Photo by Kieran McManus/ISIphotos.com
By FRANCO PANIZO
SALVADOR, Brazil — The U.S. Men’s National Team’s latest attempt at a World Cup rally fell short, and its run at the World Cup is over as a result.
The U.S. were eliminated from the World Cup on Tuesday night at Arena Fonte Nova, suffering a 2-1 extra time loss to Belgium in their Round of 16 match. The Americans found themselves down two goals at the start of the second half of extra time, but a quick strike from substitute Julian Green gave Jurgen Klinsmann’s side a shot at finding an equalizer.
It never came despite the Americans having a few quality chances, and they were knocked out for the second straight World Cup in the first round of the knockout stage.
That the Americans even made it to extra time without conceding was largely down to the spectacular play of Tim Howard, who made 16 saves en route to delivering one of the best performances of his career in front of 51,227 fans. The total was the most a goalkeeper has made in a World Cup match since 1966 and saw Howard named the official Man of the Match.
“Obviously, it’s a bummer for us ending on the losing side after a game of 120 minutes that gave everything to the fans, to the crowd, a real drama, a thriller,” said Klinsmann. “We had enough possibilities to equalize that game and we meant to put it away earlier. But big compliment to Belgium and congratulations to them to move on into the quarterfinals.”
Howard was peppered with shots and came up big time and again before Kevin De Bruyne struck a low shot to the far post in the 93rd minute. Substitute Romelu Lukaku helped make that play happen and he made it 2-0 just before the end of the first half of extra time.
Trying inject some life into his team after it struggled to keep possession and create chances, Klinsmann inserted Green with the U.S.’s final substitution. The move paid off rather quickly, as Green wonderfully volleyed home a gorgeous ball from Michael Bradley in the 107th minute to score his first international goal.
The Americans had chances afterwards to pull level, but Jermaine Jones sent an acrobatic effort wide right and Clint Dempsey was denied from close range by Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
“I thought I had a great touch on it,” said Dempsey. “It was one of those situations that he was aggressive on the play. He came out and made it difficult, made the goal small with his reaction. It was one of those where you try your best and no regrets.”
Belgium was the better team for much of the 120 minutes in Salvador, and it did not win the match in regulation because of the heroic performance from Howard and some poor finishing.
Howard was called immediately into action, denying Divock Origi after the Belgian forward raced past Omar Gonzalez and fired a low shot from the right in the first minute. Howard also negated De Bruyne in the 24th minute and late in the first half.
“This was definitely an amazing goalkeeper performance,” said Klinsmann. “There is no doubt about it. He should be very proud of himself and we are proud to have him with us.”
The U.S.’s only real chance in a first half that saw it lose Fabian Johnson to a hamstring injury in the 32nd minute came through Dempsey, whose 21st-minute effort was too weak to trouble Courtois.
Belgium went right back to work in the second half, but Howard continued to make impressive stops to keep the game scoreless. He smacked away a Dries Mertens header in the 48th minute, denied substitute Kevin Mirallas on a one-on-one opportunity after the hour-mark and stoned Origi on a great look in the 72nd minute.
“It was incredible, the amount of saves that he had,” said centerback Matt Besler. “Sometimes it’s hard to realize what’s going on because it’s Tim Howard and that’s what we expect of him. He’s one of the best goalkeepers in the world and it’s comforting as a defender knowing you have a guy like that behind you. He played incredible tonight.”
While the Belgians were frustrated by their inability to beat Howard, they also wasted some opportunities. Mertens hit a back heel from close range wide after receiving a pass from the left flank and Vincent Kompany failed to cleanly connect on an open shot inside the penalty area that Howard parried.
U.S. substitute Chris Wondolowski could have been a hero in the dying seconds of the game, but he sent a shot from close range over the crossbar despite being unmarked. The linesman on the near side incorrectly had raised his flag for offside, so a goal likely would not have counted even if Wondolowski had found the back of the net.
The match went into extra time, and Belgium finally beat Howard through a well-hit shot from De Bruyne. The play started when Dempsey was stripped of the ball in Belgium’s half and continued when substitute Romelul Lukaku mustered off a challenge from Besler before sending in the ball that wound up at De Bruyne’s feet.
Lukaku then put the Belgians up by two goals by hitting a hard shot past Howard from the left of the penalty area.
“Don’t give up. They scored two goals, we can score two goals,” said Besler on what the U.S. players were telling each other when it was 2-0. “At that point in the game, it’s tough to manage because everyone’s running on tired legs. We’re obviously down a goal so we want to put numbers forward, but they have fresh legs up top and credit to them they were able to find him out on the break and it was a tough assignment once he came on.”
The Americans looked gassed and all but finished, but Green gave them a lifeline two minutes after entering the match. Dempsey could have equalized a few minutes later after getting on the end of a drawn-up free kick that saw the U.S. pass instead of shoot, but his effort from eight yards out was blocked by Courtois in one of the final plays of the tournament for the Americans.
The U.S. finished 1-2-1 in Brazil.
“It was a game that just went to the extreme,” said Klinsmann. “We all are very, very, very proud of our team, of every player stepping on the field today, gave everything they had. I think they made their country proud with this performance and also with their entire performance in this World Cup and you have to swallow this for a second but after a little bit of a break you have to move on.”
Belgium will now move onto the quarterfinals, and will face Argentina in Brasilia on Saturday.
I watched it with 40 co-workers including our ardent Belgian CFO. The Wondo chance practically sent him on the floor. He was disturbed about going into extra time. Got cocky after it was 2-0.. Great to see Julian make him sweat. I was a Julian doubter. Sorry JK. But next time, don’t sit Beckerman. Oh, there is no next time for KB. I always loved baseball and soccer was too boring. Now looking at the boring baseball scores makes me long for a missed shot at Messi.
or you can like both. It’s not illegal.
Baseball is awesome.
I know it’s over but I still can’t believe Jurgen chose Brad Davis over Landon Donovan it really is pathetic. Wondo over Boyd??? Really JK??? SMH!!! Danny Williams would have made the team if he wasn’t injured. I honestly believe those 3 players would have been game changers and Julian Green should have came in early. Bedoya and Zusi are just awful! Zusi is only good at setting up goals other than that he’s not much help. In the end all we can do is hope that our young prospects in Europe step up to the next level. We need more possession. We can’t go into a game and defend the whole 90 minutes. Belgium deserved the win but that team can’t finish. It was bond to happen for them to score goals on us. To all the prospects in Europe you guys are up next because the era of Dempsey, Donovan, and the great Howard is sadly over.
OMG please watch Landon play. Wow all of these Landon fans are really annoying. He sucks as of today. He came off the bench in the last Galaxy game. His not in form. His past 32. Its over
We weren’t the best team around but we had our chances. Lucky not to concede a goal in the first 90, unlucky not to get one. U.S. wasn’t enjoyable to watch until they were down- and that was true of almost every game. But as Americans, without the immense pressure of having to win it all, we can just enjoy watching the cup. I would have been more bitter if I thought we truly deserved more.
Another Scott on the board…and rational post…I’m super unhappy with how we played and how we looked in general. I hope the next cycle gives us more.
The most frustrating part is having to go down before we started looking decent. It’s like the chicken or the egg. Were we better because we went down and had to claw back, or did the other team fall back knowing they just had to protect the lead?
Our talent is improving, so let’s hope 4 years is enough to really be relative contenders, cuz this just made me miserable. Cheers!
Some thoughts:
1. Johnson is a great athlete great getting forward but a below average defender who some how tefloned his way from being blamed for the second Portugal goal. Watch the aerial view, he did not track his man and you don’t pass off a forward sprinting full speed in the box. He also was ball watching on the first Ghana goal. That’s 33% of our goals given up on him.
2. Jones had an incredible goal and he ran hard in Brazil but I could not imagine what role he was given. This guy just does whatever he wants to on the field. He was supposed to allow Bradley freedom to attack but who ever heard of an attacking CMF covering more ground than anyone in the entire tournament.
