World Cup 2022
- Thread starter Gotham Gator
- Start date
i despise his attitude though. not tracking back, giving up on plays if he doesn't get the ball he wants, etc.
Yeah! Fuck that guy! I'd never want him on my team. Him and all his useless goal scoring. And assists. And blazing speed. And million dollar smile.
Ok. Fine. I love him. Is that so wrong??
Ok. This picture is really funny. Because at first you just think it is this funny Giroud / Mbappe dirty dancing meme picture. Then you take a second look at it and realize there's an extra (non-Giroud) arm holding Mbappe's elbow. Then you look again and realize the other arm holding Mbappe's shoulder is also not Giroud's. It's like a Nataraja Lord of the Dance thing going on. Then you double check to make sure there aren't even more arms sprouting out.
It was a tough way to go out - chasing the game all afternoon. It looked like we were totally outclassed, but I don't think that was the case. This wasn't the Belgium game in 2014 where they were clearly superior to us in every respect, and only Tim Howard kept us in the mix. This was a fairly even contest where the Dutch just showed greater experience. They finished their chances and we didn't, and that's that.
I think Berhalter did a good job. He restarted the program practically from scratch. He built a tight community that players really wanted to be a part of. This helped not just results but recruiting dual nationals. We won Nations League and the Gold Cup and got out of the toughest group at the World Cup. We have a core of really talented younger players who have shown they can go head-to-head with the top countries. The program is in great shape going forward.
That said, I would be very surprised if he is retained. The person we need to get to the next level will have a different skill set that the one who reestablished things. Deciding whether he stays or goes is not a referendum on whether he performed well over the last cycle. It's about whether he can deliver what we need for the next cycle.
That said, I would be very surprised if he is retained. The person we need to get to the next level will have a different skill set that the one who reestablished things. Deciding whether he stays or goes is not a referendum on whether he performed well over the last cycle. It's about whether he can deliver what we need for the next cycle.
I've seen a number of claimed assertions that our group was easy but none that explain it. I'm presuming it is all just sour grapes haters of Berhalter or the US, but has anyone seen a reason given for this? Our group had no teams from Pot 4 and 2 of the highest ranked Pot 3 teams.
It's exactly as you said.
Can you dispute that it's the toughest group? Yes, but it's a challenging argument to make.
Can you make a reasonable argument that it was an easy group? Not at all.
really depends on how "toughest" is measured. by fifa rank, i think the USA's group had the highest average fifa ranking and narrowest spread between ranks, making it the toughest. if you're going by perceived squad quality and/or depth, then there can be arguments it is one of the easier groups since iran and wales aren't stocked with 26 top league players. neither is the US for that matter.
How many groups have squads that are outside of one team?
If you are saying the USA wasn't stocked with 26 top league players, then Group A has none since the Netherlands isn't either. Group C would only have Argentina, Group D would only have France, Group E would have both Spain and Germany, F only Belgium, G only Brazil, and H only Portugal.
I agree, I don't think Berhalter gets enough credit for building a style and identity that can be a foundation for the team going forward. My hope is that the next coach is someone that will maintain the high energy, aggressive style Berhalter built while adding a bit more creativity/flexibility in the design and deployment of our attack.
Yup, Berhalter was fine. I do appreciate him changing the way the USA approaches the game and think that will pay dividends in the future, though not to the extent where I will be memorializing him during future cycles.
One of his biggest issues is that he's a system guy, and I just don't think the National Team should fall into that. That's one of the reasons I think that Marsch shouldn't be close to getting the job, although I do think he's a hell of a coach.
I think I want to move on from Berhalter at this point. But I think that's more of wanting new blood, thinking it's better for a new coach every cycle (maybe 2 max), etc than it is being "Berhalter-out".
Watching the Japan Croatia game, and after the goal it went to a view of the Ref checking the goal and I said, “wait is that Elfath. Sure enough it’s Ishmael calling the game. Pretty wild that a) I recognized him and b) he was selected to ref. Good for him!
He got a ton of positive press for the way he gave a red card in the Cameroon game a few a days ago.
The context is that the Cameroon player was already on a yellow, and scored a late goal against Brazil, celebrated by taking off his shirt, and had to be given a second yellow.
There was a nice moment in i believe a third qualifying game where he had to give a second yellow/red to someone who scored and took his shirt off.
Elfath had a clear “I’m sorry but you gave me no choice” vibe and the player was like “I know and it’s all good.”
ETA I was beaten and with a link no less
I get your point and it's true. My statement wasn't meant to be a factual assertion. More of an exaggeration to explain my thoughts on how people determine good teams and determine the toughest group.
he has reffed a few games already and has done a fairly decent job.
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He's called a couple fo good ones but he really gifted CR7 that penalty vs. Ghana and I don't think he dd well in that match.
I'm in the same place. In a lot of ways, Marsch would be more of the same. Just different.
And I do think Berhalter very much deserves credit for navigating through a massive upheaval of the program -- I think he had, what, 89 different players come through camp in two years? -- and with a pandemic thrown in to boot.
But we need someone more like my man Don Carlo to take it to the next level: Someone who looks at what he has on hand and makes the most of it. "Do what you can, where you are, with what you have."
