Bedeviled by des Diables Rouges!

"If the US goes out, they will go out on their shields" - Ian Darke, TV commentator

Proud to be a US soccer fan this morning!  Tim Howard was simply amazing.


Belgium is good.  Lots of firepower.  Looking forward to Belgium v Argentina this weekend.

US has a lot to hang its hat on moving forward.  Several young guys stepped up during this edition of the World Cup, and the future looks bright for the USMNT.

Thanks Pepe, and Im not good at picking WC winners

Well, thanks to Pepe's meltdown and Germany demolishing Portugal in their first game of the World Cup, the United States has advanced to the Round of 16 and play Belgium next.  (Where are you Peter?!?).  They were even able to do it with no biting!!!



Belgium will be stiff competition, but I like USA's chances (relatively, as opposed to teams like Germany, Argentina, etc).  Belgium has world class players who play in the Premier League, like Vincent Kompany, Eden Hazard, and Marouane Fellaini, but overall, the team is young, and even though they swept their group, havent always looked spectacular.  I actually think this team will make a run to the finals in 2018, but hopefully the US can push them a bit next Tuesday.

Fellaini


But, what do I know?  Obviously nothing as my original WC predictions for the group winners were crap.  I got 9 out of the 16 teams correct.

My picks were

Group A
Brazil
Croatia

Mexico proved me wrong.

Group B
Spain
Chile

I thought this would be a competitive group between Spain, Chile, and the Netherlands.  What happened to Spain????

Group C
Ivory Coast
Greece

Colombia made me a loser here.  I would have thought the Toure brothers and Drogba could have got them through.

Group D
Uruguay
Italy

Here in the US, Group G was called the Group of Death.  However, I think Group D was more difficult, and Im surprised that Costa Rica was the team who made it through over Italy and England.  I saw Costa Rica play several times in CONCACAF, and while decent, Im really shocked they passed over two of the futbol giants.  Losing 'the Biter' will really hurt Uruguay.  Suarez is a dipshit for such a spectacular soccer player.

Group E
France
Switzerland

Hot damn.  I got one right.  This is the group I probably knew overall the least about.  That tells you something I think.

Group F
Argentia
Bosnia and Herzegovinia

Nigeria made it through over Dzeko and company.  Surprising - the US gave Nigeria a thumping in its very last warm up game prior to Brazil.  My winner (Argentina) is still alive, and Nigeria's coach says that "Messi is from Jupiter".  Still hard to bet against that guy...

Group G
Germany
Portugal

Hell yeah!  Gladly wrong about this one.  I still think this group played out exactly as I thought it would, but Portugal's meltdown in the first game was a killer for them.  Had they kept their shit together, they may have gone through.  Germany looks good, and frankly, they may be the winners this year.

Group H
Belgium
Russia

Another one that is a little surprising to me, although I didnt know much about Algeria (who finished in second in this group).  Belgium is full of world class players who I feel arent quite ready for the big time YET, but they will be.

Heartbreak in the Amazon!

Oh no!  What a nightmare!  USA had #4 ranked in the world Portugal on the ropes, including a trip to the round of 16, and lost a perfect chance!

Matt Besler taking a dump on the field.

But, you know what????  There are several positives to take away from this one
#1 - The USA is talking about soccer!  I turned on sports radio this morning, and all they were talking about was soccer.  Never thought that would happen in this country....

#2 - I had said all along that if USA could beat Ghana, draw with Portugal, lose to Germany that they had a strong shot to move on, and its working out that way!  According to someone at ESPN, USA still has about a 75% chance to move on to the next round.  A win or a draw against Germany, and its automatic.  But, even if they lose, and Portugal beats Ghana (im assuming the odds are that will happen), USA will probably move on too.  And, even Ghana winning and USA losing still gives a chance

#3 - Prior to the WC starting, Portugal was ranked #4 in the world.  Granted, their starting goalie was out, as was their starting CB, and they have injuries (like that fudgepacker Ronaldo), but the USA has injury problems too!  Not only did they manage the tie against Portugal, in my opinion, they outplayed Portugal from start to finish, and probably deserved 3 points.

