The 2021 Gold Cup

[Napoleon 8700]

7 minutes ago, Zepol87 said:

For the semis. I have no idea how much the discount. Haven't bought. Discount code: USASUPP21

https://seatgeek.com/concacaf-gold-cup-semifinal-tickets/soccer/2021-07-29-6-30-pm/5407521

I don’t think that the USMNT will make the Semis, but if they do, it will definitely be their last game of the tournament.

[Zepol87 9191]

Nah we winning this bitch

[WBT 20670]

It's cool that they played at the Cotton Bowl.  f jerryworld

[Hagbard Celine 10925]

during the burn years it was universally and unanimously recognized as the best pitch in the western hemisphere.  astroturf was installed in 70 but removed in 93 for the world cup in 94.  iirc it is kentucky grass cultivated in oregon or something bizarre like that.  if you have never walked on it do so if you get the chance.  it's the pitch equivalent of a 10000-thread-count sheet with the resilience of a solid sponge.  it consumes an enormous amount of water and the city of dallas pays several million per year to keep it going for the 2nd saturday in october.

as they should.

we need the same exact pitch at dkr.

 

[Napoleon 8700]

2 minutes ago, Hagbard Celine said:

during the burn years it was universally and unanimously recognized as the best pitch in the western hemisphere.  astroturf was installed in 70 but removed in 93 for the world cup in 94.  iirc it is kentucky grass cultivated in oregon or something bizarre like that.  if you have never walked on it do so if you get the chance.  it's the pitch equivalent of a 10000-thread-count sheet with the resilience of a solid sponge.  it consumes an enormous amount of water and the city of dallas pays several million per year to keep it going for the 2nd saturday in october.

as they should.   we need the same exact pitch at dkr.

There is also the Grambling vs Southern game the first Saturday in October...

...as well as tons of soccer games throughout the year, youth and professional. (Just not MLS.)

[Hagbard Celine 10925]

yes, but the only reason that pitch is maintained to '94 standard is the second saturday in october.

[Captain Ron 12923]

Whoever posted these first - props to you. These are good.

 

 

His point #2 (3:15 in the video) is SPOT ON. You ask why MLS players shouldn't be in consideration for any position on the USMNT for qualifying? Point #2 nails this. 

[Braff Zacklin 13664]

Spent the last few days camping and fishing. Got in this afternoon. First thing I did was fire up a replay of the US-Canada game. Wow.

Usually, after a big win, I like to savor the moment--gloat, if you will--by watching highlights, reading articles, etc. Not sure I can stand to watch another second of that, however.

I'll give some credit to Canada (especially their penchant for diving, which has come lights years in a short amount of time and now fits right in with the rest of CONCACAF), but overall, it was a very uninspired and disjointed effort from our Yanks. Zardes and Dike on the pitch at the same time? That might be worse than Altidore and Dempsey starting up top. After 30 minutes, both were gassed. It was almost amusing watching them jog around and do nothing for the rest of the match ... at least until Zardes was subbed out and Dike hurt himself diving.

Roldan seems like a nice guy but he's overmatched even at the Gold Cup level. Always one touch too many.

Busio had a step backward, and Hoppe dribbled into double- and triple-teams too often, but given how everyone else performed, it's hard to blame them. (On that note, still hope both start the quarterfinal. Busio is getting massive XP, and Hoppe's technical/energetic presence is needed to balance out Dike OR Zardes.)

I keep telling myself not to get too bent out of shape. After all, this is our B-/C+ team. And they were playing on only two day's rest. But christ on a cracker, that was awful.

[Braff Zacklin 13664]

On 7/18/2021 at 4:39 PM, Hagbard Celine said:

and cannon shoots PERPINDICULAR to the face of goal

I ask this of everyone present and of no one in particular: how is it possible for a PROFESSIONAL to miss a shot that badly? It surpasses all understanding.

