The World Cup Thread!

[Winterclaw]

They only tied the US in the first game of the world cup. I was expecting them to win outright. Especially after that quick goal in the beginning.

[galbat0rixx]

I agree, what the bloody hell happened? I was expecting them to win by about 4 goals!
Gotta feel for rob green though, Dempsey's shot wasn't even good, it was crap and straight at him. Ah well, I figure he has a 1 in a million chance of scuffing like that, so that means it'll be a while before he does it again

[I pwnd U]

What happened was the US settled down and started playing better soccer. The first half showed a much better England team, their experience really showed through. It look almost like in the second half they just became tired. US seemed to be in better shape and just seemed to have better teamwork. The US looked more like a unit than the England side.

As for the rest of the game, tbh that game could have finished 0-0 easily. The US gave up a early soft goal. Onyewu was out of position and DeMerit didn't step to the ball like he should have. Gerrard made a great run, no question there, but bad marking and not stepping to the ball is what allowed that goal.

Now for the US goal, hey, throw the ball from distance at the goal. The ball has been shown to do weird things, it doesn't always fly true. Now the ball had no effect, or it shouldn't have, on the goal. Green had his body position terribly. He did not get square to the ball instead he angled is body a bit. So when the ball bounced off his gloves he effectively deflected it into his own goal. Had he squared his body to the ball it wouldn't have happened. His save on Altidore in the 2nd though should get him some confidence back. Though had the US had a guy making the back post run like they should have, it would have been 2-1 US.

[zelgadissan]

Green definitely made the hard save on Altidore and missed the easy Dempsey one.

That said, I thought the American defense looked like absolute shit - how many times did an English striker get through 1 on 1? I can think of three off the top of my head (one of which was Gerrard's goal), and I'm pretty sure there was more.

I guess I'm not one of those American fans that feels we should be relieved/excited about a tie with England. I just feel lucky that England never capitalized on all our mistakes.

BTW, I'm admittedly a Tottenham supporter, but why the hell was Heskey out there instead of Defoe?

[Xenomortis]

Did you see their match against Japan?
I was somewhat impressed we tied - I was half expecting us to lose.

The English football team has always been a string of disappointments in my view - top players coming from the Premier League (the top football league; or at least the most watched and profitable) and yet as a team they always give a lacklustre performance.

I didn't watch the match, but I did pay attention to various text commentaries - nice start but it didn't hold up. In the last 30 minutes or so it seems England put out a decent offense and pressured the US defenders, but somehow never managed to score despite several promising lead ups.

[jiggles]

I'm just here to point out that every single time a camera is put on Tim Howard, he's swearing. I know he has tourette's and all, but it's still pretty amusing

[I pwnd U]

I'm not relieved that we tied with England. Ya it's better than a loss but if either Slovenia or Algeria blows the other out than they are at the top of the group. One slip up from there and either the US or England are not getting to the next round. I was pretty disappointed towards the end of the game as it looked like the US was content with a tie while England continued to push forward.

The US defense definitely had some issues in the first half. The second half was a little better but Onyewu and DeMerit need to talk more. I have played defender before and was actually on one of the best defenses in our conference (ya it was high school but same concept). We gave up very few goals because we talked. Constant chatter kept us all marked on our men and made sure no one was running free. The US defense needs to start talking more and making sure everyone is marked if they want to make it out of the group stages.

[Winterclaw]

To me the US team didn't look that good in the second half. They couldn't get any offense going at all. Every time the had their goalie kick the british team had the ball back on the offensive again in a few seconds. They lacked any sort of counter offensive until around stoppage time and that is going to cost them.

Likewise if I was a british fan, I'd be worrying about my team holding on to the ball so long in the second half and not being able to get any points out of it.


BTW, those horns thingies were a pain in the butt to listen to the entire broadcast.

[I pwnd U]

Ya, I hate those stupid things Winter. Sounds like a bunch of bees...

If you have watched the US team before they like to counterattack. Yes, they needed to control the ball more and they can do it against less skilled teams, but when it comes to holding the ball against a team such as England it usually doesn't happen. We don't have the players with the ball skill and vision to be able to keep possession away from the good teams. I believe both of our goals against Spain were on the counterattack. Same against Brazil, we scored on a counterattack but didn't have much possession. It is a major problem that they need to fix if they hope to get past the 2nd round. We should see more ball control out of them against Slovenia and Algeria.