3. JK is a good “manager”, average coach. He made some great moves, but his roster selection, tactics, style of play and lineups/subs were sometimes good, sometimes bad. Best way I can describe it.
There was no roles for the midfield and it was painfully obvious. There was no plan for playing possession or enough players who could play that style and it showed.
JK is a great politician, great with the media, greatest promoter since PT Barnum and he has to be complimented for getting us to the round of 16.
4. If you think LD could not have helped all I can say is big sigh. LD is a real soccer player with an aging body but a great skill set and he would have definitely helped somewhere. No one will ever know for sure
5. On the positive, JK and this team helped the sport grow. I really think that international/professionalsoccer is more popular than professional hockey in the country. Kudos to them for helping the growth
6. Julie Foudy……it’s over
7. Roberto Matinez….best studio analyst ever.
8. Bob Ley….what a pro….Twellman….funny little guy isn’t he…can’t really take him seriously
9. Commercials…best ever and props for the regular camera shots of good looking women during the telecast
10. The rest of the world tells us “If the US every takes this game seriously we are in trouble”
We need to have US Soccer invest SERIOUS money so that the best coaches are coaching our best developing players (starting at age 12). Sadly, I don’t see this happening.
Player development is what we really need and don’t count on JK getting involved in that. If we develop better players people will watch the game.If we ever did, we could be able to compete soccer wise with Germany and Belgium….. and that I Believe.
dont go anywhere….
2015 – Gold Cup (summer in US cities)
2016 – Copa America Centenary (summer in US cities)
2016 – World Cup Qualifying (spring and fall in US cities)
2017 – FIFA Confederations Cup (summer in Russia)
2017 – World Cup Qualifying (spring and fall in US cities)
2018 – FIFA World Cup (summer in Russia)
I tried watching the ESPN studio conversations but couldn’t take it. I’m tired of watching ex-athletes and coaches fill these roles up, not just soccer but every other sport as well, because they just aren’t the most talented presenters or interesting people. They were great athletes..but otherwise…terribly boring.
Oh and when I say boring I don’t mean I want to watch a shock-jock or someone with radical opinions either. Then you get someone stupid like Ann Coulter.
What is it with the soccer c.v. displayed every time former players are offering their views or analysis of the game? Is this to establish some sort of street cred for the casual fan?
Why do the networks assume soccer fans are newbies? Hard core ppl know who are guys like Gullit, Van Basten, Van Nistelrooy, Lalas, Wynalda, etc. Why don’t they do the same when Terry Bradshaw or Dan Marino is on tv?
Desmond go away. Your annoying
Desmond: So far so good, but I would add: DaMarcus Beasley — the best second act in US soccer, ever.
Freddy Adu 2018 !
I can’t believe everyone pissed at Wondo for missing. We got absolutely annihilated. It should have been 3 or 4-0. I could not be more unhappy than I am right now.
Klinsy was supposed to bring an attacking, pressing style to our team. He brought the exact same system as Bradley.
We got absolutely smoked by Belgium and Germany. Ghana destroyed us (granted, the early goal hurt us, but still). Portugal we played well.
We basically got killed in 3 out of 4 games. And people are blaming Wondo? Sure, he’s not international quality (and I’ve always been against him), but you CANNOT blame him at all. We didn’t deserve anything tonight.
We wait another 4 years. We have marginally better talent now (thanks to the German Americans), but is it so different than 2010? What is different? Somebody give some legitimate positivity, cuz everyone I’ve spoken with tonight is full of $@#&.
Agreed, we have to give our hats off to Belgium, they are a much better team and an example we should follow. Just like the Japanese when Commodore Perry rolled into Tokyo harbor, we must evolve or die. That aside I would like to say, CONGRATS TO OUR BOYS, YOU PLAYED YOUR HEARTS OUT THIS TOURNAMENT (EXCEPT YOU MICHAEL BRADLEY) AND WE OUR GRATEFUL AND PROUD!!!
Michael Bradley didn’t play his heart out yet he has covered more distance than any other player so far. Ok
I don’t think that he didn’t play hard, only that I’m pissed at him for sucking so I’m not congratulating him. We have a million players who can run.
If only “covering more distance than any other player” equaled a goal, we would be in penalty kicks!
“YOU PLAYED YOUR HEARTS OUT THIS TOURNAMENT (EXCEPT YOU MICHAEL BRADLEY)”
That’s what you said I guess not what u meant
CONGRATS TO OUR BOYS (EXCEPT YOU MICHAEL BRADLEY) YOU PLAYED YOUR HEARTS OUT THIS TOURNAMENT.
Is that better? Or do you have nothing better to do than to set around and troll all day? Douche.
What a dumb statement that is. Bradley allowed JJ to run all over the place and do whatever he wanted to do.
Did you watch any of t he qualifiers? Because that was the opposite of what was supposed to happen. That’s why so many people were clamoring for Beckerman instead of Jones so Bradley could be the one that was free to “run all over the place”. What we saw here was a Bradley who was given that same freedom to be a playmaker but couldn’t even connect on simple passes.
Ask Belgium if they would like to have Bradley on their team, Einstein.
I can guarantee you they would.
Jones has his role as an energy guy, destroyer. But he had no defined role and thought he was some sort of attacking player.
sigh
I asked, they said they were happy with;
Axel Witsel Zenit Saint Petersburg, Kevin De Bruyne Wolfsburg, Marouane Fellaini Manchester United, Eden Hazard Chelsea,
Dries Mertens Napoli, Steven Defour Porto,
Mousa Dembélé Tottenham, Adnan Januzaj Manchester United and Nacer Chadli Tottenham. Don’t get me wrong, I like Bradley (except for this World Cup) but look at those guys, different league. It doesn’t take an Einstein to see that.
Yurch, I totally agree. Klinnsman laughed at the fans and media because nobody questions him. He comes to the World Cup and basically parks the bus the entire time. really annoying.
Of course!
I’ve argued with my buddies all night…How are we any different than 2010? “Jozy is only 20!!!”, “We have Yedlin and Green!”…
What is different? We park it and counter…the same. Talent is a bit better, yes. But that much better? We have a few German-Americans who bailed us out (which I’m completely on board with Klinsy bringing in/staying).
Other than that, we’re the same. Really frustrating
So what would make you guys happy? We naively try and play attacking soccer against the teams in our group and go out 3-2, 4-2, and 4-0? Klinsmen was practical and tactically astute and we overachieved to get where we did.
We are talking about a total shift in the way we play–totally revamping the way we train all the way down to our 12 year olds. You want that done in 4 years? Please. This is a cultural and generational shift. Look to the under 20s to come of age in 5-6 years to see the dividends. Then you guys will still find something to bitch about.
We played 4 world class teams traveling over 9000 miles and playing in hot and humid conditions and either won, should have won or had a chance to win. That’s a lot more than the team in 2010 which played 1 world class team at the most.
Again, like others, you are talking about results. Results were great and had me giddy for a while.
Then i thought…how did we play? how was our style? If we play these four teams ten times, how many do we win? How have we progressed since 2010?
Believe me Clover, I’m searching for positivity…and while results are great, I can’t look at getting outplayed nonstop and scraping through as great.
I’m miserable right now. Somebody give me hope besides “we made it through group of death”. I realize that was good. But we got run off the field again and again. I would’ve rather gone out in the group stage and looked dangerous than what just happened
Style can KMA.
This is such a dumb and angry post it doesn’t surprise me that no one can give you a concise answer since you won’t take it. All I read is anger from you and no one you talked to can try to convince a dull pencil.
Great response. An argument you disagree with followed by insults. My guess is you’re not a lawyer…
Don’t have to be a lawyer to see that you are angry and can’t see anything clearly just hate spewed at nothing. Good thing we won’t have to see you around for another 4 years when you crawl out of your hole.
And where is the anger? How long have you been following the national team? I’ve been a diehard since 98 (followed a bit of 94, but was 10), so not sure you won’t see me around.
