USA - Belgium

[UOducksTK1]

Our defense is awful, serious lack of communication from our back 4. Very concerned about how we will do in World Cup.

[Phenom]

You guys have been awful under Klinnsmann.

[Phenom]

Got this from another board:

"shots on goal from run of play/goals in 2013:

vs. Canada 4/0
@ Honduras 2/1
vs. Costa Rica 1/1
@ Mexico 0/0
vs. Belgium 0/0"

[UOducksTK1]

Got this from another board:

"shots on goal from run of play/goals in 2013:

vs. Canada 4/0
@ Honduras 2/1
vs. Costa Rica 1/1
@ Mexico 0/0
vs. Belgium 0/0"

Beyond pitiful. I miss the Arenas years, even though I could complain about him all day too. At least he could produce results.

[Duck07]

Screw Joe Theisman talking about LeBron as a QB, put him at Goalie! Or put him in the box on set pieces, lol. I think all we really need is LeBron, Megatron, AD and DAT on the pitch and we'd give other countries the fits.

[greenyellow]

The problem with soccer in this country is that the best athletes play more American-associated sports while in other countries, soccer is king and the sport everyone wants to play. The US team is basically made up of second and third tier athletes compared to the rest of the soccer world.

[Duck07]

The problem with soccer in this country is that the best athletes play more American-associated sports while in other countries, soccer is king and the sport everyone wants to play. The US team is basically made up of second and third tier athletes compared to the rest of the soccer world.

Slowly but surely that will start to change, perhaps even sooner than we may think due to the "shrinking" of the globe from advances in technology. It also helps that the best soccer players make some serious bank and if given the choice, would you rather play in Serie A or La Liga or for the Cleveland Browns or Milwaukee Bucks? I'd go with Serie A myself as my family is from Liguria and the women in Genoa vs Cleveland really shouldn't be up for debate.

[Phenom]

Lol the best athletes don't make the best soccer players. Look at Spain.

[UOducksTK1]

The problem with soccer in this country is that the best athletes play more American-associated sports while in other countries, soccer is king and the sport everyone wants to play. The US team is basically made up of second and third tier athletes compared to the rest of the soccer world.

Perhaps, I think a bigger problem is we still have too many players on the national team that play for the MLS. If we want to beat the best, you have to practice/play with the best. We need these guys playing in the premier leagues overseas.

And coaching has also been a serious issue. We have enough talent to be a top 15-20 team. Right now, we are a top 30-40 team (at best).

Watching last night's game, we are just lazy. Most loose balls would go Belgium's way because they wanted it more. The entire mindset and vibe on the squad is so dull, and that comes down to coaching, again.

[Bud Lee]

look good for the first 3 minutes, then it went to hell.

Despite the 4-0 loss, it is the offense I'm worried about.

[USUaggieDuck]

look good for the first 3 minutes, then it went to hell.

Despite the 4-0 loss, it is the offense I'm worried about.

Wasn't it 4-2?


Sent from my iPad

[Tray Dub]

Lol the best athletes don't make the best soccer players. Look at Spain.

I think that's just an American-centric definition of athleticism. Because of the sports we like we tend to see size and strength as the key characteristics of athleticism, but for a lot of athletes it's better to be nimble, have a strong leg, have great endurance, that kind of stuff.

Interesting to think about what exactly a great athlete is, and what athleticism is. It'd be a good debate. Is there some standard definition of athlete or does it depend on the sport? Is Lebron (or pick someone else if you prefer) the best athlete in the world, or is he just the best at his sport?

[Bud Lee]

look good for the first 3 minutes, then it went to hell.

Despite the 4-0 loss, it is the offense I'm worried about.

Wasn't it 4-2?


Sent from my iPad

yeah...it was...not sure why I hit that "0"

[justducky0]

soccer is still growing in the US. It will take some more years for the youth soccer to really start pumping out players at a world class level. Another factor that is an issue is youth soccer is very expensive here in the US making it tougher for kids to play if they dont come from wealthy families. The US has the athletes its just going to take time for it to grow. Also I agree.. after watching leagues from Spain, Italy, Germany and England.. the MLS is horrible. Its like watching a varsity basketball game and then going to watch a jr high game and trying to compare them. The US team needs to be 90% made up of players who play in Europe and 10%MLS just to keep the home fans happy.

[UOducksTK1]

soccer is still growing in the US. It will take some more years for the youth soccer to really start pumping out players at a world class level. Another factor that is an issue is youth soccer is very expensive here in the US making it tougher for kids to play if they dont come from wealthy families. The US has the athletes its just going to take time for it to grow. Also I agree.. after watching leagues from Spain, Italy, Germany and England.. the MLS is horrible. Its like watching a varsity basketball game and then going to watch a jr high game and trying to compare them. The US team needs to be 90% made up of players who play in Europe and 10%MLS just to keep the home fans happy.

To me, that's the main issue. If you start playing with the best, our national team will inherently start playing better.