2014 FIFA World Cup Thread

[RJH999]

Good effort USA. Nothing to be ashamed of.

[nevets88]

Damn that was a good set play.

[RJH999]

Damn that was a good set play.

Yes it was, yes it was. Oh so close for Clint

[nevets88]

Miracle, hoping for a miracle.

[misty_mountainhop]

What a game. Fantastic effort from U.S. and not a little skill. A lot to take forward.

[JetFan1983]

A very tough but very gritty and gutsy loss for our Team USA. Much respect. Sad, but they gave us one last thrill at the end. What a game.

Thank you, Team USA.

[RJH999]

Sucks. Thought they would equalize with Jermaine or Clint. Good performance but crushing loss. Four more years......

[nevets88]

It's gonna be a long wait. I have hope in our development in the next 4 years under JK's stewardship.

[RJH999]

Hope our Lord & Savior Julian Green continues to develop

[FarawayFairways]

It's coming

America will have won a lot of friends with that performance, and it just proves that the game can be played honestly as well, and how much better it is for it

Who is this Yedlin? where the hell did you get him from?

The normally cynical and self-regarding BBC are full of admiration and praise for that effort. The world tends to fall for gallant never say die triers, and that was a genuine breath of fresh air instead of watching cyncial Italians and Agentinians rolling around on the floor and faking injuries

I don't know about America putting pressure on the world to shorten the games. On that showing they need it extending to 90 minutes each way!!! Not sure anyone could live with them in final hour!!!

You know, the really sad thing, if you watch the last 10 mins, is they actually had enough chances to win it!!! I loved that free kick. I have a recollection of Steve Grogan throwing that against Miami in the mid 80's. I think it was called a 'flee flicker'?

[RJH999]

It's coming America will have won a lot of friends with that performance, and it just proves that the game can be played honestly as well, and how much better it is for it Who is this Yedlin? where the hell did you get him from? The normally cynical and self-regarding BBC are full of admiration and praise for that effort. The world tends to fall for gallant never say die triers, and that was a genuine breath of fresh air instead of watching cyncial Italians and Agentinians rolling around on the floor and faking injuries I don't know about America putting pressure on the world to shorten the games. On that showing they need it extending to 90 minutes each way!!! Not sure anyone could live with them in final hour!!! You know, the really sad thing, if you watch the last 10 mins, is they actually had enough chances to win it!!! I loved that free kick. I have a recollection of Steve Grogan throwing that against Miami in the mid 80's. I think it was called a 'flee flicker'?

He would be Straight Outta Seattle. Another one of our lord and saviors

[FarawayFairways]

Personally I'd like to make the entire overpaid prima donnas of the England team sit down and watch that hour after hour for a week, until some of them 'get it'. Instead of whining to the media that they can't handle the pressure, or that people call them names and that they don't want to play for their country

Spirit, guts, determination, beligerence, a complete unity of purpose - all the things we've come to expect from an American Ryder Cup team!!!

[FarawayFairways]

He would be Straight Outta Seattle. Another one of our lord and saviors

He'll be signing for a European team within a week on that showing. Find 6 more like him, and you're winning this (Yedlin that is..... not Grogan)

[jamo]

Hope our Lord & Savior Julian Green continues to develop

It was funny watching ESPN bring Landon on to talk about Green's goal.

[RJH999]

He'll be signing for a European team within a week on that showing. Find 6 more like him, and you're winning this (Yedlin that is..... not Grogan)

Or 11 Kyle Beckermans, whichever comes first.

[FarawayFairways]

America needs to get themselves into another tournament on a four year cycle.

South America is bust, ask to play in the Copa America and wave a television deal in front of the smaller nations!!!

[iacas]

Dempsey alone could have had goals 2 and 3, but then again, Belgium could have scored 8.

[FarawayFairways]

The thing about America is that when it happens, and the inevitable breakthrough occurs, it could happen  very quickly

Population + Money + Sports facilities + Sports managenemt structure

It's all there

At the moment there seems to be an unshakable belief too. I couldn't decide if this was naive optimism or just loud mouthed bullshit. It doesn't matter if its either or neither though, because belief needs to be sincere not the sort of meely mouthed platitudes that so many media trained footballers trot out, even though you know deep down they haven't got the strength of character that they're pretending that they have. You sense that without carrying the generations of scar tissue, the American team are increasingly engaging with a completely open mind and being prepared to contemplate any possibility. It actually makes them a lot more receptive to the idea of winning than someone like England ever could be. It looks like a comparatively new experience and emerging of the archetypal sleeping giant

It would have been very interesting to see what they would have done with the extra 24 hours rest, and had they had a less punishing schedule

I do wonder what might happen if they developed one or two 'star' players? That looks like the missing ingredient, and yet it could also be detrimental if they did? You could also argue of course that a successful 'team' would create star players anyway as the media boys latched onto them. But how would America respond to an individual galactico? So far as I can observe, America can develop a slightly unhealthy obsession with the individual and if you aren't careful they can become detached from the team if they become the focus of media attention. To my mind, the great strength of the American team is precisely that. It is a team of equals. The emergence of a star player would be great for marketing, but would it run the risk of sending you down the disasterous route that England went in the noughties when the Beckham generation decided they wanted to be international A list celebrities.