Go USA!
*** Update ***
Reasonably sure if I were Green, I’d just start drinking now. I could have stopped that goal.
This post is in: Open Threads, Sports
Go USA!
*** Update ***
Reasonably sure if I were Green, I’d just start drinking now. I could have stopped that goal.
Comments are closed.
stuckinred
Stinkin pommy’s.
tonyatlas
America, FUCK YEAH!
Coming again, to save the muthafuckin day, yeah.
Miss Kitka's Comrade Wayne
America, Fuck Yeah!
Steeplejack
What’s weird about this game is that, since I watch the English Premier League through the year, I’ll probably know more of the English players than the Americans.
OriGuy
Pedantically, I point out that the USA is playing England. Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales have their own teams in FIFA play. They combine for the Olympics.
mcd410x
England: Green, Johnson, Terry, King, A Cole, Lennon, Lampard, Gerrard, Milner, Heskey, Rooney
USA: Howard, Onyewu, DeMerit, Bocanegra, Cherundolo, Clark, Bradley, Dempsey, Donovan, Altidore, Findley
mcd410x
And, JC, it’s just England. Scotland, NIreland, Wales all field their own teams.
Mark S.
Minor gripe: it’s just England, not the UK. Scotland, Wales, and N. Ireland all have their own teams.
Stroszek
Fun Fact: It’s just England. Scotland, Wales and N. Ireland have their own teams.
Tony J
Historically inaccurate, since this time you Colonials don’t have the option of joining in the tournament halfway through. Heh.
For the record. You’ll probably score first (because we’re England, and we never start well), but we’ll gradually wear you down and put two or three past you. Then we’ll switch off, let you pull another one back from a set-piece, and spend the last ten minutes giving a display of panicked defending.
Why? Because we’re England, and that’s how we roll.
wengler
Prediction: Buddle’s going to come in and score a goal. He’s first name is Edson for a reason.
Violet
I thought this match was supposed to start at 1:30 Eastern time. When is it actually going to start?
freelancer (itouch)
All english are part of the UK, but not all from the UK are English.
Just sayin.
stuckinred
@Violet: @Violet: It sounds like another half hour. The world cup site did say 2:30 est. Fucking capitalist pigs. Oh yea, fuck BP!
SteveinSC
I like both teams. I can’t bear to see the US lose (patriotic) or for England to lose (don’t want to hurt their pride.) Seems it will have to be 1 point each or I sit shiva.
wengler
@ Violet
8.30pm local time.
2.30pm ET/1.30pm CT/12.30pm MT/11.30am PT
stuckinred
@freelancer (itouch): the sun never sets on the British Empire.
eastriver
I’m the same as Steeplejack. I know the Brits much better than the Yanks.
ibid
@OriGuy:
Pedantically, they won’t be combining their teams in 2012, but an English team will play under the UK flag. ;)
stuckinred
Nice shot of Tutu gettin down after the SA goaaaaaaaaalllllllll.
Davis X. Machina
CM Lampard and Gerard? I thought we saw that movie in ’06 — and it wasn’t a hit.
wengler
@ eastriver
Really? No one follows Feilhaber at AGF Aarhus?
freelancer (itouch)
@stuckinred:
Tell that to
Indiraa 21st Century Ghandi.Violet
@stuckinred: @wengler:
I guess I read it wrong. How annoying that they’ve got an hour of crap before the actual game. Well, it’s a pretty big match, so I guess they’re taking advantage of all the eyeballs watching it.
stuckinred
@Violet: You didn’t read it wrong, it was posted that way in numerous places. It’s sucker game, they did it during the Olympics too.
SteveinSC
>@stuckinred:
There once was a guy who shoved his wife around and whipped his kid. This guy umpired at baseball games, and when he got home one night he called for his son to come over and sit on his knee.
The kid, fearful as usual, refused, which all goes to prove: “The son never sets on the brutish umpire.”</strong
H/T to the Charleston News and Courier, sometime in the mists of time.
stuckinred
@freelancer (itouch): I appreciate you changing that so I didn’t have to jump ugly.
wengler
Lalas just picked the US to win 2-1.
