FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 - Group Stage

[Pharmcat]

Team USA sucks . No progress made at all. So sad

I don't get "USA sucks" opinion.

Are the US a team that will vie to win the World Cup? No. There's only about 5-6 teams in the whole world who can probably say that. Maybe 10 if we are being super duper generous. Are they a team that can get out of the group stage? Yes. They actually have a very realistic chance to do so in this World Cup. They control their own destiny, and that's about as much as you can ask for in the 3rd game in the group stage.

To me, Costa Rica is a team that sucks. Qatar is a team that sucks. The US? They are what they are. A team that is usually a threat to get out of the group but not a real threat to win the whole thing. Which applies to probably half of the teams in the Cup.

We have money , resources , stadiums etc. and we haven’t made any progress in the international stage. It’s really embarrassing . We don’t have any raw talent and the talent that does come (Freddy adu) flame out. The whole setup is a disgrace

[Sedale Threatt]

Team USA sucks . No progress made at all. So sad

I don't get "USA sucks" opinion.

Are the US a team that will vie to win the World Cup? No. There's only about 5-6 teams in the whole world who can probably say that. Maybe 10 if we are being super duper generous. Are they a team that can get out of the group stage? Yes. They actually have a very realistic chance to do so in this World Cup. They control their own destiny, and that's about as much as you can ask for in the 3rd game in the group stage.

To me, Costa Rica is a team that sucks. Qatar is a team that sucks. The US? They are what they are. A team that is usually a threat to get out of the group but not a real threat to win the whole thing. Which applies to probably half of the teams in the Cup.

I have blocked a grand total of two posters on RealGM. Pharmcat is one of them.

[CalamityX12]

US with a much better effort vs England...

Surprised England played so conservative? Perhaps waiting for an exploit to open up?

Lucky for them McKennie is the American Cueva

[Sedale Threatt]

I have a hard time imagining there are many US fans who, before the Cup started, wouldn't have gladly taken a winner-take-all match with Iran to reach the elimination round. As we proved in 2017, we have almost zero margin for error against even mediocre sides and can't take anything for granted. But THAT was embarrassing. And if we fail on Tuesday, then go ahead and pile on. I'll be right there with you. But I don't understand what all the bleating and negativity is about after going toe-to-toe with one of the better teams in the world.

[Pharmcat]

Team USA sucks . No progress made at all. So sad

I don't get "USA sucks" opinion.

Are the US a team that will vie to win the World Cup? No. There's only about 5-6 teams in the whole world who can probably say that. Maybe 10 if we are being super duper generous. Are they a team that can get out of the group stage? Yes. They actually have a very realistic chance to do so in this World Cup. They control their own destiny, and that's about as much as you can ask for in the 3rd game in the group stage.

To me, Costa Rica is a team that sucks. Qatar is a team that sucks. The US? They are what they are. A team that is usually a threat to get out of the group but not a real threat to win the whole thing. Which applies to probably half of the teams in the Cup.

I have blocked a grand total of two posters on RealGM. Pharmcat is one of them.

[Dirk]

Team USA sucks . No progress made at all. So sad

I don't get "USA sucks" opinion.

Are the US a team that will vie to win the World Cup? No. There's only about 5-6 teams in the whole world who can probably say that. Maybe 10 if we are being super duper generous. Are they a team that can get out of the group stage? Yes. They actually have a very realistic chance to do so in this World Cup. They control their own destiny, and that's about as much as you can ask for in the 3rd game in the group stage.

To me, Costa Rica is a team that sucks. Qatar is a team that sucks. The US? They are what they are. A team that is usually a threat to get out of the group but not a real threat to win the whole thing. Which applies to probably half of the teams in the Cup.

I have blocked a grand total of two posters on RealGM. Pharmcat is one of them.

You're not special.

I am one of the only two users on RealGM that haven't blocked Pharmcat.

[Sedale Threatt]

I don't get "USA sucks" opinion.

Are the US a team that will vie to win the World Cup? No. There's only about 5-6 teams in the whole world who can probably say that. Maybe 10 if we are being super duper generous. Are they a team that can get out of the group stage? Yes. They actually have a very realistic chance to do so in this World Cup. They control their own destiny, and that's about as much as you can ask for in the 3rd game in the group stage.

To me, Costa Rica is a team that sucks. Qatar is a team that sucks. The US? They are what they are. A team that is usually a threat to get out of the group but not a real threat to win the whole thing. Which applies to probably half of the teams in the Cup.

