7:45 Eastern start.. US are pretty much through, but hopefully with Freddy and Jozy kickin ass, a win against Brazil would be nice :)

Lineup for the US looks the same as the last game, with the exception of Sarkodie in for Valentin in the starting XI.

I was kind of hoping someone else could get a look on the left besides Rogers, he has not impressed me at all.

My guide isn't showing it on ESPN yet. Does anyone know if it will be broadcast in HD on ESPN?

No HD

Zizzo punks the Brazilian left back but Bradley can't finish. Rogers blisters one.

Joze FTG!!!!!

YES!!

Michael Bradley is currently the Tim Ward of this game

Half time, US up 1-0. Brazil really poured it on in the final 10 minutes. We were lucky to escape the half up.

Bradley looks absolutely spent and is playing horrendously.

Poland up 1-0 over Korea.

Current group if the games stay the same
USA 7
POL 6
BRA 3
KOR 1

Well, shit. Wacky turn of events there

Dammit,, Brazil draws even, shockingly off a poor Bradley clearance.

That goal went off Sarkodie, not his fault though.

1-1

Poland-Korea are deuced at 1.

GOAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! JOZE. Fucking Brilliant from Adu........ Good Lord.

HOLY SHIT! GOAL ALTIDORE! What a move by Adu!!

Oh man....close call there....too intense.

Seitz with a brilliant save after an odd punch. He looks dead. Beltran is also worn out on the right.

Holy shit we're beating Brazil????


And what does this game mean for team USA?(sorry, haven't been following them lately)

Why bring in Tim Ward? Why not just take someone off and leave the space blank? And the ref has completely put on his yellow Brazil kit.

Holy shit we're beating Brazil????


And what does this game mean for team USA?(sorry, haven't been following them lately)

That our U-20's know how to attack and finish

That our U-20's know how to attack and finish

Ok, convert that from soccer speak into english for me ;)

USA!!!!!!!!

Brazil finishes 3rd in the group!

Wow. A win, good job boys.

Do you believe in miracles... YES!

Ok, convert that from soccer speak into english for me ;)


USA Senior team = Joakim Noah (hustle, grit, no flair, can't shoot)
USA U-20 team = Kevin Durant (skill, style, grit, can shoot)

Shocking, fouls were two to one against the US

USA Win the group with 7 points.

Poland finish 2nd I think (despite the USA smacking them 6-1)

Brazil finish 3rd, and have to wait to see if they make the knockout stages

Korea finish 4th and are OUT.

Ok, let me see if i knoodled this out:

U-20 == players under the age of 20 years.

World Cup == world championship tournament FOR those under 20 yrs of age

USA beating Brazil 2-1 == Fucking HILARIOUSLY AWESOME!

Did I get everything right?

why is it they go apeshit over Brazilian touches that go nowhere, but they can't even show us Adu schooling two Brazilian kids to set up Altidore? We get the cross and the finish, but not the brilliant buildup.

because if they showed THAT clip again , everyone's head would explode

Because the media doesn't want to talk about Freddie anymore, since he didn't dominate MLS at age 15.

Wow...I haven't seen these guys play. I was very impressed. Adu needs to stop whining but he looks like he's finally developing. The Jose guy was exhausted but a very good striker. Still suspect in the back in my opinion though. Don't we have any teams that can develop defenders???!!! Thought the Beltran guy was terrible but maybe just had an off game.

On a side note, Sarkodie showed up at a practice for the high school team I was an asst. for when he was in 8th grade. We salivated. Never saw him again as the local rival got him and then he was gone from them as well.

Adu needs to stop whining but he looks like he's finally developing.

Adu did whine a lot. However, I think the reason is that he was getting freaking mugged and not getting any calls and then when he breathed on a Brazilian the foul was called. Seems like a good reason to whine.

Adu did whine a lot. However, I think the reason is that he was getting freaking mugged and not getting any calls and then when he breathed on a Brazilian the foul was called. Seems like a good reason to whine.

All you do when you start doing that is make it worse. Just have to shutup and play. If teams know they can get into his head like that, they'll keep doing it.

All you do when you start doing that is make it worse. Just have to shutup and play. If teams know they can get into his head like that, they'll keep doing it.

Is this post some kind of joke? Every single soccer superpower is full of players that whine, dive, playact, and generally act like asshats. If doing that "makes it worse" like it does for the Italians, Argentinians, etc. then by all means let's make it worse.

Adu did whine a lot. However, I think the reason is that he was getting freaking mugged and not getting any calls and then when he breathed on a Brazilian the foul was called. Seems like a good reason to whine.