[MidTexHorn 822]

It truly was shockingly bad

[Hagbard Celine 10925]

the standard US-media dipshit version of events disconnected from the international soccer economy still infests the mainstream understanding of the nats, the exhibition, and our/it's place in the world.  espn had the gall to publish beerholder's quotes about "suffering" and "blaming the heat" for the team's struggles

zero assessment of canada and who/what suppressed the united states for 75 minutes yesterday

canada are being talked about as having a golden generation

they have a nice #9 that scores a lot at besiktas, but who didn't do much yesterday, and they were also missing their best player (Davies, Bayern, 20, possibly global top 10 left back)

the mainstream candycoating for the sheeple must give way to real criticism like all other sports in the US

beerholder does fine when he has the top talent to deploy against non-elite opposition, but when he has to balance program development, X's & O's, man management, tactics, etc. he is disastrously unqualified and as everyone else wrote yesterday this level of management skill is going to fail in qatar..... we might advance from group, we might win a round of 16, but no matter how far we go, we will not go as far as we would with someone else more qualified at the helm

[Knoxtnhorn 6066]

I still can't get over Roldan and Yeuill as 2 of our 3 "save the midfied/game" subs.  Euro players aside, you just can't convince me that that's the best this country of 350+ million has got.

[A-Tex Devil 2463]

Just remember none of these guys are playing….  That said, is it wrong of me to hope we lose three non-friendlies in a row to get Gregg fired?

 

Edited July 20, 2021 by A-Tex Devil

[ztejas 43540]

4 minutes ago, A-Tex Devil said:

Just remember none of these guys are playing….  That said, is it wrong of me to hope we lose three non-friendlies in a row to get Gregg fired?

 

Yes. You'd be a shitty fan. And also why the fuck are you slotting Weah at RW? Matter of fact...

Tbf - Weah at RW and Reyna at CM sounds like some stupid shit Gerg would do. Maybe you have a point. 

Edited July 20, 2021 by ztejas

[ztejas 43540]

Also - I was taking a posting break - but that Canada match was absolutely horrible football by both sides. Gerg continues to confound me but what I did see is that were you to put our best XI against Canada's with decent tactics the gulf would be massive. Fuck that being a "rivalry" - we should own them. Davies is a cute product but he isn't beating us singlehandedly ever. 

Also - Shaq is my player of the tourney so far. Really impressive stuff. So of course we take him off after like 58 mins or wev it was. 

[A-Tex Devil 2463]

9 minutes ago, ztejas said:

Yes. You'd be a shitty fan. And also why the fuck are you slotting Weah at RW? Matter of fact...

Tbf - Weah at RW and Reyna at CM sounds like some stupid shit Gerg would do. Maybe you have a point. 

I have semi tickets in Austin and hope we play in that game, so apologies that “just asking questions” font doesn’t work. 

In any event I stole that gif off some website.   Larger point is that the 11 above plus about 7-10 other guys are better than anyone in the field on this team.  

[UDontKnow 10450]

5 hours ago, Captain Ron said:

Whoever posted these first - props to you. These are good.

 

 

His point #2 (3:15 in the video) is SPOT ON. You ask why MLS players shouldn't be in consideration for any position on the USMNT for qualifying? Point #2 nails this. 

That was me. Thanks for stealing my contribution to this thread. /s

[ztejas 43540]

18 minutes ago, A-Tex Devil said:

I have semi tickets in Austin and hope we play in that game, so apologies that “just asking questions” font doesn’t work. 

In any event I stole that gif off some website.   Larger point is that the 11 above plus about 7-10 other guys are better than anyone in the field on this team.  

Of course. I'm just busting your balls. Weah starting on the right for us doesn't make any sense to me. Maybe mostly because I love Reyna and Pulisic playing opposite - and that's what we did in the Nations League. 

We've played well enough with a pretty lackluster side in the GC to make me not think cheering against us is a great option. Gerg isn't getting canned win or lose and we have too much talent at this point to not get out of groups regardless of the manager. 

I'd hope that Berhalter isn't still the head honcho come 2026 but maybe he starts getting it right and we roll out a WC XI and make a run at that shit. (a man can dream...)