Again, not sure where the hate/anger is…but trying to have a legitimate argument with someone like you is a lesson in futility (ie. please don’t respond anymore).
Anyways, can someone else can have an intelligent convo and convince me of the positives? Langley (post above mine) wasn’t terrible, and can buy some of what he’s selling…that said, i see a team that would likely do about the same as they did in 2010…klinsy promised a different mindset. Why are we still sitting back and countering? Why are we defending for 110 minutes?
Exactly my point. You can’t discuss with someone that already has his mind made up.
Your words are exaggerations of what happened on the field. Yes Germany played us off the field but tell me how we are the same as 2010? Are we giving up early goals and having to claw our way back? Ghana didn’t destroy us. You are as full s$$$ as these people are you were talking to today. You can’t argue with someone who is already set in stone. Stop posting here so that at least it can be a discussion. If you read above and below people will use pros and cons. Your post is the same as a 1 star review on yelp. Only gives one side of the coin that you see in your dim light. Wow since 98 lol
I said stop responding…Thanks…
Anyone else want to have a rational discussion/argument? Or has Casey ruined it? (please stop bro)
No one will since there is nothing to respond to. At least you won’t be around for about 4 years where you can yell and scream with exaggerated words you found a thesaurus.
(dude’s insane, everybody chill)
Dude go back to your cave and troll again in 4 years. You have nothing to add other than you don’t agree and somehow think you’re smarter than JK. Give it a rest and come back for the next world cup.
I wish we would have been scored on early a few times, that is the only time we try to attack the other team with any purpose!
Yurch,
I understand your frustration man, but I think you have to take into account the quality of our opponents. It’s simply undeniable that this was the highest quality we’ve played against. And of course this dictates our tactics.
It might help if you look at 2002 as the anomaly; that team, for a variety of reasons, sort of blew the curve as far as expectations. We’ll get there, but like I mentioned in another post above, klinsman is after a total cultural shift regarding our approach to soccer. This was the first step and he had to take it with mostly players who are holdovers from the “old way.”
Like I said, I get your frustration, but I think it might be clouding your judgement at the moment.
Appreciate the comments, and yeah, I hope the next few days make me feel better about the last four games.
Sure, we played great teams. Teams that are very much superior than we are (at least man for man). So what? How do you compare anything? We played better teams so we sit back and become the 2006/2010 team?
I get what you’re saying, but then I see Mexico going toe to toe with Holland. I see Algeria go head to head with Germany. I see the Swiss give Argentina a serious run. Teams that are not more talented than us. Yet they play without fear! Why can’t we? With 3 weeks of practice it’s not all about individual skill. We’ve seen that in this tournament! It’s about attitude and togetherness, which I thought we would have…we didn’t.
Again, have to agree Yurch! This Mexico that we are not afraid to take the game to now. The same Mexico we keep beating 2-0. The same Mexico that finished 4th in qualifying. Showed that you can go toe to toe with the big dogs and get the same results. So if we have been better than Mexico for the past 3 years why are we still emulating Greece?
I think we are at a plateau in terms of producing talent, which isn’t much. I don’t know too much about MLS since I watch EPL and Champions League, but if our teams have the ability of rostering foreign players like EPL does, we will basically be consigned to this same level of being a mediocre international team indefinitely. There is a local minor league team by me and it has been nothing more than a revolving door for foreigners.
That’s why I watch the EPL– if I’m going to watch foreign players I’ll watch the best.
Younge prospects like yedlin came through an MLS academy. The us have had free or mostly free soccer acadamies for kids associated with a professional teams for what 6 years, how long has Manchester had that over a hundred? The us professional soccer league is 20 years old and already producing players that can compete at the World Cup (maybe not win but we were way more competative than Japan, Korea Cameroon ect , and I believe could have beaten teams like Greece Costa Rica Mexico Nigeria ). All the us needs to cross over into soccer super power status is a soccer to make that leap into main stream status (so that more of our huge population plays pick up games of soccer as kids instead of baseball football and basketball) and time. I’m 27 years old I think I will see the us be in the finals of the World Cup by th time I’m 70.
I think soccer is more than main stream in England and they are struggling in comparison to other like-size soccer nations. I think part is due to the dependence and prejudice for foreign players and part is due to how (their style of) soccer is played there. Basketball, football and baseball aren’t going away (but who needs lazy baseball players anyway?) so they will always be sucking away talent. But yeah, I hope soccer continues to grow, it will help some. I do think young players need an off-season of full technical development without games, I think we need to capture the knowledge of the Dutch in developing technical skills and import that, and I think we need a plethora of semi-professional leagues to develop those late bloomers and overlooked players.
But unlike all of the countries you mentioned, they don’t have the sheer size that we have to pull from. Soccer might be the mainstream in those countries but we should be able to compete eventually with the numbers we have playing here. What we need are more professional academy teams developing the talent we have, that comes from more MLS teams, more MLS academies around more areas.
Our team’s first sub off the bench today was a 20 year-old from the Seattle Sounders.
Their team’s first sub off the bench was a striker from Chelsea.
What possible tactics can there be that would have us winning a best of 10 series against this team? Best case scenario is that Belgium could have played horribly, got a red card, etc. but outside of that, they are going to beat us 7 or 8 times out of 10. The fact is that if Wondo raises his foot 2 inches we would have won.
Every single game except maybe Portugal has been like this. The other teams’ substitutes would be the best soccer players in USMNT history – Boateng, Essien, Klose, Goetze, Schurrle, Lukaku…
What kind of tactics are supposed to overcome such a huge talent gap with the level of consistency and regularity that you’re expecting?
We’re not the most talented team for sure, but I think our fitness level isn’t so far behind and ball possession so bad that we couldn’t have been more aggressive against Belgium. But we did lose badly to them in a friendly…So maybe I’m wrong.
Better tactics? I think they exist but it’s rare to find coaches of that caliber. And since coaches can only come out of the ranks of ex-players, the talent pool is incredibly restricted.
Agree and disagree, if De’andre Yedlin was from say, Croatia instead of Washington he would be the one playing for Chelsea. There are a lot of reasons why he’s not, American bias, etc. But I agree with you for the most part, we were definintley outclassed. We need a stronger domestic league and MORE SUPPORT FOR OUR DOMESTIC LEAGUE, if we are going to be on level terms with those other countries.
Just a few things:
1) please, please stop with the Landon stuff. Wondo missing does not prove that Donovan, or anyone else for that matter, would have scored. That’s not how logic works. If Donovan was playing, maybe he’s not in the same position to score, maybe he doesn’t sky it over the bar, but maybe he hits it straight at Courtois, or maybe a bear runs out on the field and mauls him, or maybe Vertonghen barfs on him and he has to get subbed out…WHO EFFING KNOWS WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED?? The only thing his miss proves is that he missed.
2) Anyone who says we haven’t made progress isn’t looking at the bigger picture, just the result. Our 2010 team played vastly inferior competition in the group stage and struggled mightily. We played a pretty innocuous draw with England and only one because green tried to save Dempsey’s shank with both hands around his neck. WE WERE DOWN 2-0 to Slovenia for christ’s sake!!! And then of course we couldn’t break down a poor Algerian side until the final minute. That gets murdered in our group this year. A lot of people are whining about klinsman saying “he promised, he promised ME attacking soccer.” EVERY coach promises attacking soccer! If we had attacked Belgium for 90 minutes like we did out of desperation at the end, I think we would have been out of the game by halftime. We don’t have the talent yet to go at elite teams full on and dictate a game. That’s the goal; we’re not there yet. When we did attack and were successful in the run of play, this team did show more technical ability and link up play than nearly every goal from 2010. 2002 we were strictly (more or less) a counter attacking side who swat deep, defended and hit hard on the break.
