Fútbol chatter

[mgk920]

Is anyone else in here following the USA Mens' National team?

They just peeled off another win, USA 1:0 Honduras, at Rio Tinto Stadium in suburban Salt Lake City on Tuesday evening to take a commanding lead in their group in qualifying for next year's World Cup.  They now have 13 standings points, three points ahead of Costa Rica and five points ahead of third-place Mexico (who I consider to be in serious danger of missing the World Cup), with four games to go.

They have been doing very well, indeed, since Jürgen Klinsmann took over as head coach two years ago.



Any thoughts?

Mike

[english si]

Does Klinsmann still slide on his belly when he scores? that was everyone's favourite goal celebration when I was growing up: score a tap in in a 'jumpers for goalposts' situation and it was almost expected that you would shout "Klinsmann" and bellyflop to the floor.

CONCACAF get three places, plus a playoff verse New Zealand.

The run in is as follows:
USA (13): Costa Rica (A), Mexico (H), Jamaica (H), Panama (A)
Costa Rica (11): USA (H), Jamaica (A), Honduras (A), Mexico (H)
Mexico (8): Honduras (H), USA (A), Panama (H), Costa Rica (A)
Honduras (7): Mexico (A), Panama (H), Costa Rica (H), Jamaica (A)
Panama (6): Jamaica (H), Honduras (A), Mexico (A), USA (H)
Jamaica (2): Panama (A), Costa Rica (H), USA (A), Honduras (H)

USA and Costa Rica are going to qualify, Jamaica not. Mid-table is where the action is.

Mexico will beat the All Whites, so we're looking to see if Mexico will come 5th. All three play each other, but Panama is away for both their games. Mexico plays the other two at home, but plays the top 2 away. Mexico doesn't get Jamaica, but the worst that can happen is that Jamaica don't play when out of the competition, and Honduras put several past them, forcing Mexico into the playoff.

Mexico will be in Brazil next summer, unless something serious happens. They are not in serious danger, though they do have to 'par' their remaining matches. Lose their next one, then there's some serious danger.

[Brandon]

Is anyone else in here following the USA Mens' National team?

No, the Stanley Cup is on.

[1995hoo]

Absolutely following the soccer, although I missed the game at Jamaica because we don't get the channel on which it aired (beIN Sports). I thought last night's game was one of those where the US team was a lot more dominant than the stat sheet would show. But the most important thing is that no US player who entered with a yellow card got a second one. The next game (at Costa Rica) is going to be a nasty enough scene as it is, probably worse than usual because they think they were screwed by playing that game in the snow (but it's their own fault for not following the correct protest procedure), and it would have been that much more difficult had we lost guys to card-related suspensions.

I don't think I'd ever seen a Real Salt Lake game on TV. The field at that stadium last night looked absolutely magnificent, especially compared to the chopped-up surface in Seattle last week.

[CNGL-Leudimin]

Surprised to see "fútbol", as "football" is spelt in my language, in the thread title. "Football" is what soccer is called anywhere in the world, your "football" is called "American football" anywhere.

Too bad my hometown team was demoted from 2nd division last season . OTOH, Spain is now playing the Confederations cup, they have beaten Uruguay 2-1 and tomorrow will play against Tahiti. They got 3rd place in South Africa after losing to USA in semifinals.

[realjd]

Is anyone else in here following the USA Mens' National team?

No, the Stanley Cup is on.

Really? I've been seeing lots of soccer and baseball on sports center, and the NBA finals are of course the major sporting event going on right now, but I don't think I've seen a single hockey clip or overheard a single discussion about hockey in a long while. Who's playing? Why are they playing in June?

[mgk920]

The USA mens' national team defeated Belize 6-1 in a CONCACAF Gold Cup first round match on Tuesday night in Portland, OR, in a kind of a lack-luster game (they looked like they were at practice) and it should have been a bigger blowout.  They play Cuba on Saturday late afternoon in suburban Salt lake City (Sandy, UT).

OTOH, Mexico lost to Panama 2-1 on Sunday (their first-ever loss to Panama) and Canada, eh?   

The Mexican national team is having a dreadful year so far (IIRC, they are now 2-3-8 so far in 2013) and from what I am hearing, the locals are not happy about it.  They play Canada, eh?, tonight (Thursday, 2013-07-11) in Seattle in another Gold Cup first-round match.

Mike

[realjd]

The USA mens' national team defeated Belize 6-1 in a CONCACAF Gold Cup first round match on Tuesday night in Portland, OR, in a kind of a lack-luster game (they looked like they were at practice) and it should have been a bigger blowout.  They play Cuba on Saturday late afternoon in suburban Salt lake City (Sandy, UT).

OTOH, Mexico lost to Panama 2-1 on Sunday (their first-ever loss to Panama) and Canada, eh?   

The Mexican national team is having a dreadful year so far (IIRC, they are now 2-3-8 so far in 2013) and from what I am hearing, the locals are not happy about it.  They play Canada, eh?, tonight (Thursday, 2013-07-11) in Seattle in another Gold Cup first-round match.

Mike

CAN-MEX will hopefully be a good game.

Is CUB any good this year? I'm hoping for more excitement than the game on Tuesday.

[mgk920]

The USA Mens' national team is on a continuing TEAR with their 5-1 blowout win v. El Salvador in their CONCACAF Gold Cup quarter-final match in Baltimore on Sunday (2013-07-21) - and are now riding a team-record nine-game winning streak.

