Recent events:
- Monday May 24: The US team had dinner with basketball legend Bill Russell. (link)
- Tuesday May 25: The US lost 2-4 to the Czech Republic.
- Wednesday May 26: The final US World Cup roster was released on ESPN. (video)
- The Official 2010 World Cup Thread is up, post "[Allegiance] - GAF Name - [USA]" to get an American flag tag.
- Thursday May 27: The US team visited the White House for a photo with both Presidents Clinton and Obama. (link) (video)
- Saturday May 29: The US won 2-1 over Turkey. (highlights)
- Sunday May 30: The US team flew from Washington D.C. to Johannesburg, South Africa. (video)
- Saturday June 5: The US won 3-1 over Australia. (highlights)
Upcoming events:
- Saturday June 12 - THE RUMBLE IN RUSTENBURG
USA v England - World Cup Group Stage Game 1 - Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg - 2:30pm Eastern on ABC
=====
Soccer is the most popular sport in almost every other country, but it's only the fifth most popular team sport in the United States. Americans love sports, but many die-hard sports fans know almost nothing about soccer.
America has a football team, and it's not the Dallas Cowboys.
2010 USMNT Schedule
Jan 23 - USA 1-3 Honduras - Friendly - Home Depot Center, Carson CA - USA goal by Clarence Goodson.
- - -
Feb 24 Wed USA 2-1 El Salvador - Friendly - Raymond James Stadium, Tampa FL - USA goals by Brian Ching & Sasha Kljestan.
- - -
Mar 3 Wed Netherlands 2-1 USA - Friendly - Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam - USA goal by Carlos Bocanegra.
- - -
May 25 Tue USA 2-4 Czech Republic - Friendly - Rentschler Field, East Hartford, CT - USA goals by Maurice Edu & Herculez Gomez.
- - -
May 29 Sat USA 2-1 Turkey - Friendly - Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia PA - USA goals by Jozy Altidore & Clint Dempsey.
- - -
Jun 5 Sat USA 3-1 Australia - Friendly - Ruimsig Stadium, Roodepoort, South Africa - USA goals by Edson Buddle (2) & Herculez Gomez.
- - -
Jun 12 Sat USA v England - World Cup Group Stage Game 1 - Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg - 2:30pm Eastern on ABC
- - -
Jun 18 Fri USA v Slovenia - World Cup Group Stage Game 2 - Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg - 9:30am Eastern on ESPN and ESPN3.com
- - -
Jun 23 Wed USA v Algeria - World Cup Group Stage Game 3 - Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Tshwane/Pretoria - 9:30am Eastern on ESPN and ESPN3.com
USA TV listings for the 2010 World Cup
World Cup Roster
GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa, England), Marcus Hahnemann (Wolverhampton, England), Tim Howard (Everton, England).
DEFENDERS (7): Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes, France), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover, Germany), Jay DeMerit (Watford, England), Clarence Goodson (IK Start, Norway), Oguchi Onyewu (AC Milan, Italy), Jonathan Spector (West Ham, England).
MIDFIELDERS (9): DaMarcus Beasley (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland), Michael Bradley (Borussia Moenchengladbach, Germany), Ricardo Clark (Eintracht Frankfurt, Germany), Clint Dempsey (Fulham, England), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Maurice Edu (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland), Benny Feilhaber (AGF Aarhus, Denmark), Stuart Holden (Bolton, England), Jose Torres (Pachuca, Mexico).
FORWARDS (4): Jozy Altidore (Hull, England), Edson Buddle (Los Angeles Galaxy), Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake), Herculez Gomez (Puebla, Mexico).
