World Cup Qualifier: USA vs. Costa Rica

[slycat]

Costa Rica winning 2-0 in the first half. US looking awful.

[BlueHen86]

Costa Rica winning 2-0 in the first half. US looking awful.

I'm watching, and you are right; the U.S. looks bad.

Costa Rica scored at about the 6th minute and again around the 12th minute.

[BlueHen86]

Crap. Now it's 3-0 Costa Rica.

About 20 minutes left.

[slycat]

Ugly goal. Defense was just standing there watching.

[BlueHen86]

The U.S. scores on a penalty king in extra time.

Costa Rica leads 3-1 with only a few seconds remaining.

It is the first time the U.S. has scored at Costa Rica since 2000.

[BlueHen86]

Final score: Costa Rica 3 U.S. 1

[bandl]

Just further proof that U.S. soccer is in horrible shape. What an embarrassment.

[T-Dog]

Just further proof that U.S. soccer is in horrible shape. What an embarrassment.

The last time the US went to Costa Rica was in 2005 and they lost 3-0. Was the team an embarrassment then?

Losing on the road to the 2nd best team in North America isn't embarrassing. The performance wasn't great, but it doesn't mean US soccer is on it's death bed. They're still going to more-than-likely qualify for the World Cup. The US has never won in Costa Rica.

If the team loses on Saturday in Chicago to Honduras, then that's an embarrassment. If they stink it up in the Confederations Cup against Brazil, Italy and Egypt in the next two weeks, then that's be a big deal. One bad game isn't worth becoming a negative nancy over, especially after great games Trinidad and Tobago, Mexico and a great comeback at El Salvador. The two players who were responsible for the tie in El Salvador (Hejduk and Chung) are injured so that hurt the team.

[DukeJack]

Yeah, just too many changes in this game which doomed us. No Ching or Frankie, a 4-3-3, Wynne and Beasley as outside backs, too many changes for one game. However, it at least showed why countering and bunkering is the norm the world over for away qualifiers.

I had a few more issues with Bob's in-game management. When he pulled Torres and put in Kljestan, I would have hoped we'd switch to a 3-4-3, which the guys have actually played before. I also would have left in Torres but yanked Mastro, but then again I'm not the coach.

This game just showed why Ching still belongs on this team, especially on the road. He holds the ball, lays it off, and draws fouls better than any of our current forwards. All Jozy has seemed to learn in Spain is how to embellish and cry for a foul. If Bradley wants to continue with a target forward role, who isn't Ching, Altidore has a lot of work to do learning how to hold the ball and shield defenders off of it. I actually wouldn't mind seeing how Conor Casey does, who is the only "big man" willing to play that role, and who has actually been scoring in league play. Not having this kind of target player showed how weak Donovan is on the wing without someone to hold the ball up for him. He disappeared more than usual, only showing up late in the second half.

I'm not too worried yet, this is the first true screw-up in Bob's career. He has won every other time he was supposed to, and there is no reason to think he won't have them ready for Honduras. But lose then, and I don't know....

[slycat]

The US is 0-22-1 in Mexico. When we go there later this year, will it be an embarrassment to lose?

[BlueHen86]

The US is 0-22-1 in Mexico. When we go there later this year, will it be an embarrassment to lose?

That depends on how they play. If they play hard and lose there is nothing to be ashamed of.

I thought last night was embarassing. They fell behind 2-0 quickly and never responded. They didn't look like they were ready to play.

[T-Dog]

The US is 0-22-1 in Mexico. When we go there later this year, will it be an embarrassment to lose?

The Azteca is probably the hardest places to play in the world for a visiting team. Over 6,000 feet above sea level with pollution levels twice that of the healthy limit and in front of over 100,000 fans.

Depends on the loss. If they lose in a close one, then it's not that bad. But if it's a bad loss where the team plays well, then it's embarrassing. It's very possible to play lights out there and still lose.

But the US has Honduras on Saturday in Chicago and then Italy, Brazil and Egypt in the Confederations Cup in less than two weeks in South Africa. This will be the true measuring stick on Bradley and the US team in these next three weeks.

[bandl]

Just further proof that U.S. soccer is in horrible shape. What an embarrassment.

The last time the US went to Costa Rica was in 2005 and they lost 3-0. Was the team an embarrassment then?

Losing on the road to the 2nd best team in North America isn't embarrassing. The performance wasn't great, but it doesn't mean US soccer is on it's death bed. They're still going to more-than-likely qualify for the World Cup. The US has never won in Costa Rica.

If the team loses on Saturday in Chicago to Honduras, then that's an embarrassment. If they stink it up in the Confederations Cup against Brazil, Italy and Egypt in the next two weeks, then that's be a big deal. One bad game isn't worth becoming a negative nancy over, especially after great games Trinidad and Tobago, Mexico and a great comeback at El Salvador. The two players who were responsible for the tie in El Salvador (Hejduk and Chung) are injured so that hurt the team.

I wasn't referring to the state of soccer in 2005. But since you bring it up, that loss in 2005 might as have been an indication concerning how well the US was on the world stage, when they earned a whopping 1 point at the World Cup. That was certainly something to be proud of.

If you watched the game, then you no doubt noticed that the US is in no way, shape or form a contender on the world stage. They might be one of the better teams in the region and will probably still qualify for the World Cup rather easily, because let's face it, this is not a very loaded region. But when it comes time to play teams from Europe, Africa and South America in the World Cup, they will once again get their asses handed to them if they play like they did in Costa Rica.