I have never wanted to be more wrong in my life, but our coach is a shit sandwich, deep fried in shit, and topped with toasted shit sprinkles.Fair play you're been consistent last 3 years.
Hold my Budweiser confiscated beer while I make my way over....
Day 2: England vs Iran | Senegal vs Netherlands | USA vs Wales
- Thread starter Samid
- Start date
I came up through a club like that back in the late 80s. Families of means would do whip arounds to subsidize families a little without. It was done completely out of passion for the sport & to include the best players possible, but looking back on it, it seems so surreal for a game that only needs a ball to play.
Anybody here watch the MLS? How has Bale been for LA?
He looked really leggy today, his touches were easily intercepted by the opposition. I think half a season at a more competitive league would've done him more good.
He looked really leggy today, his touches were easily intercepted by the opposition. I think half a season at a more competitive league would've done him more good.
Better hope the England players are not as dismissive and complacent as some fans here.
England will be fine. Their dismissiveness and complacency will be balanced by the cowardice and incompetence of the US head coach.
Generally speaking, all of the one-ball sports are cheap to play until you start asking for coaches and refs and places to play. But they see a lot more football, basketball, and baseball on television.
Even to this day, with MLS, we have very little development of professional soccer. Our current second-division league is less than 15 years old. Think about that. The USL Championship started in 2011, but didn't get sanctioned as a second division by US Soccer until 2017. It's even worse for lower-division leagues. They rise and fall with the stock market, almost literally, as do the individual teams. But even the MLS academies are not very well developed. I've coached youth leagues in both Arkansas and Florida. The state organizations are not very well organized, and there's little to no money available for it. Maybe in some places, the MLS teams are spreading out some money, but it sure doesn't make it to the areas where I have been.
Part of it, too, is geographical. The state of Florida has a population of over 22 million and only two first division teams (Orlando City and Inter Miami) and two second division teams (Tampa Bay and Miami FC). By way of comparison, Scotland is a country of less than 6 million and has a premier league of 12 teams. By the numbers, Florida alone could have a first division that's superior to Scotland in both the number and quality of teams.
But all the money is in football, basketball, baseball, and hockey and their guaranteed-money tv contracts and franchise models. (And don't get me started on high school soccer. Here in Florida, I would call it a soccer-like sport. It's worse than any of the club stuff I've been associated with by degrees.)
I could go on, I could even say huge numbers of people actually do play and enjoy the sport here in the States. But I'd also tell you that we're outnumbered and outfunded by other sports.
After England takes the US to the woodshed and spank them like a child, I wouldn’t be surprised if Iran gets a result against them too.
Insane and exaggerated
Way OTT to equate Foden to Messi.
Why? This is the one sensible thing FIFA have done this century.
It is. American football is as American as it gets and is baked into their cultural identity the way ”soccer” is in most of the world or cricket is in India, except even more so considering how much money and attention is involved at the collegiate level. Entire college budgets at the major schools revolve around football. Then you have basketball, which is another cultural behemoth at both college and pro level, that costs nothing to pick up and has the biggest superstars. And baseball is I suppose their version of what cricket is to England. There’s only so much pie left for the rest.
Soccer will never be the top priority for Americans because it doesn’t bring in the money and so it turns into a niche sport that only the middle to upper middle class can afford and that’s an incredibly limited pool compared to the overall population.
This is something the rest of the world should honestly be happy about. I do not need Lebron James and his progeny tormenting me in multiple sports for eternity, nor do I need Stephen A. Smith’s take on Erliing Haaland.
Saw that earlier too. Had like 1263 tweets at that! Thats damn near everyone in the US, fecking morons…
Youth can play for basically free ($150 per season) in AYSO, up to age 18. It's not competitive in the way club soccer is, as "balanced teams, everyone gets to play, development over winning" are the mottos. Clubs require the players to pay for the coaches, tournament fees, uniforms, and travel, and there are usually only around 15 players on a club (at least around here), and often they play with only 1 sub available. Clubs here in Southern California, for instance, travel up to 2.5 hours (San Diego) for "local" tournaments, and having tournaments 5 hours away (Las Vegas) is not unheard of. It's a year-round thing, so $1500 - $2500 is not very much, in context.
Got it. Wasting Reyna/Aaronson I see. What do I know but feels like a little bravery wouldn't be too much to ask for
I cannot confirm as I did not play in my youth days in Texas - played PeeWee football and Pony League baseball - but have talked to adults my age and younger persons who did play youth soccer in Texas since the 80s and all have said they were basically told by elite youth clubs like Fort Worth United, Dallas Texans, etc. to not play high school soccer, especially if you're trying to get a college scholarship or beyond. To find a top youth club and play against the best and for the best. It was about organization, intent, and so forth. Some clubs were too expensive but some like Fort Worth United had "scholarships" for players who were top tier but could not afford the costs.
