USA 2 Ghana 1 Final

[lgolfer]

Great start and a great finish. We need to work on everything in between. Michael Bradley played the worst I've seen in a long time and we still won, which is great since he's one of, if not our best field player along with Dempsey. We really struggled in possession, especially once Altidore got injured, but managed to defend pretty well. Jermaine Jones was the best player on the field for us.

Portugal will likely be missing two of their defenders when we play them on Sunday at 6 pm (Pepe got a red card against Germany and Coentrao hurt his hamstring). Despite our several injuries, I think our team is much better conditioned than Portugal and we'll be playing in Manaus, which is a city in the Amazon where it'll likely be 90 and very humid. Also, I can't imagine Michael Bradley having 2 bad games in a row. The biggest question will be who replaces Altidore in the line-up, since I'm almost positive he'll at least miss the Portugal game.

 

[biggunsbob]

I agree Jones was our best player he played so well.. Losing Jozy is a huge blow, and Bradley needs to wake up and show up the next game.. team played bend but don't break defense... You know more then me L but we have to possess the ball more No?
What a great goal off the set piece for the winner!!!!

 

[Monster]

If we can get a win over portugal, I think we're a lock to get out of group play. Right? How are ties broken? Head to head? If that's the case, we're a lock if we beat them. If it's goal differential, i dont know.

 

[tomdalton22]

I think soccer is the most boring sport to watch on TV. That said, I am happy the USA won. My son is a soccer fan so I am pretty happy about the result.

 

[Monster]

I think soccer is the most boring sport to watch on TV. That said, I am happy the USA won. My son is a soccer fan so I am pretty happy about the result.

International soccer is cool because it's a country pride thing. Like Curling, nobody would watch it if it was Winnipeg vs. Chicago. You put the stars and stripes on and suddenly everyone wants to see us kick those Canadian bastards' asses.

 

[Gulo Blue]

International soccer is cool because it's a country pride thing. Like Curling, nobody would watch it if it was Winnipeg vs. Chicago. You put the stars and stripes on and suddenly everyone wants to see us kick those Canadian bastards' asses.

Yup. I also think soccer is a boring sport to watch...but not if it's the US team.

 

[Michchamp]

If we can get a win over portugal, I think we're a lock to get out of group play. Right? How are ties broken? Head to head? If that's the case, we're a lock if we beat them. If it's goal differential, i dont know.

Yes, if we beat Portugal, we're probably through, regardless of whether Germany beats Ghana. But there are three scenarios:

1. assuming Germany beats Ghana then we'll be tied with Germany w/6 points.

Portugal & Ghana will be out with zero... no matter what happens in Germany/US & Portugal/Ghana we'll be through.

2. If Ghana ties Germany, the point standings would be 6-4-1-0, and we'll also be through no matter what.

3. If Ghana beats Germany, it will be 6-3-3-0. And then if we lose to Germany & Ghana beats Portugal... the standings would be 6-6-6-0. The first tie-breaker rule is head-to-head, but that doesn't work here. Then next tie-breaker is goal differential. (Assume Germany goes through b/c of their big win vs. Portugal). Then, if it still can't be determined, the next tie-breaker is goals scored in the match between the teams.

If it was 6-6-6-0, I think then Germany goes through on GD, and we go through on head-to-head vs. Ghana. If Ghana somehow goes on a goal scoring tear, and gets the 1st place spot based on GD, then we'd be eliminated in the head-to-head vs. Germany. I think.

 

[Michchamp]

Yup. I also think soccer is a boring sport to watch...but not if it's the US team.

it's gotten more popular around here... it helps that the games are usually during the day, so it's an excuse to go to the bar and drink a lot of beer w/friends. nothing boring about that. also, you're typically drinking among like-minded people so there's good vibes.

 

[Gulo Blue]

Yes, if we beat Portugal, we're probably through, regardless of whether Germany beats Ghana. But there are three scenarios:

1. assuming Germany beats Ghana then we'll be tied with Germany w/6 points.

Portugal & Ghana will be out with zero... no matter what happens in Germany/US & Portugal/Ghana we'll be through.

