Bear Down Wildcats

Alieberman wrote:The Uruguay officials that are defending Suarez and are claiming that his punishment is unfair are truly disgusting scum.

World Cup is amazing. It can stop civil wars. It's more important than a person's integrity or soul. Heck it's apparently more important that a country's integrity or soul.

Around 9 in the morning, in a taxi headed toward the old colonial square from the airport, the voice of President Jose Mujica interrupted the music on 104.3 FM. The DJs didn't stop the music, just turned it down while broadcasting Mujica over the song, so his strident words in defense of the nation's most famous citizen had a soundtrack: Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust."

Mujica defended Suarez, saying that if a referee didn't judge the offense on the field, then it shouldn't be judged at all. Let Suarez be Suarez, seemed to be the point of his address. "We didn't choose him to be a philosopher or a mechanic," he said, "and neither to have good manners. He's an excellent player."

This was the President of Uruguay seeming to basically use the emergency radio broadcast features to transmit this message to all the people of his country. Wild.

http://www.espnfc.com/blog/wright-thomp ... om-uruguay

so is three of the last four final 16's progress?

97cats wrote:so is three of the last four final 16's progress?

Yes.

2002-Round of 8
2006-Out
2010-Round of 16
2014-Round of 16 (plus more?)

Upcoming in ten minutes we need Algeria to beat Russia and Belgium to lose to Korea.

thank you, SC -- I respectfully defer to you

PROGRESS

And there's a goal from Russia to end that dream.

I really hope Altidore is ready by the next game.

It probably a good thing that USA did not win the group. If USA won the group they would be playing on Monday instead of Tuesday. That extra day is really important for Bradley (Pull your head out of your ass) and Jones (Keep up the worse) who are just work horses.

Anyone else surprise that Jones hasn't earned two yellow cards in the group stage?
Anyone else thought when they saw Gonzo starting that we where about to get creamed? Outside of a one or two bone head moves he felt more comfortable and probably has the starting job again.

Yeldin is making a strong case that if Altidore is still out that maybe you play him with Johnson on the right side. Zusi is playing the best out of the Zusi, Davis, Bedoya trio. Yeldin speed and strength is a real asset especially since Davis, Bedoya, nor Zusi have any. Personally, all three are the same player to various degrees of being better (Zusi>Bedoya>>Davis).

Belgium sure want to make things interesting.

FIFA has Bradley at 13km and Jones and Beckerman each at 11.5km for the game today. Surprised those guys can even walk to the bus.

Do the players wear a GPS tracker?

OSUCat wrote:I really hope Altidore is ready by the next game.

It probably a good thing that USA did not win the group. If USA won the group they would be playing on Monday instead of Tuesday. That extra day is really important for Bradley (Pull your head out of your ass) and Jones (Keep up the worse) who are just work horses.

Anyone else surprise that Jones hasn't earned two yellow cards in the group stage?
Anyone else thought when they saw Gonzo starting that we where about to get creamed? Outside of a one or two bone head moves he felt more comfortable and probably has the starting job again.

Yeldin is making a strong case that if Altidore is still out that maybe you play him with Johnson on the right side. Zusi is playing the best out of the Zusi, Davis, Bedoya trio. Yeldin speed and strength is a real asset especially since Davis, Bedoya, nor Zusi have any. Personally, all three are the same player to various degrees of being better (Zusi>Bedoya>>Davis).

Bradley has been the most frustrating because he clearly has better game. And has not been 100% bad even in the WC games. The jitters should be done...no "must win" pressure (yes, it is a knockout game, but it is also a successful WC for us at this point) , no "result of group matters more than this game" weirdness. Just playing a game against what everyone will deem a superior opponent, yet an opponent I believe has some cohesive play issues. Maybe that will settle MB down. He is, and will remain short of months of similar play, the best choice for the US at that position.

