Copa America Semifinal: USA v Argentina in Houston, TX

[TheRef]

Who ya got? Remember, if it is a draw at FT, then we go to PK immediately. The only time when ET will be put in is the Final. I honestly think the US will lose this one in heartbreaking fashion, but the optimist is thinking a win in PKs after a 1-1 FT score.

[Liverpooldawg]

We lose 3-4 nil.

[whosyourdawgy]

Shit. I was gonna try to take my son to see Messi play. Tickets are ridiculous for that damn match

[TheRef]

Shit. I was gonna try to take my son to see Messi play. Tickets are ridiculous for that damn match

Yeah, upper deck in the corner is going for $141 a piece.

[Dawg61]

We have 3 starters out due to yellow/red cards. It'd be the greatest win in USA soccer history. Let's get it!! USA 2 Tina 1

[LeakyD]

Argentina is -222. I'm betting $500 on them

[Dawg61]

Yeah, upper deck in the corner is going for $141 a piece.

Some douche spent $99,000 for two tickets to the NBA final game.

[whosyourdawgy]

Yeah, upper deck in the corner is going for $141 a piece.

Cheapest I found was 219. Two 40 yd line tickets gonna set you back $2500

[TheRef]

Some douche spent $99,000 for two tickets to the NBA final game.

Holy hell...it would be a shame if he were a Warriors fan too. Pay $99k to watch your team lose.

[TheRef]

Cheapest I found was 219. Two 40 yd line tickets gonna set you back $2500

Stubhub had $141 for upper deck corner.

[RC3]

better hope for PKs..I just don't see us pulling this one out.

[jumbo]

We need to score first and often to have a chance. Will be interesting to see what Klinnsman does with the roster.

Hoping for Guzan, Yedlin, Cameron, Brooks, Besler, Johnson, Bradley, Zusi, Pulisic, Nagbe, Dempsey

[jumbo]

Shit. I was gonna try to take my son to see Messi play. Tickets are ridiculous for that damn match



there's going to be a ton of non-Argentinians there rooting against US

[TheRef]

there's going to be a ton of non-Argentinians there rooting against US

Those of the variety directly South of our border? I mean, the US Soccer twitter fired off a shot immediately after their 7 nil loss.

[Dawg61]

Holy hell...it would be a shame if he were a Warriors fan too. Pay $99k to watch your team lose.

They won't reveal who the person is but they now hold the record for most the expensive stubhub purchase per ticket. Previous record was $37,000 for Lakers/Celtics game 4.

[Dawg61]

Jones, Wood and Bedoya all suspended for tonight's match for card accumulation.

[TheRef]

They won't reveal who the person is but they now hold the record for most the expensive stubhub purchase per ticket. Previous record was $37,000 for Lakers/Celtics game 4.

I wish I had that kind of money to blow.

[jumbo]

Those of the variety directly South of our border? I mean, the US Soccer twitter fired off a shot immediately after their 7 nil loss.



Si

[Dawg61]

Those of the variety directly South of our border? I mean, the US Soccer twitter fired off a shot immediately after their 7 nil loss.

Glad they did. **** Mexico! I have yet to find a Mexican-American that doesn't root against USA.

[DudyDawg]

We need to score first and often to have a chance. Will be interesting to see what Klinnsman does with the roster.

Hoping for Guzan, Yedlin, Cameron, Brooks, Besler, Johnson, Bradley, Zusi, Pulisic, Nagbe, Dempsey

Only way it could maybe work is playing a back 5 with Yedlin and Johnson at wing backs (we aren't good enough for that, they'd never be able to get forward) and we would never leave our own half. If we play a back 4 with Besler at left back he will be chasing either Messi or di Maria all game and that would be ugly

[War Machine Dawg]

I'll change the channel if we run that 11 out

Not having Zardes in the lineup is idiotic. Sit Besler, put in Zardes, I'd be good with that lineup.

[DudyDawg]

Not having Zardes in the lineup is idiotic. Sit Besler, put in Zardes, I'd be good with that lineup.

We need his work rate, although he has one of the worst first touches you'll ever see. We can't survive Besler at fullback.