3) looking ahead is perfectly fine. I bet tomorrow jurgen is texting Joe Gyau, Junior Flores, etc and saying something about pushing to be a part of the next cycle. This shit doesn’t stop for those guys. It’s on to the next…and I know this was disappointing, but I’m sick of reading a lot of tithe I and comments on this site just dumping on everyone. This isn’t a video game–players get hurt, they get tired, they make mistakes–especially when playing against superior teams for 16 games. They didn their best and it wasn’t good enough to beat a team THAT WAS PICKED BY MANY AS A DARKHORSE TO WIN THE WHOLE THING. And if wondo scores and we do win it covers up. A lot of the same flaws. Belgium was the better side and deserved to win. Settle down.
Belgium was the better side. Knowledgeable coach’s and fan’s have been complaining about an old vinyl record skipping and not getting on with finishing the song.
the skip knocked the needle off the record
I don’t know what Klinsman’s true intentions were. Was the attacking threat a smokescreen? Were we going to be a counterattacking team the whole time because eventually, if we went deep into the tournament, we would have to play that strategy sooner or later? Were we trying to perfect it or something? All I know is I have never seen a side survive such an onslaught of attacks for 90 minutes like we have. It somewhat reminds me of the Bora Milutinović years. As I recall, we didn’t allow as many oppurtunities as back then, but we were boring as hell to watch.
I meant to say the Bora Milutinović team were boring as hell to watch. This team was more frustrating to watch. I think I liked watching the Bradley coached team better.
Positives: We made it out of the group of death. No matter how good we know we are, the world will continue to underestimate US Soccer. Howard had a hell of a World Cup. And Green only had a few minutes but WOW!!!! Wish Klinsmann had knew about him earlier.
We now have time to find a new chant. Honestly, we could do A LOT better than “I BELIEVE THAT WE CAN WIN”. I know some love this chant but i find it really dull and annoying. Saying something repeatedly does not make it better.
Negatives:
We are not possessing enough. Honestly we were lucky to get out of the first game with a win. Our only good game as a team was against Portugal which ended in a tie.
WONDO SUCKS!!!!!! He is not an international player. Only reason he got to play was Altidore being hurt and Herculez not making it to the World Cup after last season’s injury and losing his spot in Tijuana.
Dempsey playing out of position hurt (because Altidore’s injury).
Bradley…. what can I say about him. He was suppose to be our clutch player and he sucked. Honestly I blame MLS. Yes they gave him a good money deal but I bet if he was not in MLS he would have been a lost sharper. Our best players should go abroad whether it’s Europe or dare I say Mexico…. and why not Brazil? they have a really strong league.
And finally, Klinsmann. I still believe in the man but he lost his touch at a bad time. Playing in our half for most of the World Cup is a bad strategy! I hope he can turn this around. I honestly think the US had one more game in them. I don’t think Belgium is that great.
Looking forward to the 2016 Copa America. 2015 Gold cup meh, unless we clinch the Confederations Cup otherwise we only need to win the playoff.
on MB, he was thrust into a role he does not play just weeks before the World Cup started, and struggled. As a coach, I know who I see as responsible for that
As a coach myself, I know who is responsible for that too. Not only MB, but F johnson, and a few others as well.
Like I’ve said before. Klinnsman panicked big time. 3 defensive mids? really?
A few random thoughts:
For those who rag against JK for playing defensively (“just like BB”), the big difference is that BB played that way all the time, against El Salvador (respectfully) as well as teams like Germany. The teams we played in this World Cup were simply too good to allow us to “take it to them”. It’s not a matter of will,it’s a matter of skill. You can see it in first touch, distribution, 50/50 balls and on and on. The “tactics” have to fit the opponent and IMO his approach was fine for this set of opponents. I think this was much tougher than 2010.
I think JK was spot on with the young legs. I loved watching Yedlin bomb up the wing and I agree that Julian Green’s goal was important in many ways
Still not giving him a pass for excluding Donovan but I don’t think we”ll ever know the whole story unless JK writes a book when it’s all over (even then it will be his slant).
Before the WC, I thought that if we used Beasely and Evans against world class opponents, we’d be toast (even though I love them both). To my surprise, I thought Beasley was fantastic.
MB had a much better game today and I agree with above comments that if we can find a better #10, I think he will make a great #6 next cycle. I agree with another poster who wondered if he had lingering effects from his recent foot “procedure”. I’ve never seen his touch be so bad as in the first 3 games.
JJ was a beast through the tournament and it was interesting to see him used almost like a target forward at times, winning multiple headers etc in addition to doing the “dirty work”, earning and giving fouls, being injured at the right time etc.
I thought Bedoya had a better game and covered a lot of ground, Zusi not so much.
I think that if we have to rely on OG in the next cycle against the big boys, that may be problematic. He’s just not good enough with his feet. OK for back up or to come in when we lead and a team like, say Sweden starts bombing balls into the box.
I disagree with those who thought Cameron played poorly. He is very calm on the ball and has good feet. We need to find his best position
That’s my 2 cents. All in all, a decent show and I’m proud of the team but oh Wondo, the moment was just too big.
The US needs a more possession minded team. Possession keeps pressure off of the defense. I hope the USMNT is built around blazing speed. As much speed and skill as possible.
What do you think the 4-3-3 was about? We actually won the possession battle in the first half. However, possession without meaningful possession doesn’t mean jack. What we need are players that can combine in tight spaces in the final 3rd and break down an opposing defense with a moment of brilliance. Those players are hard to come by and I don’t see enough of them in the pipeline. I’m over putting my hopes and dreams in to another prospect only to see them move to another Bundesliga youth team because they can’t crack the first team at they’re current one. Or staying forever in Mainz or West Ham, signing professional contracts and never getting minutes.
Copa America 2016 could potentially put a ‘core’ roster together for the next WC Qualifying cycle. Copa America will be revealing to the players and coaches of the USMNT.
Congrats to the team for making it out of a very difficult group with probably the least skilled group of players in the group. Individually, every team in our Group is probably much better, but the US made it out by playing as team and fighting as hard as they could – having Howard helped.
Wondo didn’t blow the game, Howard saved it. US was completely outclassed by a much better group of individuals but it still went in to extra time which is a credit to how hard they played. Klinsmann did great to get the team out of the group and all of his moves were great (even playing Davis as bad as he was because Bedoya needed the rest and he didn’t have many other options), except leaving Donovan off the roster. One player wouldn’t have made the difference in this game – he needed about 5 other players but Donovan would have at least been able to maintain some possession and pass to people on his team a lot better than some of the people on the field.
I appreciate the goals from Dempsey but I won’t miss the 60 seconds of brilliance and 389 minutes of mediocrity. He’s a goal scorer but not a creator and it was like they were playing a man down today. I think Dempsey could excel with a better supporting cast, but with the group we had, it just didn’t seem like he could be a significant factor for much of the time. For all the flack Bradley has taken on this site (deservedly so because he played poorly), Dempsey was ineffective for most of the tournament and gave the ball away almost as much. I thought he should have been subbed, but Klinsmann’s hands were kind of tied when he had to waste a sub for Johnson getting injured.
Not sure there was much he could do in terms of subs because so many players were tired and needed to come off but he didn’t really have the players to bring in. Time to start getting ready for 2018 now I guess.
Oh yeah … hats off to Beasley. He got better every game and was one of the best players on the field for the US. I never would have imagined that … Dempsey “fan boys” can let me have it now.
On Bradley, to whom much is given, much is expected. We all put our hopes and aspirations this tournament on his shoulders, due to the fact that he was near perfect in the lead up games and MLS and with Roma. Since he failed somewhat remarkably, we are quick to attack.
Anyone who thinks this result is the same as 2010 does not remember that 2010 was an easy group and we needed an epic England flub and a last second miracle to escape and then we lost to Ghana on a defensive lapse. This time we beat Ghana, got out of real Group of Death, and held a dark horse favorite loaded with talent to the wall, and did so with two broken noses and three hamstring injuries (that we know about). Much better result this time.
