Best day for Americans in the club game maybe ever.
Hope?
- Thread starter HuffyCane
- Start date
Sousa is a strong Portuguese surname! About 1/4 of the kids I went to elementary school with were named Sousa, Souza, or DeSousa.
Also, just happened in UCL, Weston McKennie scores the 2nd goal for Juventus vs Barca. And boy it was a peach! Strongly suggest everyone go look up the replay on YouTube!
Suiting up for El Slavador will be Joaquin Rivas who will be returning to FC Tulsa for the 2021 season.
Some talking heads are calling it the goal of the day in the ChLg if not the entire group stage. Here's my recollection: McKennie is in the box & a cross comes in. He leaps about 2 feet off the ground & smashes a side-foot volley into the net. Wow! His teammate (Mr. Ronaldo) scored on 2 PK's & McKennie caused the second. He's about 5' in front of the net & a defender's hand ball keeps him out. Is this kid living the dream?
Gio Reyna played & Dortmund won. CP & Tyler Adams DNP. See above for McKennie & Juventus. Let's see, that is no less than four American's helping their respective teams to the knockout round, not to mention TOP of their groups! Just incredible!
It would also be informative to look up Gio Reyna's last for Dortmund. At a tough angle from around 15 yards out & he really smashes it.
Make it five. Forgot S. Dest for Barca & I guess, de la Fuente. Make it six Americans still alive in the ChLg knockout round.
Last edited:
Just saw a Twitter post- 8 Americans will be part of squads in the knockout stage. It didn't mention if they actually played. The previous high in any knockout stage was like 3 in 2004-2005.
Here's another American who might end up in the knockout round today although it will be kind of a tough proposition. Jesse Marsch's RB Salzburg team plays Atletico Madrid & if they win, will go through. Did someone say Fat City for Yanks in Europe?
Brendan Aaronson will also feature in midfield tonight.
Brendan Aaronson will also feature in midfield tonight.
Here's two more Yanks through to the knockout round on Wednesday. Zack Steffen starts in goal for Man City & gets a 2-0 shutout of Marseille. Also, Chris Richards gets about about 25 minutes for defending champs Bayern Munich & does well. Bayern still looks unbeatable. It just gets better & better for the USA.
US up 5-0 on El Salvador 27 minutes in. El Salvador is having trouble even getting touched on the ball right now. Mueller has 2 in his USMNT debut and should have had a 3rd but he was unselfish and set up Akinola. Arriola also scored for the US.
Difficult to tell how good this group is because El Salvador is not putting up much resistance at all.
Difficult to tell how good this group is because El Salvador is not putting up much resistance at all.
They were a rough watch. I don't know what the hell their GK was thinking half the time. He made some very questionable decisions to step out in some instances where the box was crowded, the ball was bouncing everywhere, and his defenders were flailing away. He would have been better served on a couple of the goals to stay back instead of trying to intervene in situations where he couldn't win.
That in mind, I was pleased with the effort the US gave, the precision in their passing and timing of their runs, the possession. Even when they did make a mistake (glaring mistake by #2, RB, in playing the ball back and playing it straight to the El Salvador fwd), Hamid was there with some nice work to clean it up. Hamid is a very serviceable GK, IMO. He's good with his feet, he's got strong hands, and his decision making is solid.
Impressive to me last night were Arriola (still quick), Mueller-great technical stuff, Akinola-put ES under pressure, Yuell-solid at the 6. Lletget was solid as well. It's tough to really rate the backline since they were not called on to do much. Araujo did have a brilliant service into Mueller for his 2nd goal. (Araujo was the one who made the aforementioned mistake above though).
If anything guys in this group will provide the depth for the main qualifying group.
