Copa America game thread
- Thread starter DJnVa
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His agenda is mainly contrarianism or whatever will get a rise out of people. He's actually pretty entertaining if you view him as a clown and don't take anything he says seriously.
I feel like 2010 kind of ruined him. He was labeled an up and coming star after that and the perception hasn't caught up (or fallen back) to what he actually is skill wise or position-wise. He'll likely never have a greater moment than the goal against Slovenia.
It's part of the act, I think. I don't think he'd be as effective in pissing so many people off if he didn't have that vibe. My wife doesn't know much about soccer, but when she sees Lalas yapping she instinctively hates him.
I dunno. Whatever the case, Lalas just seems like the kind of guy who media companies will keep around for a long time because he riles people up. It's not for the best, but it is what it is.
My Player grades:
Guzan: 6- no chance on either goal, but some bad/sloppy decisions
Yedlin: 4- handball came from being beat and deciding to turn his back over actually defending also he generally sucked.
Cameron- 7 played decently
Brooks- 7.5 probably the best player for USMNT
Johnson- 5 basically invisible
Bradley- 4 not terrible in the 1st except play before handball. Definitely terrible in the 2nd, tons of bad giveaways lucky not to give up more goals
Jones- 4- horrendous, only reason he isn't lower is that his turnovers weren't quite as disastrously placed as Bradley's
Bedoya-5- mostly invisible. Few decent plays late offset by blown chances
Dempsey- 6- great free kick, good shot early, played hard, but dropped too far back too often, took a lot of bad shots that had no chance
Wood- 5- ran hard, didn't produce much, though had little help from Dempsey who was always behind.
Zardes- 5.5- lots of good runs, not much production, tracked back well, first touch still sucks:
Subs-
I'll give them all 5.5s, none made much of an impact, though chance to do so was limited.
Jurgen-
Edit- I should probably feel better about a 2-0 loss to Colombia, but all the same issues as normal against good teams.
Also if Colombia hadn't dropped it down a few gears in the second when they realized we couldn't even get shots they probably could/should have scored 2-4 more goals.
Guzan: 6- no chance on either goal, but some bad/sloppy decisions
Yedlin: 4- handball came from being beat and deciding to turn his back over actually defending also he generally sucked.
Cameron- 7 played decently
Brooks- 7.5 probably the best player for USMNT
Johnson- 5 basically invisible
Bradley- 4 not terrible in the 1st except play before handball. Definitely terrible in the 2nd, tons of bad giveaways lucky not to give up more goals
Jones- 4- horrendous, only reason he isn't lower is that his turnovers weren't quite as disastrously placed as Bradley's
Bedoya-5- mostly invisible. Few decent plays late offset by blown chances
Dempsey- 6- great free kick, good shot early, played hard, but dropped too far back too often, took a lot of bad shots that had no chance
Wood- 5- ran hard, didn't produce much, though had little help from Dempsey who was always behind.
Zardes- 5.5- lots of good runs, not much production, tracked back well, first touch still sucks:
Subs-
I'll give them all 5.5s, none made much of an impact, though chance to do so was limited.
Jurgen-
Edit- I should probably feel better about a 2-0 loss to Colombia, but all the same issues as normal against good teams.
Also if Colombia hadn't dropped it down a few gears in the second when they realized we couldn't even get shots they probably could/should have scored 2-4 more goals.
This game is hard to judge because Colombia didn't exactly play well either.
We've got a billion midfielders but only Bradley is a box-to-box guy. We could use a couple more. Jones seems likes a "safe" choice that's isn't really safe anymore
We've got a billion midfielders but only Bradley is a box-to-box guy. We could use a couple more. Jones seems likes a "safe" choice that's isn't really safe anymore
1. Well, the Bradley as a #6 experiment came to a crashing halt tonight. Can MB be the new Beckerman? Against Bolivia, sure. Against good teams? Seems dicey. How do we get the most out of Bradley? MB+Jones is rarely as good as the sum of its parts. As move closer to the post-JJ era, can we find a DM+Bradley combination that works? Or is Bradley just stalled out?
On this roster, we have Beckerman and Kitchen. I wouldn't be shocked to see Beckerman return to the lineup next game after this performance. Kitchen would be an out-of-the-blue pick, but you never know.
2. Play Wood centrally please. He's wasted on the wing and Dempsey isn't any good as a center forward. Dempsey had his chances tonight, but they were mostly related to set pieces.
3. As much as I like Pulisic, I'm not sure he's ready to start. Between the US and Dortmund, he's played more than one half only three times. I'm content to keep him in reserve as an impact sub, at least for Costa Rica. I'd like to see Nagbe get more playing time, though.
