Belgium 2 USA 1 Final ot

[Michchamp]

And his Dad was shit-canned in favor of Klinsmann, too.

maybe Klinsmann kept him on as a favor to his departed father, kinda like RichRod starting that one bad QB (forget his name) over Threet when his dad had been on Carr's staff.

the American sporting press seems to have given Klinsmann all the credit for advancing out of the Group round. I think he's certainly done okay; at least he hasn't done any harm. but I don't think there's enough evidence to say if he's been any better than Bradley Sr.

I'd be willing to wager that if we HAD Donovan as a sub at least, we could've found some offense late against Belgium... and that's all it would've taken. One freaking goal in regulation. ugh.

 

[dubbsco]

Bradley is the best passer on the team. He is the catalyst for them. He had some incredible games during the qualification stage, and was a beast in the WC 2010. There is no favors being done for him, there's no one who belongs on that midfield more than him. I'm irritated that Beckerman was not along side of Bradley against Belgium, he was having a great cup. No doubt Bradley sucked, but he showed up against Belgium.

Klinsmann does deserve the credit. His substitutions of Brooks and Yedlin would not have done by Bradley Sr, as he played the same guys for the full 90 until they passed out. He was loyal to a fault, and he did not trust the guys on the bench.

Donovan would not have stemmed the tide of the Belgium game. They came after the States wave upon wave, and if it wasn't for Howard, it would have been 6-0. USA had a chance for the goal, but Wondo blew it. It was corrected that the ref was waiving for a goal kick and not off-sides. Belgium deserved that game, there's nothing much to complain about. Until the team gets sustainable talent, they won't get far. Not having Altidore really hurt against Belgium. Offense was not able to hold the ball at all in the attacking third.

 

[mhughes0021]

4 on 0 at the far post on yedlins cross...and all we get is a soft shot on goal. That was the other chance we didn't capitalize on. Cant pass, cant possess and just a general lack of quality players that can put the ball in the net. To be expected from a country where soccer is trumped by 3 other sports in high school....maybe more.

 

[dubbsco]

Hughes, believe it or not, the MLS is better attended than the NHL and NBA. I don't buy into the other sports trumping soccer for finding talent. There's a shit ton of people in this country, I find it hard to believe that USA soccer can't find 24 guys who are at the world class level.

In my opinion, there's an inferiority complex when the USA plays teams like Germany and Belgium. If you noticed in the 2nd extra time, USA was playing with absolute fire and the Belgians were folding. I do not understand why the USA cannot play like that the whole time; rather, they choose to defense the entire time. They give these other countries way too much respect.

 

[biggunsbob]

I hate sitting back like we do... We should attack at all times.. Leaving Donavon off the team was pre folly..

 

[dubbsco]

Donovan would not have made the difference in the outcome of the World Cup. Belgium owned the majority of the game. USA lost for a few reasons, missing Donovan is not one of them.

 

[lgolfer]

every article I'm reading is making a lot of excuses for Michael Bradley. he seemed timid and useless out there to me most of the game. granted his stellar lob-pass to Green led to our only goal, but he didn't seem to put much effort in to chasing the ball down, contesting any passes, or anything like that for most of the 120 minutes.

the thought occurred to me that he's one of the highest-paid, or maybe THE highest paid player on the team, and he has a lot more to lose from rolling an ankle or tearing something than everyone else on the team. I'm only speculating, but if that's his attitude, Klinsmann needs to find someone else to take that role.

Dubbsco already echoed many of my thoughts, but I'm going to say it again. Bradley played poorly against Ghana and Portugal. He played better against Germany and had a very good game against Belgium. For the entire World Cup he was forced to play out of position. Normally he is our defensive mid, but he was forced to play as an attacking mid. There is a huge difference! He is a great passer normally, but does not have a great shot. Add his great defending and limitless stamina and you have one of the best players on the US roster.

"He didn't seem to put much effort in to chasing the ball down, contesting any passes, or anything like that for most of the 120 minutes."
What game were you watching?! He consistently ran at defenders, causing several bad passes and changes in possession. At one point he even sprinted 60 yards to help out back on defense. He ran over 10 miles against Belgium! Lastly, if Bradley was at all playing timid and afraid of getting injured, do you really think he would've covered the most distance of anyone in the World Cup? The picture attached shows the top 8 players in distance covered so far in the World Cup.

To summarize, he ran 34 miles at the World Cup, which is 1.5 miles more than 2nd place and 4.5 miles more than his nearest teammate, Jermaine Jones. It's taken directly from FIFA's website: http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/statistics/players/distance.html