2014 FIFA World Cup

[Abe Sargent]

Wow lots of stoppage time

[Abe Sargent]

Originally Posted by Easy Mac

I love Germany

I love you too!


......oh wait, you didn't want to use our bedroom nicknames in public? Sorry.

[kingfc22]

And Muntari's 35th foul finally draws a card

[Abe Sargent]

Game over, 2-1 win quite appropriate

[Warhammer]

Woohoo!

[kingfc22]

HUGE 3 points!

[Lathum]

What a game

[SirFozzie]

Twitter / NOTSportsCenter: Live look-in outside John Brooks' ...

"The View outside Brooks's hotel room right now"

[ColtCrazy]

Well, today couldn't have gone much better for the US. Portugal is a mess and the US have 3 points.

[sterlingice]

As a uneducated soccer fan, the minutes from about 35 to 75 were just so frustrating. It seemed like the US was content to sit back and see how many shots Ghana could take. Eventually one was going to go through. And not because Howard is bad but eventually you give them enough chances, they'll make a beautiful play like that which scored their goal.

SI

[Dutch]

USA! USA! USA!!!!

[RainMaker]

Best Hulk Hogan Tribute Real American - YouTube

[Coffee Warlord]

We tried to park the bus for 90 minutes, and that just doesn't work. We played scared, we gave away WAY too much possession, and in general looked poor. Got damned lucky to get 3 points there. Hopefully it's just jitters, 'cause if we play like that vs Portugal, it won't be pretty.

[Coffee Warlord]

That said. USA!

[Tigercat]

Depends what you mean by "we played scared/tentative/etc." That is certainly what the execution looked like, but the team didn't have the health and players to counter attack as much as we would all like. If anything, I think the gameplan was more aggressive than most managers would call for. Klinsmann isn't the type to rest on a lead or a tie, and he somehow got a goal out of a couple of subs in a spot where most teams would be content to lick their wounds after a tie.

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by Abe Sargent

Im always of two minds for the USA-Ghana matches. Sure, I'd like my home country to win, but I always root for African sides against others. I'm divided - I want Ghana and USA to come out of the stage.

Haha, If I can put this into perspective for one moment, nobody in Ghana is thinking, "Gee, I like Ghana and all, but I'm really pulling for some North American teams to win."

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

That said. USA!

Fuck yeah!

[Coffee Warlord]

Oh, we responded beautifully after the goal. Funny how fast our mentality changes when we need a goal. It's the time in between that was ugly. We were trying to boot it around and hold possession, and couldn't - leading to us parking 10 men in front of the goal for most of the match, which tends not to end well.

[Butter]

America, fuck yeah!

[bhlloy]

Definitely need to tighten up the space down the flanks against Ronaldo and Nani, that's for sure. Beasley still looks very unconvincing as a full back at the highest level

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

Oh, we responded beautifully after the goal. Funny how fast our mentality changes when we need a goal. It's the time in between that was ugly. We were trying to boot it around and hold possession, and couldn't - leading to us parking 10 men in front of the goal for most of the match, which tends not to end well.

I think with the exception of a couple of shots, it was very effective at killing a lot of time. I'm going to guess that part of the strategy of keeping an extremely conservative strategy is to save energy. At least, I was assuming that during the game.

[Butter]

Anybody else think Diskerud should start instead of Beckerman?

[claphamsa]

Originally Posted by cartman

Bradley isn't having a good game at all

that was my sentiment.

[MrBug708]

If it weren't for Beasley, Bradley would have been the worst player on the field

[DaddyTorgo]

So I wasn't around because I was watching at home with my dad, but wow.

I called the US not being able to defend the whole game - figured they'd concede between 76-78 minutes, but definitely didn't see the comeback after that.

Not exactly a "gift" victory, but a great win. Ghana definitely took it to them and controlled the game for the bulk of it (although most of their shots weren't all that threatening), so it's great to get a result.

USA was definitely not able to play the gameplan they wanted to I suspect because of Jozy's injury. Hopefully it's nothing too serious, because I don't know that they can reshape their whole attacking plan to suit a Johansson at this point.

Bad to see Besler go down too, although that worked out alright in the end at the moment.

USA players definitely cramping up all over the pitch and run into the ground by Ghana (despite Ghana chasing the game the whole time), but aside from a stretch from like 45-65 minutes I thought they kept shape and played well defensively, although I was upset they didn't get anymore possession to relieve pressure.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

*double checks to make sure it's not DT posting*

Wondo is not that good. I hope he proves me wrong - I really really do, but he hasn't shown me anything yet on a national team level to indicate that I'm wrong.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by Grover

Gorgeous play from Gyan and Ayew.

Credit Asamoah for the great ball in to Gyan as well

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

Anybody else think Diskerud should start instead of Beckerman?

No.

Beckerman was ACES tonight IMO. He had 1-2 poor passes (not turnovers directly, but put Bradley into tight spaces a couple times), but other than that he broke up a ton of passes and provided a ton of support.

