Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Some Soccer News for Mar 30, 2016

It's Day 90 of 2016.


The USMNT got the job done in convincing fashion last night just in time to rid the sinking ship of all the excess water.

But the US Olympic team was not so lucky. Colombia was clearly motivated by not getting the job done in Leg 1, and demolished the U23 team.

dN

World Cup qualifying results:
-Tue Mar 29
USA 4-0 Guatemala - USA goals by Clint Dempsey, Geoff Cameron, Graham Zusi, and Jozy Altidore.

My notes:
-De'Andre Yedlin in defense had a good game. (Didn't imagine I was going to be writing that about Yedlin, but his time at Sunderland has made him a better defender.)
-Graham Zusi in particular was effective from the first minute of the game. He was aggressive, precise and tuned in. The only question around Zusi is why wasn't he called in with the original roster. (There are so many questions with this coach, aren't there?)
-Gyasi Zardes had the touch of a fork lift again, but the good thing is that he turns and goes right at the defenders, which can unsettle them and open windows for teammates. Give him credit for that. He was in the middle of 2 of the goals.
-Michael Bradley was comfortable knowing there was a guy behind him who was going to keep things under control and help the centerbacks.
-Kyle Beckerman played that #6 role to perfection. Simple, clean, a little rough, yet relaxed - the way the #6 should be. Why is he not an automatic starter every single game?
-The centerback pairing of Geoff Cameron and Steve Birnbaum were not tested, so we cannot critique their defense.
-And was Brad Guzan in goal was not really challenged at all either.
-But Cameron added to the offense in big ways - first with a long pass into the box that lead to the Dempsey goal, and second with his smashing header on a corner kick that no goalkeeper could have stopped.
-Clint Dempsey still spent too much time whining to the ref, but he had some great moves, scored the most important goal of the game and did some damage in the way only he can. Good job.
-The USA is more desperate for a left fullback then ever before. Edgar Castillo is definitely not the answer. Someone with the physique of a 12 year old is not going to get it done when you need it most against top notch opponents. Maybe they have to consider Fabian Johnson at left fullback for Copa America - as much as I want him in a more forward position.
-A goal 17 seconds into the 2nd half ended any promise Gautemala had of coming out regrouped after halftime.
-The kid Christian Pulisic (pronounced puh-LISS-ick) was capped and is now a USA player forever.
-Jozy Altidore was strong and bashed home a good goal late.
-Ethan Finley got to play in front of his Columbus Crew fans, then had a goal erroneously called offside after he scored on a great run.
-This was a simple win, a good-enough team performance. It was ordinary, and exactly what they should deliver.
-Lets not get carried away though, the win for the senior team last night was not special. A quality opponent would have made them work an awful lot harder then that, and would have exposed a few weaknesses. But luckily it was Guatemala and unlike last Friday they did not put up a fight.
-The pressure was on and the players responded. Enough said.

The atmosphere in Columbus was again positive for the USA. By Michael Arace of the Columbus Dispatch.

Lots of questions still hanging over the USMNT program even after the win. By Jeff Carlisle of ESPNFC.

dN

The rest of CONCACAF qualifying today:
-Mar 29
Group A
Mexico 2-0 Canada
Honduras 2-0 El Salvador
Group B
Costa Rica 3-0 Jamaica
Panama 1-0 Haiti
Group C
Trinidad + Tobago 6-0 St Vincent +the Grenadines

Mexico has advanced with a perfect 12 points from 4 games.

Canada was really hoping to fire up their program with 2 strong performances and quality points against Mexico, but as most predicted they were shut out in both games and earned 0 points. They are better then they have been, but not significantly.

Canada has fallen to 3rd in their group and go to Honduras for Matchday 5, which they will have to win if they want to advance.

Costa Rica is all but advanced with 10 points and a 6 point lead on 3rd place Jamaica.

Group C standings:
10 Trinidad (+8 GD)
7 USA (+7 GD)
6 Guatemala (+1 GD)
0 St Vincent (-16 GD)

In Matchday 5 on Sep 2, the USA goes to St Vincent + The Grenadines and needs to roll big time, then come home on Sep 6 v T+T and do the same thing. Roll!

dN

And a berth in the Olympics was on the line:
2nd Leg
-Tue Mar 29
USA U23 1-2 Colombia U23 - Col advances 3-2 on aggregate - USA goal by Deiver Machado (Own Goal). Col goals both by Roger Martinez.