[Ted Lange 16144]

7 hours ago, A-Tex Devil said:

Just remember none of these guys are playing….  That said, is it wrong of me to hope we lose three non-friendlies in a row to get Gregg fired?

 

that’s mine too.  I wanna see someone creative at AM, GIo would be my first choice.  I think Aaronson could play there or be the starter or sub for Weah.  I kinda like WEAH in the sub role like he did vs  Mexico.   

[Napoleon 8700]

1) I like the Sargent who has been playing in the preseason for Bremen. I don't like the Sargent who played last season for Bremen, nor the one who has played for the USMNT for the last 12 months.

2) I would like to see Hoppe at the #9 with this crew. He's looked fairly good as a left winger/left forward, but I'd be interested to see his intelligent moves from the striker position.

3) Aaronson is great, no matter where you put him. He may not have the one-on-one speed dribbling to draw PKs that Pulisic has, but he seems to always make a big difference whenever & wherever he plays.

4) I have liked out 3 CB setups the last two games. The outside backs playing as fullbacks don't give me much confidence. I much prefer them as wingers who retreat back to a 5 man backline in times of need, but we're not relying on sketchy defenders on each side to pair with a slow Brooks in a 4 man backline. 

Other than that, I pretty much like these guys. Steffen needs to work on his dribbling... at this point in the game of soccer, I don't understand why ALL keepers aren't working on the ball skills. It has become blatantly obvious that it is important... vital to play the keeper position.

[Brisketexan 105375]

FYI, I have some pretty good tickets for the semi in Austin -- section 118, row 9 -- and we may not be able to use them.  I'll know more this weekend, but if I can't, I'll just be looking to get back what I paid, which is cheaper than any tickets are currently going for on Seatgeek.  I'll be back to update on this, but if you're thinking about it, I may have tickets for you.

[shnsajax 3591]

43 minutes ago, Napoleon said:

1) I like the Sargent who has been playing in the preseason for Bremen. I don't like the Sargent who played last season for Bremen, nor the one who has played for the USMNT for the last 12 months.

2) I would like to see Hoppe at the #9 with this crew. He's looked fairly good as a left winger/left forward, but I'd be interested to see his intelligent moves from the striker position.

3) Aaronson is great, no matter where you put him. He may not have the one-on-one speed dribbling to draw PKs that Pulisic has, but he seems to always make a big difference whenever & wherever he plays.

4) I have liked out 3 CB setups the last two games. The outside backs playing as fullbacks don't give me much confidence. I much prefer them as wingers who retreat back to a 5 man backline in times of need, but we're not relying on sketchy defenders on each side to pair with a slow Brooks in a 4 man backline. 

Other than that, I pretty much like these guys. Steffen needs to work on his dribbling... at this point in the game of soccer, I don't understand why ALL keepers aren't working on the ball skills. It has become blatantly obvious that it is important... vital to play the keeper position.

How hasn't Aaronson not moved yet, would really prefer he moved on to Leipzig by now? Guess he can just rack up some more goals and assists in Austria for another year.

[Napoleon 8700]

25 minutes ago, shnsajax said:

How hasn't Aaronson not moved yet, would really prefer he moved on to Leipzig by now? Guess he can just rack up some more goals and assists in Austria for another year.

I absolutely thought that he was going to be going to Leipzig this summer.

There is still about 6 weeks, so we'll see.

[InkaUtexas 26126]

Fun game so far. Lets go Guadeloupe. 

[MidTexHorn 822]

2 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

FYI, I have some pretty good tickets for the semi in Austin -- section 118, row 9 -- and we may not be able to use them.  I'll know more this weekend, but if I can't, I'll just be looking to get back what I paid, which is cheaper than any tickets are currently going for on Seatgeek.  I'll be back to update on this, but if you're thinking about it, I may have tickets for you.

May take you up on those. I have two in the supporters section, but I have lots of family and friends here in Austin who might make a last minute decision to go.

[Captain Ron 12923]

I was wondering why both fox channels were showing the lesser game. 
 

