USA v Jamaica

[Titanxman04]

Game is on Fox Soccer.

Donovan isn't starting. Curious.

[JimmyTwoTimes37]

Gonna be real tough today...Jamaica has been playing extremely well

Gotta make the most of our opportunities and finish

[Titanxman04]

Gonna be real tough today...Jamaica has been playing extremely well

Gotta make the most of our opportunities and finish

And rumor has it, that those Jamaicans can freaking run...fast. With our inability to recover defensively from the midfield, this could be trouble.

ESPN spoke of Bradley's job being on the line today. Did I hear that correctly?

Live chat, by the way. I'll be there. Will you?!?

[Titanxman04]

Already a near disaster for the US. Jamaica missed an OPEN NET from 10 yards out. Howard on his back, and no one in front. Kid cleared the crossbar. Lucky for USA. Complete defensive collapse for US...again.

Too much standing around and watching.

[Porkopolis]

This squad is really painful to watch.

[Titanxman04]

Possessed a lot of the first half. And we certainly had our chances. Finishing and ball watching are still the main problems with this team. Offense cannot finish, and the whole squad has a terrible habit of stopping and watching on both halves of the field.

I keep thinking it's only a matter of time before the US puts one in the back of the net, but then again, that could take a few matches.

On another note, I'd be surprised if Jamaica remains with only three defensive players. That back line is giving the US a lot of chances, and I understanding wanting to come out aggressive, but I just don't see it working out well for them in the long run.

[golfitup]

Just one guy who can finish consistently would be nice.

[Titanxman04]

Just one guy who can finish consistently would be nice.

This.

[golfitup]

Also, a left sided midfielder is apparently too much to ask for as well.

[Titanxman04]

Jamaica changed to a 4-man defense. Thought so.

My hope for a US goal is dwindling.

[Titanxman04]

GOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLL!!!!!

(Ugly goal, but it counts the same, right?)

Jones rips a shot, deflects off of a defenders leg and the goalie was already going one way with the ball deflecting to another.

USA 1
Jamaica 0

[golfitup]

I like Lichaj. Here's to Bornstein never having to play again for the national team.

[Titanxman04]

Jamaica pushed too far up. Nearly hurt them several times until now. Dempsey gets a goal. 2-0 USA.

[Blueblob4life]

GOOOAAAALLLL for Clint "Deuce" Dempsey. Love that man

[Porkopolis]

Glad to see Dempsey redeem himself with a goal. One of my all-time favorite players who doesn't get enough credit for what he does.

The US turned it up a notch in the second half, but they'll need to turn it up two from here on out. They can move the ball well at times and look like middle schoolers at others. As folks have pointed out, we have major weaknesses on the left side and up front. The backs looked frighteningly shaky at times, too. OTOH, Howard is nails.

[Emp]

OK, I have to eat at least a half a crow, Dempsey put the ball in the net. Against Panama. Big whoop.

We're still not going to be making it past the group stages in major world competitions until we find some finishers who can score at that level.

[Denver Muskie]

OK, I have to eat at least a half a crow, Dempsey put the ball in the net. Against Panama. Big whoop.

We're still not going to be making it past the group stages in major world competitions until we find some finishers who can score at that level.

What? I guess you can't recall the 2009 Confederations Cup or the 2010 World Cup.

[Emp]

What? I guess you can't recall the 2009 Confederations Cup or the 2010 World Cup.

You thought the loss to #32 Ghana in the WC was a top tier achievement?

In the Confederations, the US won 1 match and lost two in group, and went through to the semis on a technicality. The match vs Spain was impressive, due credit. The euphoria of being up 2-0 on Brazil after '27 and being unable to hold that lead speaks for itself.

No, I don't think the US is a top tier team. Dreaded mid-major.

[Titanxman04]

You thought the loss to #32 Ghana in the WC was a top tier achievement?

In the Confederations, the US won 1 match and lost two in group, and went through to the semis on a technicality. The match vs Spain was impressive, due credit. The euphoria of being up 2-0 on Brazil after '27 and being unable to hold that lead speaks for itself.

No, I don't think the US is a top tier team. Dreaded mid-major.

Absolutely correct.

The World Cup wasn't much to boast either. We drew England who consistently under-perform at the level. The goal we scored slipped through the goalie's hands ala Bill Buckner.

We had Algeria and Slovenia next. We got by on an incredible last minute goal by Landon Donovan that still gives me chills when I watch, but it honestly shouldn't have come down to that.

As for the Confederations Cup, EMP is exactly correct.

In the end, I really feel there are three stellar problems the US has to address in order to jump up to the next level.

1) Too much ball watching. On both sides of the ball, the Us sort of just stops and watches as a collective whole, and no one moves without the ball consistently. You'll see this on defense primarily, where defenders will charge the goal or make runs behind the play and be WIDE OPEN. It's beyond frustrating to watch, and how this team doesn't learn from that baffles me. Same errors again and again. Thank goodness Jamaica can't finish, or else they would have had a similar goal.

2) No top finisher. Dempsey can score in the premiership, but he's a different player nationally. Donovan disappears and Altidore is a mystery. The ability to score from outside the 18 is suspect at best. Altidore, to his credit, had a rocket of a shot the other day. But how many open netters or solid chances have the US had the past couple of years - especially against considerably weaker teams - and have not come through? The ability to finish when it counts still escapes this squad. Hopefully that'll be changing as confidence grows...which brings me to my final point.

3) Attitude. How in God's name can you put on your countries colors, march out on national television, and come out flat for over a half? It's the US's prerogative to give up an early goal and then spend the rest of the game battling back. It's not even a single player most of the time. It's a whole damn line of players. Their heads are just not in it for the full 90, and this isn't a team that has a particularly deep bench. We can't just swing guys in and out and expect the same kind of talent and ability throughout.

