Generic soccer thread



  • It will be hard to stomach if they dont look like this when Berhalter returns. BJ Callahan for mayor!



  • Another shocker of a pairing in front of the defense today. Musah with Aaronsen? Wow! Didn’t see that coming. Why not. He runs around with boundless energy.

    Balogooooal! I could get used to that.

    I have enjoyed the 4-2-3-1 mix the last two games. Maybe that’s where Gio needs to be, in the middle of the three. Beautiful assist today.

    Somebody’s gonna be pissed among Musah, Adams, Weston and Gio when are all healthy. I guess that’s a good problem to have?



  • This video is hilariously spot on. Impressions of great players. Check it! I LOLd.

    https://fb.watch/lkeWKcNR64/



  • Usmnt rolled out an absolute stinker of a lineup tonight. Is attempting to win every game too much to ask? Felt like a Berhalter especial.



  • @rockchalkjayhawk enjoyed the vid thx!



  • @approxinfinity said in Generic soccer thread:

    Usmnt rolled out an absolute stinker of a lineup tonight. Is attempting to win every game too much to ask? Felt like a Berhalter especial.

    Oh man. That was u-g-l-y.

    What a turd of a lineup. Some were calling it the “B” team, but I’d argue really not even the “D” team.

    The first 65 minutes were slow, plodding, highly uneventful and youthfully inexperienced.

    Expected with that starting 11 I suppose. Jamaica is a solid team.

    If you’re going that way, I woulda started Cowell over Morris at the very least. He can be exciting.

    I guess the result was fair, although 2-2 was more realistic with all misses by both sides.

    The announcers were dogging Miazga, who I read was dogging GGG about his lack of playing time last year.

    Sonora was bad.



  • @rockchalkjayhawk i enjoy J Morris because he always gives 100%. Not a Yedlin fan. Sonora was awful and took all the corners. Vasquez and Cowell could be part of the equation and should have started.

    flat toothless shots at goal from the wing, stone footed first touches. Rough.



  • Yea, some rough performances.

    To me, J Morris and B Aaronsen are the same guy. 99% effort, 1% skill. That’s not a bad thing sometimes, effort is helpful. but most times they offer little else.

    I’m on the fence about Dest. He was so hyped early on as a highly skilled dude. It shows up now and again.



  • @rockchalkjayhawk he might have been the best player against Mexico. I was impressed.



  • I must be half asleep after a late night. Why I brought up Dest I’ll never know! Zzzz

    Yedlin! I’m with you on him. He’s a spare part at this point. Unpackage when all other options have been depleted.



  • We whooped some St Kitts and Nevis butt tonight.

    Well played. We dominated possession. Looked sharp.

    Jesus F. had a hat trick. This was by far the sharpest I’ve seen him near the goal. Impressively quick reaction time. Ball left his feet lickity split. Nice.

    Mihailovic with a beautiful finish. Reynolds with an absolute smash finish.

    Busio had some nice assists.

    I have to say Cade Cowell was a massive disappointment. Tentative, indecisive, didn’t seem like he could beat anybody one on one. I had high expectations for him, especially in this game. Bummer.

    Sonora…once again sh*t the bed.



  • Oh, and I’m shocked that Gaga didn’t start in goal. Is he cap tied yet?



  • @rockchalkjayhawk Mihailovic Ferreira Vasquez Busio and Reynolds were good.

    Zendejas, Sonora, and Cowell struggled.

    Everyone else 🤷♂



  • I think Mihailovic earned consideration for future opportunities



  • Just read this about Cade Cowell. Kinda what I was thinking last night.

    LOSER: Cade Cowell

    It’s not that Cowell had a bad game, because he didn’t. He was decent enough and dangerous enough. Still, you were left wanting more from the 19-year-old attacker, who just couldn’t quite take this one over in the way he did so often at the Under-20 World Cup.

    Handed a chance to start, Cowell never really threatened the opponents with his pace and dribbling ability. Part of that was because of the style of game, of course, with the defense bunkered in, but even when he had moments, he just couldn’t quite create magic like he did earlier this summer.

    At this point, Cowell may just be a better supersub for the USMNT, with his physical attributes having a better chance to impact games later on. That’s not to say he’ll be in that role permanently, because his ceiling is so high, but at the moment, his game is just missing the little things that help break down a bunkered defense.

    Those little things could come eventually, and the U20 World Cup showed us that Cowell is, in fact, a player for the big moments. He’ll have bigger ones than a Wednesday night game against St. Kitts and Nevis, and the hope will be that he can take those moments and make a slightly bigger impact than he did in this one.



