We Love Ya, And Where You Go We’ll Follow

Just four years ago, I was in my driveway at my high school graduation party without a care in the world of the people there to see me. I was glued to a TV which I had tuned to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. It was the Round of 16, where the United States, coming off of Landon Donovan’s heroics against Algeria, took on Ghana. People wanted to talk and congratulate me, but I was too bummed that the U.S. lost 2-1 and were eliminated from the World Cup.

I couldn’t believe I had to wait four years for this to happen again. I watched as many United States friendlies as I could. I attended coach Jurgen Klinnsman’s first ever match against Mexico in 2011. I tried getting friends and family excited for the Women’s World Cup, Olympics, Gold Cup, friendlies, World Cup Qualifying, and anything that had to deal with the United States soccer program.

 

After qualifying for the World Cup, winning dos a cero against Mexico in the fall 2013, supporters were riding high. That high dramatically changed when the US was drawn into the “Group of Death” with nemesis Ghana, world power Germany, and Cristiano Ronaldo powered Portugal.

The send-off series leading up to the World Cup was exciting, albeit with many questions. But the World Cup began in absolute style for the United States, with Clint Dempsey scoring 31 seconds into the game, and John Brooks cementing himself in US folklore with his game winning header for a 2-1 win over Ghana.

The US dominated Portugal for most of the game, with Jermaine Jones scoring an “absolute cracker,” and Dempsey scoring as well before ultimately drawing.

They played eventual World Cup winner Germany to a 1-0 loss, and almost pulled off the biggest miracle in soccer history before falling to Belgium in the Round of 16.

It was too early of an exit. With all the excitement surrounding this edition of the World Cup, everything felt so special. As a diehard supporter of the United States, and just soccer in general, I was sad that this run ended.

Imagine, the United States beats Belgium. They get to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2002. A date with arguably the best player in the world in Lionel Messi and Argentina, the day after the Fourth of July. What a script.

Alas, it was not to be. Germany took down Argentina in the final 1-0. Brazil 2014 is over. And to many, that means the end for international soccer. For some, that means the end for soccer in general. It’s a shame, because soccer was really taking off in this country.

The United States – Portugal match was the most viewed game of all time in the U.S., with 24.7 million viewers. Which is insane. The Germany-Argentina final drew 17.3 million viewers on ABC. Viewership is up, soccer is growing, and it really brings joy for me to see my favorite sport grow.

I saw tweets and heard people saying how they’re happy the World Cup is over, and how excited they are for real American football to be back. I’m excited for it too, I love American football. But there’s something so special about an event that truly engulfs an entire nation once every four years.

For the crazies like those in the ever growing American Outlaws, there still are many United States to look forward to aside from the World Cup.

Well, okay, the next big event is another World Cup, except the women’s edition led by the likes of Abby Wambach and Alex Morgan.

In 2015, the United States Men’s team will compete in the Gold Cup, a regional tournament with the likes of Mexico and Costa Rica. Should the United States win, they’ll automatically qualify for the 2017 Confederations Cup, an enormous tournament with one representative from each region around the world.

2016 may be the best summer of soccer not called the World Cup ever. For one, the women’s team will compete in the Rio Olympic Games.

But for the first time in it’s history, the legendary Copa America tournament, a soccer tournament between the best teams of South America, will be held in the United States for its 100th anniversary. That means the likes of Brazil, Argentina, Colombia will compete against the US and Mexico in cities like Philadelphia, Los Angeles and New York.

Later that year, World Cup qualifying will begin. Qualifying for the World Cup should be expected for the US, but regardless of expectations, it is not easy especially in the CONCACAF region.

The United States received unbelievable support in Brazil. Jermaine Jones said that they were motivated and pushed to come back with chants of “USA” at the end of the Round of 16 loss to Belgium. Soccer fans from around the world learned of the American Outlaws and the passion of soccer in the United States as a whole.

And with that support and excitement from Brazil, I hope it springboards into an even larger following than ever before. The team deserves it. Soccer deserves it.

So to help do my part, this blog will turn from general World Cup coverage to focus mainly on the United States (I’ll mix in other things as well). I want to help you get to know what’s going on with the team, when new friendlies are announced, and any and everything as best as I can about the United States.

Four years ago, I was looking forward to Brazil. Somehow, the best tournament ever contested has come and gone. I miss it already. But I’m already looking forward to the next time the United States takes the field.

And that’s a lot sooner than you may realize.