Oh well - let the conspiracy theories begin.  I wouldnt mind a little collusion.



Hey Peter!  If you happen to read this, looks like there is a shot for USA v Belgium in the round of 16!!!

A huge day for US Soccer!

US 2 Ghana 1!!!!



With Portugal getting crushed by Germany yesterday too, I really like the odds of the US moving on to the next round.  If the US can manage a draw with Portugal, and then just hang around vs Germany, its looking good!!!!

Losing Jozy Altidore is gonna hurt, and the USMNT will be dealing with the same problems that it has the last several World Cups....Where are the goals gonna come from?????  Keeping Landon Donovan at home may turn out to be a big mistake, but...

I BELIEVE!!  I BELIEVE THAT WE WILL WIN!!!

"We are a rescue team, not assassins" and a big day

A sneak peak at what Im currently working on:

And, today is a big day for US Soccer.  USMNT vs Ghana, 6PM EST.

My homage to the US World Cup team and predictions

 Here is my homage to the US World Cup Team!
The whole team

The defenders - Fabian Johnson, Geoff Cameron, Tim Howard, Matt Besler, DaMarcus Beasley

 The midfield - Mix Diskerud, Jermaine Jones, Michael Bradley, Alejandro Bedoya

 Forwards - Jozy Altidore, Clint Dempsey

Here in the US, very few people care about soccer, and in fact, most people wouldnt even THINK of calling it 'football'.  That being said, I played when I was little, and really started to love it when the US hosted the World Cup in 1994.  20 years later, im still learning the game, but I love it.

Even though the results of the first game are already in, here are my predictions

Group A
Brazil
Croatia

El Tri eliminated.

Group B
Spain
Chile

This was a tough one.  I have the Netherlands out on goal difference.  Chile vs Netherlands will be a good game.

Group C
Ivory Coast
Greece

This is the anti group of death.

Group D
Uruguay
Italy

I have England going out in the group round, but all three teams at 1-0-2

Group E
France
Switzerland

Group F
Argentina
Bosnia and Herzegovinia

African champs Nigeria out

Group G
Germany
Portugal

US out on goal difference.  If the US can beat Ghana, draw Portugal, and lose to Germany, there is a shot...

Group H
Belgium
Russia

Round of 16
Brazil d Chile
Italy d Ivory Coast
France d Bosnia and Herzegovinia
Germany d Russia
Spain d Croatia
Uruquay d Greece
Argentina d Switzerland
Portugal d Belgium

Quarterfinals
Brazil d Italy
Germany d France
Spain d Uruquay
Argentina d Portugal

Semifinals
Germany d Brazil
Argentina d Spain

Finals
Argentina d Germany

Im having a hard time betting against Messi this year.  Brazil has the home advantage, but after watching them today (even though they won 3-1), I have real concerns about their defense and their goal keeper.



Good luck everyone!!!

Manchester City Football Club

Ive been a closet soccer fan most of my life, but over the past few years, ive really loved watching the Premier League in England.  At the time, I picked a team that was good, but not the best, and that was Manchester City.  The more I watched them, the more I started to love them - especially Carlos Tevez (now, come to find out he is a whiny asshole).  Now, im more of a David Silva fan - he is my type of player - always looking to pass, flashy, but no too much so, and appears to be a good team player

But anyway, in tribute of my "fandom", I have painted a starting 11 - 25mm from Eureka Miniatures

Goalkeeper Joe Hart

Defensemen Micah Richards, Vincent Kompany, Joleon Lescott, Alexander Kolarov

Midfielders Samir Nasri, Yaya Toure, Gareth Barry (the hair on GB is a little crazy!), David Silva

Forwards Edin Dzeko, Kun Aquero