While I don’t believe that the US will have an easy time against Ghana, I believe that England will have a more difficult time against Germany than the US will have against Ghana.
I don’t believe the English have had to deal yet with a fullback with the pace and skill on the ball of Phillip Lahm. That will be quite a challenge for them.
Ghana spent a lot of time attacking through the middle against Germany. I don’t think that will get them too far.
Remember that in my comments in the group stage for Group D that I believed Mesut Oezil would be someone to watch? I think he had a pretty good game today.
Nikola Zigic: I was right the first time. A truly awful performance.
Jonathan Bornstein: while I blanched a little when I saw your name in the lineup, I believe on balance you had a pretty good game today. I was especially impressed with your willingness to listen carefully to your teammates as evidence by your conversations with Tim Howard at the end of the first half and Carlos Bocanegra at the start of the second half.
The disciplinary record of the US has been pretty good thus far as compared to some other recent competitions: only six yellow cards in three games.
Fabio Capello finally came to his senses and started Jermain Defoe – and it paid off for him.
Apropos of absolutely nothing, but who would have thought at this stage that Landon Donovan would have scored more goals than Leo Messsi, Carlos Tevez, Kaka, Robinho, Samuel Eto’o, Wayne Rooney, all of France, Antonio Di Natale, Didier Drogba, Robin van Persie, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Fernando Torres?
West of the Cascades
Thanks for these daily thoughts!
What are the rules at this World Cup with respect to accumulation of yellow cards? Are the cards “reset” at the end of the round-robin, or do they carry forward all the way through the tournament?
Violet
Today’s matches were fantastic. I had the US-Algeria match on the TV and the England-Slovenia match streaming on the computer. I was trying to watch everything all at once, but it was quite the challenge.
I think today for the first time I can see why people get so completely and utterly caught up in football. The US-Algeria game was maddening, enthralling, heartbreaking, and exhilarating. I was totally exhausted by the end of it.
The US outplayed Algeria and deserved to win. Thankfully they did. But all those missed shots and the second disallowed goal that really was a goal? Maddening.
Question: How often do teams have multiple disallowed goals in the World Cup? And how often are those goals actually goals when you look at replays? Is it unusual that it would happen twice to one team?
I’m glad Ghana got through because I really wanted the Africans to do well in this World Cup. I just wish the US weren’t the ones playing them. Especially if they’re the only African team to get through. The US won’t be very popular at that match.
A great day. This football stuff is addictive.
Mike The Dealer
Yellows reset at the end of the group stage, but if you got your 2nd yellow card in the third group game you would miss the first knock out stage game.
Miss Kitka's Comrade Wayne
I was so cathartisized after the US game that I wound up falling asleep in my chair during the first half of Germany x Ghana, awaking well after the latter had ended. And then I read that the Germany game had been a colossal bore, so maybe there’s that, too.
The Dangerman
Ghana or Goners. Like the US chances (and good for LD; he’s from my home area – Redlands, CA).
DaveInOz
Up at 4.30am for the Australia game this morning.
After a quiet first half, an explosive finish to the game with goals from Tim Cahill and Brett Holman. A good finish to the campaign after the most disappointing of starts – not the 4-0 Germany result but the team selected by coach Pim Verbeek with no strikers. It was an ultra-defensive lineup and it backfired badly. I don’t recall Guus Hiddink dropping Viduka and Kewell 4 years ago when we played, and competed well against, Brazil.
I’m waiting (without any hope) to hear Verbeek admit that he made a mistake. Highlight of the day was Craig Foster of SBS television after the game sounding like he’d been enjoying the hospitality of the hotel bar after the game
Mark S.
Kudos to the Australians. They got their asses kicked the first game but came back to make a respectable showing.
Argentina vs. Germany would be a helluva quarterfinal. I’m tempted to say “will”; England has a chance, but I think Mexico is going to get slaughtered.
