Soccer: General Discussion

[WuDrWu]

Wasn’t Aaronsen hurt and declared out of the World Cup?

[Kel Varnsen]

Wasn’t Aaronsen hurt and declared out of the World Cup?

You might be thinking of De La Torre, but he was still named to the squad even though he tore his hamstring a couple of weeks ago. As far as I know, Aaronson was not injured, at least not seriously.

Miles Robinson (CB) was ruled out due to injury a while back, and Chris Richards was recently ruled out.

[WuDrWu]

Thank you....clearly I was confused about many things.

Are you guys watching/paying attention to Wrexham/Welcome to Wrexham?

The documentary is good and tells the story well I think. Wrob and Wryan are humorous dudes but they come across as legit good guys (and yes, I realize they are directing and producing this with a bias) but it's interesting to me.

I was not aware of the FA Trophy. Mullin's 2 goals in added time to send Wrexham into last year's final was brilliant...not as brilliant as the deadpan look on Rob's face after, but still.

There have been a couple of their games on the + this year and yesterday Wrexham moved into first in the National League hoping for promotion next spring.

And they beat Oldham Athletic to advance in the FA Cup.....one more win against lower division Farnborough will put them into the proper draw of 64 when the Premier and Championship teams are added.

I know it's Hollywood, but in this case, I do think it's a good side of Hollywood, and it's a really good look inside football in England & Wales.

Good stuff on Hulu if you have it.

[Kung Wu]

I feel super old. Who are these kids? Hahaha

[Kel Varnsen]

I feel super old. Who are these kids? Hahaha

Michael Bradley and Jozy Altidore were SNUBBED.

[ShockerDropOut]

A real question from an avowed non-soccer fan. What are the chances of the USMNT making noise in this WC? I doubt I will watch, but if the US has a chance I might give it a try.

[Kung Wu]

A real question from an avowed non-soccer fan. What are the chances of the USMNT making noise in this WC? I doubt I will watch, but if the US has a chance I might give it a try.

It's a team full of youth and inexperience. That means they are a walking x factor. They don't have any experience which makes them a long shot, but young players tend to do well and they are so inexperienced they don't realize they are supposed to lose. They could get blown out every match, or win some games they shouldn't. It's a high risk, high reward situation with a massive amount of variance in possible outcomes.

I will say that youth soccer in America has improved by a magnitude in the last decade or so, so if (when) that really starts translating to the national team, look out. Will this be the first glimmer of that new mojo? Lets hope so!

[Kel Varnsen]

Pretty good description Kung.

I would also add that while we are young, we have more players than ever playing for bigger and better clubs in Europe. Does that guarantee success? Certainly not. But it gives the US soccer credibility that it hasn’t had much of until now.

I would put the US’s chances as follows:

15% chance to win the group
35% chance to finish second in the group
50% chance to finish third or fourth and go home early

If the 15% chance kicks in, it leaves us a path to the quarterfinals. The reason being that we would likely avoid having to play the Netherlands in the Round of 16, and would instead likely play Ecuador or Senegal, both teams that we can beat. However, because England are in our group, that’s unlikely. Thankfully, their style of play is a little more conducive to us matching up with them, but they still have talent coming out of their ears.

The farthest the US has made it was the quarterfinals in 2002, and a finish like that or better would be a very big story.

[SubGod22]

Now I feel kind of bad that I'm kind of wanting Wales to advance.

Regardless, I took the 21st off to watch both WSU and the USA v Wales match.

[MikeKennedyRulZ]

My simple description would be VERY talented but VERY inexperienced on the World Cup stage. Should be exciting to watch and I encourage everyone to check it out.

[Kel Varnsen]

If anyone wants to take a real deep dive into the World Cup and soccer in general, this podcast, the Total Soccer Show, is great. I'll say this: it's a very deep dive at times, so even as someone who watches a good amount of soccer, these guys are a little over my head. But they're fantastic and really know their stuff.

They are in the process of putting out group previews and also have a review of the USMNT roster selection that took place earlier this week.

If nothing else, you might want to listen to the Group B preview, where they discuss England, Iran, and Wales in much more detail in addition to the US.

https://www.totalsoccershow.com/

[SubGod22]

I'm going to have to listen to that sometime this weekend, or maybe tonight. Mostly to hear what they have to say about Group B. My understanding is that Iran is the weak link, with the US an unknown. England should be the favorite and Wales has a better than decent chance to advance.

Now I'll go listen and find out how wrong I am lol.

F*ck England. I'm pulling for Wales and the US to both get out of this group. I'm not putting money on it though.

[ShockerDropOut]

Thank you. I might try and watch at least one match. I like the idea of a young team with little expectations and nothing to lose. Everyone loves the underdog!

[MikeKennedyRulZ]

Thank you. I might try and watch at least one match. I like the idea of a young team with little expectations and nothing to lose. Everyone loves the underdog!

“Do you believe in miracles??”

[WuDrWu]

Man City 1 Brentford 2


The Bees netted the winner in the 107th minute. First win at City since Christmas Day 1937.

I’ve watched my share of Premiership and it’s an embarrassment of riches for England to leave Ivan Toney off their World Cup roster.