On pace to score three goals!
After watching the Euros, this is like watching a high school soccer match. At least the Americans are basically playing their B/C squad. How has Canada been so bad in soccer for so long?
To their credit, they are a lot better than they've been in forever.
They are ranked 70- I've seen them MUCH lower in the past.
You try playing soccer on ice skates and tell me how that works oot.
Try watching any EPL match or God forbid the champions league. All internationals are trash.
International games are so far below EPL or champions league games in terms of overall quality. Every once in a while you'll get a game like USA Mexico in the Nations Cup, that had everything in it, but those games are few and far between.
Yeah Ludogorets vs. CFR Cluj is a WAY higher level than international soccer......
*insert eyeroll emoji*
I hate this idea that the Champions League is better than top-level international soccer. It's not. Sure Bayern Munich is a collection of guys from all over the world who could beat most national teams, but watching Barcelona smash Basel is hardly some unmissable spectacle at the pinnacle of sport.
Maybe I should have specified knockout stages of champions league. You are right, that the group stages are pretty much a waste of time, but I'd rather watch my team, Man City vs whoever over USA vs Trinidad and Tobago or freaking Canada. Any EPL game is more exciting than any of this gold cup snoozefest. Bottom line for me is that I like watching the sport played at the highest level, and club soccer is the highest level of the sport. The Gold Cup doesn't even compare or come close to the highest level, and most international games don't come close to that level.
I guess this is where we differ. I'd much rather watch a team I'm invested in (e.g. the USMNT) than two teams I couldn't care less about (for example Man U vs. Barcelona), even if the difference in quality is night and day. And that's not limited to soccer, but is the same for any sport, really; for me, emotional connection will always trump quality of play when determining my enjoyment.
And I just seem to be much more interested in international competitions than pro ones. Take the Olympics for example. I tune in every two years for the Summer and Winter games, but for most of those sports never in a million years would I watch them without the international competition angle, even if they were the exact same athletes competing. E.g. I'll watch in the Olympics but would never watch the US championships for the same sport, irrespective of the fact that they're the same athletes from the US Olympic team.
Maybe it's just my apathy for pro sports in general. Other than the handful of pro teams that I actually care about, pro sports are otherwise at the very bottom of my give-a-shit hierarchy, increased quality of play levels be damned...
I feel you completely here. I guess I'm not as invested in team USA as I am with Man City. Maybe it's the years of watching USA plod around playing listless, boring soccer, that it is hard to get too excited by them. I will say that I am much more interested in this current USA team as they actually have a ton of talent that is playing in the best leagues in Europe. I agree with you about pro sports, as I don't really like many of the pro sports in the USA. But to me, European soccer is a lot like College sports here, with the atmosphere, excitement, etc...Fans treat their clubs like we treat our university. Much more passion than anything "pro" here. I fell in love with soccer about 20 years ago, and picked a team in Man city that was not the most popular and far from the best team, and watched the team get taken over by big money owners, and subsequently went from also rans to one of the best teams in the world in 12 years. I also understand that I am incredibly lucky that I get to witness some of the best soccer played week in week out, in the best league in the world. I guess I'm just spoiled and have gotten used to watching soccer at the absolute peak, and anything less has me clicking the channel.
Bottom line for me is that I like watching the sport played at the highest level, and club soccer is the highest level of the sport. The Gold Cup doesn't even compare or come close to the highest level, and most international games don't come close to that level.
Then why do you watch college sports
Well, I specifically said "the sport", which means soccer, the sport we are talking about. I wasn't talking about college football or hoops. I watch college football and hoops because while it may not be the highest level of that particular sport, it is much more enjoyable. For almost the same reason Euro soccer is more enjoyable, atmosphere, passion. College football and hoops is still a pretty high level of the sport and has the added amenities. I can't say the same about USA soccer compared to EPL or knockout stage Champs league.
It’s hard to sustain rivalry feelings about America Jr., with the possible exception of ice hockey.
Definitely still a huge rivalry in hockey. If not for our WJC teams putting up some huge wins and winning the gold a few times over the last decade against Canada, we wouldn’t have had a big win against them since the 2010 round robin game in Vancouver.
Catch up to the rest of the world in healthcare and you can start calling Canada "America Jr"...
LOL, just the thought of Canada gives me the Ron Swanson giggles. Especially with the limp wristed wimp Trudeau as their leader.
Didn't know frat boys still talked like this. Thought that many of them WERE gay nowadays.
Imagine thinking Donald Trump or Joe Biden were macho tough guys...
US does not look very good
This is the B/C team. The only halfway decent players are Dike and Busio right now. The rest of them aren't going to be playing in the WC.
Why wouldn’t they take the Gold Cup serious? Especially with no Olympics?
They aren't going to risk playing their top dogs with WC qualifying coming up.
Yea but they took Nations league serious, they brought there best which was a month ago
As others have noted, the angle of developing talent is certainly a reason for the US fielding their B/C squad.
That said, I would say the primary reason is due to the number of A players who are vying for legitimate roles on strong European club teams. And the Gold Cup is falling at the same time as the preseasons for those club teams. So Berhalter is prioritizing the long-term growth and opportunities for those European club guys, at the expense of fielding the best possible team for the gold cup.