Guess that means England is a lock to win by at least 2 goals.
stuckinred
We fired our guns and the British kept a’comin.
There wasn’t nigh as many as there was a while ago.
We fired once more and they began to runnin’ on
Down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.
SteveinSC
This fucking website is soooo fucked in IE. I am trying to fix the goddamned deletion to just normal text and my whole IE page is fucked to a farethewell.
This comment successfully brought to you by Ubuntu/FireFox
stuckinred
@freelancer (itouch): A reporter asked Ghandi what he thought of British civilization and Ghandi said, “I think it would be a good idea!”
Dave C
I’m honestly not that into sports, but somehow I still wish I could find some English people to taunt!
freelancer (itouch)
@stuckinred:
My point remains, but yeah, betrayed my ignorance there. Quick fact check, and yeah, died when I was 2.
See also if there are any Zulu left in Africa, also.
You Don't Say
Why does England’s flag look like Switzerland’s flag?
fbihop
I’m actually nervous before this game.
Hope the US can pull out a point from this match. Well, I actually hope they pull the upset.
Steeplejack
@SteveinSC:
WordPress does not like a single hyphen at the beginning of a word. It transmogrifies it as strike-through of the following text. It’s particularly awful at the end of a comment, as in a (superfluous) sig signoff, because it farkles the whole thread.
freelancer (itouch)
@SteveinSC:
By the look of the thread, Steve, the formatting looks like YOU fucked up. May not be the case, but it looks like it.
stuckinred
@freelancer (itouch): Well if you really think I was celebrating British Imperialism. . .well I just don’t know what to say! I was one the last time we beat them btw.
stuckinred
@You Don’t Say: Because you are high as the cost of living?
licensed to kill time
@Steeplejack:
Threadfarkling, it’s a whole new sport!
MattR
Game on bitches
Steeplejack
@licensed to kill time:
I was going to call it “fnording,” in honor of Fred Fnord, who had a run a week or two ago where his signoff was killing thread after thread, but he cleaned up his act and has been a model poster, so his name should not live in infamy.
stuckinred
Jesus christ those jersey’s look like the damn Queens Guard!
demimondian
@stuckinred: Of course, the battle of New Orleans was (a) the only battle the US won, and (b) fought after the treaty ending the war had been signed.
Davis X. Machina
It’s the St. George Cross, one of the three crosses which, superimposed, make up the more familiar Union Jack.
The Dangerman
I say Jersey’s look like damn Queens. Very French looking; shit, our country is going to hell under Obama.
And the US is down 1 before the seat is warm.
Steeplejack
WTF?! Goal for England. Just as I step away from the computer and settle down in front of the big-ass TV, one of the announcers says, “You know England is going to test them early,” and then, badda-bing, badda-boom–goal!
stuckinred
@demimondian: Yea, and we never lost a battle in Vietnam. The point is?
ChrisO
Go England! 1-0 after 4 minutes!
hehehehe…
fbihop
Well that sucked.
stuckinred
@The Dangerman: Steady
Violet
Well, that’s not good for the US.
Nethead Jay
Damn, that’s an awful start. Hope USA can answer back quickly.
Chat Noir
@stuckinred: From last week’s “Treme” episode!
MattR
@The Dangerman: IIRC, the jersey’s are a tribute to the 1950 jerseys.
freelancer (itouch)
Wow, it looks exactly like the same boring ass Fifa video game.
stuckinred
@Chat Noir: roger that
licensed to kill time
@Steeplejack:
dmsilev started it but changed his ways, Fred Fnord continued it and ditto, GregB is still a’larnin’. We have serial threadfarklers here so there is a learning curve, but eventually folks seem to get it. ‘Til the next threadfarkler comes along…I sense a song here.
Violet
Well, this is not a very exciting game so far. Except for that stupid early goal.
stuckinred
@Violet: Not any different from any other soccer game.
wengler
Findley is quickly making me wonder why Buddle didn’t get the start.
MattR
@stuckinred: From The Simpsons
(apologies if this is a dup, but word press seems to have eated the first one)
demimondian
@stuckinred: We lost both wars, in the end.
TR
Oh so close.
