ChiSox_Sonix Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 (edited) QUOTE (danman31 @ Jun 23, 2011 -> 12:13 AM) Adu's decision making is generally quite poor. Though, it sounds like he finally had a good club season with that Turkish 2nd division club. It's not like he was only struggling with the US. He was a journeyman in Europe. That said, skill like he showed today is a must. Midfield though is one spot the US isn't thin. I'm watching the other semi between Mexico-Honduras. The Mexicans finally scored in OT, but both teams have missed multiple great chances. Honduras probably got robbed of a PK late in the 2nd half too. The problem with Adu is like you said, decision making. That'll happen when you can't find a regular spot playing at the club level. He really should try to get into the English Championship. I'm not talking like Hull City or a Wolverhampton type whipping boy in the EPL, but one of the better teams in the league just below so he can play competitively in a good league. That would really help his game. Even a move to Scotland or the second tier in Spain or Italy would help for now, he's still very young remember. Also, like you said our midfield is pretty solid with Donovan, Dempsey and Bradley and now Jones looking really good. Plus Bedoya has shown flashes and Diskerud looks like he good be a good playmaker as well. Still, very promising to see that from him. His size will always be an issue but his ability on the ball is right up there. Agudelo has shown ball skills that we haven't seen from any of our forwards in memory which is another promising sight. The game with Mexico should be a good one. I'd have to venture they are the favorites due to how they've been playing recently. The US just needs to find a way to contain Chicharito and GDS. Lichaj (he's gonna be a good one) and Cherundelo have been solid but our back line is a major weakness of ours. I feel the team that scores first will win the game on saturday but its more important for the US to get the opener - they just can't fall behind to this Mexican team right now. Edited June 23, 2011 by ChiSox_Sonix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleHurt05 Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Of the 90,000 people that will be at the Rose Bowl on Saturday, what will be the ratio of USA fans to Mexico fans? 20:80? 30:70? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MexSoxFan#1 Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 (edited) Mexico vs USA on Saturday for the Gold Cup aka tallest midget of the formidable Concacaf group. Edited June 23, 2011 by MexSoxFan#1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiSox_Sonix Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 (edited) QUOTE (MexSoxFan#1 @ Jun 23, 2011 -> 10:56 AM) Mexico vs USA on Saturday for the Gold Cup aka tallest midget of the formidable Concacaf group. That's a bit of a stretch. The credibility of Mexican soccer on the world stage has been there for some time now, and the USA has grown by leaps and bounds over the past 15-20 years. These are two legit countries now. Yes, CONCACAF has some minnows, but Honduras has gotten better, Costa Rica is usually good, Panama has improved greatly in recent years and Jamaica and Canada have their moments. The top of the group is still better than the OFC and AFC and probably on par with the CAF Edited June 23, 2011 by ChiSox_Sonix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danman31 Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Jun 23, 2011 -> 08:05 AM) The game with Mexico should be a good one. I'd have to venture they are the favorites due to how they've been playing recently. The US just needs to find a way to contain Chicharito and GDS. Lichaj (he's gonna be a good one) and Cherundelo have been solid but our back line is a major weakness of ours. Lichaj scares me when he goes forward. It really takes a disciplined D mid like Jones to make up for his cavalier runs forward. The talent is there, but I have a feeling he's going to abandon defense in a big game, cost a goal and scar fans forever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zenryan Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Jun 23, 2011 -> 11:36 AM) That's a bit of a stretch. The credibility of Mexican soccer on the world stage has been there for some time now, and the USA has grown by leaps and bounds over the past 15-20 years. These are two legit countries now. Yes, CONCACAF has some minnows, but Honduras has gotten better, Costa Rica is usually good, Panama has improved greatly in recent years and Jamaica and Canada have their moments. The top of the group is still better than the OFC and AFC and probably on par with the CAF Maybe the US and Mexico but that's it. The other countries have been horrible outside of CONCACAF. Just look at the past World Cup results involving CONCACAF teams not named the US or Mexico: 2010: Honduras 0-2-1 0 GF, 3GA 2006: Costa Rica 