Really like Chris Mueller. A tough kid, fast & can score from Orlando City who will soon be tutored by Jesse Marsch at Salzburg (which got beat yesterday & is in the Europa League tourney) & will only improve. Akinola is interesting. Near Altidore size, has some speed & scored a goal. Young speedy defenders looked good but weren't really tested. There are some youngsters out of MLS that could use more big game experience and will get it in the Gold Cup & Olympics. All in all, just reinforces my excitement about the future of ntl team football.
Now, what I didn't like was our usual talking head Taylor Twellman. This guy asked 2 rhetorical questions & then attempted to answer them. First-who's going to score goals for the MNT? And, 2nd-who's going to show up on the roster for WC qualifying? His answer to both: "I don't know". Huh? What? Then he starts talking about Zardes & Altidore. How clever is that? He did say some nice things about our Euro contingent, but....
One day in the future, and let it be soon, the USMNT will go from being a world-wide laughingstock to being feared as an opponent in whatever tournament they are playing in.
Now, what I didn't like was our usual talking head Taylor Twellman. This guy asked 2 rhetorical questions & then attempted to answer them. First-who's going to score goals for the MNT? And, 2nd-who's going to show up on the roster for WC qualifying? His answer to both: "I don't know". Huh? What? Then he starts talking about Zardes & Altidore. How clever is that? He did say some nice things about our Euro contingent, but....
One day in the future, and let it be soon, the USMNT will go from being a world-wide laughingstock to being feared as an opponent in whatever tournament they are playing in.
Yeah, I heard Twellman's quote. He did think the US had roughly a 40 player pool going into next year between US and Euro based players. I also heard Reggie Cannon is now playing in Portugal. That's good. Aaronson is moving to Salzburg as well (did I hear that correctly?) Zardes and Altidore are reserves only IMO and only if someone gets injured. I'd still have Jordan Morris in front of both of them because he will actually track back and defend where Altidore looks foolish when he tries to defend and I'm not sure I've ever seen Zardes try and defend at any level. I'd really like to see Dike in the middle though and see what kind of connection he could have with a Pulisic and Arriola on the wings and McKennie at the 10. At least from the limited amount of times I watched Dike play this season, he has a high work rate at the 9, higher than most 9s I've watched. His physicality makes him a good candidate to hold up the ball to wait for extra attackers, and he's got some good speed to him as well (where I think he has an edge over both Altidore and Zardes). This isn't even mentioning Sargent who creates a ton of chances on goal and is probably the best technical 9 the US has right now. The US actually has some quality depth up front right now and enough athleticism that they could really high press and create some havoc. It'd be nice to see the US flip the script on Mexico for once.
Sorry about the Mueller/Aaronson mix up but I was wrong. Also sorry young Dike got a minor injury & was scratched. Was anxious to watch him. I'm not sure what K. Acosta brings to the table but Beer?halter apparently loves him. And Carrot Top's career with us will turn around with our guys feeding him from the wings. He's certainly capable with proper support.
I'm certainly OK with LLetget, Arieola and I guess-Long, on the team. Especially the 1st 2 for experience & leadership.
I'm certainly OK with LLetget, Arieola and I guess-Long, on the team. Especially the 1st 2 for experience & leadership.
So Berhalter has looked half decent playing against teams that haven't played in 10 months, when he really starts looking like crap again, do you think Jesse Marsch will come to lead the US? I still love watching that half-time speech he delivered against liverpool.
Jesse Marsch, in his own words, wants very much to be a part of the MNT. As far as I'm concerned, we would be better off with him as the head coach. Beer?halter is part of that cabel that screwed up the last head coaching search that took no less than 13 months & was led by his brother. a wheel at the time in the USSF, who was subsequently fired.
Maybe Huffy can give us some insight into who is actually running the show now at the USSF. I hope that Brian McBride, the new Gen Mgr there has major influence. I'm not too worried about Beer?halter. With all the young guns with int'l experience available, even he won't be able to screw things up unless he's still dancing to the MLS (personnel) tune. It's all about the players, after all.
