Category Archives: USA

KC Barcelona

“I have a new piece in Slate on the MLS Cup and why the league doesn’t do more to connect fans with American soccer history. MLS has had a lot of success marketing stars, but for various reasons—largely because it’s been so keen to distance itself from the failure of the NASL—it’s done very little to foster the kinds of traditions that could give the American game an identity beyond the latest branding campaign. American soccer history is a lot deeper and more interesting than most people realize; it’s full of great stories that fans have never been told.” (Run of Play)

Passing on the Past

Dave van den Bergh
“Last Sunday night, with one final smolder for the cameras, David Beckham conveyed his hairstyle off the pitch and out of the MLS playoffs. The L.A. Galaxy’s 3-0 loss to F.C. Dallas—a game in which Beckham’s slow-wilting sprout of a ponytail was an accurate meter of his side’s fortunes—deprives the competition of its most telegenic team. It also sends unheralded Dallas on to face the Colorado Rapids on Sunday in the least obviously glamorous sports final since, oh, the 2010 World Series. Instead of mashing CTRL-V on Beckham and his teammate-turned-World-Cup-hero Landon Donovan, the marketing wing of MLS now faces the task of selling a championship game contested by two teams who don’t even fill their own stadiums.” (Slate)

An Assist for Soccerreform: Why Promotion/Relegation in U.S. Soccer Might Be the Answer

“Yesterday on the American Soccer Show, Ted Westervelt, founder of Soccerreform.us, shared his views on why he finds the current MLS structure to be an impediment to the soccer’s growth in the United States. He then attempted to lay out his alternative vision for the professional U.S. soccer system. After listening to Westervelt deliver his argument using a variety of metaphors and anecdotes (there’s talk of wolves and various canine experiments), I realized that several important details were missing from his vision (although a more robust argument can be found on his here on his website). As a public service, I want to help Westervelt out.” (Nutmeg Radio)

Bradley’s Lack of Commitment to New Tactics Deeply Concerning

“OK it’s been a week, and a rough week at that. The USMNT played Columbia last Tuesday, and I had planned to write my normal post-game, but after the match I was too furious to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard as it were). I decided to calm down for a few days, but then the weekend came, and I got to experience the worst sports weekend I can remember in my lifetime. Let me explain.” (Yanks are Coming)

October Friendlies: Final Thoughts, US-Colombia Player Ratings

“Three thoughts from the October set of friendlies and then player ratings from last night’s nil-nil snoozer against Colombia. Keep in mind the thoughts are from both games, not just last evening.” (Yanks are coming)

U.S. experiments in dour draw

“Here’s the important thing to remember when it comes to experiments in soccer, or anywhere else for that matter: sometimes the results are gonna stink. Testing a different tactical arrangement was certainly worth a look-see. And who has enough imagination to say what Tuesday’s new formation would have looked like with Landon Donovan in one of the wide spots? U.S. coach Bob Bradley arranged his team in (ostensibly) a 4-3-3 for Tuesday’s friendly with Colombia outside Philadelphia.” (SI)

USA 0-0 Colombia – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Friendly
(The 90th Minute)

New Cycle, New Tactics: Thoughts on USA-Poland

Landon Donovan
“I found the Poland match yesterday incredibly interesting tactically. No intro required for this one. Let’s get right into what I saw: As I’ve written several times, one of my biggest problems with Bob Bradley as a coach is his reliance (until now) on elementary-style tactical decisions. One of my biggest arguments for hiring someone else instead of Bradley was that after the Charlie Davies injury, Bradley’s inability to adjust his 4-4-2 boot-and-run tactical/lineup decisions was inexcusable. Although the boot-and-run, sideline drill, flag drill techniques served us pretty well at the Confed. Cup, I have always maintained that it took a miracle against Egypt to even put us in position to play Spain.” (The Yanks Are Coming)

U.S. changes expected vs. Colombia
“Change was in vogue as the United States tied Poland on Saturday to open a pair of fall friendlies. And there will surely be more as coach Bob Bradley’s Americans complete the back end of the set Tuesday against Colombia at PPL Park in Chester, Pa. Colombia will have an extra day to rest following a 1-0 win over Ecuador at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J., on Friday. It was the latest promising result for the South American mid-tier side, which narrowly missed a berth for South Africa 2010. Mexico had to work hard for a 1-0 win over Los Cafeteros last month, and the Colombians had defeated Venezuela 2-0 four days earlier.” (SI)

Jones starts strong, but U.S. team’s flaws on display against Poland

“Tinkering and a desire to experiment is a good thing as another World Cup cycle commences, especially when it comes from a noted anti-tinkerer. United States coach Bob Bradley typically prefers his “something old” over his “something new” when it comes to the marriage of personnel and tactics. But the changes made Saturday in his team’s 2-2 draw with Poland in Chicago do beg a vexing question: how much assessment and subsequent development can you really do around a tweaked formation when several players are out of their best positions? (Or, when a player or two just aren’t up for the job in certain spots?)” (SI)

United States (USA) 2-2 Poland – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Friendly
(The 90th Minute)

U.S. Team, Drawing on the Recent Past, Looks Ahead

“Bob Bradley has a new contract and a new mission, but Bradley, the United States national team coach, is caught in a strange sort of limbo. ‘It’s a balance between the long term view, which is always focused toward the final round of qualification and then the World Cup in 2014, but also the things that happen along the way, the short-term vision,’ Bradley said ahead of the Americans’ friendly against Poland on Saturday in Chicago.” (NYT)

Why CONCACAF is killing the best rivalry in North America (cont.)