Was terrified to see Gonzo start. And he had his bone head moves, including what was also maybe his best move...his sliding challenge in the box that was going to be ball or PK. Might not have been necessary. But it worked. My biggest frustration with Gonzo this game was his turning to look for the flag when beaten on a great run in the 1st half, losing a step on a ball in a dangerous position. But, by and large, he came up big, and again, a Klinsmann call works.

I like Zusi for his set piece potential. Yeldin is flat out changing games with his speed. That was the one area we did not exploit today as much as we could have. We had a couple of 50/60 yard runs on the ball from Beasley and others. Yeldin immediately widens the defense, and seems rather competent bringing the ball back across goal from the end line, though his first touch today was clumsy in a similar situation. It was his first touch, tho.

Happy to get the extra day, though I would exchange it for Algeria/Russia over Belgium. My fear is Jozy gets to "OK" but really isn't 100% and the run of play we have developed over 2+ weeks gets interrupted with a feeling out process. If Jozy is truly OK, he is our best option...clearly. But I don't want to rush him back.

Belgium has some set piece issues.

ROFL Algeria scored.

Need another from Algeria and one from Korea...

Bradley is great at f'in up scoring chances and then showing hustle trying to fix his mistakes.

MrBug708 wrote:Bradley is great at f'in up scoring chances and then showing hustle trying to fix his mistakes.

Yeah he's had a very, very bad tournament. Probably just about three consecutive 4/10 performances.

The FIFA website shows he leads the tournament in meters covered.

Alieberman wrote:Only in soccer is a loss, a win.

No different than losing the last game of the PAC 12 but winning the conference because the team that could have gotten to the Rose Bowl with a win due to the tiebreaker lost too.

Except I am not sure that can ever happen. Because it would mean we were going to the Rose Bowl...

MrBug708 wrote:Bradley is great at f'in up scoring chances and then showing hustle trying to fix his mistakes.

I'm glad you mentioned it...If I wrote that observation, I'd be called out for "not knowing enough about the game"

CalStateTempe wrote:

MrBug708 wrote:Bradley is great at f'in up scoring chances and then showing hustle trying to fix his mistakes.

I'm glad you mentioned it...If I wrote that observation, I'd be called out for "not knowing enough about the game"

I'm with you. I'm a fringe fan and often he looks lost.

He sucks.

So hesitant and plays with what appears to be no confidence. Thought it would be improved this cycle, but a regression from the 2010 WC performance which wasn't anything great to speak of.

That being said, as far as midfielders go, he's the best we have, which should tell you something about the quality of player by and large in the US.

CalStateTempe wrote:He sucks.

So hesitant and plays with what appears to be no confidence. Thought it would be improved this cycle, but a regression from the 2010 WC performance which wasn't anything great to speak of.

Just Wrong.

Bradley is having a bad tournament, that's it. If you had to name the top three U.S. players it would be Dempsey, Howard, and Bradley. Bradley was especially money before the tournament, creating everything and stopping the other team. I haven't seen Bradley play this bad since 2010. He has improved this cycle, by alot. IMO, Bradley is suffering from knowing that Zusi, Bedoya, Beckerman, and Davis are not really that great so he has to work extra hard. Bradley is also being asked to do so much more and out of position.

Also, I don't see hesitation just bad passes and touches. He is lacking confidence but that comes and goes even with the greatest players in the world.

I don't disagree with anything you said.

True he was a big factor in qualifying, but if you compare 2010 to 2014 WC performances, not much has changed.

His touch has totally left him. One play especially today, he had a wide open strike if he touches it like an U16 kid and instead watches it bounce off his foot and roll 10 yards to the German defender

With probably the toughest group and the worst travel schedule of any team in the tournament, we've made it through to the knockout rounds.

In many ways I can't believe it. Our CBs are probably a bottom five pairing out of the 32 teams in the tournament. One of our best three players is consistently playing the worst I've ever seen him play. Another of our best three players suffered a broken nose in the first half of our first game. Our only real striker was out for the group stage in the first half of the first game, forcing the guy with the broken nose to go it alone up top.