My sources have all been laid off. Earnie Stewart wields considerable influence. Marsch told people when he was still playing that he planned on doing everything he could to put himself in a position to coach the MNT one day. It’s his dream job. Zie viele respect for the gegna!
Don’t be surprised if Jill Ellis is named to a role with the men in a few weeks.
Don’t be surprised if Jill Ellis is named to a role with the men in a few weeks.
It’s a line from the halftime pep talk linked above. He gets so fired up and personally pissed that they are being manhandled off the ball against Liverpool (iirc) a team they had no chance of beating. He’s so mad he starts mixing English and German. You can tell the players are ashamed to have let him down but they are also confused and amused at his Germanglish. I have no idea what it means, but it means to me he hasn’t lost the fight and instinct to play durty defense we all have known and remember of American soccer, even if the USMNT has forgotten in the last 6 years.
Gio scored a peach today for Dortmund and has a 2nd goal wiped out by someone else being offside but involved.
Pulisic will get a shot at Everton who’s been struggling lately. Bremen got beat down by Leipzig today. Sargent started up top but had limited touches and chances due to Leipzig just dominating the game and possession.
so today’s slate of games is streaming on Peacock or ESPN+. Since Samsung’s platform doesn’t have Peacock available, I stream it through the XBOX. Great feed, better picture Than the DirectTV feed or the Samsung streams. Watched the early EPL game between Wolves and Aston Villa and then parts of the Bremen and Dortmund games. Interestingly enough on the Bundesliga games, I was able to stream up to 4 games in a split screen if I wanted...I know I can’t really do that brought DirectTV even with the SportsMix channel, you aren’t able to populate the channels you want on there. I am not aware of being able to do side by side on the ESPN+ app streaming through Samsung.
Pulisic will get a shot at Everton who’s been struggling lately. Bremen got beat down by Leipzig today. Sargent started up top but had limited touches and chances due to Leipzig just dominating the game and possession.
so today’s slate of games is streaming on Peacock or ESPN+. Since Samsung’s platform doesn’t have Peacock available, I stream it through the XBOX. Great feed, better picture Than the DirectTV feed or the Samsung streams. Watched the early EPL game between Wolves and Aston Villa and then parts of the Bremen and Dortmund games. Interestingly enough on the Bundesliga games, I was able to stream up to 4 games in a split screen if I wanted...I know I can’t really do that brought DirectTV even with the SportsMix channel, you aren’t able to populate the channels you want on there. I am not aware of being able to do side by side on the ESPN+ app streaming through Samsung.
Can it stream Davis Brin throwing passes against Cincy from four different angles? Asking for a friend.
Chelsea could have used CP yesterday in a 1-0 loss but no, he was on the shelf again with "feelings" in that hamstring that refuses to heal up. Sucks for him. Today, Scott Parker's Fulham has Liverpool beat when a questionable PK gives them a 1-1 tie. And Antonee Robinson, as previously mentioned, just gets better & better at left back for them. This kid was impressive and deserves a very long look by Beer?halter for the MNT.
My german is probably way worse than his, but he is basically trying to say you have to make them respect what we do.
The whole speech is about how they aren't playing their game, they can only win if they play their style of football. How they should be embarrassed by how it looks, because it isn't them and this is the CL, the Cup.
It's pretty good overall. I would like to see the first half of the game to see what he is talking about, but as a player, basically he's saying they are making you look like a *****, you aren't so why are you letting them do that? Where is your pride?
Reyna's goal was out of control. That was world-class **** right there.
