HexagonalBlog

My overdue comments about the Confederations Cup

Like anyone else cares, anyway.   Apologies for the lack of posts; I'm moving from my apartment in a couple of days.

Let me just say...wow, it's so easy to go bipolar with this team, huh?  The USA's first two performances were not at all encouraging, and I feared that it might foreshadow a performance on the order of France 98.  We all know the rest of the story -- USA caught lightning in a bottle during the final round of group matches, then played the game of their lives against Spain and the best 45 minutes of their lives against Brazil.

What was encouraging about the USA's performance in the second half of the tournament was that they finally figured out how to score goals from open play.  Dempsey and Altidore were willing to take on opponents, but the best US goal came from Landon Donovan's counterattacking run and finish against Brazil.  I felt that the USA's midfield played very well, especially Clark and Bradley in the defensive positions, and Donovan out wide.  And how about Donovan?  I've criticized him in the past for fading in big matches, but he did not do so this time.  His play contributed to the two US victories and very nearly contributed to a third in the final. 

So does the USA's finish mean that they have a chance for a long run at the World Cup finals next year?  First of all, there's still the matter of qualifying, but it as easy to be mindlessly euphoric as it is to be mindlessly despondent.  This is still a team whose luck in the finals is dependent on the final draw.  (Yes, every team's fortunes are dependent on the draw - ask Argentina in 2002 - but the USA at this stage need more luck in the opponents chosen for them.)  The USA will run into serious trouble with opponents who know how to hold possession, because they will be forced to make the most of the few possessions they will get and as of now are unable to hold the ball for long periods.  The USA still have a real problem with calibrating their tackles throughout the match.  Yes, the three red cards that the US received were harsh, but that record is still unacceptable.  Clark and Bradley are too valuable to the US not be on the field due to suspension.  Some improved technical and tactical work would be good, but if the players don't have that by now, they're not going to get it. 

At any rate, the US team exit the Confederations Cup with a lot more confidence that they can take on the top national teams in the world, which is not something they could say after their first two games.

Wasn't that something?

Like just about everyone else, I did not expect the USA-Egypt match to change the final outcome of Group B of the Confederations Cup.  With a goal difference of -5, and an Italian goal difference of +1, the Americans needed a six-goal swing between the USA-Egypt and Italy-Brazil results to go to the semifinals.  Yeah, pretty bloody likely.

Well, that's exactly what happened in the USA-Egypt game.  And in the Italy-Brazil game. 

I wasn't able to watch the complete match, so I can't assess completely the USA's performance.  It was their best performance of the Confederations Cup by default; up to today's match, the USA had one good half against Italy followed by a bad second half and a poor performance against Brazil.  It appeared that Bob Bradley was able to get a better performance from his front and back lines, and Ricardo Clark underscored his importance as a holding midfielder in the national team.  It was fitting that Michael Bradley would score yet another goal for his father on Father's Day.  Bradley couldn't avoid a yellow card, but, well, what can you do.  It was a match of grit and determination and huevos.  It would be nice to have some flair, but the US team does grit and determination well, so I guess we'll have to win games that way for the near future.

In the end, the USA lost to the teams that are superior to them, and defeated the one team that was more or less evenly matched.  Next up is Spain, another one of those superior sides.  I don't have high expectations for that match, but the USA will play one more game in the Confederations Cup than I expected.

Where I'll be tonight

I'm going to go to the Fire-Dynamo game at Toyota Park tonight.  Now I need to figure out how.  All of the bars in downtown Chicago that operate buses to the game are sold out.  The Coaches Bar and Grill is near Midway Airport, which is much further away from the center of Chicago than I thought, so that's out.  That leaves the CTA train and the express shuttle to the stadium.

After the game, I'm going to check out The Globe.  Looks like Sam's Army will be there, so I will be, too.

Where's the party in Chicago?

** BUMPED TO TOP **

I've been looking around for party announcements for the USA-Honduras match this weekend, and it looks like I've found one.  This website  -- American Outlaws -- has a couple of locations listed for parties the night before and the day of the match.   If there are any other parties on the agenda, please let me know.

I'll be in Chicago in the early afternoon, so I would have time to make it to any party, assuming that I can find the location.

UPDATE: Here's the latest from Sam's Army.  I hadn't looked at the MLS match schedule in a while, so I didn't know that the Fire had a home game in Bridgeview on Friday night.  Looks like the Army will meet at the game and then at The Globe on Friday night, and Waldron Deck (south end of Soldier Field) on Saturday.  

I haven't decided where I'm going to be, but I will by tomorrow night.

Tickets are still available...

...for the USA-Honduras World Cup qualifier in Chicago on June 6.  It will be a tough match with a challenging rival whose players may not have the name recognition of Mexico's squad, but nevertheless can be very competitive.  I don't know if you've been following the Honduran newspapers, but the fans down there and the expats up here have been snapping up tickets for the match, are coming to Chicago from all over the country, and will try to make their presence felt at Soldier Field.  Let's make this a true home game: buy tickets, wear red, make noise, and come ready to support the national team loudly for NINETY minutes, not 89 or 88, and definitely not 75 or 60. 

I'll be at the match next month, wearing a hat like this.  I hope you'll be there too.