In the other foursome, it’s looking good for Uruguay. Party like it’s 1930!
Onkel Fritze
@Mike The Dealer: Not this time. FIFA has changed the rule, yellow cards reset after the quarterfinals.
Phoenix Woman
Yeah. Crappy refs or no, we actually might win this thing — though if we make it past England a second time I will be surprised as hell.
MikeJ
@Phoenix Woman:
Win the next round? Maybe. The whole thing? There are not enough drugs to make me believe that.
Andy K
@Phoenix Woman:
If we see England again, it will be after beating Brazil or the Netherlands or Italy or Spain (or Chile or Switzerland, but let’s be realistic here) in the semifinal, at which point I like our chances.
Bracket here.
Andy K
@Andy K:
Or Portugal…But I think they lose the group to Brazil.
Cacti
It seems Landon Donovan’s time has finally come.
Which is hard for me to say, as I’ve always thought him an overrated show-pony who hid in MLS from the pressure of consistent world class competition.
Cacti
@Andy K:
I think Portugal may take the group by virtue of Brazil missing Kaka.
MikeJ
@Cacti: It’s not like he didn’t try to make it in the bigs, it’s just that he didn’t do very well at it until this year. If he had had this past season ten years ago he might have never come to the US.
Jim in Chicago
Bornstein in the starting lineup scared me too. I have to assume Bradley thought he matched up well with Algeria’s speed on the wings or something. I would not recommend him in a match against a more skilled side that can exploit his defensive weaknesses.
Getting to play 3 months in the EPL has shown Donovan what a great player he can be. I hope he gets back to Europe permanently soon (how much longer does MLS have his rights?).
I was not at all surprised to see that it was Defoe who got the goal for England. The man is a scoring machine. The U.S. is lucky Harry Redknapp didn’t get the England job because Defoe would have started against us and made things really difficult on our back line.
Winning the group is huge for the U.S. as we don’t have to face any “big” countries for the next 2 rounds (if we beat Ghana, it’s S Korea or Uruguay next).
KG
Assuming a win against Ghana (which I should know better than doing), what are the odds of beating Uruguay or South Korea?
Derek
These daily thoughts and summaries of teams have been incredibly helpful to me.
I never followed soccer before, but it has been wonderful to listen to games on the radio and have some background information.
That USA-ALG game today was incredible– I was spent after listening to an hour and a half of futbol! Such incredible lows to highs in no time… no wonder the world loves this sport!
Of course, I am a fan of other sports, but don’t really know much about the individual players or coaches or teams. So I guess I’m as good a soccer fan as I am baseball or football.
Thanks again, Randi, and everyone in the comments.
Calvin Jones and the 13th Apostle
@Cacti: He has, until recently. Seems like he’s finally grown a pair.
West of the Cascades
@Onkel Fritze: thanks – is it the same idea that if you get your second yellow in the quarterfinals you have to miss the semi-final match?
I have to say that one thing I like about Bradley’s varied lineups and substitutions are the number of players who have gotten at least a few minutes on the field in the group stage – in the event one of those players needs to start a later game because of injury or card accumulation. I’m not out to jinx the USA saying that, so let’s just hope that’s an issue at some point over the next couple of weeks …
Cacti
I could see the US making the semis IF they make past Ghana.
Styles make fights (and football matches), and Ghana plays a style that presents a tough matchup for the American side. More so than their potential quarterfinal opponents.
Andy K
@KG:
The way the US has been gathering steam, I’d think fairly good odds against Uruguay, or a favorite over South Korea (speed up front, but not too talented in the back).
MattR
@West of the Cascades:
Yep. Jozy Altidore got his first yellow card of the tournament today. If he gets a yellow card in the round of 16, he misses the quarterfinals. If he gets a yellow card in the quarterfinals, he misses the semifinals. But if he gets a yellow card in the semifinals, he would not miss the finals.