I have blocked a grand total of two posters on RealGM. Pharmcat is one of them.

You're not special.

I am one of the only two users on RealGM that haven't blocked Pharmcat.

ok, that made me laugh...

[Nate505]

Team USA sucks . No progress made at all. So sad

I don't get "USA sucks" opinion.

Are the US a team that will vie to win the World Cup? No. There's only about 5-6 teams in the whole world who can probably say that. Maybe 10 if we are being super duper generous. Are they a team that can get out of the group stage? Yes. They actually have a very realistic chance to do so in this World Cup. They control their own destiny, and that's about as much as you can ask for in the 3rd game in the group stage.

To me, Costa Rica is a team that sucks. Qatar is a team that sucks. The US? They are what they are. A team that is usually a threat to get out of the group but not a real threat to win the whole thing. Which applies to probably half of the teams in the Cup.

We have money , resources , stadiums etc. and we haven’t made any progress in the international stage. It’s really embarrassing . We don’t have any raw talent and the talent that does come (Freddy adu) flame out. The whole setup is a disgrace

I just can't agree with that opinion. We have about the results one would expect from a country where there isn't a very strong soccer culture. The US is what it is. A country that's a top 15-20ish type country in the world. That just doesn't seem bad to me.

US soccer in the 70s and 80s was an absolute disgrace.

[Sedale Threatt]

A lot of it is just down to the cycles of international play. In terms of midfield and wing play, we're better than we've ever been by a pretty significant margin. (I thought Adams and McKennie dominated today.) We've probably had stronger defenders but one of our best players is injured and we've given up a grand total of 0 goals in open play through two matches. The big, big weakness we've got is that our strikers are absolute dogsht. Berhalter's been cycling through guys for a couple of years now and, outside of a few qualifying matches, nobody's stepped up. Like I said during the match, you stick even a C-minus player like Brian McBride on this team, let alone a Clint Dempsey, and it's a totally different, and much better, team. Unfortunately it doesn't work like that.

[Dirk]

Team USA sucks . No progress made at all. So sad

I don't get "USA sucks" opinion.

Are the US a team that will vie to win the World Cup? No. There's only about 5-6 teams in the whole world who can probably say that. Maybe 10 if we are being super duper generous. Are they a team that can get out of the group stage? Yes. They actually have a very realistic chance to do so in this World Cup. They control their own destiny, and that's about as much as you can ask for in the 3rd game in the group stage.

To me, Costa Rica is a team that sucks. Qatar is a team that sucks. The US? They are what they are. A team that is usually a threat to get out of the group but not a real threat to win the whole thing. Which applies to probably half of the teams in the Cup.

We have money , resources , stadiums etc. and we haven’t made any progress in the international stage. It’s really embarrassing . We don’t have any raw talent and the talent that does come (Freddy adu) flame out. The whole setup is a disgrace

The USA team doesn't suck. They were better than Wales and England. But obviously they have zero chance of winning this thing.

What do you mean by "setup"?

There's no magic thing that the USMNT can do to "fix" it. This is about raw talent. Culture. Something that takes generations to develop.

The US is going up against some soccer/football crazy nations. Kids start playing almost since they are born. They are thrown into club youth systems as young as 7 or 8 now.

Clubs have their own youth systems. No college system. Each little town has their own club or clubs. Many, many clubs. The very best of the bunch go to the best clubs in the region. And then nationally.

There are so many tiers that they can play at. The pool of young players must be much higher than the US and as silly as it sounds... kids just have the soccer genes in some countries --- you can see various small countries who continue to pump out great talents, it's in their blood, since they live and breathe the sport since they are born.

[SkyHookFTW]

Team USA sucks . No progress made at all. So sad

I don't get "USA sucks" opinion.

Are the US a team that will vie to win the World Cup? No. There's only about 5-6 teams in the whole world who can probably say that. Maybe 10 if we are being super duper generous. Are they a team that can get out of the group stage? Yes. They actually have a very realistic chance to do so in this World Cup. They control their own destiny, and that's about as much as you can ask for in the 3rd game in the group stage.

To me, Costa Rica is a team that sucks. Qatar is a team that sucks. The US? They are what they are. A team that is usually a threat to get out of the group but not a real threat to win the whole thing. Which applies to probably half of the teams in the Cup.

We have money , resources , stadiums etc. and we haven’t made any progress in the international stage. It’s really embarrassing . We don’t have any raw talent and the talent that does come (Freddy adu) flame out. The whole setup is a disgrace

Our talent goes into the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL before soccer. Our 10-year olds dreams of being the next Brady, Lebron, Trout, or Crosby. They dream of making $$$$$$$$$. There is no real soccer culture in the USA.

