02 Jan 2006 05:44
I think group 'E' is the GOD
with the likes of
Italy
Cech republic
United states of America
Ghana
they are all higher in ranking
with the exception of the african
country who are 50th in the world ranking
but ready to tell the world what they are made of
in Germany
21 Mar 2006 10:11
Nice to see a non-US fan recognize that they have a pool of about 30 interchangeable players who could all take the pitch and provide the same level of play. Our only problem is lack of superstars, but if you look at European teams who have 3 or 4 level-10 players and a mix of levels 9-7; compare that to the US team which is almost entirely level-9 (maybe a couple level-10s, if you consider McBride, Bocanegra, Beasley, Reyna, Donovan and/or O'Brien on the right day- not to mention any of our GKs, and the rest level-9s.) My convoluted point is that we're a very stable, consistent team with good strategists (think Arena as Rahagel) who could easily upset any unsuspecting team (not just Portugal.)
That said, I think neither the higher-ranked Czechs nor the lower-ranked Italians (consisting of an ENTIRELY Euro-based roster who are cranking right now) should have little problem focusing and staying on task. Our only hope is a healthy crop of unpredictable MLS players (you might laugh, but it's a tougher, faster, more-skillful league than you'd think- ask any Mexican who's come up to play and gotten their arses handed to them or the European teams who come here for a holiday and lose most, if not all, of their matches in surprising fashion) whose upstart, disrespectful attitudes can bring about surprises, coupled with the Italians' emotional instability and inability to score convincing goals that don't appear to be offside violations (I love the Azzurri and feel sympathy for them every time they're erroneously called 'off', but they just don't have much luck in this dept.)
Summary: Group of Death= E.
P.S. Anyone with a (pair of) ticket(s) to the either/both of the first 2 USA games to sell at a reasonable price (which is gradually going up in my head), please contact this unlucky, football-sick fan, (with a first-born who arrived 5 weeks early, thankfully healthy, two days before the USSF app date; hence, I had to Fedex my app rather than babysit a fax machine as I'd have done if he'd arrived a week later.) I'd also happily buy any Holland tix (or match 49, 52, 57 or 59 but who wouldn't?) :wink: Hope to meet as many of you as possible- I'm not this wordy in person! Cheers.