USMNT - World Cup qualifying - The Hexagonal
- Thread starter shagcarpetjesus
- Start date
The roster looks good to you? Name me another winger other than Zusi? is it Torres? Are we gonna use EJ out wide? This is a terrible roster selection again by Jurgen in the midfield. Feilhaber for Brad Davis and Bedoya for Kljestan. This is what I hope to see on Wed based on the roster Jurgen gave us.
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Those of you who watched the US game, what'd you think? I just watched highlights. Great goal by Dempsey. The defense looks like it needs to step it up.
[video=youtube;_Pap4fEDxxc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=_Pap4fEDxxc[/video]
[video=youtube;_Pap4fEDxxc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=_Pap4fEDxxc[/video]
Dempsey's goal was class. Great ball from Jones over the defense but just a textbook over-the-shoulder volley from Deuce to score. The first goal from Honduras was just a wonder goal. Tip your hat to the dude, great effort & execution. The final goal was just horrid all-around. It looked like both Howard & Cameron were a bit indecisive in closing on the ball, but Omar's effort was just head-shaking. He looks over his shoulder to see if anybody is near him & in that moment he screwed himself and his team. The ball is rolling across the freakin' box. Go get it and clear it!!!!! Don't look around to see what's going on around you.
What concerns me most is that Honduras really took it to the US today. I haven't seen the stats, but I'm guessing they had more possession, and definitely more chances & better chances, and just generally played a better game. That worries me. It's just one game so I'm not going to overreact. But the early Hex schedule isn't doing the US any favors. Let's hope they look better in March.
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Humiliating effort from start to finish. Terrible touch, terrible distribution through middle third, creativity lacking, defensive lapses, terrible game control, Howard looked absent on second goal, one of he worst efforts dating back to gansler. I'm sure bob Bradley was sitting watching game feeling like a gad damn genius.
Here's where things stand:
Honduras 2, USA 1
Panama 2, Costa Rica 2
Mexico 0, Jamaica 0
Jamaica goes into Mexico City & holds El Tri to a scoreless draw. Interesting.
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Panama 2, Costa Rica 2
Mexico 0, Jamaica 0
Jamaica goes into Mexico City & holds El Tri to a scoreless draw. Interesting.
I don't think we'll beat mexico at home again. All of our other matches are pick'ems.
[video=youtube;Db53Q_PGGA4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Db53Q_PGGA4[/video]
I like this song
[video=youtube;Db53Q_PGGA4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Db53Q_PGGA4[/video]
I like this song
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@jmb - in the Hex for the 2010 WC Bob Bradley drew with El Salvador on the road 2-2 and lost to Costa Rica 3-1 on the road. So no Bob Bradley never looks/ looked like a genius. In fact Bob Bradley and genius shouldn't be used in the same sentence.
@zombie - El Tri drew with Jamaica at home, I wouldn't put a ton of confidence in them either.
Look as PO'ed as I am about the result at Honduras we have started poorly in the Hex before and rebounded. Honduras is a much better opponenet than previous early stumbles like El Salvador and Costa Rica 4 yrs ago. El Salvador was very weak last time around and Costa Rica is much tougher this time around.
There wasn't a long camp before this game it was fly in fly out, that is why you saw some odd results in the region. Very tough to build chemistry. Jurgen must understand we simply can not play with 2 Def mids and no width. Hopefully he is beginning to understand that tactics and formations do matter, cause he has gone on record as saying the hunger of the players supersedes any formations or tactics.
I am becoming more and more of a Bob Bradley believer. The performances under the Jurgen continue to leave me shaking my head. We have got to get the back line figured out and we need some creativity in our attack. Certainly just one HEX game with many more to go, so I'm not overly concerned.
If we make it to the World Cup this (4) year.......... it will be close/luck. Any Euro team would steam roll this competition but we will make it by the hair of our chinny chin chin.......... IF
Do you care to revise that statement? This might be one of the dumbest statements ever
Yes, Germany, France, England, the Netherlands, Croatia, Denmark, Sweden, Spain, Portugal.......... should I continue?
Those you now mention are SOME Euro teams. You said ANY and currently these teams that are still alive in UEFA quals wouldn't stand a chance in Concacaf:
Scotland
Malta
Kazakhstan
Faroe Islands
Andorra
Northern Ireland
Azerbaijan
Luxembourg
Lithuania
Latvia
Liechtenstein
San Marino
Finland
Edit also you said Denmark and they suck currently and Portugal in one of the weakest UEFA groups would lose out for a playoff spot to Israel:
| Team | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | 4 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 4 | 10 | |
| Bulgaria | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 6 | |
| Czech Republic | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 5 | |
| Armenia | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | |
| Denmark | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 | |
| Malta | 3 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| Team | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Russia | 4 | 4 | 8 | 12 | |||
| Israel | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 5 | 7 |
| Portugal | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 7 |
| Northern Ireland | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 3 | |
| Azerbaijan | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 2 | |
| Luxembourg | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 12 | 1 |
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The elite European teams would have an easier time than Mexico or the US, but they would still have difficulty. There are many other factors besides just the quality of the CONCACAF opponent. There is the humid weather that took its' toll on the Europe-based players on our squad. There are the poor field conditions that even Spain would have trouble managing. There are the hostile crowds and dilapidated stadiums. The CONCACAF Officials always leave something to be desired in fairness and objectivity at the away venues 95% of the time. There is the bunkering and, in my opinion, the worst gamesmanship (faking injuries and time wasting) in the entire sport down in Central America.
