Goal 94 Dynasty

[SnDvls]

It's 1994 and the USA is looking for a new coach to lead the team to the 1994 World Cup and beyond.

We start out ranked 13th in the world and 12th in Continental America.

The three soccer papers welcome me with open arms. I'm ready for the challenge.

[SnDvls]

right out of the bat I'm thrown into getting this team to qualify for the 1994 World Cup.
I'm put in Group D as the favorite.
the other teams in my group are Canada, Cuba, and Surinam

now to look at my roster to see who is any good on this team.

[SnDvls]

My first game is a friendly away against Argentina. They are ranked #11 in the world and #1 in the Americas so it will be a challenge for my first match.

looking over the roster we play a 4-4-2 which I'm fine with so I won't change it at all.

since I'm playing a friendly I think I'll bring in a few players who don't have any caps yet to play, but not too many to bring down the team moral.

Goalkeepers
T. Meola with 84 caps will get the start
R. Longley is 34, but has no caps so I'll bring him along and leave my other
experienced goalie B. Friedel home for this game.

I'm bringing with me two sweepers, two center backs, two left backs and a right back.

starting at sweeper is W. Longdon with zero caps, but sitting on the bench is vetran M Balboa with 90 caps.

A. Lalas will start at center back and have N. Lamb on the bench

J. Agoos is the backup to left back P. Caligiuri and D. Browne will be at right back earning his first caps.

my midfield consists of defensive midfielder W. Nash, left midfield J. Berrey, forward midfield R. Wegerle, and right winger T. Ramos.

Finally we have at center forward E. Wynalda and striker E. Hedges

the rest of the bench consists of striker A. Nunn, left winger R. Davies, forward midfield N. Blair, right midfield A. Cripps and center midfield L. Tye.

[SnDvls]

It was a slow match, but the USA pulled it off winning 1-0 on a E. Hedges goal at the 48 min mark. Hedges won "Man of the Match" as we had 3 shots all game, but they were all on target. Meola saved three shots as well. It was a physical game too with a total of 6 yellow cards, 2 for the USA one on Wynalda and one on M. Balboa who came in as a defensive sub for Lalas.

Overall I'm happy with the performance of the guys and the mixture of players with and without caps.

[SnDvls]

my next match is another friendly against Panama before my first qualifying match against Canada.

Looks like I have one more shot at shoring up my team before the games really count.

[SnDvls]

My friendly is home this time against Panama.
Panama is ranked 117 in the world and 17 in the Americas so it should be an easy win.

I'm going to give Meola a rest from goalkeeper this week, but keep him on the squad in case I really need him. Starting in his place is B. Gathergood a 32 year old with zero caps.

E Hedges will start again at striker, but will have a new inexperienced center forward in V. Greig along with him. Just in case Greig gets in trouble I'm bringing along E. Stewart (16 caps) and C. Jones (49 caps).

The defense looks the same except I'm leaving P. Caligiuri off the team this time in favor of starting E. Horsepool. I think these two will be coming with me to qualifying so I want to see them both in action.

I'd like to bring in T. Dooley to play defensive midfield, but he just isn't fit enough yet so it's another rookie L. Owens...we'll see how it does.

not many more changes of note to mention.

[SnDvls]

In other Group D action Canada and Surinam tied 0-0.

[SnDvls]

well the match didn't start out too well for us as Greig got a yellow card right away and Hedges was injured by a hard tackle all within the first minute of play.

Greig redeamed himself though picking up "Man of the Match" with his goal at the 24 minute mark. Horsepool added another at the 31 minute mark to ice the game as we won 2-0.

I was very pleased this game with 6 shots on goal while limiting them to 4.

On to qualifying...

[SnDvls]

qualyifing matches are one at home one on the road against each team in round one action. A win gets you 3 points, a tie 1 and a loss 0. If there is a tie at the end it goes to goal differential.

My first match is against Canada. They are #57 in the world and #16 in the Americas. Should be a USA victory in this one.

[SnDvls]

I was impressed with some of the players the last two games, unfortunally some of them are now tired so I'll have to go with some other options for my first match.

I'll stay at the 4-4-2 scheme I have been using for the qualifying games as well.

Here is a more indepth look at my roster for these games.

