OT: US Starting Lineup v. Algeria

[kshoe]

Phew.

Looks like chances are pretty good we won't have to face Germany in the next round as they would need to finish as the 2 seed in their pod. If they lose to Ghana there is a good chance they don't go at all. Beat Ghana and they likely are the #1 seed. Tie Ghana and a Serbia loss or tie to Australia and they could be the 2 seed. If Serbia wins, I don't see a way that Germany is the 2 seed unless they make up a big goal differential.

The bracket is looking pretty damn good if you are on a side with Ghana or Serbia, South Korea and Uruguay compared to the other 4 teams that are Germany, England, Mexico and Argentina.

[Pistol]

Looks like chances are pretty good we won't have to face Germany in the next round as they would need to finish as the 2 seed in their pod. If they lose to Ghana there is a good chance they don't go at all. Beat Ghana and they likely are the #1 seed. Tie Ghana and a Serbia loss or tie to Australia and they could be the 2 seed. If Serbia wins, I don't see a way that Germany is the 2 seed unless they make up a big goal differential.

The bracket is looking pretty damn good if you are on a side with Ghana or Serbia, South Korea and Uruguay compared to the other 4 teams that are Germany, England, Mexico and Argentina.

Just need to see if Germany can get it done. That is a very favorable bracket for us, though, assuming we don't have them Saturday. I'd be all right with Ghana or Serbia followed by Uruguay or South Korea. No easy teams, but it would beat having to play Germany and then the winner of Mexico and Argentina.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-cup/bracket

[slufanskip]

Just borrowing a computer for a minute, mine is down fo a couple of days.

The finish was correct as the US was the best team in its's group and earned first place.

Far too many missed opportunities. Dempsey (a couple), Gomez, Altidore, and Buddle all missing point blank opportunities.

Wtf .... with the refs taking another goal away on a poor call.

Kudos to Bornstein who played a nice game at left back.

Does anyone else just love it when the ball is at Cherundalo's feet on the wing. The guy just hits dangerous serve after dangerous serve. He gambles a bit defensively, but always seems to recover.

Demerit recovered from his early oops to have a strong overall game, especially in the air.

Boca plays better inside, lets find a way to leave him there.

Michael Bradley imo was the man of the match. He was all over the place tracking back even at the end of the game. Offensively he came to the ball and continually tried to push the flow forward taking on defenders all day long. Imo he had a fantastic day.

Donovan was ok, he got the goal to win, but I'd like to see him use his speed to go at defenders more often. The more he attacks with the ball at his feet, the more space our strikers have.

Fielhaber came in and played well in the 2nd half continuosly looking to create opportunities while still keeping his defensive responsibilities.

Altidore was a beast, he played strong, coming back for the ball taking on defenders and holding and laying it off when neccessary. Altidore creates space for everyone else. His speed and willingness to take on defenders 1v1 forces oponents to be leary of him at all times. A red card should have been given on the trip of Jozy late in the game. He had the defender turned and was about to be one on one with the keep. The defender never got within a yard of the ball.

Lastly, great game by Bob Bradley. The changes he made worked. Dempsey had many chances up front and Bornstein did well. Also kudos to Bob for showing the courage to keep making changes to go for the win.

A lot to like in this game and quite a few missed opportunities to dislike. All in all though a 2-0 win against a team that had only given up 1 goal in the 2 previous games and that was on a gk error.

[Pistol]

Nice rundown, Skip. When you say it's the way it should have played out because the best team won and the next best team came in second, I take it you're remarking about the way each team played within the group and not overall, right?

We've got Ghana, and the winner of Uruguay-South Korea if we win that one. Looks like that might be the only African team in the round of 16, so it's not the best draw possible, but I'll take the 2006 rematch. It's better than Germany but I probably would have rather had Serbia as the runner-up. The Aussies made it interesting for a while, going up 2-0.

What does anyone know about the Black Stars? They've been playing well without Essien.

[moytoy12]

Nice rundown, Skip. When you say it's the way it should have played out because the best team won and the next best team came in second, I take it you're remarking about the way each team played within the group and not overall, right?

We've got Ghana, and the winner of Uruguay-South Korea if we win that one. Looks like that might be the only African team in the round of 16, so it's not the best draw possible, but I'll take the 2006 rematch. It's better than Germany but I probably would have rather had Serbia as the runner-up. The Aussies made it interesting for a while, going up 2-0.