“Here’s how it would work: The six lowest-ranked teams in the region would have a home-and-home playoff to trim the field to 32. Then eight groups of four teams would play a six-game quarterfinal stage, with the top two in each group advancing. Then four groups of four would play a six-game semifinal stage, with the top two again advancing. Then two groups of four would play a six-game final stage. The two teams that win those groups would earn bids to World Cup ’14. If CONCACAF successfully lobbies FIFA for four spots in Brazil (instead of the previous 3.5), then the two second-place teams would also receive World Cup bids.” (SI)

Why CONCACAF is killing the best rivalry in North America

Oguchi Onyewu
“They’re killing the most important rivalry in American soccer. That’s my unavoidable conclusion after speaking to Chuck Blazer, the general secretary of CONCACAF, who confirmed that he expects FIFA to approve a new regional qualifying format for World Cup 2014. Under the new format, which has already been approved by CONCACAF, the U.S. and archrival Mexico — the two soccer giants in this part of the world — would almost certainly not meet during any of the qualifying games for Brazil 2014. Not even once.” (SI)

America’s smorgasbord of televised soccer

“For the few remaining stragglers in Europe who still see the United States as a footballing backwater, the country’s television schedules make for an instructive read. With relatively cheap subscriptions to the appropriate channels this past weekend, you could have watched eight Premier League games, another eight from the Mexican League, four Bundesliga match-ups, six from La Liga, five from Serie A, two from Brazil and two from Major League Soccer (and another four if you subscribe to the league’s bargain Direct Kick package at around 50 quid a season).” (WSC)

The Myth of the Meaningless Friendly

“A funny thing happens during international friendlies, particualrly when a team loses. Invariably, cries that “this game doesn’t matter” eminate from supporters, conveying a fundamental misunderstanding of the purpose of international friendlies. In many ways, it’s self-delusion at its finest. It’s like a jaded boyfriend saying, “I didn’t like her anyway,” after a girlfriend breaks up with him. These are defense mechanisms signifying denial and/or hurt, which is why you rarely hear this refrain after an emphatic victory.” (Nutmeg Radio)

Bringing Bradley Back Carries Great Risks, Little Reward

“The hearsay and conjecture is finally over, and well, meet the new boss, same as the old boss. Bob Bradley, Bobbo, Skeletor, or Junior’s Dad if you like, will hold tight to the reigns of the U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team. Here at Yanks we’re not above delving into fits of über-reactionary blogitude from time to time, but if there ever was a character whose case deserved a measured, reasoned, and tempered response, it’s none other than Bobbo. Hell, we’d have given him a nickname like “Bob Cool” already if his constantly unfazed sideline expression (or lack thereof) didn’t make him look like he just ate a dog turd. Nevertheless, Bob is our man, and whether he’s more boon or burden is rightfully the subject at hand. You didn’t expect us to write about Jon Spector ceding PK’s to Man U for two weeks did you?” (The Yanks Are Coming)

Why The USA Should Have Hired Jurgen Klinsmann And Let Bob Bradley Go

“The US Soccer Federation have decided to give current manager Bob Bradley another four years with a contract extension. The move is a bit of a surprise as reports had Jurgen Klinsmann as a possible replacement and the history of national team managers who have stayed on for two consecutive World Cups.” (The 90th Minute)

The Federation Needs To Get This Bob Bradley Thing Right

“Perpetual limbo. Seemingly no one knows anything about the negotiations that are not taking place about the U.S. manager position. We do know, however, that Bob Bradley is interested in opportunities in Europe. The only reason to reveal this tidbit is because Bradley is, well, interested in opportunities in Europe.” (Nutmeg Radio)

US World Cup Cycle Report Cards: Forwards Edition

“This is the third of a four-part Series of Report Cards for the U.S. Men’s National Team’s Four Year World Cup Cycle, 2007-2010. While we are not issuing grades for all 92 players capped by Bob Bradley during the cycle, we will feature players not on the World Cup roster who figured prominently in the run-up to the 2010 World Cup. We will issue grades of A-F, rather than player-rankings style grades of 1-10. This edition focuses on the American strikers. For prior entries– See Part I, Goalkeepers. See Part II, Midfielders.” (Yanks are coming)

Americans Abroad: Michael Bradley shines, while Tim Howard flops

Michael Bradley
“After all the hype and speculation surrounding a major transfer for Michael Bradley in the aftermath of the World Cup, the 23-year-old New Jersey native stayed put at Borussia Monchengladbach, and the Bundesliga club couldn’t be happier to have him. Bradley scored the opening goal in his team’s DFB Pokal (German Cup) first-round victory on Saturday, executing a give-and-go with Mohamadou Idrissou and bouncing a sliding volley from about nine yards out into the goal in the 39th minute to keep up his run of good form.” (SI)

Bob Bradley: The Safe, Responsible Choice For US Soccer

Bob Bradley
“At a crossroads, the United States Men’s National Team’s decision about its next coach seems to break down to simple mathematics. Don’t worry or stop reading now, I’m not about to break into a lecture on derivatives or differential geometry. I might however, use a rudimentary game theory model. In fact, I will. You have three Figures involved in the search, or technically, a figure Y, a figure X, and an unknown variable that at least has a relatively stable, speculative identity based on the Federation’s past. In other words, we don’t know who Figure Z is, but we can make a predictive assessment about the pool where Figure Z will be drawn from, if chosen. Let’s try this out, shall we?” (Yanks are coming)

Menezes’ Brazil start with impressive victory

“One suspects that getting the Brazilian public onside with good attacking football was Mano Menezes’ first priority as Brazil manager, with a result in his opening game second on the list. With a 2-0 win over the US, he managed to achieve both. Dunga’s reign as manager will not be remembered fondly by the majority of the Brazilian public – even before the World Cup exit he was disliked for the perceived negativity in his side’s football, and for constantly selecting his ‘favourites’ ahead of established stars like Ronaldinho, and younger, emerging talents such as Neymar and Ganso.” (Zonal Marking)