TR
Odds of me waking my daughter from her nap: 1-1
freelancer (itouch)
This crowd could give Olympic spectators a run for their $ in a most annoying with the noisemakers.
BZZZZZZZ!
The Dangerman
@MattR:
Kinda fitting; they are playing like Betty White out there.
licensed to kill time
@freelancer (itouch):
It sounds like a giant beehive.
stuckinred
@demimondian
And, as some of us like to say about Vietnam, “We were winning when I left”! :)
stuckinred
@licensed to kill time: I don’t know if I can take a month of it.
demimondian
@stuckinred: Feh. The US lost its capitol, lost control of the eastern seaboard, and won only one battle. At the end of the war, the British had shown the US that it needed to remember that it really didn’t matter.
Dave C
@stuckinred:
I don’t even really hear it anymore.
wengler
England has had far more dangerous opportunities(one of which turned into a goal) but they aren’t terribly convincing in play so far.
stuckinred
@demimondian: Ok, tell must just what the fuck that matters? You some kind of Anglophile or supmin?
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Steeplejack
@licensed to kill time:
Could be the title of a James Bond movie.
Shirley Bassey: “Threadfarkler! He’s the man, the man with the hyphen curse / He makes threads worse . . .”
tonyatlas
Yes, a yellow card. I love the concept of yellow/red cards. Too bad we don’t use this concept in all facets of life. The inventor of those damn horns blaring would definitely get a red card.
wengler
Fuck, Timmy’s hurt.
TR
Aw, fuck, Howard’s hurt.
Steeplejack
@The Dangerman:
Obligatory: “That’s what your girlfriend said.”
dave anderson
great play by howard, US defense is sucking donkey dick though. Not really communicating in back and are giving up too much space.
dave anderson
@tonyatlas, cards are wonderful. This ref seems to be using them correctly as a behavior modifying device. Okay, looks like Howard is back in, let’s add 3 minutes injury time.
dave anderson
@tonyatlas, cards are wonderful. This ref seems to be using them correctly as a behavior modifying device. Okay, looks like Howard is back in, let’s add 3 minutes injury time.
stuckinred
@wengler: OK, you seem to know what’s up here. To a novice this goal keeper seems like a schmuck?
demimondian
@stuckinred: Now, now. You just go with the nice lady — she’s going to help you learn to velcro your shoes today!
stuckinred
@demimondian: where the sun don’t shine, dog, I will say you are more interesting than the game so far.
wengler
@ demimondian
Tim Howard comes from a long line of fine bald-headed American goalies that are just a little bit off. He’s no schmuck.
licensed to kill time
@Steeplejack:
Golden farkles he will pour in your eye
but IE can’t describe what you spy
’cause the golden farks know when he’s hyphen’d
it’s the kiss of death for Mr. IEfarkler
(futbol is boring there’s buzzing in my brain)
bjacques
Good thing that last shot went wide. Because there was nothing to stop it!
demimondian
@wengler: You’ve got the wrong troll, dude. I’m agnostic when it comes to this match — I don’t even coach the blasted sport any more, so I don’t have to take sides.
I look forward to the day that my home is even vaguely relevant to the Cup. Until then…yeah. meh.
You Don't Say
@Davis X. Machina: Thanks!
bjacques
Wooooohoooo!!!!!!!
MattR
GOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLLLL
(EDIT: Weak goal, but a goal nonetheless)
Comrade Kevin
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! 1-1!
Randy Paul
Memo to Fabio: See if David Seaman is available
Nethead Jay
Wow, giant drop by England’s goalkeeper…
tonyatlas
WTG Demp!
Steeplejack
@licensed to kill time:
Have to blow for work. Hope USA pulls it out, and hope I can get rid of this earworm!
USA equalizes! Yee-haw.
Dave Anderson
GOAL!!!!
lol chikinburd
OK, now we’re at a mistake apiece.
stuckinred
@wengler: Got ya, glad I axed. It was my pal demimondian btw.
Mark S.
Bad goalkeeping, but we’ll take it!
TR
HAHAHAHAHA!
If you pause it on that goal, you can see the moment where Green sees tomorrow’s headline on The Sun.
wengler
Dempsey with the thunderstrike(it will look like that in the papers at least).
GOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!
The Dangerman
Fortunately, England has Abe Vigoda in goal; time to play now, boys (both sides).
PanAmerican
Brilliant. English goalkeeping like English smiles.
stuckinred
“Keep you eye on the ball at all times”
Chico Esquela
MattR
If I was a religious/spiritual person, I would believe that Clint Dempsey’s sister had something to do with that sneaking across the line.
YellowJournalism
@Steeplejack:
We should just call it “BoBing,” because it’s annoying, disrupts the thread, and yet is sometimes interesting/challenging/amusing to read.
ETA: USA! USA! USA!
TR
@PanAmerican:
Full of gaps?
bjacques
Uh-oh. Now we made them mad.
+3
stuckinred
Who was that 6’9″ inch dude that played for the Brits in the last WC?
TR
@stuckinred:
Probably Peter Crouch.
wengler
@ MattR
The pitch has been slick all match. Dempsey simply proved why it’s more important to be accurate than powerful.
handy
I’m trying not to think too much of anything sports related right now. I’ve got too much of a bad feeling about the Lakers-Celtics game tomorrow.
NobodySpecial
Wow, who put Leighton in goal for the Brits?
wengler
Crouchie is 6 foot 7 and probably weighs a buck forty. Either him or Defoe is going to come in for Heskey sometime during the second half.
Andy K
@stuckinred:
Chico Esquela: “Ed Kranepool borrow Chico soap, never give back.”
from Bad Stuff ’bout the Mets
MattR
@NobodySpecial: Brilliant. I hope there is a British Flyers fan reading that.
Who can the US sub in for Cherundalo? Shawn Wright-Phillips is just too quick for him. That was a brilliant move from England now it is time for Coach Bradley to counter it. Beasley?
Randy Paul
@TR: Definitely Peter Crouch, which is probably why the US players keep their hair short (scroll down for photo.
His wife is quite stunning.
burnspbesq
Robert Green snatches the goat horns away from Ricardo Clark.
Except for Cherundolo and Donovan, the US has been nothing but shite. England should be burying us.
fbihop
My dad sent me a text, “You can’t score if you don’t shoot.”
Truer words…
Also, get Findley out of there. Put in Herculez Gomez or Edson Buddle. I’d also liek to see Jose Torres.
Dave
This sort of thing makes me think that Manuel Almunia should have went through with his threat to get a British Passport.
burnspbesq
@MattR:
The option at right back is Spector, which would be even worse. Dolo stays on.
Dave
Cherundolo is doing fine. Now I know what those Toffee cunts see in Donovan. He’s got a good eye and decent feet.
Heskey is playing excellently though – but a shame Rooney has been, apart from one flick-on, utter cack.
mr. whipple
I take it from the update someone actually scored.
Back to Zzzzzzzzzzz.
West of the Cascades
Arrogant whingeing pommy bastards. Go USA!!!
Violet
“The Expendables” looks hilariously awful.
SteveinSC
Just back from watching the game to respond.
@Steeplejack: Thanks, that might be it, but IE is now completely fucked. I expect I’ll have to reboot.
@freelancer (itouch): Fuck you, you ignorant cretin. And by the way you fucking retard, my post shows up perfectly in Ubuntu/FireFox. Now got a theory for that one asshole?
wengler
Both Altidore and Findley have been unconvincing. Landon sent in a ball that really should’ve been put away by Jozy to equalize a lot sooner. Findley has disappeared nearly altogether.
I would be happy with Bradley putting in Buddle for Findley right away. His hands are kind of tied with regards to a third substitution though because of the knock on Timmeh.
mr. whipple
I see the margins are still blowing out.
This problem would seem easier to fix than an oil pipe a mile underwater, but I guess not.
NobodySpecial
Yeah, I noticed that this morning in IE8 at work. Now that I’m home, blessed Firefox does no such thing.
The Dangerman
Lots of complaints about the new ball; any chance that explains the Goalkeeper Green’s GACK?
NobodySpecial
Boy, is England playing pissed.
lol chikinburd
Carragher for Ledley King? I don’t understand that at all.
TR
Oh, so *that’s* what good goalkeeping looks like.
