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OT: 2022 World Cup Thread

Ya. USA is #1. After that ill figure it out as it progresses.

Was with a couple guys who I figured had zero interest in soccer and they were talking about it. So maybe it is gaining a foothold.
Have 2 stepsons going to the WC. They have tix to 6 games with US vs England being one of them. Just hoping they make it back alive and in one piece!
 
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Yea its a completely disaster for Italy to not qualify and twice in a row is really unbelievable. I feel sorry for the people of Italy. Missing 1 WC was brutal as a die hard USMNT fan. Can't imagine what it's like for a country like Italy where soccer is everything
Very disappointed but they have themselves to blame

Politics
Nepotism
Typical Italian buetocratic nonsense
 
If Weah is healthy, he has a way of creating goal opportunities, not so much for himself but for others. He's the USMNT's most defense-unbalancing attacker, IMO. No substitute for his kind of raw speed and composure combination. Not sure how healthy he is right now, though.
Agree
It’s the consistency and other attack I’m concerned about
Would love a deep run for the USMNT
Long overdue IMO
 
Agree with CB issue. Losing Miles Robinson was the biggest loss, but Richards being injured also cut into our depth. He was our best bet for a more athletic CB. CCV, Long, and Ream are decent at best, while Yedlin is along for the experience. Not a big fan of the defensive options, but at least the fullbacks are attack-minded.

Wings are good, but not sure about our CFs.
 
Haji Wright?? That one came out of left field for me.

It looks like we only have one natural left back as well? Looks like dust has a injury, and they are obviously concerned enough to bring in another back up.

Agree on Turner in goal - this should help him confidently step into that roll without a fear of looking over his shoulder.
 
Haji Wright?? That one came out of left field for me.

It looks like we only have one natural left back as well? Looks like dust has a injury, and they are obviously concerned enough to bring in another back up.

Agree on Turner in goal - this should help him confidently step into that roll without a fear of looking over his shoulder.
Haji came out of left field. No one had him making the roster. Wonder if Pepi is hurt and Gregg hates Pefolk. Last time Haji was on the field for us was a while ago and he spent a good portion of the match walking around looking lazy.

Ferreira is Gregg's starter. I'd go with Sargent if healthy

Steffan off the roster is a big upset no one was predicting until info started leaking. I'm happy.

Shaq Moore, Roldan, and Morris are the bottom roster guys who shouldn't really play at all

We have 0 depth at left back. If Jedi goes down, Dest is the backup LB and scally or yedlin would play right is what most expect
 
If anyone is interested in getting more into following USMNT for the World Cup...

In soccer we trust podcast with former USMNT players Jimmy Conrad, Heath Pierce, Charlie Davis

Some others like state of the union podcast with Rutgers legend Alexi Lalas

11 yanks and tactical manager are more "negative" Gregg haters but some could say objective

The Yank report another good one. Straight red card if you want mostly BS and inappropriate jokes lol

They all have twitter handles to follow too
 
Metric Football. Feh.
Over/under for most WC games = 0.5 goals

soccer-simpsons.gif
 
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Yea its a completely disaster for Italy to not qualify and twice in a row is really unbelievable. I feel sorry for the people of Italy. Missing 1 WC was brutal as a die hard USMNT fan. Can't imagine what it's like for a country like Italy where soccer is everything
How about any young really good player that was like 18 in 2015, that player won't play in a WC game until he is 29!!! Mind Boggling!!! And that assumes they qualify in 2026...
 
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Haji came out of left field. No one had him making the roster. Wonder if Pepi is hurt and Gregg hates Pefolk. Last time Haji was on the field for us was a while ago and he spent a good portion of the match walking around looking lazy.

Ferreira is Gregg's starter. I'd go with Sargent if healthy

Steffan off the roster is a big upset no one was predicting until info started leaking. I'm happy.

Shaq Moore, Roldan, and Morris are the bottom roster guys who shouldn't really play at all

We have 0 depth at left back. If Jedi goes down, Dest is the backup LB and scally or yedlin would play right is what most expect

100% agree on all points. Think seargent should get the nod. Would rather play with a false 9 so we can keep Weah and Aaronson on the field at the same time. Think they add more value unless Weah starts and Aaronson is the sub who is brought in to press a tired defense.
 
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If Gregg was going to pick Morris, he may as well have picked Zardez. Ugh. Don't want to see either of them in a US shirt.
Be interested to see what the US tactics are....have they even established a style? (no)
 
With several US players injured or else not getting playing time with their club teams, we will not be near full strength. And we're a thin team, talent-wise, so I don't expect us to advance past the group stage.
Yeah, the injury bug really has me worried about our ability to compete in this one. Bad timing, as I thought we were going to get out of the group several months ago when we were healthy and playing pretty well. But you never know...
 
Some good squads being announced, seems like just about ever nation is dealing with injuries
 
Agree - Blatter even said recently that the Qatar WC was a bad idea.

Berhalter mentioned yesterday the team will be together on the 14th. That gives a week to train and no time to rest and recover or build chemistry.

Where they are stationed may be key. When the US played in ‘02 Arena had them living with their families in the city and it was a factor in their success. Would be interested in learning more about the security for the Western European and North American teams. Will they be stationed in a city or put in the countryside?
 
