* Official World Cup 2022 Thread *

163,669 Views | 2610 Replies | Last: 1 yr ago by jeffk
jeffk
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Don't you tell me what to do. You're not my real dad.
jeffk
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Saudi game thread is up.
PatAg
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Man, Gregg's player evaluations....and limitations as a coach... great recruiter though
jeffk
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Well, that's some BS.
wangus12
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I'm so close to the point of wanting to see us get our asses kick in November just so he gets fired. But even that I don't have enough faith in USSF to actually do it
jeffk
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I'm under no illusions about coaches not typically being stubborn *******s but this is just insane levels of hard-headedness.
deadbq03
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But those shoes he designed tho.
Rudyjax
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Taking the bait....who are the 5 starters missing?

wangus12
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Jedi, Musah, Robinson, Weah, and I guess Steffen
JJxvi
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Weah, Robinson, Robinson, Musah, Steffen, Richards

Pick 5
akm91
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Think you forgot Pulisic
Rudyjax
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akm91 said:

Think you forgot Pulisic
Ggg said not at this camp. Not, not in the game.
wangus12
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Yeah he's talking about the current squad in camp.
JJxvi
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I guess theoretically Brooks is also a candidate. Probably more likely than Richards
PatAg
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Unless in his mind he was including Pulisic in the 5 since he was technically not available for the game?
Either way, he has been all about Steffen this whole time.

I just feel like however he appraises players is not based in reality.
Ive been trying to guess lineups and rosters based on how he views it this whole time, not how I would personally select.
Forum Troll
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I know we are worried about USMNT but wow England have been poop.
jeffk
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It's wonderful.
Forum Troll
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Of course I say that and they finally score after 3 scoreless matches.
JJxvi
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Is Hungary really going to top a UEFA Nations League group with Italy, Germany, and England in it?

EDIT: Okay, I see that Italy is going be above them after this win.
Forum Troll
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Well 3 goals by England in 15 minutes against Germany.
Basketball and Chain
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Crazy comeback by England
wangus12
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Forum Troll said:

I know we are worried about USMNT but wow England have been poop.


Great you woke them up
wangus12
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Also Kane will guaranteed get a penalty against.
JJxvi
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English goalkeeping never seems to change...
Forum Troll
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What a wild last third in that one.
Dre_00
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Apologies if this is common knowledge or has been discussed already...and this isn't really WC related but it's USMNT related and didn't seem to warrant its own thread.

I had no clue Jack Harrison was eligible to represent the USMNT. And had no clue about this recent FIFA change to eligibility.

Quote:

a FIFA rule change in 2020 declared that players who were not born in the country and had no direct heritage there could still be deemed eligible to represent them if they lived in the territory for at least five years before turning 18. Harrison comfortably checks that box.

https://www.football365.com/news/opinion-ten-best-england-players-other-countries-eligible-gordon-chelsea
deadbq03
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Thanks for sharing. I didn't know about that rule, and it's a really good one. Harrison's story is great. Here's a good article from last spring if you missed it: https://www.espn.com/soccer/english-premier-league/story/4658367/jack-harrisons-path-to-premier-league-from-us-high-school-soccer-to-life-at-leeds-under-jesse-marsch

By "good rule" I mean conceptually. I've shared my angst about dual-nationals that never spend any time here, and I don't want to beat that dead horse again, but in my book an inverse situation like this is a different beast. You spend 5 years here as a young man, you're gonna be overwhelming more Americanized than someone who happened to be a citizen by birth but lived their whole life abroad.

That said, the rule really only helps the big European nations. Harrison is an outlier… most parents aren't going to have the foresight to send their kids to the US to get a good education, they're going to send their kids to England, etc to get into a good soccer academy. And even though it worked for Harrison, sadly there's precious few opportunities for men to get soccer scholarships. But at least that's a possibility, and there are lots of non-soccer reasons why someone might spend 5 years here as a child, so I think it could be a net positive rule for the US. It's probably a net negative for 3rd world counties though.
Dre_00
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deadbq03 said:

That said, the rule really only helps the big European nations. Harrison is an outlier… most parents aren't going to have the foresight to send their kids to the US to get a good education, they're going to send their kids to England, etc to get into a good soccer academy. And even though it worked for Harrison, sadly there's precious few opportunities for men to get soccer scholarships. But at least that's a possibility, and there are lots of non-soccer reasons why someone might spend 5 years here as a child, so I think it could be a net positive rule for the US. It's probably a net negative for 3rd world counties though.

I don't think it will be that helpful to European nations. Non-EU passport holders can't move to Europe till they turn 18. And if they have an EU passport that allows them to move before 18, then they are a threat to bolt from say, the US, to the nation of their EU passport whether they move to a European youth team or not. There are a few exceptions to the rule but they are very rare.

And specifically for England, it's even harder. Since Brexit, they can't go and poach EU youth players and add them to their academy nearly as easily.
deadbq03
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Thanks. I forgot about the whole passport issue. Internal to the EU though, it certainly could help other big nations… if I'm a talented kid in Montenegro, I'm absolutely gonna try to get in a big academy.

On the other hand, those nations have so much internal talent, it might be a moot point.

Regardless of impact, I like the concept of the rule. In my mind, if a kid spends 5 years here, he's far more acculturated than someone who might legally be a citizen but never lived here (and I'm sure it's an even bigger problem in the EU… I know a sizeable chunk of the Hungary and Czech teams are straight-up German). I think I'd rather see FIFA require some sort of "home-grown status" rather than citizenship… but I'm getting precariously close to beating my dead horse again though so I'll stop here.
ChipFTAC01
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I agree with you. My kids were born in Texas and will likely live here until they're 18 but because my wife is English they could play for England. Seems silly because they're no more English than I am Iowan where my folks are from. If I was recruited to play for the Iowan state pig humping team that would be equally shambolic.
jeffk
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Haha... Qatar is conscripting their civilians to serve in support capacities during the WC.... and is also bringing in riot police from Turkey in case things go awry.

akm91
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No way anything goes wrong with that plan
jeffk
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Realllllly gotta hand it to those Turkish riot police...
PatAg
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I think it makes sense
tysker
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PatAg said:



I think it makes sense
Its certainly more centrally located for both Mexico and Canada.
 
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