Take notes, Brits.
Dave
Carragher for Ledley King? I don’t understand that at all.
King’s nowhere near fit.
Mind you, he’s been nowhere near fit for like the last four years or so.
KG
@stuckinred: the sun never sets on the British Empire only because God does not trust the English in the dark.
Randy Paul
Thank God that was Heskey making that shot.
stuckinred
@KG: ding
wengler
@ lol chikinburd
King’s knees are flaring up I’m guessing. Though he did get beat by Altidore that one time.
JGabriel
I keep hearing, through my window, roars and cheers from, what sounds like, all over Manhattan.
I assume it has something to do with the athletic event headlining this thread?
.
Randy Paul
@MattR: Cherundolo just showed why he’s still there.
stuckinred
@handy: Apparently this in NOT NBA territory.
TR
Is Carragher playing for the US secretly?
wengler
Charlie Davies woulda wasted these Limeys.
Just Sayin’
stuckinred
@JGabriel: You sure it’s not the Pride parade? Maybe they can combine it with soccer?
TR
@wengler:
Amen to that. Bradley needs to replace Findley, stat.
Why isn’t Ching on the squad again?
Randy Paul
@wengler: Maybe next time he’ll observe curfew.
NobodySpecial
Yellow on Carragher. Was King really that bad?
fbihop
If Herculez or Buddle aren’t in the game in the next five minutes…
The US is really holding on with the skin of their teeth. I’d like to see Torres on for Clark to create some chances, since Clark has been all-but invisible this entire game on offense or defense.
wengler
@ TR
He could prove it by getting a red card.
KG
@stuckinred: I’m honestly surprised no one got there before me.
Learning to appreciate this game takes a lot of patience for me, I think. But my favorite sports are basketball, baseball, and water polo. Basketball and polo are fluid like futból, but more pay offs from scoring. Baseball is just the fact that I grew up with it.
fbihop
@TR: What does Ching bring that the US needs? Altidore is a younger, faster version of Ching.
wengler
@ TR
Ching wasn’t nearly 100 percent. I would’ve picked him over Bornstein though.
KG
@handy: bad for who?
My take, as a Lakers fan, is that the first team to win two games in a row is going to win this series. But it’s been such a strange series (and fitting end to a strange playoffs) that I just don’t know what is going to happen.
TR
@fbihop:
Ching’s a better shot, I think.
Fuck, he would’ve made that one.
Dave
phew. good save that
fbihop
@TR: He wouldn’t have got the chance to make that one. No way Ching beats Carragher like that.
stuckinred
@KG: I enjoy it but I am primarily a college football and hoop fan. There is something about living close enough to walk to the stadium for Georgia football. . .I was also able to go to every soccer game in the 96 Olympics and that helped me appreciate the game more. I don’t have a clue as to who-is-who on any of these teams and the entire set-up of soccer is beyond understanding but it is fun to watch.
wengler
Lampard kicks a field goal from thirty yards out.
MattR
@Randy Paul: Twas a nice play. I am still worried about Wright-Phillips’s pace but understand there are no better options available.
(EDIT: Of course, Lannan on the other side is quick too. When does Gooch come out and who replaces him?)
KG
@stuckinred: fair enough, fair enough. Football is fine, but living in Orange County/LA, the closest thing we had to a professional team was USC. And having not gone to a school with a program (Long Beach State), I just haven’t been able to get too interested in the college game anymore outside of bowl season and a couple of rivalry games.
fbihop
I hate to be the one bashing Bob Bradley — but why no subs yet? Torres? Gomez? Buddle?
wengler
I think it’s been pretty clear that Rooney hasn’t been playing at 100 percent. I wonder if Capello has the cojones to sub for him.
Randy Paul
When is Bradley going to sub someone?
TR
@fbihop:
Seriously, 71 minutes and 1-1? Sub!
JGabriel
@stuckinred: Hmm, the Pride Parade is within hearing distance too. But that would generate cheers on one corner, then the next, and the next, and, well, it would be more of a sustained, low-level, parade sound.
Intermittent cheers and roars, on the other hand, would seem to be the reaction to some sort of sporting contest. So, I’m guessing this World Glass or Mug or Trophy or whatever it’s called is the more likely cause.
