World CUp -USA v Cze

[malaise]

Cze1 - US 0 (10.50 - 1st half)
I'm taking bets that the US will be down to ten men before this is over.

[Scout1071]

1. Way to sound positive!

Come on man, we will win this thing!

However, that was a bullshit yello to start the game. Weak. Very weak.

[malaise]

2. US has no chance here

Sorry! That card was fair and square -he went for the feet -here comes the Czec yellow for the same offense.

[Scout1071]

4. The US has a very, very good chance here.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

5. I'd give us a good to very good chance.

we have a lot of talent. Bruce has done very well getting these guys here.

[Scout1071]

6. Thank you! "Any given day" and all that jazz.

I feel very good for our boys in blue.

[Karenina]

65. Andrea & I watched

even though it was her night to cook. Hubby's co-worker was into food rustlin', we lucked out and they watched downstairs.

Her step daughter has an album to fill with players pix and info. We spent an hour looking at boys! Based on that scientific research she gave the Czechs 2 or 3-1. I said 6 goals total 4-2, she said NO WAY so I went for 4-1.

[Scout1071]

8. My palms are (slightly) sweating and my heart is racing every

time they get near the box.

Come on USA!

[Scout1071]

9. I can't believe Reyna's shot missed by 2 inches!

Anyway, we seem to be getting good looks. I think we will loosen up and start raining goals on them!

[malaise]

10. Hit the post

first good shot.

[Scout1071]

11. Thank God for Eddie Pope on that one. We have to keep it

away from the 6'7" Koeler.

[malaise]

12. Good defending there n/t

[Scout1071]

14. FUCK.

NUFF SAID.

[TahitiNut]

18. Rosicky's shot sure didn't miss!

Awesome goall... upper right corner from 30-40' out. Extraordinary.

[Scout1071]

3. The equalizing Yellow card!

[RB TexLa]

7. then go to paddy bets and wager it

www.paddypower.com

[ikri]

13. Reyna hits the post

Getting closer to an equalizer.

Convey is playing well but the US need to break through the Czech midfield a lot faster, the one occasion so far when the US have done this Donovan had a chance to run at the Czech defenders, got fouled by Rozehnal who got a yellow card for the tackle. Petr Cech, the Czech goalkeeper, is a superb keeper & the US will find it very hard to beat him by lobbing a few crosses into the box from wide positions - 1-on-1 he's a lot easier to beat.

[malaise]

16. 2-0 Cze

Classy football. The US does not have a chance here.

[Karenina]

66. Seemed to me the US did well

taking over and maintaining possession but were not able to contain the Czechs once they got close.

[underpants]

17. How much time is left?

about 12 mintues or so in the half?

[TahitiNut]

19. 7 minutes plus stop time

:shrug:

[ikri]

20. Less than 10 minutes left of the 1st half n/t

[ChairmanAgnostic]

15. 2-0 shit.

[underpants]

21. UGH!

DAMN!

[malaise]

22. Give thanks if the US

ends up with a 5-1 from the Czechs here. Koller hurt- looks like hamstring.
Edit -add

[Scout1071]

26. You are so negative! We shall overcome!

Especially without that beast, Koller.

[Karenina]

67. Had he survived the game

My 4 wudda come to pass. I'll never be persuaded otherwise! ;-) Poor baby. WHAT a DRAG.

[tridim]

24. Some offense would be nice

It's kind of a basic requirement to score.

[ikri]

23. Jan Koller down & out

Looks like he's done his hamstring, if he has done then he'll be out for the rest of the tournament.

He's the Czech team's biggest threat so they're going to have a lot of problems for the rest of this game & the rest of the competition.

[TahitiNut]

25. The US team has looked dead.

Too many are standing flat-footed, strolling, and showing generally low energy during play. While the temperature is pretty high (84F), the relative humidity is low (23%). Can't blame the weather. :shrug:

[underpants]

27. UGH!

I guess they didn't watch Holland yesterday. Now they looked sharp.