Cut: Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew), Heath Pearce (FC Dallas), Alejandro Bedoya (Örebro, Sweden), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Eddie Johnson (Aris Thessaloniki, Greece)
Projected Starting 11
click on the names for more information
coach: Bob Bradley
Tim Howard
Jonathan Spector
Jay DeMerit
Oguchi Onyewu
Carlos Bocanegra
Stuart Holden
Michael Bradley
Ricardo Clark
Landon Donovan
Clint Dempsey
Jozy Altidore
Formation and Tactics
The US mostly plays a 4-4-2 formation. Because they lack world-class offensive power and the technical ability to win the war of possession, they generally hope to stay in the game through hard work and defending and then counter attack (example). The team focus is more on athletic ability, speed, endurance, and effort, as they can't compete with the top teams just based on skill. There is an emphasis on "work-rate", total distance covered, movement intensity, and recovery time between high-intensity efforts.
ESPN article on possible tactics
Reason for optimism
- After a 40 year absence, the US has qualified for every World Cup since 1990.
- The US has now had a professional soccer league since 1996, this is important because it shows American kids that soccer can be a career and not just a hobby.
- The 1994 World Cup hosted by the US still holds the record for highest attendance.
- The US team has fared much better in World Cups that are not held in Europe (0-9-1 in Europe, 6-7-2 elsewhere).
- The 2006 World Cup final with 16.9 million Americans watching, five million of them the Spanish broadcast beat out deciding games of baseballs World Series (16.3 million) and basketballs NBA finals (15.7 million).
- The US team showed they have the potential to be competitive against the best teams in the world at the 2009 Confederations Cup in South Africa when it beat Spain 2-0 in the semifinals and lost 3-2 to Brazil in the final.
- Ticket sales for South Africa: as of March at least 125,000 tickets had been sold stateside, more than in England, Germany, or Brazil and second only to South Africa.
- Demographics and economics favor the US: According to Soccernomics, the outcome of 3 out of 4 matches can be correctly predicted by a formula based on population (the US is first among WC teams), GDP per head (the US is third or fourth among WC teams), experience, and host advantage.
- More players with experience abroad. The number of MLS players on the roster has dropped from 12 in 2006 to 4 in 2010 (really 3 considering one is Donovan).
- The United States had 4.3 million registered soccer players in 2008, more than any other country besides Germany.
Current Ranking
ELO: 20
SPI: 15
FIFA: 14
Voros McCracken: 23
Links
US Soccer MNT Blog
USMNT page on ESPN
Official NeoGAF 2010 World Cup Thread
World Cup Calendar - check this out
World Cup History
by NoRéN
1930: In the inaugural World Cup, the United States dominated Group 4, beating Belgium 3-0 in the first shutout in World Cup history, and then Paraguay 3-0 to advance to the Semi-Finals, were they were defeated 6-1 by Argentina. There was no third place game between the US and Yugoslavia, but FIFA has ranked the United States third.
American Bert Patenaude is officially credited by FIFA as the scorer of the first hat-trick in World Cup history, having scored three goals against Paraguay at the Parque Central Stadium in Montevideo.
Bert Patenaude
1934: The United States lost to Italy 7-1 in the 1st round and were eliminated from the tournament.
1938: Withdrew from tournament.
1950: A combined Great Britain team had recently beaten the rest of Europe 6-1 in an exhibition match and England went into the competition as one of the favourites. However, it was not to be, as they went crashing out in a shock 1-0 defeat by the United States at Belo Horizonte Brazil (when the score appeared in English newspapers, many thought it was a misprint) which, combined with their 1-0 defeat by Spain, led to England being eliminated.
Joe Gaetjens scored the only goal as the U.S. defeated England
After the Miracle on Grass the USMNT failed to qualify for 9 consecutive World Cup tournaments.
1989: In 1989, FIFA named the United States hosts of the 1994 World Cup, but it did so under significant international criticism because of the perceived weakness of the national team and the lack of a professional outdoor league. This criticism diminished somewhat when a 10 win against Trinidad and Tobago, the U.S.'s first away win in nearly two years, in the last match of the 1989 CONCACAF Championship, earned the United States its first World Cup appearance in 40 years.