US v. Brazil – An American Dreaming Realities

“Let’s play in the world of a constructed binary. The land of television is seduction. Images and sound combine to tempt you, seduce you, and entertain you. Helpless, you sit there, motionless. The flashing light leaves you still, like a deer in front of a semi on a back alley road in the dead of night. Pause. Welcome to reality. The sunlight burns your eyes and warms your skin. A gentle breeze caresses your neck. The feint odor of garlic abounds, flaring your nostrils. You are in your body. This is reality.” (futfanatico)

Sobering reality check for U.S. team

“So much for the post-World Cup celebration. OK, so the operative word following Brazil’s 2-0 win over the U.S. on Tuesday was ‘friendly.’ There was nothing at stake. Over half of the U.S. starting lineup was comprised of overseas players who looked like they hadn’t recovered from their preseason fitness regimens. And on a team that lacks creative guile in the best of times, the absence of a player like Clint Dempsey was always going to be keenly felt.” (ESPN)

Michael Bradley key to U.S.’s future
“He bulled his way into vacant spaces, barreled into opponents taking too much time on the ball and strode wherever his long legs would take him. ‘That No. 4 must be the heart and soul of this team,’ a fan observed. It became ever clearer Tuesday night against Brazil that No. 4, Michael Bradley, the U.S. national team’s breakout player of this summer’s World Cup, will be the core around which the rest of the side orbits for the foreseeable future.” (ESPN)

United States (USA) 0-2 Brazil – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Friendly – 10 August 2010
“The United States hosted Brazil in an international friendly match on Tuesday, August 10, 2010. It would be the first match for both sides since the 2010 FIFA World Cup.” (The 90th Minute)

USA vs. Brazil Preview

“Does this week’s spat of international friendlies represent an incredibly awkwardly timed set of fixtures being shoehorned into a tiny window and conflicting with many league schedules while needlessly interrupting the lead up to the Western European club season? Yes. Should we shut up about it and enjoy the matches themselves while eating, drinking, and acting like we know everything about certain players we’ve never even seen play because they were fleeting transfer targets of a club team we like at some point in the past month? Even more so, Yes!” (The Yanks Are Coming)

The Case for the US 4-3-3

Jozy Altidore
“As I promised at the end of that roster discussion, I am writing now to discuss US tactical strategy going forward into the 2014 World Cup cycle. In the last 4 years, outside of one disastrous night at the Saprissa, we’ve seen two lineup formations employed by Bob Bradley’s men – the traditional 4-4-2 and the traditional 4-5-1. In fact, what may shock some USMNT supporters who are less familiar with Bob’s lineup choices until recently, we didn’t settle into the 4-4-2 formation until the 2009 Confed. Cup where two things happened: 1.) Charlie Davies emerged as a viable option at striker. 2.) We used the 4-4-2 to beat Spain.” (Yanks are coming)

An End To Things

“I’ve searched online for the 31st minute of the U.S. versus Ghana game, the moment Ricardo Clark is pulled and then held by his coach. I do not know precisely why I was searching, but standing in a bar in Hoboken witnessing the scene live I felt something, and, post-World Cup, I’d like to try to feel it again. I’m dangling the scene, or maybe the recollection or recreation of the scene. I should have TiVO. I should just have a friend replay the damn thing for me. I should give this up. But I remember it like this: Rico plays defectively, commits an egregious error, is yanked. The unremitting game even stops for his error. Slumping off the field he looks at the least like a boy ready for admonishment.” (This Is American Soccer)

US World Cup Cycle Report Cards: Midfielders Edition

Michael Bradley
“This is the second of a four-part Series of Report Cards for the U.S. Men’s National Team’s Four Year World Cup Cycle, 2007-2010. While we are not issuing grades for all 92 players capped by Bob Bradley during the cycle, we will feature players not on the World Cup roster who figured prominently in the run-up to the 2010 World Cup. We will issue grades of A-F, rather than player-rankings style grades of 1-10. This edition is likely the longest, focusing on the American midfielders.” (Yanks are coming)

US World Cup Cycle Report Cards: Goalies Edition

“This is the first of a four-part Series of Report Cards for the U.S. Men’s National Team’s Four Year World Cup Cycle, 2007-2010. While we are not issuing grades for all 92 players capped by Bob Bradley during the cycle, we will feature players not on the World Cup roster who either figured prominently in the run-up to the 2010 World Cup. We will issue grades of A-F, rather than player-rankings style grades of 1-10. We’ll also account for players who will surely be on the USMNT radar as they prepare to find 23 good men to travel to Brazil. We begin with goalkeepers.” (Yanks are coming)

Brazilian league lacks bite

“Spain or Barcelona? No contest. Week in, week out, Barcelona combine the midfield interplay of Xavi and Iniesta with the cutting edge of Lionel Messi, Daniel Alves and co. The comparison serves to confirm the impression that these days club football is of a much higher standard than international – as long as we restrict the debate to the major European leagues. The big clubs in Spain, England, Italy and Germany are in front of the national teams because of the time their players spend together and because they count on the best talent from all over the planet. When the World Cup stops and domestic football returns, the level of play goes up.” (BBC – Tim Vickery)

USMNT: Summer Transfer Window Survival Guide

“With the Go-Go-USA lovefest starting to fade into the rearview mirror, we’ve reached the one time of year tough for soccer fans—the dog days of July. It’s always tougher to deal with the dog days after the excitement of a major international tournament, and nearly impossible after a World Cup. A week removed from the World Cup Final, soccer junkies from Atlanta to Australia are stuck, for the moment, in soccer Siberia. Essentially soccer’s dog days of July are similar in misery to the sporting month they reference—baseball’s ‘dog days of summer’, which are the brutal just past 100 games but not close to September stretch of the schedule played in the big leagues in late July and August, featuring frequently poorly played and error-prone games where the goal is to avoid injury and as a team try not to lose the division before you win it in September.” (Yanks are coming)

