Jozy = NFL wide receiver the year after signing a big contract.
CONCACAF Gold Cup starts tonight for the USMNT
- Thread starter TarHeelNation11
- Start date
AJo deserved his first half goal that was called offsides. A terrible call that linesman seem to be getting worse at calling right. It's the hardest call to make however and I hate that rule anyway. But AJo was the man for much of the attack last night. Agree with the takes on Jozy. When he isn't great he is downright awful. We were lucky to have won as we were not the aggressor for large parts of the match. We can thank Guzan for a lot of that result. Also, Zardes continues to impress the hell out of me.
^ yes Zardes is very impressive. Read an article yesterday about him and the premise was "Zardes is the type of American player that soccer used to lose to football." He turned down college football offers from Penn State and Boise State so he could stay in California and play soccer.
Yeah but in fairness he was a kicker/punter in high school. Not exactly a DB or WR that was pulled away by soccer. So I'm only giving you half credit!
Lol I didn't know that. TouchéYeah but in fairness he was a kicker/punter in high school. Not exactly a DB or WR that was pulled away by soccer. So I'm only giving you half credit!
With all teams now having played 2 of their 3 group stage matches, there's certainly some interesting results. Obviously, it's good that the USMNT has already clinched the group. I'm looking for some fresh faces in the lineup tonight and looking for us to play with some freedom and some creativity since the pressure of having to get a result is off. Panama should put up a big fight, too, because they need a win to assure they'll advance.
In Group B, it's somewhat surprising that Costa Rica isn't doing better than they are. Jamaica leads the group with 4 pts, Costa Rica and El Salvador each have 2, and Canada has 1. Jamaica is in good standing but it's a bit precarious. Costa Rica faces Canada (who they should beat), which means if Jamaica lost to El Salvador in addition to Costa Rica winning, the Reggae Boyz would find themselves in 3rd and potentially out altogether.
Group C is the most surprising. Trinidad & Tobago (who have talent for CONCACAF standards, by the way, they just can't put it all together usually) have won both games and have already clinched qualification. They face Mexico on Wednesday (in Charlotte) and if they can just draw with Mexico, they'd win the group. Regardless though, even if they lose, they'll go through which is mildly surprising. For Mexico not to win what was clearly the easiest group, would be amusing to me.
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In Group B, it's somewhat surprising that Costa Rica isn't doing better than they are. Jamaica leads the group with 4 pts, Costa Rica and El Salvador each have 2, and Canada has 1. Jamaica is in good standing but it's a bit precarious. Costa Rica faces Canada (who they should beat), which means if Jamaica lost to El Salvador in addition to Costa Rica winning, the Reggae Boyz would find themselves in 3rd and potentially out altogether.
Group C is the most surprising. Trinidad & Tobago (who have talent for CONCACAF standards, by the way, they just can't put it all together usually) have won both games and have already clinched qualification. They face Mexico on Wednesday (in Charlotte) and if they can just draw with Mexico, they'd win the group. Regardless though, even if they lose, they'll go through which is mildly surprising. For Mexico not to win what was clearly the easiest group, would be amusing to me.
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Looking at our possible opponents in the knockout round.....
In typical CONCACAF fashion (trust me, this isn't a coincidence), we could face El Salvador in the first round of the knockout stage. The problem with that? That game is scheduled to be played in Baltimore. For those who aren't aware, D.C. has a HUGE El Salvadorian population (and Honduras too), so that will be like a road game for us.....
In typical CONCACAF fashion (trust me, this isn't a coincidence), we could face El Salvador in the first round of the knockout stage. The problem with that? That game is scheduled to be played in Baltimore. For those who aren't aware, D.C. has a HUGE El Salvadorian population (and Honduras too), so that will be like a road game for us.....
I don't care if we play El Salvador in San Salvador- there is no excuse to lose this game. That would be like Carolina football getting blown out by ECU.
Alright well, we played very average (again) on Monday night. The Zardes - Wondolowski pairing up top didn't work. They didn't get much service, but Wondo wasn't involved in the game at all (I do not like him and never have). Zardes seems to fit better as a winger on this team, even if he does play up top for the LA Galaxy. We showed we still rely heavily on Clint Dempsey, as we were noticeably better going forward when he came on at halftime. And of course he was involved in the goal. I'm glad Bedoya is back now....he's not a great outside mid, but he's the best we've got in this country's talent pool.
Not really that surprised that Altidore is gone. Klinsmann said all the right things publicly, but as a former world class striker, you know he's going to be harder on Altidore than any other position player. Fact is Jozy just isn't fit and that shouldn't be the case. He's had plenty of time to recover from his hamstring injury. He needs to get his *** in gear or he's going to find himself frozen out of the USMNT. One of the main reasons he still gets a chance (besides his performance which is usually decent) is that there's no other true goalscorer in our talent pool. Jordan Morris is an up-and-comer to watch though. I wish he was healthy for this tournament.
