Internationals 5th-11th October

BJL_City said:
a distinct lack of quality enabling teams like Peru and Panama to qualify. Let's be honest, people say 2014 was fun but Costa Rica winning the group and making the quarters just shows how poor the real quality was. This time will be worse with the calibre of teams there. Novelty factor yes, pinnacle of football? na.
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CONCACAF sides are not competitive on the international stage - now, or in the past. CONCACAF will put 4 or 5 teams into each WC and they'll all be out by the quarter finals each time barring a very lucky draw/run of luck.

As an American, I really wish that the United States would have qualified - but USA's absence/CONCACAF's weakness isn't going to have much of an impact on quality at the WC once elimination rounds start.
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Brazil looks really solid and are my pick to win it all.

France/Germany/Spain are all very strong too and could easily prevail.

Belgium is a dark horse, full of talent, and might lift the trophy if things go their way.

And Argentina too - so talented - last cup with Messi at his prime - will Messi finally propel his national side to a cup?

England should at least make it to the elimination stage and from there it's dependent on draw.

In short, there's a lot to look forward to in WC 2018.
 
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Henkeman said:
If England could take penalties, the last 30 years would look entirely different. To an extent, that really is the difference between our perception of England being hopeless for years and the reality. It could easily have been a minimum of one World Cup final, one semi-final, one Euro final and two semi-finals. We'd think totally differently.
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I
Henkeman said:
If England could take penalties, the last 30 years would look entirely different. To an extent, that really is the difference between our perception of England being hopeless for years and the reality. It could easily have been a minimum of one World Cup final, one semi-final, one Euro final and two semi-finals. We'd think totally differently.
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Are you a shit plasterer?
 
CityInWashingtonState said:
Men's "soccer" in the states hasn't been at all popular until, say, in the last 8 years or so. American tackle football, basketball and baseball are all by far more popular. Talented young athletes in the states will likely pursue one of the top 3 more popular sports instead of "soccer." This accounts for the dearth of talent in men's "soccer" in the states - whereas our woman's sides have produced plenty of talent.
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Bit off topic, but as has been discussed to death on SiriusXMFC and other places, there are two problems holding the U.S. back that need addressing in large measure. The first is that the world's game is a largely rich suburban sport in the U.S. It costs $3000 and up, way up if you include out of state travel costs, per annum for kids to play elite level organized football in the U.S. This prices out many kids who are good athletes because every other sport can be played at a fraction of this cost. The second is that once the good players get past high school they go off to college on scholarship and only play three months a year, getting quickly left behind players from other countries in elite year-round programs. Until these root causes are addressed we will continue to struggle in the international game.
 
I'm With Stupid said:
It amazes me a country the size of the USA has never really produced a world class player. Let's be honest, most medium-sized West African countries produce a world class player every now and again. When was the last time an American player was a regular starter for a top club?

Also, the BBC report suggested that the Panama goal was controversial and maybe didn't cross the line. How is that even a thing? I thought that issue was addressed years ago.

On a positive note for America, Fox have paid $400m to show a world cup that the USA aren't in.
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The MLS was supposed to change that. However, all that it has done, is provided a safe haven for Amercian soccer players to cash in on a payday, and never fully developing due to playing sub par competition. Micheal Bradley has been regressing for 6 years, especially since coming back to MLS.

It has also backfired in the sense that it doesn't necessarily develop US players, yet has directly improved all the countries in CONCACAF. Now nations that had no hope of fielding a cohesive unit, have a steady stream of players playing in the MLS, get high quality training, etc. The designated player rule also means that teams spend a huge amount of money to bring in someone "famous" to put butts in the seats, but now have to skimp buy with a crap salary cap, filling holes with no names to put around them.

Our college system is really the only "development" we have left, however, by the time players mature there, they can be 22, 23 years old and haven't been playing against professionals. So why would a team in Europe take a chance on a 22 year old with no academy or pro experience, when they can just grab a 16 year old from France or Brazil that already plays at a high level.

Our sports system in the United States is just not setup well for football. Too spread out, too many people. You can't easily identify the nations best, and have them all train two hours from home.

American football is failing quickly. The constant flow of new information about the dangers continues to push people away. Baseball will begin to grow again, and football will grow as well. I am by no means happy about this, however, the American public needs to call out the USSF, and make them think long and hard about continuing the status quo, or getting our shit together.
 
yankblue said:
We are so shit, lol. Haven't progressed since 2002 when the USMNT supposedly "arrived"
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This next 5 years, we need to see a LOT of Bobby Wood, Pulisic, Carter-Vickers, Brooks, Rubi and Flores. We need to get Jack Harrison to commit to playing with the States as well. There is absolutely NO REASON to play any of the old guard at this point. Develop, develop, develop.
 
unlikelyfan19 said:
This next 5 years, we need to see a LOT of Bobby Wood, Pulisic, Carter-Vickers, Brooks, Rubi and Flores. We need to get Jack Harrison to commit to playing with the States as well. There is absolutely NO REASON to play any of the old guard at this point. Develop, develop, develop.
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Is dempsey still available?
 
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