Concacaf WC Qaulifying

I am not saying I agree with it but his job is through the 2018 World Cup and he knows he is likely not going to be the coach after that. All he cares about is qualifying for the World Cup and doing well in that tournament.

I get it from his side even though it might not be the best thing long term.

 

Which begs the question...what IS the best thing for the long term?

 

I might agree with you if I knew what that looked like. What does unlinking success of one from the other look like? And I'll add number 2: fire Sunil Gulati. It's time for fresh blood at USSF. Recycling Bruce Arena was a colossal, backwards mistake. We have a lot of fresh, young futbol minds in this country. It's time to start utilizing them, along with the fresh, young talent. You'll not convince me that our most recent call-ups are the best we have to offer. Scour the planet. Beat the bushes. Who knows where the next kid honing his considerable talent in a trailer park field in East Texas might be?

 

You know how we always hear US players/coaches/announcers state that WCQ is a grind. Every match is tough. Win at home, draw away. I feel like it has been beat into our heads (certainly theirs).

I am quite surprised at the positivity (Lalas comments aside) that was reported after the Honduras draw. We played horribly and got a lucky bounce in the last 6 minutes, but most of the stories had a theme of "job accomplished".

My question here is do all teams feel that way? I can't imagine that the Mexican players/coaches/announcers feel like away to Honduras or Panama is a game where they'll "grind out a point". I realize that we are not more skilled than Mexico, but I'm starting to think that we're going into these matches with a mental disadvantage. (It certainly doesn't help when the manager's tactics emphasize this point as well.) Will we ever get to a point where we should expect to kick the shit out of T&T or Jamaica or some other top ten CONCACAF side no matter where the match is held?

 

So, you're suggesting number 3 on the list of US Soccer's best thing for the long term would be to play to win every match, even the ones on the road? They (whoever the mysterious "they" are) would probably tell you that we DO play to win every match. They'd be lying.

 

HD, the roster will be announced tommorrow (no later than Monday am). Biggest match since Conor Casey, of all people, scored a brace down in Honduras in '09. Panama will be more than happy with their 5th consecutive 1-1 draw w/the US. They are the best coached outfit in Concacaf while the US is um...

 

Ugh.

 

And Arriola. And Wondolowski. And the two 38 year old keepers (and one 33 year old). Oh, screw it, I'm tired of bitching about the roster. We need to show marked improvement in this round, whether or not we qualify. If we keep trending downward, that Feb. USSF election becomes much more interesting.

 

Yedlin is a lock for RB and good to see him back - LB, whomever. Wood and Dempsey/Altidore are leading the line. I think his "best" years are behind him, but happy to see a Benny F. back in the squad.

 

That Benny goal was a thing of beauty, speaking of blast from the past Frankie Simek belongs on the 'all-what if he didn't get hurt US team'.

 

Too many old guys....the World Cup seems to be a showcase of youngsters, for the most part. I just want to see the real Clint Dempsey for the rest of his international career.

 

Looks like there were just enough young guys. I don't know what I was expecting but my expectations were exceeded.

 

Standing O!!! You figured Panama would follow the Ticos/Honduras script of kicking/fouling 'Wonder Boy' from the opening kick, but they let him run wild...DOH!!! Pulisic put on a show in the first 45. Hoping his knock isn't too bad. Celebrate tonight, but realize there is still work to do.

 

Great performance, great result, Pulisic’s coming out party for his country. But Kasey Keller nailed it in his post match remarks. CONCACAF must do more to protect and develop it’s stars to be taken seriously on the world stage. We’re lucky Pulisic or Wood weren’t seriously injured, especially Pulisic. You or I would have been charged with assault for some of the things that were done to him after the second and third goals. And the aerial challenge on Omar should have been a straight red. Before the match, Mr. Darke opined that this ref handed out double digit yellow cards and a red in his previous league match and wouldn’t tolerate any bad behavior. Instead, he swallowed his whistle and looked the other way. The federation needs to look at the video and mete out some harsh post match discipline to at least attempt to pretend to deter the miscreants. You don’t want a scenario like the old NHL, where every team had to employ at least one enforcer to “protect” the skill guys. Again, I’m glad we won big but, damn. Clean it up CONCACAF.

 

After recent performances I figured the best I could hope for was a close win. Very glad I was wrong.