From: KaiserD2 on
The US goal was horrible (for England) but hardly unprecedented.
Waldir Perez let in a very similar one against Russia for Brazil in
1982 on a much longer, weaker shot. That great team came back to win
2-1. The French keeper, whose name escapes me, also let one in that
was just as bad against Germany early in the 1986 semi-final and the
French couldn't recover from it. Still, Green deserves every bit of
obloquy that he gets--he failed Goalkeeping 1. His feet looked nailed
to the floor, he stuck both his hands out to his right and the ball
bounced off them. Certainly not an own goal, however.

I cannot understand how experienced managers like Capello can be
so stupid as to put badly injured players in the WC. King couldn't
make it through the game, what a shock!, and he's stuck with
Carragher, whom the US could run rings around, and Algeria and
Slovenia will too. And the guy's already on a card.

As was noted in the big thread,several of the tackles would have
gotten red cards in 2002, of the Henry-Ronaldinho variety. I thought
those were too harsh at the time, though, and I'm glad they stuck with
yellows. In fact I think the refereeing so far has been excellent and
the play quite clean on the whole.

Some England comments: Lennon seemed out to prove Capello should
have picked Walcott instead. He repeatedly refused to take the left
back on. Heskey had a terrific game and actually England's attack
fell apart when he was substituted. Rooney was well contained but
showed he can open up a lot of space for others, e. g. Gerrard.
Lampard was not able to make an impact in the box as usual, I'm sorry
to say, when playing for England. Johnson did very little
offensively. Cole was a star.

I think this is the best US team ever and I think they gave a
fine performance. The goal was a gift but it was hardly their only
chance. I didn't like the way they went into a shell but have to
admit that it paid off. The midfield is very strong. Donovan is a
grat player. I caught some of Algeria-Slovenia this morning and I
thought they both actually looked pretty good--got the ball down the
field fast. And now Slovenia leads the group! Tough situation for
the US, Slovenia can clinch by beating us, but I think we can rise to
the occasion. The English defense may have trouble against those
teams, in my opinion.

DK

(Looking forward to Serbia-Ghana!)
From: Manx Gunner on
On Sun, 13 Jun 2010 09:35:18 -0400, wrote...

> Carragher, whom the US could run rings around, and Algeria and
> Slovenia will too. And the guy's already on a card.

Indeed, very much this. Carragher should have been sent off.
From: Clément on
On Jun 13, 10:35 am, Kaise... wrote:
>      The US goal was horrible (for England) but hardly unprecedented.
> Waldir Perez let in a very similar one against Russia for Brazil in
> 1982 on a much longer, weaker shot.  That great team came back to win
> 2-1.  The French keeper, whose name escapes me,

Joël Bats.

> also let one in that
> was just as bad against Germany early in the 1986 semi-final and the
> French couldn't recover from it.

Bats had a strong World Cup, but was really unlucky in that crucial
moment. You are correct, things like that happen.

(..)
>       I think this is the best US team ever and I think they gave a
> fine performance.

I can't tell if this is the best US team ever, but I really like this
team. I love teams that become better than the sum of their parts
through organization and discipline (not that the US team is only
about that, but those are traits that stand out to me).

> I caught some of Algeria-Slovenia this morning and I
> thought they both actually looked pretty good--got the ball down the
> field fast.

I thought both looked distinctly inferior to either the US or England,
although head-to-head could be a whole different story.

>  And now Slovenia leads the group!  Tough situation for
> the US, Slovenia can clinch by beating us,

Even a tie could put the US in an awkward situation, unfortunately.


Abraço,

Luiz Mello
From: Mike Babyak on
Manx Gunner wrote:
> On Sun, 13 Jun 2010 09:35:18 -0400, wrote...
>
>> Carragher, whom the US could run rings around, and Algeria and
>> Slovenia will too. And the guy's already on a card.
>
> Indeed, very much this. Carragher should have been sent off.

If not for the first studs up tackle, then at least a second yellow for
the clothesline on Findley to prevent a breakaway.
From: Manx Gunner on
On Sun, 13 Jun 2010 11:25:30 -0400, Mike Babyak wrote...

> > Indeed, very much this. Carragher should have been sent off.
>
> If not for the first studs up tackle, then at least a second yellow for
> the clothesline on Findley to prevent a breakaway.

Or a straight red for being the last defender and denying Findley a
goalscoring opportunity with a stupid, cynical foul.