Extra Time: What We Learned From Day 2

What a second day of action from the World Cup. Here’s what we learned from an exciting day of action:

Mexico’s good luck runs out, but still prevail

Mexico had the luckiest final two games in CONCACAF possibly ever. Needing wins in each game, plus help from the United States, everything went El Tri’s way and they were able to qualify for Brazil via the playoff. That luck ran out in their Group A opener Friday against Cameroon. They were stripped of two goals due to very questionable offside calls.

But Mexico overcame the adversity thanks to a goal from Oribe Peralta in the 61′ off a great feed from Giovani Dos Santos. For much of the game, El Tri controlled the game from Cameroon, and although the Indomitable Lions had their chances, Mexico overcame adversity and took a very important three points as they look to their next match against Croatia.

Cameroon not to be overlooked

Cameroon is arguably the weakest link in Group A with the likes of Brazil, Mexico, and Croatia hanging in their shadow. But Samuel Eto’o’s squad had their chances against a Mexico team expected to win. They still are in a hole and probably won’t make it out of the group, especially with their second match against heavily favored Brazil. But Cameroon will give teams fits and will not be a cakewalk.

Iker Casillas is done for Spain; Spain no longer intimidating

Who would have seen that result yesterday? Spain, reigning World Cup champions, who defeated Netherlands 1-0 in the final, embarrassed themselves in a 5-1 thumping by the Dutch. The most embarrassing moment? When Spanish stalwart Iker Casillas, goalkeeper of the 2010 World Cup team as well as their Euro 2012 championship team, misplayed a ball that Arjen Robben capitalized on and easily scored. Vicente del Bosque, Spain’s manager, has no choice but to sit his champion goalkeeper. Casillas does not even start on his club team Real Madrid. It’s time to say thank you for your service, but it’s time to move on.

Aside from Casillas, Spain just looked abysmal. They were not the World Cup champions everyone is afraid to play. After being thrashed like this, La Furia Roja have lost the immortal status in international soccer. They still are Spain and will be a challenge for anyone they play, but they are no longer invincible. Will Spain be able to recover and regroup from an embarrassing loss?

Netherlands class of Group B

The Netherlands were given the tough task to avenge their World Cup finals loss four years ago in the very first match of group play. To say they were still ticked off about that loss was an understatement. Oranje put up five goals (!!!) on Spain and embarrassed their nemesis Friday. Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben each scored twice. Van Persie stole the show, earning the nickname “The Flying Dutchman” thanks to his flying header.

After being down 1-0, Holland roared back proving that they are in fact the class of Group B. And with a match looming against lowly Australia, the Netherlands may very well solidify their spot in the knockout stage before their final match.

Chile is fun to watch; Australia not so much

Chile has the door wide open to get out of Group B thanks to Spain’s embarrassing loss. Chile took the three points it was expected to against Australia Friday night thanks to a 3-1 win. They scored two goals in two minutes thanks to their furious attack. Players shifted all over the field, causing Australia fits. They’ll have to do a better job on set pieces and balls in the air, and they must keep their furious attack throughout the entire match. But Chile is fun to watch, and should provide for some entertaining soccer as they go in to their two matches against Spain and the Netherlands.

Meanwhile, Australia are not exactly the furious attacking team that Chile is. In fact, they let Chile attack and wait for counter attacks. Those chances were rare. And when they did have those chances, they failed to take advantage. The Socceroos kept it close at 2-1 in the second half, but were unable to score in the final third on their rare opportunities.

Extra Time: What We Learned From Brazil’s Victory Over Croatia

Brazil’s Neymar celebrates a goal in their 3-1 victory over Croatia Thursday in Sao Paolo. Credit: ESPN FC

Brazil did not play as expected in their 3-1 victory over Croatia Thursday afternoon. Alas, a win is a win. And to Brazil and their fans, the three points at the end of the day are what matters.

But Croatia gave Brazil fits and looked dangerous for most of the match. They attacked Luiz Scolari’s side early, even taking a 1-0 lead thanks to an own goal by Marcelo. Croatia had their chances, but failed to bury the ball in the back of the net enough (obviously…)

Here’s what we know after match day one:

Neymar and Oscar Shine

Neymar is good. Like, really good. Two goals in his first ever World Cup match in front of his home fans is nothing to brush aside, even if one was a penalty (we’ll get to that later). He was the best player on the field for the Selacao. As soon as Croatia scored to go ahead, Neymar demanded the ball be at his feet and powered his team to victory. And to think people were worried about his knee in warmups…

Oscar also had a fantastic game, scoring the third goal to seal the victory. He also assisted on Neymar’s tying goal. These two players will take on the grunt of the workload offensively for Brazil to succeed.

