The left winger from Egypt looks like he wants to be taken off (Ashour)
Iād prefer to listen to the 50s punditry. They arenāt looking for a viral moment to shove on Tik Tok and itās probably less cliched than shove the big man on and lob balls into the box.
Iād prefer they go back to the era of silent films ![]()
Best commentary i ever heard was south african for the plymouth vs orlando pirates on youtube ā¦the African commentators were brilliant, when rooney was managerā¦they were talking about players for plymouth and would mention an african dish that their grandmother would have made ![]()
American youth sports:
Yes, it needs to work out a much better system than the inflated pay-to-play-travel scene. I coached my own lad for years, but he only did rec football. He was head and shoulders the best, even with older groups, and many lesser players dropped out over the years to play travel soccer. He would have done really well in travel soccer, but the time commitment didnāt really fit with our family needs, or his for that matter. To say nothing of the high cost.
Fast foward to college and he is playing, albeit at a smaller college. Football is a thing he loves, but heās not bothered about any future in it or whatever. He has just helped his college upgrade from Division 3 to Division 2, and they also employ him part time to help with the coaching (there is a paid full time coach too).
As for the American team, my opinion is that the current group is the overall strongest Iāve seen. Mind you, Friedel is the best goalie they have had, with a shout-out to Tim Howard, and maybe a little shout for Kelleher too. All of them were better than any goalkeeper they can call on now, especially Friedel. He was upper Prem level, a real class act.
The difference between going out in the round of 32, or 16, or making it to the QF can be a gnatās knickers. Opponent, and one iffy performance, or solid performance on the day, can move the dial massively from the appearance of failure to success.
America is thereabouts. Probably about 10-12th best, capable of giving a game to anyone on the day, but not a real candidate to win the World Cup yet.
The American team just underperformed against Belgium, who made sure, to their credit, they put in a great performance, not least for the injustice of having to stand up for the integrity of the game and battle against interfering world leaders, as well as the spineless and corrupt leader of FIFA.
Back to this one.
1-0 Egypt. Messi missed penalty. And we get to half time. Interesting second half coming up.
They hit Par, in my opinion. Expected them to cruise through the group and they had a simple round of 32 game. I thought they had a chance against Belgium, who obviously have better players but have been underwhelming in their performances, but the US just didnāt show up on the day.
Try and find the Rugby League bloke commentating on a Castlefield match.
Now Iād listen to that kind all day.
Not sure thatās true.
Iāve never heard any media sources hype them up about it coming home before ![]()
Thatās a great outcome, congratulations to your son! I think getting to play is the most important thing when picking a college, not the āDI onlyā mindset that social media pushes a lot.
My assistant coachās son went to DI University of Maine as a walk-on for baseball and got cut in the summer. Transferred to DIII University of Southern Maine and won Conference Player of the Year his Sophomore season. Then was a DIII All-American his Junior year and a bunch of DI schools including University of Maine, Vanderbilt and Vermont offered him to transfer to them but he turned it down to stay at USM. He just ended his career this year by becoming a two-time Conference Player of the Year, Conference champion and the schoolās all-time leader in just about every statisical category you can name for a hitter.
He didnāt do any travel team and just a couple of college ID camps (and the ID camps are the ones that encouraged him into the failed walk-on spot at UMaine!). Obviously becoming professional is not the goal, or at least not a realistic one, for 99% of players but if you can take your skill and turn that into an enjoyable and rewarding college career, get a degree and set yourself up well for the rest of your life then absolutely take it.
I donāt think they underachieved, per se. I think the manner in which they went out to Belgium was more disappointing than the fact that they lost to them. I donāt think anyone would have been upset if they lost a competitive 2-1 or 3-2 affair. But other than a few minutes here and there, they looked wholly outclassed. And itās disappointing because they have the quality necessary to at least make it a fight.
The biggest gap remains the lack of depth in the program. Basically every one of their starters (other than Ream and Freese) plays regularly for a quality European side. But that they have 38 year old Tim Ream at CB tells you that theyāre still short in some ways. Itās funny to see that their keeper situation has taken such a dive over the last decade - it went from the strength of the program to its weakness.
How is that a foul by Mo?
That should have been a breakaway for Mo.
Might as well just hand the trophy to France now
Ća revient Ć la maison!
Thatās a dive by Messi
The ref is on Messiās side ![]()
Not sure how long Egypt can survive this..
Egypt really needs to score another one. Thereās no way theyāll be able to ride out on just one goal. I hope they have a plan.
2-0
Wow. That attack, That attack. That attack deserved a goal !