Given that the 2 early games have no bearing on one another, I wonder if they would push this game to tomorrow and play both late games on time?

Edited July 21, 2021 by Captain Ron

[Captain Ron 12923]

1 hour ago, InkaUtexas said:

Fun game so far. Lets go Guadeloupe. 

They have a mountain to climb now. Down 1 in the score and a man in the game. 

[Braff Zacklin 13664]

 

What a crock. They should've made them wear copper helmets and let the chips fall where they may.

[Braff Zacklin 13664]

Fuck Qatar. I would cheer for El Tri over Qatar.

And Gyasi Zardes is everywhere for Honduras right now. It's like he's in three places at once.

[Braff Zacklin 13664]

That's an amazing strike.

Well deserved, too. Qatar with all the pressure and possession so far.

[trza-hawk 269]

Qatar are my new second favorite team now.

[Fudbelty 2789]

Second one saved with the face! Amazing

[Captain Ron 12923]

Well the Costa Rica-Jamaica game just got really interesting. The CR keeper just got a red card for handing the ball outside the box. Not really his fault, a really REALLY bad back pass left him way out to dry.

 

It was 5 yards into the CR attacking half and not even close to getting to the keeper. The pass basically gave Jamaica a 1 on 1 with the keeper.

Edited July 21, 2021 by Captain Ron

[Captain Ron 12923]

Just a reminder, both Costa Rica and Jamaica have advanced. Winner wins the group, Costa Rica wins the group with a draw.

Group winner draws Canada, 2nd place draws the US.

[Captain Ron 12923]

Costa Rica hangs on to win 1-0 down a man from the 72’.

The bracket is tilted slightly In the US’s favor, with both Costa Rica and Mexico on the other side. Not that Jamaica or El Salvador-Qatar/Honduras are chopped liver.

[UDontKnow 10450]

8 hours ago, Napoleon said:

1) I like the Sargent who has been playing in the preseason for Bremen. I don't like the Sargent who played last season for Bremen, nor the one who has played for the USMNT for the last 12 months.

2) I would like to see Hoppe at the #9 with this crew. He's looked fairly good as a left winger/left forward, but I'd be interested to see his intelligent moves from the striker position.

3) Aaronson is great, no matter where you put him. He may not have the one-on-one speed dribbling to draw PKs that Pulisic has, but he seems to always make a big difference whenever & wherever he plays.

4) I have liked out 3 CB setups the last two games. The outside backs playing as fullbacks don't give me much confidence. I much prefer them as wingers who retreat back to a 5 man backline in times of need, but we're not relying on sketchy defenders on each side to pair with a slow Brooks in a 4 man backline. 

Other than that, I pretty much like these guys. Steffen needs to work on his dribbling... at this point in the game of soccer, I don't understand why ALL keepers aren't working on the ball skills. It has become blatantly obvious that it is important... vital to play the keeper position.

Agree on Sargent.

Berhalter is too stupid to play Hoppe as striker as Hoppe's technical ability is much too good for CONCACAF. 

I'm torn on Aaronson. Should he start or be a super sub like Weah? For that matter I think Weah should be getting more time in the starting XI. 

I like the 3 CB set up with two wing backs too. It makes for a less nervy feeling when defending an attacking onslaught. If can get a setup similar to James Sands advancing from the backline to get a little more in the attack would be great. I just don't know how that would work with the 1st team USMNT because you'll likely lose out on a quality midfielder and really the 1st team USMNT should have both Tyler Adams and Yunus Musah starting.

Are you suggesting turning all the American goalkeepers into old school sweeper-keepers? Because if so, I dig it. 

3 hours ago, Braff Zacklin said:

Fuck Qatar. I would cheer for El Tri over Qatar.

And Gyasi Zardes is everywhere for Honduras right now. It's like he's in three places at once.

Ooh that's a tough one. El Tri versus Qatar. Narco terrorists versus bonafide terrorist funders? I'll be safe and root for the meteor.

