Hopefully we can build a stronger defense for next time. During the Portugal game the announcer said we have had two shutouts at the World Cup since the 1950 shutout win vs England. Those were Mexico 2002 and Algeria 2010.

7/1/2014 10:35:08 PM

The guys you assume may age out for the next WC will be:
Tim Howard, 39
Nick Romando, 39
Marcus Beasley, 36
Jermaine Jones, 36
Kyle Beckerman, 36
Brad Davis, 36
Clint Dempsey, 35
Chris Wondolowski, 35

Maybe 1 or 2 of these guys are kept around, but they will be missed

7/2/2014 12:19:36 AM

^We'll find someone to replace them. In the post Reyna, McBride, Keller, etc years we have still done ok at the international level.

7/2/2014 12:27:48 AM

I know DaMarcus Beasley.

And Jamar Beasley.

Who the fuck is Marcus Beasley?

7/2/2014 1:24:11 AM

We were clearly tired relative to belgium in the 2nd half on. Julian green should have been playing since the johannson failure. I dont know why our fitness was so bad against a european side in brazil. It was dumb stupid of us not to schedule every game the last few years in the south. We are clearly not used to it. Costa rica gets the last laugh from that snow game.

7/2/2014 4:34:57 AM

Quote :

"Julian green should have been playing since the johannson failure."

I've seen this sentiment all over twitter as well since the goal. That was a "right place, right time" goal. Nothing more. I'm as excited about his future as anyone, but this was not Green's coming out party. Before that shot, nothing about his play indicated he should have even been on the team, much less playing more than anyone.

7/2/2014 6:22:03 AM

When did usmnt surpass bayern munich?

7/2/2014 7:39:51 AM

that set piece that almost tied it at the end was a thing of beauty.

Yedlin and Green are enough to have me excited over the next few years. 20 and 18 years old. Should be around for the next few world cups.

7/2/2014 7:59:54 AM

Plenty of talented midfielders in the pool that should be ready in 4 years.

More concerned that we take more than 1 reliable striker to the next world cup.

7/2/2014 8:13:57 AM

I would hope that Altidore would be at the tail end of his "prime" by the next Cup...and AJ should be stronger and more experienced. That's two right there.

7/2/2014 8:24:13 AM

If I were Howard, and I'm a lifelong goaltender myself, I would hang em up for the national team. There's nothing worse than being peppered all game back there and losing by a goal. He's left his legacy as the best US goaltender ever with the most caps, and we will be fine for the next two world cups with Guzan back there. He will probably be my most favorite goalie of all time and I'm a proponent that you should go out on top, and that's what he just did by playing the game of his life yesterday.

Johnson and Yedlin play exactly the same game, I really think one of them will need to switch to LB in the future. With them our defense is bright. Beckerman, Jones, and Bradley will all be coming into their prime for the next WC, and I think Jozy will too. With the amount of global respect the team has earned this year, I'm expecting at least the quarterfinals and probably better in 2018.

7/2/2014 8:25:35 AM

^Beckerman and Jones will be 36 at the next WC. That is ancient by professional athlete standards. Bradley will even be 30 which will probably be the tail end of his prime given the way he plays.

Quote :

"When did usmnt surpass bayern munich?"

1 appearance for bayern munich =/= coming out party. Excitement for Julian Green is real, but it's based on potential and flashes and not any real production.





[Edited on July 2, 2014 at 8:31 AM. Reason : d]

7/2/2014 8:28:38 AM

Get Zelalem to commit to the US Klinsmann! Please!

7/2/2014 8:43:09 AM

http://prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com/2014/07/02/united-states-2014-world-cup-progress-usa/

Good article for those of you that don't think we've made any progress under JK.

7/2/2014 8:56:03 AM

Quote :

"More concerned that we take more than 1 reliable striker to the next world cup."

