Panama with the comeback on the road. That's pretty epic.
***Official USMNT-WCQ Octagonal Thread***
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Last: 2 yr ago by cruzdoggie
Canada without a loss in 1st round is pretty impressive
Both of those results mean it's congested at the top.
Luckily I feel like we're getting into a good rhythm here. Hope it can continue.
Luckily I feel like we're getting into a good rhythm here. Hope it can continue.
Costa Rica has gone to **** since the last WC qualifying round.
We have a six goal,lead over Panama in differential, so they have to pick up 4 more points than us on the back half to pass us, and Canada would have to pass us too. And Mexico plays Canada next.
I had completely forgotten that Mexico and Canada play each other this round.
At the risk of drawing another rant, do we want Canada to win, or do we want an ugly draw?jeffk said:
I had completely forgotten that Mexico and Canada play each other this round.
0-0 draw is my preference. Now that we're in first we want distance from the pack. If we're in 2-3, we want a very clear cut line which means we root for the teams ahead of us to win out.
Yeah that's what I was leaning towards too. Of course, I wouldn't complain about a Canada win either.
Yeah, same. I don't hate Canada nearly as much as I do Mexico.
DeangeloVickers said:
Canada without a loss in 1st round is pretty impressive
John Herdman helped get the Canadian Women on the right track and he's done the same for the men. They're good.
If you say you hate the state of politics in this nation and you don't get involved in it, you obviously don't hate the state of politics in this nation.
Expected goals aren't really needed to see the gap in the CONCACAF final round, but... pic.twitter.com/bmdLvCX4Rn
— Paul Carr (@PaulCarr) November 13, 2021
Caden Clark tearing up Colombia. Also scored a Paneka
https://twitter.com/fussballfan7/status/1459650171201933313?t=q3tdcqh56c_X5RTRCHe0cg&s=19
https://twitter.com/fussballfan7/status/1459650171201933313?t=q3tdcqh56c_X5RTRCHe0cg&s=19
Clear separation at the top after the last set of games:
1. USA 14 points (+/- 7)
2. Mexico 14 points (+/- 5)
3. Canada 13 points (+/- 7)
4. Panama 11 points (+/- 1)
5. Costa Rica 6 points (+/- -2)
6. Jamaica 6 points (+/- -4)
7.El Salvador 6 points (+/- -5)
8. Honduras 3 points (+/- -9)
Tuesday matches:
Jamaica v. USA 4pm CentralKingston
Panama v. El Salvador 7pmPanama City
Costa Rica v. Honduras 7pmSan Jose
Canada v. Mexico 8pmEdmonton
US will need a result in Kingston to keep pace, as you assume Panama and Costa Rica will win at home over the lightweights. 3 points should be goal.
Mexico traveling to Edmonton in November should be interesting. High for Tuesday is 24 degrees with 85% chance of snow…
1. USA 14 points (+/- 7)
2. Mexico 14 points (+/- 5)
3. Canada 13 points (+/- 7)
4. Panama 11 points (+/- 1)
5. Costa Rica 6 points (+/- -2)
6. Jamaica 6 points (+/- -4)
7.El Salvador 6 points (+/- -5)
8. Honduras 3 points (+/- -9)
Tuesday matches:
Jamaica v. USA 4pm CentralKingston
Panama v. El Salvador 7pmPanama City
Costa Rica v. Honduras 7pmSan Jose
Canada v. Mexico 8pmEdmonton
US will need a result in Kingston to keep pace, as you assume Panama and Costa Rica will win at home over the lightweights. 3 points should be goal.
Mexico traveling to Edmonton in November should be interesting. High for Tuesday is 24 degrees with 85% chance of snow…
4pm kick? Wtf nonsense is that concacaf?
gougler08 said:
4pm kick? Wtf nonsense is that concacaf?
Jamaica is an hour earlier I believe The county decides their own start time.
But yeah, no ideal.
Reminds me of when we had to play varsity HS games earlier at some sites because their lights were broken.
McKennie and Robinson both went back to their clubs since they're out on cards. Sands was added to the roster.
Jamaica game thread is up.
It's conceivable that after Tuesday's match that Canada would be in 1st. Who would've thought that back in September? They will have only 1 tough match (home vs US) left after Tuesday. They will be in great position to qualify for Qatar.
"And liberals, being liberals, will double down on failure." - dedgod
I'm convinced the MLS has helped Canada as well. I think they're on the cusp of passing Mexico too.akm91 said:
It's conceivable that after Tuesday's match that Canada would be in 1st. Who would've thought that back in September? They will have only 1 tough match (home vs US) left after Tuesday. They will be in great position to qualify for Qatar.
Caden needs a call up ASAP. He needs to be on the roster for our next friendly.
He'll be a superstar in 26.KCup17 said:
Caden needs a call up ASAP. He needs to be on the roster for our next friendly.
It's surprising to think that our current U23 team may not even start in 26 with that talent coming up.
These are unprecedented times for American soccer fans.
Yep. and I predict that the superstar in '26 is a 2005 that all but only a handful of people have heard of.KCup17 said:
These are unprecedented times for American soccer fans.
Men in Blazers Homefield drop this morning. Check your emails if you're into that sort of thing.
I get where you're coming from, and if his club circumstances were different, I'd agree.KCup17 said:
Caden needs a call up ASAP. He needs to be on the roster for our next friendly.
But since his loan-back to NYRB is ending at the end of the MLS season, I'd rather him get to Leipzig as soon as he can and stay there. I think it would be better for his long-term development to go there, take advantage of world-class training facilities, and hopefully earn playing time with them rather than spend some time in the "senior" USMNT camps for MLS guys in Dec/Jan.
