Well, not really a spoiler, yet. But I wanted the thread started and we all know it’s gonna be full of spoilers for those who want to wait until 1:00 PM EST Saturday to watch this thing!
My prediction: USA 2 Poland 1
But I’m not sure we wouldn’t be better off with a 1-1 draw and then face Mexico in the octofinal.
This could be a great game for us, with O’Brien, Reyna AND Stewart playing. Of course, what do we do with the 20 yr olds then? McBride and Mathis up top, and, unfortunately, Goose and Pope in the back with Sanneh and Hejduk. Do you stick Beasley on the left and leave Donovan out of the lineup?
When was the last time the US had to worry about who to start because it had too MUCH quality???
BRING THEM ON!!!
Well, given that Goose (a) sucks and (b) has a yellow card (I’m right about this, yes?), I say we sit him for the game, in favor of, say, Berhalter. McBride has been working his tail off; give him a breather if possible. I’d think it might be interesting to see something like:
Hejduk, Sanneh, Pope, Berhalter
Beasley, Reyna, O’Brien, Stewart
Donovan, Mathis
as starters, and if we need to bring McBride on, we can slide Mathis or Donovan off later. Of course, keep Friedel in back, as if there was any question about that. But what do I know?
I’ll be rooting for the US. They have been a pleasant surprise so far - well, it’s been a tournament full of surprises, but you know what I mean!
Good to hear Earnie Stewart’s playing again too. He grew up in the same province as me. His father’s American and his mother Dutch, IIRC (does he have dual citizenship?). In any case, he speaks the local dialect better than I do.
Poland have disappointed, and need to go home. Well, they WILL, of course.
OK, this is what (I think) the US needs to do to get through -
If they lose, they need South Korea to beat Portugal.
If they draw, they’re through.
If they win, they’re through.
Whether they finish top or second in the group is a bit more complicated.
So come on US! (we won’t beat, sorry meet, you until the final)
Years and years of watching the Altanta Braves play in the post season has convinced me that I curse which ever team I watch. I also rooted for the Bills. So obviously I can’t watch the game. Plus the suspense would probably kill me.
But my heart is with them in blissful ignorance. Come on boys, bring it on home!
Argh… what a first half. I’m still upset about Donovan’s disallowed goal.
My fear about the Portugal-Korea game is that they’ll realize that if they play to a tie, their both through - thus, why really try, as long as the US is losing?
Oh, a question: why don’t they look at head to head matchups when determining tie-breakers? Shouldn’t the fact that the US beat Portugal count more than Portugal’s scoring more goals against Poland?
They DO look at head-to heads, eventually. But goal balance overrides it. So no, it’s not more important. Reason being that focusing on one game doesn’t provide as well a scope as focusing on three games. Seems fair to me.
Coldy: Yeah, I guess it does make sense. I’m just used to US professional leagues (for other sports, that is - dunno how it works in MLS) where head-to-heads are always the first tie-breaker. That also makes sense to me, as it doesn’t seem fair to let in one team even though they lost to another team with the same record.
but miltan, its the team that performs best over a series of games, rather than who beat who in one particular game that would determine who goes through.
