July 21, 20214 yr On 7/17/2021 at 8:12 AM, TEW said: Not any time soon, but in a few WC cycles I wouldn’t be surprised if the US gets to the point of producing similar levels of talent as Germany, Brazil, Argentina, etc. Soccer is becoming hugely popular here. You see just as many kids wearing soccer jerseys as football and basketball these days and more and more kids are playing it while the developmental systems are becoming better and better. Throw that in with the sheer size of our population and I think it isn’t as far off as most assume. At some point we will reach a critical mass IMO. A strong 2026 showing will do a lot for the sport here. Say we make the semi-finals with the WC being played on home soil, I think the snowball effect gets going. If kids and parents start seeing soccer as a viable sporting career path, it will accelerate quickly. I'd expect to see that as more parents put their kids in soccer because of concussion issues in football. Honestly, I'm not sure why we aren't further along by now after the first WC in the US in the 90s with the money we have to invest.
July 21, 20214 yr 1 hour ago, The_Omega said: Knelt down for BLM, then laid down for Sweden. Did you wake up at 4:30 a.m. to cheer for Sweden?
July 21, 20214 yr 8 minutes ago, Dave Moss said: Did you wake up at 4:30 a.m. to cheer for Sweden? Of course not. Unlike you, I love America. Even when the people representing US don’t.
July 21, 20214 yr 50 minutes ago, The_Omega said: Of course not. Unlike you, I love America. Even when the people representing US don’t. So you think the people putting on the USA jersey hate America if they don’t share your insane political beliefs? That’s dumb. Also, Sweden took a knee too.
July 22, 20214 yr 6 hours ago, Dave Moss said: So you think the people putting on the USA jersey hate America Not all. Some are bullied into it by the ones who do, like you.
July 22, 20214 yr 19 hours ago, Dave Moss said: Did you wake up at 4:30 a.m. to cheer for Sweden? A horror show. A nice 10:30am start time for me though and I'm on vacation so I watched a bit of the match. Quite disappointing.
July 22, 20214 yr 21 hours ago, Dave Moss said: So you think the people putting on the USA jersey hate America if they don’t share your insane political beliefs? That’s dumb. Also, Sweden took a knee too. I was wrong about this one. I'm all for reducing racism/bigotry too. I doubt this will move bigots at all, but maybe it'll show some victims that there's more of us than there are bigots. They're not disrespecting the flag, or anthem, they're just taking a second to make a statement. That's all good in my book.
July 28, 20214 yr Just remember... United just got Varane for about £10m less than Arsenal paid for Ben White!
July 28, 20214 yr Go USA! Go Canada! Obviously I rooted for US against Jamaica in the quarters, but I wanted the goalkeeper from Jamaica to have a decent showing, as he is a neighbor of mine.
July 29, 20214 yr 53 minutes ago, Dave Moss said: U.S. and Mexico will win tonight. Yeah but who do you want to win?
July 29, 20214 yr 48 minutes ago, Dave Moss said: El Tri Get out of this country Qatar is legit. I have no idea how, but they are legit, they could beat our little MLS squad this evening
July 29, 20214 yr Q2 Stadium in Austin seats 20,000. Will any Qatar fans be in the house? Mexico and Canada are playing each other at NRG Stadium tonight which seats 70,000
July 30, 20214 yr 10 hours ago, Mike31mt said: Get out of this country Qatar is legit. I have no idea how, but they are legit, they could beat our little MLS squad this evening When did this happen? And like you I have no idea how they became a decent team. They are currently ranked #58 in FIFA's World rankings. USA is #20, but this is our C team playing so throw the rankings out the window. FIFA has different cycles for their rankings, doing them 6-7 times/year. I'll post what FIFA had Qatar ranked for the first rankings of each year. They were awarded the World Cup in 2010 (along with Russia who hosted in 2018), but the site I'm referencing only goes back to 2011. I would have liked to have gone back to maybe 2008 to see what their ranking was leading up to the bids for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, but alas. FIFA usually ranks 194 nations/year. year Qatar USA 2020: #55 #22 2019: #55 #25 2018: #103 #24 2017: #85 #29 2016: #78 #32 2015: #109 #31 2014: #99 #13 2013: #101 #32 2012: #96 #31 2011: #89 #28 We've been consistent, from the low 20s to low 30s with 2014 being our best ranking just outside the top 10. Qatar's best has been #55 and have only been in the top 60 the past 3 years, otherwise they have been a middle of the World team. In any event, they'll be a good test for our young up and comers. Missed the 1st half as I stayed late at work then ran a couple errands. See we have 61% possession, but they have 13 shots (only 2 on goal) to our 3 (also 2 on goal). See we have the same lineup as vs Jamaica. How is Shaq Moore playing tonight? I didn't like his game vs the Reggae Boys. Felt he was up the pitch too much and left open areas in the defensive third. I don't mind FBs who get up the pitch and contribute on O as I'm an LFC supporter and see Alexander-Arnold and Robertson do it loads of times, but they don't get caught out as much as Moore did. Need to pick your opportunities better. Heard Lalas say Dike has has chances and hasn't done anything with them and maybe give him 10-15 minutes then switch to Zardes. Sounds like Qatar is hitting us on counters. Just heard Turner has been a wall so far. Second half starting.
July 30, 20214 yr Holden thinks it's pen, I don't. The one angle shows he got the ball before he got the attacker's foot/leg. Bad call, IMO. Got cute and missed it. Nice Baggio/Stam.
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