Brazil Defense Not the Strongest

Brazil look suspect on defense, and that’s to say the least. For the first 20 minutes of the match, they let Croatia attack right down their throats. There were gaping holes in the back line by the fullbacks. Brazil’s fullbacks like to attack, but that leaves them vulnerable and Croatia exploited this.

Goalkeeping Woes

Croatia goaltender Stipe Pletikosa allowed three goals to an offensively talented Brazil side. No big deal right?

Except the three goals allowed were stoppable. On all three, Pletikosa looked as if his feet were stapled to the ground. He was slow to react on both the first goal by Neymar and the third by Oscar. On the second, a penalty shot, he got both of his hands on the ball and just pushed it into the top right corner, an unfortunate bounce. Still, if Pletikosa removed the velcro attached from his boots to the grass, this could have gone Croatia’s way. Meanwhile, Brazil goaltender Julio Cesar looked fine in net, although he was slow to react on shots as well. He made a big save in the late stages of the game on Ivan Perisic in the 90′ in a 2-1 game. This save led to a counterattack that instantly saw Brazil seal the win with a goal. The 34-year-old Cesar made a big mark on the game.

Croatia are pretty damn good

We’ll see who the second best team of the group is Friday, but Croatia made a very strong statement against Brazil. Manager Niko Kovac’s side attacked Brazil from the start, choosing to stand tall against the hosts instead of withering in the spotlight of the host nation’s party. Ivan Perisic and Nikica Jelavic ran wild on the Brazil defense, pressuring the hosts most of the game. In the early stages, Perisic placed a beautiful cross to Ivica Olic, whose header just missed the far post. They almost tied the game on a shot by Perisic, and played the hosts hard the entire game. They earned respect, and should definitely be a challenge for Mexico and Cameroon.

Oh, and they get their best player back in time for their second match against Mexico in Mario Mandzukic.

Referee Yuichi Nishimura points to the penalty spot in the 71′ of Brazil’s 3-1 victory over Croatia on Thursday. Will bad refereeing continue through the entire tournament? Credit: Fox Sports

Pleaseeeee don’t be a World Cup full of bad refereeing. Please.

We’re off to a horrible start with refereeing. And we only played one match.

In the 71′ of a 1-1 game, Dejan Lovren got tangled up with Fred for merely a half-second. It was just coincidental contact. Yet Fred flails to the ground as if he was just tackled by an American football player. And Japanese referee Yuichi Nishimura pointed directly at the penalty spot, running to the end line signaling a penalty kick, all while a plethora of Croats ran and screamed at him. It was an absurd call, one that changed the complexion of the match and ruining an enticing opening match. If this is a sign of things to come, then we can expect to see some interesting scenarios via the referees in the coming month.

Brazil relieved of opening match jitters

Ultimately at the end of the day, Brazil took the three points it needed. And their slow play isn’t to say Brazil will play like that the entire tournament. As long as Brazil improve each match, they will be just fine. In 2010, Spain lost their opening match to Switzerland before eventually winning the World Cup. In 2006, Italy tied the United States en route to their title. And in 2002, Brazil needed a late goal against Turkey after a slow start in their opening match before ultimately winning the World Cup.

FIFA World Cup: Group A Preview

Hey kids, I bet you want to know some stuff about the World Cup. I’m sure you know Brazil is that really good team with that really good player and the really hot girls the five championships. You might even know a little about Mexico, since the United States plays them and all. But I bet you don’t know about Croatia. And Cameroon? Isn’t that the type of car Toyota makes?

Group A consists of, as stated, host nation Brazil, Mexico, Croatia and Cameroon. This was determined December 6, 2013 when FIFA drew from a pot which teams would be in which group.

BRAZIL 

Brazil, led by Neymar, look to earn their sixth World Cup title on their home soil. Credit: Neymarjr.net

Brazil is looking to avenge something that happened 64 years ago. The only other time they hosted the World Cup in 1950, they were stunned by rival Uruguay in the championship match. Hosting for the first time since, the famed soccer nation looks to hoist the trophy for the sixth time, and the first in front of their home fans.

This team is loaded with talent, and it begins with Neymar. The star on Brazil, Neymar has scored 30 times in 47 matches for the Selecao. If Neymar goes, Brazil goes. If he isn’t playing his best, they have a support of cast such as Oscar and Hulk who can carry the load.

Brazil play a 4-2-1-3 formation. But the two outside fullbacks, David Luiz and Dani Alves, like to attack when possible. They play an entertaining fast paced style of soccer that will be sure fun to watch, especially for the casual fan.