I'm keeping both T. Meola (age 25, 85 caps, 126 goals against) and B. Gathergood (age 32, 1 cap, 0 goals against) at goalkeeper. Gathergood will get the start again this week as Canada is still a pretty easy foe. Meola has better tackling skills, but Gathergood is far better at keeping and kicking.

On defense I'll continue to play with a sweeper, center back, left back and right back. At sweeper I chose to start E. Urquhart (age 28, 0 caps, 0 goals scored) he wasn't my first choice, but Longdon who started the two friendlies is fairly tired. One my bench at reserve sweeper is the reliable M. Balboa (age 26, 91 caps, 10 goals). I didn't start Balboa as he has a yellow card and want to save him for a defensive sub for either sweeper or center back if needed. At center back I'm going with A. Lalas again (age 24, 47 caps, 4 goals) he's very solid at what he does. I'm also bringign reserve center back N. Lamb (age 30, 0 caps, 0 goals), but don't see a need for him to play or me using him unless I suffer an injury. I'm taking a little gamble at right back with D. Browne (age 29, 2 caps, 0 goals) as he is just okay in fitness after his first two games, but there really isn't anyone else I'm at ease with using or in good enough fitness to throw in there. Left back is solid as I'm starting P. Caligiuri (30, 83, 4) and bringing E. Horsepool (25, 1, 1) off the bench. If I'm in a pinch and need to play one out of position at right back I can.

[SnDvls]

my midfield look like this.
one center, left, and forward midfielder starting along with a right winger.
I had been starting a defensive midfielder, but decided to change it up a bit to see what results I get. Making his first cap with the USA is center midfielder I. Prichard (25, 0, 0). He's really an experiment and just in case it doesn't work out I've added to my bench defensive midfielder L. Owens (28, 1, 0). Owens was solid in the last game so I'll keep him around if needed. J. Harkes (27, 49, 4) checks in at left midfield while R. Wegerle (30, 18, 1) is in at forward midfield. T. Ramos (27, 51, 3) is in his standard spot of right wing while I have C. Reyna (20, 16, 2) on the bench at right midfield.

Center forward V. Grieg (25, 1, 1) earned himself a spot on the team, but veteran center forward E. Wynalda (25, 53, 14) will get the start, this week. Joining Wynalda in the starting lineup as the last player is striker E. Stewart (25, 17, 2). I am also bring along two more strikers, back from injury E. Hedges (26, 2, 1) and V. Horsefield (29, 0, 0).

[thealmighty]

...We start out ranked 13th in the world and 12th in Continental America....

That doesn't make sense. That means that only one team in the world that's not in Continental America is in the top 13 in the world? Or am I more confused than usual?

[SnDvls]

Wynalda got an early goal at the 12 minute mark that allowed us to play more agressive on both the offensive side and defensive side of the ball. Stewart added another goal at the 34 minute mark before picking up a red card on a hard foul and getting ejected from the match and forcing the USA to play shorthanded.

With my striker gone I moved Wynalda from center forward to striker and Ramos to center forward. Being short handed was hard on the guys as they gave up their first goal of the year at the 84 minute mark, but held on to win 2-1. Ramos got "Man of the Match" playing his best game yet and out of position no less. I wasn't quite as pleased with my defense allowing 8 shots, but I'll write that one off to being short handed. I was still able to get 5 shots on goal 3 of them on target.

[SnDvls]

That doesn't make sense. That means that only one team in the world that's not in Continental America is in the top 13 in the world? Or am I more confused than usual?

basically you get your world rankings from the world cup and your Americas ranking from the qualifying tournament. So I could actually end up #1 in the Americas and #32 or so in the world depending on the outcome of the two tournaments.

here's how the world rankings break down up to the USA

Brazil
Italy
Sweden
Bulgaria
Romania
Holland
Spain
Germany
Mexico
Nigera
Argentina
Belgim
USA

and the Americas ranking is

Argentina
Mexico
Columbia
Equador
Brazil
Peru
Uruguay
Paraguay
Venezuela
Chile
Boliva
USA

[SnDvls]

there are 32 teams in the Americas too

[thealmighty]

So the rankings don't really mean anything until the tourney is done with, I guess.

[SnDvls]

notice Brazil & Argentina as two examples of teams that are ranked opposite.

