 |
| Mr. Jones |
The U.S. needs a result v. Germany, but they aren't desperate and they don't need a miracle. Most of the scenarios which could play out favour them to advance, in fact. A draw will work. A Portugal-Ghana draw will work. A Portugal win over Ghana will probably work. A U.S. win will ... wait, the U.S. won't beat Germany, will they? Well, why the hell not? Is it a tall order to get a result from a game with Germany? Sure it is, but this tourney gets hard at some point for everyone. The U.S. are still in a far, far better position than the two teams below them in the standings in Group G, and we all need to keep that in mind. 4 pts. from two games is, all things considered, pretty good. It just sort of sucks how they got to 4 pts ...
2. Damn You Ronaldo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The U.S. were naïve and got caught upfield at the end of the game, and Bradley's migraine-inducing run of annoyingly bad play continued when he got dispossessed to start the Portuguese counterattack, but that pass from Ronaldo reminds you why it is that he is arguably the greatest player in the world. Go back and watch that play. There aren't many guys in the world who can make that play in that moment. Honestly, I can think of about two, both of which have saved their respective teams in the past two days. We all want to hate on CR7, but that pass was simply sensational.
3. Best game of the tourney
That was sensational soccer. Portugal got a garbage goal, a brilliant goal, and hung on the best they could with a struggling side. The U.S. did what good teams do when they trail – figure out the weak spots in the opposition, attack it, and have their best players step up and make plays. Jermaine Jones has been a Best XI sort of player in this tourney so far. He, Johnson, and then Yedlin absolutely wrecked Portugal down that flank. The last-ditch equalizer sucks, of course, but when you take part in what's easily the best of game of what's easily the best World Cup in decades, it stings a little bit less. No matter what happens Thursday, the U.S. has shown that it can play this game at an incredibly high and competitive level. And I do think it's going to get better from here. Something to theorize about in future posts.
4. Strange brew
The Belgians have too many good players, and Marc Wilmots is having a hard time finding XI to play well together as a unit. The Belgians have a rock of a keeper, two forwards and about 18 midfielders on their roster. They're built to run and play improv, street football – and they're a little mystified by teams which won't let them do it. The Russians were well organized today and Cappello really outcoached Wilmots, whose tactical choices didn't make a whole lot of sense: Lukaku isn't a post-up type forward, while 6'4" Fellaini was roaming aimlessly 30 yds. from goal. But the Belgians have probably the deepest bench in the tourney – all three goals they've scored have been after 70' and scored by the subs – and they outlasted the Russians, who ran out of gas. Belgium is on to the 16s and I suspect their last game v. South Korea will be something of a lab experiment. The Belgians have nothing to play for, so they may as well tinker and see if they can brew up a concoction with a more pleasant taste.
5. Bonus thought
Just when you think that a game is going to suck, Algeria and South Korea score six goals and run up and down and play one of the most fun games of the tournament. Granted, the Korean defense was about as terrible as I've seen in a World Cup in years, but props to the Fennec Foxes for taking the initiative and charging straight ahead. It's an odd team Algeria has, in that so many of their players are products of the French academy system, and given that this 4:2 win seemingly came out of nowhere – they've always been a cautious, tenacious, scheming lot, and then they were playing great, energetic football today. It sort of makes you wonder why they've kept that under wraps for so long. Let's hope they do the same against the Russian snooze machine on Thursday.
6. Another bonus thought
Since there are already rumours and rumblings that the fix might be in for next Thursday's game, since both the U.S. and Germany only need a draw, here is a more detailed story from The Guardian of 1982, which involves both the Algerians and Germans and which I mentioned in the preview blog. I do think both teams will play to win Thursday, but caution will be the order of the day, and if it's 0:0 after an hour, why would either side take the risk from there? You'll look far stupider putting yourself in a position to lose than if you choose to take a point. Just throwing that out there.