  • Beautiful first goal by US tonight. jones, our wingback gave the ball up to Roldan then made a run to box, received the ball and hit Ferreira at the 6 who popped it up and hit it quickly back post. Nice and fluid!



  • @approxinfinity Just tuning in and checked on other matches. Seems like this is not a serious event for us.



  • Mexico-Qatar is pretty compelling right now.



  • Was hoping for the tie, dislike Mexico and dont like that Qatar bought way in to Concacaf. Was hoping for tie. Still looks bad for Mexico. Now with win Qatar advances



  • @BShark well we get to see the kids and non starters. Cowell had a few electric moments. Vasquez and Ferreira also. Enjoyed.



  • Delayed response to the US game last night…

    BAM! One shining moment and now Cade Cowell is oozing with confidence! You see his demeanor change after that breakaway goal? Awesome. He had no fear after that. Hope it sticks.

    Alejandro Zendejas does not deserve another chance. I realize we use the Gold Cup to grow our younger players, but cmon. Dude was just awful the entire tournament.

    Loved the way we dominated possession, and kept the counters to a minimum (mostly).

    That field in Charlotte was an embarrassment. The ball didn’t do anything close to normal on that pitch. You could see the players struggle with how to pass, trap, expect the bounce, etc. terrible. Grass over artificial turf? Insane. Horrible decision.

    Top of the group! Happy that we found our scoring touch. Jesus! Another hat trick! That first goal was another master touch.



  • When’s the US play next? I’ve got nothing but time to kill in this recovery!



  • US plays July 9.

    Awaiting opponent.



  • It’s summer transfer time. A few updates as i see em:

    1: Pulisic has agreed to terms with AC Milan. Now the teams have to agree on a transfer fee.

    2: Sergino Dest. Barcelona says they want to get rid of him by the end of the week. no teams seem interested at the moment. What happened to him? Thought he was a wunderkid?

    3: Folarin Balogun. Arsenal looks like they want to put him on the market. He’s currently on loan in France. Arsenal is looking for suitors for about $50M. He’s been linked with AC Milan, Juventus, Marseille and RB Leipzig.

    4: Yunus Musah: Inter and AC Milan seem to be in a battle for the Valencia player. that’s a good thing! He’s also linked with Fulham.

    5: Brenden Aaronson. After relegated with Leeds, he could join Union Berlin on loan. His brother Paxten plays in Germany as well.

    6: Weston McKennie: Rumors of him joining AC Milan with Pulisic and Musah. Juventus doesn’t want him any more.

    7: Timothy Weah: Signed with Juventus.

    8: Tyler Adams: Also relegated from Leeds. Looking for a new home. Linked with Aston Villa and Brighton & Hove Albion.



  • Antonee Robinson is reportedly set to snub interest from the likes of Manchester City and AC Milan by signing a new contract at Fulham.



  • Pulisic to Milan. It’s official!

    I’m a bit bummed. Loved being able to watch him and our other US players easily in the EPL.



  • @rockchalkjayhawk im excited. They have a star at left wing already, but i hear the manager is high on the idea of Pulisic at 10. Hope to see that instead of just right wing



  • Looking forward to making John Herdman sweat tomorrow.



  • @approxinfinity said in Generic soccer thread:

    @rockchalkjayhawk im excited. They have a star at left wing already, but i hear the manager is high on the idea of Pulisic at 10. Hope to see that instead of just right wing

    Yea, read that somewhere as well. Do you think we have enough evidence that he can play the 10? Pulisic must be excited about it if he chose Milan.



  • Aaronson to Union Berlin.



  • @rockchalkjayhawk i think so. He distributes very well, carries well with both feet, has about equal number of goals and assists, though many more goals on left and assists on right. He loves taking central routes on the left with wingback overlap wide. I think hes ready!



  • Awesome. would love to see that work out for him. needs some PT!



  • This has been a hell of a game. I went into this tournament wishing we would roll out a more competitive line up. Win or lose this game, i am now won over, and impressed with the depth we have. Probably 8 or 9 guys have done really great things this tournament, lots of improvement across the board.



  • Clutch win!



  • That was fun to watch. Never seen a ref wiped out in the first minute of a match before! Nil nil until the 88th minute, then 4 goals in the last 45 minutes. Amazing. I hate PKs to solve a match. It’s so artificial. NHL model of removing skaters from the ice before they go to PK’s might help. Even though it would have bit us last night, golden goal would eliminate the need for going to PK’s on some occasions.



  • @wissox as a parent of a goalie, i live for PKs.