[SnDvls]

So the rankings don't really mean anything until the tourney is done with, I guess.


well they are the real rankings prior to the 1994 World Cup.

[thealmighty]

Oh, ok. It's just weird that there are 8 teams ranked in front of the U.S. in the Americas that are not ahead of them in the world. That's alot of difference.

[SnDvls]

our next match is an away friendly against Bermuda ranked #86 in the world and #29 in the Americas.

Due to his red card I'll be without E. Stewart for this game.

I've decided to go with a 4-3-3 lineup this game to see how it effects my play, bringing in an extra striker and taking out the forward midfielder.

Since this is a friendly I won't go into too much detail on my whole lineup. So key changes are that both goalkeepers are tired so I'm giving B. Friedel (21, 25, 37 goals against) his first start and cap of the year.

I have only one player, with one cap, on defense so we'll see how all the new guys gel today.

[SnDvls]

In other Group D qualifying action Canada beat Cuba @ Canada 1-0

[SnDvls]

The good news is my experiment worked as we allowed no shots on goal and won the game 1-0 on a V. Horsefield goal at the 42 minute mark. The bad new is Horsefield was sent off with a red card soon after his goal and we lost E. Hedges to injury again. J. Ford earned his first cap at left back and earned "Man of the Match" with is defense on the Bermuda strikers.

[SnDvls]

My next match is another home friendly against Boliva #21 in the World and #11 in the Americas. This will be a tough one like my first friendly against Argentina.

[SnDvls]

I'm going back to my tradational 4-4-2 scheme for this friendly. T. Dooley, defensive midfield, still isn't in game shape for me, so again I have to settle with another player to start in that position.

E. Hedges' injury wasn't bad enough for him to miss another game so I'll bring him along, but keep him on the bench unless I need a quick offensive outburst in the game.

I also got E. Steward back from his red card suspension so he'll get the start again.

My regulars on defense seem to be ready to run again so I'll bring them along and start them for this friendly.

[SnDvls]

my defense continues to impress shutting out another team and allowing only one shot. While my offense had 6 shots on goal.

The USA won 2-0 with goals from E. Wynalda at the 6 min. mark and a late goal by E. Stewart, "Man of the Match", at the 92 min. mark. Stewart did get a yellow card this game so I'll need to watch his agressiveness the next game.

[SnDvls]

I have my second qualifying game at Surinam, #90 in the World, #20 in the Americas.

My team is pretty confident, actually over confident, too confidnet. So I'm leaving many star players home because of it, or not starting them.

At goal keeper B. Gathergood will be on the bench and earning his first cap is R. Longley (34, 0, 0 allowed). He's not the best option out there, but he's in shape and not over confident, which could lead to stupid mistakes.

I'll continue my usual 4-4-2 line up.

Goalkeeper R. Longley
Sweeper E Urquhart
Center Back A. Lalas
Left Back J. Agoos
Right Back J. Ford
Defensive Midfield L. Owens
Left Midfield J. Berrey
Forward Midfield R. Wegerle
Right Winger T. Ramos
Center Forward V. Greig
Striker V. Horsefield

Bench
Goalkeeper B. Gathergood
Sweeper W. Longdon
Center Back M. Lapper
Left Back B. Holloway
Defensive Midfield E. Howard
Right Midfield O. Clarke
Center Forward E. Wynalda
Striker E. Hedges
Striker C. Jones

[SnDvls]

prior to out match Surinam had a qualifying match at Cuba where they lost 3-0.

The standing thus far in Group D are as follows

Team GP W D L GF GA Pts.
Canada 3 1 1 1 2 2 4
Cuba 2 1 0 1 3 1 3
USA 1 1 0 0 2 1 3
Surinam 2 0 1 1 0 3 1

[SnDvls]

well I was worried that the team would lose focus and be over confident and I was proven correct.

we out shot them 4 to 1 but didn't get a goal until the 83rd min. by E. Wynalda, whom I subbed in at halftime.

All the players I was worried about did have poor games...damn egos :)

"Man of the Match" was a suprise to me in E. Hedges whom didn't get playing time until after half time. T. Ramos did pick up a yellow card this game as well.