Didn't know if y'all saw this yesterday. Hoppe is struggling with the language and now is out until early next year with a muscle injury.
https://www.starsandstripesfc.com/platform/amp/2021/11/12/22778230/amid-struggles-with-rcd-mallorca-matthew-hoppe-is-out-with-a-muscle-injury-until-january
https://www.starsandstripesfc.com/platform/amp/2021/11/12/22778230/amid-struggles-with-rcd-mallorca-matthew-hoppe-is-out-with-a-muscle-injury-until-january
that sucks. was Mallorca his choice or did Schalke send him there?
Thought this was an interesting little article on Dave Sarachan and his role in getting the USMNT to where it is today
https://www.latimes.com/sports/soccer/story/2021-11-15/failing-to-reach-2018-world-cup-best-thing-us-mens-soccer
https://www.latimes.com/sports/soccer/story/2021-11-15/failing-to-reach-2018-world-cup-best-thing-us-mens-soccer
I disagree, these players were pushing into the national team at this rate no matter what. For the very reason we missed the World Cup. The generation in front of them never panned out.
Great point Pat.
That article acts like wholesale changes were made from top to bottom. I don't really think that was the case. Certainly not at the top. There was nothing about the GB hiring process that made me think structural change within USSF had happened.
Merely identifying talented young players isn't a change… that's simply how sports work. It's not really like Arena or JK had some poor philosophical bent that made them overlook players that ought to have been included in the roster… the fact is that for the most part, there was no one there. We had the guys who were getting too old, and then the guys who were mostly still too young. For whatever reason we had a big talent gap.
That article acts like wholesale changes were made from top to bottom. I don't really think that was the case. Certainly not at the top. There was nothing about the GB hiring process that made me think structural change within USSF had happened.
Merely identifying talented young players isn't a change… that's simply how sports work. It's not really like Arena or JK had some poor philosophical bent that made them overlook players that ought to have been included in the roster… the fact is that for the most part, there was no one there. We had the guys who were getting too old, and then the guys who were mostly still too young. For whatever reason we had a big talent gap.
There are parts of the argument in the article that perhaps overstated but I do think that missing the WC made it easier to make changes and to do it more quickly.
Arena wasn't going to makewhole sale changes to the roster and to the pool during 2018 qualification. That's understandable. I think it's probable he wouldn't have done at the WC either. And even after the WC, teams don't usually just scrap their roster and refill the pool with a bunch of youth. Altidore just turned 32. I think it's highly probable that he would have a much larger role in this team today if the US had made the 2018 WC. Unless there was just a massive flameout in Russia, I think you could say the exact same thing about players like Darlington Nagbe, Omar Gonzalez, Bobby Wood, Matt Besler...all of them started against T&T in 2018 and none of which are old by soccer standards.
Because at the end of the day, national team managers who experience a modicum of success with a certain team and a certain formation are unlikely to scrap all of that overnight when they have like 2 games a year that they are judged on...unless they are given the room to do so. Missing the WC made it much easier to give managers the room to do so.
Now, is Sarachan special in how he handled the roster change or did he just execute what any manager would've done in a similar circumstance? I don't know but whether it was his ability or his luck of being in the right place at the right time, I do think he played a role in accelerating the process.
Arena wasn't going to makewhole sale changes to the roster and to the pool during 2018 qualification. That's understandable. I think it's probable he wouldn't have done at the WC either. And even after the WC, teams don't usually just scrap their roster and refill the pool with a bunch of youth. Altidore just turned 32. I think it's highly probable that he would have a much larger role in this team today if the US had made the 2018 WC. Unless there was just a massive flameout in Russia, I think you could say the exact same thing about players like Darlington Nagbe, Omar Gonzalez, Bobby Wood, Matt Besler...all of them started against T&T in 2018 and none of which are old by soccer standards.
Because at the end of the day, national team managers who experience a modicum of success with a certain team and a certain formation are unlikely to scrap all of that overnight when they have like 2 games a year that they are judged on...unless they are given the room to do so. Missing the WC made it much easier to give managers the room to do so.
Now, is Sarachan special in how he handled the roster change or did he just execute what any manager would've done in a similar circumstance? I don't know but whether it was his ability or his luck of being in the right place at the right time, I do think he played a role in accelerating the process.
Good points.
I definitely think the article is pumping up Sarachan for things that any competent coach would've done and that's what rubs me the wrong way.
And I think while short-term missing out on '18 may have been a gain because it caused a coaching change, the long term effects might be that we face another gap after the 2030 WC. Obviously this is a fantasyland, but if we had a team that was good enough to have an exciting WC performance, how many more kids (and parents of kids) might have been motivated to stick with soccer? Again, it's a fantasyland - if we had qualified, it's likely we would've had a pretty embarrassing group stage exit which would've precipitated the same coaching/roster changes.
To me, the real question isn't even about the WCQ event itself. The real question is - why did we have a talent gap in the first place and what is USSF doing to change it?
I definitely think the article is pumping up Sarachan for things that any competent coach would've done and that's what rubs me the wrong way.
And I think while short-term missing out on '18 may have been a gain because it caused a coaching change, the long term effects might be that we face another gap after the 2030 WC. Obviously this is a fantasyland, but if we had a team that was good enough to have an exciting WC performance, how many more kids (and parents of kids) might have been motivated to stick with soccer? Again, it's a fantasyland - if we had qualified, it's likely we would've had a pretty embarrassing group stage exit which would've precipitated the same coaching/roster changes.
To me, the real question isn't even about the WCQ event itself. The real question is - why did we have a talent gap in the first place and what is USSF doing to change it?
oh no said:
that sucks. was Mallorca his choice or did Schalke send him there?
It was a sale, but I'm not sure if Hoppe had a say or not. Nothing I've read mentions his feelings about the move.
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