***Official USMNT Thread***

srjclone

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Nov 17, 2014
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If you haven’t read this article, I highly recommend it. It’s a great profile of Ricardo Pepi, his family, and the issues of identity for dual national players.

Awesome article thanks for sharing. Ricardo seems like an great and humble young man, rooting for him now more than even before.

I have to add, there were some points in this piece that I felt like I was reading a novel about a young boy trying to leave the borderlands. Very very impressive writing and you can tell Roberto José Andrade Franco is writing from a place few of us understand.

This part stuck out in particular:
"It's disquieting to notice how few things grow here. The barren surroundings don't help. Out in the wide-open spaces of West Texas and Northern Mexico, it's easy to get lost.
To live here is to feel the questions that are as omnipresent as the mountains surrounding the region and as persistent as the winds racing down from them. On the worst of days that wind howls. It makes the desert floor dance until the sand blocks the sun and turns the sky from a hue of blue to a reddish-brown.
That wind can rip the roof off buildings and tear doors from hinges. It can choke and blind you, sometimes worse. It's on those days when it feels like we should all run away from this desert. Run away from this separate world between two countries. On those days when it sounds like some invisible hand is continually throwing dirt against locked doors and windows, it's like the wind carries the existential questions that most here wrestle with."
 
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ianoconnor

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coolerifyoudid

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If you haven’t read this article, I highly recommend it. It’s a great profile of Ricardo Pepi, his family, and the issues of identity for dual national players.


Thanks for posting. Great story and a wonderful piece of writing.
 

Triggermv

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Jul 16, 2010
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Love our aggressive play in this game so far. Would love to get one more goal on the board to let me breathe easier. We really need 3 points.
 

Rabbuk

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Mar 1, 2011
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We have lots to learn. We need to get our ball kids throwing multiple balls onto the field at once, pitch invading fans, and players going down with cramps and immediately taking their shoes off.
What was that sneaky good African team from like 8 years ago maybe who did that. Like egregiously long injury delays.
 

Clonehomer

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Apr 11, 2006
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So, with the basketball excitement, the match tomorrow kinda snuck up on me. What's the strategy here, rest players against Mexico to be ready for the must win (?) Panama game Sunday, or go all out against Mexico to try and get the road win?

Gotta figure Panama is getting 3 points against Honduras. So if we cannot at least get a draw against Mexico, that'd leave a 1 point lead over Panama going into our match. You don't want to go into the final game needing any sort of decision, so do you just put all eggs in the Panama basket or just play them all out?

Figure we need 2 points out of this group of games, but 3 would be better.
 

gipper2001

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Aug 28, 2013
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I'm a little nervous for these games. We aren't winning in Mexico, all we can hope for is a friendly draw between us and Mexico that benefits both teams. Mexico always seems to get bailed out with a PK late or a late goal when they are at home. If we beat Panama, we finish no lower than 4th for the Inter-confederation playoffs. I'm actually more nervous about Costa RIca. We need Canada to at least get a draw on the 24th with Costa Rica. That would help out a lot. That last game in Costa Rica needs to be meaningless for us because getting a point there will be hard as well.
 

hawksuck75

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Mar 25, 2006
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If Costa Rica loses or draws in one of their next two games and win win at home against Panama we are in top 3 no matter what. Could really use some help from our Canada tomorrow against CR who still needs a result to qualify.

If we tie against MEX and Win against Panama we are also in top 3 regardless of what Costa Rica does or how we play against them next week.

I believe we should save our best against Panama and bring out Roldan, Arriola, Morris, Acosta, Etc for Mex and see what happens.
 

Kaner04

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Apr 22, 2019
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Italy is a prime example of why we need to go and try to win all 3 games. Don’t leave it up to 1 game because crazy **** happens. We already went through it 4 years ago against Trinidad and Tobago. Don’t let it happen again
 
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hawksuck75

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Mar 25, 2006
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Chicago, IL
Italy is a prime example of why we need to go and try to win all 3 games. Don’t leave it up to 1 game because crazy **** happens. We already went through it 4 years ago against Trinidad and Tobago. Don’t let it happen again

I think we all want to win each game but comparing 3 games in 7 days (USA) to one win or go home (Italy) takes different strategies. Especially when game one is at 7200 FT above sea level and game two is 3 days later for the US. Italy had to win today to advance, we could draw or tie today and still make it in on Sunday which is no matter what basically a must win.
 

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