0-3-0 3 GF, 9GA. Trinidad and Tobago 0-2-1 0 GF, 4 GA 2002: Coata Rica 1-1-1 5 GF, 6 GA 1998: Jamaica 1-2-0 3 GF, 9 GA 1994: No third team. Canada loses to Australia in CONCACAF-OFC Playoff 1990: Costa Rica 2-2-0 4 GF, 6 GA. Mexico banned from participating in qualifying. So in the last 20 years, only Costa Rica in 1990 has advanced out of group play. The region as a whole has a 4-10-2 record. At the end of the day, there are two teams worth anything in this confederation. Sure there are teams that can be threats on a given night but over the course of a qualification, the other teams just cant sustain it for 10 games. Mexico was struggling after the first half of the hex two years ago and they still qualified with relative ease. Costa Rica was in first place by 3 points at the midway point in 2009 and fell hard. Honduras was pretty consistent but they had a WC berth on their foots against the US and blew it. The 2014 Qualifiers should be interesting to watch though. It looks like Jamaica and Panama will join Honduras and Costa Rica for the last 1.5 spots for Brazil. I have no idea what is going on with Trinidad. They've been bad ever since making the Hex in 2009. And Canada just seems like they cant get anything going for whatever reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zenryan Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 Sad news out of Costa Rica today. SAN JOSE, Costa Rica -- The Red Cross says Costa Rica defender Dennis Marshall was killed Thursday when the car he was driving collided head-on with a truck in a mountainous area near San Jose. A woman traveling with him also was killed. Marshall recently returned to Costa Rica following the Gold Cup in the United States. He scored Saturday in a loss on penalties to Honduras. Marshall scored to make it 1-1 in regulation time with Costa Rica losing 4-2 on penalties. Marshall played for the Danish club Aalborg. ESPN Link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danman31 Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 QUOTE (zenryan @ Jun 23, 2011 -> 06:33 PM) Maybe the US and Mexico but that's it. The other countries have been horrible outside of CONCACAF. Just look at the past World Cup results involving CONCACAF teams not named the US or Mexico: That's fine, but in comparison to Africa or Asia the results are favorable. Mexico has lost in the round of 16 in the last 5 World Cups, which almost matches Asia and Africa alone. CAF and AFC each have 6 knockout appearances since 1990. That's if you count Australia in 2006 when they were still from Oceania and their only win was over Japan. Another 2 of Asia's are from hosts in 2002. Basically, AFC had been quite horrible before 2010. Africa has never qualified more than one team past the group stage in a World Cup despite having 26 entries since 1990. CONCACAF may not have depth, but neither do these regions. Mexico and US are as consistent as any country from those regions and more consistent than just about everyone other than maybe Ghana and South Korea. Obviously if you take the top two teams away, CONCACAF is awful, but Asia and Africa don't usually go more than 2 deep anyway. Just because they have 5+ inconsistent countries that can be good doesn't mean the regions are ever going 3 deep. CONCACAF isn't that good, but let's not pretend like it's alone in that. UEFA and CONMEBOL are where it's at and that may always be true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleHurt05 Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 Anybody know if the Final will be on TV tommorrow night and what channel? I found that starts at 8 PM, but I can't find a TV listing, if there is one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiSox_Sonix Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Jun 24, 2011 -> 01:58 PM) Anybody know if the Final will be on TV tommorrow night and what channel? I found that starts at 8 PM, but I can't find a TV listing, if there is one? Pretty sure it'll be on Fox Soccer Channel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danman31 Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Jun 24, 2011 -> 12:58 PM) Anybody know if the Final will be on TV tommorrow night and what channel? I found that starts at 8 PM, but I can't find a TV listing, if there is one? WGBO will have it. Spanish language, but that is part of the fun for me. It's over the air in Chicago and on basic cable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleHurt05 Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Jun 24, 2011 -> 01:01 PM) Pretty sure it'll be on Fox Soccer Channel. Thanks. I have no idea if I have that channel, but with the sports package, I would think I do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soxbadger Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 Game is on FSC (Fox Soccer Channel) starting at 8pm cst. Big game for the US, its time for the US to build on the successes and start to become a more respected program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soxbadger Posted June 26, 2011 Share Posted June 26, 2011 Adu making a big impact early. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleHurt05 Posted June 26, 2011 Share Posted June 26, 2011 GOOOAAAAALLLLLLL!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soxbadger Posted June 26, 2011 Share Posted June 26, 2011 Bang, Adu is bringing creativity on the ball the US team just hasnt seen. 2-0, US has come to play so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danman31 Posted June 26, 2011 Share Posted June 26, 2011 QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Jun 25, 2011 -> 08:29 PM) Bang, Adu is bringing creativity on the ball the US team just hasnt seen. 2-0, US has come to play so far. They were dominated for the first 20 minutes too. Mexico finally gets their deserved goal. This is shaping up to be a classic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soxbadger Posted June 26, 2011 Share Posted June 26, 2011 US defense giving up to much space on initial touches and its causing problems for the defense. US needs to control the ball more and make Mexico chase a little. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soxbadger Posted June 26, 2011 Share Posted June 26, 2011 US deservedly gives up 2 goals as they press forward and give up bad counter attacks. Really no reason for that strategy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danman31 Posted June 26, 2011 Share Posted June 26, 2011 Tottenham fans everywhere are wondering why Gio Dos Santos is such garbage for their team yet Pele for Mexico. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zenryan Posted June 26, 2011 Share Posted June 26, 2011 QUOTE (danman31 @ Jun 25, 2011 -> 10:42 PM) Tottenham fans everywhere are wondering why Gio Dos Santos is such garbage for their team yet Pele for Mexico. guess playing against a US back line will do that to ya lol. Losing Dolo hurt but he wasnt going to make up for the other 3 guys who were horrible. The US had a lot of chances to score more than 2 goals. Neither team looks good on defense but we are a total trainwreck back there. Combine that with the talents Mexico has going forward then you have a recipe for an implosion. Got two years to figure out who will make out that back line. I liked what I've seen from Chandler and havent given up on Goodsen but who knows who the other two will be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitesoxfan101 Posted June 26, 2011 Share Posted June 26, 2011 Nine goals allowed in the last two Gold Cup Finals against Mexico. They play the game with great pace and have some incredible skill, but that's just astonishingly brutal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soxbadger Posted June 26, 2011 Share Posted June 26, 2011 Tough game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danman31 Posted June 26, 2011 Share Posted June 26, 2011 QUOTE (zenryan @ Jun 25, 2011 -> 09:52 PM) Got two years to figure out who will make out that back line. I liked what I've seen from Chandler and havent given up on Goodsen but who knows who the other two will be. Lichaj goes forward without abandon, but I like what I've seen from him. Hopefully Boca and Dolo can last the rest of this cycle. QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Jun 25, 2011 -> 10:55 PM) Nine goals allowed in the last two Gold Cup Finals against Mexico. They play the game with great pace and have some incredible skill, but that's just astonishingly brutal. Let's not lop in the last Gold Cup final with this one. None of the A teamers for the US played and in fairness few of Mexico's did as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiSox_Sonix Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 The loss of Cherundulo really hurt, and that second Mexico goal was a bad one. Odd strategy from the US after jumping out to an early 2-0 lead. That Dos Santos 4th goal was a brilliant shot - just incredible. Tough loss but there were some positives from the tournament. -Lichaj has shown some flashes and he could be someone who steps up over the next couple years -Agudelo is creative on the ball. He's young but there's promise there -Adu, wow, where did that come from? Again, creativity on the ball which we haven't seen much of from our team. -Liked what I saw out of Jones, although maybe overly aggressive at times. -Bradley was solid -Dempsey just keeps getting better I'd love to see if Davies can get back into form and see some of the young guys like Agudelo, Diskerud, Bunbury continue to get mixed in there. Our midfield is really solid, and improving, and we do have some potential up top. But if we're going to make any noise in Brazil we need to solidify the back line. Hopefully some people step up because they are the weak link right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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