[TahitiNut]

29. I think there's a reason coaches from the Netherlands are so popular.

Watching the team from Trinidad & Tobago (with Leo Beenhakker as the coach) and the team from the Netherlands, I was cheering - I like underdogs and teams that show a zeal for the game. When I see players cuss out their team mates or saunter along and not be bothered to challenge the opposing players, I know they're losers.

[ikri]

28. Two half time substitutions by the US

Cherundolo off for O'Brien and Mastroeni off for Johnson.

[Scout1071]

30. Kind of surprises me. Man, I miss Freidel. (sp?)

We need to press hard here.

[underpants]

31. Something I have been meaning to ask

What happened to the superkid Freddy Adu? He didn't even make the team?
http://www.ussoccer.com/common/stContent.jsp_16-2006WorldCupRoster.html

[Scout1071]

32. Adu.

He's barely old enough to make the squad. He will be a star in the next Cup and beyond.

[ikri]

35. This is where you need a player like Adu

The US midfield is losing the team the game, there's very little creativity in the middle allowing the Czech team to easily pick up the ball & keep possession.

In this situation, where you're 2-0 down you need a creative spark to regain the initiative & get the crowd going. It doesn't matter that he's still young & inexperienced, he's an unknown quantity and would be difficult to deal with. Certainly with the way the substitutions work in this competition (the entire squad is available for selection from the bench) there's no reason not to take him along even if it's just to give him a taste of training with the full international team.

[Scout1071]

39. We needed more experience. Adu just wasn't quite there.

Most of the talk of him playing in this world cup came before he started playing in the MLS. Once there, his inexperience definitely showed through.

[Karenina]

68. Johnson should get a medal...

HE really understood the concept of OFFENSE. Pech gehabt!

[Reader Rabbit]

33. Been following the play-by-play via BigSoccer.com

Sounds like a really ugly game on the part of the U.S. players.

[Scout1071]

34. I'm starting to feel a little disheartened about our chances. nt

[malaise]

36. I warned you early

3-0. US is out of her depth here.

[Scout1071]

37. I'm pretty sure you cursed it. nt

[malaise]

43. Not at all

I watch a lot of football - worked with a club for years. Your defence sucks and your mifield lost control within eight minutes of the game. The Czech Republic team is one of the best in Europe -have a look at the UEFA Cup results from 04.

[TahitiNut]

59. Yep. The Czech team is far better than seeded.

I sure want the US team to do better, because I love the game, but there's no way they should get 4th or 5th ranking in the world. Hell, I'd only give 'em even odds against Ghana - a team that's better than they're ranked or seeded, imho.

[Maiden England]

38. should the 2nd ranked team be able to go 3 up over the 5th ranked team?

how in the heck did the US get ranked 5 in the first place?

[Scout1071]

40. We are good. But, most don't think those rankings matter much.

Any team can win on any given day.

We are so much better than we were just 10 years ago. MLS has been instrumental in our development.

[ikri]

44. The FIFA rankings are useless

They're worked out based on competitive games, like the World Cup, the CONCACAF Cup and the qualifying games for each of them.

The US gets a high ranking because in the qualifying games for the tournaments they play the teams of much much smaller countries. A tough qualifying game for the US might mean a game against Jamaica (recently thrashed 6-0 by England).

Simply put, thanks to the structure of qualifying competitions the US gets to beat a lot of minor teams gaining the US a very high ranking.

[northzax]

49. and also denying the US the tough qualifying matches

needed to deal with this. It's the World Cup, you have to come to play, and we simply didn't.

[Bake]

41. 2-0. Wow. A really high-scoring game!

B-O-R-I-N-G.

Bake

[ChairmanAgnostic]

55. your lack of understanding earns you a yellow card

[TahitiNut]

58. ... and a ticket to a baseball game.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[ChairmanAgnostic]

60. damn, you are SO cruel!

Tahiti, have you no shame or sense of responsibility?

