the 2nd round.

Otherwise; Up England!

Good to hear opinions from US fans. I don’t get the chance to hear many American fans’ views on the state of the game and their national team. IMO you have the athleticism and mentality and no-one is going to out-muscle you but one failing is that you’re (and by that I mean the US team) are still just a little tactically naive. You have creativity and flair in the side as well as a strong work-ethic…

It’s just that one thing that lets you down. Still, the more players go abroad and experience other playing styles, the better this will get.

[/quote]

It’s why I love the Premier League so much (Good ol’ Arsenal, we’re proud to say your name. . .bring home the Champion’s League for Bergkamp!) and English football in general. Great tactics, patience, passing; it’s all there. The US, a good team- not great, depends on the athleticism too much at times. It gets us through CONCACAF because we play other speedy, aggressive teams.

In the friendly against England (the second match, I believe) they faced a skeleton crew and were shut down. They made Ashley Cole look awesome. Somehow, we got ranked very high (up to #6 recently) and England was #10. Must have been the injury rumors to the big guns.

I hope Rooney has a better WC than he did Euro 2005.

52

[quote]Amsterdam Animal wrote:
Dude, what have you been watching, the Germans will be lucky to get out of the first round, and their bracket selection was rigged!! How do the Germans get such a cake bracket? Well I will will tell you - hot and cold balls. Germany is in the bracket, the guy who picked the teams felt for a cold blue ball (no pun intended). Its bullshit!! LOL

Have you seen the brackets Holland and the US are in? Are you kidding me, that’s murderous.

Both Holland and Argentina better be careful b/c Ivory Coast is not a walk over.

England should def get out of the first round.

S8 wrote:
I think you are too optimistic about England changes. If both Rooney and Owen will be injured then their attack is too weak, the keeper position is also very weak. My prediction is:

  1. Brazil
  2. Argentina
  3. Germany
  4. France

[/quote]

Playing at home makes a huge difference. France won 98 at home, couldnt do shit in 2002. In 2002 Korea came 4th!! I doubt they will repeat that now.

53

[quote]1-packlondoner wrote:

Just cut n’ pasted this from the fifa website - last updated March '06

1 Brazil
2 Czech Republic
3 Netherlands
4 USA
5 Spain
6 Mexico
7 France
8 Portugal
8 Argentina
10 England

Hmm…Need to do something about that.

Of that top 10 my current order would be:

1 Brazil
2 France
3 Argentina
4 England
5 Czech Republic
6 Netherlands
7 Spain
8 USA
9 Portugal
10 Mexico

I probably just opened up a pandora’s box there… I’m awaiting the flaming…

[/quote]

Looks pretty good to me.

54

[quote]UtahLama wrote:
We came within one Unreal/Illegal Ollie Kahn save from OT and possible semi’s in 02.

The U.S. has the biggest talent pool to choose from, it’s only a matter of time.

Just think who would play futbol in the U.S. if it was the #1 sport. Michael Jordan in Goal, Allen Iverson at Striker, Ronnie Lott at Sweeper, Kobe Bryant at center mid…someday.

[/quote]

lol by that reckoning expect to see India and China lift the cup some time soon.

55

[quote]UtahLama wrote:
Amsterdam Animal wrote:
Agreed, but come on dude, these latest FIFA rankings are a joke. I think I saw the US at like 4 or something? US soccer has come a long way but I just dont see that.

UtahLama wrote:
rbnlaw wrote:
UtahLama wrote:
As one of only 467 soccer fans in the U.S. I have a couple of comments.

  1. Every year the U.S. gets no love and with the exception of ‘98’ they have overachieved.

  2. All of my friends in England are in a tizzy over Jenas and Theo Walcott.

  3. Once again the U.S. is stuck in the Group of Death while Mexico, who we placed over in CONCAF qualies gets a easier road.

My 2 cents

Agree about Mexico. Most overrated squad each year in the WC. The year they should have goe the furthest (in Mexico) they disappointed. They’re tough, as long as you’re playing them in Azteca.

