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| Whatever you were attempting to accomplish here, you have failed miserably |
1. Where Do We Even Begin?
The reporter for The Guardian who was writing the minute-by-minute said at the end of the game that so much was going on, not even the world’s greatest court stenographer would have been able to keep up. I’ve never seen a game at this level quite like the U.S.-Belgium match. I can’t ever remember watching a game where a team took 19 corners and 39 shots. (Howard’s save total was a World Cup record.) The Belgians probably should’ve been ahead by about 8-0 by the time Wondo bumbled away the chance at 90’+ that would’ve given the U.S. the incredible upset. The last 45 minutes of this game were played in a state of exhaustion-laden frenzy and constant flow. To both teams credit, there was no diving going on, the tackling was crisp when needed and the official wisely let the game go. The Americans were left for dead at the 104’ mark, down 2-0 and completely spent, and then on comes the 18-year-old Green to do his best Pelé impersonation, and all of the sudden it’s the Belgians that are clinging to life. The ESPN commentators referenced France v. West Germany in 1982 when speaking of the Americans uphill climb in OT – West Germany being the only team to score twice in extra time after an opponent had first done so – and it was a worthwhile point of reference. That 1982 game is the greatest World Cup match I have ever watched. If the U.S. v. Belgium didn’t top it, it was a close second.
So the U.S. goes out in the 16s, but they made many friends in the process. This game, along with the Portugal game, have been the two best games of the tourney – not necessarily for their prowess on the pitch, but for their competitiveness and tenacity. And I’ve read more than one English reporter lamenting the fact that his national side lacks the chemistry and mental toughness the U.S. brings to a World Cup. (Of course, they did the same thing four years ago, and haven’t learned their lessons.) The U.S. has further cemented the fact that it’s never going to be an easy out again in this tournament.
And with the Americans’ relative success in the World Cup (our expectations are so modest that going 1-2-1 and being outed in the 16s is considered a success) will inevitably come discussions about the development of the game, and the game’s place in the sporting landscape of America. I have always maintained that soccer culture existed in this country, but it didn’t take the same form as the other major sports, all of which Americans invented. It does me proud seeing USA FC stepping so far into the forefront of America’s sporting conscience that a lot of stodgy old goats of sportswriters and political pundits are decrying its relevance, given that the game, in this country, is hip and urban and intellectual. There was already heightened interest in the World Cup going into it, when most of us assumed that the U.S. wasn’t going to do so well. That the U.S. put forth a side which could compete near to the highest level of the game bodes well for the future, since there is so much more room to grow.
And speaking of growth, Klinsmann’s youth movement seems to be going nicely already – Brooks, Yedlin and Green all proved to be worthy contributors. At the beginning, I was wondering if there were too many untested players on this team, when maybe we actually needed more of them.
2. The Devils are in the Details
I disagreed with Klinsmann’s idea to start Cameron, essentially as a 5th defender while disguised as a midfielder. Altidore’s injury left them out of sorts in that, without any other viable options up front to partner effectively with Dempsey, Jones had to play higher up to offer some physicality and challenge bigger defenders. Now, he did that really well, and was probably the best field player the U.S. had in the tourney, but taking one of your dogged defenders out of the middle, combined with a 5th defender naturally dropping back, meant more space for the Belgians to operate, which is a bad idea. Belgium’s opponents have made a point to try and clog up the midfield and pinch in from the sides, trying to keep the Red Devils playing narrow. Belgium plays with basically 7 midfielders on the pitch at any given time, all of whom are different types of players, and if you give them too much room to operate, someone ultimately creates and then exploits a mismatch. Against the U.S., primary Belgian playmaker Hazard got basically blown up as soon as Yedlin came into the game, and Mertens was useless – but there went De Bruyne charging ahead and being at the middle of every attack, after having done nothing in this first two games of the tourney. Once the Belgians got control of the tempo and direction of the game, they never took their foot off the gas.
And being able to bring on guys like Mirallas and Lukaku is absolutely unfair. In an open, transition-type game like this, Lukaku is one of the more devastating strikers on the planet with his mix of speed, strength and skill – and, having been benched after the Russia game, he wasn’t going to be in a good mood. Bringing him in at the 90’ mark to face tired American defenders was a horrid mismatch from the get-go.
The U.S. showed incredible heart and courage and strength out there, but the Belgians just had too many good players. And even so, the U.S. still nearly won this game. Remarkable.
3. Can’t Anybody Play This Game?
If, at the end of tournament, Argentina are hoisting the World Cup, it will confirm to me a) Lionel Messi really is God; b) this World Cup has gone horribly wrong; or c) both. The first 118 minutes of that Argentina v. Switzerland game are 118 minutes of my life that I would like to have back. (Although the last two were a cracker, what with the Argentine goal and a final Swiss attack that included a goalkeeper attempting a bicycle kick and a forward inexplicably gaffing a wide open header.) Both Messi and Shaqiri seemed utterly exasperated by the end of this game after doing whatever they could to set up teammates, only to have them repeatedly bungle the chances. Argentina have ambled and bumbled their way through four games yet, somehow, are still playing. Oh, that’s right, they have Messi. But at this point, they’ve run out of incompetent opponents.The Belgians possess a pretty high football IQ, and the likely semifinal opponent – the Dutch – are the smartest team left in the tournament. Smarts generally trump luck, and Argentina has been lucky and little more so far.
The Germans aren’t playing worth a damn, either, their normally ruthlessly efficient office moving at the speed of a sun dial in an effort to protect their dreadfully slow backline. The Germans are doing a nice job swarming to the ball on defense, but anytime they got stretched v. Algeria, the Fennec Foxes ran right past them. Hell, Neuer is their best centre back at the moment. You wonder with both Argentina and Germany at what point their obvious flaws are going to fully be exposed. I suspect the French will be happy to oblige in that act of exposure, they themselves having slipped out of trouble v. Nigeria thanks, in part, to the awful goalkeeping gaffe in today’s gif. This tourney usually permits you to rise to the level of your own incompetence, but Germany and Argentina seem to keep wriggling themselves out of trouble. For now.
4. Tightening Up
There were no ‘upsets’ in the Round of 16 – the eight group winners all advanced – and yet there very easily could’ve been six or seven. As is to be expected, the games turned more tactical and less open (with the exception of the U.S.-Belgium game, which defied any sort of logic or sense). The biggest difference I see is that, while there is still disparities in talent, the disparities in fitness have lessened to the point that a well-organized side can keep themselves in the game for longer. Even a lesser level professional footballer playing in Europe or MLS or a top South American side now has a heightened level of conditioning. And I’ve been very impressed with the tactics employed by sides like Costa Rica and Algeria in this tournament. Tactics which are based upon a conviction that, through playing this way, they will be able to win rather than simply avoid losing. It’s made for some pretty dramatic stuff, what with five OT games in the first eight knockout matches. Those who came up on the short end weren’t that far away from victory. The gap between the élite and the also rans gets smaller and smaller each year.
