Saturday, July 18, 2015

Your USMNT LIne-Up v Cuba

Of course, I am not amused, and of course, it's only Cuba so it won't matter much.








- Greg Seltzer
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19 comments:

dikranovich said...

It's really probably pointless to discuss a meaningless game, in this meaningful tournament. The outcome never really being in doubt. More island nation stew Wednesday night for USA.

July 18, 2015 at 6:09 PM
Andy Palmer said...

Jamaica has a lot of English league players. They're not only athletic, but have a level of organization I've never seen in a Caribbean team before. They'll give the US a good test.

July 18, 2015 at 11:44 PM
dikranovich said...

Andy, great point, but Jamaica has always had a lot of English league players, because they have a lot of players who are English with Jamaican heritage, like Morgan heritage. They are probably organized because they have a German coach, but their goalkeeper plays for the Pittsburgh river hounds.

USA have bundas league players who like to dominate conference players. Hoffenheim just beat a conference team 15-1 yesterday. Stop Giles Barnes, stop Simon Dawkins, and Jamaica are heading back to Montigo bay before the weekend.

Andy, maybe the USA men's team have been taking notes from the women and they will be playing better with each successive game. That would mean big troubles for jam rock.

July 19, 2015 at 7:40 AM
Andy Palmer said...

DK. Actually, Jamaica have more English players this cycle than normal - their German coach has made a concerted effort to find English players with Jamaican heritage. Not many years ago, most of their team played for the top Jamaican league teams.

July 19, 2015 at 7:53 AM
soccer boy said...

I disagree. The last carribean team that was this good was the trinadad and tobago side that went to wc 06. Dwight york, shaka hislop. That team was solid. This will be a tough game. The last three times we played them they were tough to play against. I say it now it would not be an upset if we lose to jamaica! Real talk

July 19, 2015 at 10:14 AM
dikranovich said...

Jamaica is not going to park the bus like Cuba. They are going to attack, and that might be what gets them in trouble. Jamaica has a long history of using British born players on their national team. The reggae boyz of 98 are the best of the Caribbean nations, I mean Dwight Yorke was 35 in 06. USA will be going hard for a shutout and can you guys really see deuce and crew not scoring three or more goals on Wednesday night, because I can't.

July 19, 2015 at 3:13 PM
justinwkoehn said...

Any thoughts on the Ream snub for the Cuba match? He was anticipating the start, given he was Brooks perceived backup at LCB. I guess JK went away with pairings, and just played his #2 and #3 CBs, with Ream apparently the #4.

July 20, 2015 at 7:38 AM
Kirk Diggler said...

I wasn't aware that Cuba parked the bus. LOL.

Klinsman has never shown Ream any respect. Not Lichaj.

July 20, 2015 at 3:22 PM
dikranovich said...

Kirk, Cuba had one shot on target. Guzan had to make one save. Cuba won one corner kick. They did have 38% possession. These numbers indicate a defensive posture. Where's the beef???

July 20, 2015 at 8:12 PM
justinwkoehn said...

An inability to move the ball forward or maintain possession doesn't necessarily mean a defensive posture, but it's a pretty good indicator.

July 21, 2015 at 8:31 AM
dikranovich said...

Justin, does Cuba having 10 men in their own half of the field indicate a defensive posture?

Jamaica are going to be on their heels tomorrow night, for the whole 90, so there is no need to worry about how hard Cuba parked the bus. It just doesn't matter! It just doesn't matter! It just doesn't matter!

July 21, 2015 at 8:47 AM
Greg Seltzer said...

I did not see Cuba bunkering. I saw them unwisely opening up space for us.

July 21, 2015 at 1:18 PM
dikranovich said...

Is Jamaica going to unwisely open up space for the USA attack?

Does it really even matter? Coach klinsmann is going to push a lot of players into the attack, and the second half subs are going to be brutal on Jamaica. You would think that a country that has employed the counter attack style of football for the better part of a quarter century could also, almost intrinsically, defend against it.

July 21, 2015 at 2:06 PM
dikranovich said...

If DMB is healthy, his leadership would be nice to have on the field. FJ slides over to the right flank. It might be nice to see our fastest player have a go at Jamaica right off the bat. Johnson and yedlin on the same side sounds like a nightmare for a world class side, let alone a Caribbean team.

Zardes can make some serious noise playing up top with deuce. Gyasi is such a nice presence on the field with his backtracking and high pressure and relentless attitude. Jozy really should be taking notes.

Jamaica is going to be facing, hands down, the stiffest competition in this tournament to date. We will find out tomorrow night if the USA is getting better as the tournament progresses.

July 21, 2015 at 2:55 PM
Kirk Diggler said...

Cuba did not bunker. If that was a bunker then they are a lot worse than I thought. What they are for sure is undisciplined and unorganized at the back four.

Jamaica will bunker, much more effectively than Cuba did (or didn't). And I've no doubt if they get a whiff of goal they will be a hell of a lot more deadly than Cuba showed. I'm not expecting to lose, but If Jamaica has us at 1-1 going to extra time, it's Ghana all over again, with Alvarado taking the place of Boca and DeMerit as the goat.

July 21, 2015 at 5:45 PM
dikranovich said...

Kirk, maybe you are a galaxy fan with the Alvarado comment, but he is the one player on the team with major club silverware in the form of the concacaf champions league title. What gives???

I mean, Cuba is worse than you thought? Maybe missing seven players had something to do with it. Maybe the USA is better than you think.

I don't see asamoah gyan on the Jamaica roster. Sorry!

Jamaica are going to have their feathers ruffled tomorrow, early and maybe often.

July 21, 2015 at 7:56 PM
dikranovich said...

You figure Jamaica will be a heck of a lot more deadly in front of goal, than Cuba was, but what say you about how much more deadly the USA will be if they get the number of chances against Jamaica that Haiti had?

July 22, 2015 at 1:29 AM
Greg Seltzer said...

Please refrain from piling up consecutive posts that have no reply with the same stuff you already said.

July 22, 2015 at 3:33 AM
Kirk Diggler said...

"Jamaica are going to have their feathers ruffled tomorrow, early and maybe often."

Seemed it was the complete opposite of your prediction.

July 23, 2015 at 12:52 AM

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