4. Speaking of Pulisic and Nagbe, it's weird that they are collectively "the youth". Nagbe is over eight years older than Pulisic. There are eight players on the roster younger than Nagbe.
I'm tempted to bite the bullet on Castillo to get more out of FJ.
On this roster, we have Beckerman and Kitchen. I wouldn't be shocked to see Beckerman return to the lineup next game after this performance. Kitchen would be an out-of-the-blue pick, but you never know.
2. Play Wood centrally please. He's wasted on the wing and Dempsey isn't any good as a center forward. Dempsey had his chances tonight, but they were mostly related to set pieces.
3. As much as I like Pulisic, I'm not sure he's ready to start. Between the US and Dortmund, he's played more than one half only three times. I'm content to keep him in reserve as an impact sub, at least for Costa Rica. I'd like to see Nagbe get more playing time, though.
4. Speaking of Pulisic and Nagbe, it's weird that they are collectively "the youth". Nagbe is over eight years older than Pulisic. There are eight players on the roster younger than Nagbe.
I'm tempted to bite the bullet on Castillo to get more out of FJ.
Wood
Johnson -- Dempsey -- Bedoya
Bradley -- Nagbe
Castillo -- Brooks -- Cameron -- Yedlin
Guzan
Johnson -- Dempsey -- Bedoya
Bradley -- Nagbe
Castillo -- Brooks -- Cameron -- Yedlin
Guzan
I agree with the complaints about Dempsey up top, but the issues with this player pool are evident when you consider who should replace him. Altidore when healthy? Bobby Wood? Zardes? Wondolowski? Jordan Morris? It's not like Klinnsman is leaving Robert Lewandowski on the bench.
We simply don't have a player pool that can be expected to boss around teams like Columbia, Chile, Belgium, Portugal, etc, much less Germany or Brazil. Blaming that on Klinnsman, MLS, the USSF, etc is silly. We can replace Klinnsman with Bruce Arena, but the results will be the same.
We simply don't have a player pool that can be expected to boss around teams like Columbia, Chile, Belgium, Portugal, etc, much less Germany or Brazil. Blaming that on Klinnsman, MLS, the USSF, etc is silly. We can replace Klinnsman with Bruce Arena, but the results will be the same.
Vladimir Guerrero swinging at balls in the dirt?
Well, there are a lot of leagues in Europe.
I swear Bradley poops his pants in any game against good competition. He was overall horrendous. His passing, to me, is suspect more often than not.
Jarring mental errors. On the goal he was under little to no pressure, was looking directly at a clear and easy backpass to an open Cameron and instead took the touch to nowhere. At least it wasn't the winning goal.
Still have a great opportunity to take care of business here. Fully agree with TB's lineup above. Need to get Johnson engaged. Whether it was for lack of opportunity, lack of trying, or Colombia funneling everything centrally, the team didn't get him (or Yedlin) the ball going forward anywhere near as much as they should.
It's not Beckerman-slow but that MF trio was still aching for somebody (Nagbe) who can put the D on its heels and open up some holes in a dangerous position so we aren't relying on ineffective post-ups as noted upthread. There's too little unpredictability.
Jones and Bedoya were subbed off too late.
Some of those Bradley passes in the 2nd half were atrocious.
Some of those Bradley passes in the 2nd half were atrocious.
I am actually encouraged by the defense. A pick play and a Yedlin mistake aside. They looked pretty organized and the one on one defending was reasonably stout. They looked pretty composed for most of the game, not a small thing against a top team.
Yep, no real defensive breakdowns. Tensest moments came off bad turnovers (Bradley) where you can't really expect the D to be in position. Cameron and Brooks are solid, though we've never had too much trouble fielding quality CBs.
Have we ever had a better duo of passing CBs than Cameron and Brooks? While they are not perfect, their ability to play out of the back is much better than the days of Onyewu, Bocanegra, and Jay "Row Z" DeMerit.
Lots of correct things being said in here. Need to get another player ahead of Dempsey, it doesn't matter who it is because it will make Dempsey more effective - my play would be Wood. Jones cannot play - he's very old and looked super slow last night. It may have been the competition, but Bradley at DMF seems like a lesser than good idea. Guzan does not inspire confidence. Zardes did good work up making runs and running the sideline, but if he can't combo effectively in the middle, then recognize that and bring more players centrally - i.e. Wood needs to come more centrally. Yedlin and Johnson both had unremarkable games. If the US has the ball, they should consider pushing the FB opposite Zardes up and play with a flat 3. Bradley dropping deep to receive the ball killed our offense. All this applies more to games against good competition - all the warts showed today. Against a lesser opponent, we should look much better. One last item - I never understood all the complaints from Euros about the turf fields in the US. Well, last night convinced me they're right. Players were tripping all over the ball and controlling it was very difficult. Moreover, the passing is off on both sides because of the odd speeds the ball travels on the turf.
