Well it comes down to this, one game to decide who gets the berth in the Confederations cup. 2 teams headed in opposite directions but anything can happen in a single elimination game. October 10th at the Rose Bowl. This is for all the marbles, which team gets to go to Russia the year before the World Cup and play top level soccer. The last time the USA made it was 2009 in South Africa we made it all the way to the finals taking a 2-0 lead on Brazil only to lose 3-2 as they stormed back in the 2nd half. This got the team seasoning as they went on to win the group stage at the 2010 world cup. Going to the Confederations cup is a huge leg up for the world cup. Gonna be a crazy game as the Rose bowl will be primarily for Mexico - who ya got? DD
I think Mexico wins the game easily. The US has looked awful recently and the back line may be the most dysfunctional it's been under Jürgen. Despite the attempts to distribute tickets more evenly, I bet the crowd will be dominated by El Tri fans and it'll feel like a road game for the US.
I will be there. I'm arriving on Pasadena on that October 10th if anyone wants to catch a brew that Sat. afternoon or Sunday morning.
I have mixed feelings. One the one had I always want Mexico to win their games but on the other I really would like some of our players to have a summer off. For some players, they haven't had a summer off in 3+ years. If they win you're talking 4-6 years for some players without a summer off, it's crazy!!! Also, the confeds is overrated. You could argue that Mexico has had slightly better WC results when not participating in the confeds. From the USA side, a win for them will sort of validate Klinsmann's plan. But overall his plan has been ****, with crazy call ups, line ups, and results. I know many USA fans who want him out but a win makes that impossible. A loss and that gives Gulati an easy opportunity for a firing which will make many happy. I guess what I'm saying is what a stupid unnecessary money grab of a game. There are positives and negatives for both teams with either a win or a loss.
I read yesterday that Klinsmann is already saying that the #1 CB pairing is Brooks and Alvarado so congrats on the 4-1 win Mexico. As long as the youth get that olympic birth i'll be ok with whatever happens on the 10th.
LOLs. Hahahahahahaha... hilarious, "big". Hilarious. :grin: <iframe src="https://streamable.com/e/hplh" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen scrolling="no"></iframe>
This is the weirdest rivalry, rarely are both teams doing well, before the WC, Mexico was crashing out, now it seems that after a good Euro tour the USA is on it's heels. I guess the roster turnover is starting to take it's toll, we lost Bocanegra and Donovan in 2 years time and they both had been leaders for more than a decade. No one is stepping up now, as Dempsey is not really a leader, and Bradley is good, but not a GREAT player or leader it seems. DD
I have no prediction to make because there is no way to tell which US team and which mexico team will show up.
Was the USA team vs. Brazil missing anyone important that will be called later or a superstar aside from Dempsey (injured)? Ferretti opted to keep Ochoa and the Dos Santos kids out. http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/114/...arsh-lesson-vs-brazil-but-remain?ICID=AR_RS_1 How can the US players remain "confident" after their porous D let Brazil dance samba in the penalty box? The youngsters should start.
They started 4 central defenders across the back line against Brazil. Ream especially on the left side was grossly out of position. Fabian Johnson was greatly missed on the right side, and there was no natural left back on the roster for this last round of call ups I don't think. Maybe Greg Garza, but he didn't play.
Cameron on the right side moved forward and turned the ball over about 10 times - it was like..dang man, pass to the guys in the same colored shirts for once ! DD
To be fair, Ream was the least worst of the 4 starters. Cameron did make some bad passes but there were others where he was expecting the intended recipient to hold off his man. There were a lot of times where the Brazilian defender just went past Jozy to intercept passes. Cameron is a good passer and is good on the ball. Don't forget that he was once a center mid with the Dynamo.
It's not as if the USA team (according to Klinsmann) has better options at LB other than DMBeasley. JK doesn't really believe in Garza, Johnson is solid at left back but is even better at right back and in midfield(basically everywhere he plays). Also Ream on the left side wasn't grossly out of position dude, he has played a fair amount of left back with Bolton(just like Cameron playing right back with Stoke). This wasn't as crazy and silly an experiment as Klinsy playing Bedoya in a defensive midfield position which Bedoya hasn't played before and isn't comfortable playing in. It all comes down to the lineup Klinsy chooses to go with. He doesn't think he has the players but meh, some would beg to disagree. He just doesn't call up some that might deserve a call up.