As sad as I am to say it, I'd start Beckerman at the 6 and Zusi on the wing opposite Zardes. He will help the defense as well. Pulisic is not going to track back for 90 minutes and would leave the flanks open on counters. He needs to come off the bench

[War Machine Dawg]

And to answer Ref's initial question: As much as I'd love to see us pull off the W, I think Argentina beats us by 2-3 goals. We aren't going to be able to contain Messi, Aguero, and Higuain all game. Not having Woods and Jones hurts badly. Bedoya is addition by subtraction, imo. Unfortunately, I think that means we see a lot of Beckerman tonight. Hopefully Klinsmann has the balls to start Nagbe, but I'm not betting on it. I'd also like to see Howard in goal tonight, but I know it's gonna be Guzan again.

[DudyDawg]

Nagbe needs to start every game for us from now until he's 32. He's our one player with the dynamism and ability to be put into practice at any major European club and at least not look out of place. Start him and let him affect games

[War Machine Dawg]

Your US starting 11:

Guzan, Yedlin, Cameron, Brooks, Johnson, Zusi, Beckerman, Bradley, Zardes, Dempsey, Wondolowski

I want to puke. No Nagbe or Pulisic? Klinsmann is a total dumbass.

[TheRef]

With that starting XI I'm not expecting much. Holy hell, Klinnsman

[War Machine Dawg]

With that starting XI I'm not expecting much. Holy hell, Klinnsman

It really speaks volumes about how terrible he is. Nagbe still not cracking the starting 11 with 3 suspensions is outrageous. I can understand being a little more cautious with Pulisic, but holy hell, Nagbe is easily one of our 5 best players, imo. And yet Klinnsman still won't start him on the big stage? He's got to go. He's running the program into the shitter. But reaching the Copa semis means he's safe for a year or more, most likely. Wish a European club team would hire him away from us. That might be our only hope in the near future.

[DudyDawg]

****ing Wondolowski

[BiscuitEater]

Chill .. the game hasn't even started. You're gonna have a coronary.

Geez .. It's soccer .. we're not supposed to be any good. Argentina has had a hundred year head start on us!

[War Machine Dawg]

****ing Wondolowski

It's like Klinsmann asked himself "What's the worst possible starting 11 I can put out there?" Then he came up with the lineup and said "Yeah, that sounds good. I'll do that."

[DudyDawg]

Literally the worst possible goalkeeping by Guzan

[War Machine Dawg]

And just like that, it's 1-0 Argentina in the 4th minute. We gonna get crushed. Why do I torture myself?

[War Machine Dawg]

Literally the worst possible goalkeeping by Guzan

Like I said, I'd have started Howard. He's old, but he's still 5 times the keeper that Guzan is. Klinsmann's punishment of guys for taking a break from international duty is about as ridiculous as this lineup.

[DudyDawg]

Wondolowski, our striker, just managed to take a shit so hard he gave them another goal

[War Machine Dawg]

Wondolowski, our striker, just managed to take a shit so hard he gave them another goal

But Nagbe and Pulisic aren't ready or good enough to start.******

[War Machine Dawg]

Pulisic subbing on for Wondo to start the second half. Only took 45 minutes for Klinsmann to get the guy on the field everyone knew should've been on it at the start.

[War Machine Dawg]

Damn, that injury looked scary. Bet he broke an arm at the very least.

[Liverpooldawg]

We lose 3-4 nil.

I hate it but they are just that much better than us. That game could have been much worse.

[War Machine Dawg]

Yeah, credit where it's due. Argentina is just in a different class. They didn't even use Aguero tonight and won 4-0. It didn't help that Klinsmann started our worst possible 11, but even if we started our best 11, it wouldn't have made more than maybe a goal difference. We're improving, but damn it's frustrating how awful Klinsmann is and how much he hurts us.

[CadaverDawg]

What an embarrassing product we put on the field tonight. I haven't seen that sloppy of ball handling in a long time. We didn't belong on the same field with that team. Disappointing.

I love cheering for the USA as a country...but apparently we aren't very good, haven't been good, never will be good. Frustrating.

