2022 World Cup

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BrntOrngStud
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2022 World Cup

Post by BrntOrngStud »

I'm an Iranian-American whose dad was best friends with a player who used to play for Iran's national team in the early 1970's. He eventually became an executive in Iran's soccer federation. But even though I was born in Iran, I have been raised in England and the US with 90% of it being in the US. And my parents met in England. So this WC is a very interesting one for me.

For those that are interested, who will go through? These are my predictions.

Group A: Netherlands, Ecuador. I had Senegal but their best player, Mane, is injured and likely won't be playing. Qatar may go through due to home field but I have them bowing out.

Group B: England, US. From a rankings perspective, this group is one of the most closely matched and toughest in the WC. Teams 2-4 are all in the top 20 and range from 16-20 (FIFA rankings). I think ELO is a little more reliable but even that has all three teams in close range.

Group C: Argentina, Mexico. Mexico always seems to make the knockouts but wouldn't be surprised if Lewandowski (I mean Poland) goes through.

Group D: Denmark, France.

Group E: Spain, Germany.

Group F: Belgium, Morocco.

Group G: Brazil, Switzerland.

Group H: Portugal, Uruguay.

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thrill
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Re: 2022 World Cup

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I am open to discussing anything you all may want to know about the USMNT.


I’ll give you a basic overview. Tough group in that England is very good and Iran is a tough team and will EXTREMELY motivated to beat us for innumerable reasons. They spanked us in 98.

The US is the youngest squad by a fair margin in the whole tournament. They have the talent to make a quarter final run but they also have shown a lack of cohesion and inability to stay healthy over the 4 year cycle. If everything comes together, they will be young, fun, and give everyone a ton to hope for when we host in 2026. If everything doesn’t come together, they could also get beat by England, Iran, and even Wales and come home with their tail between their legs.

My prediction: second in the group, knocked out by holland in the next round. So essentially somewhere in between.


Players to watch:
Pulisic: you know his name. He needs a big performance to move forward in his club career and get a good transfer from Chelsea.

Reyna: most talented and arrogantly fun player we’ve ever produced. Dad was national team legend Claudio. Mom has caps for the WNT and won a gold medal.

McKennie: most consistent best player. Plays for juventus. Elite at everything except passing, which makes for an unconventional elite player to watch.

Adams: captain consistency. Midfield defensive genius. Has that dog in him.

Musah: second most talented player. Midfield ball dominant dribbler and tackler. If this 19 year old man ever refines his shooting and passing, we’re looking at one of the best midfielders in the world. As of now he’s starting to put it together, but like I said, he’s only 19.


Lots of other intriguing players like Aaronson, Jedi Robinson, Matt Turner, etc. lmk if you guys have any questions.


Oh fyi, Tim Ream & Josh Sargent are from Stl and will play big roles. Ream is at the end, Sargent at the beginning of his career, both great stories.

BrntOrngStud
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Re: 2022 World Cup

Post by BrntOrngStud »

Yes, Ream and Sargent are representing STL well. Ream is doing well in the Premier League. I actually think Musah is our most talented player and has the highest ceiling. But Reyna could also easily be the most talented as well. They are definitely the two most talented players we have.

My main question is that of the times I have seen the USMNT during qualifying, they have a hard time breaking down a low block. Iran under Quieroz in 2014 and 2018 employed a very effective low block against Argentina, Spain and Portugal. What makes you think that if Iran and Wales implement a low block, how would US break it down? Reyna and Musah probably could but IMO they are too inexperienced at the international level.

IMO, US could definitely win the World Cup in 2026 when it comes here.

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Transmogrified Tiger
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Re: 2022 World Cup

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BrntOrngStud wrote:
November 11 22, 7:01 pm
My main question is that of the times I have seen the USMNT during qualifying, they have a hard time breaking down a low block. Iran under Quieroz in 2014 and 2018 employed a very effective low block against Argentina, Spain and Portugal. What makes you think that if Iran and Wales implement a low block, how would US break it down? Reyna and Musah probably could but IMO they are too inexperienced at the international level.
I think the optimistic case for this has a couple factors. One is that Wales isn't likely to bunker, they've faced the US already in this cycle and they don't have an overly defensive identity like Iran. Another is that lots of teams struggle with this, low blocks happen because they work and even top teams can be frustrated by them. And the last is that the US hasn't had a lot of continuity with their top attackers. Thanks to 3 game windows and lots of injuries, the US didn't have their preferred lineup like they will at the world cup and those margins can make a difference.

