Posted on 06/30/2014 12:36:25 PM PDT by 1rudeboy
Having survived the “Group of “Death,” Jürgen Klinsmann is now aiming to make the United States the last country standing at the 2014 World Cup.
Klinsmann was criticized by many for stating ahead of the competition that it was unrealistic for the U.S. to leave Brazil with the World Cup trophy. While the reaction to his largely innocuous comments was overblown, there's certainly a greater air of positivity as the team prepares for its Round of 16 match with Belgium. And rightly so.
When the draw was made for the World Cup in December, few gave the U.S. a chance of prevailing from a group that contained perennial challengers Germany, a Portugal squad featuring the world’s then best player Cristiano Ronaldo, and Ghana, the country that ended American hopes in 2006 and 2010.
Instead, a last-gasp win over Ghana provided the perfect springboard for qualification and a point against Portugal proved enough, despite a defeat to Germany. Defender Omar Gonzalez, who made his first start in the 1-0 loss to Germany, emphasized the high ambitions now permeating through the camp.
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The U.S. will be attempting to match its best achievement at a World Cup, other than a third-place finish in 1930 when just 13 teams competed, of a quarterfinal berth reached in 2002. That World Cup also marked the last time the Yanks' opponents reached the knockout phase or even a major international tournament.
After a 12-year drought, Belgium has lofty expectations fueled by the finest generation of talent the country has produced since the reaching the semifinals in 1986. They can count among their squad Chelsea’s Eden Hazard, Manchester United’s Marouane Fellaini and Zenit St. Petersburg’s Axel Witsel, each of whom have changed hands for more than $45 million in the past two years.
(Excerpt) Read more at ibtimes.com ...
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!
Watching soccer, I haven’t seen a Cialis commercial yet.
Also the largest recorded crowd for a soccer match is 200,000 vs. 115,000 for football.
What if....What if Costa Rica winds up playing the USA for the World Cup ? Who would the world be rooting for ?
Since we’re in the same bracket, the latest we could meet would be the semifinals. My money would be on the US. The world? Who knows...
That’s a good question. I would wager that folks would cheer for Costa Rica, because it is the Cinderella team. But there really is no reason to think that far ahead.
Lacrosse is slowly becoming more and more popular. My son played for many years. My daughters for one season - but joined before fully realizing they can’t hit like the boys can! Also - beginning lacrosse can be frustrating due to the skill needed to just catch and throw the ball. Sort of frustrating like tennis I suppose when it is hard to get a volley going at the beginner stages.
That is one thing about soccer - if the ball doesn’t go exactly where you want it (like home plate, lacrosse stick, or wide receiver), it is pretty forgiving for beginners.
Because, to soccer fans, such drugs are unnecessary and their commercials acknowledged as pornographic.
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!
I do like the one ad, where they show all the newborn babies and somebody asks, “What happened nine months ago?”
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!
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