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Just finished on DVR.... Holy Cow what a rollercoaster of emotions....
 
Not to be a wet blanket after an emotional win, but we were lucky to get 3 points in that one.

I thought Ghana dominated the game, but had problems putting the biscuit in the basket. We look to be a typical US team that shows little patience, tries to beat people one-on-one and makes way too many sloppy, blind passes.

We will have to play a hell of lot better than that moving forward and Portugal just ran into a German buzzsaw. They aren't that bad.

I'm glad Brooks had his moment in the sun, but......Jesus. That's not a great formula for success. One in a million goal right there.

Losing Altadore is probably too much to overcome.
 
Parking the bus is all well and good but on those occasions where you get forward with possession you need to string together a few passes. The giveaways drove me nuts.

That said for all their possession Ghana produced very little in the way of decent scoring opportunities.

We really need to beat Portugal or hope Germany has it all wrapped up because at full strength die manschaft will overwhelm the US defense.
 
So correct me if I am wrong, but if we can manage a point against Portugal aren't we pretty sure to be moving on? A tie with Portugal will give the US 4 points and mean that Portugal can max out at 4 if they beat Ghana. Isn't the tiebreaker goal differential meaning that we would have a 5 goal lead on Portugal heading into the final match?

Yes, to Hawg's point, yesterday was frustrating and I think Ghana deserved a better result, but give the US some credit for staying in the game and ultimately getting it done. I think the worst thing that can happen sometimes is an early unexpected goal as it has a way of putting you in a defensive shell waaaaaay to early as you try just a little too much to protect the lead. I was disappointed that the US couldn't muster more of a counterattack through the midfield or at least play more of a "possession" type game. They put the ball at risk too many times for a team playing with the lead. But having said that, I'll definitely take the 3 points here.

I think with 5 days to prepare for not having Altidore combined with Portugal's dismantling by Germans gives US a better than average shot at moving into the knockout stages, something I would have said had little chance going into yesterday's games...
 
Chile is the team of the tournament so far for me. As GP said I'm not sure how much of that 4-0 was Germany being good and how much Portugal laying an egg/playing with 10 players. I'm still concerned with their defense in general. I'm not convinced with Lahm at DM and certainly not convinced with playing 4 CB on defense either. The injuries at DM have really brought this German team closer to the pack. I mean if Gundogan had been healthy he'd be starting over a healthy Khedira or a healthy Schweinsteiger (both of which are recovering from injuries). Then on top of that both Bender twins get injured. A fully healthy Germany had the depth of talent to survive a grueling tournament like this one. I'm not sure about this version though.
 
Another game and more giveaways from Lahm at CDM. It's bad enough that JLo plays 4 CBs on defense but then he goes and takes the only one with any pace and replaces him with another slow footed CB. They got murdered UN the second half by the speed of the Ghanians. If that wasn't enough Lahm for some inexplicable reason started playing really high and that left the slow footed CBs without any help. They were lucky not to concede a third.
 
I feel bad for Bosnia/Herz for getting porked on a bad call negating a legit goal for them along with a couple of other non-calls that might've tilted the outcome in Ghana's favor.

In general, I am enjoying the hell out of this World Cup. I find most of the matches to be competitive and entertaining and the more world-class futbol I see, the more I enjoy it. The passion and skill of the players is fantastic. I feel sorry for the many Americans that find it boring. It is far from it, in my opinion and I'm watching every game I can with great interest.

While the frequent play-acting, histrionics and blatant diving is hard to take there is much to like in a game that finishes in a little over two hours every time and is largely free of stoppages, commercials and the general bullshit of NFL and other U.S. sports. It's easy to get immersed in the actual game. It's not exactly pure or perfect, but it's in the ballpark.

I can't wait for U.S./Portugal. Let's hope the boys have a solid match and can defeat a talented, desperate Portugal team that is even more banged up than we are. Ronaldo's got a bad wheel, but that guy is a beast and he scares the hell out of me.
 
Hawg73 said:
In general, I am enjoying the hell out of this World Cup. I find most of the matches to be competitive and entertaining and the more world-class futbol I see, the more I enjoy it. The passion and skill of the players is fantastic. I feel sorry for the many Americans that find it boring. It is far from it, in my opinion and I'm watching every game I can with great interest.
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I got hooked during the 2006 WC, but this one is turning out to be a gem so far.
 
I should be happy with a draw against Portugal...:banghead:
 
HomelessJoe said:
I should be happy with a draw against Portugal...:banghead:
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Well, ain't you just the prescient one?

I DVR'd it and had a graduation party to attend, but as 6PM loomed the pressure built and a few of us took over the flatscreen.

While it can't be said that the US sucked over the course of the game, it should be plainly stated that Michael Bradley just flat out sucked in turning it over egregiously with seconds left to allow the Portagees to tie it with 10 seconds left.

Allowing a goal like that is beyond stupid.

Congrats on the US team getting through to the next round, but this is not the ideal way to get in there.

Bradley choked.
 
Hawg73 said:
Well, ain't you just the prescient one?

I DVR'd it and had a graduation party to attend, but as 6PM loomed the pressure built and a few of us took over the flatscreen.

While it can't be said that the US sucked over the course of the game, it should be plainly stated that Michael Bradley just flat out sucked in turning it over egregiously with seconds left to allow the Portagees to tie it with 10 seconds left.

Allowing a goal like that is beyond stupid.

Congrats on the US team getting through to the next round, but this is not the ideal way to get in there.

Bradley choked.
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I don't think they are in the next round yet for sure, are they?
 
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