[Pharmcat]

I don't get "USA sucks" opinion.

Are the US a team that will vie to win the World Cup? No. There's only about 5-6 teams in the whole world who can probably say that. Maybe 10 if we are being super duper generous. Are they a team that can get out of the group stage? Yes. They actually have a very realistic chance to do so in this World Cup. They control their own destiny, and that's about as much as you can ask for in the 3rd game in the group stage.

To me, Costa Rica is a team that sucks. Qatar is a team that sucks. The US? They are what they are. A team that is usually a threat to get out of the group but not a real threat to win the whole thing. Which applies to probably half of the teams in the Cup.

We have money , resources , stadiums etc. and we haven’t made any progress in the international stage. It’s really embarrassing . We don’t have any raw talent and the talent that does come (Freddy adu) flame out. The whole setup is a disgrace

The USA team doesn't suck. They were better than Wales and England. But obviously they have zero chance of winning this thing.

What do you mean by "setup"?

There's no magic thing that the USMNT can do to "fix" it. This is about raw talent. Culture. Something that takes generations to develop.

The US is going up against some soccer/football crazy nations. Kids start playing almost since they are born. They are thrown into club youth systems as young as 7 or 8 now.

Clubs have their own youth systems. No college system. Each little town has their own club or clubs. Many, many clubs. The very best of the bunch go to the best clubs in the region. And then nationally.

There are so many tiers that they can play at. The pool of young players must be much higher than the US and as silly as it sounds... kids just have the soccer genes in some countries --- you can see various small countries who continue to pump out great talents, it's in their blood, since they live and breathe the sport since they are born.

Well for starters pay to play has to go . Plenty of articles on this stuff

https://the18.com/en/soccer-news/how-to-fix-us-soccer-pcfc-portland-community-football-club

https://www.urbansoccerpark.com/american-soccer-is-broken


https://syndication.bleacherreport.com/amp/2739599-the-28-point-plan-for-fixing-mens-soccer-in-america.amp.html

[Sedale Threatt]

I don't get "USA sucks" opinion.

Are the US a team that will vie to win the World Cup? No. There's only about 5-6 teams in the whole world who can probably say that. Maybe 10 if we are being super duper generous. Are they a team that can get out of the group stage? Yes. They actually have a very realistic chance to do so in this World Cup. They control their own destiny, and that's about as much as you can ask for in the 3rd game in the group stage.

To me, Costa Rica is a team that sucks. Qatar is a team that sucks. The US? They are what they are. A team that is usually a threat to get out of the group but not a real threat to win the whole thing. Which applies to probably half of the teams in the Cup.

We have money , resources , stadiums etc. and we haven’t made any progress in the international stage. It’s really embarrassing . We don’t have any raw talent and the talent that does come (Freddy adu) flame out. The whole setup is a disgrace

The USA team doesn't suck. They were better than Wales and England. But obviously they have zero chance of winning this thing.

What do you mean by "setup"?

There's no magic thing that the USMNT can do to "fix" it. This is about raw talent. Culture. Something that takes generations to develop.

The US is going up against some soccer/football crazy nations. Kids start playing almost since they are born. They are thrown into club youth systems as young as 7 or 8 now.

Clubs have their own youth systems. No college system. Each little town has their own club or clubs. Many, many clubs. The very best of the bunch go to the best clubs in the region. And then nationally.

There are so many tiers that they can play at. The pool of young players must be much higher than the US and as silly as it sounds... kids just have the soccer genes in some countries --- you can see various small countries who continue to pump out great talents, it's in their blood, since they live and breathe the sport since they are born.

You really, really can't put a price on that. Case in point: You'd have to double Uruguay's population to match the Atlanta metro area where I live -- just one city in this enormous country -- and yet they consistently produce elite, world-class players.

Soccer culture has come a long, long way in the US over the past 20 years. You can find tons and tons of foreign matches without any trouble on TV, MLS has fully established itself as permanent fixture, with a new wave of beautiful stadiums, and we continue to send more and more players overseas. But it's still nothing like Europe or South America in terms of national emphasis.

The one thing that has surprised/disappointed me is that we haven't cranked out a legit superstar or two over the past 30 some years. You'd think the law of averages would have kicked in at some point but it hasn't happened yet.

[Pharmcat]

I don't get "USA sucks" opinion.

