Garrick
Awesome, lid.
Short preview today folks. Sorry folks, super swamped today, I'll do one up big for the finals (or the rare event of a 3rd place game).
So that Cuba match went about as expected. Props to them for making it to the knockouts, and uh, yeah, I've seen better marking in pub league games. We tore them up, Dempsey got his first hat trick for country. A mostly uneventful 6-0 battering in which the USMNT finally, FINALLY played up to their potential and got the kind of result they should.
Hopefully now we'll actually be able to transfer that kind of play to some stiffer competition.
In recent years, Jamaica have firmly cemented themselves in the 3rd tier on the CONCACAF power scale, consistently fighting for those last 1.5 spots for a World Cup berth. They haven't been able to qualify since 1998, but that doesn't mean they aren't, at the very least, a decent side. What makes the Reggae Boyz a bit more interesting than your average Caribbean or Central American footballing middle power is that they don't really on organization and physical play like so many other CONCACAF nations, their strength is in their speed and athleticism. A bit refreshing, really, the whole "let's just make through with 3 points and no injuries" that we experience most of the time in continental play is a bit tiring.
As always in CONCACAF, this SHOULD be a win, but it's easy to see how they could hurt us. They have a couple of Premier League defenders on the squad, Adrian Mariappa at Palace and Wes Morgan at Leceister, so we won't be walking all over them like that very shaky Cuban backline. Mix that with their very quick forwards like Giles Barnes and Darren Mattocks and our own backline who are prone to lapses in concentration and you can see how they might nick a few goals.
They're coming off a Copa America campaign which saw them 3 and out, but the Jamaicans has respectable 0-1 results against Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina.
Yeah, all of that's nice and all, but really the only times they've only ever challenged us is when we're playing on the absolute piece of garbage home pitch of Independence Park. The thin, crap grass of The Office plays well to their speed. Off the island, it's never worked well for them. And I can't imagine the sod they're bringing into the Georgia Dome will help. And we have Brad Evans again, who scored a stoppage time winner last time around against 'em in WCQ. We probably brought him back just for this game.
For US team news, John Brooks is back in the mix after serving his one game suspension. I wouldn't be surprised to see him brought back in. Other than that, um, uh, please please PLEASE sit Chandler, especially for this game where we can expect some quick counters. Oh, and hopefully Dempsey will make this face again.
Other than that? Screw it. At soccer, continents are greater than islands. Therefore, US > Jamaica. Can we just get over this and have Mexico get another dodgy stoppage time penalty again so we can set up the big one? Many thanks, CONCACAF match fixers.
So that Cuba match went about as expected. Props to them for making it to the knockouts, and uh, yeah, I've seen better marking in pub league games. We tore them up, Dempsey got his first hat trick for country. A mostly uneventful 6-0 battering in which the USMNT finally, FINALLY played up to their potential and got the kind of result they should.
Hopefully now we'll actually be able to transfer that kind of play to some stiffer competition.
In recent years, Jamaica have firmly cemented themselves in the 3rd tier on the CONCACAF power scale, consistently fighting for those last 1.5 spots for a World Cup berth. They haven't been able to qualify since 1998, but that doesn't mean they aren't, at the very least, a decent side. What makes the Reggae Boyz a bit more interesting than your average Caribbean or Central American footballing middle power is that they don't really on organization and physical play like so many other CONCACAF nations, their strength is in their speed and athleticism. A bit refreshing, really, the whole "let's just make through with 3 points and no injuries" that we experience most of the time in continental play is a bit tiring.
As always in CONCACAF, this SHOULD be a win, but it's easy to see how they could hurt us. They have a couple of Premier League defenders on the squad, Adrian Mariappa at Palace and Wes Morgan at Leceister, so we won't be walking all over them like that very shaky Cuban backline. Mix that with their very quick forwards like Giles Barnes and Darren Mattocks and our own backline who are prone to lapses in concentration and you can see how they might nick a few goals.
They're coming off a Copa America campaign which saw them 3 and out, but the Jamaicans has respectable 0-1 results against Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina.
Yeah, all of that's nice and all, but really the only times they've only ever challenged us is when we're playing on the absolute piece of garbage home pitch of Independence Park. The thin, crap grass of The Office plays well to their speed. Off the island, it's never worked well for them. And I can't imagine the sod they're bringing into the Georgia Dome will help. And we have Brad Evans again, who scored a stoppage time winner last time around against 'em in WCQ. We probably brought him back just for this game.
For US team news, John Brooks is back in the mix after serving his one game suspension. I wouldn't be surprised to see him brought back in. Other than that, um, uh, please please PLEASE sit Chandler, especially for this game where we can expect some quick counters. Oh, and hopefully Dempsey will make this face again.
Other than that? Screw it. At soccer, continents are greater than islands. Therefore, US > Jamaica. Can we just get over this and have Mexico get another dodgy stoppage time penalty again so we can set up the big one? Many thanks, CONCACAF match fixers.
