Official 2016 Soccer Thread

[Joemailman]

That was embarrassing tonight. 2 years ago in the World Cup, they were competitive in every game they played. Tonight they never challenged Argentina. Kind of depressing.

That Messi kick was perfection.

[wootah]

2 years ago in the World Cup, they were competitive in every game they played.

Not to rain on the parade, but technically & tactically there's just still a big quality gap between the US and world's top countries. Football being the low scoring game it is can mask that outcome-wise, but the US currently has no star players who are absolute difference makers on a quality team outside of the US.

In the Euro's we've had the first really good game yesterday in what has been a disappointing 1st round so far: Spain vs Croatia. Impressive display. With Spain losing, it seems all the big teams are gathered on the same side of the table (Germany, France, Italy, Spain, England). In theory this means a big opportunity for Belgium who are on the other side (Swiss, Croatia, Wales, Poland, probably Portugal), but I'm afraid their lack of quality coaching will be tough to overcome. I expect them to do well against Sweden (who have to win themselves), but as soon as they'll have to play a grouped opponent who plays the counterattack they'll struggle.

[Joemailman]

Not to rain on the parade, but technically & tactically there's just still a big quality gap between the US and world's top countries. Football being the low scoring game it is can mask that outcome-wise, but the US currently has no star players who are absolute difference makers on a quality team outside of the US.

Oh, I'm under no illusions about the quality of the USMNT versus the top teams. But they have done a pretty good job at times of overcoming their talent deficiency to at least be competitive. I was disappointed last night that they didn't even compete with Argentina. They seem to have regressed somewhat since 2014. Whether it's a real decline, or growing pains remains to be seen.

[Bretsky]

That was embarrassing tonight. 2 years ago in the World Cup, they were competitive in every game they played. Tonight they never challenged Argentina. Kind of depressing.

That Messi kick was perfection.

I come in this thread once a year to point out the same things. Soccer is for Europeans. Let one of them win.

[Freak Out]

...or latin americans.

[Joemailman]

Interesting story about how Brexit could affect the Premier League.

http://www.foxsports.com/soccer/stor...-league-062416

The Premier League has worked under the EU's freedom of movement laws, which allow for goods, money or workers to move across any borders within the EU. That has made it possible for any player that is a citizen of a EU country to play in the Premier League without problem, and ensured there would be no tariffs.

Going forward, that's in doubt.

Premier League clubs may not be able to import talent like they have in the past. All players from EU countries would be subject to the same UK work permit laws that non-EU players are currently subject to, which blocks many players from joining English clubs. Players like N'Golo Kante and Dimitri Payet would not have been eligible to sign with Leicester City and West Ham, respectively, when they came over, and they would be just two of hundreds that would no longer be able to sign in the Premier League.

That doesn't mean all players would be barred from joining the league. The top players from the top national teams still could, so the likes of Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez and Sergio Aguero are safe, but most players below that threshold would be denied the ability to sign.

[red]

Yeah, I heard on the radio the other day that if they voted to leave, the the bpl would be next to dead within 3 to 4 years

[Joemailman]

Does a 3rd place game mean any more than a friendly?

[Joemailman]

Sometimes I think Germany could field 2 teams and they'd both be competitive.

[wootah]

What a game by Hazard

[Joemailman]

I come in this thread once a year to point out the same things. Soccer is for Europeans. Let one of them win.

Come on B. Hot latinas love soccer.

[red]

its not really a shock to me that messi and zlatan have both now quit their national teams

why the hell would any good player from a top team want to play for free during the tiny 1 month break you get between seasons?

50+ club games a year, then everyone expects you to play a bunch of qualifier games and a worthless tournament each year that makes nobody but fifa any money? screw that. i'd take that 1 month to rest and recover

[Joemailman]

its not really a shock to me that messi and zlatan have both now quit their national teams

why the hell would any good player from a top team want to play for free during the tiny 1 month break you get between seasons?

50+ club games a year, then everyone expects you to play a bunch of qualifier games and a worthless tournament each year that makes nobody but fifa any money? screw that. i'd take that 1 month to rest and recover

It's a good point. Since I really started following international soccer a few years ago, I've been amazed at how many tournaments the national teams play in.

I still wouldn't be surprised if Messi decided to take one more shot at the World Cup though.

[red]

and now real madrid just lost one of the best (the best in some peoples minds) to a knee injury suffered in the euros

that real sucks for madrid, hopefully they don't have to keep paying him his half million dollars a week salary while he's out injured

not worth the risk IMO, in our day and age

[Joemailman]

I'm guessing MCL. Hopefully he didn't hurt the knee worse by trying to play on it. La Liga season starts August 20.