Not For Glory Alone

“Two billion souls: One must begin with that. That’s how many people, or nearly so, sat or stood in view of television screens to watch twenty-two men kick a white ball around a green field on a warm July night in Berlin four years ago. The twenty-two men comprised the men’s national soccer teams of Italy and France. The occasion was the final game of the 2006 World Cup. The cagey match, as the world now knows, turned on an extraordinary event near its end when France’s captain and star, Zinedine Zidane, strode toward the Italian defender Marco Materazzi and, for reasons unknown, drove his bald pate into the taller man’s chest. The motion mimicked one he’d used a few minutes earlier to head a flighted ball inches over the Italians’ goal, coming ago nizingly close to winning the day for France. Now Zidane was expelled, his team was rattled, and a player in blue whose name few outside Umbria and Trieste recall darted inside a player in white and curled the ball inside the French goal with his left foot, cueing images, on countless flickering screens around the planet, of his countrymen celebrating Italy’s triumph in the floodlit waters of the Trevi fountain in Rome.” (Laphams Quarterly)

World Cup scouting: The 32 – Conclusions

Antonio Di Natale
“Starting with Nicolás Lodeiro back in December last year, Football Further selected 32 players to watch out for at the 2010 World Cup and then tracked their progress through the tournament via weekly scouting reports. Below is a full compilation of those reports, along with conclusions (and marks out of 10) on how each player performed.” (Football Further)

‘Octodamus’ and other surprises – Eduardo Galeano

Mensaje de Eduardo Galeano para América Latina Cartagena de Indias, Julio de 1997
“Pacho Marturana, a man with vast experience in these battles, says that football is a magical realm where anything can happen. And this World Cup has confirmed his words: it was an unusual World Cup. The 10 stadiums where the Cup was played were unusual, beautiful, immense, and cost a fortune. Who knows how South Africa will be able to keep these cement behemoths operating amid pulverising poverty? The Adidas Jabulani ball was unusual, slippery and half mad, fled hands and disobeyed feet. It was introduced despite players not liking it at all. But from their castle in Zurich, the tsars of football impose, they don’t propose. …” (Dispatch)

World Cup 2010: A tactical review

Marcello Bielsa
“At the dawn of the tournament Football Further posed ten tactical questions that the World Cup would answer. Three days after Spain’s tense extra-time victory over the Netherlands in the final, the answers to those questions reflect a tournament in which defensive rigour was overwhelmingly de riguer and tactical innovation conspicious by its rarity.” (Football Further)

Finale

“Two days after the World Cup final, the whole event seems slightly surreal. I’m returning from South Africa today, having survived on my last day here a gauntlet of baboons and a march up a gorgeous mountain, after arriving on the 26th of June just in time to see Ghana beat the U.S. I’ve had the privilege of watching seven games, including the Cape Town semi-final and the final in Johannesburg. I’ve come to know and love the vuvuzela — and, yes, I’m bringing one home to blow at Duke soccer matches this fall. It was rapture on many levels, and now it’s passed.” (Soccer Politics)

The Name of the Game

“Do Americans hate football? Not regular football, of course. Not football as in first and ten, going long, late hits, special teams, pneumatic cheerleaders in abbreviated costumes, serial brain concussions—the game that every American loves, apart from a few, uh, soreheads. Not that one. The other one. The one whose basic principle of play is the kicking of a ball by a foot. The one that the rest of the world calls ‘football,’ except when it’s called (for example) futbal, futball, fútbol, futebol, fotball, fótbolti, fußball, or (as in Finland) jalkapallo, which translates literally as ‘football.’ That one.” (New Yorker)

Why We Rooted for the U.S.

“Hua’s note: Weeks ago, the casual World Cup watcher did not need a principled reason to back the team in green over the team in blue. A friend who once studied abroad in Paraguay and had a good time? The enthusiasms of an affable, French-speaking cabbie? Backing Mexico to circuitously spite Arizona? Your grandfather’s love of Pele, your other grandfather’s experience in the war? Or maybe you think Kasabian >>>> Oasis. Each were noble enough reasons for the quadrennial football fan to jump online and shop for a replica jersey late at night.” (The Atlantic)

Europe is still football’s dominant force

“Wasn’t it just a few glasses of Chardonnay ago that European soccer was melting faster than a wedge of warm Brie? France, Italy and England — three of the continent’s soccer superpowers — had gone home in various levels of disgrace. To make matters worse, all five of South America’s entrants had moved on to the knockout round, with all but Chile winning its group.” (ESPN)

Bob Bradley and Landon on the Daily Show… A must see!!

“The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c. Landon Donovan & Bob Bradley” (The Final Third)

Midfielder Annan is Ghana’s key

“He’s the starting central midfielder for a perennial African powerhouse and a World Cup quarterfinalist. He’s still just 23 but has already amassed 43 caps for his country and drawn rave reviews, not just in South Africa but at the last two Africa Cups of Nations. So the question is: why does Anthony Annan still ply his trade in Norway?” (SI)

Ghana 2-1 United States: Ghana’s organisation and direct running results in the narrowest of victories

“A tremendous football match won by the side who showed just a little bit more organisation and structure throughout, and made fewer mistakes. Ghana made a change on the right of midfield, bringing in Samuel Inkoom – often deployed at right-back. The US fielded a line-up largely as expected, the one issue being the central midfield partner for Michael Bradley. Ricardo Clark got the nod, although he didn’t last long.” (Zonal Marking)