If so, there sure seems to be a lot of people in NYC watching it.
.
stuckinred
@KG: My whole family is out there. Long Beach, Hawthorne, the Valley, and they are die hard Laker-Dodger fans. MY brother still follows the Rams!
wengler
Yellow for Findley means sub him out NOW!
stuckinred
@JGabriel: Is it really?? I was being silly.
TR
Ffffffffffffffuck that was close.
fbihop
Grant Wahl on Twitter (@GrantWahl) says that no one is even warming up for the USA.
EDIT: Now he says looks like Buddle is coming in.
KG
@stuckinred: that’s me as well, Lakers and Dodgers; occasional interest in the Angels, Ducks, and Kings. I gave up on the Rams and Raiders when they left.
Wow, Howard’s playing well this half.
handy
@KG:
Bad for the Lakers. Artest got his knee drained again. The team looked totally dead in that 4th quarter. In any case I see Bostom winning Game 6 no matter who wins Game 5. So yeah, not really feeling confident right now.
ETA: (To make this a soccer comment) GO USA!
Shalimar
The US is very frustrating to watch. “There was no pressure on the ball” should be the team motto.
MattR
It would be nice if a US midfielder was somewhere near midfield at some point
Randy Paul
Again, thank God Heskey was the target.
TR
About fucking time.
Dave
another wonderful cross from Stevie G.
wengler
Finally Bradley, about 15 minutes earlier would’ve been better.
Dave
Crouchigol is coming on
wengler
Too many chances for England right now.
TR
And he comes Lurch.
Mark S.
Here comes the giraffe!
fbihop
Dempsey is gassed. That said, he looked gassed in the Confederation’s Cup before scoring the goal against Egypt.
JGabriel
@stuckinred:
I don’t know when it is, but the route passes about a block and half away from my place, so, yeah, it should be within hearing distance if there’s any kind of loud volume at all – which, to be fair, there probably isn’t, as I’ve never heard much before, and that parade route gets used about two-tree times a month in the summer.
.
KG
@handy: Bynum, not Artest, I think you mean.
Game 4 was just strange, it really was. At the time, I thought Jackson made a good decision to leave Kobe and Gasol in to start the fourth quarter. But it didn’t work out well. On the other hand, I just don’t see Nate Robinson or Glen Davis having another game like that. And the big 3 or 4 just haven’t really played well outside of Ray Allen in Game 2 and Rondo’s triple-double in Game 1.
End of the day, I think the Lakers win Game 5. Game 6 could go either way, and I’ll take the Lakers (history be damned!) in Game 7.
stuckinred
@KG: Yea, there is a world of difference between LA and Athens!
stuckinred
@JGabriel: That would have been spooky!
lol chikinburd
If Bradley’s playing for 1-1 I’m going to break something. Can we please see what Herculez Gomez can do?
Okay, Altidore off…for HOLDEN??! For the love of fuck.
wengler
Holden in for Altidore. I guess the ol’ 4-5-1 is back in effect for the final 10.
wengler
@ lol chikinburd
I guess you better break something.
PanAmerican
Bob Bradley brainfarting on the subs.
@Mark S.:
On Univision they’re taking the piss on pronouncing CROOWCH his every touch.
TR
“Crouch is awkward…”
Amen. And yet he landed Abby Clancy. Go figure.
TR
Oh Gomez comes in *now*? WTF?
Or not. Game. I’ll take the point.
wengler
Gomez better make these final 30 seconds count!
Comrade Kevin
I’ll take that result.
Dave
That’s it. A draw is probably a fair reflection.
NobodySpecial
Sorry, Bob Bradley, can’t let you make that sub!
Randy Paul
An excellent result for the US
lol chikinburd
Oh, NOW we see Gomez. With five seconds left.
Or not. Peep peep peep.
wengler
Nevermind…Game Over.
Not an unfair result. The goal was soft but not against the run of play. Cue the whining and recriminations from England fans…NOW!
TGP
Bollocks !