I actually feel good about attacking options for the next WC. Altidore should still be ready to go and we have multiple young players on recent rosters (AJ, Green, Agudelo, Boyd) with plenty of potential to develop plus some younger up-and coming prospects. 2-3 years from now we'll see how we feel but 4 years out that position is not looking like a big concern to me.

^^ yeah good article. This point is huge and how I've felt:

Quote :

"Let’s do a little exercise, shall we? Take the four teams the U.S. played in 2010, add the nations the States faced in 2014, and make a list. Go from strongest to weakest and rank all the opponents the U.S. saw in the last two World Cups. What do you get? It should look something like this: 1. 2014 Germany 2. 2014 Belgium 3. 2014 Portugal 4. 2014 Ghana 5. 2010 Ghana 6. 2010 England 7. 2010 Slovenia 8. 2010 Algeria"

I may move 2014 Portugal down to 4 based on our game in isolation but still. If we had played our 2014 competition in 2010, with our 2010 team, I don't know that we even make it out of the group.

[Edited on July 2, 2014 at 9:24 AM. Reason : ]

7/2/2014 9:15:33 AM

Quote :

"Welp, back to not caring about soccer for a few years at least."

7/2/2014 9:21:48 AM

7/2/2014 9:29:06 AM

The real test for JK (since he was hired with the long term in mind and really needs 2 WC cycles to judge I think) is 2018. With a little dependency on the draw, I think anything less than quarterfinals in 2018 would be a disappointment.

Any chance at sneaking in as a 'seeded' team at the next WC pairing based on a great Copa America performance? Could be huge.

7/2/2014 9:56:14 AM

If we win the next two Gold Cups, make at least the Semifinals at the Copa America, and Semifinals in Confederation Cup, and take care of business in our friendlies, then yes, we have a chance at being seeded

Oh yea, and finish #1 in CONCACAF qualifying

I think FIFA rankings are based on a rolling 4-year weighted performance, so our opportunity to be seeded essentially started with finishing top 16 in this year's WC, but considering we are already 13, it doesn't do much for us, but also does not drop us any. Next up is Sept. 3 in a friendly away vs Czech Republic.


Based on WC performances, there are some teams we may jump over (Greece, England, and Possibly Italy), but also teams that may jump over us (Netherlands, Chile, France). Current Rankings were last updates as of the final WC warm-up games, so I look forward to seeing the July update after the WC ends.

[Edited on July 2, 2014 at 11:24 AM. Reason : ]

7/2/2014 11:09:34 AM

for sure, I was assuming we would have to finish #1 in CONCACAF and win the Gold Cup as a pre-req to even have a chance at staking a claim. Usually we don't have other great options to further our cause but Copa America provides a great opportunity this time around...

7/2/2014 11:15:04 AM

What are the immediate benefits of being a seed/top-8 team in the WC draw?

7/2/2014 11:24:56 AM

dick-measuring

7/2/2014 11:29:05 AM

I suppose it also means you're also NOT in a group with a top 8 team (or top 7+russia, anyway)

7/2/2014 11:31:34 AM

Something to look forward to:
2015: Gold Cup
2015: U-20 World Cup
2016: Copa America Centenario
2016: Summer Olympics
2017: Gold Cup
2017: U-17 World Cup
2017: Confederation's Cup
2018: World Cup

7/2/2014 12:08:43 PM

^thanks for that. maybe you should repost it every few months...













[Edited on July 2, 2014 at 12:21 PM. Reason : ]

7/2/2014 12:18:56 PM

first pic is dumb as it's obviously a kick save

7/2/2014 12:36:14 PM

very valid point. although he did make a lot of saves with his hands too. so if he had big gloves on when he made the saves with his hands, he'd also have the big gloves on when he made saves with his legs. so that, in itself, doesn't make it a dumb pic (but it is a dumb argument)

7/2/2014 12:51:29 PM

2016 Olympics could be must watch if we actually qualify this time. Yedlin and Green will still be U23. Hopefully Zelalem is in the fold then too. Could see them including overage players like Aron J and Boyd.

