Spain finally lives up to expectations but it wasn’t pretty
Spain has been ranked in the top three spots for what seems like the last decade only to come away with one piece of hardware (08’ European Championship) but now they have the grand prize with their first ever World Cup Championship in an ugly 1-0 game. With all due respect to the Spaniards, it seemed like the Dutch came into the match thinking they might be a little out-manned talent wise top-to-bottom and wanted to physically take control of the match, resulting in a ten yellow cards, and an very slow game. Final game aside, Spain only had eight goals in seven matches, the lowest total on any side ever to win a World Cup. So another WC Final ends 1-0 in anti-climatic fashion which doesn’t do the tournament justice. For a side that was unbeaten in the tournament going into the Final the Dutch certainly looked intimidated from the outset while Spain controlled possession throughout which has their MO, and took the game with another late deciding goal past the 73rd minute for the third time in the tournament. It’s not like Holland didn’t have their chances on offense as Robin simply couldn’t convert on two golden opportunities, and the missed 1-on-1 chance with just him and the goalie will surely haunt him for some time to come. Four years seems like an eternity but if I could be so bold as to make a request (aside from improved officiating) it would be to finally have a final that was the best match of the last four as both semi-final games and the third place game were much more entertaining. What do you think of the 2010 Cup? What was the most impressive/disappointing? In the end how would you rate the US performance, and France and Italy’s lack thereof?
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US story reads the same but no Hollywood ending
The four matches the USA has played in this World Cup have pretty much followed true to the same script, give up a very early goal thus adding to already intense pressure, struggle to get even, then pull off the miracle ending and try to make it dramatic enough to get a “first look” deal in the future. For the first three matches it seemed to work each time the US snatching victory from the jaws of defeat but their first taste of the knockout round in eight years was re-written before going to post-production as Ghana scored a very cheaply earned goal in the 30-minute extra time period and hold on for a 2-1 win. Ironically the same score they ousted the US by in the previous World Cup. The most disappointing thing for the US was that they did not take advantage of a favorable draw as this was a very winnable game and seemed to be there for the taking. Those daring enough to look ahead also viewed a matchup with Uruguay as within their grasp as well. In the end the US just ran out of gas and didn’t kept getting beat to the ball and had way too many turnovers when fatigue set in, a poignant example of how as a nation we’re not quite ready for prime time. Soccer in this US will simply never reach the level of importance as it has around the globe, or if it does it won’t come in our lifetime, but perhaps that is one of the things that needs to change for us to compete consistently, as we simply set the bar for ourselves too low and getting out of the group stage is way to big of a moral victory. Similar to the way some schools are happy just to make the NCAA tournament and others will call anything short of a Final Four a disappointment. Once again, I understand true fans of the sport loathe it when correlations with other sports are used to explain soccer/football/fussball, but that’s exactly my point. We need to start bleeding it like others do or when it comes down to critical situations like the match with Ghana and both sides are digging deep to find a way to finish after 2 hours on the pitch, its that motivation that separates the countries moving on and the ones trying to find answers whey they’re not. Are you content with the US showing in this world cup? Let us know here and in any of the quick links.
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USA presented with a gift after having one stolen away
No matter how many angles you view or what rule you might try to apply there is no way a foul could reasonably be called on the tie-breaking score from Adu via Donovan in the 85th minute of the USA’s second round World Cup match. What should have been the culmination of a miraculous comeback after a very inauspicious start was taken away without justification or reason. Later on in the day the US was given a gift by Algeria (England) as they drew the Brits providing the US with some much needed breathing room and a solid chance to move forward to the knockout round. The US came out in typical fashion giving up an early goal and having to come from behind. This has been their MO for quite some time and would have to change if/when they advance. What they need to do is come out with a purpose and a killer instinct and let Algeria know they have no chance to win the match, and perhaps be the administer of the early goal and pressure rather than the recipient. Meanwhile there is simply shock and awe across the pond as England still can not put together 90 quality minutes of quality football and chalk up 3 points to move on. Amazing how things have turned around in the last 186 minutes of play, four minutes into the world cup they had a 1-0 lead over the US and were already making reservations for the finals but they have not scored since then, let alone won a match and now find themselves in a must win situation. On the final day of group play both the favorites in the Group still control their own destiny as a win gets them both in but who will be the 1 or 2 is one of many questions still up in the air. It will come down to goal differential which the us holds a two goal lead. It makes for nice drama and fodder but rest assured both teams will sort out their issues, come correct with their best game of the tournament and move on to the next round, but the questions will still remain. For the US, do they have the mental game to withstand the pressure of a real quality side like the ones they’ll face in the knockout phase? For England the question might be a little more poignant, are they as good as everyone (including their #7 ranking) thinks they are? Right now they look like a collection of great talent, and even better names, but a side that has no cohesiveness or unity. The positive both countries can take with them is there is still time to right the ship and then there will be no more blame to find a home for. Will both teams move on and how far will they go? Let us know here and in any of the quick links.
