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06-15-2008, 05:02 PM
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Official U.S. National Soccer Thread
 The Official Site of U.S. Soccer and the U.S. Men's and Women's National Teams (Home) World Cup Qualifying Match vs. Barbados tonight @ 5PM in Cali.          
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06-15-2008, 05:11 PM
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Dempsey scores in the first minute of the game...
U.S. 1 Barbados 0 3rd minute
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06-15-2008, 05:29 PM
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Just watching the first 10 minutes after having watched much of the Euro Cup Tournament over the course of the past week or so, you can't help but feel that most of the European teams are still playing on another level. As I write this, a second US goal is scored by Bradley. Anyway, after the 2002 World Cup, I thought we were almost there, especially since some of the younger age groups have been doing so well on the international level for quite a while now. I hope it does eventually happen for the U.S. men, but even I'm becoming something of a skeptic these days.
I know it isn't fair to draw such broad conclusions from a competition v. Barbados, but they hadn't scored a single goal against real competition in three games prior to this (Spain, 1-0; England, 2-0; Argentina, 0-0 (which wasn't a bad result)). As I finish writing this, the US scores its 3rd goal.
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06-15-2008, 06:20 PM
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this game serves as no barometer for how the team will look come the final round of qualifying, but I still love watching US soccer nonetheless. International matches are some of the best possible sporting events to take in. So much pride and passion for the country. I hope to make it to some of the later qualifiers when they come around the midwest.
Barbados are a horrible side that was holding open tryouts before these qualifiers. It's hard to play against a team this bad, but the US handled their business in the first 20 minutes by putting 3 goals on the board. USA! USA! USA!
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06-15-2008, 06:35 PM
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When the U.S. team played Spain, they had many chances to score, the ball just didn't find the back of the net. They had a good chance to make it 1-1 or even 2-1. And the goal that Spain scored was just an all the sudden thing.
I think the U.S. is on there way to start competing with the powerhouses. They aren't to the point of winning games consistently but they will get there.
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06-15-2008, 07:34 PM
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U.S. 8
Barbados 0 Pretty good match today, but it's too hard to tell if they are making progress since the competition was pretty low
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06-15-2008, 11:24 PM
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In a match like this one you gotta make sure of three things:
One thing that has always bugged me about the US's style of play is that they seldom seem to play the ball on one-timers, volleys or half-volleys. The always seem to trap the ball and allow their opponents to recover. They showed me a little bit of what I'm looking for in the second half of this game. Now figure out how to do it against real competition. I don't necessarily agree that all or most of European teams are on a higher plane than the US. I think the US can play with anybody anytime. Unfortunately at this point however, anytime does not mean every time or even most of the time. Watching this match and watching Euro 2008, it's really not a fair comparison. These European squads are in the final of a major competition, while the US is playing in qualifying against an inferior opponent. The level of preparation is totally different. The European teams are trying to put their best foot forward right now. The US doesn't have to at the moment. I think if the US were hypothetically in the Euro 2008 field, they would be able to advance to the knockout stage under many circumstances. Of course, when you're talking about group play, the draw has a great effect - but I think they could be competitive. I do see a relevant gap between the US and their European counterparts when it comes to the things I mentioned a couple paragraphs ago about how the US plays the ball. It seems to me that more European players know what they want to do with the ball before they make their first (or only) touch, while US players do not always know. That's what I want to see them improve upon over the course of the next couple years, and hopefully as more US players get experience playing overseas they will pick up these skills and improve their ability to mentally and tactically handle the speed of the game at the highest levels.
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06-16-2008, 09:36 AM
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jlb. I do agree with you, the first touches by the European teams looks much more confident and clean. I have noticed the US guys like to turn the ball about 50% of the time towards a defender. However the European guys know that they have pressure on them and are turning away from the defenders. I think the talent level between the US and European players is pretty close to even. But I think the knowledge of the game over there is a step ahead of what it is here.
I have been very impressed with Freddy Adu when he has made his appearances. He has played very well and I have noticed he is very quick with the ball. If he keeps making progress, look for him to be one of the U.S. better players in the NEAR future.
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06-16-2008, 11:27 AM
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The primary issue with the National team is that Steve Sampson is a douchebag.
No, that's not a typo. He's the Ty Willingham of soccer. Seriously though... While I agree with a lot of the things you guys have said, there really is a hangover from the Sampson Era... Nothing against the Cobi Jones's of the world... but... if Sampson could have done it, he would have put 10 MF's out there and the GK. And, all of these things are double edged swords... though... And not to rag on any one player (I think Cobi Jones was perfectly good... actually) but what you get is a trickle down effect... Sampson played "his" guys, who weren't always the best guys... but then those guys get the bulk of the experience... and... then you've got talented guys who don't get to play and get that experience. US players playing in European clubs are the same way... its good that they get to play at that level... but... jsut as the European clubs have the same issue, its harder for them to devote time to the National Team... say compared to MLS players who are "more available"-- and as such I think that's why the US did better before they had lots of guys playing in Europe. (And simlilar to why a team like Ivory Coast can do well... let them learn to play, add a Drogba, and wham, you can beat people). At any rate... Sampson aside, a lot of the growing pains are part of this conversion to really being a professional national team. (I was disappointed Klinsmann turned down the job, felt like he could have helped that along having had a good perspective on that from his career... ) Also, yeah Barbados? Umm... yeah, that's meaningless... that's not a team...at all...
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08-21-2008, 12:08 AM
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Team USA in the last minute of stoppage time hanging on to a 1-0 lead over Guatemala for the first-ever US win in Guat in a World Cup qualifier
Edit: US hangs on to win - good news for the team to hang on after a disappointing Olympic performance
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02-12-2009, 06:02 AM
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the great game today got me looking at the upcoming schedule. i was hoping they had a game in NY but it doesn't look like they will. however, i see some games in south africa vs italy and brazil. those should be a good measuring stick on where the team is at that point right? also, what tournament is that?
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02-12-2009, 08:04 AM
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02-12-2009, 01:17 PM
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I completely forgot that I started this thread, hahaha. I was also looking at the future WC Qualifiers, maybe I'll take a trip to one of those games.
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02-12-2009, 04:54 PM
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02-12-2009, 11:36 PM
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