Putting Tears Aside: Celebrating Ghana’s Victory
“Over the last week, everyone from the New Republic, to Reason Magazine to the various inept corners of the right wing blabbospehere (neocons, libertarians, and wingnuts OH MY!) has taken a whack at my little blog post in the Nation After Donovan’s Goal: Joy or Jingoism? The article seemed innocent enough. I wrote about my drunken joy over seeing the miraculous US win over Algeria, but regretted the ugly openly racist jingoism I heard in the immediate aftermath on DC Sports Radio. My lament seemed innocent enough.” (The Nation)

Watching Ghana Beat the U.S.A., in Johannesburg
“Well, being on a different continent certainly changes things. After the epic flight from the U.S. to South Africa — 16 hours, including the required putzing around on the tarmac in Atlanta — I arrived just in time to catch the U.S.-Ghana game at a restaurant here in Melville, Johannesburg. I watched with Simon Kuper, who is the author of the excellent Soccernomics and reporting for the Financial Times on the World Cup, along with a few other journalists.” (Soccer Politcs)

World Cup 2010: United States 1-2 Ghana (aet)
“When Ghana becamse independent in 1957, the first of the wave of sub-Saharan countries to do so in that period, there’s a nice story about then Vice-President Richard Nixon attending their Independence Day celebrations. The US were broadly supportive of countries seeking to cast of the yoke of the old European colonial powers, and a beaming Nixon was shaking hands with anyone and everyone. “How does it feel to be free?” he asked of one black man he took for a native; ‘I wouldn’t know sir,’ the man replied, ‘I’m from Alabama’.” (twohundredpercent)

US Loses & ESPN Colossal #FAIL
“So, the US lost. I am sad, but happy we did not get played off the park and advanced out of our group. Salutations to Ghana – I do not wish you well, but you deserved to win. Daggumit! Still, despite the unprecedented attention to the World Cup in the US, unfortunately big media continues to churn out amusing errors by the boatloads. You may recall the NYTime’s error about Zizou playing for Italy. Well, ESPN did them one better. Check out this screenshot…” (futfanatico)

Gyan’s extra-time goal propels Ghana over U.S., into World Cup quarters
“The nail-biter comeback wasn’t there this time. The U.S. soccer team relied on it once too often. Life on the World Cup edge came to an exhausting and crushing end against a familiar foe Saturday night, when Ghana — led by Asamoah Gyan’s goal 3 minutes into overtime — posted a 2-1 victory that ended a thrilling yet futile tournament for the United States.” (ESPN)

United States (USA) 1-2 Ghana – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – World Cup – 26 June 2010
“The USA looked to get revenge from the 2006 World Cup as they faced Ghana who knocked them out in that tournament. Both teams have a favorable draw where they would play Uruguay in the quarterfinal round if they would advance in this match.” (The 90th Minute)

World Cup second round preview (part one)

Diego Forlan
“The eight World Cup second round matches are spread over the course of four days. Here’s previews for the first half…” (Zonal Marking)

An Injury-Time Strike Upon a Hill

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“Among the new heroes of this World Cup one must now count Bob Bradley, the grim, predestinarian U.S. coach—on the silent sideline his presence seems more foreboding than forbearing—much maligned by American fans in the qualifying campaign for his tactical inflexibility and cautious squad selections. Like those other steadfast skippers pilloried for poor performance in early games, Bradley has remained loyal, through the group stage, to a cautious 4-4-2, deploying creative flair in the central midfield, when forced to, only behind his quantum destroyer son, Michael Bradley—his head shaved bald like his father in a show of grim emulation.” (The Paris Review)

World Cup scouting: The 32 – Week Two

Rene Krhin (Slovenia)
“The following 32 names represent Football Further‘s players to watch at the 2010 World Cup. We’ll be following their performances closely over the course of the tournament, with weekly scouting reports rounding up their progress.” (Football Further), (Football Further – Week One)

The United States Of America And The 2010 World Cup

“It was a small point that was rather overlooked in the hysteria that followed England’s 1-0 win against Slovenia in their final group match on Wednesday afternoon but, in the cold light of day and with the complete schedule for the second round of the competition now available for all to see, finishing second in their group has come at a heavy cost for England. Should they somehow scramble through against Germany tomorrow, they are likely to face Argentina in the quarter-finals, and should they manage to win that as well (and we’re stretching the bounds of credibility here), Spain could their be their semi-final opposition.” (twohundredpercent)

The US takes the World Cup to its heart, but will this dalliance last?

“From South Africa to Alaska. U-S-A! From the bars of New York to the suburbs of Wisconsin. U-S-A! From the hallowed halls of the West Wing to the headquarters of ESPN. U-S-A! The results are in – all three of them – and the news is America loves soccer.” (Guardian)

On Happiness

“Five minutes after it happened, Twitter was still in flames, cars were honking, bars were shaking like there’d been an earthquake, ESPN was breaking down in tears. If you spoke Spanish, or were my dad, there was a good chance you’d just heard this. Yahoo! Sports was crashing. My dad, who’s not really a soccer fan, was stuck in the car, couldn’t find the game on English-language radio, and spent 90 minutes trying to follow the Spanish commentary; he called me after the match to find out if what he thought had happened was real. But that was how everyone felt. It’s scary to think how things might have looked if anyone here cared about soccer.” (Run of Play)

Across the U.S., an Explosion of Joy

Bob Bradley
“When Landon Donovan scored in stoppage time to rescue the national soccer team from elimination and sent the Americans to the Round of 16, it was just before noon on the East Coast, just before 9 a.m. on the West Coast, and just plain early in general across the United States. But Americans celebrated the same way, wherever they were.” (NYT)