(England fan)
P.S. Poor Green, he’s going to get creamed in the papers.
handy
@KG:
Yes Bynum. My bad.
burnspbesq
If Michael Fucking Bradley could pass the fucking ball to his own team we might have had some chances at the end.
burnspbesq
Onyewu got better as the game went on. That’s very good news for the US.
Jared
Welp, looks like Dempsey made up for that god-awful mohawk he used to sport.
Randy Paul
And they shut down Rooney, which doesn’t bode well for England
JL
Lucky for England America doesn’t really care about soccer. If we did, the limeys wouldn’t have stood a chance.
wengler
England better not blame the whole thing on Green and wash their hands of it by simply switching it out. England had a lot of problems and the US was excellent at shutting down space.
Rooney is not playing at 100 percent, that much is clear. If King is getting switched out at halftime, then his World Cup is probably already over.
Really great game by Timmeh, especially playing through the pain. They got beat a couple times, but the US back line also deserves a great congratulations for their play. Cherundolo was fantastic, Gooch proved he could play even with the knee, Bocanegra, even DeMerit.
Buddle didn’t do much after he was subbed in but I would prefer he start over Findley. Altidore improved as the game went on. The midfield actually did well with possession and Landon and Dempsey deserve credit.
Overall a deserved a point that wasn’t all that expected.
SteveinSC
@Dave:
When at home, Crouch qualifies as the England’s tallest man-made structure. He occasionally works as a cell-phone tower.
Bnut
Tim Howard won the point for the US, no arguments.
wengler
@ Bnut
I agree.
J.W. Hamner
While I feel like Gomez should have played, I can’t really imagine people complaining that they played for the draw. I mean c’mon… the US had one legit chance all game, plus the gift goal of the millennium… it’s not like Gomez is going to make up for the vast gulf in talent.
schooner
Bocanegra will be the downfall of this team. Lacks pace and stays to far off his man.
Bradley shouldn’t be playing either. Hardly played a decent ball all game and was run over the last 30 minutes.
Turgid Jacobian
the US had one legit chance all game
No, at least three by my count: Jozy’s brick of a shot after a great beat, a header he blew, and a header blown by Bocanegra. All were real goal scoring opportunities.
Of course England had more, but I won’t go into that.
adolphus
Wow, a draw just like the War of 1812.
J.W. Hamner
@Turgid Jacobian:
I won’t argue with that… I was a little over the top, but was making the distinction between “could” and “should”… and only Altidore’s brick shot was a “should have scored” chance I think. The others were fine enough, but not that close… and I can think of several times where England was just as close as Altidore, if not closer.
Turgid Jacobian
USA, undefeated against England in 60 years of World Cup play?
Bnut
The Slovenia-Algeria match tomorrow will go a long way towards telling us how the group will play out.
fucen tarmal
ok…so we tied them at their best sport, the one they really care about and all?
hmmm, lets see,,,i wonder what would happen if oxford, or university of manchester were to play an evolved game of football vs ohio state, and i bet kicking some english ass would be enough to wake up the echoes rally the sons of notre dame.
burnspbesq
Not sure what game the guy who does the player ratings for News of the World was watching. Demerit the best US player?
NobodySpecial
@fucen tarmal:
Reminds me of a quote from some English player after a WC loss to Germany. When asked about the loss, he replied ‘Well, it’s only fair that they’ve beaten us in our national sport, we’ve beaten them twice in theirs.’
Bnut
The Corner has spent the better part of the past few days talking massive shit about soccer. I guess “football” is now a liberal sport…..
Hawes
Headlines for the tabs?
It’s Not Easy Being Green
Green, Not Ripe
England Are Green With Envy
Dunno, submit your own
fucen tarmal
@NobodySpecial:
that’s funny. of course i prefer to say churchill was the ideal prime minister for his times, he sat around, got bombed, and waited for the americans to show up.
OOH-RAH!
Peter J
It’s rather obvious that Green like Greene is a plant, British newspapers should demand to see his birth certificate.
MattR
@NobodySpecial: I wonder if that was the same WC Qualification game where the English fans were chanting “stand up if you won the war“
Stroszek
@fucen tarmal: What is this evolved game of football? The one where fat guys wear body armor and stand around doing nothing for 12 minutes at a time?