Adu got lucky he didn't get a second card when he plowed into the goal keeper towards the end. He played well, but if he continues to act hot headed every time the other team gives him a few kicks, the book on him is going to be to get him PO'd ... ala Wayne Rooney.

Adu got lucky he didn't get a second card when he plowed into the goal keeper towards the end. He played well, but if he continues to act hot headed every time the other team gives him a few kicks, the book on him is going to be to get him PO'd ... ala Wayne Rooney.

Whatever. The Brazilians were trying to intimidate him and he had just been plowed over minutes before by a Brazilian defender when he trucked the keeper. He didn't take their shit.

And he didn't get pissed off. He got even. Then he left two of their jocks in the right corner on his way to setting up the second goal. My only problem with Adu's performance is his work away from the ball. He needs to find his own space more consistently. I have no problem with letting the ref know when he sucks and then knocking them over if they knocked you over. The ref didn't have the balls to send him off for the keeper incident because he knew that he let Adu get drilled earlier on that phantom call on Altidore that stopped his one-on-one against the keeper.

Wow...I haven't seen these guys play. I was very impressed. Adu needs to stop whining but he looks like he's finally developing. The Jose guy was exhausted but a very good striker. Still suspect in the back in my opinion though. Don't we have any teams that can develop defenders???!!! Thought the Beltran guy was terrible but maybe just had an off game.

On a side note, Sarkodie showed up at a practice for the high school team I was an asst. for when he was in 8th grade. We salivated. Never saw him again as the local rival got him and then he was gone from them as well.

Beltran wasn't that bad. He was gassed from having to mark Jo or Pato all game while being about half their size. An admirable effort from him.

My unpatented Football Manager US ratings:
Seitz - 8 - Damn solid effort and he can't really be faulted on the goal. Did make a few curious decisions and needs to work on his game in the air.
Beltran - 7 - An ok game, he looked worse having to go against the far physically superior Jo. It tooks its toll, and he was dead at the end.
Sturgis - 8 - He was everywhere in the first half, making big tackle after big tackle. A solid if unspectacular 2nd half.
Sarkodie - 6 - He didn't have a bad game, but of all the defenders, it seemed as though he did the least. He also technically scored the goal, but he meant well.
Wallace - 7 - He also had a very good defensive game and contributed well to the defense. He occassionally jumped on the runs a bit early, which led to a few too many Brazilian breaks.
Bradley - 5 - Redeemed himself somewhat at the end with just taking the ball off Brazilian's feet. However, his horrible header led directly to the Brazil goal, and he had an absolutely terrible first half. Just really bad first half... Tim Ward bad.
Szetela - 6 - He was better than a lot of people thought. He didn't contribute to the attack, but he was a little bit of everywhere in assisting the defense. He needs to show up in the next game though.
Rogers - 8 - Wow, he hasn't shown that well all tourney. A few very good runs on the left, and he has a great shot. If we can get him and Zizzo going at the same time.
Zizzo - 7 - A tireless effort, but he wasn't as dynamic as he has been the rest of the tourney.
Adu - 9 - Wow, when he is on, he is amazing, easily the best player on the field, announcer's Brazilian lovefest be damned. Assisted on both goals, and if not for odd refereeing, would have had a few goals himself.
Altidore - 8 - Great workrate, and he's been a great scavenger for his goals. The kind of player the US needs in the future, who can just score.

Subs
Igwe - 6 - He had a nice header, but his yellow gave Brazil a dangerous chance.
McCarty - 6 - Not enough time to impress, but he seems like a nice end of game sub.
Ward - 6 - Didn't screw up

Can some of you guys who watch soccer more than I do explain how the Brazilian didn't get his second yellow card when he tripped Adu at the edge of the box? It happened right before the Brazilian equalizer and about 2 minutes after the ref carded Adu for barely touching a Brazilian player. (which included that player clearly faking an injury)

Adu schooled the guy and had a clear path to the right side of the goa. If he's not going to call a second yellow for that, I don't see how anyone can say Adu got lucky by not getting a second yellow.

And yeah, I'm amazed that they continued to show the shot/cross that led to the second goal, but they didn't show making two Brazilians in a corner look idiotic. That was an amazing play and we continually got to see only the end of it.

Adu got lucky he didn't get a second card when he plowed into the goal keeper towards the end. He played well, but if he continues to act hot headed every time the other team gives him a few kicks, the book on him is going to be to get him PO'd ... ala Wayne Rooney.