Are the US a team that will vie to win the World Cup? No. There's only about 5-6 teams in the whole world who can probably say that. Maybe 10 if we are being super duper generous. Are they a team that can get out of the group stage? Yes. They actually have a very realistic chance to do so in this World Cup. They control their own destiny, and that's about as much as you can ask for in the 3rd game in the group stage.

To me, Costa Rica is a team that sucks. Qatar is a team that sucks. The US? They are what they are. A team that is usually a threat to get out of the group but not a real threat to win the whole thing. Which applies to probably half of the teams in the Cup.

We have money , resources , stadiums etc. and we haven’t made any progress in the international stage. It’s really embarrassing . We don’t have any raw talent and the talent that does come (Freddy adu) flame out. The whole setup is a disgrace

Our talent goes into the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL before soccer. Our 10-year olds dreams of being the next Brady, Lebron, Trout, or Crosby. They dream of making $$$$$$$$$. There is no real soccer culture in the USA.

I thought soccer is popular in the youth age and then people leave it as they get older?

[ChumboChappati]

its not looking good for US

It's not? If they win their last game they're in. That's about all you can really ask for for most teams.

Who it's not looking good for is Wales. They have to hope that the US beats Iran and they beat England by 4 goals. That's the definition of "not looking good."

Or Qatar, who has already been eliminated.

Its not looking good for US to go to next round because
1) they have to beat Iran while Iran only needs to draw
2) US has not shown scoring power; they have scored only 1 goal while Iran has scored 4 goals against the same opponents

One thing which goes in favor of US is that Iran's defense is quite porous and they have given up most goals in the group.

[Nate505]

its not looking good for US

It's not? If they win their last game they're in. That's about all you can really ask for for most teams.

Who it's not looking good for is Wales. They have to hope that the US beats Iran and they beat England by 4 goals. That's the definition of "not looking good."

Or Qatar, who has already been eliminated.

Its not looking good for US to go to next round because
1) they have to beat Iran while Iran only needs to draw
2) US has not shown scoring power; they have scored only 1 goal while Iran has scored 4 goals against the same opponents

One thing which goes in favor of US is that Iran's defense is quite porous and they have given up most goals in the group.

All fair points, and perhaps it's becoming more of a semantics argument at this point. To me the US have about a 35-40% chance at beating Iran on Tuesday, which isn't amazing odds but still, nothing horrible either. Mostly they don't have to rely on anything else to happen. Either they win or they don't, so there will be no strategic playing for a tie unless Berhalter is a complete dumbass.

One interesting wrinkle in all of this is that if Iran draws, they would still be out if Wales wins. Granted, that doesn't look super likely or anything, but it literally would be a Wales win of any type, even by a goal. Playing for a tie could backfire on Iran if Wales is or even if the score is tied towards the end.

I didn't even think of that possibility on my previous post, and that's way more likely than them beating England by 4 goals (in this scenario, it wouldn't matter if the US win or Iran wins).

[azcatz11]

I don't know anything about Soccer / Football. I watched the game and it seems like McKennie / Musah / Dest are super fast and agile and can get anywhere on the pitch.

So my question is why we don't have a huge 'striker' or whatever they are called that can play bully ball down in the pain essentially and get some freebies?

What is so good about Pulisic? He misses every shot and is awful at corners.

[Pharmcat]

I don't know anything about Soccer / Football. I watched the game and it seems like McKennie / Musah / Dest are super fast and agile and can get anywhere on the pitch.

So my question is why we don't have a huge 'striker' or whatever they are called that can play bully ball down in the pain essentially and get some freebies?

What is so good about Pulisic? He misses every shot and is awful at corners.

That was supposed to be Josy altidore but he flopped too. The talent we do get never pan out , it’s very alarming

[azcatz11]

I don't know anything about Soccer / Football. I watched the game and it seems like McKennie / Musah / Dest are super fast and agile and can get anywhere on the pitch.

So my question is why we don't have a huge 'striker' or whatever they are called that can play bully ball down in the pain essentially and get some freebies?

What is so good about Pulisic? He misses every shot and is awful at corners.

That was supposed to be Josy altidore but he flopped too. The talent we do get never pan out , it’s very alarming

So what's so good about Pulisic? You would think he's the second coming. The other dudes I mentioned look way quicker and have better footwork and have been more aggressive than him. Honestly, I was more impressed with Clint Dempsey vs. Pulisic

[Shaazzam]

I cant wait until Iran stomps the piss out of the US. Again.