Nice win for Ghana....

[fusnik11]

I am sure they are partying in Accra right now.

Is anyone really surprised? The group wasn't as difficult as projected and the U.S. was far worse than expected. (How anyone thought the U.S. had a top 15 team let alone top 5 team is beyond reason)

The skill set of the U.S. squad was some of the worst in the tournament, no shots on goal, sloppy passing, bad spacing, no solid runs, just a bad performance from a bad team.

Oh well, there is always South Africa.

[livecoug]

Originally Posted by fusnik11

I am sure they are partying in Accra right now.

Is anyone really surprised? The group wasn't as difficult as projected and the U.S. was far worse than expected. (How anyone thought the U.S. had a top 15 team let alone top 5 team is beyond reason)

The skill set of the U.S. squad was some of the worst in the tournament, no shots on goal, sloppy passing, bad spacing, no solid runs, just a bad performance from a bad team.

Oh well, there is always South Africa.

that was awful.. not surprised, but we were actually closer than I thought.. we coulda made it out.. boy did we not play inspired football

[All-American]

Originally Posted by livecoug

that was awful.. not surprised, but we were actually closer than I thought.. we coulda made it out.. boy did we not play inspired football

We sure didn't. It looked more like soccer to me.

[TyronneBiggums]

I think this game serves as a MAJOR setback for American soccer.

This was by far the most hyped USA team ever. Not just the fact that they lost twice, but the way they lost the games, with sloppy play, etc. I think there were a lot of casual USA fans who would have liked to have seen the USA advance and might have started to give a damn about USA soccer. Now I think itll take a big run in South Africa in 2012 to get there. Just too bad.

[SteelBlue]

That penalty kick was absolute bull. Anyone else get the feeling that the US team was marked by the refs all along? There were some weird happenings.

[DrumNFeather]

Originally Posted by SteelBlue

That penalty kick was absolute bull. Anyone else get the feeling that the US team was marked by the refs all along? There were some weird happenings.

Honestly, I think that is an easy excuse in any sport, for people to make. Was it a bad call? Yes. But when your team cannot muster a goal (or two to win) in the second half against a team picked last in your group with the motivation to move on to the second round...then you only have yourself to blame...

I understand that in an international setting, it would be reasonable to think that we would get screwed...I just don't think we're that good. When calls go against us, it just compounds it.

[Cali Coug]

Originally Posted by DrumNFeather

Honestly, I think that is an easy excuse in any sport, for people to make. Was it a bad call? Yes. But when your team cannot muster a goal (or two to win) in the second half against a team picked last in your group with the motivation to move on to the second round...then you only have yourself to blame...

I understand that in an international setting, it would be reasonable to think that we would get screwed...I just don't think we're that good. When calls go against us, it just compounds it.

I actually think the team was very good this year (though uninspired for some strange reason). The penalty kick was huge for Ghana. It changed the entire flow of the game. Rather than Ghana spreading out more for scoring opportunities as it would have in a tied game, they were able to drop more people back and play a tight defense, making it VERY difficult to score. That and the fact that Ghana players seemed to be writhing on the ground in tremendous pain for about half of the second half did the US in.

I am so sick of players flopping on the ground and being wheeled off on a stretcher, only to bounce right back up after wasting 3 minutes of everyone's time. Why is that not a yellow card?

The US also could have beaten Italy if it was 11 on 11 soccer. As is, playing with only 9 men and getting a tie against a solid Italy team was quite impressive (even though their goal was an own goal).

Overall, I thought the US did quite well with the cards it was dealt (difficult group, AWFUL officiating, ejections of key US players affecting both the Italy and Ghana matches).

[fusnik11]

Originally Posted by hoyacoug

I actually think the team was very good this year (though uninspired for some strange reason). The penalty kick was huge for Ghana. It changed the entire flow of the game. Rather than Ghana spreading out more for scoring opportunities as it would have in a tied game, they were able to drop more people back and play a tight defense, making it VERY difficult to score. That and the fact that Ghana players seemed to be writhing on the ground in tremendous pain for about half of the second half did the US in.

I am so sick of players flopping on the ground and being wheeled off on a stretcher, only to bounce right back up after wasting 3 minutes of everyone's time. Why is that not a yellow card?

The US also could have beaten Italy if it was 11 on 11 soccer. As is, playing with only 9 men and getting a tie against a solid Italy team was quite impressive (even though their goal was an own goal).

Overall, I thought the US did quite well with the cards it was dealt (difficult group, AWFUL officiating, ejections of key US players affecting both the Italy and Ghana matches).

Interesting how we view things so differently on so many different subjects. (not specifically soccer, on all things, and all posters here)

Before the game against Ghana the US had ONE shot on goal. You heard that right, one shot on goal. They played poorly against an overhyped Czech team, played tought against a decent Italian team and played ok against an underrated Ghana squad.

The yellow cards/red cards weren't that big of a deal, and as disappointing as the penalty in the box was, I don't think it was a European conspiracy, as it was one of the better judges.

It boils down to this, the US does not have a striker, Landon is highly overrated, their skills are marginal at best, (did you see the way they moved the ball?), and their coaching is subpar. This idea that US soccer has improved drastically over the past twelve years has been bunked.

[Cali Coug]

Originally Posted by fusnik11

Interesting how we view things so differently on so many different subjects. (not specifically soccer, on all things, and all posters here)

Before the game against Ghana the US had ONE shot on goal. You heard that right, one shot on goal. They played poorly against an overhyped Czech team, played tought against a decent Italian team and played ok against an underrated Ghana squad.

The yellow cards/red cards weren't that big of a deal, and as disappointing as the penalty in the box was, I don't think it was a European conspiracy, as it was one of the better judges.

It boils down to this, the US does not have a striker, Landon is highly overrated, their skills are marginal at best, (did you see the way they moved the ball?), and their coaching is subpar. This idea that US soccer has improved drastically over the past twelve years has been bunked.

I agree they played poorly against the Czechs. That was just a bad game, no question. They absolutely redeemed themselves against Italy, though. The Italians have a fantastic team, and the US was completely in control of that game. They owned the midfield. I don't know how you can claim the two redcards weren't a big deal. The entire complexion of the game changed after those cards. Rather than being able to be aggressive, the US was forced to play defense for the second half. Furthermore, they lost Eddie Pope and Pablo for the Ghana game!

They played well against Ghana too, for the most part. Ghana is very underrated, I think. They destroyed a solid Czech team.

The US had a very tough draw, and they did fairly well. Without the two cards against Italy, they may have even advanced. We will never know.

I do agree that Donovan is overrated. I get so frustrated with his game. He looks timid on the field and rarely attacks the defense in any competent way. Beasley also looked very unenthusiastic for most of the Cup.

Too bad. The US really relied on those two getting shots off. Losing Pablo was a big deal for them.

[Detroitdad]

Three cheers for Ghana! Does it make me unpatriotic to want Ghana to win? I really could care less about our soccer team and it means so much to Ghanaians. I find myself always rooting for the little guy.