Group D: United States, Australia, Paraguay, Türkiye

[spacemunky]

Can I still call Hungary "Hungry" and Chile "Chilly"?

[The_77]

6 hours ago, Deeg67 said:

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.

The 2002 team was outstanding and still does not get nearly enough respect, IMO. 
 

That said, I’m really enjoying this side— I’m still nervous about our defensive solidity but we’ll cross that bridge when we play any of the big boys!