No question, the strongest team in our group in 2010 was England who isn’t as good as the weakest in our group this time in Ghana.
interesting Slovenia was the strongest team in our group imo, and Portugal the weakest team this time
And we had the best travel schedule of everyone in our group. This team had travel hell from the draw. Also we got bit by the injury bug pretty hard this cup which sometimes happens.
don’t forget we also had to overcome two honest goals disallowed to advance in 2010, one against Slovenia and one against Algeria. The 2010 group also won their group for the first time in 60+ years, and did so by scoring in the final group stage game…guess how many goals the US has scored in the final group stage game, and it was an epic goal.
this team made it out of the group in consecutive cycles, also a first and an excellent accomplishment.
similar to me but the Algeria goal at the death remains the greatest USMNT moment imo, equaled only by the 2002 win vs. Mexico
This team was so bad on the counter…so bad, that alone was reason to keep Landon on the team, not to mention that our wingers did nothing.
I can’t count how many times I screamed at the TV for Bradley to move forward faster or make a faster first pass. Didn’t happen.
Agree
Our wingers should have been Donovan and F. Johnson. Would have been a vast improvement.
This hurts. Despite what the first-time soccer watchers in ESPN Land say, we didn’t exceed expectations. One win, one draw, two losses. No matter the opponents, a quality team doesn’t call that a success.
Too many glaring errors from Klinsmann. Like Michael Jordan, he gets away with downright atrocities because of what he did as a player. Donovan could have contributed at four positions, at the very least. He still is a top-five player in the American talent pool. I feel for him and for the players who had to play with a needlessly subpar roster. Davis and Wondo were inexcusable inclusions. I doubt they even have the quality for Iran or Honduras.
I hope Klinsmann converts a couple more dual-nationals (Zelalem, Parker) and then gets the boot in favor of a Bob Bradley-type. JK can be technical director all day, but he hasn’t proven anything as a coach (Germany, Bayern, US). A third-place finish at home with world-class talent and a string of wins against CONCACAF and Euro B-sides. Nice. Bradley got fired after doing much more with Egypt.
Go US in 2018 and forever.
So much wrong with this long diatribe. I don’t want BB back and most people here don’t either.
Care to elaborate?
Rico Clark and Jonathan Bornstein.
There is so much ignorance in this thread it’s more disheartening than the loss. Here is a couple of points that need to be made.
1) Bradley had a good to great game, he covered ground, pressured the Belgium players forcing turnovers, linked up decently going forward, made a world class assist. Did he turn the ball over sometimes in the last 3rd, sure but that is where teams typically lose the ball, it’s called defenders that is literally their only job. Bradley was played out of position this whole World Cup because our next batch creative attacking midfielders mix, Gil, corona, joya, ect weren’t quite ready for this cup or were over the hil to put the miles on (Donovan). Bradley will be 30 at he next World Cup and be asked to play either as a box to box or as a pure defensive holding midfielder which is his natural and best position and we will see the Bradley we have seen on the national team for the last 6 years, ie one of our best players. He also likely will be given the armband (it was Bradley psyching up the team before overtime) when Dempsey hangs it up and if Howard doesn’t want it or we want a field player to have it.
2) Future is really bright there are exactly 3 players on this roster that won’t be available next cycle that I’ll miss, jones Dempsey and Beasley. The other older players Davis, wondo and beckerman fought for country and deserve thanks but I don’t think the team will miss their skills. Every other player will still be young enough to be in the pool. Altidore is 24 iceman is 24, green is 19 yedlin is 20, brooks is 21, Boyd is 23, agedelo is is 21 and there are other skillful players that are coming up and will be big players next cycle. Yedlin is an example of the difference being associated with a professional team since you are 15 can make. We are just seeing the first batch of the MLS academy players and we will see more and more going forward. These guysc an play and even though they don’t attract the attention (yet) from Europe as younger players from other parts of the world do, if you play first team minutes on an MLS team at 18-19 years old you got real talent.
3) Klinsmann deserves credit and gets positive marks for this World Cup. The only glaring mistake was not having better cover for Jozy. Still he managed our way to a result against Portugal (which should have been a win) and we went toe to toe (and could have gotten a result) against 2 of the tournament favorites. He made good roster selections thwt were largely successful, and he got the team to buy into what he was selling and fight for all 380 minutes they played. Wondo got open on goal twice not klinsmann’s fault there was no finish, but that has been wondo’s issue at this level forever.
4) this team would be much deadlier on the counter with altidore. Altidore not only can hold the ball up so our speed wings can make runs but he draws fouls and is a great passer. It was a huge blow losing him and I hope it silences his critics somewhat.
Agree completely. Best post in this thread
So agree. The negativity in this thread is pathetic armchair quarterbacking. And the trolls are out.
Agree, except that not having cover for Jozy was not the only glaring mistake. Donovan might or might not have been able to start and complete every game. But while he was on the field he would have provided much needed attacking creativity and mobility, allowing Bradley to play in his usual position and almost certainly improving his performance.
Disagree with everything except, the Future is always bright.
Go fishing, Fredo.
Amazing to watch this game. I am bummed. I am proud. And if you haven’t checked news sites outside of the USA there is quite a bit of positive chatter about the USA in this match. Go USA! You did me proud!
You know, after the teeth gnashing and what not, kindly remember people that Klinsamann got his team out of the Group of Death and pushed a ridiculously talented Belgian team (that doesn’t need to cheat or dive) into overtime. I didn’t like a lot of Klinsmann’s personnel choices, but a huge chunk of them turned out well for him.
This is an honorable result that leaved the US well positioned for the *movie trailer voice” SÚPER COPA AMEEEERICA 2016 and beyond.
You mean Howard saved our butts! No keeper should be required to stop an onslaught like that. Bad tatics by Klinnsman
Exactly Johannes!
Honestly, the players Klinnsman selected dictated 3 DM’s on the field at the same time, but how effective do you balance defense and offense with those types of players on the field at the same time? Well, it’s not a secret, but our offense was sacrificed for the sole purpose of a counter attack. With 3 DM’s we could only counter attack. So, in those regards, with the players Klinnsman selected, he realistically could only park the bus and counter when you can. However, we have the players available that could have provided more possession in attack, but Klinnsman either did not play with those players or played them out of position like Fabian Johnson who should have been in midfield.
No waffles, beer or chocolate for me, just out of spite!
Too many hamstring issues. Overuse issues?
We will see a generational change with the USMNT. We have some young promising players who will ‘take over’ the team like Boyd, Green, Mix, Yedlin, Altidore, Kevin Bacon, Gil, the list is much longer. The question is will Klinnsman play with 3 DM’s and leave talent on the bench who can make a difference? Will Klinnsman put players out of position like Fabian Johnson? I feel optimistic about the future of the players, but pessimistic about the coaching staff.
Again, I think he did not want to get embarrassed so he went defensive. Extremely disappointing because he said he wouldn’t do that. smh
When did he say he wouldn’t do that?
Lichaj would have contributed.
Lichaj is better than Yedlin?
…and I’m better than Lichaj but we both didn’t make the 23 man roster.
The very minute Altidore went down against Germany, I knew today’s “Wondo” moment would come. JK’s reluctance to select either Boyd or EJ, his refusal to play AJ (after the opener) or Wondo meaningful minutes (up until today), indicated that he had no faith in a second forward. Ultimately, that put Deuce out of his comfort zone and where he could do the most damage. It put a significant amount of pressure on Bradley. It kept us from putting forward our best lineup and personnel.
And so it goes.
Lack of a top flight player and, more importantly, lack of depth are what are keeping us from cracking the top 10 and seriously contending.
EJ is missing that kind of shot in MLS, if he even gets it. Wondo at least hits it in MLS.
Just goes to show playing in the best European leagues, Europa League, and Champions league will help develop a player on the international level (Jermaine Jones for example). I saw too many MLS style turn over the ball cheaply type of mistakes in this World Cup.