1990: U.S. went on to lose all three group games to Czechoslovakia, Italy and Austria.
1994: US hosts the FIFA World Cup!
Group A will be remembered for two historical moments in international football. First was that the match between the United States and Switzerland would be the first ever to take place indoors, having been played under the roof at the Pontiac Silverdome. The second was the murder of Colombian defender Andres Escobar - shot dead on his return to Colombia, after his own goal had contributed to them being knocked out of the tournament.
The US was eliminated in the Round of 16 by eventual World Cup winners Brazil. The game will be remembered by the skull fracture that, US midfielder, Tab Ramos suffered after an elbow to the head by, now AC Milan coach, Leonardo. Bebeto scored to give Brazil a 1-0 victory.
1998: The US failed to win a single match in the group stage and were eliminated with a game to spare.
2002: 2-0!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Landon Donovans header against Mexico helped the U.S. advance to the quarterfinals
The United States began their 2002 World Cup campaign with a famous 3-2 upset over Portugal. A draw with Korea Republic was enough to secure 2nd place in the group and set up another historic moment: A Round of 16 match against Mexico. Despite Mexico being heavily favored to advance, the US displayed great determination and skill over a Mexico squad featuring the likes of Blanco, Marquez, Borgetti, and Luis Hernandez. Landon Donovan and Brian McBride scored to give the US a 2-0 victory over Mexico. The US were eliminated by a score of 1-0 by eventual Runners Up, Germany.
2006: Another forgettable World Cup. US finished bottom of Group E with their only positive result being a 1-1 draw against eventual Champions, Italy.
US and Fulham legend Brian McBride took an elbow to the face against Italy
CONCACAF History
Feilhaber's goal against Mexico
Videos
The Theory of Competition - guaranteed to get you pumped up
ESPN - England vs USA: "These are the times that try men's souls"
Gatorade - The Road
US Soccer - Over There
Nike - 2 seconds to talk about soccer
Remembering the greatest results and moments in US Soccer history
US Soccer Documentary
USA National Soccer Team 1916-89
One Goal: Road to South Africa 1 2 3 4 5 6
US Soccer World Cup 2010 Trailer
Landon Donovan - This is Sportscenter
Jozy Altidore - This is Sportscenter
US - Spain 2009 Confederations Cup Semifinal Highlights
US - Mexico 2002 World Cup Round of 16
US - Portugal 2002 World Cup
US - Egypt 2009 Confederations Cup
US - Germany 2002 World Cup Quarterfinals
US - Brazil 2009 Confederations Cup Finals
US - Argentina 1995 Copa America
United States: Road to the World Cup
US highlights from 2006-2010 part 1 | part 2
US highlights from 2005-2006
ESPN "32 Teams One Dream" videos
ESPN "I Scored a Goal in the World Cup Final" videos
ESPN murals
Miscellaneous
Sign the petition to bring the World Cup to the United States in 2018 or 2022
Brad Pitt and Spike Lee have signed the petition
A history of the modern U.S. soccer jersey
The 2010 US jersey is modeled after the 1950 jersey
Most important goals by Americans in European club soccer
Dempsey!
Americans abroad in 2009-10 - summaries and grades
Castrol World Cup Success Predictor
Castrol rankings for Americans in Europe
Nate Silver's Group C Analysis
U.S. World Cup history 1930-2006
The Secret History of American Soccer
The top-five team performances by the U.S. in World Cup history
Five spectacular performances from U.S. players at the World Cup
Buy the 2010 US jersey - car flag - scarf
Joe Gaetjens
A Goal, A Ghost video: Joe Gaetjens, a Haitian immigrant, scored the greatest goal in American soccer history. He should have been a hero. Instead, Gaetjens was abducted and died in a Haitian prison.
ESPN story
SI story
Can you name the players who have appeared for the US National Men's Soccer Team during the 2010 World Cup cycle?
