2026 World Cup thread

Sports Journalists Forum – Media, Newsroom & Reporting Talk

Help Support Sports Journalists Forum:

Our lineup still has so few players organically grown in the United States. I’m into this 40+ years and it really does not look any different.

Belgium was down two goals to Senegal last round with 10 minutes to play. They handled us with such ease today. We really aren’t making any progress as far as competing with the big boys.
We don't have a youth system designed to make kids better soccer players. We have a youth system designed to get money out of upper middle class parents.

Our best hope as a soccer nation remains American servicemen knocking up German women.
 
We don't have a youth system designed to make kids better soccer players. We have a youth system designed to get money out of upper middle class parents.

Our best hope as a soccer nation remains American servicemen knocking up German women.
Good, Julien
 
Had way more fun at the Ratboys/Spoon show than y'all did, apparently. Though we did go crazy between sets at the one American goal.

No sugarcoating this, it's a ****ing disaster. Anything less than reaching the quarterfinals was a disappointment. We're past the point of participation trophies. We've been building 24 years for this **** and this is the turd they drop? The US will not advance past the quarters in the World Cup in my lifetime. I'm convinced of that, and no one here will talk me out of it. We're inferior in this sport and always will be.

Anyway, on the Three Lions bandwagon the rest of the way.
 
Depending on whether you are representing the Flemish side or Walloon side of Belgium, this was either riem tot aan de kont or de la ceinture aux fesses
 
He. Did. Nothing.

He ended the half with a 13 match rating on Futi. He left with a 12. Dest was the next lowest with a 41.
I hate soccer analytics.

Yeah he looked like ass, but with him on the field the us still got better looks and had better pressure. Is that correlation with our causation? Yeah, probably. But a guy can look terrible and still have to be paid attention to. But he gets hurt and suddenly the US is in disarray. Like Donovan said, Pulisic did more harm by trying to gut it out. And then the keeper brain farts and the team quits. There were a couple of chances from guys who tried to be heroes, but the team was done. And it was the time Pulisic was out of the game. I’m just pointing that out. He got a 12 rating (which I’m guessing is like negative WAR?) cool. The team was still objectively worse when he left. And that’s saying something because the team was garbage.
 
Spain-Portugal was like watching 22 male models run around for two hours.
My wife - not a soccer fan - happened to be walking past the TV in 2014 when some head shots of Portugal's 2014 team were shown.

"Well ... let's just hope they use their superpowers for good."
 
Had way more fun at the Ratboys/Spoon show than y'all did, apparently. Though we did go crazy between sets at the one American goal.

No sugarcoating this, it's a ****ing disaster. Anything less than reaching the quarterfinals was a disappointment. We're past the point of participation trophies. We've been building 24 years for this **** and this is the turd they drop? The US will not advance past the quarters in the World Cup in my lifetime. I'm convinced of that, and no one here will talk me out of it. We're inferior in this sport and always will be.

Anyway, on the Three Lions bandwagon the rest of the way.
This is where I'm at. That 2002 run seems so far away. Probably because it is. I can't believe the US hasn't gotten any better. Well, we saw flashes of better this go, but in the end, still nothing has really changed.

I keep seeing the magical run headlines. This program has made the round of 16 in the last four WCs it has been in. That has to be expected with an expanded field and playing at home. Group play was fun and I'm glad they won a knockout game, which for now had to be a given, but the next step is the quarters at least consistently. It just has to be. And with the expanded field and a program that can't figure anything out, it probably won't get any easier.

It's been 24 years since a what-if hand ball against Germany and we haven't sniffed anything like it since. I am glad the round of 16 has become the standard, because I remember 1998 and 2006 and 2018, as well. But now there needs to be more.
 
The magical run **** is pissing me off, too. What was magical, outside of the first half of the Paraguay match? You're supposed to beat Australia and (probably) Turkiye, though I understand the caveats there. And you're supposed to beat ****ing Bosnia.

Magical would have been taking Spain to extra time. Not getting boatraced by an aging Belgium.

Cabo Verde's run was magical because there were zero expectations. To me, the baseline expectation was getting to the quarterfinals at home. Sorry, spare me the magical bull****.
 
So is Poch selling that Pinto he’s been restoring to finance his move to his next employer?
Might even have gassed it up for good measure.

Now, since he's used the Air Force 1s to kick every water bottle on the US bench, he might not have to change into work boots.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top