Desperate Hope, Dramatic Ending for U.S.
“Chance after frantic chance the United States had Wednesday in its 1-0 victory over Algeria at the World Cup, each one more tempting and frustrating than the other. Finally, desperation seemed to tighten like a noose, strangling the Americans’ patience and accuracy.” (NYT)

Goal! The thrill of World Cup victory
“For weeks a multi-front soccer culture war has been raging in the blogosphere. But one goal by the man who just staked a pretty good claim to the title of ” greatest player in the history of U.S. soccer,” Landon Donovan, should permanently change the terms of debate. But first a little context: In the group round of the World Cup, scoring a goal in “stoppage time” — a few minutes of overtime after the end of regulation to make up for time lost to injuries — to break a scoreless tie and move on to the next round is one of the most dramatic things that can possibly happen in soccer.” (Salon)

A Foreign Game Looks Very American
“Tim Howard was playing hurry-up, booting the ball in desperation, watching the backs of his teammates, American athletes, as they raced downfield trying to save four years of effort. ‘It wasn’t a soccer match,” Howard said. “It was an athletics match, track and field.’ Sprinting has been, in its way, an American sport, whereas soccer has always been a foreign sport that frightens people — well, except for the millions of Americans lined up in pubs and dens and offices all over their country on a weekday morning, going crazy after the best, or the most dramatic, or the most important soccer match in American history.” (NYT)

Bliss, and a Belgian Spared
“It has been a beautiful day. It was a perfect match, offering up everything that draws us to football. The devastation of the goal-that-was-not, the relief as the team, rather than fumbling into frustration, kept carefully building up excellent plays, defending beautifully, and pushing, pushing, pushing. Raïs M’Bohli, the Paris-born Congolese/Algerian goalkeeper — who, I imagine and hope, will be moving on rapidly from his professional team in Bulgaria after this showing — stopping the goals relentlessly, seemingly on his way to becoming Algeria’s new national hero. In perfect if sadistic form, the team kept us all in suspense until the very end, when in a beautiful, invincible run, scrappy, a little enraged, bringing together Donovan, Altidore and Demsey in a gorgeous one-two-three, and here in Durham and throughout the country and the world there was that explosion of joy that can only come when it has been long-deferred, seemingly unattainable, and perfectly plucked from out of nowhere.” (Soccer Politics)

The American Ascendancy
“And then it happened. Sunil cried, too. And he woke up this morning to escort Bill Clinton and shake the trees for votes from FIFA’s 24-member Politburo for that 2002 World Cup bid. (Clinton is the bid’s honorary chairman; he got a big cheer when his face appeared on the video board last night.) ESPN was assured another weekend of USA-fired ratings. And given that we’ve landed for the first two knockout rounds in the best group since the Beatles, the possibility for advancing further than any modern US men’s national team are real. Project 2010, anyone?” (TNR)

The Two Escobars

“While rival drug cartels warred in the streets and the country’s murder rate climbed to highest in the world, the Colombian national soccer team set out to blaze a new image for their country. What followed was a mysteriously rapid rise to glory, as the team catapulted out of decades of obscurity to become one of the best teams in the world. Central to this success were two men named Escobar: Andrés, the captain and poster child of the National Team, and Pablo, the infamous drug baron who pioneered the phenomenon known in the underworld as ‘Narco-soccer.’ But just when Colombia was expected to win the 1994 World Cup and transform its international image, the shocking murder of Andres Escobar dashed the hopes of a nation.” (30 for 30)

England 1-0 Slovenia: England more balanced and better in possession

“A much improved performance from England that sees them narrowly progress into the knockout stages of the competition. Slovenia looked to be through at full-time, but a late goal from Landon Donovan against Algeria sends them out. England made three changes from their 0-0 defeat with Algeria. Matthew Upson replaced the suspended Jamie Carragher, with John Terry shifting across to play as the right-sided centre-back. James Milner came in for Aaron Lennon, and Jermain Defoe was ahead of Emile Heskey.” (Zonal Marking)

Slovenia 0 England 1: match report
“It’s the Germans again. It’s history and hysteria again, hopes and fears rolled into one heaving, epic confrontation again. At 3pm on Sunday, the nation will stop, tune in and watch nervously the pictures of the drama unfolding in Bloemfoentein. The streets will be empty, the front rooms full because it’s England versus Germany, the fixture that fixates.” (Telegraph – Henry Winter)

James Lawton: Dare we believe the hype again? A little fighting spirit can go a long way
“England are not much nearer to winning the World Cup, not with rampant Argentina as potential quarter-final opponents, and finishing second in the Group of Extremely Unlikely Death will never rate as one of the great battle ribbons. It’s also true that the old nemesis Germany lurks in Bloomfontein on Sunday. No, the path to World Cup glory has not exactly opened up. Germany, Argentina, Spain, and then Brazil, maybe, are a series of hurdles that stretch out to a Himalayan degree.” (Independent)

Altitude may be dragging Wayne Rooney down
“No footballer has ever seemed less enigmatic than the Wayne Rooney who erupted on to the scene as a pugnacious teenager, still 16 when his spectacular last-minute goal at Goodison Park ended Arsenal’s 30-match unbeaten run in the league. At 17 he was given his first start in a senior international match, and those who were at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light to see him inspire the defeat of Turkey in a Euro 2004 qualifying match will never forget the impact of a player to whom fear and self-doubt were strangers.” (Guardian)

Donovan rescues U.S. World Cup dream with goal in 91st minute

“Landon Donovan scored a stunning goal in the first minute of injury time, advancing the United States to the second round at the World Cup with a 1-0 win over Algeria. With the U.S. perhaps three minutes from elimination Wednesday, Donovan brought the ball upfield on a counterattack and Jozy Altidore’s shot on the breakaway was tipped by Clint Dempsey into goalkeeper Rais Bolihi. The rebound went to Donovan, who kicked it in from about 8 yards for one of the biggest goals in U.S. soccer history.” (ESPN)