2. If Ghana ties Germany, the point standings would be 6-4-1-0, and we'll also be through no matter what.

3. If Ghana beats Germany, it will be 6-3-3-0. And then if we lose to Germany & Ghana beats Portugal... the standings would be 6-6-6-0. The first tie-breaker rule is head-to-head, but that doesn't work here. Then next tie-breaker is goal differential. (Assume Germany goes through b/c of their big win vs. Portugal). Then, if it still can't be determined, the next tie-breaker is goals scored in the match between the teams.

If it was 6-6-6-0, I think then Germany goes through on GD, and we go through on head-to-head vs. Ghana. If Ghana somehow goes on a goal scoring tear, and gets the 1st place spot based on GD, then we'd be eliminated in the head-to-head vs. Germany. I think.

If we assume Germany wins out:

If we tie Portugal and Portugal goes on to beat Ghana, the big Germany-Portugal score helps us.

If we tie Portugal and they lose to Ghana, we've got it.

 

[Michchamp]

If we assume Germany wins out:

If we tie Portugal and Portugal goes on to beat Ghana, the big Germany-Portugal score helps us.

If we tie Portugal and they lose to Ghana, we've got it.

yeah, assuming we beat Portugal IS a big assumption.

I watched about 25 mins of the 2nd half, and I thought we played like crap, especially our midfield, who made a lot of bad passes. we're not going to win another game if we barely hold possession.

 

[jared]

Late to this party...

Great and much needed win. The US sat way too deep after scoring and invited all that pressure. Like someone posted earlier, 1-1 was almost inevitable. Getting the go ahead goal late was really exciting. They need to keep up the attacking pressure or this will continue to happen. Bring on CR7 and Portugal...

 

[lgolfer]

Bob, you're correct that we'll need to possess the ball more against Portugal in order to win. I think we'll be able to do that though, even if we don't have majority possession. Playing in Manaus (likely 90 degrees and humid) will not allow a team to play high-pressure defense all game, which should allow us to do a better job in possession. With that said, not having Altidore will definitely hurt our possession. It's going to be very interesting to see what line-up Klinsmann decides on for Sunday.

Also, to clear up the rules about tie breakers, here's the list:
1. Goal differential (Goals scored for - goals scored against)
2. Most goals scored

If teams are still tied after those two tie breakers, feel free to read about the other tie breakers in the below article.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...larifying-group-tie-break-scenarios-and-rules

 

[Gulo Blue]

Late to this party...

Great and much needed win. The US sat way too deep after scoring and invited all that pressure. Like someone posted earlier, 1-1 was almost inevitable. Getting the go ahead goal late was really exciting. They need to keep up the attacking pressure or this will continue to happen. Bring on CR7 and Portugal...

Sat too deep and late in the game on a couple of the times when the ball was cleared and their defenders were bringing it back up, our forwards failed to challenge. That always pisses me off.

 

[lgolfer]

Sat too deep and late in the game on a couple of the times when the ball was cleared and their defenders were bringing it back up, our forwards failed to challenge. That always pisses me off.

I agree that our forwards need to do a better job pressuring the opponents defenders, but part of the problem in the Ghana game was that Dempsey was having trouble breathing due to his broken nose. Hopefully that won't be a problem in the Portugal game. Also, I expect Michael Bradley to play much better offensively and that will help our possession a lot.

 

[sggatecl]

I agree that our forwards need to do a better job pressuring the opponents defenders, but part of the problem in the Ghana game was that Dempsey was having trouble breathing due to his broken nose. Hopefully that won't be a problem in the Portugal game. Also, I expect Michael Bradley to play much better offensively and that will help our possession a lot.

I can't envision a scenario where Bradley has consecutive games where he plays that poorly when moving forward. I don't think I've ever seen it, usually he's very consistent if nothing else.

 

[lgolfer]

I can't envision a scenario where Bradley has consecutive games where he plays that poorly when moving forward. I don't think I've ever seen it, usually he's very consistent if nothing else.

Exactly, that's why I was so surprised at his poor passing. Also, the extreme heat and humidity should give him an advantage in Manaus due to the great shape he's in.