  • Whew. Man. A great day to watch US soccer yesterday.

    The women were dominant vs Wales. We can see the tactics other teams will use against them: pack it in. They will need to finish better for sure in that defensive quagmire. Early on I didn’t realize the girls were playing in my neck of the woods. I shoulda gone! I’ve seen them play out here in Cali before. Fun to watch live. The San Jose stadium is awesome for soccer.

    Approx, the men’s game was kind of UGLY! Yikes. Aggressive. I don’t mind that actually. Fouls everywhere. Lucky we didn’t see any reds (both sides). I saw a few guys step up in this tourney for sure. I saw a few guys take a big step back, too. Like you, glad to see some guys make a future for themselves with the national team.

    The game opened up a bit more in the second half. My boy Cowell was aggressive again when he subbed in. It’s definitively good to see younger guys get minutes in big games.

    It’s great to develop depth, and that’s what it looks like this group of guys was here for. I was mostly impressed with the defensive units we rolled out. Last night they all had some suspect moments with their feet (passing), but generally they all showed out. That being said, Jalen Neal had an amazing assist last night.

    My knee jerk reaction to who could and couldn’t ever make a US World Cup roster:

    — All the defenders have a future.

    — Maybe two of the midfielders. Mihailovic and Sands. Neither looks like a star though. Busio needs a lot of work IMO, plus about 50 pounds of more muscle. Sonora goes straight to DVD.

    — Forwards? Jesus and Cowell. No real opinion formed about Gressel. Vazquez has nice size. Showed some skill. Zendejas straight to the high school coaching ranks.

    A fun day yesterday. Off to the World Cup for the ladies!



  • The boys lost tonight. Drat. PKs.

    As predicted before he took it, Roldan crapped the bed. Oh well.

    Even game. Both sides had chances. The Panama goal was a catastrophic failure by the left side of the US defense.

    The US had a decent second half though.

    Love that Turner saves at least one PK per shootout.



  • @rockchalkjayhawk i predicted that Ferreira would take the first and miss. I was surprised that Gressell and Miazga were first 5. Miazga buried it top corner.

    Thought it was a fun showing. We were outplayed first half, seemed out of sorts. We connected well first 5 minutes and then seemed on the back heel. Punting instead of keeping possession.

    Kids will learn.

    Enjoyed the run.

    Loved that Morris got to be a hero with the header assist for the equalizer.



  • Also once Cade Cowell learns to pass in traffic (if?) he could really be a dynamic scoring threat.



  • Yup, I was thinking the same thing about Cade. The ball stays on his foot too long. Shoot or pass. Exciting to see him dribble thru a crowd for sure though. Just young. Hopefully as he plays with more mature players around him, they’ll let him know (loudly, probably).



  • Ouch for McKennie!

    McKennie has been excluded from Juve’s squad for the trip to the US, along with club captain Bonucci. the players who have not been selected to travel with the squad have been told to find a new club, as they will not be considered for selection in 2023-24.

    Along with being excluded from the squad, it has been reported that Weston McKennie and Bonucci have been told that they are to have no contact with manager Massimiliano Allegri and to train with the youth team. McKennie spent the second half of last season on loan at Leeds, as the club were relegated to the Championship. Bonucci has made 502 appearances for the Serie A giants.



  • This Panama Mexico match is awesome! Watching the spanish telecast which is way better even if I can’t understand the announcers!



  • Who won? Didn’t watch. Did the US have a consolation game?



  • @rockchalkjayhawk mexico won. Panama had their chances. Was pulling for them.



  • Women’s world cup soon. USA looking to 3peat



  • @BShark said in Generic soccer thread:

    Women’s world cup soon. USA looking to 3peat

    Yup, coming up. Women play Friday? Can’t wait. This World Cup I’m guessing will be a wake up call for the US women. Motivation will be required. The competition will be much better than previous years. A three peat is no guarantee.



  • Ok, decided to stay up late to catch the first game of the women’s world cup! Zzz. Just realized it’s WINTER in Australia/New Zealand. Brilliant decision. Fire the idiot (s) who made that decision.



  • A dominating 3-0 win over Vietnam tonight.

    That’s the good part. Never tested. Never a concern.

    The bad part…everything else. Wow was that some ugly play in the final third. Could hardly be worse. Passing, shooting, intelligent decisions all severely lacking (except of course Morgan’s brilliant flick assist).

    Hoping they got the nerves out of the way. Vietnam parked the bus, but we shoulda scored many more.

    Goal differential could come into play.



  • Having a hard time adjusting from USMNT, tbh. Need to watch a real chess match to get engaged I guess


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