They played so well in first half, then Klinman “parked the bus” in the second. I don’t get it. Was the plan to try and get a first half goal them defend? When the goal didn’t come, it was back to “defense first” and counter. A shame. Where’s the progress and open play he promised??
Thank you. Progress? Not gonna happen unless he puts players in place to make it happen.
I think we were about two quality players away from being a legitimate contender this year. Replace Bedoya and Zusi with guys who can keep the ball and make plays and we have a pretty solid looking offense.
Didn’t we have someone like that but left him home in place of Davis?
No, we didn’t. Donovan could not have run up and down the field defending, something that was absolutely required of our outside mids at all points in the game given our exposure on the wings. When will people lose this ridiculous mindset that Donovan would have been the panacea to all our issues?
Um, you were asking for quality players and I gave you one that was availiable. Another hint, if you control possession (Donvan’s good at that) you don’t have to “run up and down the field defending” all the time like we were forced to do in every game because of ultra defensive tactics.
He was good at all that in 2010 and the US still lost to Ghana a team inferior to this Belgium juggernaut. And he is currently easily much less of a player now than he was then.
And he really did not want to be in Brazil anyway otherwise he would have been there.
he didn’t want to be there? where are you getting this stuff GW?
“I can’t train every day at 100%….”
Mason, that doesn’t mean that, it means he knows his older body, what it can do/not do…I think it’s pretty clear LD wanted to be there
How absurd, Heartbroken. Donovan has “run up and down the field defending” just about every time I’ve seen him play for club or country, particularly as a left or right midfielder. That would be, perhaps, a couple of hundred times over the last thirteen or so years. And, for what it’s worth, he’s quite good at it, at least for a strong attacking player.
Maybe, but Donovan may have needed another sabbatical around now, just to get his thoughts together.
Incredibly proud of this team. They represented their nation with courage, dignity, and class. I have loved watching this team under Klinzy and I’m proud to say they represented this country. They gave everything they had despite enduring the roughest schedule of the tournament.
It’s unfortunate they lost, but I’m more excited about how they played and how they succeeded. Love this team and this coach. Let’s go further in 2018.
You’re excited about the way they played? Portugual game had some glimpses I guess.
Losing is not that upsetting. I guess it’s just that most of us were sick of the Empty bucket, Bunker and try to steal a goal here and there, always assuming the other team is better overall kind of tactics. Klinsmann just disappointed me with the 3 holding mids in every single game. I feel like he lied when he got the job.
Klinnsman lied about a lot of things. Look at the Donovan getting cut and Chandler making the team situation. Klinnsman is all about Klinnsman.
How did he lie about Donovan? Seems like he never liked him (Which is stupid IMO)
Mr Kinz,
You may not have noticed this but the US was playing Belgium.
Belgium lost Benteke to injury so now they start Origi and then they sub him out Lukaku. All three are much better than Jozy.
That is just one example of the reality that this Belgian team is two maybe three times as deep and talented as the US.
Care to give me the “attacking” US lineup (whatever that means) that would have beaten Belgium?
On paper Belgium should have beaten the US 4-0. JK fields a lineup to shut them down and basically does that and gives the US a chance to win the game. You don’t like that, but that is how the game is played at this level..
Yo….you are bent on letting people know that you know Belgium lost Benteke due to injury.
Origi and Lukaku are all better than Altidore……why the comparison? was Altidore on the field?
“That is just one example of the reality that this Belgian team is two maybe three times as deep and talented as the US”………didn’t better talented players help; Italy to beat Costa Rica or England dismantle Costa Rica, better yet help Spain beat Chile? NO So Who cares what’s on paper…..
“You don’t like that, but that is how the game is played at this level”……says who?
GW: I think you’re probably right that there isn’t any “attacking” or other lineup that would likely have allowed us to beat as strong a team as Belgium. Still, if we could have a do-over starting a couple of months ago, I think we might have done much better against Belgium (and even better in the group) with Fabian Johnson and Landon Donovan playing left and right in midfield instead of Zusi, Bedoya and Davis — particularly after Jozy went down. This would have added Donovan’s creativity and skill-set and more of Johnson’s drive to the attack without sacrificing anything of importance on defense. It might also have improved Bradley’s performance by allowing him to return to his normal role and preferred position.
Clint was gassed. Jones was gassed. They were mentally done as of 60′ in the Germany game. Blame Klinsimann all you want, but he’s big part of us getting as far as we did.
Here’s to Howard.
Here’s to Yedlin, Green… and further development.
USA!
They didn’t attack because they had an ultra-defensive line up. The likes of which Bob Bradley would have called a conservative approach.
Boy am I p*ssed off, and so is Expat. For 90 minutes we were on our heels and Tim Howard played better than great. 0-0 extra time. At the 105 minute mark here are the stats. Belgium 2 USA 0, Shots: Belgium 37. USA 10. shots on goal: Belgium 16, USA 3, Corner kicks: Belgium 17. USA 4. For 105 minutes we were on our heels.
Then Julian Green finally got on the field for the first time in the world cup and what happened? Everything changed, (forget about his goal, that the weakling as everyone here called him, held off a much bigger defender and kept his ground), no longer were the USA on their heels but Belgium were on theirs. The stats changed and the USA were on the attack for those final 15 minutes.
imho, if Julian had come in half-time, or at the 72 minute mark instead of Wondo, or if Julian would have come in at the end of regulation time when the score was 0-0 we would have won the game! The kid made that much of a difference. Why in the %&$€ didn’t they play him earlier, like against Portugal?
All of you, just watch the last 15 minutes of this game again. It was the best the USMNT have ever played. Why?
They didn’t attack because they had an ultra-defensive line up. The likes of which Bob Bradley would have called a conservative approach.
Yep
+1 agreed….absolutely
Here are the stats for the last 15 minutes. Belgium 1 shot, USA 6 shots on goal.
Exactly, change of tatics. Bringing on offensive players. Huge relelation!
Sorry, it wasn’t bringing on offensive playerS and it wasn’t a change in tactics, it was due to a single player, a teenager by the name, Julian Green.
It was more the situation than green. Belgium was just sitting on their two goal lead
exactly. Belgium, up 2-0, was content to ride it out. it almost backfired though. but their tactical change fed into why the last 15 minutes was so dominate for us.
imo Jurgen only played him when he thought it was his last chance to play him before getting eliminated from the World Cup and he wanted to give Julian a taste. Julian never appeared to actually be a part of any game plans
i will say, Wondo had a nice pass to Dempsey on the free kick. set Dempsey up nicely but Dempsey couldn’t bury it.
Chris Wondolowski @ChrisWondo 1m
I’m gutted to have let down everyone but especially my teammates. It’s been an incredible ride but I know this will make me stronger.
ok ok ok, i’ll stop bagging on him now.
Hate it for him. Classy move on his part. But doesn’t make me feel any better. That moment will be remembered forever, and he will unfortunately always be scapegoated.
We all know he should have put it in the back of the net. He knows it too, and he will have to live with that forever. There’s nothing for him to come back stronger too. Not like he’s 22 and will get another chance at a World Cup. His gaffe cost us the quarter finals. Hate it for him. Hate it for Howard. Hate it for Jurgen. Hate it for the 23. Hate it for the entire nation.
I think there’s still a gap between us and the world powers. But we emerged from the group of death and had Belgium beat with a simple finish. An underwhelming albeit talented Argentina awaited in the quarters, the CRC or Netherlands in the semis. The bracket set up well for us to make a deep run.
Jag, yup that’s pretty much exactly how i feel.
Klinsmann put out an ultra defensive lineup every single game at the World Cup. This leads me to believe he was afraid that there would be a couple blowouts against us and he would be embarrassed. Simple as that.
you may be on to something, I still like Klinsmann for a coach and he did get a lot of things right. I just think he was too unsure of the capabilities of the team so he went ultra-defensive. When you get on the big stage some coaches go very conservative.
