USA Soccer barely beats Martinique

[Pacolovestacos]

So tired of these embarrassing performances.

 

[dish rag]

I agree.

 

[NHdisneylover]

watch the women---that is a top notch team of American footballers

 

[sam_gordon]

There were few 'A' players on the pitch though. I don't think it was a true representation of what the US has to offer.

 

[rastahomie]

There were few 'A' players on the pitch though. I don't think it was a true representation of what the US has to offer.

There is no reason the USMNT can't compete against England, Germany, or Argentina. The excuse that "Americans hate soccer" is two generations out of date. We have a thriving soccer culture here, especially considering the recent trend of immigration from Latin America. However, for reasons I can't fathom, we can barely beat a team from a country with the population of Sacramento.

This is embarrassing. On the off chance that we make the World Cup, we're going to get trounced in the Group Stage, and set American soccer back 20 years again.

 

[sam_gordon]

However, for reasons I can't fathom, we can barely beat a team from a country with the population of Sacramento.

Did you even read my post that you quoted? This was not USA's top players.

As far as competing against other countries, kids in other countries play soccer from an extremely young age. I'm talking pickup games, not organized. They're playing with their friends in a park or anywhere they have space. US kids are doing the same, but for basketball and baseball. It is getting better, but there's still a ways to go.

 

[rastahomie]

Did you even read my post that you quoted? This was not USA's top players.

I get that the USMNT didn't field their best players vs. Martinique, but my larger point about the USMNT's general suckitude this cycle stands. IF they make the World Cup, they'll do it barely. Odds are still good that they won't even make the Cup, which is a shame.

 

[sam_gordon]

I get that the USMNT didn't field their best players vs. Martinique, but my larger point about the USMNT's general suckitude this cycle stands. IF they make the World Cup, they'll do it barely. Odds are still good that they won't even make the Cup, which is a shame.

Are you only looking since Arena was hired, or are you counting before that?

 

[dish rag]

There is no reason the USMNT can't compete against England, Germany, or Argentina. The excuse that "Americans hate soccer" is two generations out of date. We have a thriving soccer culture here, especially considering the recent trend of immigration from Latin America. However, for reasons I can't fathom, we can barely beat a team from a country with the population of Sacramento.

This is embarrassing. On the off chance that we make the World Cup, we're going to get trounced in the Group Stage, and set American soccer back 20 years again.

I agree with you, we have been hearing since the 70's that it's very close to the US being a top team. Still not even close. A top University team should be able to handle Martinique. We all know that our top athletes are in the NBA and catching footballs in the NFL. But the youth leagues are filled with soccar players. As an aside, we've been hearing since the 70's that Brazil would soon be one of the worlds leading players globally economically and so forth. Not even close either.

 

[KayKayJS]

If they had played Dwyer it would've been a different story. I'd like to also see Joe Bendik on the team but he didn't make the cut....

 

[Nickunited]

To me the Gold Cup has lost its excitement. I really want them to keep with the Merged Copa America. I went to the games here in NY and loved that tournament.

This Gold Cup Roster is far weaker than we will see for the rest of the Hex Qualifying so take that into consideration but they have been poor so far in the Gold Cup.

That being said, we should be able to compete with the world given the vast size of our nation...our system just is not locating and developing the players good enough.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

watch the women---that is a top notch team of American footballers

Finally without Hope Solo! It took them long enough

 

[Pacolovestacos]

Did you even read my post that you quoted? This was not USA's top players.

As far as competing against other countries, kids in other countries play soccer from an extremely young age. I'm talking pickup games, not organized. They're playing with their friends in a park or anywhere they have space. US kids are doing the same, but for basketball and baseball. It is getting better, but there's still a ways to go.

Indeed that's true but it's not true in this example about Martinique. That team's players aren't even full pros, they are semi pros, and I would venture that most of them don't even make a living from soccer, they have to work another job.

We should be able to field our Under 21 C team and beat them.

Brad Guzan, who many think is our best goalie (he's not, Tim Howard is) let in a weak, soft goal, right under his arms.

Embarrassing performance!

 

[NHdisneylover]

As far as competing against other countries, kids in other countries play soccer from an extremely young age. I'm talking pickup games, not organized. They're playing with their friends in a park or anywhere they have space. US kids are doing the same, but for basketball and baseball. It is getting better, but there's still a ways to go.

Yep. I haven't been to an outdoor party, BBQ, potluck, etc in which a soccer ball wasn't being idly juggled around by half the attendees (of all ages) the whole time, since we moved to Germany 8 years ago. Group of kids waiting for a bus? At least one ball in action. Packing for the class trip. Better bring a deck of cards and a football. It's sort of everywhere, all the time, and seen as a fun thing to pass time.

