World Cup and European leagues

[ScotsFan]

yeah, about that USA having no chance thing..........wow 

Wow is right!  I have to say, I think this is about as good as I've seen the MNT play ever over their last 2 matches!  What a way to rebound after the horrific start to this tournament!  Who would have thought that the US might get another shot at Brazil (given they beat the hosts...  ) to play for the tournament trophy?

One disappointment that came out of the match was Michael Bradley's red card late in the game.  Personally, I would have thought a yellow card would have been a bit harsh for Bradley's challenge, but a red card???  It's as if these officials have it out for the Americans or something?!  That makes 3 red cards in 4 matches in this tournament.  And I would say maybe one of them was deserved and that is a stretch to say that...

[Mr. Ypsi]

Just got in from Cedar Point and Put-in-Bay, too late for the ESPN2 replay (and, of course, I missed the game, though caught the result on the bottom scroll of ESPN at a bar soon after the game ended).  If anyone hears of another replay of the game, please let me know.

Simply amazing!  Not only had Spain won 15 straight, and not lost in over 3 years, they had not given up a single goal since early April!  The new rankings are going to be interesting - especially if USA pulls another shocker in the title game.

[ScotsFan]

The new rankings are going to be interesting - especially if USA pulls another shocker in the title game.

Yeah.  I was discussing this with a friend of mine.  We were wondering if the US will move up with this result and if so, how much?  They did have 2 pretty poor results prior to this stunner.  But, they were also both against teams ranked in the top 5 in the world, so they were sort of expected.  And the US was also a man down in both of those matches which I don't know if that has any bearing or not?  However, if the US manages to pull off yet another stunner on Sunday, I think the only question will be how far they move up...

[sac]

The new rankings are going to be interesting - especially if USA pulls another shocker in the title game.

Yeah.  I was discussing this with a friend of mine.  We were wondering if the US will move up with this result and if so, how much?  They did have 2 pretty poor results prior to this stunner.  But, they were also both against teams ranked in the top 5 in the world, so they were sort of expected.  And the US was also a man down in both of those matches which I don't know if that has any bearing or not?  However, if the US manages to pull off yet another stunner on Sunday, I think the only question will be how far they move up...

I would think they are assured of moving up.  What a ridiculously complicated formula though..........
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA_World_Rankings

http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/ranking/lastranking/gender=m/fullranking.html

The good news is that despite low fan interest the Confederations Cup is equal to a  Continental Cup (Gold Cup for the USA) game..........or 3 times more valuable than a friendly.

If I've calculated everything correctly the win over Spain and assuming a loss to Brazil, should be worth a minimum of 210 points in the yearly points average, which will come down with every game played the rest of the year.  But it should be enough to put the USA #11 and within reach of #10 France and #9 Russia....or even ahead of them at the July 1 rankings.


I fully expect an effort will be made to downgrade the importance of the Confederations Cup in the FIFA rankings should the USA crack the top 10. 

[sac]

Just for kicks.........the USA's win over Egypt was worth about 168 average points.........the USA could be flirting with #6 England.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Interesting that it took Brazil until the 88th minute to score on RSA; final was 1-0.

After yesterday and today, I'm retiring from predictions!

BTW, finally caught some highlights of USA/Spain.  I'm not at all certain the call on Bradley merited even a yellow; it was one of the most bogus reds I've ever seen.

[ScotsFan]

Doesn't FIFA have some sort of appeals system when it comes to unwarranted red cards like the NBA has with technical fouls?  Not having Bradley available is really going to hurt.  I will say, having Bocanegra back was a HUGE lift for the back 4!  He doesn't wear that captains arm band by accident.

And speaking of Sunday's match with Brazil...  Demarcus Beasley better not even sniff the field vs. Brazil.  In fact, maybe they should just leave him at the hotel... 

[Mr. Ypsi]

While I don't have it on tape to study in slo-mo, I just saw Bradley's 'foul' again.  He arrived from a legal angle, and arrived less than 1 second after the ball left.  As a former coach and (very occasional) ref, I'm not sure it was even a foul, much less a card.  It was a total joke to be a red card.

Alas, if FIFA has an appeals system, I'm unaware of it.

I don't want to come off as a conspiracy nut, but these refs DO seem to have a thing about the US.  Three reds in four games seems a bit much when I don't think the US has any reputation for dirty play.

If there is a non-obvious red against the US early in the title game, I think I will become a 'conspiracy nut'!

