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***Official Copa America USA 2024 Thread - Begins June 20th***

I think we are screwed. Uruguay has a lot of talent and we will be out Tim Weah. Who for the record is fully responsible for the loss to Panama.

What is it with USMNT players and they lose their discipline when they put on a USMNT jersey??.

Dest got sent off for acting like a child and not giving the ball up over a call he disagreed with. Weah punches an opponent in the back of the head. I mean maybe you could pin this on coaching but does the coach really have to tell adult professional soccer players not to do that shit???

Neither of these guys have ever acted like this with their clubs, they get with the USMNT and they start doing stupid shit.
 
I am not a fan at all of Gregg, but Weah is the true villain and will be 95% of the reason if we don’t advance. One of the most stupidest and selfish plays ever seeing how early game was-no reason to have lost his cool. Cost us the Panama game and hurts us by not being able to play this game.
 
You guys know more about soccer than I ever will, but won’t Panama try to bury Bolivia to make up the goal difference between the U.S. and them? Can Panama take Bolivia apart?
 
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You guys know more about soccer than I ever will, but won’t Panama try to bury Bolivia to make up the goal difference between the U.S. and them? Can Panama take Bolivia apart?
They absolutely will try, but no one knows if they can. It’s safe to say they’re a better team than Bolivia. It will certainly be a nerve wracking evening for USMNT fans.
 
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You guys know more about soccer than I ever will, but won’t Panama try to bury Bolivia to make up the goal difference between the U.S. and them? Can Panama take Bolivia apart?

Panama certainly will have to play aggressively and look to win in a blowout. They have no choice bit to do so; we are +2 on them in goal differential, so if we sin they have to win by 3 more than we win by to catch us.
It could happen, because Bolivia is not very good. But Panama is not a great team; winning by 3 against anyone is tough.
 
You guys know more about soccer than I ever will, but won’t Panama try to bury Bolivia to make up the goal difference between the U.S. and them? Can Panama take Bolivia apart?

They absolutely will try, but no one knows if they can. It’s safe to say they’re a better team than Bolivia. It will certainly be a nerve wracking evening for USMNT fans.
We're only up 1 on goal differential currently, so they don't even really have to try to bury Bolivia. They're thru if they win and we don't. Uruguay is +7 on that, so they're all but thru barring a wacky result. Will be curious how much squad rotation they do. I'd be shocked if anyone with a yellow card plays.
 
Panama certainly will have to play aggressively and look to win in a blowout. They have no choice bit to do so; we are +2 on them in goal differential, so if we sin they have to win by 3 more than we win by to catch us.
It could happen, because Bolivia is not very good. But Panama is not a great team; winning by 3 against anyone is tough.
We're only +1, not +2.
 
We're only up 1 on goal differential currently, so they don't even really have to try to bury Bolivia. They're thru if they win and we don't. Uruguay is +7 on that, so they're all but thru barring a wacky result. Will be curious how much squad rotation they do. I'd be shocked if anyone with a yellow card plays.

Panama has to go into the game with the mindset that we win. Granted, we might not - but they can't play just looking to tie or win by a goal. If we win, they have to win by 2 more than we win by to get even with us. If that's do, they beat us in the next tiebreaker (assuming, of course, that we don't win by 4 or more, which would move us in front of Uruguay).
 
GD Weah and Berhalter for putting us in this spot.
Anthony Hopkins Idiots GIF by PBS SoCal
 
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Mexico in trouble. They need a goal in the next 25 minutes or so, or they fall in the group stage. Ecuador is a very solid team, but Mexico are getting a few chances by committing numbers forward.

And their defender looked like he just broke his back as he’s secured on the stretcher board. 😐
 
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I think we are screwed. Uruguay has a lot of talent and we will be out Tim Weah. Who for the record is fully responsible for the loss to Panama.

What is it with USMNT players and they lose their discipline when they put on a USMNT jersey??.

Dest got sent off for acting like a child and not giving the ball up over a call he disagreed with. Weah punches an opponent in the back of the head. I mean maybe you could pin this on coaching but does the coach really have to tell adult professional soccer players not to do that shit???

Neither of these guys have ever acted like this with their clubs, they get with the USMNT and they start doing stupid shit.

I am not a fan at all of Gregg, but Weah is the true villain and will be 95% of the reason if we don’t advance. One of the most stupidest and selfish plays ever seeing how early game was-no reason to have lost his cool. Cost us the Panama game and hurts us by not being able to play this game.