What does anyone know about the Black Stars? They've been playing well without Essien.

Agreed, skip pretty much hit everything. We couldn't finish today, but we created plenty of opportunities. We'll need to finish better (duh) because our defense is not good.

I thought Edu played very well and allowed Bradley to be a beast. I think Edu was only subbed to get more offensive fire power on the pitch. He is our best all around option to play next to Bradley.

I didn't think Gomez was very good and would like to see Buddle start (I think he complements Jozy best) and it shows that Buddle needs a little time to work into the game (Gomez is used to coming off the bench). I thought Bornstein did fairly well, but to be honest, there wasn't a ton of pressure down his side.

Ghana is good. I think they are the most technically skilled and structurally composed African team (i.e. they keep their shape well). They connected well against Germany in the first half and missed plenty of decent chances in the 1st half. The battle between Kevin Prince Boateng and Bradley should be a good one. Very similar players. Asamoah Gyan is very good too.

I'm glad we avoided Germany.

[Ron Rimmerman]

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-cup/col...5901&ver=us

hey look, peoria gets a mention! (last word in article.)

isn't that where the cardinals have a minor league team?

[Pistol]

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-cup/col...5901&ver=us

hey look, peoria gets a mention! (last word in article.)

isn't that where the cardinals have a minor league team?

We have one board member who would care about such a mention.

The Peoria Chiefs have been a Cubs affiliate since 2005, but were a single-A Cards affiliate for about 8-9 years before that.

[Box and Won]

Question for those of you who follow U.S. soccer a lot more closely than I do: why doesn't Buddle start?

[slufanskip]

Question for those of you who follow U.S. soccer a lot more closely than I do: why doesn't Buddle start?

I'm not sure what to make of Buddle. He doesn't bring a lot of speed, he's doesn't have great touch, nor does he seem to have a good idea when he gets the ball. However, with all that ssid the guy has put the ball in the net in the MLS this year and when he's been on the field for us in prelims. This is also the first time he's had this kind of success.

Personally I prefer getting your best players on the field. Which means we don't play Findley, Gomez, or Buddle up top alongside Jozy. We play Dempsey up top and play Edu, Clark, Fielhaber, or Holden in the midfield alongside Dempsey and Donovan. We have more talented midfielders sitting on the bench while we play lesser forwards up top.

[moytoy12]

I'm not sure what to make of Buddle. He doesn't bring a lot of speed, he's doesn't have great touch, nor does he seem to have a good idea when he gets the ball. However, with all that ssid the guy has put the ball in the net in the MLS this year and when he's been on the field for us in prelims. This is also the first time he's had this kind of success.

Personally I prefer getting your best players on the field. Which means we don't play Findley, Gomez, or Buddle up top alongside Jozy. We play Dempsey up top and play Edu, Clark, Fielhaber, or Holden in the midfield alongside Dempsey and Donovan. We have more talented midfielders sitting on the bench while we play lesser forwards up top.

I agree with your 2nd paragraph. I'm not sure why BB won't put Dempsey up there with Holden out wide right (and Donovan on the left helping the deficient left back). Our attack has been very positive when we throw Dempsey up top.

If we have to start one of Buddle, Gomez or Findley to pair with Jozy, I disagree with you a little, I prefer Buddle. I think he actually does a good job of settling long balls and is pretty good in the air. He needs to start to get in the groove of the game (e.g. Australia). He has decent technical skills and can go at players 1 v. 1. All this being said, he wasn't great yesterday.

[DeSmetBilliken]

Question for those of you who follow U.S. soccer a lot more closely than I do: why doesn't Buddle start?

I admittedly haven't seen Buddle play a whole lot, as his appearances with the national team are kind of varied and I don't watch MLS. If everything was ideal, Charlie Davies would be starting up top with Altidore in the World Cup, but Davies was in that horrible car accident last Fall and couldn't quite make it back in time. As a result, Bradley has had to find someone who can play in Davies' spot in the starting 11. My guess on why Findley started the first 2 games was that his quickness was most reminiscent of Davies.

Altidore brings size and strength to the front line, and speed from another strike partner can stretch the defense. My guess is that Buddle just doesn't have the speed of Findley. I think the choice of Buddle or Gomez yesterday could have been a toss up.