I can't even express how much I want Malouda to score in this game and make it an even bigger cluster.
French Guiana isn't a FIFA member, so he has played for them in the Caribbean Cup. They are, however, a CONCACAF member and were planning on playing him. Before their first game, a story came out that this tournament was using FIFA rules to determine eligibility, so Malouda was not eligible, and he didn't play. But now he's playing, so basically they are daring CONCACAF to DQ them.I am super confused. Was there a story before tonite? Malouda has a ton of caps for France. Not even a question.
French Guiana sucks anyway so what will people care? Or this was a threat prior to game?
French Guiana isn't a FIFA member, so he has played for them in the Caribbean Cup. They are, however, a CONCACAF member and were planning on playing him. Before their first game, a story came out that this tournament was using FIFA rules to determine eligibility, so Malouda was not eligible, and he didn't play. But now he's playing, so basically they are daring CONCACAF to DQ them.
No idea how he didnt finish. I think even Wondo hits thatOh man, Arriola off the crossbar after a deflected Agudelo shot right after HT.
You realize the difference between him and our #2 keeper (as long as Howard is injured), right? Be careful what you wish for.I would be happy if Guzan never played again.
The midfield is still a work in progress.
Given that this competition doesn't actually matter, I have no problems with giving youth a chance. But the idea Guzan should be ousted and "young guys" given a chance is sorta undermined by TB's comment about the midfield - which is where young guys are being given a chance. And with respect to TB, I'm choosing to interpret his "work in progress" as "these guys aren't playing well enough".Just give someone else a chance, doesn't really matter who. Young guys are going to have to step up.
Which is why the struggle to break down Panama and the second half shoot out against Martinque are good and productive for the USMNT overall. If we want to have a deep, flexible pool, we need a large number of players that have both been in camps with the current manager and have been in a few classic CONCACAF scraps. It would be nice to win this competition, but the real goal is maxing out the number of matches this group gets to play. There's no replicating this environment for this current roster.Also, I think calling this the B team flatters too much. This is the C team and and we'll see the B team when roster changes are made before the knockout phase
Give me a break. If JK were the coach, he would be getting roasted for this "result" yet Arena gets a free pass because of the "this is a weaker team" card. It shouldn't matter if it's a B or C team. Many of those players last night were MLS Flavors of the Week who many were clamoring for full time NT roles. Hedges was MLS defender of the year and he got torched TWICE by semi pro players!Also, I think calling this the B team flatters too much. This is the C team and and we'll see the B team when roster changes are made before the knockout phase
Wasn't one of the reasons that Arena was hired was because he supposedly could get more out of the MLS -based players because he was so familiar with them and would put them in positions to succeed on the international level? That's all bullshit because the US player pool is terrible because so few of our players are playing competitively abroad and fighting for their spots each day.Because he has no control over whether there are good enough players in the pool. And there are not. Which is being proven position-by-position and game-after-game.
Scores from the 2015 Gold Cup, when we had most of our best players, including Dempsey, Bradley, Brooks, Yedlin, Johnson, Altidore (Howard was on sabbatical):Give me a break. If JK were the coach, he would be getting roasted for this "result" yet Arena gets a free pass because of the "this is a weaker team" card. It shouldn't matter if it's a B or C team. Many of those players last night were MLS Flavors of the Week who many were clamoring for full time NT roles. Hedges was MLS defender of the year and he got torched TWICE by semi pro players!
Yet those same players were at home and had trouble beating a semi pro team?
This is the essence of our problems, and why Michael Bradley is still our first option in the midfield. The US simply doesn't have a good pool of midfielders to draw on.The MF was pretty disorganized and bad.
I am so fucking sick of this argument.That's all bullshit because the US player pool is terrible because so few of our players are playing competitively abroad and fighting for their spots each day.
I think it goes further than this.Scores from the 2015 Gold Cup, when we had most of our best players, including Dempsey, Bradley, Brooks, Yedlin, Johnson, Altidore (Howard was on sabbatical):
2-1 w over Honduras (Dempsey scored twice)
1-0 w over Haiti (Dempsey scored)
1-1 d vs Panama (Bradley scored)
6-0 w over Cuba (a bunch of players scored on a terrible team)
1-2 loss to Jamaica (Bradley scored a really crap goal out of a scrum)
Arena is getting similar results with none of those players. He understands that the main goal of the group phase this turn is to get players into the system and into the CONCACAF environment, so maybe a couple can make a roster for a WCQ.
Edit: Haiti had 5 USL/NASL players, an NPSL(!) player, guys playing in India, Malaysia, and assorted lower divisions in Europe. And US won 1-0 with basically our best roster sans Howard. They were outplayed for long stretches of every game except for Cuba. By Elo rating Martinique (85) and Haiti (88 in July 2015) were about the same
I watched some of that Mexico-Jamaica game and it was utterly putrid. Jamaica had 2 lines of 4 stacked right in front of the box and Mexico did OK trying to break it down, but obviously lacked the quality to put one away. Jamaica didn't even try to keep possession on the few chances they had, but rather tried to hit on the counter. I couldn't watch more than 15-20 minutes. Let's hope the knockout round brings some more aesthetics.I think it goes further than this.
In the 2015 GC, Klinsmann did poorly with the A team. Better players with more international experience and more familiarity with each other. Most importantly, though, the 2015 GC was four years into Klinsmann's tenure. Klinsmann had a very long honeymoon and widespread criticism didn't truly intensify until after the WC.
I don't buy the double standard at this point.
That being said, Arena doesn't deserve as long a honeymoon as Klinsmann because his familiarity with the pool and his ability to get up to speed quickly were part of the rationale for his hire. There's been little to nothing in the last two games that reflects well on Arena or the vast majority of the players.
Arena will be judged ultimately on WCQ and the WC itself, so it will be argued that if we find a few B team types ready to help the first team, the GC can be termed a success. But unless we start playing better, that won't sit well with me. I get that throwing a bunch of B team players together can be challenging because (a) by and large they aren't as good - that's why they're on the B team and (b) gelling/team chemistry really are big issues, but we need to be doing better against teams like Martinique.
I agree with @Statman that the lack of urgency is a problem. Regardless of their competition for spots in MLS (and many of them, in fact, do have competition), they know they certainly can't take a spot on the USMNT for granted. There needs to be more fire. Is being disjointed at least somewhat understandable, if disappointing? I say yes. Is a lack of urgency? No excuse.
Note: I see that Mexico drew with Jamaica 0-0 yesterday. I assume the Mexican press is taking this calmly.
It's funny. On the one hand, expectations should have been extremely low coming into this tournament. On the other, it's fucking Jamaica. So yeah, I'm sure the press is in full freak out mode.Note: I see that Mexico drew with Jamaica 0-0 yesterday. I assume the Mexican press is taking this calmly
I love that they suspended Malouda for the rest of the tournament. He already wasn't eligible, but I guess they really mean it this time!CONCACAF has weighed in on L'Affaire de Florent Malouda
- French Guiana forfeits the Honduras game, 3-0
- French Guiana has been fined
- Malouda has been suspended for the rest of the tournament
Honduras now has three points instead of one, which sets up an interesting match against Canada. The Canadians have been knocked out of WCQ at the semifinal stage in 2018 and, famously, in 2014 when they went to San Pedro Sula needing a draw and lost 8-1.