Exactly.

Beltran wasn't that bad. He was gassed from having to mark Jo or Pato all game while being about half their size. An admirable effort from him.

My unpatented Football Manager US ratings:
Seitz - 8 - Damn solid effort and he can't really be faulted on the goal. Did make a few curious decisions and needs to work on his game in the air.
Beltran - 7 - An ok game, he looked worse having to go against the far physically superior Jo. It tooks its toll, and he was dead at the end.
Sturgis - 8 - He was everywhere in the first half, making big tackle after big tackle. A solid if unspectacular 2nd half.
Sarkodie - 6 - He didn't have a bad game, but of all the defenders, it seemed as though he did the least. He also technically scored the goal, but he meant well.
Wallace - 7 - He also had a very good defensive game and contributed well to the defense. He occassionally jumped on the runs a bit early, which led to a few too many Brazilian breaks.
Bradley - 5 - Redeemed himself somewhat at the end with just taking the ball off Brazilian's feet. However, his horrible header led directly to the Brazil goal, and he had an absolutely terrible first half. Just really bad first half... Tim Ward bad.
Szetela - 6 - He was better than a lot of people thought. He didn't contribute to the attack, but he was a little bit of everywhere in assisting the defense. He needs to show up in the next game though.
Rogers - 8 - Wow, he hasn't shown that well all tourney. A few very good runs on the left, and he has a great shot. If we can get him and Zizzo going at the same time.
Zizzo - 7 - A tireless effort, but he wasn't as dynamic as he has been the rest of the tourney.
Adu - 9 - Wow, when he is on, he is amazing, easily the best player on the field, announcer's Brazilian lovefest be damned. Assisted on both goals, and if not for odd refereeing, would have had a few goals himself.
Altidore - 8 - Great workrate, and he's been a great scavenger for his goals. The kind of player the US needs in the future, who can just score.

Subs
Igwe - 6 - He had a nice header, but his yellow gave Brazil a dangerous chance.
McCarty - 6 - Not enough time to impress, but he seems like a nice end of game sub.
Ward - 6 - Didn't screw up

I agree with most of these. I thought Seitz played well but he scared me a couple of times. I thought the Rogers kid played lights out the first half. Seemed to tire the second half.

Can some of you guys who watch soccer more than I do explain how the Brazilian didn't get his second yellow card when he tripped Adu at the edge of the box? It happened right before the Brazilian equalizer and about 2 minutes after the ref carded Adu for barely touching a Brazilian player. (which included that player clearly faking an injury)

Adu schooled the guy and had a clear path to the right side of the goa. If he's not going to call a second yellow for that, I don't see how anyone can say Adu got lucky by not getting a second yellow.

And yeah, I'm amazed that they continued to show the shot/cross that led to the second goal, but they didn't show making two Brazilians in a corner look idiotic. That was an amazing play and we continually got to see only the end of it.

It was just a "context" non-yellow. I can actually live with the call, if I were confident we'd get the same treatment going the other way. Then again, the yellow on Freddy was BS and could cost us later.

Ref rankings for US games so far:

Poland
..
..
Brazil
..











..
Korea

P.S. Does anyone think Rogers is a dead ringer for Lee from the British version of The Office?

We've committed 57 fouls and suffered 33.

v Korea - 26 committed, 12 suffered
v Poland - 6 committed, 9 suffered
v Brazil - 25 committed, 12 suffered

Only Nigeria, Uruguay and Poland have suffered fewer fouls per game, with Mexico and Congo fouling more per game.

The Korea game was absurd. Today, the discrepancy was a bit more appropriate.

I think any doubt that Adu and Altidore will have major roles to play on the 2010 WC team was completely removed.

I think any doubt that Adu and Altidore will have major roles to play on the 2010 WC team was completely removed.

if adu can play like that just once in the MLS you might be right

The only people who care about how Freddy plays in the MLS are Americans.

If that were true wouldn't he have been picked up by a bigger club by now? Hopefully yesterday was a better indication of his talent than the piss-poor MLS.

If that were true wouldn't he have been picked up by a bigger club by now? Hopefully yesterday was a better indication of his talent than the piss-poor MLS.

He could not be signed by a big club until he was 18. He turned 18 in early June.

The only people who care about how Freddy plays in the MLS are Americans.

well it is the league we watch and kinda call our own. forgive us for wondering if he will show up

why is it they go apeshit over Brazilian touches that go nowhere

British commentators are also bad for this.

He could not be signed by a big club until he was 18. He turned 18 in early June.