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thrill
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Re: 2022 World Cup

Post by thrill »

England’s center backs are looking RIIIIIIPE. I don’t care who our striker is, if our attack gets them running backwards, we will score.

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thrill
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Re: 2022 World Cup

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Their center backs just don’t have the legs to run with Sarge at this point. I know that sounds absurd, but I like the match up. Trust me I know our center backs are a huge question mark outside of Zimmerman.

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BottenFieldofDreams
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Re: 2022 World Cup

Post by BottenFieldofDreams »

Happy to see Jordan Morris out there representing those of us with bum pancreases. He does some good work with kids on that front.


Are any of these Europe-based US players coming out of MLS academies? Obviously those like Adams and Aaronson. I'm wondering how well MLS helps develop NT level talent. My team sure sucks at it, or even system-producing MLS talent for the most part.

Soccer's structure doesn't really make it easy for my practice
of fandom (be it Blazers, Cardinals, Timbers)-- I'm always a team before league guy in any sport--almost exclusively team, really. This is compounded when there are dozens of leagues. Hard to know what's going on in a huge global game if your primary lens is just across the river. It's also hard to have to watch NT players act like entitled raving a holes in MLS, and then lick their butts all up and down when the WC comes around. ...though the improving quality of MLS and the aging out of the Donovan generation has helped a lot on that side. And then the US trips over their own ass and doesn't qualify for 2018.

All of this is to say I know little of the current squad and situation. I hope it's likeable guys (like Morris) that play well. Look forward to finding out. I'm always up for the WC.

ETA if this is the youngest team in the tournament that should help my whole thing. Meeting players that should be around a while.
Last edited by BottenFieldofDreams on November 13 22, 10:39 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Tambourine Man
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Re: 2022 World Cup

Post by Tambourine Man »

We're gonna fuc*ing do some damage...Hype vid

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thrill
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Re: 2022 World Cup

Post by thrill »

BottenFieldofDreams wrote:
November 12 22, 4:59 pm
Are any of these Europe-based US players coming out of MLS academies?
From this roster (there are many former mls academy products in Europe):
McKennie (Dallas), Aaronson (Philly), Adams (Red Bull), Weah (Red Bulls), Reyna (NYCFC), Scally (NYCFC).

Haji Wright was weirdly developed by the NASL NY Cosmos. Sargent and Pulisic went from US Dev Academy to Europe. Matt Turner started in PDL which would be like 4th division.

BrntOrngStud
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Re: 2022 World Cup

Post by BrntOrngStud »

Transmogrified Tiger wrote:
November 12 22, 9:00 am
BrntOrngStud wrote:
November 11 22, 7:01 pm
My main question is that of the times I have seen the USMNT during qualifying, they have a hard time breaking down a low block. Iran under Quieroz in 2014 and 2018 employed a very effective low block against Argentina, Spain and Portugal. What makes you think that if Iran and Wales implement a low block, how would US break it down? Reyna and Musah probably could but IMO they are too inexperienced at the international level.
I think the optimistic case for this has a couple factors. One is that Wales isn't likely to bunker, they've faced the US already in this cycle and they don't have an overly defensive identity like Iran. Another is that lots of teams struggle with this, low blocks happen because they work and even top teams can be frustrated by them. And the last is that the US hasn't had a lot of continuity with their top attackers. Thanks to 3 game windows and lots of injuries, the US didn't have their preferred lineup like they will at the world cup and those margins can make a difference.
I agree that a lot of teams struggle with the low block which is why teams implement them but the top teams eventually are able to break it down even though they are frustrated by them. They have a creative midfielder that can generally find a way to unlock their defense. Sadly, we don't have such a player at the moment but Reyna can become one. It's also great that the US finally gets all of their top attackers although that does raise concerns about team chemistry. Since they all haven't played together, I'm not sure the current short runup to the WC is enough time for them.

We also have a player in Tim Weah whose father won the Ballon d'Or in the 1990s and is currently the President of Liberia. He is a great player and I hope he has a great tournament.

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