A World Cup title is expected of this squad. Brazil are expected to run through the group stage with ease before enduring the knockout stage. Anything less than a title will be a failure for manager Luis Felipe Scolari’s team.

Mexico look to regain their form in Brazil and emerge as a soccer power. Credit: MLSsoccer.com

MEXICO

Mexico may be the luckiest country at the World Cup. If it were not for some fortuitous bounces, an unbelievable goal, and help from their arch rival in the United States, Mexico would be at home watching the tournament. But alas, El Tri are here. And after a disastrous qualifying campaign which saw them lose at Azteca to Honduras, manager Migurel Herrera’s side is looking to show the world that 2013 was a fluke.

Luck ran out for the Mexican side however, when it lost star player Luis Montes in a friendly against Ecuador to a horrific leg injury. Still, Mexico have plenty of talent. Rafa Marquez is the undisputed leader on El Tri, playing in his fourth World Cup. El Tri also boasts Oribe Peralta, who scored five goals in Mexico’s two playoff games against New Zealand. He has 11 goals in 10 appearances for the national side. And there still is Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez, an offensive spark who will come off the bench.

El Tri is heavy on the defensive end, playing a 5-3-2. This allows the defense to attack the ball and springs the forwards up top on a counterattack. Having five players in the back also allows the defense to take more chances then other formations.

Mexico is dying to become a soccer power. They’re close. They have only reached the quarterfinals twice, with the last time being in 1986 when El Tri hosted the tournament. Since, they have advanced to the Round of 16 five times but have failed to go any further. Though it will be difficult to advance, Mexico are still expected to get out of Group A and into the knockout stages, where they would face a Group B winner in powerhouses Spain, Netherlands, or Chile.

Luka Modric has the hopes of Croatia on his back. Credit: MLSsoccer.com

CROATIA

Croatia kicked off its first ever World Cup campaign in 1998 with a bang, reaching the semifinals and finishing third. But in 2002 and 2006, they failed to get out of the group stage. They took an even steeper drop in 2010 as they failed to qualify. But this World Cup, Croatia look to challenge for the second spot out of Group A.

Things looked bleak for the Croats in qualifying, as they went through the playoff narrowly defeating Iceland to qualify. But along the way, they saw two managers fired over the course of a qualification gone almost horribly wrong. But Croatia are here, and will provide entertaining football.

Croatia play a 4-2-3-1 under new manager Niko Kovac. They’re led by Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric who will look to keep possession. Star striker Mario Mandzukic will score goals for the squad. The problem? He’ll be out of their opener and stiffest test against Brazil. He earned a red card in their last playoff match against Iceland. The one question they have will be on defense. Will Croatia’s back line be able to stop an offensive attack of Brazil’s power?

After failing to qualify for the World Cup in 2010, Croatia will be very pleased to advance out of the group. The key match up will be when the Croats face Mexico for what could decide second place. The knock out stage is realistic for Croatia.

Does Samuel Eto’o have one last push to power Cameroon to the knock out stage? Credit MLSsoccer.com

CAMEROON

Cameroon have qualified for their seventh World Cup, the most among any African nation. Unfortunately, they have only gotten out of the group stage once, 24 years ago when they won their group and advanced to the quarterfinals. This squad is slightly below the likes of Mexico and Croatia, but look to break their string of failing to advance out of the group.

The Indomitable Lions are led by soccer legend Samuel Eto’o, the country’s all time leading scorer with 56 goals. He retired from the national team last year before making a return for one last World Cup. Eto’o will have to give one last push for Cameroon to get the side out of the group.

New manager Volker Finke employs a 4-2-3-1 that likes to attack with lightning quick passing. But the defense, led by goalkeeper Charles Itandje, will need to be keen for Cameroon to succeed. Their defense is suspect, shown by a recent 5-1 loss to Portugal, but will need to show up for this team to advance.

With some luck and timely scoring, Cameroon can advance. Expectations domestically are high, but realistically, Cameroon are not quite there. The knockout stage is a possibility in a relatively weak group. But the Lions will need things to go their way.

PREDICTIONS

1. Brazil

2. Mexico

3. Croatia

4. Cameroon

SCHEDULE:

Thursday June 12: Brazil vs Cameroon 4:00 p.m. ESPN

Friday June 13: Mexico vs Croatia 12:00 p.m. ESPN 2

Tuesday June 17: Brazil vs Mexico 3:00 p.m. ESPN

Wednesday June 18: Cameroon vs Croatia 6:00 p.m. ESPN

Monday June 23: Cameroon vs Brazil 4:00 p.m. ESPN 2,

Monday June 23: Mexico vs Croatia 4:00 p.m. ESPN