Their next game is Wednesday night for their semi-final match v. Honduras at Cowboys' Stadium in Arlington, TX.

In their quarter-final match, Mexico's woes continued as they just barely eeked out a win v. Trinidad and Tobago, 1-0, on a late goal.

MIke

[Bruce]

USA is in the Gold Cup Final! 3-1 win over Honduras (EJ, LD x2) and a sending off for Klinsmann.

[realjd]

Dammit, I forgot about the game!

[mgk920]

Yepper, 3-1 USA National Team win v. Honduras and Jürgen Klinsmann questionable for Sunday's championship game in Chicago.  He was *LIVID* about the officiating!

And Mexico, losing to Panama 2-1!     Things are not going well there at all - look for Jose Manuel de la Torre to be gone as head coach in the near-term future.

BTW, the USA National Team is now riding a team-record ten-game winning streak.



Mike

[on_wisconsin]

Wake me up next year when national team (level) soccer will matter to most in this country again.

[Bruce]

More great news: DC United are getting closer and closer to their new stadium at Buzzard Point. Here's the render released by the club's website:



HUGE REMINDER: The Gold Cup Final (US v Panama at Soldier Field) will be on FOX, beginning with a pre-game show at 3:30pm Eastern/12:30 Pacific. Help boost TV viewership for soccer in America!

[realjd]

^^^
Good for them! I've never been there in person but I've heard nothing but bad things about RFK Stadium. Is Buzzed Point still within the District or are they moving to the 'burbs?

[mgk920]

^^^
Good for them! I've never been there in person but I've heard nothing but bad things about RFK Stadium. Is Buzzed Point still within the District or are they moving to the 'burbs?

Assuming that that is Nationals Park and S Capitol St in the background, that would certainly be in the 'District'.

Mike

[bugo]

Soccer (not "futbol" as that is not the English word) is boring and sucky.  I'd almost rather watch golf or reality TV.

[1995hoo]

^^^
Good for them! I've never been there in person but I've heard nothing but bad things about RFK Stadium. Is Buzzed Point still within the District or are they moving to the 'burbs?

Buzzard Point is a creepy industrial area across South Capitol Street from the baseball stadium. The soccer stadium will be two blocks from Nationals Park and will go a long way towards improving Buzzard Point, which hasn't seen redevelopment from baseball because most fans arrive from the other side of the ballpark.

Only downside for me is that when I go to Nationals games I park at the 12-hour parking meters back there for very cheap prices, and now that option is bound to disappear. Too bad. Driving to games is much faster and more pleasant than the Metro.

[mgk920]

Soccer (not "futbol" as that is not the English word) is boring and sucky.  I'd almost rather watch golf or reality TV.

The English call it 'football' ('soccer' is short for 'association football', the formal English-language name of the sport, which, like golf, was developed in the UK) and if you don't like to watch it, then don't watch it - and there is no need for your to trumpet your choice to the rest of the World, nor to spam-up a forvm for those who do.

Mike

[Bruce]

Soccer (not "futbol" as that is not the English word) is boring and sucky.  I'd almost rather watch golf or reality TV.

Can you give some examples of it being boring/sucky? Soccer is a game of constant flow and build-up, IMHO, which can deter American viewers expecting action broken up by commercial breaks...

[mgk920]

http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/goldcup/story/concacaf-bans-usa-manager-jurgen-klinsmann-from-gold-cup-final-vs-panama-072613

<sigh....>



Mike

[CNGL-Leudimin]

Soccer (not "futbol" as that is not the English word) is boring and sucky.  I'd almost rather watch golf or reality TV.

American football is boring and sucky. But I'm really tired of football (what your guys call "soccer"), in my country media is almost the only sport in existence.

[english si]

in my country media is almost the only sport in existence.

Well you need to be better at other sports!

Here's the item/two taking the title page of the sports section of one British paper over the last two weeks:

Athletics - Anniversary Games at the Olympic Stadium and assorted stuff (eg drugs clampdown) x3 (24, 26, 27)
Soccer - Suarez transfer saga (25); Rooney transfer saga (17, 18)
Tour de France - Froome in a car picture (23)*
Cricket - some Aussie attacks his country's dire batsmen (23)*, England coach defends England player from Richard Dawkins'^ moralistic tirade (16), England win having made it look closer than it should have been (15), How close it is on the final day: England needing 4 wickets, Aussie needing 137 runs and how it won't take long to get a result (14)
Golf - picture of British golfer x5 (18, 19, 20, 21, 22)*# Picture of Tiger Woods (16, 17).

So Golf wins, but only as it seems to be photogenic and only gets half a page on all but one day. Cricket wins in picture and article volume on the front pages, but I imagine that the Tour de France wins in column inches over the two weeks, narrowly beating the Cricket.

*note that TdF and the Ashes (cricket) took over most of the sports sections these days, plus got into the main news bit, hence why Golf gets the main page.
#Rory McIlroy talking to the press (18), Rory McIlroy looking sad (19), Lee Westwood looking happy (20, 21), Lee Westwood looking sad (22).
^OK, not specifically Dawkins, though he was the most moralistic and priggish, and the most offended, by the incident that was nothing special and other players did a couple of times in the match as well without incurring the ire of others.

[realjd]

^^^
Suarez to Arsenal, Roony to Chelsea. Both are looking more and more likely.

[Bruce]

So...uh...we got Dempsey. He's going to start playing on August 25th against the Timbers in front of 67k at CenturyLink Field. It's going to be amazing!