[SnDvls]

updated Group D standings

Team GP W D L GF GA Pts.
USA 2 2 0 0 3 1 6
Canada 3 1 1 1 2 2 4
Cuba 2 1 0 1 3 1 3
Surinam 3 0 1 2 0 4 1

[SnDvls]

my next match is a qualifying match against Cuba #128 in the World and #18 in the Americas

[SnDvls]

no changes to the lineup from the last qualifying match as it looks like this will be the group.

I'll continue my usual 4-4-2 line up.

Goalkeeper R. Longley
Sweeper E Urquhart
Center Back A. Lalas
Left Back J. Agoos
Right Back J. Ford
Defensive Midfield L. Owens
Left Midfield J. Berrey
Forward Midfield R. Wegerle
Right Winger T. Ramos
Center Forward V. Greig
Striker V. Horsefield

Bench
Goalkeeper B. Gathergood
Sweeper W. Longdon
Center Back M. Lapper
Left Back B. Holloway
Defensive Midfield E. Howard
Right Midfield O. Clarke
Center Forward E. Wynalda
Striker E. Hedges
Striker C. Jones

[SnDvls]

Cuba came out strong and got an early goal at the 17 Min. mark and held the 1-0 lead into half time.

With my team struggling and only having 1 shot in the first half I decided to change up my tactics a bit. Instead of having my team play a half pitch game I changed it to full ptich and told them to push forward instead of sagging back to the box.
I then subbed in C. Jones to give me an additional striker for R. Wegerle. Finally, at the 82 Min. mark I got the tying goal from V. Horsefield.
J. Berry was "Man of the Match" with a flawless game, hopefully he can keep it up.

[SnDvls]

updated standings now that each team has played 3 games.


Team GP W D L GF GA Pts.
USA 3 2 1 0 4 2 7
Cuba 3 1 1 1 4 2 4
Canada 3 1 1 1 2 2 4
Surinam 3 0 1 2 0 4 1


it is still anyones group, but Surinam will have to win at least 2 games to really have a chance.

[SnDvls]

My next game is again a qualyifing game against Cuba this time away. I think I will be making some changes to the lineup to help the players realize I don't like overconfidence.

[SnDvls]

since Cuba game me so many problems with their 5-4-1 formation I decided to try a 4-3-3 formation to combat it.

Goalkeeper R. Longley
Sweeper E Urquhart
Center Back A. Lalas
Left Back J. Agoos
Right Back D. Browne
Defensive Midfield W. Nash
Left Midfield J. Berrey
Right Midfield O. Clarke
Center Forward E. Wynalda
Center Forward E. Stewart
Striker E. Hedges

Bench
Goalkeeper B. Gathergood
Sweeper W. Longdon
Center Back M. Lapper
Left Back W. Home
Defensive Midfield E. Howard
Center Forward W. Wylde
Center Forward V. Greig
Striker V. Horsefield
Striker C. Jones

[SnDvls]

Surinam got closer as they pulled off the 2-0 win over Canada

[SnDvls]

Then Surinam pulled off a 1-0 over Cuba to stand tied with the USA at 7 points, but they've played 2 more games.

[SnDvls]

Looks like my strategy worked as I had 2 goals in the first half, Nash at the 16 Min. mark and Wynalda just before half time at the 45 Min. mark. Hedges was Man of the Match as he had 3 break away shots, one was a called back goal for offsides, in excellent work. And no player on my team was booked.

[SnDvls]

With a win or tie against Surinam I will be moving on to the next round.

[SnDvls]

And my next game is a home qualifying game agains Surinam. Like I said before a win or tie guarantees I move on to the next round.

[SnDvls]

Since I knew I could take a chance on some players here I gave M. Nicholes his first cap and he didn't disappoint as he got his first goal at the 15 Min. mark. E. Stewart added another at the 87 Min. mark for a 2-0 USA win.

[SnDvls]

My last qualifying game is at Canada who I already beat 2-1. Since I know I'm moving on I will probally not play a lot of my regulars so I don't get them into foul trouble.

[SnDvls]

Well the USA slaughtered their neighbors to the north in a 6-0 drubbing and ended any hope of Canada advancing to the next round.

The USA was lead by a hat trick by Man of the Match, E. Stewart, two in the first half. Not to be outdone and showing he deserved his second ever cap M. Nicholes added two more first half goals to take a 4-0 lead at the half.
To avoid retalation both Stewart and Nicholes were subbed out in the second half and V. Greig came off the bench to put in the final goal at the 91 min. mark.

