Well, today was obviously a disappointment but this is the way I see things.
1. We obviously need results and luck to advance with no points and a -3 GD. I say we make the Czechs our new favorite team and root for them to win out, giving the others no points and leaving only one game outside of our control, this afternoon's Ghana-Italy game, which the US needs to be a tie or if not that a surprising Ghana victory. Other than that the US needs to take care of business and find a way to get at least 4 points out of the next two games. But because we're so far behind on GD we do not want a tiebreaker scenario at 4 points, so really we need a tremendous amount of luck to advance. Besides, even if it leads to Brazil we can't do anything about that besides maybe hoping Croatia/Australia surprises and takes the group.
2. Our midfield can't get anything going and were abysmal at servicing our strikers and forming an organized and efficient attack in general. Did Cech even have to save a serious shot? Our most creative and probably best overall player cannot be wasted. Can't any of the other three forwards play alongside McBride and if not, why the hell didn't we bring Twellman, our leading scorer over the past year (even if playing Norway is like statpadding)? Landon needs to be in the center as a midfielder and the play needs to flow through him. He is not the same quality player as a Nedved, Riquelme, Ronaldinho, or Zidane, but his role and quality is analogous for our team to those players and we cannot afford another game where we create so few chances.
Anyone have any other thoughts about Group E or just how screwed or crappy the US team is?
1. We obviously need results and luck to advance with no points and a -3 GD. I say we make the Czechs our new favorite team and root for them to win out, giving the others no points and leaving only one game outside of our control, this afternoon's Ghana-Italy game, which the US needs to be a tie or if not that a surprising Ghana victory. Other than that the US needs to take care of business and find a way to get at least 4 points out of the next two games. But because we're so far behind on GD we do not want a tiebreaker scenario at 4 points, so really we need a tremendous amount of luck to advance. Besides, even if it leads to Brazil we can't do anything about that besides maybe hoping Croatia/Australia surprises and takes the group.
2. Our midfield can't get anything going and were abysmal at servicing our strikers and forming an organized and efficient attack in general. Did Cech even have to save a serious shot? Our most creative and probably best overall player cannot be wasted. Can't any of the other three forwards play alongside McBride and if not, why the hell didn't we bring Twellman, our leading scorer over the past year (even if playing Norway is like statpadding)? Landon needs to be in the center as a midfielder and the play needs to flow through him. He is not the same quality player as a Nedved, Riquelme, Ronaldinho, or Zidane, but his role and quality is analogous for our team to those players and we cannot afford another game where we create so few chances.
Anyone have any other thoughts about Group E or just how screwed or crappy the US team is?