So the PK LFC got was warranted. The Fulham defender's arm was away from his body and covering the gap the shot attempt went into. Appropriate that a PK was awarded (and upheld by VAR). Fulham was lucky to hold on. LFC didn't show up for the 1st 30 minutes of the game and then Klopp went into some animated rant for his team and all of a sudden a switch went on. LFC was on the attack from that point on. Some fantastic goalkeeping and defending from Fulham kept LFC from hitting 4-5 goals. Areola made an amazing reaction save on Henderson and the Fulham defenders made some key shot blocks. At one point about 15 minutes into the 2nd half, I had estimated that LFC had controlled the ball for about 14 of those minutes legitimately. They were playing that strong possession but quick diagonal crosses to the wing backs moving into the attack that make them so dangerous. LFC also played without Diogo Jota who has made LFC even more dangerous in the attack. (LFC played with out a bunch of regulars on Sunday as they prepare for 4 games in 14 days heading into the holiday schedule...Boxing Day is one of my favorite sports days of the year).
Robinson has been strong since being inserted into the starting lineup for Fulham. Several times during the game, Robinson was 1 v 1 with Mo Salah and defended him really well and kept him from being overly dangerous in those situations. He will probably be targeted by some of the Big 6 clubs and maybe some of the other top Euro clubs in the summer transfer window. Can't imagine Fulham sitting on him if ManU comes with a $10-20M transfer fee in hand (and ManU could really use him in place of Luke Shaw or Wan Bissaka who continually make mistakes in defending because they focus more on the attack).
Very few players can run at people and burn them like Salah. He burns people at about 80-90% rate in one on ones.
Or he dives. (And I'm a Salah and LFC fan). He goes down to easily. Referees have started not rewarding him for going down with minimal contact.
But yeah, Salah has incredibly quick feet, is incredible at feigning a direction, and he can actually get his shot off really quick. Robinson did as good a job as I've seen on Sunday.
The entire team is having some chemistry issues and the back line has been a mess for CHE lately. Today against ManCity and City will be without some key players due to COVID and they may be forced to play without Ederson in goal because he broke COVID protocols by going out. That means Steffen may be getting his first EPL start/appearance.
right now Yedlin has found his way back into the starting lineup for Newcastle and he looks good and testing Leicester on the outside. Newcastle lacks a dominant 9 or 11 up front so they have struggled to generate many chances and when they do Yedlin seems to trigger from the right outside.
Chelsea got whacked by ManCity today-3 to 1. CP was Chelsea's best player by far but the Blues are still heading south in the table. Zach Steffen was in goal for City & wasn't really tested.
BTW, are there any hockey fans out there? The World Jr. Championships are being played & the USA hasn't done squat most years . However, our 17, 18, & 19 yr-old NHL 1st & 2nd rounders are kicking some butt this year & are in the semi-finals, headed for a showdown with either Russia or Canada for a world title. They play Finland tomorrow (Monday, 01/04) & assuming they win, play whichever world power that survives above game. Some killer hockey being played in this tourney. USA!! USA!!
BTW, are there any hockey fans out there? The World Jr. Championships are being played & the USA hasn't done squat most years . However, our 17, 18, & 19 yr-old NHL 1st & 2nd rounders are kicking some butt this year & are in the semi-finals, headed for a showdown with either Russia or Canada for a world title. They play Finland tomorrow (Monday, 01/04) & assuming they win, play whichever world power that survives above game. Some killer hockey being played in this tourney. USA!! USA!!
I’ve been watching the juniors play. The US team is loaded this year. They’ve got a ton of talent, speed, physicality, and best of all, they really work hard.
The USA plays Canada tonight for a Jr. World Hockey Championship. The Canucks whacked Russia 5-0 to get to the final & the US outlasted Finland 4-3 to make the final. If the USA happens to win, it just might be the Miracle on Ice, Part 2. The reason.....Canada has never trailed in 10 matches or so, has outscored opponents 41 to 3 & has no less than 20 NHL 1st round draft picks on their roster. Yipes! The game is on the NHL network tonight at 2030. Go R, W & B!
Very glad Daryl Dike finally gets a shot. Jason Kreis will coach the U-23's & Beer?halter gets a dozen for Sr. team practice, including Jozy Altidore. Uh oh! None of our young Euro studs will get to play in the Olympics or most likely the Gold Cup. But Beer?halter better tap a bunch of them for WC qualifying.