[SnDvls]

Final Group D standings

Team GP W D L GF GA Pts.
USA 6 5 1 0 14 2 16
Surinam 6 2 1 3 3 6 7
Cuba 6 1 2 3 4 5 5
Canada 6 1 2 3 4 10 5

Other Group winners

Group A
Brazil
Group B
Argentina
Group C
Columbia
Group E
Uruguay
Group F
Mexico
Group G
Bolivia
Group H
Costa Rica

[SnDvls]

The USA has qualified for the World Cup in Holland and is placed in Group D

Other teams in my group are
Russia, Cameroon, and the Rep. of Ireland.

Russia is the favorite to win the group.

Russia is ranked #18 in the world and #8 in Europe
Camarron is ranked #22 in the world and #14 in Africa
Rep. of Ireland is ranked #15 in the world and #12 in Europe

So even though I'm the highest rated currently in the world of my group I'm not the favorite, hopefully it will provide motivation for my players.

[SnDvls]

going into World Cup group play I'll be playing a few friendlies first.

Germany has agreed to travel to play us. Germany is in Group E so if I advance I could face them in the next round too. They are ranked #8 in the world and #2 in Europe.

[SnDvls]

Well it wasn't a loss and the team played better than I though they would, pulling out a 1-1 tie. B. Holloway in his first cap got a game tying goal at the 61 min. mark to help the USA. We were out shot though 6 to 2 so that will have to get better.

[SnDvls]

My next match is also a friendly, and in an odd twist it's a home match against Cameroon who I'll be facing in group play as well.

[SnDvls]

Other friendlies will be home against Italy and Japan and road games against Columbia.

[SnDvls]

In a match that had 14 fouls, 2 injuries, 2 yellow cards, and a red card. We pulled off a 1-0 win in a very physical match. E. Stewart earned Man of the Match with is goal at the 33 min. mark, but saw J. Ford pick up a yellow card and E. Wynalda pick up a red in retalation against Cameroon injuring E. Hedges in the first half.

[SnDvls]

E. Hedges injury isn't enough to keep him out of action long as he will be on the bench as we host Italy #2 in the world for another friendly.

[SnDvls]

Well I didn't expect to win against Italy, but hoped to keep it close or respectable. I was shockinly suprised as we came away with not only a win, but a 3-0 win. We out shot the Italians 6-5, however only one of their shots was on target. C. Jones gave us the early 1-0 lead with is goal at the 51 min. mark in the second half. It was very nerve wracking until V. Greig added a goal at the 89 min. mark to all but give us the victory. A late 94 min. goal by Man of the Match C. Jones on a break away made it all that much sweater of a victory and allowed us to gain some confidence.

[SnDvls]

Our final friendly home game is against Japan. They are the #1 team in Asia and #53 in the world.

[SnDvls]

This should be an easy win....if my guys aren't too overconfident.
I'm putting T. Meola in goal for this game to try and provide stability for my young team.

[SnDvls]

After Italy and I game I didn't expect to win. I expected to win this one against Japan...and we didn't losing 3-2. The difference being an Own Goal by N. Lamb at the 20 min. mark to give Japan a 1-0 lead. Japan would add another goal 3 mins. later and I would get one at the 27 min. mark by E. Stewart to trail at the half 2-1. I made mass subistutions at the half even replacing T. Meola in goal w/ B. Friedel to try and help myself. We were able to tie it up at the 48 min. mark thanks to C. Jones, but Japan was relentless on the attack and got a second goal from Man of the Match Ogura at the 86 min. mark to put us away and hand us our first ever defeat.

Trying to get some new blood in backfired as the inexperience showed in this match, hats off to Japan for a well played game.

[SnDvls]

My last friendly is an away game against Columbia #19 in the World and #3 in America. I don't ecpect to win this one, but need to come out without any injuries or bookings. A tie would be nice, but I'd be happy with a 1-0 loss as well.

[SnDvls]

And we got what we had hoped for a 2-2 tie. We actually had a 2-1 lead with 10 mins. left until De Avila tied it up for Columbia.