If Jermaine Jones plays then Beckerman has to play. He brings tactical stability that Jones lacks.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

If it weren't for Beasley, Bradley would have been the worst player on the field

Beasley was badly exposed through the middle part of the game, which led to a lot of Ghana possession and penetration, but that said, he was one of the few guys not to cramp up and to actually play at speed the whole 90.

But yes, I was SCREAMING at him through the middle part of the game in frustration.

[RainMaker]

While Ghana controlled most of the game, they didn't have a lot of great chances. Seems like the defense made it difficult. Their goal was just an incredible play.

Can't imagine Bradley will play that bad again. Losing Jozy hurts a lot because Johannsson looked terrible out there.

[Bisbo]

Glad we got the three points and all, but that was one of the worst performances by the US in quite some time. I'm really not a fan of the defensive shell strategy that we used 20 years ago. If that's what we're going to resort to, then at least we have to maintain possession every once in awhile. The "passing" was absolutely terrible, and Michael Bradley - one of the steadiest players we have - was positively horrible. Only a few men out there tonight - Jermaine Jones, Dempsey, and Howard were the only players worthy of the jersey, with honorable mention to Zusi and Brooks.

[Qrusher14242]

There were a couple really good chances for Ghana. I remember one with a wide open header and he sent it over the net. Was a great game, been watching most the games on Univision(OTA free!)

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by Bisbo

Glad we got the three points and all, but that was one of the worst performances by the US in quite some time. I'm really not a fan of the defensive shell strategy that we used 20 years ago. If that's what we're going to resort to, then at least we have to maintain possession every once in awhile. The "passing" was absolutely terrible, and Michael Bradley - one of the steadiest players we have - was positively horrible. Only a few men out there tonight - Jermaine Jones, Dempsey, and Howard were the only players worthy of the jersey, with honorable mention to Zusi and Brooks.

Yeah, was not happy to see them bunkering so early and giving away so much possession.

I think they might have been more successful if Jozy had stayed in - at least I hope that was just the issue.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

As a uneducated soccer fan, the minutes from about 35 to 75 were just so frustrating. It seemed like the US was content to sit back and see how many shots Ghana could take. Eventually one was going to go through. And not because Howard is bad but eventually you give them enough chances, they'll make a beautiful play like that which scored their goal.

SI

You may consider yourself an uneducated soccer fan, but you hit it on the nail here. The US was lucky to get the result it did. Ghana dominated the game from 20 minutes in, up to a bit after their goal. Someone said the US seemed to do much better when we needed a goal and that seems to be right. Our gameplan was not all that great for most of the game.

I'm VERY happy for the win (which I don't think we deserved), but if we play like that against a Portugal team that is angry, we'll get destroyed.

Heck, if Ghana was better at finishing, they may have scored 3 goals - they had the chances. What was it, 20 shots?

[Logan]

I heard "target man" seemingly five times tonight when referring to Altidore and his replacement. Don't remember hearing that phrase during 2010. I can certainly infer what that means but is there something else I need to know to define that?

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by Logan

I heard "target man" seemingly five times tonight when referring to Altidore and his replacement. Don't remember hearing that phrase during 2010. I can certainly infer what that means but is there something else I need to know to define that?

Probably not.

A target man is typically a bigger, more physical forward who uses their size/strength to create space and body around the defenders. Often less technically skilled then other types of frowards, generally good at playing with their back to goal, receiving the ball and holding it up to wait for other attackers to get forward before passing to them.

[Dutch]

Clint Dempsey just got his face broken - SBNation.com

[Desnudo]

Originally Posted by Logan

I heard "target man" seemingly five times tonight when referring to Altidore and his replacement. Don't remember hearing that phrase during 2010. I can certainly infer what that means but is there something else I need to know to define that?

1. A target man can maintain possession of the ball and hold up play while his team catches up to him. 2. Altidore is not a target man despite his size even though announcers always say he is

"It's John Brooks, it's John Brooks!" I'm so glad we have a British pbp guy.

[Dutch]

USA vs. Ghana: Winning ugly is the American way - SBNation.com

[ISiddiqui]

Absolute best analysis of the game.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by Desnudo

1. A target man can maintain possession of the ball and hold up play while his team catches up to him. 2. Altidore is not a target man despite his size even though announcers always say he is

"It's John Brooks, it's John Brooks!" I'm so glad we have a British pbp guy.

Although he did misidentify the overused chant as "I believe I can win." Yeah, that's not it Ian.

[Desnudo]

It beats listening to mediocre ex-players

[flere-imsaho]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

We tried to park the bus for 90 minutes, and that just doesn't work. We played scared, we gave away WAY too much possession, and in general looked poor. Got damned lucky to get 3 points there. Hopefully it's just jitters, 'cause if we play like that vs Portugal, it won't be pretty.

I couldn't agree more. If the U.S. can't play better, especially in the midfield and opponent's 3rd, we're not going to get past Portugal, much less Germany.