Overall, I think it's a smart move. For one, the euro guys are able to focus on solidifying their roles on their club teams. That's important - the more Americans playing at the highest levels of club competition, the better. For two, it provides an opportunity for the B/C guys to get legitimate international experience. Helps identify the backups and solidify the overall depth of the WC team. The only downside in all that is the chemistry of the "A" players. That's not something to just dismiss, but on balance, I think that's the right thing to sacrifice given the scenario.
Well Gold Cup training camp started 3 weeks ago.
Berhalter is giving the top dogs some time off -- which they've had little of due to the compressed calendar because of COVID
They are taking it serious -- they're seeing what they have a couple of years down the road.
This is a great development opportunity for that roster.
Makes sense to me
Most of the first team played a grueling season in Europe, many need the rest to focus on their club teams, and then the most important thing this fall, QUALIFYING for the World Cup. Gold Cup is not important in the slightest.
James Sands would like to have a word with you.
Ugly, but it’s a win.
Yeah- not pretty at all. Bleh.
Hoppe is clearly the best player in this squad. It baffles me that he didn’t start over gyasi fucking zardes
I don't think Hoppe is the best player in the squad. Hell I'm not even sure he's the best striker.
I agree he should have started, but Busio, Moore, Sands and Dike (and Turner) are all solid players.
What an awful performance. Hope they find a couple decent players from this group(I liked Vines), but this was very obviously the C team and it showed today.
Why field your B/C team for the Gold cup and field your A team for Nations league which was a month ago given the history of the Gold cup?
Pretty simple. Mexico.
That was also a tournament that spanned like a whole year.
So what you're saying is we can't beat Mexico? We just did 3-2
I get it they want there best rested for world cup qualifying but the gold cup is the championship tournament for the CONCACAF region, pretty big tournament
Absolutely not what I'm saying.
The Nations League was a long tournament and it was against Mexico- there was a break between the semis and the finals- it gave the opportunity to roll out the A team.
This is a long tournament against a lot of bottom feeders, and it goes pretty fast- there's no reason to have your very best playing in this. The Gold Cup is a lot more about seeing what you have in the pipeline compared to taking home a trophy- and yes, I do realize that is important, but it is not a huge deal.
Tell that to the nationally televised audience sponsors and sold out crowd that watched a high school team today
- National League was only two matches and spanned a week; while the Gold Cup is five matches and spans three weeks.
- Many of our young European starlets would be missing their clubs' preseason campaigns, which are now underway.
- A good number of our players such as Reyna, McKennie, Adams (sorta), Aaronson, Brooks, etc. have new managers to impress in order to win/keep starting jobs. Being absent from training or picking up a knock in the Gold Cup opens the door for other players to steal their spots.
- The US have games that actually matter (World Cup Qualifiers) in 2 months that we'll need those players for... and if you look at the injuries that we've picked up in the tournament thus far (Arriola, Zimmerman), we aren't really relying on those players too heavily for qualifying.
- Additionally, World Cup Qualifying is happening on a condensed schedule, which means there will be three matches per window instead of two. This means that we'll need a deeper bench and have to rotate players more to keep them fresh. This tournament is here to develop players 15-30 in the US player pool and get them experience in competitive Concacaf matches
Reluctantly I’ve come around to this line of thinking, but at the end of the day whether or not this is a good decision will be determined by how they do at WCQ. Look good, win their games and you can say “sure, the team looks refreshed, good call on the gold cup.” Sputter out of the gate, however, then the fingers are going to be pointed at Gregg (which, they should be already): “why the f*** didn’t you let this team gel”. Long story short - I guess we shall see…
I think Berhalter is doing the right thing from a squad management standpoint: keep the young players healthy, fresh, and in the best positions to get significant minutes this upcoming season... But I also don't think it excuses some of the selections for this squad or some of the lineup/tactical decisions he's made. This coming from, mostly, a Berhalter apologist.
Just because we took a B/C squad, doesn't mean that we should have performances that poor. Greg had a bad game, some of it was out of his control (Zimmerman going down, destabilizing the backline) and some of it was problems of his own making (having almost no wingers on the roster, starting Busio - a defensive sieve - and then replacing him with Yueill who has been in poor form and has become USMNT twitter's latest scourge).
Positives for the tournament include Dike being an absolute freight train up top, Sands showing out a defensive force and a positive passer out of the back, Robinson being really steady in the back, and Hoppe showing some class whenever he gets on the ball. I'd personally like to see more of Williamson instead of Busio (this coming from a sporting KC fan), as Williamson is a better athlete and less likely to be run past and I'm curious to see if Pines can settle in (on the ball he was a disaster, but I was impressed by his defensive work).
I wrote a big long paragragh that boiled down to what m9tt said above.... so ditto m9tt
Because WCQ is WAYYYYYY more important than the Gold Cup and our "A" guys needed a rest.
Does anyone coach this team? or make adjustments? (talking about USMNT) ...
Blame Canada!
<runs in> WOO! 20s goal! <waves tiny flag> <runs out>