- Monday May 24: The US team had dinner with basketball legend Bill Russell. (link)
- Tuesday May 25: The US lost 2-4 to the Czech Republic.
- Wednesday May 26: The final US World Cup roster was released on ESPN. (video)
- The Official 2010 World Cup Thread is up, post "[Allegiance] - GAF Name - [USA]" to get an American flag tag.
- Thursday May 27: The US team visited the White House for a photo with both Presidents Clinton and Obama. (link) (video)
- Saturday May 29: The US won 2-1 over Turkey. (highlights)
- Sunday May 30: The US team flew from Washington D.C. to Johannesburg, South Africa. (video)
- Saturday June 5: The US won 3-1 over Australia. (highlights)
Upcoming events:
- Saturday June 12 - THE RUMBLE IN RUSTENBURG
USA v England - World Cup Group Stage Game 1 - Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg - 2:30pm Eastern on ABC
=====
Soccer is the most popular sport in almost every other country, but it's only the fifth most popular team sport in the United States. Americans love sports, but many die-hard sports fans know almost nothing about soccer.
America has a football team, and it's not the Dallas Cowboys.
2010 USMNT Schedule
Jan 23 - USA 1-3 Honduras - Friendly - Home Depot Center, Carson CA - USA goal by Clarence Goodson.
- - -
Feb 24 Wed USA 2-1 El Salvador - Friendly - Raymond James Stadium, Tampa FL - USA goals by Brian Ching & Sasha Kljestan.
- - -
Mar 3 Wed Netherlands 2-1 USA - Friendly - Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam - USA goal by Carlos Bocanegra.
- - -
May 25 Tue USA 2-4 Czech Republic - Friendly - Rentschler Field, East Hartford, CT - USA goals by Maurice Edu & Herculez Gomez.
- - -
May 29 Sat USA 2-1 Turkey - Friendly - Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia PA - USA goals by Jozy Altidore & Clint Dempsey.
- - -
Jun 5 Sat USA 3-1 Australia - Friendly - Ruimsig Stadium, Roodepoort, South Africa - USA goals by Edson Buddle (2) & Herculez Gomez.
- - -
Jun 12 Sat USA v England - World Cup Group Stage Game 1 - Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg - 2:30pm Eastern on ABC
- - -
Jun 18 Fri USA v Slovenia - World Cup Group Stage Game 2 - Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg - 9:30am Eastern on ESPN and ESPN3.com
- - -
Jun 23 Wed USA v Algeria - World Cup Group Stage Game 3 - Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Tshwane/Pretoria - 9:30am Eastern on ESPN and ESPN3.com
USA TV listings for the 2010 World Cup
World Cup Roster
GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa, England), Marcus Hahnemann (Wolverhampton, England), Tim Howard (Everton, England).
DEFENDERS (7): Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes, France), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover, Germany), Jay DeMerit (Watford, England), Clarence Goodson (IK Start, Norway), Oguchi Onyewu (AC Milan, Italy), Jonathan Spector (West Ham, England).
MIDFIELDERS (9): DaMarcus Beasley (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland), Michael Bradley (Borussia Moenchengladbach, Germany), Ricardo Clark (Eintracht Frankfurt, Germany), Clint Dempsey (Fulham, England), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Maurice Edu (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland), Benny Feilhaber (AGF Aarhus, Denmark), Stuart Holden (Bolton, England), Jose Torres (Pachuca, Mexico).
FORWARDS (4): Jozy Altidore (Hull, England), Edson Buddle (Los Angeles Galaxy), Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake), Herculez Gomez (Puebla, Mexico).
