When you put out a mind-boggling starting XI, early subs are VITAL for success!
USMNT Talk
- Thread starter MyBoyVilla
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Hex "rules" don't and shouldn't apply here because there are 8 teams, meaning we have 14 games instead of 10.
Yes but the above formula gives us 28 points, which will surely get us in, possibly even winning the group. Im thinking we can get in with as little as 20 points, with 22 being basically a lock.
Hopefully! I don't have any other examples of 8-team groups and how they usually pan out... but if we end up with 3 or 4 really crap teams that everyone else beats, we could see 4 or 5 teams with stacked numbers from that. IF we don't get in with 28 points I'd be _shocked_,
A couple weeks back, the Athletic did an analysis of what it would take to qualify based on the Hexes of years past. They came up with 21 points to automatically qualify and 19 to get the 4th position.
Disgusting. $125 for a single ticket is the cheapest?? And the sad thing is that they're going to get like 80% capacity so they'll just keep on doing this. They're charging this much for a team that didn't even qualify for the last world cup.
I'm willing to entertain the notion that USSoccer budgets poorly with substantial waste and self-dealing. That's true of far too many non-profits so I can believe it, if there's evidence.
But these comparisons to European giant soccer club tickets is objectively bullshit.
Man City and Bayern make multiple hundreds of millions off of TV rights and gear sales, which allows them to subsidize cheap stadium tickets. It's great that they do it. But USSoccer does not have that cushion. Just like MLS, US Soccer gets a disproportionate share of its income from ticket sales compared to other leagues, both in and out of the US. It's dishonest to pretend this is a fair comparison.
But these comparisons to European giant soccer club tickets is objectively bullshit.
Man City and Bayern make multiple hundreds of millions off of TV rights and gear sales, which allows them to subsidize cheap stadium tickets. It's great that they do it. But USSoccer does not have that cushion. Just like MLS, US Soccer gets a disproportionate share of its income from ticket sales compared to other leagues, both in and out of the US. It's dishonest to pretend this is a fair comparison.
These prices are particularly high - even for the national team. That certainly reflects the opponent. Not only is it a big game with huge interest from fans, but I think the motivation may also include this - Mexican fans might be less able to afford the high prices and erode our home field advantage.
Lets also not forget that these are entirely different economies and societies. Americans pay top dollar for big events of all kinds. Those prices wouldn't shock most NFL fans. How much would the Knicks charge for playoff tickets (lol Knicks playoffs) in a similarly sized MSG?
The senior teams fund all of the down ticket stuff that US soccer does that makes no money. It is what it is.
I understand that, but those big European teams when they started out the ticket prices were their main source of income. They existed before the crazy money popped into the game too.
However, a country as big as the US shouldn't need to rely on ticket sales. Does USSF really have no way to get sponsorships? Investors? The total income of the 2018 attendance was ~17 million dollars. Even if they cut prices of tickets in half and revenue was ~8.5mil, that's $8mil to offset. From our perspective "wow that's a lot of money", but there is a lot of money in these industries. And investors. Nowhere in there can they find the resources? To me that screams "really badly run". US Soccer is clearly growing and gaining momentum, AND they're approaching the 2026 world cup. I find it completely ridiculous that USSoccer doesn't have financial backings from other places.
I'm not saying USSoccer needs to do the cheap ticket model, but at least make SOME affordable tickets. Even against Mexico.
I just looked up prices vs Jamaica. You can get a bunch of sideline seats for $125, which is reasonable, but still the lowest ticket is $100. How are you ever going to gain new fans by pricing out a large portion of the population? A lot of people cannot afford to sacrifice $100+ on a weeknight. Why is there nothing at all that's, say even 50? or 60? that's reasonable for upper out-of-the-way sections. Give the ones who want to go but can't afford it at least SOME possibility of going.
It honestly felt icky to type it out. Maybe that didn't play a role in pricing, but US Soccer goes to great lengths to make sure we have a good home field for the Mexico games - even going so far as to play them in Ohio.
I guess the rule is when I care about the club and not the country the national team gets what it wants, eg Callens and Peru playing games late in the window.
But when I care about the country but not the club, the clubs get what they want.
Or is there some principle here I’m missing?
Obviously the PL has more juice. Aren't there many CONMEBOL players in the Premier League too though? They would have been affected by the extended window recently also.
And to be fair, FIFA and UEFA are in an ongoing, extended blood feud. Generally, If FIFA has a chance to stick it to European club leagues, they take it, and I believe they have the upper hand on enforcing international break releases. Cynicism aside, I'm not understanding why the PL might get its way on ths.
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