Qatar 2022 World Cup Discussion

[TrueYankee26]

 

 

Congrats to the 16 teams represented by flags above on movin on to the knockout round. What a thrilling World Cup thus far with many pulsating finishes particularly in the 3rd matchday

[SeaTac]

Possible Quarterfinal matches:

Netherlands vs. Argentina 

Brazil vs. Croatia 

England vs. France 

Spain vs. Portugal 

 

 

 

[Digby]

That shot of Suarez hearing about the other result and crying on the bench, that had to be the most collective schadenfreude ever felt by the global soccer community, right?

[Cujo]

2 hours ago, DG_ThenNowForever said:

Cameroon!

 

Seattle Sounders legends with a win over Brazil: Kasey Keller and Nouhou.

 

Vs Brazil's B-team, who were still just playing "not to get hurt".  Let's not kid ourselves here.

[Kevin W.]

19 minutes ago, Cujo said:

 

Vs Brazil's B-team, who were still just playing "not to get hurt".  Let's not kid ourselves here.

Brazil's B-team is still better than a lot of A-teams.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

My expert analysis so far: this moment is too big for Jesus Ferreira.

 

Happy to be proven wrong!

[Digby]

Well, Wright has proven to not be the guy and Sargent is hurt… and my “just play one of the wingers at striker, who cares” pleas for months remain unheeded. 
 

as I type this, Ferreira whiffs on a decent chance. 

[Digby]

Bring in Reyna for Ferreira and Aaronson for somebody in the midfield. Second half hat trick for Reyna. Never hear the end of it from r/ussoccer but would be worth it.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

This game is going to end with Jordan Morris missing (yet another) wide open shot for the US.

 

It's fine. The Dutch have clearly shown them to be a step above USMNT today and it's not tactics but talent. The US don't have a bonafide striker and everyone knew it coming into the tournament and here we are.

 

Maybe that could have been Reyna, but he's been injured so much it's hard to know.

[FinsUp1214]

It blows my mind looking at the stats that the US has had more possession, shots, and shots on target. That doesn’t look like the game I’ve been watching. It goes without saying of course, but it really goes to show that you can’t afford to have more opportunities but execute them less than your opponent, especially if your opponent is as talented as the Dutch.
 

As I type this, Wright scores! A new glimmer of hope notwithstanding, the US have generally been really poor at making something out of thier chances, and the Dutch have made them look borderline helpless until the Wright goal. Not the showing that was hoped for.

 

EDIT: And just like that, it’s 3-1 Netherlands. Oof.

[TrueYankee26]

Congrats to the Netherlands

[FinsUp1214]

Stick a fork in ‘em, Jerry. They’re done.

 

Honestly, I’m not saying the US should’ve necessarily panicked at any point - and I do think this was a case of the Dutch simply being the more talented and sharper team - but the US seemed….too patient, at times? That word seems a little wrong, but I don’t know what else to call it than that.

They didn’t seem complacent necessarily, but they also didn’t seem as consistently aggressive as they should have been. They penetrated enough to create a lot of chances, but always seemed to take thier foot off the gas as soon as those chances opened up. Shots on goal looked weak, passing wasn’t as crisp, and they seemed hesitant to get creative and find a way through the Dutch’s tough defense.

 

Good lessons there for them to learn going into 2026. Biggest of all: aggressively capitalize on the chances you’re given. Hopefully a more experienced and seasoned US team will remember that in four years and execute better.

[Rockstar Matt]

Netherlands were just too clinical. The US really only made a few mistakes but the Dutch made them pay with a goal every time. That’s the mark of a really good team. 
 

The US desperately needs a good striker. We missed Sargent in this game. This team needs to get more technical going forward too. They have the players in the pool to do so, and hopefully they’ll be good enough in 4 years. This will be a great learning experience for this young team. A lot of positives to be taken from this WC.
 

While Berhalter did a good job in the group stage (and great job with his starting lineups, first halves and defensive gameplan), tonight showed why he isn’t the right coach to fully unlock this young team going forward. Certain players he called into the WC just aren’t good enough at this level (Ferreira, Zimmerman, Morris and Yedlin) and tactically the US needs something different to improve the attack. Playing wide and sending in crosses while not having a striker good enough to capitalize has never made sense to me. 
 

All in all, a good WC from the US, a good showing and hopefully in 4 years this team will be ready.

[FiddySicks]

US should’ve boycotted this tournament anyway

[Digby]

Looked to me like the USMNT were ready to play their game and not play in fear of the mighty Dutch, which is good, but also had a lot of physical and mental fatigue. There were moments of strong play undone by simple, brief moments of losing focus.

 

Yeah, play this game 10 times and the US will win a few of them, but ultimately the most predictable outcome happened. The Netherlands have stronger talent, more experience, better execution. No shame in losing to that, still a bummer, especially knowing that the draw goes a different way and the US would've been handed a more favorable and winnable matchup in this round (or they'd get Brazil, who knows). Even today's mistakes seemed more glaring because we're not used to a USMNT that looks relatively composed even when they're outmatched by the opposition.

 

Bring back 2/3 of this team in 2026 in their primes but with more experience and maturity and they have a real good shot at winning a group and making a solid run. Need to find a striker, will probably need a new keeper (Turner has been tremendous, wish he wasn't a late-bloomer), and really across the board the depth simply is not there compared to the real contenders of this tournament.

[Kooky01]

Glad the US lost. Now I can stop watching this stupid sport.

[IceCap]

Christian Pulisic saying "we deserve more." 

 

Shut the  up. I hate that attitude across sports. You deserve whatever you were able to do. 

[GrayJ12]

30 minutes ago, IceCap said:

Christian Pulisic saying "we deserve more." 

 

Shut the  up. I hate that attitude across sports. You deserve whatever you were able to do. 

[Digby]

2 hours ago, Kooky01 said:

Glad the US lost. Now I can stop watching this stupid sport.

 

You didn't have to start, buddy.

[Seadragon76]

Well, that was a dud.

 

That defense that was stout as hell in Group B play sure went missing when it matters the most. It also doesn't help that there's been no offense to speak of either in group play or here.

 

This comes from the backdrop of of having the advantage in some key stats like possession, fouls, and corners. This was a winnable game, but they couldn't get it done.

 

The good news is that the entire team is still young enough that they can all be back together in 2026 to make a run.