I like Titans lineup. I can see Nagbe relieving the pressure on Bradley and perhaps filling the N'Golo Kante guard dog role when Bradley goes up. .
But the Kante role isn't in Nagbe's toolkit, is it? I thought him to be far more posession/attack minded.
Yeah.
Titan's lineup is basically my preferred lineup (I had Chandler over Castillo but injuries), but the real concern of it is whether Bradley/Nagbe is strong enough defensively. Though the good thing is that Johnson and Bedoya provide more help than Zardes or Wood.
There is a chance that Nagbe has to be the impact bench players still and you need someone with more defense to pair with Bradley (problem is who on the Copa roster is that? Should be Jones/Beckerman but their legs are shot, Kitchen?) Danny Williams is probably the ideal guy, but he's not on the Copa roster.
It's not his strength, but he can do it. In Portland's late season run last year he would drop back for stretches and defend. He was good at high pressure when they were behind as well. It would be a bit of a waste of attacking talent but if Bradley isn't getting it done.....
Are you talking about field turf? Levi's stadium is grass. Just a shitty grass field.
I just don't think Nagbe is an impact player off the bench. He's talented but was pretty invisible when he came in yesterday and Pulisic had to keep crossing the pitch to get on the ball. That's not intended as a criticism of Nagbe but he doesn't seem like the type of player who you introduce and he's going to get on the ball and drive the team forward as much as possible. He plays a role and plays it well but I think we ask too much of him if his sub is supposed to change the pattern of the match. He seems far more likely to adhere to it in my eyes
Impact sub is probably the wrong word. I think he is a guy you can replace someone like Jones (or Williams eventually) with to shift into a more attacking set. He's not a Pulisic or Wood where he's going to make things happen with the ball, more that he serves a different midfield role that pushes the shape forward more.
Let's just say blue dress shirts in Orlando on a June afternoon not the smartest choice for the coaches
As we watch Costa Rica vs. Paraguay and are about to pass the 20 foul mark I really want a post match ban for players that get kicked in the leg/body and then hold their head to try and draw a foul or stop play.
Seriously, referees should have a laminated flowchart to go with their books to remind them when to blow the whistle.
Player covers his face? Not injured.
Player makes more than one half-revolution on the ground? Not injured.
Otherwise, investigate further.
Does Univision have an ASP button for English subtitles? They have a nice HD feed but no English play by play.
I'm not sure if Univision is offering it for these games. Occasionally they provide English subtitles for select programs through cc3. Your cable provider and box manufacturer come into play as well. Verizon Motorola boxes do not allow it based on my investigation.
Was just coming here to post the same thing. Very lively play by both sides. Ecuador holding their own so far, getting a lot of free kicks off clumsy fouls.
I was switching back and forth between this and the ice hockey game so I haven't seen the whole thing but it has appeared Brazil has been more assertive in the second half. But damn they kill a lot of time rolling around on the ground.
Dunga's Brazil is reincarnated like a shit version of the last go round. Incredibly poor in attacking situations bar a few great individual efforts here and there. Coutinho just can't carry the creative burden. William has been lively and industrious but only he and Luiz have looked even vaguely threatening
Trying to root for Jamaica and Wes Morgan, but they're pretty hopelessly outclassed here - and down to 10 men.
Both sides should be at 10 men that was a dangerous studs up challenge that deserved a red not a yellow by the Ven player.
Shockingly, I actually agreed with the Fox commentator - he didn't connect, all he did was trip the guy at low speed. I think yellow was correct, even though I'd much prefer to watch 45 mins of 10v10. Straight red there would have been very harsh, he didn't exactly De Jong the guy.
Hate the booing/jeering by Mexico fans during the national anthem of Chile. Embarrassing.
Although not as embarrassing as playing the Chilean anthem instead of the Uruguayan.
Although not as embarrassing as playing the Chilean anthem instead of the Uruguayan.
Early Mexico goal means we should get a good game here
Edit: Uruguays passing is making the USMNT look like Barca
Edit: Uruguays passing is making the USMNT look like Barca
Is this game being played in Mexico city?
Great save there but Cavani needs to do better
Great save there but Cavani needs to do better
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I have to say, Uruguay's last 20 minutes have been one of the more impressive assaults by a shorthanded team that I can recall. They really look more like a team than most national squads. Barca being a man down for 55 minutes to Sevilla made them very defensive, but Uruguay is basically saying "fuck it, we're going straight at defenders and will snuff out your counters". Fun to watch.