@KG:
Vegas odds to reach the semifinals:
Uruguay – 7/5
United States – 5/2
Ghana – 3/1
South Korea – 9/2
Desert Rat
I think discipline has got the US team as far it has. They’ve played smart, disciplined, and relentless football. I think it’s been a hallmark of the team ever since Bradley took over.
Nice win, even if the golden goal took a bit longer than it should have.
Desert Rat
@MattR:
Not exactly. Slate is wiped clean re. Yellow Cards after the group stage. If that had been his second yellow card in these three games, he would have sat for the Round of 16 match…but at this point, he’s clear.
Desert Rat
@Jim in Chicago:
Landon Donovan actually just signed an extension with the LA Galaxy for a lot more money. I believe it’s a four year deal. It won’t matter a bit. If the right offer comes along after the World Cup (and it will), he’ll be packing his bags for Europe. That’s just the way world football works these days.
Truth is Everton didn’t want him to go, and if they’d have had the money, they’d have tried to make the loan deal permanent. They’ll have some competition for his services when the next transfer window opens in July though.
MattR
@Desert Rat: I am pretty sure they changed that this year as part of giving every one a clean slate after the quarterfinals (so that no one can miss the finals due to yellow card accumulation). \
cmorenc
@Jim in Chicago
The brackets actually give the US a realistic chance to make it through all the way to the semifinals, which isn’t at all to say it’s an easy chance. We simply could not be more fortunate in the array of potential opponents we’ve drawn by winning group C, compared to what our path the next two games would have looked like had we either come in second in group C, or else had we been placed in just about any other group in the initial stage. Again, Ghana and Uruguay will prove very stiff competition for the US, I’m not overlooking or minimizing the task ahead – should we beat Ghana, Uruguay’s magnificent all-around playmaker and striker Diego Forlan is going to give us fits counterattacking off their formidable, frustrating, suffocating defense.
However, all you need do is look at England’s path the next two rounds – ALL they need do to advance is bring home the broomstick of the wicked witch of…er, beat Germany, and then probably Argentina. Oooh, the US team’s chances of pulling off that twofer would require that almost everything go right for them both games, and perhaps some unfortunate things go wrong for Argentina and Germany, like their half-dozen combined shots on goal that have Howard beat all hit the post or crossbar and come down controllably at the feet or head of a US player situated to clear the ball.
MikeB
Agree about Donovan, I really thought he was overrated
until he went to Everton (a darn good little team by the way)
and did an excellent job subbing for some injured players.
English fans know their football, and they wanted Landon to stay,
showed him a lot of love in his last game on loan…
whiskey
Dempsey was horrible in the game against Algeria. The fact that it took until 91′ is all on his feet.
Onkel Fritze
@MattR: Exactly. Like I posted before, they changed it to the quarterfinals, no clean slate after the group phase. The idea is not to have players miss the final because of two yellow cards. Otherwise, the same rules apply as before.
Incidentally, a lot of players without cards have taken this as a one-shot get-out-of-jail-free card. So expect some rough quarterfinals.
Thlayli
@Violet:
Spain had two goals disallowed vs South Korea in 2002. Italy had one disallowed in Korea’s previous game. This lead to a large amount of shouting that the referees were favoring the hosts, and the whole thing was fixed, &c.
Tony J
WTF? Who told you that? It was end to end stuff with each side taking turns to attck each other’s 18-yard box with speed and great passing.
Paula
The big difference between Ghana ’06 and Ghana ’10 is the absence of Michael Essien. Not that there aren’t other dangers (Gyan and Appiah when he’s not accumulating yellows) — but he seemed a more precise and dangerous striker. Of course, I haven’t seen him play @ the club level yet.
I’m not the biggest fan of Donovan, but I have to admit guy’s basically carried the USMNT on his back for about a decade. People who dismiss him are still pissed that a 20-25 year old “boy”, as it were, performed less than great under these expectations of lifting USSF, MLS, the NT, and “soccer in America” when he was not anywhere near his prime as player or maturity as a human being.