While I've sworn off the prediction biz after the last two days, anyone want to tackle it?  IS this a different USA than Brazil toyed with last week?

[Hoosier Titan]

I believe that the US-Spain match was my first recorded prediction ever on these boards (including men's and women's baskeball).  This result convinces me that I should have kept my mouth shut!

Agree about the red card.  Interesting that the world feed only showed it once in reply.  The US has certainly gotten no breaks on the officiating.

Spain looked uncharacteristically sloppy and out of sync all over the pitch.  A large part of the credit for that has to go to the US defense:  Villa and Torres weren't getting the ball in open enough spots to do anything.  The biggest mistakes came from the Spanish defense--Capdevila on Altidore's goal and the often-questionable Sergio Ramos on Dempsey's.  Both were very nice goals that came from taking advantage of being left open for an instant.

It was a fun match and I wouldn't have been unhappy with either side winning.  Now I will support Spain in one match and the US in the other.

[ScotsFan]

I don't want to come off as a conspiracy nut, but these refs DO seem to have a thing about the US.  Three reds in four games seems a bit much when I don't think the US has any reputation for dirty play.

If there is a non-obvious red against the US early in the title game, I think I will become a 'conspiracy nut'!

I've said as much concerning the ref's showing some sort of bias towards the Americans when it comes to handing out red cards like candy.  But, I do feel that the US has gained a reputation of making hard rash challenges and many of them are late.  Whether that reputation is fair or not, I think this is part of the reason the refs seem to be quick on the trigger finger when it comes to dolling out red cards to the MNT...

While I've sworn off the prediction biz after the last two days, anyone want to tackle it?  IS this a different USA than Brazil toyed with last week?

I think the addition of Bocanegra in the back really solidifies the US defense as I said above.  Just his addition in the lineup makes this a better team than the one Brazil made look foolish.  And hopefully Davies gets the start in place of Beasley which is a marked improvement as well.  Unfortunately, Bradley will be missed in the midfield, but I'm hopeful the start goes to either Feilhaber or Kljestan as my feelings towards Beasley have been well documented.

I also feel that, while some dismissed the overconfidence card with Spain, I wouldn't dismiss it with Brazil.  The Brazilians had the benefit of playing a man up and the US had to be a bit worn down having to play a man down in their previous match as well.  Brazil has looked good at times in this tournament vs. the US and Italy.  But, they have also looked very beatable as they did today vs. RSA and in their opener vs. Egypt where they blew a 3-1 lead only to get a late goal to win that one as well.  I'm not going to predict a US win, but I think at the very least, they will put up a better fight than the one they did a week ago.  It would be sweet to see them follow up that great upset of Spain by downing yet another top 5 squad!  8)  A US win would also go a long way in silencing some of their critics in the sports media who still won't admit that win yesterday was a big win for US Soccer... 

[sac]

Team USA players almost seem to play as if they expect a red card at some point.......credit is due for the way they handle such situations..........plenty of experience for sure.  Other teams might have panicked.


Thought Spain was indeed out of sync as well, they found Torres at least twice breaking open, only to see the pass go behind him........to go along with a number of passes that were just off.  But the US defense was tight, always seemed to be in the right spot for the clear.

Interesting game to watch, its not as if the US played lights out soccer from end to end, they had their own moments of slop.  With Brazil's result today, who's to say the US can't beat them.

[sac]

+k for the effort USA..........3-2 losses to Brazil are now disappointing

[Mr. Ypsi]

With USA up 2-0 at the half, I can't help wondering if that bogus red card on Bradley might have made the difference in the second half.

On second thought, switch that  to  .

[sac]

Catching up on some reading on the bbc........ran across this

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/2494933/And-you-thought-relegation-was-bad.html

which led to these pictures....click to enlarge, and don't miss the one's further down
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/2497034/Our-worst-XI-of-the-most-tasteless-kits-in-football.html?offset=0

[ScotsFan]

+k for the effort USA..........3-2 losses to Brazil are now disappointing

How true! 

But, even as disappointing as the loss is for the MNT, they showed they belong and that is a positive IMO!  They were definitely a different team than the one that took the pitch in the first 2 matches of the tournament!  While I would have loved for the US to come away with the win yesterday, I'm still left with excitement as they continue on in WCQ and on to the WC next summer! 

As Alexi said in the post game show, the US can use this and build off of it as they move forward as opposed to turning it into a negative!