Also, everyone was raving here about the US tying England. Now that Slovenia has beaten Algeria it gives England and US an even harder road. If one slips up, probably the US, and ties against one of the other 2, it could mean Slovenia advances instead of England or the US. The pressure is on now despite everyone saying after the England game the road is smooth. Don't underestimate Slovenia and Algeria.

[Winterclaw]

Ok, I haven't been watching US soccer since the last world cup.

England should win their next two games. I'm expecting the US to drop one of the next two matches and not advance.

[Never Trust]

English players like Lampard [Chelsea], Gerrard [Liverpool], Rooney [Man Utd] and Robert Green [Lol] are usually top performers but when you put them together it's like the New Zealand team. Sorry to anyone from New Zealand. Lol.. -.-

[Snograt]

Meh, first match nerves.

I hope...

Agree with Winter's point about the vuvuzelas - they are a massive pain in the ass. I want to hear the sound of leather hitting vinyl, and occasionally, flesh

[TalanRoarer]

We're historically slow starters. Then again we're also historically poor in world cups. Rooney didn't get into the game and neither did Lampard really, hopefully those 2 can step up in the next few games.

[I pwnd U]

The US very well could drop a game as they have been shown to play down to a teams level instead of playing at their level. Hopefully they don't and they play strong as Algeria and Slovenia are not necessarily strong sides. Just can't have a let down after the England game.

[Divinitys Creature]

I don't watch football but I saw this game and I agree with what you said about Rob Green's positioning. Isn't it second nature for a well-trained goalie to get their body positioned so if they fail to catch it their fat ass will save the day (or other body part)? Rob is a f***ing amateur IMNSHO. Especially since he had plenty of time to react.

[fenix]

Originally Posted by Never Trust

English players like Lampard [Chelsea], Gerrard [Liverpool], Rooney [Man Utd] and Robert Green [Lol] are usually top performers but when you put them together it's like the New Zealand team. Sorry to anyone from New Zealand. Lol.. -.-

Same as Real Madrid a few years ago. Every single player was a superstar, but the team sucked.

[Faer]

Tends to happen when you put superstars in a group.

Fame is a bad thing, as is skill when you know you have it. Ends up a contest of who has the best kick instead of a team effort to keep the other guys from scoring with your goalie.

[galbat0rixx]

Originally Posted by I Pwnd U

It look almost like in the second half they just became tired. US seemed to be in better shape and just seemed to have better teamwork.

Well I have to agree with Winterclaw, the US didn't look that great in the second half. As was said above their defence was certainly lacking, and when you play against a team with great individuals such as Gerrard, Rooney and Lennon, you're gonna have problems. You could see that they were often being worried especially down their left side by Lennon who's pace allowed him to get in behind the defence a few times.

That said the English defence did sometimes look a little bit iffy, I think Ferdinand will be missed for some solid defending, but the organisation was fairly good. Shame Ledley King missed out after half time.

Obviously I will be biased coming from England and all, but I really was amazed that England didn't win, Heskey really should have scored with his header but he propelled it straight at the USA keep, who didn't return Green's favour, and Shaun Wright Phillips also had a great chance from fairly close range, only to, once again, blast it firmly at Howard.

USA did impress me though, they have come a long way in the past decade or so.

EDIT:

Originally Posted by zelgadissan

BTW, I'm admittedly a Tottenham supporter, but why the hell was Heskey out there instead of Defoe?

Well Defoe has certainly got much more pace than Heskey, but Heskey is definitely the more experienced player, and is great at holding up the ball. I can't remember who actually got Man of the Match but Heskey was definitely a contender and really played well, doing what he does best; holding the ball up and winning headers, as well as setting Gerrard up very nicely. Shame he can't actually find the net though.....

[Winterclaw]

An even bigger shocker: the swiss beat spain.

[Snograt]

Sigh - no such shocker with the hosts. SA down 3-0 to Uruguay.

Thought they had a slight chance of sneaking a draw - until their keeper got himself red carded :/