1 hour ago, Captain Ron said:

Costa Rica hangs on to win 1-0 down a man from the 72’.

The bracket is tilted slightly In the US’s favor, with both Costa Rica and Mexico on the other side. Not that Jamaica or El Salvador-Qatar/Honduras are chopped liver.

Jamaica's physicality worries me especially seeing Zimmeran and Dike go down and out versus Canada of all fucking teams. But Jamaica are not technically able as Costa Rica, so that might be a silver lining.

Edited July 21, 2021 by UDontKnow

[Braff Zacklin 13664]

/Leinart 

Jamaica is actually the better team despite losing tonight. The Reggae Boyz outshot Costa Rica 18-5 (5-1) but had the yips in front of goal. Bryan Ruiz did not.

/Leinart

 

All I'm saying is, I think our B-/C+ team would've had an easier time with the aging Ticos.

Yes, the USMNT dominated Jamaica, 4-1, back in late March, but that was with most of its best players (i.e., talented youngsters playing in Europe). Beating the Reggae Boyz with this bunch on Sunday is a big ask. Hopefully, Zimmerman will be fit and his teammates will do a better job of winning/holding the ball than it did against Canada.

I'm off to Washington state for the next 3.5 weeks for a working road trip. See y'all in mid-August!

[ztejas 43540]

16 hours ago, Ted Lange said:

that’s mine too.  I wanna see someone creative at AM, GIo would be my first choice.  I think Aaronson could play there or be the starter or sub for Weah.  I kinda like WEAH in the sub role like he did vs  Mexico.   

Weah doesn't strike me as a starter for us yet. That's probably what struck me as most odd. I don't hate Gio in the middle but I also think we should look for a better long term solution there. And as I said I really like Gio on the wing. 

[ztejas 43540]

1 minute ago, Braff Zacklin said:

All I'm saying is, I think our B-/C+ team would've had an easier time with the aging Ticos.

I agree. Our back 4 was atrocious against Canada. Obviously part of that was due to Zimmerman being out but guys like Pines trying to keep Jamaica's attack in front of them concerns me. 

[Hagbard Celine 10925]

-- x --- y --- z --

pulisic ---  reyna

----- adams -----

- a -- b -- c -- d -

[ztejas 43540]

3 minutes ago, Hagbard Celine said:

-- x --- y --- z --

pulisic ---  reyna

----- adams -----

- a -- b -- c -- d -

I'd love to see Pulisic in the middle. 

But again - long term I just don't like playing guys out of position. Not saying Reyna is necessarily out of position there but Pulisic never plays anywhere but on the wing for club. 

Who do you put on the wing ahead of them? 

[Napoleon 8700]

16 minutes ago, Hagbard Celine said:

-- x --- y --- z --

pulisic ---  reyna

----- adams -----

- a -- b -- c -- d -

 

Pulisic - - y - - Reyna

- McKennie - Musah* -

- - - - - Adams - - - - -

- - - D E F E N S E - - -
 

*don’t think that Musah is cap-tied yet, but do know that he has A LOT to learn. This is more of a dream for WC game #1 in November of 2022 (16 months from now) than the ideal lineup for September 2021 qualifiers.

Cade Cowell and/or Caden Clark may have passed Timothy Weah and/or Musah by November 2022. Brendon Aaronson may be ahead of Weah as well (pushing Reyna out wide to slot in next to McKennie as a dual 8/10 team).

It’s strange, but we have too many attacking midfielders in the 19-22 range and more studs right behind them in the 17-18 age range. I would trade 2 of them for a solid #9.

Edited July 21, 2021 by Napoleon

[ztejas 43540]

16 minutes ago, Napoleon said:

 

Pulisic - - y - - Reyna

- McKennie - Musah* -

- - - - - Adams - - - - -

- - - D E F E N S E - - -
 

*don’t think that Musah is cap-tied yet, but do know that he has A LOT to learn. This is more of a dream for WC game #1 in November of 2022 (16 months from now) than the ideal lineup for September 2021 qualifiers.