However you want to fix those issues, isn't my call. I'll admit that I am not all knowing as to the inner workings of US Soccer. But these issues seem to continually plague this squad.

[Denver Muskie]

You thought the loss to #32 Ghana in the WC was a top tier achievement?

In the Confederations, the US won 1 match and lost two in group, and went through to the semis on a technicality. The match vs Spain was impressive, due credit. The euphoria of being up 2-0 on Brazil after '27 and being unable to hold that lead speaks for itself.

No, I don't think the US is a top tier team. Dreaded mid-major.

That sure is a lot to read into my saying we have made it out of the group stage in the last two major competitions.

No, I don't think it was a great achievement to lose to Ghana in the Round of 16, but I dont' pay any attention to those rankings. It's like the #20 team in basketball losing to a team that is just outside the rankings in the "getting votes" category. Ghana has a lot more players playing in the best leagues than we do. So I don't think it was a disaster either. Going in, I was hoping for a quarterfinal appearance.

Beating Spain and then losing to Brazil in the Confederations Cup Final was a very good achievement. Not being able to hold a 2 nil lead is not the fault of the US not having guys to finish at that level.

[golfitup]

http://www.zonalmarking.net/2011/06/19/united-states-2-0-jamaica-gold-cup/

Great write-up and breakdown on the game yesterday. If you've never seen this site it is pretty damn fantastic.

[Snowboarder]

Ghana made it to the last 16 in 06 World Cup and Quarterfinalists at the last World Cup, they are way better than the #32. The US has struggled in European World Cups in 90, 98, and 06. However as hosts in 94 round of 16, Quarterfinalists in 02, and round of 16 last World Cup. US Under 17 team beat the Czechs 3-0 in their first game at the Under 17 World Cup. Their technical level was very high, more like a Continental European Team or South American Team. All three goals were superb so the future looks brighter.

[DC Muskie]

First off Emp, Dempsey scored against Jamaica. Important distinction.

And really, if you want to compare this to college basketball, the US is more like Xavier than anything else. Right outside the top top countries.

We should always get out of qualifying stages. Always. Okay, except maybe when we get a draw like 2006. But really always.

I don't care what list you put together in terms of what you think is wrong with our national squad. If that list doesn't include more players playing on Champions League rosters, we will never reach a semi or finals of a World Cup. We handle our young players for the most part, horribly. We do not develop defenders in this country. Our professional league has recently begun building academies where real development is. Our best players need to stop playing high school soccer, unless they really want to play with their friends.

I'm not that impressed our under 17 won the other day. All that matters is what they do when they hit the national team. We have seen this play out before. If we want to base the future on those results, then we are in serious trouble, because Mexico's team killed us.

We just need to continue to develop players. We need to at least make the Gold Cup Finals and we need to get out of group stages in the World Cup. That's the only way we will develop players we need in order to compete with those top tier teams.

[bleedXblue]

First off Emp, Dempsey scored against Jamaica. Important distinction.

And really, if you want to compare this to college basketball, the US is more like Xavier than anything else. Right outside the top top countries.

We should always get out of qualifying stages. Always. Okay, except maybe when we get a draw like 2006. But really always.

I don't care what list you put together in terms of what you think is wrong with our national squad. If that list doesn't include more players playing on Champions League rosters, we will never reach a semi or finals of a World Cup. We handle our young players for the most part, horribly. We do not develop defenders in this country. Our professional league has recently begun building academies where real development is. Our best players need to stop playing high school soccer, unless they really want to play with their friends.

I'm not that impressed our under 17 won the other day. All that matters is what they do when they hit the national team. We have seen this play out before. If we want to base the future on those results, then we are in serious trouble, because Mexico's team killed us.

We just need to continue to develop players. We need to at least make the Gold Cup Finals and we need to get out of group stages in the World Cup. That's the only way we will develop players we need in order to compete with those top tier teams.

Agree with pretty much everything. Soccer in Brazil, Germany, Italy, Spain etc...is THE sport period. Almost ALL of their best athletes play soccer. In the US, we have 3-4 sports that disperse our best athletes. Baseball, football, basketball and now lacrosse is getting really big. I dont see the US ever getting to the elite stage with soccer, I think the best we can hope for is good solid showing internationally and an occasional deep run in the world cup. I'm surprised with have the MLS and the success that we have had. I would love to see the demographics of who is going to the games and how much the mexican immigration explosion the last 10 years has impacted attendance,

[dc_x]

We handle our young players for the most part, horribly. We do not develop defenders in this country. Our professional league has recently begun building academies where real development is. Our best players need to stop playing high school soccer, unless they really want to play with their friends.

This is the key problem with US Soccer. 8 years of high school and college is a terrible way to develop a soccer player.

A 13-year-old in England who is a good prospect goes to a professional club's academy system.

An American who spends 8 years in school is way behind the typical European/South American kid by the time they get out of college.

[nuts4xu]

In case you are wondering, there is better weed in the US than in Jamaica.

So we win in soccer and weed!

U-S-A!

U-S-A!

[Emp]

In case you are wondering, there is better weed in the US than in Jamaica.

So we win in soccer and weed! U-S-A! U-S-A!

I assume you have a database for this claim? I'd be willing to assist in any additional research. For science, of course.

So what happens tonight? New thread in order.

[JimmyTwoTimes37]

So what happens tonight? New thread in order.

The question is....Who will start it? My money is on Titan

[Titanxman04]

The question is....Who will start it? My money is on Titan

Was busy taking my nieces to the club pool. Sadly, I lost out on starting the new thread. Thanks for the support, sorry for losing your money.