As for the call-ups, meh. Alan Gordon will be a sub, Corona will feature only as a sub, if at all. Beasley may actually start at left back, which would allow Fabian Johnson to move up to left mid. We can get away with that in the first knockout round stage, and possibly against Haiti/Jamaica in the quarters, but I don't want an old DaMarcus Beasley starting at LB in the finals.
As it stands, we will either play Guatemala, El Salvador, or Cuba (long shot). We'll know after tonight's games
Not really that surprised that Altidore is gone. Klinsmann said all the right things publicly, but as a former world class striker, you know he's going to be harder on Altidore than any other position player. Fact is Jozy just isn't fit and that shouldn't be the case. He's had plenty of time to recover from his hamstring injury. He needs to get his *** in gear or he's going to find himself frozen out of the USMNT. One of the main reasons he still gets a chance (besides his performance which is usually decent) is that there's no other true goalscorer in our talent pool. Jordan Morris is an up-and-comer to watch though. I wish he was healthy for this tournament.
As for the call-ups, meh. Alan Gordon will be a sub, Corona will feature only as a sub, if at all. Beasley may actually start at left back, which would allow Fabian Johnson to move up to left mid. We can get away with that in the first knockout round stage, and possibly against Haiti/Jamaica in the quarters, but I don't want an old DaMarcus Beasley starting at LB in the finals.
As it stands, we will either play Guatemala, El Salvador, or Cuba (long shot). We'll know after tonight's games
Unfortunately, Gold Cup play (and CONCACAF World Cup qualification too) will never look as free-flowing and attack-driven as the EPL. There's too many Central American teams that attempt to use fouling/aggressive/dirty play to offset their lack of height, size, speed, and strength when compared to the U.S., Jamaica, Haiti, Trinidad. Even Mexico falls into the former category, they just also have very technically-gifted players, which makes them much more polished than the Central American nations.
The knockout rounds will be more entertaining from a viewing standpoint, especially the semi's. If we make it to the semifinals we will play Haiti or Jamaica, and that will be a wide-open track meet of a game, especially if it's Jamaica.
@TarHeelNation11,
Are you at the game tonight? If so let us know how it was. I hear the field is going to be smaller than usual so hopefully that doesn't hurt us too much.
Are you at the game tonight? If so let us know how it was. I hear the field is going to be smaller than usual so hopefully that doesn't hurt us too much.
That performance against Jamaica was pathetic. The game was wide open for the US attack, if they had been more disciplined and accurate with their passing they could've easily scored four or five goals. Instead their headed home to think about a one game playoff for the confed. cup.
If we want to compete on the world stage we have to be able to destroy teams like Jamaica.
If we want to compete on the world stage we have to be able to destroy teams like Jamaica.
I was not at the game (Mexicans drove the price up before I got around to looking to buy tickets). From TV, though, the field looked like it played like asphalt. The ball looked like it could roll from one endline to the other, no problem.
Pathetic showing, indeed. I have stayed away from any media coverage of it since the final whistle -- but I'm sure many are blaming Klinsmann and wondering if he's the right man for the job. I do not agree with any of this line of speculation. I'll admit up front, I'm a JK fan, but I pride myself on being able to look at things in an unbiased way.
Klinsmann was not the problem last night. His 4-2-3-1 formation was working very well in the first half. We were limiting Jamaica's possession and attacks, and we were building efficient attacks of our own. Then they scored off an effing throw in. John Brooks simply failed to man up and out-jump/out-strength someone smaller than him. Then Brad Guzan goes full special and gets called for handling the ball outside the box (granted, that AR had eagle eyes to spot that + that's never called), and then Barnes whacks in a wicked goal off the resulting free kick. Boom, just like that, we're screwed no matter what formation we are in.
It isn't Klinnsman's fault that Brooks and Guzan had mental lapses at the worst times. Okay, yes, you can argue here that JK does select the team, after all. But he is also a slave to our limited talent pool. We still don't have a true goalscorer in the pipeline other than an aging Clint Dempsey. We don't have a competent defensive midfielder to replace the injured Jermaine Jones. I'd be coming around on Kyle Beckerman after hating him in the USMNT set-up....but he undid that last night. He was the Beckerman of old....too slow, too reckless with tackles, and just not good enough. We don't have world class players at any position except goalkeeper and possibly box-to-box central midfield (Bradley). That's it. It's a bunch of up-and-coming prospects.
Players have to make plays, and they didn't last night.
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