And still we're through. I'm so happy...it's just been hitting me over the last couple hours since I finished things up for the day. Cheers to Klinsmann and the players...

its Bradley's first touch thats been maddening for me -- otherwise for the most part i thought hes been himself a bit uneven in both directions while still showcasing an ELITE level of fitness.

unfortunately, that first touch has cost him and the US dearly in some tight spots.

as for Beckerman, i think hes been terrific. he helped control possession today for the US on the few times the team showed promise.

of note, i also think the slow field worked against the Germans today....

Jones played his worst game, IMO and outside of the first 7 min(s) Gonzalez stepped in nicely.

i would've liked to see more DeAndre Yedlin and less Brad Davis; getting Altidore back would be HUGE for Dempsey and Bradley as well.

July 1!!!

No Spain.
No Italy.
No England.
No Portugal.

The USA. July 1st.

Lukas has seen some football in his time...

RECIFE, Brazil – Germany star Lukas Podolski backed the United States to keep its World Cup dream alive by springing an upset against Belgium in the round of 16.

Despite Germany dominating Thursday’s clash in Recife and comfortably beating the U.S. 1-0, Podolski saw enough to believe that Jurgen Klinsmann’s side has a genuine chance to reach the quarterfinals.

“They play well,” Podolski told Yahoo Sports. “They play like Germany and they fight, they run, this is the game of the U.S. I think they are happy that they are second in the group and they go through to the next round.

“Against Belgium? Why not? They give all of what they have – this is their football. With this kind of football they can go to the next round.

“The Americans have done very well in this group. Before the tournament everyone said Ghana and U.S. will go out and Portugal and Germany will go through, but see what happened.”

“That was a tough group,” Loew said. “Everyone thought the Americans would be on the outside and that Portugal would make it.

“I am happy for the U.S. [Reaching the round of 16], it means they have the qualities and they are really tough on the opponent. They have players who have improved technically. If you beat Ghana and draw with Portugal, you deserve to reach the round of 16.”

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/germany-s- ... occer.html

97cats wrote:its Bradley's first touch thats been maddening for me -- otherwise for the most part i thought hes been himself a bit uneven in both directions while still showcasing an ELITE level of fitness.

unfortunately, that first touch has cost him and the US dearly in some tight spots.

Right on. Bradley hardly "sucks", his presence is not indication of some woeful pool of US talent, and he is an elite player that has proven so time and again. But his first touch has been nervous and is likely due to his brain going a million miles an hour executing his increased role in this formation while simultaneously dealing with the stress that overwhelms many in the World Cup. I hope he gets that improved because he is everywhere, was putting pressure on ball late in the game when Germany was trying to set up against otherwise dead US defenders, and may be the most ridiculously fit player I have seen. He shows no loss of legs late in games.

His ball pressure and fitness was instrumental in today's game, he was indeed literally everywhere. We could really use his scoring ability and hopefully he will find that groove and soon. And Dempsey is a warrior, love the guy.


Belgium can be beat, beyond that it will take the extraordinary.

EVCat wrote:

97cats wrote:its Bradley's first touch thats been maddening for me -- otherwise for the most part i thought hes been himself a bit uneven in both directions while still showcasing an ELITE level of fitness.

unfortunately, that first touch has cost him and the US dearly in some tight spots.

Right on. Bradley hardly "sucks", his presence is not indication of some woeful pool of US talent, and he is an elite player that has proven so time and again. But his first touch has been nervous and is likely due to his brain going a million miles an hour executing his increased role in this formation while simultaneously dealing with the stress that overwhelms many in the World Cup. I hope he gets that improved because he is everywhere, was putting pressure on ball late in the game when Germany was trying to set up against otherwise dead US defenders, and may be the most ridiculously fit player I have seen. He shows no loss of legs late in games.