US Soccer casts a wide net

The USSF released a list of over 70 stadiums to be evaluated as possible venues for a World Cup in either 2018 or 2022.  There are some venues that everyone expects to be on the list, such as all of the new NFL stadiums and a few of the venues from the 1994 World Cup and the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. (Oh, I can see the folks at UGA looking forward to the hedges being removed again.)  But then there are stadiums on the list that either have artificial turf, may not meet minimum field requirements, or are located in the middle of nowhere.  I am amused that the USSF listed one Death Valley (Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge), but not the other (Memorial Stadium in Clemson, SC).  And I would love to see the foreign press reaction if a World Cup match was ever played in Iowa City, Fayetteville, or Auburn.

I suppose the USSF is making this list so that they can say that they made an exhaustive search for suitable stadiums in the country.  They'll have to deal with the inevitable snickers until the venue list is culled.

An important series on USSF youth development

(I've bumped this post to the top, as Carlisle has finally completed this series.)

Jeff Carlisle of ESPNsoccernet has started an important five-part series on the USSF's efforts to reform its youth development programs through their Development Academy.  I'll come back to this post throughout the series to provide links to his articles.  They're worth a read.

Part 1: Motivation and overview of the USSF Development Academy
Part 2: Evaluation of coaches in the Development Academy
Part 3: Contrasting the Development Academy with foreign counterparts
Part 4: The costs of US youth development
Part 5: The challenges associated with US youth development programs

Cold War II

The USSF confirmed that the USA vs. Mexico World Cup qualifier will be played in Columbus on 11 February.  There were rumors that the match would be in Salt Lake City or Seattle (a report on ESPN Deportes said that the qualifier would be in Salt Lake), but instead the US national team will return to a venue where they've never lost and is full of happy memories for them.  I would have liked having the match in Salt Lake City, which is only a 90 minute flight from here, but the Federation made the right choice. 

I'm sure that Telemundo has the "Guerra Fría II" promos ready.

US women win U-20 World Cup

Congratulations to the USA national team on winning the women's U-20 World Cup in Chile today.  They defeated North Korea 2-1 on goals by Golden Boot winner Sydney Leroux and Alex Morgan in the first half (North Korea got their goal in second-half stoppage time).  The match was very choppy in the beginning and the North Koreans actually had the advantage, but after Leroux's goal the momentum shifted decisively to the USA and they never gave it up.  I really do hope that the sports networks show Morgan's goal, it was a spectacular effort and one of the great goals in a final at any level.

The Americans all but swept the individual awards.  Alex Morgan won the Bronze Shoe (tied with NK's Ri Ye Gyong on four goals), Alyssa Naeher won Best Goalkeeper, and Leroux and Morgan won Golden and Silver Ball, respectively.

The match was the second time that the USA and North Korea had faced each other this year -- the North Koreans won the U-17 World Cup by a 2-1 scoreline in New Zealand -- and the result kept North Korea from becoming the first nation to win both junior women's championships in the same year (on the men's side, only Brazil have achieved it).

A trip to an Arizona Rush game

If you drive around Tucson it's possible to find billboards advertising Arizona Rush soccer matches.  I knew that they were a women's team in the semi-pro WPSL, but not much more than that.  Two weeks ago I finally got around to seeing a match and I traveled to the University of Arizona's Murphey Field to watch the Rush play the Utah Spiders.

Arizona Rush are having a very good season at the top of their division with an unbeaten home record.  I arrived about 20 minutes into the game, and the Rush had already scored.  Sure enough, that would be the only goal of the game.  There was some good play from the midfielders on both sides -- such as Alexandra Davis who plays a central playmaker role for the Rush and the Utah #10 (don't remember her name) who plays on the wings -- but there were few scoring opportunities.  Most of the players are college level players drawn from the local universities, with a few players from out-of-state universities and a couple more with WUSA experience.  The crowd was what you'd expect for a semi-pro league, small (around 100) and relaxed.  I ended up sitting next to a woman who plays goalkeeper for Berkeley (I looked past that) and the Sacramento WPSL team, and I learned quite a bit about the players on both sides. 

Murphey Field is about two miles from the UA campus, in a complex with some other athletic facilities that can't be accommodated on the main campus (University of Arizona's campus is very compact, very much like Georgia Tech).  All of the stands are on one side, with tall trees bordering one end of the field.  I haven't been to a UA soccer match but I can't imagine them drawing more than a modest crowd.  It's not an easy stadium to get to, and you can't walk to it from the main campus (I suppose you could, but I wouldn't want to, especially at night).   The natural grass field looks to be in decent shape with the exception of a few brown spots. 

The WPSL seems to be a feminine analogue of the USL's Premier Development League: an opportunity for college-level players to play competitive matches during the off season.  In the wake of the WUSA's demise, it's also served as an opportunity for former top-flight players to remain in playing shape.  I think the WPSL is one division below the W-League on the American women's soccer pyramid, but I doubt that there exists a big drop in playing quality between the two leagues.  Both leagues are big enough and distributed enough that a promotion/relegation scheme might work.  Don't expect such a setup between the professional league -- whenever it starts up -- and the W-League/WPSL; perhaps some sort of feeder network with affiliations with the professional teams (like baseball) will occur. Heck, it would be better if the professional soccer leagues in this country knew that the lower divisions even existed, which I doubt if some of their decisions are anything to go by.

Anyway, it was a nice evening out.  Unfortunately it won't be able to attend any more games this season (their home finale was Wednesday July 2nd, when I was out of town, and then the playoffs), but I'll watch out for those billboards next season.