World Cup 2022

Crusaders

Crusaders

Moderator
US draws England, Iran, and Scotland/Wales/Ukraine

Group A
Qatar
Netherlands
Senegal
Ecuador

Group B
England
United States
Iran
Scotland/Wales/Ukraine

Group C
Argentina
Poland
Mexico
Saudi Arabia

Group D
France
Denmark
Tunisia
Peru/Australia/UAE

Group E
Spain
Germany
Japan
Costa Rica/ New Zealand

Group F
Belgium
Croatia
Morocco
Canada

Group G
Brazil
Switzerland
Serbia
Cameroon

Group H
Portugal
Uruguay
South Korea
Ghana
 
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While the initial reports are that Group E with heavy weights Spain & Germany is the group of death by far the most interesting group is B, one person is calling this the group of politics. You have Group fave England possibly facing Great Britain countries Wales or Scotland (who by the way wants to break away from GB), the US facing a not so friendly foe in Iran, and then there is the possibility of Ukraine getting serious sympathy for playing soccer during a war. Like the 1985 NBA draft I wonder if some of those balls were placed in a freezer just before being pulled?
 
Auggie said:
While the initial reports are that Group E with heavy weights Spain & Germany is the group of death by far the most interesting group is B, one person is calling this the group of politics. You have Group fave England possibly facing Great Britain countries Wales or Scotland (who by the way wants to break away from GB), the US facing a not so friendly foe in Iran, and then there is the possibility of Ukraine getting serious sympathy for playing soccer during a war. Like the 1985 NBA draft I wonder if some of those balls were placed in a freezer just before being pulled?
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As much as I see your views on group E I'd have to say that group B is up my alley and the one I'll be watching. With recent activity in Ukraine I think with all this support around the world their soccer team will benefit from this and become that underdog this World Cup needs. They will have tough matches along the group but I think they will pull through.
 
When is the next world cup qualifying games? (EX, Costa Rica vs New Zealand ..... and the other games to determine the last few spots)
 
vamp2syd said:
When is the next world cup qualifying games? (EX, Costa Rica vs New Zealand ..... and the other games to determine the last few spots)
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June 13-14 in Qatar for the two inter-confederation playoff finals.

The final European qualifying matches (Scotland vs Ukraine and then that winner vs Wales) were tentatively scheduled for June but I believe it's still up in the air.
 
I’ll remain optimistic until otherwise. It’s possible a professional athlete with all the resources available to them can recover in 4-5 months. It’s a long shot. What really sucks is he lost the possibility of getting a job in Europe in the Fall before the WC

Fortunately, CB isn’t a position without depth. Chris Richards is arguably the best CB in the system but he’s young and didn’t get much PT during qualifying. John Brooks is also there but Berhalter doesn’t favor him
 
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Crusaders said:
I’ll remain optimistic until otherwise. It’s possible a professional athlete with all the resources available to them can recover in 4-5 months. It’s a long shot. What really sucks is he long the possibility of getting a job in Europe in the Fall before the WC

Fortunately, CB isn’t a position without depth. Chris Richards is arguably the best CB in the system but he’s young and didn’t get much PT during qualifying. John Brooks is also there but Berhalter doesn’t favor him
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Outside of keeper center back is the position I want the "veteran" player manning. Would hate for a younger guy to be playing well and then make a bonehead mistake like an own goal to cost the side a berth in the tourney.
 
This is a super young team that if everything goes well and they get favorable matchups could make a good run but long term 2026 is when this team should coalesce into a real threat. So, I'd be fine rolling with Richards and getting him the WC experience
 
2026 Short list of stadiums:

www.espn.com

World Cup 2026 venues to be revealed June 16

FIFA intends to announce the 2026 World Cup sites during a news conference in New York on June 16.
www.espn.com www.espn.com

From what I heard through my business is the Euros & FIFA want the finals in the eastern time zone and prefer them to kick off at 3:00 so it would be a 9:00 start on the continent, maximize viewing rights fees. A 3:00 kick off mid-summer in DC is not that great so I would suspect MetLife is where the chalk for the finals location with a back up of DC, Boston or Philadelphia.
 
I would think MetLife would make the most sense for the final, if FIFA does want an East Coast stadium. Otherwise, I would have thought one of the LA stadiums.
 
Crusaders said:
A lot of the US stadiums are going to have install natural grass to meet FIFA requirements. Not cheap
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I've been to a Gold Cup match at MetLife, so I know they're capable of doing it (and properly, not like the exhibition match I went to in the Horseshoe in Columbus where the field was a disaster).
 
Brooks should just retire from national team duty at this point. Berhalter clearly has him in the shytepile behind the doghouse
 
Midfield looked good tonight against Morocco, but back line was a disaster waiting to happen. They need to figure out who their second center back will be (assuming Zimmerman will be one of them). Aaron Long was pretty brutal tonight.
 
soccerdad72 said:
Midfield looked good tonight against Morocco, but back line was a disaster waiting to happen. They need to figure out who their second center back will be (assuming Zimmerman will be one of them). Aaron Long was pretty brutal tonight.
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How much of the back line issues were the midfield not doing a good job of tracking the Moroccan attackers and transitioning back to the defensive side of the field? I agree that Long didn't look good but the Morocco attackers had the numbers when counter attacking and that is not all on the back line.
 
Auggie said:
How much of the back line issues were the midfield not doing a good job of tracking the Moroccan attackers and transitioning back to the defensive side of the field? I agree that Long didn't look good but the Morocco attackers had the numbers when counter attacking and that is not all on the back line.
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Fair point - there were definitely times during the game when it was too easy for the Moroccan players to pass and dribble right through the midfield.
 
soccerdad72 said:
Fair point - there were definitely times during the game when it was too easy for the Moroccan players to pass and dribble right through the midfield.
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That was a point made by one of the ESPN broadcasters. He liked what the US was doing in the midfield and it is a new strategy Berhalter is trying out for the US in this window but the Midfield needs to get on board both sides of the field or it could be a disaster against better sides.
 
It's difficult to control the midfield with a 3-3-4 formation without strong wingback play. Missing Dest hurts there
 
Tough loss by Ukraine as Wales secures the last spot in Group B.

Wales will be a tough match-up for the USA as an in-form Bale will be the best player on the pitch and they have some good complimentary players in attack and the midfield.

They are certainly beatable though.
 
Australia "upsets" Peru in Qatar on a 5-4 penalty shoot-out win to secure the last spot in Group D.

Costa Rica (#31) and New Zealand (#101) face off today for the last spot in Group E and final spot in the 2022 World Cup.
 
Not sure what to think of that match against El Salvador last night. On the one hand could you see Germany or France playing in conditions like that? I have seen HS grass fields with better looking fields in hard rain than what those guys played on last night. But the US should have been able to over come these and get a better result than a tie against a very over matched side.

FVQpw2oWAAExM1Q.jpg
 
That was a very CONCACAF-y match last night, pitch, ref, players, etc.

Of course, the argument from the Latin American supporters is to point out the Minnesota qualifying game, so it's kind of hard to argue that one.

Horvath pretty much blew his 3rd string goalie spot on the roster last night, I think. Not that he was ever likely to see the field in Qatar anyways.
 
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