Yep. When you're badly overworked, your touch is the first thing to go becuase your positioning has to be perfect everytime. He's not exactly surrounded by guys who play the ball with perfect weight everytime so every ball is a fight to control. If you're tired or half a step behind, it's going to be ugly, and that's what it's been.

No one else on this roster, however, is capable of playing his role. Being the single guy expected to always create move to the open space, and pressure the other team's holding mid is far too much responsibility but he's done it through three games in awful conditions on bad pitches.

He's not going to get a move back to a Roma level team off these performances but we wouldn't have gone through without him.

Bradley's touch was bad in the first game before he covered the most distance of any player in the tournament, and it's continued to be bad. Overworked can't explain it all. He's been bad. He's had a bad tournament. He isn't a bad player, though. No way should he be benched. Hopefully he turns it on against Belgium. I wouldn't mind seeing Mix out there at some point but that probably won't happen in this tournament.

thenewazcats wrote:Bradley's touch was bad in the first game before he covered the most distance of any player in the tournament, and it's continued to be bad. Overworked can't explain it all. He's been bad. He's had a bad tournament. He isn't a bad player, though. No way should he be benched. Hopefully he turns it on against Belgium. I wouldn't mind seeing Mix out there at some point but that probably won't happen in this tournament.

I actually thought his touch was ok in the Ghana game, his decision making was just terrible.

To me Bradley has been too hesitant - and he looked tired yesterday. We certainly need him to step up his game.

My biggest problem about yesterday's Germany game is that we got pushed around way too much. Any time we got possession Germany simply knocked us off the ball. That concerns me as Belgium plays pretty aggressively as well.

If we are to advance, we need to match our opponents physicality and aggressiveness. No more deferring to the "greatness" of their opponent.

legallykenny wrote:

thenewazcats wrote:Bradley's touch was bad in the first game before he covered the most distance of any player in the tournament, and it's continued to be bad. Overworked can't explain it all. He's been bad. He's had a bad tournament. He isn't a bad player, though. No way should he be benched. Hopefully he turns it on against Belgium. I wouldn't mind seeing Mix out there at some point but that probably won't happen in this tournament.

I actually thought his touch was ok in the Ghana game, his decision making was just terrible.

I think that's a fair assessment.

Good match with Brazil and Chile going on.

1-1 at half.

Alieberman wrote:Good match with Brazil and Chile going on.

1-1 at half.

Brazil is definitely the better team, but Chile has had their chances. I thought they were going to score right at the end of the half.

Chile can beat Brazil ..... they've done it before, 1-0-1 in last 2 games .

In the 102' Chile looks like they've run out of gas a bit. They might be trying to limp to the (penalty spot) line.

What a well played game... penalty kick time ... oh boy.

Damn Chile

Well that ending sucked for Chile, came down to a couple of inches .
Good game Chile, good luck Brazil.

meet miss belgium
http://www.barstoolsports.com/boston/fe ... s-belgium/

James Rodriguez has been amazing in this tournament. His long shot today was the best goal of the tournament.

[youtube]K6fOPlZ_798[/youtube]

And this beauty vs Japan

[youtube]G6sslrVxowM[/youtube]

My brother is over in the Netherlands right now. I'm sure if the Dutch win, it's going to get pretty crazy

Netherlands were robbed right before the half. They should have been awarded a penalty kick.

Mexico really has been playing good today, actually they've been impressive the whole tournament. Holland is in trouble now. Plus the winner of this match plays the winner of the Costa Rica/Greece match. Mexico, has a good chance now of making it to the semi-finals.

Wow! What a save by Ochoa. He's going to be worth his weight in gold after the World Cup.

Ochoaing.

Looking at the reply of Ochoa's save, he got really lucky. He just happened to be in the right place at the right time when the ball went off his head. I've never seen a ball hit inside the goal post like that and bound away from the goal.