USA vs. Algeria World Cup instant analysis
“The teams are heading out, and the BBC cuts away from the tennis just in time. Phew! I almost had to tell you what someone on the radio was telling me was going on. Bob Bradley can hardly keep the grin off his face during the anthem, players’ attempt at the hands-on-shoulders move has *not* been well choreographed today. You can see how much this means to them, though. Algerian anthem sounds like the music British broadcasters use in the background of clips from horse racing. Not unpleasant, is what I’m saying.” (SI)

United States 1, Algeria 0: U.S. Wins Group C
“Three thoughts after the U.S.’s 1-0 victory against Algeria, sending the U.S. into the second round of the World Cup for the first time since 2002…” (SI)

U.S. puts up brave fight to advance
“As they have throughout this tournament, the Americans put up a brave fight. This time they delivered a victory, with their 1-0 win putting them through to the knockout stage. Here’s how each individual U.S. player performed.” (ESPN)

Could We Be Any More Likeable?
“Every couple of months, Bob Bradley produces a crisis of faith. His team slips and the mind wonders, what if Jurgen Klinsmann were the man in charge? Would we look so shaky in the back? Would our attack have a bit more flair?” (TNR)

United States (USA) 1-0 Algeria – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – World Cup – 23 June 2010
“The USA faced Algeria knowing they would need at least a draw and likely a win to advance out of the group stage. Algeria still had a chance but would need a win and some help in the other match.” (The 90th Minute)

Landon Donovan GOAL VIDEO: USA Scores To Win In Stoppage Time
“The United States advanced in the World Cup on Wednesday with a critical goal in stoppage time. With just minutes remaining in the game, Landon Donovan knocked in a goal to put the United States up for good. Scroll down to watch. The victory ended Slovenia’s World Cup trip, and the United States will learn the identity of their next opponent Wednesday afternoon, when Group D is finally sorted out.” (Huffington Post)

From Lalas to Landon: What Is The American Style Of Play?

“The idea of a distinctive national style of play is not entirely foolish, but the stereotype — being a stereotype — is not exactly a straightforward representation of reality. There are many examples of this, but I’ll give you a timely one from Gabrielle Marcotti today on the English belief about the robotic German style of play, one ever undermined by how numerous German players actually play.” (Pitch Invasion)

U.S. has destiny in its own hands

Landon Donovan
“Another World Cup, another scenario in which the U.S. has its destiny in its own hands. The question is: Will the Americans seize the moment and advance to the knockout stage, or will they suffer an early exit for the second tournament running? The circumstances are simple: Beat Algeria and the U.S. is in the second round. Even a tie, combined with the right result from the England-Slovenia match, could allow the Americans to progress.” (ESPN)

Questions for Judgment Day
“My wife had a kid on Sunday. Day 10 of the World Cup. She thoughtfully waited until Brazil had swatted aside the Ivory Coast before looking over to me, bedraggled on the couch, and declaring “Ke nako” (it’s time, the official World Cup slogan). The birth of our child brought joy into a world that had been distinctly mirthless since Friday’s England-Algeria debacle, a 90-minute spectacle so unfathomably dire that I found myself accidentally cheering for the Desert Foxes at times and was overwhelmed with nostalgia for a return to the good old days of English footy, when Sven-Goran Eriksson was commanding at the helm, the WAGs added depth and seriousness to the news reporting from Germany, and a plethora of insightful autobiographies were released by the team’s leaders the moment they came home.” (ESPN)

Why the U.S. will win
“The task at foot against Algeria tomorrow is simple: win and the Americans are in. Win big, and they’re even likely to finish first in their group. (Plus, given their last match, it can’t hurt to load up on some spare goals in case a referee starts hallucinating in the penalty area.) And while I’m not dumping Gatorade on my Landon Donovan action figure just yet, here are five reasons why I’m keeping some on ice.” (ESPN)

Live From South Africa: How the English Hate Themselves
“Watching the dispirited, sad, frankly pathetic display the English team put on against Algeria, I couldn’t help but wonder what we can learn about this nation that once ruled the world. Over and over again they looked like over-privileged, over-priced, over-pampered aristocrats, with all the skill in the world, and absolutely no heart. It was like they never met each other. How do we explain how a team with some of the greatest players in the world, from a country that actually invented the game, could be so horrible?” (Huffington Post)

World Cup 2010: Stakes are high but we are not afraid, say Slovenians
“Fabio Capello sends his side out at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium tomorrow afternoon with his opposite number warning that, whereas Slovenia pinch themselves at being on the verge of the knockout phase, England’s weighty reputation demands they progress to the second round.” (Guardian)

World Cup 2010: Rooney hampered by fatigue and pressure, says Ferguson
“Sir Alex Ferguson has been so concerned about Wayne Rooney’s state of mind in the World Cup he has broken off from a holiday in France to ring the out-of-form striker and urge him not to succumb to what the Manchester United manager described as the ‘debilitating’ atmosphere in the England camp.” (Guardian)

Foul Enough

“Alex Massie is a smart and fair-minded man, but in this case he is wrong—at least, by the standards he lays out. Alex argues, drawing on this post by Simon Haydon, that because Carlos Bocanegra did indeed foul Nejc Pečnik on Landon Donovan’s 86th-minute cross into the Slovenian box, referee Koman Coulibaly was indeed warranted—or at least not unwarranted—in making the call he made.” (Run of Play)

Winning for “El Mariscal”

