World Cup

I didn’t catch why he was unavailable. But they did say after the match that he’d ready for England.

 

Agreed but Sargent leaves much to be desired IMO. He did not make effective runs, he didn’t get open to receive and progress the ball, he was not an option in attack aside from one time. There is a reason we have no consistent CF starter. Sargent is having a good season in the Championship so I have hope but he hasn’t shown it for the USA.

I thought many of the crosses today were sloppy and we didn’t take quite a few chances that were there to be taken. Haji seemed a threat as soon as he got in so maybe try him out for Sargent.

As active as Weah has been in the squad, maybe move him to CF and play Reyna at RW against England? We will need to score 2-3 to have a chance at points.

 

Yeah, we need more speed up front against England. It is how to take advantage of their big weakness, which is a slow and relatively low skill central defense. Weah or Pulisic should be a false 9, Aaronson and Reyna should start in some sort of a 4-2-3-1. High press and try to smash them with speed in the back.

 

Massive early morning upset with Saudi Arabia taking down one of the two betting favorites in Argentina. Saudi was +2300 to win.

 

Biggest shock pulled off by the Saudis since 9/11

 

Trump just said he saw thousand of Muslims celebrating in the streets of Jersey City

 

Aaronson seemed really active and involved when he was in

 

How interesting that you bring this topic up.

In an apparent protest, Iran's World Cup players refuse to sing the national anthem

 

Actually singing that anthem in the Welsh language instead of God Save the King (the actual national anthem of the UK) is a protest in of itself if you think about it.

 

Soccer! Was chess not on?

 

Despite being scoreless, the Tunisia-Denmark game was great. Goalies in this tournament (save for Iran/Qatar's goalies) have been incredible so far.

 

Chess! Was reading played out posts mocking soccer not an option?

 

I don't understand soccer and rarely watch it, but I've always had a soft spot for Argentina after spending a summer there. I usually don't believe in having second-favorite teams, but I tend to pull for Argentina unless they're playing the U.S or it would affect our chances. I also enjoy the fan shots when Colombia or Brazil are playing, but that's another issue.

Ian Brenner posted the following which I'm assuming is accurate and pretty incredible.

world cup championships
europe: 12
south america: 9

runners up
europe: 16
south america: 5

rest of the world
0

 

Africa has the athletes but not the infrastructure. Asia has the infrastructure but not the athletes. North America has improving athletes and infrastructure, but still is a ways off. And Antarctica is just a sleeping giant of soccer.

 

Welcome to the world of soccer.

 

I would think North America has athletes, but I'm sure the best athletes here probably go into other sports. Do you think the infrastructure issue more about coaches and trainers or physical buildings and stadiums or something else? I remember in Argentina seeing tons of kids running around parks/playgrounds playing soccer, but maybe the really talented kids were getting formal training. Even Serena and Venus apparently moved from Compton to West Palm Beach when they were young so they could attend a tennis academy.

 

Ha, I try to be open-minded about new experiences/hobbies. I think I tend to like sports I played and understand better than those I don't. That's why I like boxing and MMA and tennis so much. Even football I at least played in middle school. I never played baseball, for example, so some of those nuances are probably lost on me. Soccer is entirely foreign to me, and I don't have friends who watch it - or at least none I regularly hang out with. I'm sure if I had even the smallest amount of understanding of the Xs and Os, I could get past the low scoring and enjoy the defensive games.

 

I think you nailed it in regards to the US. The example I've always used was Allen Iverson. If he grew up playing soccer instead of basketball, I think he would have been incredible. I think there are great athletes all over the globe, but in regards to a place like China, they arent specifically known for being fast runners or quick with coordination. Some great swimmers, divers, gymnasts and basketball players, but not the combination you'd typically want for soccer. Africa has some incredible soccer players that play professionally, but lacks the overall infrastructure to develop good national teams.

Successful soccer countries have kids that grow up on soccer. Have a way better system of identifying talent. And an even better system of developing it. Even the best American players typically develop overseas, at least until very recently. We are catching up, slowly.