While Weah OBVIOUSLY has to shoulder a ton of the blame I still will not let Gregg off the hook. While playing 10 on 11 sucks, you can essentially play a 4-4-1 and should be okay defensively. Also, you want to not get tired, keep the mother effing ball. That was absolutely not enforced during our game. It was defend and hope for a draw which is bull crap. To make matters worse, Flo even scored to take the lead and we STILL messed it up immediately. I do belive a ton of that is on Gregg and tactics. He simply can't get to plan B and the substitutions he made (or didn't make with Musah) are so confusing.

Players need to be held accountable as well. Rep the Crest and no excuses.
 
While Weah OBVIOUSLY has to shoulder a ton of the blame I still will not let Gregg off the hook. While playing 10 on 11 sucks, you can essentially play a 4-4-1 and should be okay defensively. Also, you want to not get tired, keep the mother effing ball. That was absolutely not enforced during our game. It was defend and hope for a draw which is bull crap. To make matters worse, Flo even scored to take the lead and we STILL messed it up immediately. I do belive a ton of that is on Gregg and tactics. He simply can't get to plan B and the substitutions he made (or didn't make with Musah) are so confusing.

Players need to be held accountable as well. Rep the Crest and no excuses.
Yeah - I thought they actually played better in the first half before GB made his halftime adjustments/subs.

Still focus on sitting back, but always ready to hit on the counter. For most of then 2nd half they focused too much on defense and had nothing left to counter until it was too later.

Against a better team, that might have been the better call to be honest - but Panama?

We've seen repeatedly that GB is not a superb tactician, and quite honestly his preferred tactics are a bad fit for our current talent pool. These guys do their best when on the front foot and just playing instinctively, GB wants them to be methodical and build from the back.
 
Slovakia !!

I got excited too. Then very unexcited... then upset.

Silver lining is that if Southgate can lead England to a pretty desperate win over a team with significantly fewer people, resources, and top players in the world then so can Berhalter since they are pretty much the same coach.

Oh, except we lost to Panama and now play Uruguay who is actually really good. Sweet.
 
I got excited too. Then very unexcited... then upset.

Silver lining is that if Southgate can lead England to a pretty desperate win over a team with significantly fewer people, resources, and top players in the world then so can Berhalter since they are pretty much the same coach.

Oh, except we lost to Panama and now play Uruguay who is actually really good. Sweet.
Come on now, turn that frown...upside down
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Yeah - I thought they actually played better in the first half before GB made his halftime adjustments/subs.

Still focus on sitting back, but always ready to hit on the counter. For most of then 2nd half they focused too much on defense and had nothing left to counter until it was too later.

Against a better team, that might have been the better call to be honest - but Panama?

We've seen repeatedly that GB is not a superb tactician, and quite honestly his preferred tactics are a bad fit for our current talent pool. These guys do their best when on the front foot and just playing instinctively, GB wants them to be methodical and build from the back.
Berhalter did what a lot of coaches would do going with 3 center backs. The problem is that by doing so the US ended up out numbered in the mid field. Additionally this team never plays with 3 center backs they didn't look comfortable. When your team is down a man you should still try to play to your strengths. If you are a bunker and counter team then bunkering more can work. One of the US strengths is an active ground covering midfield. With one less player you keep the same principles but reduce the area they are covering.

I think it would've been better to bring Musah o byn for Adams and have Musah/McKenzie pivot parked in front of the back line. Musah is particularly adept at shuttling the ball from defense to offense. You are still are going to be compact but you aren't completely conceding the midfield and you have Reyna, Pulisic, Balo as legit counter threats. If Reyna is leaving you too exposed then you can drop him for Cardoso and move McKinnie forward. Finally I wouldn't have subbed off Balo. Balo is more adept at getting behind the line and was playing well. It felt like this was a predetermined sub and he stuck with it despite the changing situation. If Balo absolutely had to come out then put Puli at the forward position and Haji on the wing. This preserves Pulisic's legs and Haji is a natural counter attacking winger.
 
Berhalter did what a lot of coaches would do going with 3 center backs. The problem is that by doing so the US ended up out numbered in the mid field. Additionally this team never plays with 3 center backs they didn't look comfortable. When your team is down a man you should still try to play to your strengths. If you are a bunker and counter team then bunkering more can work. One of the US strengths is an active ground covering midfield. With one less player you keep the same principles but reduce the area they are covering.