7/2/2014 12:56:28 PM

^While we probably would send our best team to the olympics, realize that most serious teams send their B or C squad. It really isn't as fun to watch.

7/2/2014 1:07:09 PM

1 more American is still left in the WC, Mark Geiger

7/2/2014 1:43:59 PM

^^ No one sends their best team to the Olympics, because no one has a best team that's made of U23s.

7/2/2014 1:45:39 PM

7/2/2014 2:17:32 PM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_population

from #148 Latvia - 1,996,500 population
and on will never stop Tim Howard.

Belgium = 11,198,638 population

7/2/2014 2:24:24 PM

so apparently that's real and he's a fan of Public Enemy

7/2/2014 2:58:50 PM

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2117025-internet-comes-up-big-with-tim-howard-memes-after-usmnt-loss-to-belgium

7/2/2014 4:36:04 PM

Quote :

"That was a "right place, right time" goal. Nothing mo"

wondo and dempsey were also in the right place at the right time.

7/2/2014 6:21:31 PM

I wanted to do a "Great Wall of Howard" photochop, but lost motivation and also may not have the skills to do it justice. Feel free to take up the reins, dweedle.

7/2/2014 8:46:03 PM

Landon says the coaches used the wrong game plan.

http://www.mlssoccer.com/worldcup/2014/news/article/2014/07/02/world-cup-landon-donovan-critical-jurgen-klinsmanns-approach-i-dont-think-we

7/2/2014 10:38:30 PM

I really wish he would fuck off

7/2/2014 10:44:18 PM

^

7/2/2014 11:38:58 PM

Carolina Railhawks used the right gameplan

7/3/2014 12:08:46 AM

Harsh words for an American legend

btw, there's an article on him in the recent Indy: http://www.indyweek.com/indyweek/us-soccers-aging-lion-prowls-the-pitch-in-north-carolina/

[Edited on July 3, 2014 at 11:46 AM. Reason : ]

7/3/2014 11:35:28 AM

It just dawned on me, not only was Landon not on the team, but his's #10 jersey never made it on the field due to Mix never playing. I'm sure that was never JK's intentions, but saw to rub extra salt on the wound for Landon. Landon possibly thinking - "Not only do you not invide me to Brazil, but you give my number away, and you never even let that guy play".

Landon rage quits - Lost Connection.

7/3/2014 12:09:57 PM

Quote :

"I really wish he would fuck off"

7/3/2014 12:21:39 PM

seriously, why the hate for Landon? I thought he was pretty graceful about losing his spot.

7/3/2014 12:24:38 PM

He's bitter about not being on the team, he clashed with the coach. Yeah, all the things he is saying is expected for someone that is competitive and has the internal belief that he could have made the team better.

I at his comments, mainly because it's not what anyone wants to hear right now, but he's not saying anything that's unexpected to come out of his mouth.

7/3/2014 1:04:06 PM

He should have been on the team plain and simple. That was obvious once jozy got hurt and we had to change styles. Jk had no foresight and based everything around a guy we have no replacement for. Luck has it that giy gets hurt 23 minutes in.

7/3/2014 1:15:03 PM

I wouldn't have been against him being on the team, although I liked that JK wasn't afraid to leave him off. But I certainly wouldn't have played him over any player we had that got any significant minutes this world cup.

^You frame that as if this World Cup was a disappointment? As far as I am concerned, the tournament was a success ESPECIALLY because we had to change styles after Jozy got hurt. It was also a massive success given the experience some of our younger players got.

[Edited on July 3, 2014 at 1:23 PM. Reason : d]

7/3/2014 1:22:05 PM

Landycakes was left out for a kid who scored a goal on his first touch in a World Cup.

I'm fine letting him vent, but let's not take him seriously.

7/3/2014 6:35:18 PM

Oh did Klinsmann say it was down to Green or Donovan for the last spot? Must have miss that

7/3/2014 7:25:18 PM