“There are several reason why I enjoyed Paraguay’s victory over Slovakia. First, there’s the obvious. As almost every Paraguayan team in history, this group understands football first as a physical game. It is no coincidence that Paraguay is one of the few teams in the world—and certainly in this continent—so clearly identified with the ancestral values of its indigenous people, the Guaranies. This is not ‘el equipo paraguayo’; this is el ‘equipo guarani”. The indomitable culture of the Guarani is as much a part of Paraguayan football culture as Maori tradition for New Zealand. This Paraguayan team lives up to its billing. The Italians had a terrible time with Paraguay’s midfield.” (TNR)

Facing Algeria

“Since last December’s World Cup draw, the Algerian team has been, to my mind, underestimated. They’ve certainly had their ups and downs, and the coach has taken risks by incorporating some new players who weren’t present in qualifying. And the goalie who played so well against England, Raïs M’Bohli, did so during his first full international game for the team. But what we saw against England suggests that, in fact, this team will present a very strong challenge next week against the United States.” (Soccer Politics)

US-Slovenia Analysis and Ratings

“As is my custom, I begin with three general thoughts about Friday’s 2-2 U.S. Men’s National Team draw with Slovenia at Ellis Park in Johannesburg. Everyone knows how the Yanks responded to abject adversity last summer. They came out and pummeled one of the best sides in Africa 3-nil. With help from Brazil, this set the stage for the gargantuan effort and upset of Spain, and for forty-five minutes on the same field they played on Friday, they had Brazil on the ropes before succumbing in the second half of the Confederations Cup Final. Friday, the Yanks had no such grace period to recover and no top-three side in the universe to aid them in their quest for a miracle.” (Yanks Are Coming)

World Cup 2010: Slovenia 2-2 United States of America

“I’ve seen both of these nations in major competitions. As you may have noticed from the Slovenia-Algeria report, I saw the Slovenians at Euro 2000. The USA however, were one of the teams playing at my first live World Cup match in 2006 – their opponents were Italy, in what was one of the games of the tournament. And that was the point at which my view on American’s playing football changed. It was all down to the fans who travelled to Germany. On the upside, they were very enthusiastic about the game, and (unlike the perception from the more ignorant sections of our media – i.e. most of it) were very knowledgeable about the game, as you would expect people who’ve flown thousands of miles for as little as one game to be.” (twohundredpercent)

For U.S., Only Frustration Is Clear
“In the 85th minute Friday, the referee Koman Coulibaly gazed into what was supposed to be a penalty area but was actually a mosh pit. Sure, the Slovene players were committing acts usually experienced during the arrest scenes on “Cops.” But the Americans were also doing their share of slam-dancing and assorted frisking maneuvers usually reserved for the security line at the airport.” (NYT)

On Feeling Cheated: Notes on USA – Slovenia
“Sport culture seems to be the one discursive space in which we can declare that we were robbed, that our team was cheated, that the game wasn’t fair – and we don’t come off as bitter or resentful. This sort of anger – at being kept out of the World Cup finals by someone’s handball, or at being cheated of the three points awarded to a win by a rogue referee – is perfectly allowed – a certain sense of injustice is in fact nursed into an art.” (From A Left Wing)

Soccer Hatred Roils Brazil

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“The extreme size of America’s extreme right became a trending topic in Brazil when Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck attacked the Brazilian national pastime, linking its concept of team play to Marxism and socialism. President Lula is a big futebol fan and 58 million Brazilians have gained internet access thanks to his ‘one nation for everyone’ strategy that projects the good side of globalism.” (Huffington Post)

Bradley’s late goal follows Donovan score as U.S. salvages draw

“Down two goals and facing an abrupt end to their World Cup, the Americans turned to their leader — and Landon Donovan turned around the match. Donovan scored early in the second half, and Michael Bradley tied it in a furious second-half comeback, giving the United States a 2-2 draw against Slovenia on Friday that kept alive the Americans’ chances of advancing.” (ESPN)

World Cup 2010: Slovenia 2-2 United States of America
“I’ve seen both of these nations in major competitions. As you may have noticed from the Slovenia-Algeria report, I saw the Slovenians at Euro 2000. The USA however, were one of the teams playing at my first live World Cup match in 2006 – their opponents were Italy, in what was one of the games of the tournament. And that was the point at which my view on American’s playing football changed. It was all down to the fans who travelled to Germany. On the upside, they were very enthusiastic about the game, and (unlike the perception from the more ignorant sections of our media – i.e. most of it) were very knowledgeable about the game, as you would expect people who’ve flown thousands of miles for as little as one game to be.” (twohundredpercent)

Slovenia 2-2 USA
“Michael Bradley struck a dramatic late equaliser as the United States came from two goals down to draw with Slovenia in a pulsating Group C encounter in Johannesburg. It seemed Slovenia were heading through to the last 16 when the superb Valter Birsa put them ahead with a curling effort and Zlatan Ljubijankic drilled in to double the lead shortly before half-time. But US coach Bob Bradley made a double change at the interval and the move paid immediate dividends, Landon Donovon racing clear on the right and firing high into the roof of the net.” (BBC)

USA Denied A 3-2 Win Over Slovenia By Referee Koman Coulibaly
“The United States rallied back in Friday’s match against Slovenia to get a 2-2 draw. This is a good result considering they went down early but the real story is the disallowed goal late in the second half.” (The 90th Minute)

USA Fight Back For Thrilling 2-2 Draw
“After falling behind 2-0, the USA fights back for a point with a 2-2 draw.” (ESPN)

The Toughness Game: An American Style of Soccer

“The US game against England–a 1-1 tie, as everyone knows–was real entertainment and also, for me, a moment of revelation. After an early goal, when it seemed like it would all be out of reach very soon, star-studded England seemed troubled by the innocent, sincere play of the Americans, who were able to pull even later in the first half and keep it at that for the rest of the game.” (Soccer Politics)