We got a goal a half. O. Barker tied the score at 1-1 for us at the 39 min. mark and V. Greig gave us a short lived 2-1 lead at the 53 min. mark. J. Berrey was the Man of the Match as he played another flawless game. The only downside was C. Jones getting a yellow card in the game.

[SnDvls]

Time to set the squad for World Cup play. Unlike qualifying I have to have a set roster that won't allow for sub in this round of play. The last two players left off deserved to be on the team, but I had to make a cut somewhere. So I left home Center Forward M. Nicholls (age 31, 4 caps, 3 goals) and Striker V. Horsefield
(30, 3, 2). Both will be very active in the future of USA soccer and will be called upon if an injury occurs and we make it through to the next round.

I will continue with the 4-4-2 lineup to start with, but may tinker around with it if necessary.

Goalkeeper B. Gathergood (33, 5, 2 against)
Sweeper E Urquhart (29, 7, 0)
Center Back A. Lalas (25, 57, 5)
Left Back J. Agoos (27 , 46, 2)
Right Back J. Ford (26, 8, 0)
Defensive Midfield E. Howard (24, 4, 0)
Left Midfield J. Berrey (28, 9, 0)
Forward Midfield N. Blair (28, 0, 0)
Right Winger T. Ramos (28, 58, 3)
Center Forward E. Wynalda (26, 59, 18)
Striker E. Hedges (27, 8, 1)

Bench
Goalkeeper T. Meola (26, 91, 128 against)
Sweeper W. Longdon (27, 7, 0)
Center Back M. Lapper (24, 40, 1
Left Back P. Caligiuri (31, 86, 4)
Defensive Midfield W. Nash (25, 5, 1)
Right Winger O. Barker (30, 3, 1)
Center Forward V. Greig (26, 8, 4)
Striker E. Stewart (26, 25, 10)
Striker C. Jones (25, 56, 8)

I'm a little uneasy w/ Blair getting his first cap, but will go with him for now.

[SnDvls]

I average 24 caps on my team and an age of 27. I'm bringing along the 5 of the top 10 scores in USA history (#'s 1, t3, 6, 7, & t8) and 6 of the top 10 players with caps (#'s 2, 3, 5, t6, 8 & 9)
Wynalda isn't the best leader, but he will be mine through the World Cup.

In comparison in my group;
Russia averages 23 caps and 26 years old
Cameroon averages 57 caps and 28 years old and
The Rep. of Ireland averages 47 caps and 29 years old.

I start my quest against Cameroon

[SnDvls]

Well a disappointing loss to Cameroon as the USA starts World Cup finals group play falling 2-1. Held to just two shots and a Hedges goal at the 44 min. mark weren't enough as Cameroon got a goal at the 19 min. mark and the 62 min. mark. Hedges was Man of the Match in the game, but in other bad news both Howard and Berrey got booked in the game.

[SnDvls]

I will be taking on Rep. of Ireland next, after they battle Russia.
I will be making one change in the lineup. Taking out Blair and putting in Greig to play Forward Midfield out of position.

[SnDvls]

In a shocking upset Rep. of Ireland beat Russia 1-0.

[SnDvls]

Russia faces Cameroon in their next match, which could be a must win game early on.

[SnDvls]

And Russia pulls off the 1-1 tie with Cameroon. I now need to win to keep pace and stay in the hunt to advance.

[SnDvls]

The USA needed the win and they got it 3-0, but some sacrafice will have to be made against Russia and the team could be without Hedges who was injured after scoring in the 35 min. mark and earning Man of the Match. The USA will be with out Berrey as he picke up his second yellow card in as many games and he will have to sit the next game. Goals were also scored by Wynalda at the 52 min. mark and Jones at the 86 min. mark.

[SnDvls]

If Cameroon wins against the Rep. of Ireland they will move on as the Group D winner with 7 points and no one able to catch them.

[SnDvls]

Since Hedges is out Jones will start at striker in his place. I'll continue to allow Greig to play out of position and will have to play a second Defensive Midfielder, Nash, to replace Berrey who is serving his one game suspension.

[SnDvls]

Cameroon and Rep. of Ireland tied 0-0.
A USA win or tie puts them in the next round. A win puts them as the Group D winner. A tie is the runner up, and a loss eliminates them.

