Deeg67

if I'm not mistaken the argument is not that the ref saw slow-mo during the VAR monitor review, but that he only saw slow-mo. He's supposed to have access to real-time replays and he didn't. Either way it doesn't matter, the fundamental facts don't change. It was never a red (multiple reviews by third-parties have confirmed this) but once it was given, there's no way to overturn it without shattering what's left of the tournament's credibility. It was a screw-up when it happened and now Infantino has made it a thousand times worse. And the really sad thing is the U.S. has been much better than the Sprouts and really should be able to handle them whether Balogun plays or not.

Sure, whatever. I mean, Ronaldo had a (two-match) ban suspended for this WC outside the rules because of politics. So did Otamendi and Caicedo. I don't see anybody arguing Argentina or Portugal should be kicked out of the tournament. That's just idiotic on the face of it. None of that makes it right, in any of the above cases. FIFA is hilariously corrupt and everyone knows it. But no impartial observer could look at that Balogun red and say it was justified in the first place. Messi did far worse and got nothing for it. Why? Corruption and politics. Or, as FIFA calls it, business as usual.

The Balogun thing is very unfortunate. He absolutely never should have gotten a red. There absolutely should be an appeal system for red cards. And he absolutely shouldn't have had it rescinded. There's no mechanism within the rules for that. It was an injustice that should have been allowed to stand (and used as an argument for an appeal system for future world cups). The problem is, Diaper Don poisons everything he touches. He's a vile pestilence. The Americans were having a great tournament - it's easily the best we've ever looked in a World Cup, even when we made the quarters. But now no matter what we do, it's tarnished. People will use this as a pretext to dismiss a genuinely strong side as only succeeding because of political interference. Poch should say "We're going to choose to abide by the rules and defeat Belgium without Balogun". But of course he's not going to do that.

There are a shit-ton of Brazil fans in Japan and walking to the train this morning it was like a scene from a George Romero movie.

34% possession. Against Norway.

Norway was always going to be dangerous because any side with a truly magical goal scorer has always has a chance. But they're actually a pretty decent side even without Haaland, and this is probably the worst Brazil WC team in decades.

Morocco are a very talented side, it's really pathetic that they relentlessly dive and cry the way they do.

It's really a shame to lose Balogun on an absolutely bogus red card. He's our most likely threat to score and pretty critical to our whole setup. But based on form we honestly should handle Belgium pretty easily. They're old, slow, and can be very predictable these days. But they're crafty and still have a couple of guys who can deliver a goal out of nothing. If I'm Poch my strategy is to absolutely run them off the pitch. The US team is bigger, stronger, faster and they need to play relentlessly at a blistering pace from the opening whistle. If they let Belgium drag them into a torpid slog they can get into trouble.

Not a high bar there.

But Algeria now gets Switzerland instead of Spain. Any way you slice it that's better on paper.

That was one of the strangest conclusions to a match I've ever seen.

I would have loved to see Haji Wright get a chance, because I have zero faith in Pepi if Balogun is unable to go for any reason. I feel pretty okay with Scally at either FB spot if it comes to that. It's CB where not having Trusty really scares me.

The Trusty ankle injury is a serious concern going forward - "I heard a little something" is pretty ominous. He's not a starter but one of the 2-3 most important subs. Gives us a physical presence and is quite good on the ball. Basically dominating Turkiye's first team with our B-team is a reflection of the depth in the American squad, though.

As a national team player, it will be hard to top the likes of Donovan, Dempsey, or Howard. In terms of accomplishment at the (highest) club level? That will probably be Pulisic when it's all said and done.

Performance overall was fine, losing pisses you off but doesn't mean much. Pulisic made such a huge difference and could have had 2 easily. I really have no clue what Poch sees in Pepi. He's as anonymous a #9 as it gets.

Japan really should have tanked that match to avoid Brazil. But that's harder to do in practice than it is in theory.

In the end Japan totally parked the bus but you can't blame them, a draw was as good as a win to them. And Sweden survives anyway, so they weren't pushing as hard as they could have. Still almost pipped it though.

Yeah, forgot him LOL.

That's an interesting topic. In terms of club pedigree I guess you'd have to say he and Poch are the top two. But Bielsa is pretty much revered as a God by a lot of coaches. Think he's past his prime though.

Yeah, that was a good side. Royally screwed by the refs against Germany in the quarters - we could easily have won that match.

Yup, very likely Bosnia or Qatar in the knockout round. And let's be honest, on paper those are weaker teams than the two they've already beaten.

Do we really want to go there? Liz Truss and BoJo send their regards, never mind that we're talking about a country where Nigel Farage is starting to struggle because he's not racist enough for his core voters. People getting elected by minorities of voters - never mind the population at-large - are not representative of a country as a whole. Sorry, the "I hate Yanks" posts peppering this thread say a lot more about the home country of the people making them than they do the people being targeted. But yes, the rest is football. I've been following the USMNT for decades and believe me, they've never had a squad of this quality playing this way. I've been saying for years (including here) that this was as close to a golden generation as the U.S. has ever had. MLS is now independently ranked in the top 10 leagues in the world, and climbing. Americans under 30 rank soccer behind only basketball, ahead of MLB and the NFL. All the jibes and smarmy put-downs here are well past their expiration date. America is a footballing nation now, and it's only going to escalate. As for this tournament, the first two matches could hardly have gone better. Paraguay is better than they've looked here, and Australia is no pushover. But the test comes when the Americans have to face a squad that's got the ability to take the match to them (which may not come until the quarters, certainly not before the 16's). Poch is a clear step above any coach the USMNT ever had tactically, and he's always been a strong man-manager. Whenever we got to a big tournament we would always park the bus and try and pip a goal on the counter. Poch has a squad full of first-team players in top divisions and he has them playing like a team that expects to create chances and control the game. Anything less than the final 8 would be a disappointment at this point, anything more would still be an upset.

What's truly amazing is they had 72% and 78% possession and eclipsed 30 shots both games, and still couldn't score.

No one - least of all here - should feel comfortable if we're judging an entire country's population based on the behavior of its most obnoxious asswipes.

Won the group with a match to spare. Quite a luxury for Poch - he can rest Pulisic again and rotate basically the whole side if he chooses to.