Unfortunately, all that therapy he took makes him borderline TMI in interviews. But whatever helps him deal …
Patrick
Algeria was a great warm-up for Ghana. Both play great defense but without any creativity in the final third. Who would have thought it would be the U.S. that could score, but defended poorly against an African team that can defend but can’t score?
The U.S. had more goal disallowed than England scored. Thanks to that crazy Spanish ref, the whole German team has accumulated yellow problems. They might beat England, but they won’t do it without picking up more yellows and probably more suspensions. They barely challenged Ghana’s players defensively, to try and get through without any more yellows.
handsmile
Once again, coming in at the end of a thread….When do some of you people (cmorenc, violet, cacti, andy k) sleep??
For all the laurels now being heaped upon Donovan for his galvanizing play during this World Cup (I must acknowledge I remain an apostate looking at his entire career), the one truly INDISPENSABLE member of the US squad is keeper Tim Howard. If Howard had not recovered from Emile Heskey’s tackle into his rib cage during the match against England, TeamUSA would be at the airport today. Hahnemann and Guzan simply do possess his array of goalkeeping skills, all the more important for the US with its, charitably, inconsistent back line of defenders.
His prowess in all three group matches came as no surprise to those who have admired his performances with Manchester United and currently Everton for much of the last ten years.
Yes, of course, goals must be scored in order to actually win a match. But the US has several players, in addition to Donovan, (Dempsey foremost, Altidore, Gomez) who have demonstrated that ability and for whom that is their primary responsibility.
To block and parry shots, to sense the attacking play of the opposing side, to play HUGE in the goalmouth, there are few keepers in world football better than Tim Howard.
Paula
@handsmile:
Well, if the US is known for anything in int’l soccer it’s keepers. I think we’re giving Timmy his proper due. The former England star who now does punditry in the States for ESPN’s WC coverage couldn’t stop talking about his massive throw. Certainly the USMNT couldn’t have survived through to the final of the Confed Cup last year w/o him.
As for me, as soon as the USMNT jersey become available again, I think that an Altidore jersey is going to be a good investment for the next 10 years at least. He really wanted to ball yesterday, and after so many near-misses I can’t help but feel that the guy is chomping at the bit for the next match.
Dempsey is an opportunistic little ****, and I mean that in the best possible way. A lot of people whine about that “soft” goal but he’s gotten some doozies into the net in the past that look like he’s taking advantage of random, small spaces and a moment of “whuhh?!” from the keeper/defenders.
Gomez has a sweet Twitter feed. :)
handsmile
@ Paula (if you’re still checking this thread…)
Thanks for your remarks.
RE Howard: My post was prompted in part because I don’t think he really has been given “his proper due.” But this one man’s opinion is based solely on the US-related threads created by the estimable Randinho. Donovan seems to garner most of the garlands, not surprisingly, as he has been the face and, as you said, the back, of the USMNT since 2002.
RE Altidore: I’ll have to get back to you on that one. Reports of his play for Hull City last season were not encouraging, but I don’t recall seeing a Hull match myself.
RE Dempsey: Spot-on evaluation!! He is a classic poacher, and brings to the US team an element of offensive play (stealth and guile) historically uncommon in its squad.
Paula
@handsmile:
Poor Jozy. He’s had a few explosive game changing runs as a young player that people forget he’s only 22 and is prone to immaturity. Indeed, his loan time @ Hull was problematic and ended in a disgraceful headbutt incident. And I think he, like Donovan, still needs time to learn to carry the load of expectation.
But he stepped up big time in these USMNT tourneys, and most consistently in the match w/ ALG. It was nice to get the stats of the amount of touches he got.
(Oh, and I think that he’s missing Charlie Davies. Why the fuck did that guy have to get into a car accident?? Glad he’s alive and still playing @ Sochaux, but … argghhhhh. We are all wondering what-if, I think.)