It's not the end of the world - to be honest it's like a tree falling in the forest for most people - but it confirms suspicions that this Bob Bradley-run squad is on the decline. Including their World Cup elimination by Ghana, the U.S. has won only 2 of their last 11 games.
What can we expect next? To advance, the U.S. has to beat Guadeloupe, an island of 450,000 people. From what I saw of Guadeloupe playing Canada at the Hispanic laundromat I was at Saturday, they play a physical, scrappy brand of soccer but aren't as skilled as the U.S. From what I've read, their skilled players tend to play in Europe and for France nationally.
If I was a betting man I'd be hard-pressed to bet against my team, but I wouldn't be shocked to see a low-scoring or goalless tie. Part of me also sees this tough situation as a win-win scenario. If the U.S. loses, that might be just the kick in the pants the USSF needs to get rid of Bradley, which could be great for the long-term. On the other hand the U.S. could win... which is also a win, technically speaking. It should be interesting to see if they rise to the occasion like they did against another physical team, Algeria, or collapse into an ineffective heap like they did against Ghana.
In lol-worthy news: a Cuban player defected from his team. This news is about as shocking as hearing a DC weather forecast with humidity over 80%. I'm sweating like Bruce Pearl here.
No comments:
Post a Comment