I’ll take the real thing, and yes, I do wish the bulk of the US’s football talent wasn’t being wasted on sports that primarily favor binge eaters and other genetic abnormalities.
PTirebiter
@fucen tarmal: That’s a little unfair, he destroyed the French Navy without our help.
sbjules
@KG:
I’m a Laker fan too and this series is making me twitchy. I felt the same way about 2 in a row, but now I think I’d rationalize & still be hopeful if the celtics win tomorrow. I don’t think that’s going to happen though.
Stroszek
I would add that one of the great things about football is how teamwork and good coaching can overcome the advantage of population size. Denmark and Holland don’t need an enormous population to be consistent performers.
lol chikinburd
@fucen tarmal:
Hey, I do that all the time.
fucen tarmal
@Stroszek:
all you need to know about that is, your soccer pitch is too sissified for the type of hard knocking explosion sport action real football has. of course we mostly keep the binge fascism and other folks looking for an excuse to riot out of the stands(except for philly eagles fans, for whom i make no excuses) maybe if the sport was less boring, their would be less rioting, just a suggestion…
really it comes down to this, you can do aerobics, step class, spin class, or whatever for an hour…but you can only sprint, lift heavy weights, or anything that requires explosive strength, a few seconds at a time….
explosion vs cardio….
That Other Mike
@fucen tarmal: Tell you what, fucen – I’ll set our rugby players against your
handeggAmerican football players any time.fucen tarmal
@That Other Mike:
only because you haven’t actually considered the athletes and the athleticism required to play evolved football. just send some of your best rugby players to something like the nfl combine, ht wt body fat, straight speed, cone shuttle, broad jump, vert jump, bench press max reps at 225, the best football players are extensively measured for a wide range of athletic attributes, the numbers are what they are…i wonder how soccer, or rugby athletes would truly measure out.
y’all got some sort of objective measurements?
Bruce (formerly Steve S.)
I am very late to this thread, but may I assume someone has mentioned that the last time someone gave up a goal like this to the Americans in the World cup he was subsequently murdered?
Bill Murray
@schooner: But it comes down to demerit vs. bornstein, as Bocanegra would be playing centrally if not on the left. Bornstein is fast and small and generally adequate going forward but is poor at positioning and a very poor tackler. Demerit is an excellent man marker, but can’t pass to save his life. Against a team like England where the US would not have much possession, Demerit and Bocanegra is much better than Bocanegra (or Demerit) and Bornstein.
Basically the US is very weak in outside defenders. Bornstein and Spector were so bad in the friendlies leading up to the World cup, the US just can not play them barring injury or suspension in any game that matters.
I think it is likely Torres will play for Clark in the next game as the US will likely have much more of the ball and Torres’ technique will bring a hint of John O’Brien at the 2002 WC.
ETA: the fact that the US wide midfielders don’t always track back and play defense doesn’t help th outside defense. Dempsey was particularly guilty of this at the Confed Cup last summer
SRW1
@NobodySpecial:
“… beaten them twice at their own.”
Actually, if memory serves right that is supposedly what Margret Thatcher worked up. You’re possibly thinking of the famous sentence by the English striker Gary Lineker who has said
“Football is a simple game; 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win”.
Hawes
As an American rugby player, I can say that – like soccer – you can’t compare them to NFL players. Both rugby and soccer are aerobic sports. Football isn’t.
Jonah Lomu tried to play NFL football and never made it past a curiosity tryout. But I doubt many NFL players would last 80 minutes on a rugby pitch.
But give them a few years…
snarkypsice
@fucen tarmal:
Or maybe it’s OK that we suck at this sport and other countries do better than us?
Never been a fan of American exceptionalism.
That Other Mike
@fucen tarmal: Yeah, kind of. Rugby is what your American football could be if real athletes played it, and play didn’t stop every few seconds for the wheezing fatties to have a Twinky break.
Bruce (formerly Steve S.)
@Hawes:
The NFL’s defensive backs say hi.
They wouldn’t have to. Dude, a mediocre NFL linebacker is about 6-3, 250, and runs a 4.7 forty. The mercy rule would be invoked after ten minutes.