WOW Rosicky is good..definitely one of my favorites! That was a great shot by Reyna, so close! Every pass from the US is short they have to get stronger and work on their skills. How old is Keller? He's been around forever it seems

Posted by buddapaw:

The number 2 team in the world against a questionable #5 ranked team, what did you guys think would have happened? The great PR machine won't help you on the pitch.

I don't think many US fans believe the team is rated #5 in the world. Mexico is rated too highly as well. This is based on the record both the US & Mexico have against CONACAF opponents, who generally suck. It really grows tiresome, as a US fan, about the references to the ridiculous FIFA ranking which the US has no control over. We played like sht today the Czechs played great. That's it.



[Edited by - PresIke on 06-12-2006 3:47 PM]

Let me add to this...there is NO PR machine for US soccer that works as well as non-Americans who love soccer....sorry...football, like to believe. Soccer has a good following and is growing, but most here just don't care. PR machine or not, most games are on ESPN2, not ABC or ESPN.

[Edited by - PresIke on 06-12-2006 3:48 PM]

So you are saying that they don't seek inferior opponents outside of CONCACAF to pad their record c'mon now. This World Cup will hopefully teach the US that system play and being physical is just part of winning. You have to have players with the talent to run at defenders which I did not see from any of the players today during my exteneded lunch break The Czechs are good damn good

Didn't get to see Italy-Ghana, but from the sounds of it Ghana played a pretty spirited game and the match was entertaining.

Guns, I also thought Ghana had a chance at the world cup finals, but it seems that they got so excited about their great midfield, they ignored the fact that they have absolutely nothing up front. They can't score from any sort of striker movememt. All their danger comes from late runs from midfield or long-range shooting.

The US were badly outclassed by a very experienced Czech team. Brad Friedel was just on the radio here saying that they really have to get their spirits back up for the Italy game. I haven't totally ruled the US out, but they must MUST find a way to get McBride more involved. Having him stand in the middle of the box waiting for the ball will not work.

Cant wait for Brasil tomorrow. If there is any sort of Chemistry on the Brasilian side, they will go very far in the tournament. Skill alone guarantees them Round 2 and luckily their coach is not a complete dumbass like the one they had in 1998! I hope Czech plays Brasil in Round 2 and gets humiliated 3-0. I really dont like Czech republic anymore. Olé!!!

Posted by firefly:

You're not even in the worst group. What about Holland, Argentina, Serbia & Montenergo and the Ivory Coast, all in one group?

I agree! They arent in the toughest group. The American media is pushing our group as the Group of Death which it just isnt. The groupwith Ivory Coast is by far the toughest group and we are lucky to have avoided them.

I don't know about you guys, but I love watching Italy play especially after a sorry performance by the US earlier in the day. The Italian players are so fluid and have great chemistry. They seemed to almost toy with Ghana. They were getting very good looks but couldn't execute on a number of them or the score could have easily been 4-0 instead.

I know people were impressed with Ghana's spirit (as I was) but I haven't seen Italy play like that in awhile. They couldn't finish some plays but they were getting a lot of looks and you have to believe that they will start executing on more of those as the tournament goes on. It was only one game, but I still think Italy looked real good.

USA of course, was the complete opposite. I was watching the game again last night and the players seemed so disinterested. Unlike the Italian players, they didn't keep the ball moving and no one was trying to make anything happen.

They better show up Saturday against Italy or else their trip to the World Cup will be a short one. If they can play well, they have a chance because I've watched Italy for a number of years and the one thing I know is that they are very beatable. The knock on them is that they basically let you stay in the game and once they have a one goal or two goal lead, they pretty much rely on their defense (which is a really good one) instead of staying aggressive. Looking forward to the game on Saturday.

[Edited by - s3231 on 06-13-2006 10:47 AM]

France is probably my favorite non-US team. I hope Zidane goes out with a bang.