[SnDvls]

Romania is the Group E winner and a Germany win puts them in, a Germany loss or tie to Uruguay puts Uruguay in.

[SnDvls]

Urquhart and Ramos both picked up yellow cards in the 0-0 tie with Russia. Ramos will have to sit out the next game due to his. Jones was Man of the Match in a game Russia dominated out shooting the USA 9 to 3, but we did what we needed and held on for the tie.

[SnDvls]

Well we advanced to the final 16 so I get to adjust my roster again.
Ramos will have to sit one game due to the second yellow he picked up and Hedges is still injured so I'll have to adjust for them. I know I am going to scrap the Blair experiment and just play a striker or center forward out of position, this should also help my scoring too.

[SnDvls]

oops looks like I can't alter my squad after all so I'll be going with the same squad

[SnDvls]

so since I can't alter my squad and I'm without Ramos and Hedges I'll put in a second striker, C. Jones, and play Greig at Right Winger.

Meola will start at goal keeper this game and Caligiuri willget the start at left back.

[SnDvls]

Here is how the bracket breaks down.

Brazil vs Costa Rica
Argentina vs Poland
Columbia vs Mexico
Cameroon vs Uruguay
Romania vs USA
Holland vs Scotland
Bloivia vs Sweden
Saudi Arabia vs Switzerland

[SnDvls]

Romania is #5 in the World and #15 in Europe.
they play a 4-5-1 system and average 49 caps and 27 years old for their current squad.

They went 3-0 in Group E play defeating Uruguay, Germany & Japan all 1-0

[SnDvls]

Well it was a hard fought game, but just after the game started Nash was sent off with a red card, we were out shot in the first half 6-0 and by the end of regulation it is 15-1 in shots taken. We held Romania through extra time and took a 1-0 lead in penalty kicks, but they came back after missing their first kick to win 3-1 in a shootout.

[SnDvls]

The final eight are

Brazil vs Argentina
Colombia vs Cameroon
Holland vs Romania
Bolivia vs Saudi Arabia

[SnDvls]

The final four are

Brazil vs Colombia
Romania vs Saudi Arabia

not suprised by three of the teams.

[SnDvls]

And in the finals it will be

Colombia vs Romania

[SnDvls]

And Romania beats Colombia 1-0 to win the World Cup

in the 3rd place game Saudi Arabia beat Brazil.

[SnDvls]

After a disappointing loss to Romania looks like we held our own against the World Cup Champions so I can't be too disappointed. If we could generate a strike force and some shots we might have won.

Next up is the 1996 Qualifying for the American Championships.

[SnDvls]

The USA is placed in Group D as the Favorites along with Ecuador, Nicaragua, and Antigua.

[SnDvls]

As a result of our World Cup run we have fallen one spot in the Wrold Rankings to #14

[SnDvls]

My schedule looks like this for the upcoming games.

Friendly at Chile
Qualifying at Ecuador
Friendly vs Panama
Friendly at Costa Rica
Fridndly vs Saudi Arabia
Qualifying at Nicaragua
Qualifying vs Antigua
Friendly at Peru
Friendly vs Romania
Qualifying vs Ecuador
Qualifying vs Nicaragua
Qualifying at Antigua

[MrBug708]

Good game, but isn't it Cameroon?

[SnDvls]

Good game, but isn't it Cameroon?

I took it straight from the game so it could be? Didn't really check, guess I need to see if I can edit it in game.

[SnDvls]

well the game was correct I just typed it wrong all this time..thanks MrBug

back to the game.

[SnDvls]

Chile is #44 in the World and #10 in the Americas so this should be a good match. I'll be using a pretty hodge podge group of players for my friendlies to see who fits in with my team.

[SnDvls]

just prior to the game against Chile sweeper F. Clavijo at 39 years old decided to retire from the game. Clavijo had 58 caps (9th most) and 0 goals in his career, but he saw his caps reduced with three younger sweepers stepping up. Clavijo didn't even make it on the World Cup team. Clavijo will be missed though and we wish him luck.

[SnDvls]

My team might be playing too agressive. We committed 7 fouls this game and had 2 yellow cards, sweeper Balboa and left back Horsepool, but we did win.
Forward midfield N. Blair got his first goal in the 20 min. for a USA win 1-0.