Such as?
They will self-identify when the games begin, but I’m sure you already know who they are too.
what happened to fredy adu
“If there are 23 players better than Landon, then we have a chance to win the World Cup.”
True or false?
^ Just because Donovan didn’t make the team doesn’t mean all 23 players who did are better than him. Either way though, the US has zero chance to win the WC this year.
There does appear to be a chance that the US will make it out of the group stage. Ronaldo is injured, and that weakens Portugal’s chances very badly. Although I think that Ghana is the team to watch out for. That game may well decide everything.
Did you also have Greece at 0% to win the Euro Cup in 2004?
I’d give Greece better odds this year. Personally, I’m taking the long shot Red Devils.
No, I predicted they would lose to the Netherlands 2-1 in the final. Nobody’s perfect.
Last time I heard, he was benching for Bahia, a brazilian team that keeps bouncing back between the first and second divisions.
Everybody has a chance, no matter how small, but Donovan is probably still better than most or all of those guys and even 23 Donovans is not that threatening by World Cup standards.
Also, coaches can be crazy. By that logic, in 2010 Brazil had 23 players better than Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Neymar and Roberto Carlos. It didn’t, and it got squashed.
About the US chances of making out of the group, I’d say no-Donovan US and yes-Ronaldo Portugal meant US practically out. If Ronaldo really can’t play, I still think Portugal and Ghana are a little bit stronger, but it gets more even. If US passes, though, I think they have a decent shot at the second round, probably playing against Belgium or Russia.
Of course everything will be thrown upside down as it always does, and we may have US winning the group and facing Algeria or whatever, or going 3-and-out (my initial non-Donovan prediction)
So now the serious discussions - when is the USSF going to change that ridiculous logo? Or those horrid jerseys? I say just stick with the horizontal red/white stripes as a permanent jersey.
^ Hey, something we can agree on WRT soccer. The USMNT’s away shirt is absolutely horrendous. What I find funny though is that the home shirt, which I actually like (although it is a bit boring), was widely criticized for looking too much like a golf shirt because of the collar, yet France, Greece, and Australia all have similar collars and everyone seems to think theirs are spectacular.
Not a fan of the collars either, but the red trim ruins it for the US, whereas it looks classy for France against blue. Nike has way better uniforms than adidas, much simpler.
This is the best shirt IMO:
The Dutch shirts are very nice. I also like South Korea’s.
Franck Ribery OUT
The pool Greece is in this year is a joke…and I wouldn’t be surprised if they failed to advance.
^ Yeah, I agree. I just put the US at even worse odds, mostly due to their group. Either way, neither is winning.
I think Portugal and Germany getting out of the group is pretty certain. It looks like one of the most straightforward groups to call. Germany will make the semi-finals at least (they always do) and even without Ronaldo Portugal will be too strong for the other two.
In fact, I’d be surprised if more than one team from outside Europe and South America make it to round 2.
You are right that portugal is better than the US even without CR, but tactically he is such a big loss that I don’t think they will know how to play without him.
US will lose to Germany but if CR is out, and GHana doesn’t have it together, there is a small chance…