He went on Trial @ ManU months ago. Don't you think if a team was truly interested he would've been picked up, or there would be rumors floating?

I am an Adu supporter, and I don't subscribe to the theory that because he isn't tearing up the MLS he isn't good, but it's worrisome that teams aren't on him, IMO. He needs to get to Europe NOW. The MLS is WEAK.

He went on Trial @ ManU months ago. Don't you think if a team was truly interested he would've been picked up, or there would be rumors floating?

I am an Adu supporter, and I don't subscribe to the theory that because he isn't tearing up the MLS he isn't good, but it's worrisome that teams aren't on him, IMO. He needs to get to Europe NOW. The MLS is WEAK.


well he cant just go, hes under contract with the MLS. and they are iron fisted when it comes to keeping thier "stars" in the MLS. i bet he will have to wait until his contract runs out before he can leave

He went on Trial @ ManU months ago. Don't you think if a team was truly interested he would've been picked up, or there would be rumors floating?

I am an Adu supporter, and I don't subscribe to the theory that because he isn't tearing up the MLS he isn't good, but it's worrisome that teams aren't on him, IMO. He needs to get to Europe NOW. The MLS is WEAK.

Alex Ferguson has been watching him since the trial in December. Do you really think Man U or anyone would say, "you know, he turns 18 in 6 months, but we really don't feel like waiting an extra month to see how he does against other great 18-20 year olds... lets just sign him the day he turns 18".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/6199938.stm

For anyone that wanted to watch some highlights of the game:

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The move from Adu starts at around the 6:45 mark.

if adu can play like that just once in the MLS you might be right

He can't play like that in the MLS. I haven't seen one team in that league that plays the attacking and direct style of play that he obviously thrives in.

Team Adu up with Altidore in MLS and the same thing would happen.

He will also look like crap if he's put on the senior national team right now if they're going to keep playing the same style.

well he cant just go, hes under contract with the MLS. and they are iron fisted when it comes to keeping thier "stars" in the MLS. i bet he will have to wait until his contract runs out before he can leave

I believe his contract runs through the end of the 2008 season, but I think he would maybe be available for sale after this season. They (Real Salt Lake) can either sell him for whatever they can get, or they can let him play one more year knowing he will walk and bring nothing back to the team. It would make sense to sell him, even at discounted value I think.

MLS owns Adu's contract, not Real Salt Lake. I am guessing if MLS is offered $12-13 million by a big club then they will sell him. Beckham is the face of MLS now.

MLS owns Adu's contract, not Real Salt Lake. I am guessing if MLS is offered $12-13 million by a big club then they will sell him. Beckham is the face of MLS now.

That's technically true, but RSL keeps the money if he's sold, this is big recent change. So the league is likely to side with what the team wants to do a lot more than in the past, especially when you're looking at taking what you can get or getting nothing at all.

That's technically true, but RSL keeps the money if he's sold, this is big recent change. So the league is likely to side with what the team wants to do a lot more than in the past, especially when you're looking at taking what you can get or getting nothing at all.

I thought the rule stated that if it was a home-grown player, the club would keep the money.

Adu should set his sights on a Spanish club and not Chelsea/ManU or some premier league club where he will be muscled off the ball / tackled hard constantly.

I also think he should lower his expectations and look for a mid table club where he can get some playing time.

I don't think a major club will pass up the opportunity. He obviously has some potential, plus the Nike marketing machine working for him.

Can some of you guys who watch soccer more than I do explain how the Brazilian didn't get his second yellow card when he tripped Adu at the edge of the box?
The only remotely valid justification for it that I've seen is that the ref felt like the first caution was a mistake, so he was in effect downgrading that one by not cautioning on this play. Otherwise, it's a clear error as it was absolutely worth a caution for a technical foul.

And yeah, I'm amazed that they continued to show the shot/cross that led to the second goal, but they didn't show making two Brazilians in a corner look idiotic. That was an amazing play and we continually got to see only the end of it. Whoever was in the truck for FIFA for this game really dropped the ball on the replays of the play. All of the replays picked up after Adu had already beaten the Brazilians, which was the most interesting part of the sequence. (Blame FIFA, not ESPN, as ESPN is just picking up FIFA's feed, as you can tell by the occasion overlaid graphics and the single announcer -- and aside from the Brazil game, they haven't even had a graphic showing the time and the score, that was a special addition for the ESPN broadcast.)

whens the next US game?

Tonight against Uruguay I believe. 7:45 "local time" but I didn't catch what time zone that was in. Check your local listings I guess.