[Liverpooldawg]

Our best athletes don't play soccer. Until at least some of them do you won't see us get any better. Maybe in fifty to a hundred years. I'll never see it.

[civildawg]

Does klinnsman get fired soon?

[TheRef]

Does klinnsman get fired soon?

With the lineups he's been putting out. If he flops in Rio, I say he's gone. Hell...if he flops in the friendlies beforehand, he's gone.

[War Machine Dawg]

Does klinnsman get fired soon?

Doubtful. We just made the Copa semis for the first time since the mid-to-late 90s. We made it out of group play, in a group of death, at the last World Cup. We got embarrassed at the Gold Cup and some friendlies, but this Copa has probably cooled his seat with the guys in charge. He got the job because he's big buddies with the US Soccer Director.

Now to be fair to Klinsmann: He built the German program that won the last World Cup. He's probably not as terrible as he's been with us, but he doesn't endear himself to his players here. He constantly bashes MLS and talks about Euro superiority. And while that's true objectively speaking, most of his players are coming from MLS now. And MLS is getting better. But most of his players are coming from MLS and his constant bashing of the league pisses them off. So he's got problems that go beyond just the gameday/in-game decision type of stuff.

I think our best hope in the short term is for a Euro club side to hire him away. There was some talk that Everton was interested after they canned Roberto Martinez, but they wound up hiring Ronald Koeman from Southampton. So I don't think it's very realistic at this point to expect that to happen before the next big camp in January. A few clubs will sack their managers in the early portion of the '16-'17 season and a some will want to find their permanent guy immediately, like Liverpool did with Klopp this past year. If it doesn't happen then, I think we're stuck with him through the next World Cup.

[Msudogsrule]

We didn't take one single shot. Not one. That is incredible.

[Liverpooldawg]

Does klinnsman get fired soon?

We will have equaled at least our best finish ever in that tourney whatever happens in the 3rd place game. He won't be fired nor should he be. You have to look at where our players play their club ball to see what he has to work with. You for the overwhelming most part don't see them at top clubs in top leagues. Heck very few of them are even at lower clubs in top leagues.

Klinsman is right about MLS. It is about equivalent to League One in England. He also knows that it getting better is probably the biggest key to the National Team getting better.

[CadaverDawg]

We didn't take one single shot. Not one. That is incredible.

Wow. Didn't realize that. How embarrassing

[DudyDawg]

Our best athletes don't play soccer. Until at least some of them do you won't see us get any better. Maybe in fifty to a hundred years. I'll never see it.

That is a stupid argument. We are the better team athlete wise than 90% of the games we play. It's technique, culture, coaching and skill. Not athletes

[Tbonewannabe]

As MLS gets better so will the National team. Most young kids play soccer now even if it is just starting out but the rest of the world has kids growing up playing it for the last 100 years. Being from MS, I don't know anyone that has ever played soccer around my age but I am 39. The US needs Men's college teams to help develop the game in the long run. It would really help if Title IX was fixed so football didn't penalize men's sports so we could have a correct amount of schollies for baseball and soccer.

[War Machine Dawg]

We didn't take one single shot. Not one. That is incredible.

That's what happens when you put 11 players on the field entirely dedicated to defense. It's counterintuitive, but to have a chance against a team so superior on the attack as Argentina, you have to attack. Starting Beckerman and Wondo instead of Nagbe and Pulisic should be a fireable offense.

[Liverpooldawg]

That is a stupid argument. We are the better team athlete wise than 90% of the games we play. It's technique, culture, coaching and skill. Not athletes

That's not what I said. I said our best athletes don't play soccer.

[jumbo]

With the lineups he's been putting out. If he flops in Rio, I say he's gone. Hell...if he flops in the friendlies beforehand, he's gone.


He won't coach in Rio...we send our U23s

[Msudogsrule]

Actually, our soccer team won't be in Rio at all. We didn't qualify for the second consecutive Olympics.

[jumbo]

Actually, our soccer team won't be in Rio at all. We didn't qualify for the second consecutive Olympics.



And that

[War Machine Dawg]

We may be getting our wish. New reports this morning saying Klinsmann is the favorite to replace Koeman at Southampton. Sweet baby Jesus, please let them hire him.