This could be setting up very nicely for us. Ghana, at this point, is certainly the favorite

[rugbdawg]

This could be setting up very nicely for us. Ghana, at this point, is certainly the favorite

to win their group. We SHOULD finish 2nd in our group with a win over Algeria. Couldn't ask for a better draw.

 

[patdog]

This could be setting up very nicely for us. Ghana, at this point, is certainly the favorite

As frustrating as today was, and as pissed off as I am at both our 1st half performance and the ref stealing a 3-2 win from us, the bottom line is if we beat Algeria there's almost no way we don't advance no matter what happens in England's last 2 games.

 

[Rule76]

This could be setting up very nicely for us. Ghana, at this point, is certainly the favorite

- Sincerely 2006 US World Cup Team

 

[o_1984Dawg]

This could be setting up very nicely for us. Ghana, at this point, is certainly the favorite

They looked good against Serbia. I'll wait until I see them play Germany to say they're better than us, but when they played Serbia... they were a good bit better than us. If I could have my pick of those 3, Serbia is the team I'd like us to wind up with in the 2nd round.One thing to note is that after this morning's match, Serbia and Germany both are carrying a lot of yellow cards into their 3rd match. Another yellow for any of those players (who'll all be playing since they need to win) would put them out of their 2nd round game.Also, Ghana will be a bit more of a home team in the knockout rounds with most of the other African sides gone.

To look even further ahead, in the Quarters, the winner of 2C/1D gets 1B/2A which will almost definitely be Argentina, while the winner of C could possibly face Serbia then one of Mexico/Uruguay/Korea/Nigeria. I would say that if Germany doesn't come out of that group in 2nd then winning Group C would have been a much better route. Not that it matters now. We just better beat Algeria.

 

[rugbdawg]

This could be setting up very nicely for us. Ghana, at this point, is certainly the favorite

are better than us and I think Germany is a little bit better than Ghana. That's why I want Ghana.

 

[o_1984Dawg]

This could be setting up very nicely for us. Ghana, at this point, is certainly the favorite

The only thing is, our style seems to work better against the Europeans than Africans and South Americans. I might be wrong in this perception, but just look at our big WC results recently. 02 we beat Portugal (and played Germany well), 06 we tied Italy, 2010 we've already tied England. 2010 Germany isn't any better than those 3. Do we have anything to say that we can perform against a legitimate African side? The only match I can think of is Ghana beating us 2-1. You can add to this Spain last year as well. We didthump Egypt but style-wise I wouldn't say they're African.</p>

 

[rugbdawg]

This could be setting up very nicely for us. Ghana, at this point, is certainly the favorite

That terrifies me.

We play Algeria...they are half African like...but speedier than Slovenia. We'll see.

 

[cb6228]

This could be setting up very nicely for us. Ghana, at this point, is certainly the favorite

I would rather play Ghana. germany is a solid euro style team with solid defense and good ball control. South American and African teams tend to have aggressive offenses and lax defenses. Serbia is a solid team that a couple of experts have predicted to make the final 4. Germany is my 2nd favorite team, but without ballack and their GK who tragically died they still are not a team I want to face. I would rather play Ghana. I think Bradley will make the requisite changes to the MF if we play Ghana. I would play the 2nd half Slovenia lineup the rest of the tourney. My first sub would be Gomez for Altidore if we struggle. I am a big Edu/Feilhaber fan. <div>
</div><div>
</div><div>
</div>

 

[patdog]

This could be setting up very nicely for us. Ghana, at this point, is certainly the favorite

I like the 2nd half lineup. Playing Clark and Findley for 1-1/2 games was a boneheaded coaching decision by Bradley.

 

[rugbdawg]

This could be setting up very nicely for us. Ghana, at this point, is certainly the favorite

from him. And Findley is a ********. He completely disrupts the flow of the attack everytime he touches it. When he got his "handball", why the !*%% wasn't he trying to head it in? He was literally 5-8 feet from the goal.

 

[cb6228]

This could be setting up very nicely for us. Ghana, at this point, is certainly the favorite

the ball got deflected at him. So his mis-heading wasn't his his fault. that **** happens fast

 

[o_1984Dawg]

This could be setting up very nicely for us. Ghana, at this point, is certainly the favorite

but when Findley got that yellow I was thinking "well that's bogus, but at least it'll get him off the field for a game."

 

[patdog]

This could be setting up very nicely for us. Ghana, at this point, is certainly the favorite

I think Findley may be a decent player for us in time. But he's very young and very inexperienced. It's not fair to him to have him starting on this stage at this point in his career. I know we're thin at that position, but we have better options than Findley right now.</p>

 

[cb6228]

This could be setting up very nicely for us. Ghana, at this point, is certainly the favorite

I think this is the deepest the US has ever been at that position: Altidore, Gomez, Dempsey, Buddle, Findley, hell even Beasley.

 

[patdog]

This could be setting up very nicely for us. Ghana, at this point, is certainly the favorite

But Beasley is a midfielder and Bradley obviously much prefers to play Dempsey in the midfield, even though I think he's better as a forward. Buddle has a total of 3 caps, and 1 of those was 7 years ago as a 2nd half sub in a friendly.