I think it would've been better to bring Musah o byn for Adams and have Musah/McKenzie pivot parked in front of the back line. Musah is particularly adept at shuttling the ball from defense to offense. You are still are going to be compact but you aren't completely conceding the midfield and you have Reyna, Pulisic, Balo as legit counter threats. If Reyna is leaving you too exposed then you can drop him for Cardoso and move McKinnie forward. Finally I wouldn't have subbed off Balo. Balo is more adept at getting behind the line and was playing well. It felt like this was a predetermined sub and he stuck with it despite the changing situation. If Balo absolutely had to come out then put Puli at the forward position and Haji on the wing. This preserves Pulisic's legs and Haji is a natural counter attacking winger.
Yeah, his halftime adjustments made sense to me if they’d had the lead. Like you said, they virtually lost the ability to effectively counter as a result.
 
Canada knocks out Chile and heads to the quarterfinals!

I get that Chile is about like Belgium and their golden generation is getting older, but two time champions in the last three Copas! How about Jesse Marsch?!
I'm not impressed by Canada. They scored 1 goal in 3 matches. In 2 of those matches they had a man advantage. One for almost 60 minutes and the other for around 30 minutes. Yes they got through but in my opinion they have been more fortunate than good.
 
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I'm not impressed by Canada. They scored 1 goal in 3 matches. In 2 of those matches they had a man advantage. One for almost 60 minutes and the other for around 30 minutes. Yes they got through but in my opinion they have been more fortunate than good.

I have to agree. Getting by on 4 points in the group usually means you were lucky that the teams below you could only secure draws and not wins.
 
In KC right now waiting for one of the kids to fly in from Denver. She said the whole plane is soccer talk. Looking forward to tonight. Not sure our board locals opinion on this place but Slap’s BBQ was really damn good. Easily a 30 minute walk up line down the sidewalk last night.
 
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so much pressure on USA tonight

I think they fail
I think Uruguay is a bad matchup for us. They apply high pressure and one of our consistent problems lately has been bad turnovers at the back. This is arguably the fundamental design of Bielsa's teams. The Colombia match kind of previewed what could happen. If we can avoid the really bad mistakes then there may be opportunities to skip over that front line and create chances.
 
Mexico in trouble. They need a goal in the next 25 minutes or so, or they fall in the group stage. Ecuador is a very solid team, but Mexico are getting a few chances by committing numbers forward.

And their defender looked like he just broke his back as he’s secured on the stretcher board. 😐

I know nothing about soccer, but I'm occasionally seeing a woman from Ecuador who is a soccer super fan in general, and obviously nutty for her national team, so I've been watching the games.

And I took her to that USA-Panama in Atlanta. Basically, she politely and not so politely has to tell me to stop talking because I don't know anything about the sport, and she knows everything. A whole lot of "Aw man that guys should have gone that other way" type of nonsense from me.
 
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I know nothing about soccer, but I'm occasionally seeing a woman from Ecuador who is a soccer super fan in general, and obviously nutty for her national team, so I've been watching the games.

And I took her to that USA-Panama in Atlanta. Basically, she politely and not so politely has to tell me to stop talking because I don't know anything about the sport, and she knows everything. A whole lot of "Aw man that guys should have gone that other way" type of nonsense from me.

Tell her that this country needs more soccer fans and let you learn!
 
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Tell her that this country needs more soccer fans and let you learn!

I just texted her and asked her "Are you going to watch the USA game tonight, and are we going to get killed?"

Her answer was "Yes and yes lol"

It's funny, she watches soccer like the most degenerate college football fan does on a Saturday. Any league, anywhere in the world. She prioritizes any game that has a player from Ecuador on it, but she just watches it as often as its on. I've known women who like sports before, but not quite to that extent.
 
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I just texted her and asked her "Are you going to watch the USA game tonight, and are we going to get killed?"

Her answer was "Yes and yes lol"

It's funny, she watches soccer like the most degenerate college football fan does on a Saturday. Any league, anywhere in the world. She prioritizes any game that has a player from Ecuador on it, but she just watches it as often as its on. I've known women who like sports before, but not quite to that extent.
My cousin married an Ecuadorian and I went to visit them a few years ago. At that time the Ecuadorian soccer league - La Liga was having its finals matches. We were in the town of Banos and it was like everything shut down for two hours. We watched in a Sports Bar which was packed and it was absolute mayhem. People just getting drunk, kids 13-14 pounding beers, lots of yelling. I just took it all in.

Shit was awesome. They love themselves some soccer.
 
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