[TahitiNut]

61. Well, I could've been crueler ...

... and said "cricket test matches" instead of "baseball game" ... (but I rather like cricket.) :evilgrin:

Some people equate "exciting" to lots of scoring. Cricket would qualify - sometimes even more than basketball. :silly:

[Bake]

64. Great! I'll take it!

I'd rather watch a nineteen inning no-hit shut-out! I'd even watch Barry Bonds!

Bake

[Karenina]

69. OOOH, you just don't GIT IT!

No harm, no foul.

[hogwyld]

42. All of this is Bruce's fault

The US was into the world cup, so Mr. Arena didn't take the last game with Mexico too seriously. Mexico won, and got into the easier grouping. If we had pulled out all the stops to win that last game, we would have faced Iran, and Bermuda or something...Instead of the Groupo del Muerto.

[malaise]

45. Mexico is the best team

in our region. The US is getting a football lesson here.

[underpants]

46. OH GOD!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport

hit the LIVE button

3-0

[malaise]

47. All over

Brilliant football by the Czechs. Sorry DUers. The US won't make it out of this group. Italy and Ghana are also very good teams.

[underpants]

48. Yeah

Julie Foundy was asked about Ghana over the weekend on one of the MANY runups to this game and she winced and said "Sorry guys they are really good too very deep"

Great now we get to hear jokes about the US soccer team for the next month or so. The program really did seem to be going quite well. I think it is time to get away from the prep school crowd and get real athletes and real players in our uniforms but then I have been saying that for 30 years (since I played).

[NewJeffCT]

50. My question was...

How did the US get to be ranked 5th in the world (or 4th not long ago)?

While they have played well, have they actually beaten any of the top 7 or 8 teams in the world in the past 2 years or so? Brazil, Germany, Argentina, Italy, etc? Any of them?

Or, was the US's ranking due to the fact they have done well against the next tier of teams - those ranked maybe 10-20 in the world?

[underpants]

51. I have no idea

I would guess that these world rankings are from an equation that factors in all kinds of stuff.

I have to say that I was shocked when I heard they were ranked #5-I haven't followed them very closely (you see why now) but I didn't remember hearing about any huge wins

Oap there you go Poland I forgot Poland

http://www.ussoccer.com/common/stContent.jsp_16-06MNTResLU.html

[malaise]

52. Money

It's the only rational answer.

[malaise]

53. Ghana won the youth world cup a few

years ago and have kept most of the players together. Until the US takes developments at youth level seriously, they won't compete with the big boys.

[northzax]

71. irrelevant

Mexico is seeded, and the US is not, based on past performance in World Cups, and nothing else. If the US hadn't come in 32nd in France, this wouldn't be an issue.

[Ganja Ninja]

54. In defense of the US team.

Bush called them before the game and tried to give them some motivation.
That explains the listless, "what's the fucking use" attitude. It's a wonder they didn't hang themselves between periods.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

56. THAT is the BEST explanation I have heard. He follows condi in that way

Everything he touches turns to shit.

[malaise]

57. A call from Bush couldn't help

given his views on football. That fugging jinx does not give a fugg.

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

62. Yep, that explains that beatin....

Gee, I wonder if Chimpy even knows the difference between a yellow and a red card...

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[malaise]

72. Ghana lost to Italy

0-2. Not good for the US.

[Karenina]

73. Thanx for the score!

It was so quiet and we have LOTS of Italians in these parts, but then I saw the flags on the cars racing by with horns ablaze. It's a weekday and the cops are obviously working overtime to stifle the noise.

[TahitiNut]

63. Prolonged projectile vomiting could cause dehydration.

That'd explain it. :nodding:

[Karenina]

70. During the game

that thought DID cross my mind... ;-)

[malaise]

74. Arena angered by sorry USA start

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2006/teams/usa/5043872.stm
<snip>
"The Czech Republic did their homework on DaMarcus Beasley and Landon Donovan and they didn't really touch the ball. Overall we were second best in every department.

"I thought from the get go that to get out of the group they would have needed a draw in the first game to set themselves up with some confidence and get off to a good start.

"They didn't do that and it would be a bit of a miracle now if they got through this group."