 

[sam_gordon]

Yep. I haven't been to an outdoor party, BBQ, potluck, etc in which a soccer ball wasn't being idly juggled around by half the attendees (of all ages) the whole time, since we moved to Germany 8 years ago. Group of kids waiting for a bus? At least one ball in action. Packing for the class trip. Better bring a deck of cards and a football. It's sort of everywhere, all the time, and seen as a fun thing to pass time.

DS got selected to a team to play in Barcelona (actually Costa Brava) this past April. While we were touring Barcelona, the boys were constantly kicking a soccer ball, trying to "nutmeg" (kick the ball between other's legs) strangers while walking down the sidewalk. If that would happen in the US, I'm sure someone would have pitched a fit. In Barcelona, all they got was a few dirty looks.

 

[Pacolovestacos]

Well I don't think anybody here has said that they expect the USA to beat Germany or Spain or Brazil or Italy. Come on people, you're exaggerating this beyond belief.

 

[rastahomie]

Well I don't think anybody here has said that they expect the USA to beat Germany or Spain or Brazil or Italy. Come on people, you're exaggerating this beyond belief.

The USA should be able to beat any of those teams. We have men* in their 20's and 30's who have been playing since pee-wee league, just like their German or Spanish or Brazilian or Italian counterparts. These men have played on high school teams and college teams, and have come up through the minors, just like their foreign counterparts. There are American players on the top Latin American, African, Asian, and European leagues. In short, we are no less a "soccer nation" than anywhere else. Also, we have a population of 330 million, give or take - a large enough pool from which to farm talent, and then some.

Bottom line, there is no reason why the USA can't compete internationally at the top level. But for some reason, we don't.

*I think part of the reason the USA's women are so dominant at the international level is that the USA funds girls' and women's sports, at least at the high school and college level, and thus, young women are able to compete at a high level. Other countries don't take women's soccer seriously enough, even at the young girls' level, for their women to be able to compete against ours.

After the last FIFA Women's World Cup, I told my single-guy friends to start dating Japanese soccer players. They (the guys) are guaranteed to score! Ba-dum tsh.

Too soon?

 

[Pacolovestacos]

Well the difference between Germany, Spain, Brazil, and Italy, is that the top athletes in those countries play soccer. In the USA, they chase the big money and so they play basketball, baseball, and football. Soccer gets the scraps. For example, in Brazil, there are scouts looking for the best 7 and 8 years olds and taking those kids to soccer academies in Spain. Would you allow your 8 year old to go to Spain, to essentially devote the rest of their life to soccer? I doubt many parents in the US would.

That being said, barely getting by Martinique, even with our sub players, is truly embarrassing. Those players and the coaches should be ashamed of themselves.

 

[sam_gordon]

The USA should be able to beat any of those teams. We have men* in their 20's and 30's who have been playing since pee-wee league, just like their German or Spanish or Brazilian or Italian counterparts. These men have played on high school teams and college teams, and have come up through the minors, just like their foreign counterparts. There are American players on the top Latin American, African, Asian, and European leagues. In short, we are no less a "soccer nation" than anywhere else. Also, we have a population of 330 million, give or take - a large enough pool from which to farm talent, and then some.

Another problem though is the level of competition. Yes, the players on the national team have been playing since probably 5- 8 years old. But against what kind of competition? My son's soccer team has ONE team in the entire state that gives them competition. They're playing teams from 2-3 states away. I'm sure there are some pockets of good competition, but I'm guessing German, Spanish, and Brazilian teams (and players) have an easier time finding good competition.

 

[rastahomie]

Well the difference between Germany, Spain, Brazil, and Italy, is that the top athletes in those countries play soccer. In the USA, they chase the big money and so they play basketball, baseball, and football. Soccer gets the scraps. For example, in Brazil, there are scouts looking for the best 7 and 8 years olds and taking those kids to soccer academies in Spain. Would you allow your 8 year old to go to Spain, to essentially devote the rest of their life to soccer? I doubt many parents in the US would.

What you're forgetting is that the USA funds college sports, and they're a Big Deal. College sports just aren't a thing outside the US. Whereas a Brazilian teen who showed promise on the football pitch might sign a contract with a professional club's development league, an American teen who showed promise on the pitch would be courted by a university, possibly offered a scholarship. He'd still be playing soccer, just in a different context.

And of course, there are pockets of the USA where soccer just isn't popular. Obviously it's more popular in suburban areas and in places with large immigrant populations, particularly Latino populations. Still, out of every 100 Americans aged 5-18, I'd say 80 of them live in an area where they can play soccer competitively one way or another - city rec leagues, traveling teams, school teams, or so on.