As for the U.S., we have a great squad and the results of the friendlies shouldn’t be casue for too much concern. That was mainly MLS players waiting for the Premiership and Euro players to get back to the squad. The MLS is torture to watch. I prefer my daughter’s U-12 games.

We should be dangerous with speed and aggressive play. I do worry that our defense tends to get confused easily and allows to many entries to the box. With the group of death draw, we’ll be fortunate to get to the 2nd round.

Otherwise; Up England!

Never underestimate U.S. Soccer. We play in front of Hostile fans even in home qualifiers (ever seen us play a Latino team in the continental U.S.?)
So our guys are used to the heat.

Second there are virtually no expectations from the home fans, the mainstream media could give two shits! Whereas the English media could tell you what Wayne Rooney had for breakfast.

Last… it all comes down to Goalkeeping, if Kasey Keller gets hot we can advance farther than 02.

We came within one Unreal/Illegal Ollie Kahn save from OT and possible semi’s in 02.

The U.S. has the biggest talent pool to choose from, it’s only a matter of time.

Just think who would play futbol in the U.S. if it was the #1 sport. Michael Jordan in Goal, Allen Iverson at Striker, Ronnie Lott at Sweeper, Kobe Bryant at center mid…someday.

[/quote]

Just a matter of time is right. Soccer is the most popular participation sport among youths in the US right now. The dividends will pay off in the next 5-10 years.

As long as Freddy Adu keeps his head and ego in check. . . and stays the hell away from Man Utd.

Hate those Red Devils.

56

[quote]rbnlaw wrote:
It’s why I love the Premier League so much (Good ol’ Arsenal, we’re proud to say your name. . .bring home the Champion’s League for Bergkamp!) and English football in general. Great tactics, patience, passing; it’s all there. The US, a good team- not great, depends on the athleticism too much at times. It gets us through CONCACAF because we play other speedy, aggressive teams.

In the friendly against England (the second match, I believe) they faced a skeleton crew and were shut down. They made Ashley Cole look awesome. Somehow, we got ranked very high (up to #6 recently) and England was #10. Must have been the injury rumors to the big guns.

I hope Rooney has a better WC than he did Euro 2005.[/quote]

Hi mate,

I agreed with everything you said there - especially the Arsenal stuff! C’mon ARSENAL!! I’m so excited…

57

[quote]rbnlaw wrote:

Hate those Red Devils.[/quote]

Once again… Agreed.

Although Red Scum has a nicer ring to it. lol

58

I just called a friend of mine and he reminded me Freidel retired from National Team play in 04.

Keller is our #1 I think he will be just fine(Did you see any of the qualies this year for the U.S. He was in great form)
I love Howard but he is just a little raw.

Marcus Hahnemann is our third. A bit of a unknown but is having a very good time of it in the Bundesliga.

59

[quote]1-packlondoner wrote:

I guess theoretically you could bump up your ranking by arranging a friendly with (and beating) Peru, Scotland or Luxembourg every fortnight.

[/quote]

The US did arrange a friendly against Scotland a couple of months ago and drew 1-1. Maybe we should be in the top 10 as well?

Still, I’m rooting for Argentina and Spain. Argentina because they play the best football and Spain because they always fail to live up to expectations.

60

[quote]UtahLama wrote:
I just called a friend of mine and he reminded me Freidel retired from National Team play in 04.

Keller is our #1 I think he will be just fine(Did you see any of the qualies this year for the U.S. He was in great form)
I love Howard but he is just a little raw.

Marcus Hahnemann is our third. A bit of a unknown but is having a very good time of it in the Bundesliga.[/quote]

Had no idea Friedel had retired. Shame. He’s one of the best keepers in the premiership.

As for Keller, solid if unspectacular. I guess you know what you’re getting with him unlike, for example, wonderful crazy Jens Lehman who will save 8 shots he had no right to but let one or two in because he was busy shouting at someone for no apparent reason.

Actually Tim ‘Tourette’s’ Howard has a touch of that, but you can be sure he’d be swearing at someone!

We have Paul Robinson who is a class and solid keeper, plus we have David James who is a lunatic and despite his incredible shot stopping ability, should never be let back in an England shirt due to his occasional spectacular lapses in concentration.