Cut: Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew), Heath Pearce (FC Dallas), Alejandro Bedoya (Örebro, Sweden), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Eddie Johnson (Aris Thessaloniki, Greece)
Projected Starting 11
click on the names for more information
coach: Bob Bradley
Tim Howard
Jonathan Spector
Jay DeMerit
Oguchi Onyewu
Carlos Bocanegra
Stuart Holden
Michael Bradley
Ricardo Clark
Landon Donovan
Clint Dempsey
Jozy Altidore
Formation and Tactics
The US mostly plays a 4-4-2 formation. Because they lack world-class offensive power and the technical ability to win the war of possession, they generally hope to stay in the game through hard work and defending and then counter attack (example). The team focus is more on athletic ability, speed, endurance, and effort, as they can't compete with the top teams just based on skill. There is an emphasis on "work-rate", total distance covered, movement intensity, and recovery time between high-intensity efforts.
ESPN article on possible tactics
Reason for optimism
- After a 40 year absence, the US has qualified for every World Cup since 1990.
- The US has now had a professional soccer league since 1996, this is important because it shows American kids that soccer can be a career and not just a hobby.
- The 1994 World Cup hosted by the US still holds the record for highest attendance.
- The US team has fared much better in World Cups that are not held in Europe (0-9-1 in Europe, 6-7-2 elsewhere).
- The 2006 World Cup final with 16.9 million Americans watching, five million of them the Spanish broadcast beat out deciding games of baseballs World Series (16.3 million) and basketballs NBA finals (15.7 million).
- The US team showed they have the potential to be competitive against the best teams in the world at the 2009 Confederations Cup in South Africa when it beat Spain 2-0 in the semifinals and lost 3-2 to Brazil in the final.
- Ticket sales for South Africa: as of March at least 125,000 tickets had been sold stateside, more than in England, Germany, or Brazil and second only to South Africa.
- Demographics and economics favor the US: According to Soccernomics, the outcome of 3 out of 4 matches can be correctly predicted by a formula based on population (the US is first among WC teams), GDP per head (the US is third or fourth among WC teams), experience, and host advantage.
- More players with experience abroad. The number of MLS players on the roster has dropped from 12 in 2006 to 4 in 2010 (really 3 considering one is Donovan).
- The United States had 4.3 million registered soccer players in 2008, more than any other country besides Germany.
Current Ranking
ELO: 20
SPI: 15
FIFA: 14
Voros McCracken: 23
Links
US Soccer MNT Blog
USMNT page on ESPN
Official NeoGAF 2010 World Cup Thread
World Cup Calendar - check this out
World Cup History
by NoRéN
1930: In the inaugural World Cup, the United States dominated Group 4, beating Belgium 3-0 in the first shutout in World Cup history, and then Paraguay 3-0 to advance to the Semi-Finals, were they were defeated 6-1 by Argentina. There was no third place game between the US and Yugoslavia, but FIFA has ranked the United States third.
American Bert Patenaude is officially credited by FIFA as the scorer of the first hat-trick in World Cup history, having scored three goals against Paraguay at the Parque Central Stadium in Montevideo.
Bert Patenaude
1934: The United States lost to Italy 7-1 in the 1st round and were eliminated from the tournament.
1938: Withdrew from tournament.
1950: A combined Great Britain team had recently beaten the rest of Europe 6-1 in an exhibition match and England went into the competition as one of the favourites. However, it was not to be, as they went crashing out in a shock 1-0 defeat by the United States at Belo Horizonte Brazil (when the score appeared in English newspapers, many thought it was a misprint) which, combined with their 1-0 defeat by Spain, led to England being eliminated.
Joe Gaetjens scored the only goal as the U.S. defeated England
After the Miracle on Grass the USMNT failed to qualify for 9 consecutive World Cup tournaments.
1989: In 1989, FIFA named the United States hosts of the 1994 World Cup, but it did so under significant international criticism because of the perceived weakness of the national team and the lack of a professional outdoor league. This criticism diminished somewhat when a 10 win against Trinidad and Tobago, the U.S.'s first away win in nearly two years, in the last match of the 1989 CONCACAF Championship, earned the United States its first World Cup appearance in 40 years.