My notes:
-The US team got a lot of credit for a gutsy bunker in Leg 1, but they got stuffed in the 2nd Leg.
-Colombia came out from 00:01 to show that the first game was a fluke. Even though the scoreline was close, the match was not.
-The USA was so overpowered and overwhelmed that it was sad to watch at times. Men against boys is the only way to put it. The entire Colombia team just looked better, bigger, stronger, and faster.
-Two USA guys did themselves proud: goalkeeper Ethan Horvath, and forward Mario Rodriguez.
-Luis Gil came on as a sub in the 67 minute and got two quick yellow card, one for kicking an opponent, the other for flailing his arms and yelling in the referees face. He got his Red Card in the 77th minute. Pathetic performance but a guy who stepped on the field with completely the wrong attitude.
-Matt Miazga got the second USA Red Card of the game for committing a foul as the last defender and bringing down an opponent from behind who was heading toward goal. That came in the 90th minute.
-Kellyn Accosta and Tim Parker were both very lucky not to get Red Cards too, after both were seen stomping on Colombia players. WTF guys?
-Accosta had a decent games otherwise, compared to most of his teammates.
-The rest of the USA players were pretty bad: Desevio Payne, Wil Trapp, Emerson Hyndman, Paul Arrioa, Matt Polster, and Jordan Morris all earned low to failing grades for their games.
-Through the 2 games the USA could only muster up 1 shot on goal. 1. 1! ONE! Oof.
-The correct team of these two is going to the Olympics.
-Embarrassing attendance numbers continue in Frisco TX. Less than 8000 (a good number wearing Colombia yellow too) at the game and tix were only $10.

dN

Nights Of Terror, Days Of Weird - on Terry Southern, writer of book/movie/TV projects like Dr Strangelove, Candy, The Magic Christian and Easy Rider. By Will Stephenson of the Oxford American.

dN

The successor to one of my favorite movies, Dazed And Confused, is set to open. Richard Linklater talks about his new movie Everybody Wants Some and other topics of interest. By Mekado Murphy of the New York Times.

dN

Mexico urging supporters to stop homophobic chant. Its about time someone is doing something about this issue. From Fox Sports.

dN

NASL announced a new TV deal with beIN today. The network will show 34 live games this season starting with Sat Apr 2, Fort Lauderdale v Miami. Good match to start the run!
-The league also announced that like last season the majority of games will be shown on ESPN3 as well.

Reiterating, ALL Minnesota United league games will be broadcast locally on My29.

dN

Get mean. Today's feature story is on Minnesota United's Kevin Venegas. By Andy Greder of the St Paul Pioneer Press. (Part of a weeklong series.)
-Tuesday: Justin Davis
-Monday: Sammy Ndjock

dN

On Thursday NASL will officially announce the addition of a new club, San Francisco Deltas.
-A hype sheet for the Deltas.

dN

Individual NASL team season previews from SBISoccer:
-Carolina RailHawks
-Tampa Bay Rowdies
-Ottawa Fury
-Indy Eleven
-Fort Lauderdale Strikers
-Rayo OKC

dN

Pretty cool article on 2 women who regularly sing the national anthem at Portland Timbers games and what it feels like to be in that electric atmosphere. By Jamie Goldberg of the Oregonian.

dN

Barcelona is going for its 40th consecutive game without a loss in all competitions this weekend. They host Real Madrid on Saturday at 1:15pm CT on beIN.



The Bird Is The Word

4 Comments:

Blogger Nordy said...

My 3 thoughts:
1) What does Zardes bring to the table on the left wing that Shea doesn't? Both have questionable touch, but a willingness to turn up field and run at defenders. For my money, I'd rather see Shea out there (and I don't particularly rate Shea...just sayin')

2) Will Trapp...are we sure he's good?

3) Good on the Mexicans for attempting to stop homophobic chants. I almost got into a fight at the Rose Bowl for chastising Mexican homophobia back in October (with little support from others in the AO section). But I also heard the "puto" chant coming from the AO section at the U23 game in Frisco Tuesday night. Hopefully the US stamps that shit out, too!

9:59 AM  
Blogger Dave DuJour said...

Sixteen years ago today:
THURSDAY, MARCH 31, 2005

Far From Perfect, But A Really Exciting Win
A 2-0 win over Guatemala for the USA on home soil in a World Cup Qualifyier is good enough, but I wanna know why it wasn't 10-0. I'm not kidding about this, and anyone who saw the game knows exactly what I'm talking about.

3:52 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Nordy-
1 - has anyone ever seen Zardes and Shea together?
2 - people say he has the talent..... i sure don't know. sometimes with these guys i fear its a confidence thing. the attacking mid from Colombia Quintero wasn't bigger or faster or stronger, just better.
3 - I have heard it on TV at MLS games this season.

-Bruce

4:16 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dave -

Did I write that? I could have just copied and pasted that into the Wednesday post.

-Bruce

4:17 PM  

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