And there I was thinking he was being a bit of a gobshite
Got a little dusty in here for a sec.
Iran were appalling from the get-go and England had huge luck getting drawn this way. I am still surprised to some extent that a Carlos Q Iran team would play that way defensively. They were porous and if they couldn`t soak up the pressure and hit on the counter-attack, a more attacking plan would have seen them maybe get at least a goal in the first half.
Then again the Iran team are coming from a homeland of tyranny, repression and the chaos of civil unrest, they are not multi millionaires paid the ridiculous and excessive amounts that the game is awash in now for the western football leagues and they don`t have the luxuries that teams such as England take for granted.
As for Harry being around the box at set pieces - it worked alright to cause trouble with Iran but try that against a functioning team at this tournament and they will race away on the break to score at the other end. Iran losing their goalkeeper was dumb luck for England.
I am happy England won but I doubt they will be given that leverage by other teams as the stages progress. I still think the USA might give them a bit of a hard time and I just don`t see them getting to the final when they have to play a similarly privileged footballing nation.
Holy shit, the horrors of it.
Gotcha, has to be some injury reason. Those 3 points would obviously been immense.
There's just a little bit more to it than that, right? How does that college system work in Brazil and Germany? And shite is kinda tough.
Weird take. US doesn't really care about soccer.
We kinda do. It's growing slowly, but we do. 26 might be too soon, but by 30-34 we will be a power.
They care more than say 10 yrs ago. But I feel like it's so far behind American football, basketball and even fecking baseball. Maybe you are right
It’s definitely behind basketball and American football, but I would say it’s in front of baseball these days. The overage and discussion of football is light years ahead of where it was 8 years ago. Part of that is our women’s team being bad asses, but it is also a general interest in European leagues and the American playing in them.
I heard it's becausin Joe Biden lets in so many of them immigrants..
At least he won his election. Better than Greg “my brother hired me” Berhalter.
Ps: still waiting on the Berhalter dick riders to come at me in the US thread.
your dedication is impressive.At this point it’s what is sustaining me. It’s either rage or beer and my liver means more to me than that nepotistic, incompetent, feckhead.
So far, the Middle East countries in this WC are a -6 GD. It could get even worse tomorrow with Argentina ready to get off the mark against Saudi Arabia.
Iran scoring 2 goals further highlights the fragility of England's 4 player backline with only Rice ahead of them.
U.S./Wales was a good match of two evenly matched teams who are middle to low of the teams in the tournament this year. Seems like a lot of the players are struggling for fitness and cramp so far.
Iran scoring 2 goals further highlights the fragility of England's 4 player backline with only Rice ahead of them.
U.S./Wales was a good match of two evenly matched teams who are middle to low of the teams in the tournament this year. Seems like a lot of the players are struggling for fitness and cramp so far.
I enjoyed last night, it felt like a proper World Cup matchday. I always welcome late goals and the atmosphere, visible empty seats aside, also didn't look too bad on television.
Anyone doubting how baked in American Football is to the Americans should look at college games (even high school games). they get larger crowds than Championship matches here, very possibly than some PL games
Have to admit, I couldn't be arsed to watch the Wales game. Saw the goals: good from America and Bales penalty was pretty much unstoppable
Am I right that the Argentina game is a 10am kick off? that's frankly just weird. Don't recall that anywhere else before (but `I'm sure someone will point to USA or Mexico or some such). I'd skip Mexico-Poland altogether if it wasn't for Lewandowski, who I think is a dark horse for the Golden Boot (Poland unlikely to go far enough for him to be among the favourites)
Meanwhile, the Sun (and Mail) has this (yeh, right "everyone is welcome")
An American reporter was detained and refused entry into a World Cup stadium in Qatar on Monday
https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/20502559/us-reporter-detained-banned-qatar-world-cup/
An American reporter was detained and refused entry into a World Cup stadium in Qatar on Monday
https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/20502559/us-reporter-detained-banned-qatar-world-cup/
Didn’t you suggest Iran would draw or win yesterday and England would have a hard time?
Maguire would go up for set pieces against most teams unless off course England have a lead to defend in the dying stages of a knockout fixture. He won't stay back to cover for counters anyway, usually FBs and other quicker players will be there to do that.
Why?
Not sure anyone thought Argentina were among the favourites (unless you are talking about at least five teams) but I still think they'll get out of the group fairly easily