Agree - Blatter even said recently that the Qatar WC was a bad idea.

Berhalter mentioned yesterday the team will be together on the 14th. That gives a week to train and no time to rest and recover or build chemistry.

Where they are stationed may be key. When the US played in ‘02 Arena had them living with their families in the city and it was a factor in their success. Would be interested in learning more about the security for the Western European and North American teams. Will they be stationed in a city or put in the countryside?
there's only one city in Qatar...
 
Super pissed Italy didn’t qualify… again
Unheard of for one of the worlds super powers

The euro win definitely softens the blow, but the expectation was for them to qualify for the World Cup, and make a decent run

Since Italy is out, I will be rooting for the United States. I’m wondering where the goals will come from as the attack is inconsistent, but I would love for them to do well and start the show out on the world stage
Agree completely. Euro win softens the blow but no forza italia hurts. Always root for the USA along with Italy. Hoping we make it out of our group along with England.
 
Agree completely. Euro win softens the blow but no forza italia hurts. Always root for the USA along with Italy. Hoping we make it out of our group along with England.
Hurts big time
The first one was long overdue w/the corruption in FIGC (Italian federation)
The second one was nauseating

Euro definitely softens the blow, but the core was old (Chillieni, Bonnucci, Jorghino, Immobile, Insigne), and was exposed vs. Argentina in the Euro vs. South American championship match

Really hoping the USA can make a deep run. Will be rooting hard for the boys!
 
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Yeah, the injury bug really has me worried about our ability to compete in this one. Bad timing, as I thought we were going to get out of the group several months ago when we were healthy and playing pretty well. But you never know...
Our core is actuslly pretty healthy for once. We haven't ever really had all of our studs available at the same time. CB is the real position killed by injuries but we haven't had all the offensive and midfield healthy together

Sargent Pulisic Weah Reyna Aaronson Musah Mckinnie Adams Jedi Dest

When have they all been available and healthy to play at the same time?

I don't think ever have been..
 
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Our core is actuslly pretty healthy for once. We haven't ever really had all of our studs available at the same time. CB is the real position killed by injuries but we haven't had all the offensive and midfield healthy together

Sargent Pulisic Weah Reyna Aaronson Musah Mckinnie Adams Jedi Dest

When have they all been available and healthy to play at the same time?

I don't think ever have been..
CB is absolutely the biggest concern right now. And that alone could dictate our ability to get past the group stage.

But The USMNT was far healthier during qualifiers than it is now. A lot of players on the roster are coming back from injuries and while they will have been cleared to play for they wouldn't be on the roster, that's not the same as them being 100%.

So while we can all hope for the best, health-wise, for those players on the roster, I've personally adjusted my expectations downward from where they were at the end of qualifying.
 
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CB is absolutely the biggest concern right now. And that alone could dictate our ability to get past the group stage.

But The USMNT was far healthier during qualifiers than it is now. A lot of players on the roster are coming back from injuries and while they will have been cleared to play for they wouldn't be on the roster, that's not the same as them being 100%.

So while we can all hope for the best, health-wise, for those players on the roster, I've personally adjusted my expectations downward from where they were at the end of qualifying.
i'm expecting that we can get thru the group stage. whether we advance in the knockouts is going to depend on who we draw. anything beyond that is a bonus IMO. the field is strong this year...lots of question marks and injuries are going to have their say because of the stupid timing of the tournament...lots of guys already fatigued before the WC starts...
 
CB is absolutely the biggest concern right now. And that alone could dictate our ability to get past the group stage.

But The USMNT was far healthier during qualifiers than it is now. A lot of players on the roster are coming back from injuries and while they will have been cleared to play for they wouldn't be on the roster, that's not the same as them being 100%.

So while we can all hope for the best, health-wise, for those players on the roster, I've personally adjusted my expectations downward from where they were at the end of qualifying.
Agreed. Very concerned about CB. Very, since we're not playing CONCACAF teams any more.
 
i'm expecting that we can get thru the group stage. whether we advance in the knockouts is going to depend on who we draw. anything beyond that is a bonus IMO. the field is strong this year...lots of question marks and injuries are going to have their say because of the stupid timing of the tournament...lots of guys already fatigued before the WC starts...
If we advance through the groups we'll either play the winner or runner up from group A. Not terrible but I'd like to avoid the Netherlands if we advance.
 
If anyone is interested in getting more into following USMNT for the World Cup...

In soccer we trust podcast with former USMNT players Jimmy Conrad, Heath Pierce, Charlie Davis

Some others like state of the union podcast with Rutgers legend Alexi Lalas

11 yanks and tactical manager are more "negative" Gregg haters but some could say objective

The Yank report another good one. Straight red card if you want mostly BS and inappropriate jokes lol

They all have twitter handles to follow too

Dare I say you forgot to add the most robust soccer community - Bigsoccer.com lol
 
Senegal might not advance without Mane. He's supposedly going to at least miss a couple games minimum. It's a weak group. Ecuador or Qatar the other teams
Yes - Mendy iffy form as well. Funny in looking at the Dutch too - VVD not at his best and they don't have nearly the attacking talent of past versions. All things equal, the US could have had a much worse path. Have to get out of the group first though.
 
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