Central America is just a hard place to get results a lot of the time which is why I'm not irate about the loss on Wednesday. Honduras is likely the 3rd best team in the Hex and it took a great effort by their team at home to get past our squad that was having a terrible game as a whole. Now if we tie or lose at home to Costa Rica then I will start freaking out.
Central America is just a hard place to get results a lot of the time which is why I'm not irate about the loss on Wednesday. Honduras is likely the 3rd best team in the Hex and it took a great effort by their team at home to get past our squad that was having a terrible game as a whole. Now if we tie or lose at home to Costa Rica then I will start freaking out.
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Love your first paragraph but I am not sure honduras is hands down the 3rd best team. I think this is the toughest Hex I can remember and it is gonna be all out war between Jamaica, Honduras and Costa Rica for 3rd and 4th. I also think that Concacaf gets 4 in the WC cause the 4th place team will play New Zealand in a 2 leg playoff and should win that
Edit - technically New Zealand hasn't secured the top spot in Oceania but more than likely will
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A couple of thoughts. First some bad news, Cherundolo had knee surgery yesterday.
Hannover captain Steve Cherundolo has knee surgery - Soccer - SI.com
It doesn't sound serious, but you'd have to think it will take at least a couple of months for him to be available. Chandler certainly didn't have his best game, and Steve's experience certainly could help through the Hex.
Bigger picture, as others have mentioned road games in CONCACAF have always been sketchy. I really think this is going to be an interesting Hex. Just out of curiosity I went back & looked at the Hex for the 2010 WC.
Things are much more even across the 6 countries now, IMO. I just don't see 2 squads that are going to be the group's punching bags like El Salvador and Trinidad & Tobago were last time. I see Panama, Jamaica, Honduras, and Costa Rica all taking some scalps along the way. I don't know that I'm ready to say it's going to be a 6 team free for all, but I do think it's going to be a grueling process.
The US performance was ugly, but as cliche as this is to say the Hex is a marathon, not a sprint. They need to show better for sure, but they've got time to figure it out. I agree with CYco that JK really needs to get away from throwing out 3 defensive midfielders at a time. I'm not sure what the answer is apart from Shea working his way back onto the team and Landon deciding he wants to come back. A motivated & in form Donovan would be huge for the team right now.
Hannover captain Steve Cherundolo has knee surgery - Soccer - SI.com
It doesn't sound serious, but you'd have to think it will take at least a couple of months for him to be available. Chandler certainly didn't have his best game, and Steve's experience certainly could help through the Hex.
Bigger picture, as others have mentioned road games in CONCACAF have always been sketchy. I really think this is going to be an interesting Hex. Just out of curiosity I went back & looked at the Hex for the 2010 WC.
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The US performance was ugly, but as cliche as this is to say the Hex is a marathon, not a sprint. They need to show better for sure, but they've got time to figure it out. I agree with CYco that JK really needs to get away from throwing out 3 defensive midfielders at a time. I'm not sure what the answer is apart from Shea working his way back onto the team and Landon deciding he wants to come back. A motivated & in form Donovan would be huge for the team right now.
Looking at the history of the HEX, since its inception for the '98 world cup. It looks like one time it was as even as this one. And that was in '98. The US went through, finishing 2nd with 17 points, Mexico was 1st with 18 points. I think this time is very similar. 17 points will get us in the top two.
Which means we need a minimum of 5 points on the road. Any any tie or loss at home will be devastating. But we won't be out of it. As a matter of fact since "98 our worst qualifying effort was for '02, and that was our best world cup showing.
JK is trying to change the defend and counter culture of the US game. Unfortunately the players lack the creativity to make this happen. IMHO he should promote the more creative game in levels under the senior, for the senior team, just win, I don't care how you do it. Sure it would be great if we could play like Spain, but we can't, at least not right now. Obviously this means the back line has to play better, but **** they played that way in Italy and in Mexico and got historic results.
BB was a good coach for the US, but JK is the right man for us to start to take the next step in our soccer development as a country, it is just that the USMNT isn't ready for that style yet. It takes time to change culture.
Which means we need a minimum of 5 points on the road. Any any tie or loss at home will be devastating. But we won't be out of it. As a matter of fact since "98 our worst qualifying effort was for '02, and that was our best world cup showing.
JK is trying to change the defend and counter culture of the US game. Unfortunately the players lack the creativity to make this happen. IMHO he should promote the more creative game in levels under the senior, for the senior team, just win, I don't care how you do it. Sure it would be great if we could play like Spain, but we can't, at least not right now. Obviously this means the back line has to play better, but **** they played that way in Italy and in Mexico and got historic results.
BB was a good coach for the US, but JK is the right man for us to start to take the next step in our soccer development as a country, it is just that the USMNT isn't ready for that style yet. It takes time to change culture.
This. It wouldn't be the end of the qualifying effort if we tied or lost to Mexico at home. Any other losses or ties at home would be absolutely devastating. You must win at home and steal as many points as you can on the road to survive the Hex. We missed a chance to steal a point against Honduras, but that failure won't be nearly as bad as if we lose to anyone (besides Mexico) at home.
The 3 D-Mid lineup has been seen way too often under JK. I really liked Williams as the dedicated D-Mid when he was in form with Bradley being box-to-box. I have never really cared for Jones play, but who else do we have that is more of an offensive playmaker/passer and not a complete liability in one way or another? JK doesn't seem to favor Mixx, Adu can't stop making everyone he plays for hate him, Feilhaber drifts out of games for too long of a time. JK could always move Dempsey in the attacking midfield role and pair Gomez with Altidore up top instead. I think Klejstan would be best suited for that role in our current formation. He's not a popular pick, but he plays centrally for Anderlecht and is not a defense first MF. Hopefully JK can experiment with it at some point.