1990: U.S. went on to lose all three group games to Czechoslovakia, Italy and Austria.
1994: US hosts the FIFA World Cup!
Group A will be remembered for two historical moments in international football. First was that the match between the United States and Switzerland would be the first ever to take place indoors, having been played under the roof at the Pontiac Silverdome. The second was the murder of Colombian defender Andres Escobar - shot dead on his return to Colombia, after his own goal had contributed to them being knocked out of the tournament.
The US was eliminated in the Round of 16 by eventual World Cup winners Brazil. The game will be remembered by the skull fracture that, US midfielder, Tab Ramos suffered after an elbow to the head by, now AC Milan coach, Leonardo. Bebeto scored to give Brazil a 1-0 victory.
1998: The US failed to win a single match in the group stage and were eliminated with a game to spare.
2002: 2-0!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Landon Donovans header against Mexico helped the U.S. advance to the quarterfinals
The United States began their 2002 World Cup campaign with a famous 3-2 upset over Portugal. A draw with Korea Republic was enough to secure 2nd place in the group and set up another historic moment: A Round of 16 match against Mexico. Despite Mexico being heavily favored to advance, the US displayed great determination and skill over a Mexico squad featuring the likes of Blanco, Marquez, Borgetti, and Luis Hernandez. Landon Donovan and Brian McBride scored to give the US a 2-0 victory over Mexico. The US were eliminated by a score of 1-0 by eventual Runners Up, Germany.
2006: Another forgettable World Cup. US finished bottom of Group E with their only positive result being a 1-1 draw against eventual Champions, Italy.
US and Fulham legend Brian McBride took an elbow to the face against Italy
CONCACAF History
Feilhaber's goal against Mexico
Videos
The Theory of Competition - guaranteed to get you pumped up
ESPN - England vs USA: "These are the times that try men's souls"
Gatorade - The Road
US Soccer - Over There
Nike - 2 seconds to talk about soccer
Remembering the greatest results and moments in US Soccer history
US Soccer Documentary
USA National Soccer Team 1916-89
One Goal: Road to South Africa 1 2 3 4 5 6
US Soccer World Cup 2010 Trailer
Landon Donovan - This is Sportscenter
Jozy Altidore - This is Sportscenter
US - Spain 2009 Confederations Cup Semifinal Highlights
US - Mexico 2002 World Cup Round of 16
US - Portugal 2002 World Cup
US - Egypt 2009 Confederations Cup
US - Germany 2002 World Cup Quarterfinals
US - Brazil 2009 Confederations Cup Finals
US - Argentina 1995 Copa America
United States: Road to the World Cup
US highlights from 2006-2010 part 1 | part 2
US highlights from 2005-2006
ESPN "32 Teams One Dream" videos
ESPN "I Scored a Goal in the World Cup Final" videos
ESPN murals
Miscellaneous
Sign the petition to bring the World Cup to the United States in 2018 or 2022
Brad Pitt and Spike Lee have signed the petition
A history of the modern U.S. soccer jersey
The 2010 US jersey is modeled after the 1950 jersey
Most important goals by Americans in European club soccer
Dempsey!
Americans abroad in 2009-10 - summaries and grades
Castrol World Cup Success Predictor
Castrol rankings for Americans in Europe
Nate Silver's Group C Analysis
U.S. World Cup history 1930-2006
The Secret History of American Soccer
The top-five team performances by the U.S. in World Cup history
Five spectacular performances from U.S. players at the World Cup
Buy the 2010 US jersey - car flag - scarf
Joe Gaetjens
A Goal, A Ghost video: Joe Gaetjens, a Haitian immigrant, scored the greatest goal in American soccer history. He should have been a hero. Instead, Gaetjens was abducted and died in a Haitian prison.
ESPN story
SI story
Can you name the players who have appeared for the US National Men's Soccer Team during the 2010 World Cup cycle?
1781 --> 1815 --> 1950 --> 2010