Cade Cowell and/or Caden Clark may have passed Timothy Weah and/or Musah by November 2022. Brendon Aaronson may be ahead of Weah as well (pushing Reyna out wide to slot in next to McKennie as a dual 8/10 team).

It’s strange, but we have too many attacking midfielders in the 19-22 range and more studs right behind them in the 17-18 age range. I would trade 2 of them for a solid #9.

This is my default. Musah is definitely not there when it comes to being the automatic 10 but I'm with you in that optimally he could fill that spot come 2022. I think Sargent is the 9 I'd roll with right now. Whether that's the popular option or not. I also have faith we figure that position out at somepoint. Whether it's Josh or Dike or someone else. 

[Bottlecap 1523]

According to the Gold Cup website, the USMNT will play in austin if they go through regardless of what happens on the Mexico side of the bracket.

https://www.concacaf.com/gold-cup/article/2021-concacaf-gold-cup-quarterfinal-matchups-confirmed/

Quote

Following the conclusion of the Group Stage, which took place between July 10-20, the top two teams from each group have advanced to the Quarterfinals (standings available here). The two Quarterfinal doubleheaders will be played as follows (listed in Local | ET time):

 

Saturday, July 24, 2021 - State Farm Stadium, Glendale, AZ
(QF1) 16:30 | 19:30 Qatar vs El Salvador 
(QF2) 19:00 | 22:00 Mexico vs Honduras

Sunday, July 25, 2021 – AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX
(QF3) 18:00 | 19:00 Costa Rica vs Canada
(QF4) 20:30 | 21:30 USA vs Jamaica

Additionally, Concacaf has confirmed the schedule and venue for the Semifinals. The two matches are scheduled to take place on July 29 and will be played as follows (listed in Local | ET time):

Thursday, July 29, 2021 – Q2 Stadium, Austin, TX
(SF1) 18:30 | 19:30 Winner QF1 vs Winner QF4

Thursday, July 29, 2021 – NRG Stadium, Houston, TX
(SF2) 21:00 | 22:00 Winner QF2 vs Winner QF3 

 

[A-Tex Devil 2463]

4 minutes ago, Bottlecap said:

According to the Gold Cup website, the USMNT will play in austin if they go through regardless of what happens on the Mexico side of the bracket.

https://www.concacaf.com/gold-cup/article/2021-concacaf-gold-cup-quarterfinal-matchups-confirmed/

 

Yep.  I speculated and got a great deal on good seats.  Gerg, do your job.  
 

Not that Jamaica is perfunctory (they should be, though) but super cool to get this game. Would have been fun for México to choke to second place in its group to have that possibility. But it’s ok.  El Salvador will bring a more fun environment and Qatar a better test.  
 

But have to beat Jamaica first.  

[Trey3216 15359]

I'll be at the doubleheader in Arlington on Sunday with 4 others.  Excited, even if it's our shit squad.  

[UDontKnow 10450]

No more Walker Zimmerman (hamstring). Our defense will suffer. Henry Kessler and Cade Cowell incoming, allegedly.

https://www.starsandstripesfc.com/gold-cup/2021/7/20/22586294/walker-zimmerman-departs-usa-usmnt-camp-gold-cup-injury-henry-kessler-cade-cowell

[A-Tex Devil 2463]

I like Zimmerman a lot.  That's too bad.  He's one of about 2 or 3 MLS players I'd be OK with in Qatar.  

[Napoleon 8700]

4 hours ago, UDontKnow said:

No more Walker Zimmerman (hamstring). Our defense will suffer. Henry Kessler and Cade Cowell incoming, allegedly.

https://www.starsandstripesfc.com/gold-cup/2021/7/20/22586294/walker-zimmerman-departs-usa-usmnt-camp-gold-cup-injury-henry-kessler-cade-cowell

Cade Cowell

🙏🤞🤌

 

NOTE: This would also cap-tie Cowell (México), so double bonus.

Edited July 22, 2021 by Napoleon

[Zepol87 9191]

Giving away tickets. Could be some cheap re-sales now.