The thing that has me saying this stuff even though they don't have a good striker is that....there are not very many countries with decent youth strikers right now. Makes me wonder how some teams expect to score. Maybe four years from now, someone like Ferreira will be more ready to play, or maybe Reyna will be a #9.
What? This post makes 0 sense. Did Jurgen make it to the round of 16 in 2014? Yes. Then he was the same level as Gregg. Results are what matter. Gregg failed and so did Jurgen. Neither were anywhere near good enough.
I think Pepi and Sargent look promising. Both were sorely missed this game. Weah also should be playing more central.
It's funny because striker is probably the easiest position to recruit kids for. It's every child's first chosen position, all you gotta do is keeping them at it. The lack of striker prospects is as a result almost certainly down to youth coaches pulling the talented kids away from the position.
I guess it depends on how you define failure. Klinsmann brought in half a team from Germany and didn't do any better than Gregg. Gregg has one guy from England and one from NL that those countries didn't want.
I mean isn’t that more of a testament to Klinnsmann? That he was able to convince guys to come over and play for the US and Gregg wasn’t? Granted I think Tillman and Dest will be big for years to come.
For a long time, most countries had solid strikers even if they lacked talent elsewhere. It's an easy position to play, you just need physical attributes and learn the little tricks of the profession over time.
Klinnsmann was also trying to put in a system to develop youth so that they would be ready to play by now. Of course, US soccer was its usual tone deaf ignorant self and cried, whined, and complained about it until he was gone.
Dutch veterans would just take advantage on account of how much better they are than the American veterans. They aren't on the same level.
I don’t think it’s a failure at all. It’s disappointment. This team should have never been able to compete with Netherlands or England but they did with both. US had chances to attack and didn’t capitalize. They were punching above their weight and it didn’t work. No failure.
No you didn't, you're complaining about the youth vs. veterans. Anyone paying any bit of attention to the sport knows the Dutch is overall better and can just keep finding them, like how they have a 28 year old goalkeeper who didn't have a cap 2 weeks ago. They can do stuff like that because they're multiple levels ahead of the US, and anyone else in CONCACAF.
Klinsmann had the right idea, the problem is at all levels it was like a body rejecting an organ transplant. USA needs a mirror to look at the cause for the majority of their problems
They’ll be more ready when the World Cup is in North America in four years.
That is a perfect summation.
I don't see it that way. The US has to build from within. We are always going to have first generation players because we are a nation of immigrants. Years ago, the US "stole'" that player from Iceland, ignoring the fact that he was born in Birmingham, AL.
As hosts, they'll have an easier draw and this will be a 48 team WC so even more weak teams. But I don't suddently expect to be able to knock out traditional powerhouses.
Yeah I think he’d be an option but an outside chance. He’d need to really start turning heads.
Yeah definitely. That’s kind of what I meant by similar results. I think they’ll get out of the group stage. Maybe through to the second knockout round.