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Can the US pull off a miracle on grass?
They’ve come 30 years apart as the first came in 1950 as the US beat England to shock the world at the time. It would be 30 years later for the next one as the USA upset Russia in Olympic Hockey. So now after another 30 years the nation is wondering if we have another miracle coming on schedule. Well, let’s not look at this from a divine intervention standpoint but what realistic chance does the US have against the seventh ranked team in the world, who has won the head-to-head battle 7-2, and outscored the US 35-8 throughout their history? The US certainly has a “punchers chance” but that puncher had better have strikers that can finish the job and that is one of the big questions for the US is the health on Jozy Altidore and how quickly Edson Buddle adjust to the pace and the magnitude of the moment. Even before that comes the task of getting them the ball in a position to do some damage, which is daunting at the least with the dreamteamesque midfield of Lampard, Gerrard, Cole, and Lennon, all household names among soccer fans around the world. All of which are known to come up and create quite a strikeforce of their own behind the frontline warheads of Rooney and Crouch. But everyone can be beaten, so where are the kinks? Firstly, the English could run into a similar problem that the 04’ USA Dreamteam did in Olympic hoops, where they are a collection of stars but not a cohesive unit. If this is the case then drawing them in the first game before they have a chance to gel may play to the US advantage. Also, if you can get over the great English midfield they not quite as strong defensively and once again with little game experience between them there will be opportunities, the US just has to try and score early and then hold them off. Lastly, as often comes with a big name, is a lot of experience, and one unvarying component of experience is age. That Midfield is not getting in younger and the young guns of the US should have a decisive speed advantage which they should look to exploit early and try to get that all important early lead. Lastly, one would have to admit the US is better athletically and in a draw situation my wear the English down come the 80th minute in that climate. So, on paper it may be a mismatch, and some things have to fall into place but stranger things have happened. They just seem to come 30 years apart.
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World Cup 2010 begins to take shape, can the US play with the big boys?
After the US collapse in the final ten minutes against Mexico to snatch victory for the jaws of victory their ticket to South Africa was in doubt, but now they appear to have righted the ship and will be sailing south next year as they lead the group going into the final set of matches. With that said two major questions remain; will they go in as a group winner? If you’re a fan of the NCAA tournament then imagine the difference between a number 1 and number 9 seed. That how big winning the group stage is. Even so, if they do get the largest tournament on the planet, how long will they stay? If you look at how the best countries in the world are playing right now compared to the US, one has to inquire if we’re even going to get out of the group stage, ON the big stage?
A case in point, England and Spain have cemented their domination of Groups 5 and 6 respectively when they sauntered to their eighth wins in eight games to join the Netherlands at the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™. Switzerland, Serbia, Slovakia and holders Italy look poised to follow them to the finals after picking up valuable results in their respective groups. It's not often that a European nation goes through a FIFA World Cup qualification campaign without dropping a single point, but that is exactly what England, Spain and the Netherlands have done. The Oranje have now completed their eight-game schedule, while the Three Lions and La Roja play their final two matches next month also looking to make a clean sweep. Each of the three traditional heavyweights have impressed in their own right. The Netherlands were the first to qualify back in June, brushing aside their opposition on the back of a remarkable defensive effort that has seen their goal breached just twice.
So, will the US National team be home before their postcards arrive or will they show us all something and find another level? Which of the dominating European sides looks the best to advance? Is this the year Brazil re-claims the title of world champion? Let us know here or in any of the quick links on the upper left.