Bunker Bob style all the way
Bring on Copa America and the hope Klinnsman puts players in the right position and makes getting the ball and players into the penalty area a national standard to playing the game. I am not talking about getting ‘just outside’ the penalty area, play keep away, until you lose the ball. Route one soccer to the penalty area. Play compact in offense and defense. MLS coaches, if you are reading, make Route One direct to the penalty area a major approach to playing this game. Time for a new attitude.
Its over, we went down fighting, guns ah blazing and exited the world cup with respect…….To press and miss chance after chance (even though Howard made save after save too) showed we played with heart (a little too late though, we should have started with that intensity).
1) We have the defense (Besler, Beasley, Gonzo, Johnson, Yedlin) to complete at the highest level
2) Yedlin was outstanding, especially coming on “cold” and running at Belgium defenders. He is part of the future of US soccer.
3) Wondo was out classed and out played….too slow, couldn’t run at defenders, and couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net….totally out classed
4) Green should have been on the field way sooner, even without the goal, changed the tempo of the game, especially after scoring
5) Landon Donovan, starter or not, should have been on that team in Brazil.
6) We would have had a better chance with AJ than Wondo….hands down
7) Tim Howard – is simply a beast
But hind sight is always 20/20 after the fact. We are out of the world cup but we left like men…..shoving the win down their throats and making them earn it, after 2 goals down, with our backs to the wall and our foot on the gas pedal up to the very end.
bizzy,
Soccer is not a compartmentalized game like the NFL. In the NFL a team can have a great defense and great special teams and a mediocre offense. So they draft a great QB and bring in a new OC and build a new offense and suddenly they have a complete team.
It does not work that way in soccer. All 11 players have a role in the defense and all 11 have a role in the offense.
You say if only AJ had been there instead of Wondo or if Green had only been on earlier thing would have been different. But you don’t know that. Wondo’s miss( which may have been offside anyway) was a bang bang thing and might have been missed by AJ. And Green was running at what had to be an exhausted Belgian defense.
The point is you fail to give credit to Belgium.
We lose Altidore, they lose Christian Benteke. Look him up he’s pretty dammed awesome. So they replace him with Origi a guy I never heard of but who I’m pretty sure would start for the US were he eligible. And who do they sub in for Origi? Lukakau, who I guarantee you starts for the US.
All three Belgian beast strikers are easily are much better than Jozy.
And their other subs were Mirallas and Chadli. I’m not big on Chadli but Mirallas starts for the US no doubt.
Their roster is easily twice as talented as anything the US’ could have assembled.
Meanwhile the US misses Jozy, loses Fabian and has diminished players in Jones. Dempsey and Mikey.
Belgium deserved their win but it is hardly unrealistic to say the US could have won this game or taken it to penalties.
The truth is Belgium were luckier than the US. Take your nit picking somewhere else and thank God you are lucky enough to have a team worth rooting for, every one of them even Wondo , you ingrate.
The most pointless ever…..do you have 11 defenders on the field? This is not the NFL…….. No GW, You have the Goalkeeper, Defenders (key word), Midfielders and Forwards. We defend and attack as a unit which is besides the point. Secondly Wondo apart from his misses didn’t cause any trouble or pains for the Belgium Defenders (unlike Green).
What does Benteke have to do with anything I wrote? For someone who watches EPL maybe Benteke is new to you. Look him up? lol, that’s funny
Further more what does the talent level of their roster have to do with us playing with heart? That’s the point, we played our hearts out even though man for man their talent far exceeds ours. I think you pre-wrote this and just copied and pasted…..has to be.
“Do you ever have 11 defenders on the field?”
Yes. Every time you don’t have the ball. Look at how the US defended. Usually 10 or 11 players (Dempsey would float back slowly) would be involved in defense.
“You have the Goalkeeper, Defenders (key word), Midfielders and Forwards”
And yet our best defenders were midfielders and our best attackers were fullbacks (defenders). Does this confuse you?
wow….is comprehension level that low? Was Deuce or Bedoya LISTED as a Defender on the roster? Regardless of how they play they are listed in a group……is that so hard for some of you to grasp? damn…..
“The truth is Belgium were luckier than the US. Take your nit picking somewhere else and thank God you are lucky enough to have a team worth rooting for, every one of them even Wondo , you ingrate.”…….if you didn’t have you head so far up your a$$ you’d know my comments were of praises and complements. Ingrate? Ungrateful about what??????
“Its over, we went down fighting, guns ah blazing and exited the world cup with respect…….To press and miss chance after chance (even though Howard made save after save too) showed we played with heart”……that’s my first paragraph, learn to read before you comment negatively retard
It was apparent to me that this team lacks a true leader (besides Howard). Hmm, I wonder who could have been that calm, cool, collected leader to run things in the middle of the pitch?
Sitting at home watching the game like the rest of us still asking “Wait, what? Did you just take Brad Davis over me?”
haha, John.
Bottom line is, we did not make any progress even with Klinsmann. By the way, you know what Costa Ricans are saying? Theirs was the Group of Death.
Sorry, triplicated this post.
Before the extra time i was utterly p1ssed off. We were playing like Mexico, waiting for the big bad euro team to score and letting them make our keeper MOTM.
Then the last 15 were awesome but not enough. Still, very uneven performances: while Jones was giving out his guts, Bradley was scared sh1tless. While Howard was stopping impossible shots, Besler was chasing belgians for an autograph.
I look forward for a bright future. It’s excellent to have Copa America on US soil in 2016, I want to see more of JJ and he won’t likely be around for the next WC.
Bottom line is, we did not make any progress even with Klinsmann. Btw, you know what Costa Ricans are saying? Theirs was the Group of Death.
They played a old Italy team an overrated England and a mental Uruguay. None of those three beat Germany and doubtful on Ghana and Portugal. And then for there second round they got the weakest round of sixteen team in Greece. Congrats to them and I’ll be routing them on but if you think they had a harder road then us you are watching a diffen’t world cup.
Two wins and a tie in the group stage vs a lucky win, a tie against Portugal’s joke running joke on poor CR7, and a loss against a Germany squad playing at 50%. Against one of the most uncomfortable and confusing teams in the world they played with 10 and deserved the win. They took care of their business and are now in the top 8; we couldn’t. Facts.
Fact: Putting “Fact” after opinion doesn’t make something fact.
CRC has done well for the cards they were dealt, but they’re not the same cards that USA was dealt. And unlike cards, you can’t compare the two with any certainty. There’s no transitive property of dominance.
I Agree. They played against THREE World Cup Champions and came out on top. Ours was a group of death too except for two things 1) The US was expected to beat Ghana. And to be blunt we should have beaten them the last two times. 2) PORTUGAL IS OVERRATED. I can’t say this enough. PORTUGAL IS OVERRATED!!!
Yes, ENgland is overrated too, but Costa rica was not suppose to have a chance against any of the teams where as people had high hopes for the US to do damage.
Ghana was favored against us, ur right on Portugal being overrated
Playing three past world cup champs doesn’t make them world cup capable this year. I don’t know what people you knew who had hough hopes for the USA because it wasn’t the majority of people. Portugal is over rated to be sure but nowhere as bad as England. Ask your self would you have switched groups with Costa Rica. I would have.
People had high hopes for the US to do damage?
Okay, no. People had hopes for the US to get out the group. Many were saying three losses.
Overall, entertaining and exciting game. One of the best of a very good WC. Outstanding performances by howard and beasly. Good by Jones. Others not so much.
God save everyone if Belgium really becomes a team instead of players.
Don’t think many truly realize how much talent Belgium has on its roster. A literal embarrassment of riches. Plus, they were much fresher than the U.S.; no excuse making, but they had not faced the overall brutality that the American has squad dealt with in this competition. Wouldn’t be a bit surprised if they lifted the trophy. And this match went to the final moments of extra time. Very brave performance.
Actually Belgium’s tactics are pretty brilliant – after letting this sink in. They almost invite you forward in ways designed to spring their dynamic attackers into wide space. All they need is to finish at a better rate.
