Really on endeavour and will to win they deserve to get through, but as we found out at Wembley cup final they bring on a quality player that is fresh in extra time and that just makes the difference.
USA deserved alot better than what they got. Never gave up and even at 2-0 down kept on going. If team USA had had a proper goal scorer then it would be they who progressed. Put England to shame. If only England players had shown that level of pride - passion and desire.
Only seen the Yanks a few times but on last nights display surely we should be looking at a few of their players. Commission to ellewood obviously.
Was really rooting for USA last night and if it had gone to penalties I think they may have won it. They showed real team spirit and desire. What they lacked in ability they more than made up for. Bit like City? When England got knocked out I read an article saying that our national team is consistently less than the sum of its parts. The players might individually have the apparent necessary abilities but in reality something is always missing. Maybe Roy would get more from players like Thudd/Livermore/Davies etc that would make the team more than the sum of its parts for once.
Be hard to get most of our players. The ones from Germany all play in the Bundesliga so they wouldnt be cheep and a couple of them just signed for new Bundesliga clubs. Green (the 19 year old german kid who scored at the end) plays for Bayern Munich's B team so perhaps one could get him in on a loan. He is really highly rated by Bayern Munich so no chance we could probably buy him. The MLS players would be the most likely ones we could get minus Bradley and Dempsey who we couldnt afford. Im sure we could get Gonzalez for a back up CB (3-4 mill), or Yedlin (2-3 mill, the 20 year old RB that played most of the last game). Johansson who plays for AZ and is their top scorer we could get but that would be a lot of money for a back up (PL clubs were trying to get him last window and I think they were quoted a price of around 6 mill). I am sure there are up and coming young MLS players that we could get as well. Though I dont know the rules on if they could even get work permits not having featured for the national team yet. Or even if you could sign a player from the mls and put them in your development squad.
McBean or Zardes? I'll assume McBean because he's always been a target forward, He's only 19, maybe 20 now so give him a few years and I'll think he'll be up for it. He's got a good first touch, and he's decent at keeping the ball and brining teammates into play, his finishing needs some improvement, but I think he hasn't been utilized properly by Bruce Arena. I do see him coming into the second half of the season and getting some serious minutes as the two strikers the Galaxy brought in this season have been terrible. He's represented the USA at youth levels, but he's also eligible to play for Scotland, and they were sniffing around a while back. Zardes is an interesting one, his first touch is poor, but he's extremely strong and quick. He has a lot of skill with the ball at his feet, but his finishing has been poor, although he's scored 4 goals in his last 4 games. He was used primarily as a wide player last season, but he's been moved up top to partner Robbie Keane this season. If he keeps progressing as he has this season, I full expect him to be in the conversation next World Cup cycle, and possibly Gold Cup if Jurgen brings a B team. Don't want to beat a dead horse, but I think we NEEDED Landon last night. We had no pace to hit Belgium on the counter, and while his legs have gone he's still faster than Dempsey, Bedoya, Zusi, or Wondo. Plus the man made a career out of counter attacking.
It was Zardes that I was thinking of. He is the one with the blond mohawk thing? Thats the one that I was thinking of. You did hear why Donovan wasnt picked right? It was leaked from the US camp that Klinsmann was forced to make a deal with Green. Green was only going to commit to the US if he was picked for this world cup. If we did not agree to take him in our 23 he was going to commit to Germany and go to the world cup with them next time. As Germany told him that he was not in contention for this world cup but would be on their squad for the next one. So Klinsmann made the call to take him instead of Donovan for the future instead of taking Donovan for the present.
Yeah Zardes has the stupid giant Mohawk. He apparently keeps his hair like that so his grandma can tell which one he is on TV. Now you'd imagine that he could take his grandma to the eye doctor and buy her a better tv. He's still a work in progress, he's a great athlete, but he's still developing his game. He does seem to have a good work ethic and I won't be surprised to see him playing in a top European league in a few years. I heard that back when he was originally cut, but it wasn't just Green that could have been cut instead of Landon. What about Brad Davis? He's older than Landon so it wasn't a pick for the future. Chandler, albeit a fullback could have been cut instead of Landon. While I think Wondow deserved a spot on the plane, given the choice I'd pick Landon over him every time. People seem to forget that in Landon's 12 or so games after coming back from his sabbatical he had something like 8 goals and 9 assists. It's clearly wasn't an issue of him not performing. So in my opinion it boils down to either Klinnsman has a personal issue with him, or Klinnsman thought by leaving Landon at home, it would not only let the squad, but the country know who is in charge. It would also force other players to step up. Players couldn't look to Landon to step up in the big moments, they'd have to step up themselves. Now bringing Landon might have changed the outcome of the groups, but had Landon been subbed on instead of Wondolowski, we'd probably getting ready to face Argentina. Can't go back and change it now, and I'm extremely proud of everyone on the team, and I'm only sad because we now have to wait until 2018 for the next World Cup. Still a bit bitter about not being able to go to Brazil, I had saved up the money but one my best friends decided to go and have a destination wedding.
He put Wondo on for his work rate. Johansson should have been on in hindsight as he is a natural finisher, where wondo just isnt. Even though he scores goals for fun in the MLS they arnt the finishing type of goals. He picked Davies for his free kick ability but then didnt really use him. I think Donovan should have gone instead of Davies or Chandler I have to agree with that. The thing that I didnt get with Davies was that the man is just about over the hill. Why leave Donovan out of the 23 because he is getting old but then take Davies who is in the same situation but has no WC experience? I am sure it was the Green thing and a personal element as well. Donovan was a leader and it could have been a thing where Klinsmann thought he wasnt the type of leader the team needed. We needed Bradley to step up but his performances were not up to character. I have a hard time being to critical of the picks after how we performed. Klinsmann has been doing a wonderful job with the youth set up and the national team.
Biggest issue with Davis and his free kicks is, we have Zusi who is just as good at set pieces. Landon Donavon also takes good corners and free kicks. I surprisingly have no issue with guaranteeing Green a spot to commit to the US, but there where a few other head scratchers. I think it's easy to be critical because of how close we were to beating Belgium, and that raises the question, "what would have a made a difference?" Had we lost 2-0, 3-0 in 90 minutes I don't think anyone would ask questions, but has a genuine chance to win that game for 120 minutes. The only real thing anyone could question will be Landon Donavon's absence, and it was always going to be a controversial topic unless we won the World Cup. Jurgen got just about everything right, and from his appointment I was always a bit worried that with the German players he was bringing in we'd start to lose that winning mentality, and if anything the team had more of than they've had in years passed.