Spacing was terrible, passing was woefully inaccurate (I've seen League Two teams pass better than that in the final third), anticipation was appalling, and time and time again they just let a Ghana player stroll into a very dangerous position and get a shot or cross off.

Originally Posted by Dutch

I think with the exception of a couple of shots, it was very effective at killing a lot of time. I'm going to guess that part of the strategy of keeping an extremely conservative strategy is to save energy. At least, I was assuming that during the game.

Originally Posted by RainMaker

While Ghana controlled most of the game, they didn't have a lot of great chances. Seems like the defense made it difficult. Their goal was just an incredible play.

We watched a different game. Ghana set up good shot after good shot, but just couldn't convert. If they play strikers capable of shot accuracy (or start Kevin Prince Boateng up front) they score 3-5. Heck, if the U.S. doesn't have Howard playing a blinder in goal Ghana still probably put up 3.

If they give that kind of space and time to Ronaldo & Nani, they'll get eviscerated, and Muller will just float through the backline at will, given this performance.


I don't want to take anything away from a very good defensive & come-from-behind performance by the U.S. A lot of grit, determination and character shown, all of which is a good thing. But they're going to have to play a lot better if they expect to get out of the group.

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

A target man is typically a bigger, more physical forward who uses their size/strength to create space and body around the defenders. Often less technically skilled then other types of frowards, generally good at playing with their back to goal, receiving the ball and holding it up to wait for other attackers to get forward before passing to them.

You took this right out of FM, didn't you?

[Desnudo]

Beasley v. Ronaldo is concerning.

[Logan]

Thanks for the explanations on target men.

Originally Posted by Dutch

USA vs. Ghana: Winning ugly is the American way - SBNation.com

As already noted, I fully admit to not knowing the nuances of the game but I think this notion of "we were dominated from the 2nd minute to the 86th minute" is pretty overdramatic. Like ISiddiqui said earlier, I think the US was playing pretty well basically up until the Altidore injury which was 22nd (?) minute. Doesn't mean Ghana didn't dominate overall, of course.

[Marc Vaughan]

I thought the US played well - their tactics after scoring were partially to conserve energy and minimise injuries* imho; the conditions out there looked awful ... even the goalkeepers were covered in sweat which is never a good sign.

Ghana were very one dimensional in attack generally and their predictability allowed the US that option.

I thought it was a brave decision (as it was high risk and ultimately they were very lucky to get the win really) - but ultimately has helped them conserve energy somewhat which will increase their (somewhat slim) chances of getting something out of the later matches and squeezing out of the group ...

*There have been a heck of a lot of muscle injuries already due to the heat/humidity ...

[Coffee Warlord]

Bah, those are Americans out there. They don't get tired or feel pain. Conserve energy? That's for those who haven't tasted the mighty fist of democracy.

[Ajaxab]

Originally Posted by Desnudo

It beats listening to mediocre ex-players

I shudder to see what Fox is going to do with this event down the road. Gus Johnson and Eric Wynalda just don't work. Leave Gus to do football and college basketball. Leave Wynalda altogether.

I enjoy Ian Darke, Steve McManaman, John Champion, Stuart Robson, Adrian Healey and Efan Ekoku. Whether Fox could get these guys is open to question, but Gus and Eric are not the answer.

[Barkeep49]

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

I thought it was a brave decision (as it was high risk and ultimately they were very lucky to get the win really) - but ultimately has helped them conserve energy somewhat which will increase their (somewhat slim) chances of getting something out of the later matches and squeezing out of the group ...

I don't think they have slim chances after yesterday. Portugal just strikes me as unimpressive thinking about both the fact that they needed the playoff to get in and their loss. Granted Germany is a fantastic side and most teams will look poor with 10 men. But Germany already seemed to be breaking down their central defenders even before the red card, they'll be without Pepe for the US game, and the players seemed disinterested other than Nani and Ronaldo at times.

I think that the US stands a good chance of at least getting a draw against them. If that happens I think the US gets through. Even if Portugal were to beat Ghana (something I don't think would have happened based on how both played yesterday) the Goal Differential should (fingers crossed) be in the US's favor.

[Desnudo]

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

I thought the US played well - their tactics after scoring were partially to conserve energy and minimise injuries* imho; the conditions out there looked awful ... even the goalkeepers were covered in sweat which is never a good sign.

Ghana were very one dimensional in attack generally and their predictability allowed the US that option.

I thought it was a brave decision (as it was high risk and ultimately they were very lucky to get the win really) - but ultimately has helped them conserve energy somewhat which will increase their (somewhat slim) chances of getting something out of the later matches and squeezing out of the group ...

*There have been a heck of a lot of muscle injuries already due to the heat/humidity ...

Slim (33%) went to likely (66%) according to Nate Silver. Portugal picked up several injuries + the red. A win against them is certainly possible. even if they don't they may get a Germany team that has advancement already secured.