To be fair, Belgium’s finishing was fine – Howard was just playing with all the cheat codes activated.
im surprised people are ok with the USA under klinsmann considering the team went 1-1-2, very defensive minded and looked not much different than the b. bradley era. the usual USA traits, lots of heart and play until the final whistle, not much else.
Im surprised people thought the same lack of talent could do any better then four years ago. People we dont have the talent yet. Yedlin, Green, and others are a start but is going to take time to match Belgium in talent let alone an Argentina and Germany. You have to walk before you run and right now we are walking.
Really tough group though. I’m OK with Klinsi but only OK.
We need to get seeded come the next world cup. We are always likely to be in a group of death if we aren’t. Just imagine we get to play a second rate Euro team, an Asian team, and an African/South American team. The group would be much more manageable. If we win we would get to play a runner up in the round of 16. It would give us a legit chance to at least make the quarterfinals and then who knows what can happen.
I would be really interested in seeing Klinnsman put players in the right places and stop saturating the talent of somebody like Fabian Johnson. Put Fabian Johnson on a wing.
Wow, I am excited about some younger players that will be a BIG part of the USMNT future. However, I am not sure if Klinnsman will put players in the right place to maximize the performance of the team.
Green, Yedlin, Boyd, Agudelo, Gil, Zardes just a few young players I am excited. Want see Mix and AJ get some more run. Altidore is still fairly young, and I hope the heartbreak of barely playing in this Cup motivates to become even better. Interesting years ahead.
As a Galaxy fan who goes to games when I can…I am watching Zardes too. He is versatile, but I think does his best work is in the penalty area as a forward.
Not sure why, but did not realize how physically imposing he was until this season. He is an athletic freak.
Mike G. Think Zardes today as Lukaku lite.
maybe tomorrow Zardes the great.
Absolutely Concur.
Here is a 2018 starting lineup of people on today’s team that will be 30 and under.
——————————–Aaron————————–Jozy————————————-
Green————————Mix—————————Bradley———————-Chandler
Fabian——————— Brooks———————–Gonzo———————–Yedlin
———————————————-Adu (yes shameless trolling for replies)————
Not a bad start and of course there are lots of young players that have yet to get their shot. Not to mention the fact that US force in NATO was still pretty formidable in the 1990’s so who knows what Jurgen will be able to recruit from Germany
Making and performing well in the upcoming U-20 Cup and the Olympics is of paramount importance to me. I want see what these young guys have got.
Gold Cup is also important because if we win in 2015 we get int the Confederations Cup as well.
I would swap Yedlin and Chandler…but this is more closely related to today. 3 years ago we had no idea about Green, Yedlin, Brooks, or Chandler. Gatt could make a comeback. I am sure others will emerge down the years. Bring on COPA AMERICA!!!
I think we are well placed going forward. Back in 2010 my biggest worry was that our 4 best players, Landon, Clint, Boca and Cherundalo would all be well over 30 come cup time and it would take a while to sort out who had how much left in the tank. This time around I don’t think we will have that dilemma, except maybe if Tim Howard wants to stick around.
The great Jurgen Klinsmann, the man who was going to give us exciting attacking soccer picks a starting line up with one goalkeeper, four defender. three d-mids (one of the d-mids is actually a defender) and only three attackers two of whom are not worth a dam. What Klinsmann did today was Bunker Bob style soccer in overdrive. Klinsmann didn’t park the bus. He parked a freight train. In the first 90 minutes Belgium had nearly 30 shots and many of those on target while the US had less than half a dozen. Without the extraordinary play of Tim Howard the US would have lost at least by 4-0.
The USMNT could have won today with a more proactive line-up and with the addition of Landon Donovan and two or three other more offensive-minded players. Clarence Goodson would have helped also/ In this bracket with Argentina playing like sh!t the USMNT could have made to the semi-final to face The Netherlands if Klinsmann would have picked a better roster.
Please give me these offensive players you speak of?
I have no idea who is trolling me like that, but I did NOT post that…
Grow up , that’s just classless
Stop using my name whoever you are.
Low class move to do something that immature after just getting knocked out.
Grow up
Did you watch the game.
Had they not “parked the freight train” the game is 4-2 Belgium at the half and maybe ends up 7-3 Belgium.
JK’s job is to get a result not please the fans.
GW, that wasn’t me that posted that.. someone trolling my name
The right side of our attack could be so deadly going forward if you pair Yedlin at full back with the proper midfielder in front of him. Shift Johnson back over to the left full back, and we could have some serious joy on the flanks going forward. I am interested which young guys continue to develop in the next few years, and which veterans continue on (Jozy, Bradley, Fabian, for sure, probably Besler and Cameron as well; Gonzalez is a total enigma for me). American soccer has never been more exciting, MLS has never been at a higher level. It hurts now, bad, but this was a successful World Cup and we played brave soccer. Keep the never say die team spirit, add more skill and technical ability, you might have something cooking in 2018.
No. Do not waste the talent of Fabian Johnson at RB or LB when he is perfect for RW or LW. Yedlin allows F Johnson to go to midfield. Does anybody not see what F Johnson is capable of in midfield during the pre WC games and in the WC?
Stop talking about future. Future is now and we have failed. We made progress? Where was Belgium 4 years ago? Where is it now? Why we don’t compare us to Belgium and simply admit that we fail and fail again. Costa Rica is in QF and we are home. DISASTER.
Let me guess, you are great big ginger and your name rhymes with Wallace.
Yedlin and Fabian on the same flank sounds tantalizing. I wanted to see that today, but alas, twas not to be.
We won the possession battle though!
But they had 38 shots, 27 on goal… How are we suppose to win with those kind of numbers.
Thats crazy no goalie should ever be put thru that.
By Wondo scoring the sitter. Simple. And was there.
How could they have had 27 shots on goal when Howard made 16 saves and let two by him? Do they count blocked shots as “on goal”?
Anyone who disagrees with me on this please come forward. Grahm zusi is simply physically inferior on the international level. As a fill in against concacaf minnows due to scheduling for others? Fine. Other then that if we can’t send out a specimen better then him in a World Cup final well then that’s just sad.
I mentioned Zusi is more of a playmaker central midfielder type. He does not have the speed to play out wide. I mentioned this so many times. Donovan should be in the playmaker role behind two forwards. Zusi, with his vision and passing, would be more effective in the middle, as a backup to Donovan. The USMNT needs speed on the wings and not a player like Jones. Unfortunately, we are at the mercy of Klinnsman as fans.
Fabian Johnson, I called for him to move up into midfield, and put Cameron at RB. Simple things that Klinnsman shoots down for what reason is beyond me. Yedlin, down the road, could be a RB or RW.
I agree with you on the Fabian/Cameron combo, however, Ray said Zusi is physically inferior and at least in this game it is without question. He had by far the hardest time retaining possession. He constantly got knocked off the ball and was swatted away like a fly going into challenges time after time. Not to mention his lack of speed.
I disagree. He did not play well today. He may have had heavy legs. But he had some good moments thus Cup and he deserved to be there.
Definitely the best I have ever felt about a world cup loss. Valiant effort. I love that the youngins stepped up. And Howard of course, but you never have to worry about that dude.
sorry but I can’t imagine feeling worse after a loss. we had a great opportunity to be facing Argentina in the next round. When it counted most our lineup and strategy fell flat today.
Great effort by the USA players all throughout the tournament. But for some special plays by our opponents, especially Ronaldo’s final touch and Lukaka’s strength, was what in the end caused the US to come up a bit short.
For those of us who remember needing a win at T&T in the last game of the 1990 qualifiers to get to the WC and watching the US get soundly spanked by Czechoslovakia this WC was a wholy better experience. This time people in the USA actually knew we were playing in the world cup.
Unlike 1986 I did not have to watch the WC games on Univision.
US soccer is growing by leaps and bounds. The future looks very bright.