Skip to main content

Best Line-up vs Italy

After seeing a miserable result vs. the Czech republic, here is my proposed line-up for the Italy game:

GK - Keller

D - (left to right) Bocanegra*, Pope, Gooch, Cherundolo

MF - (left to right) Beasley, Reyna, Mastroeni (D-mid), Donovan, O'Brien*

F - Eddie Johnson*, McBride

*= not in line-up vs. Czech Rep.

- These are my predicted substitutes:

> (45') Ching for McBride
> (60') Convey for Beasley
> (68') Dempsey for O'Brien

Fears for Italy game:
- The USA play a great first half full of chances that barely go wanting, only to see the Azzuri (Italians) go up on a Midfield giveaway as stoppage time approaches.

- The USA get an early goal, but give one up in the waning minutes to manage a meager point from the match.

- (Worst of all) Reyna, Donovan, and Beasley again prove ineffective, leaving the USA with question marks as to their own ability and cohesiveness. I hope Arena will put the players in the positions where they shine most. Sometimes a coach can tweak a team so much, he actually puts a new team out on the pitch.

Decisive Factors:
- Foul tactically! - If you watched the Czech game, you would have noticed (maybe) that they disrupted the flow of the play consistently when the US gained possession.

- Chances will be more plentiful, put them away!

- The Italians can be defeated by early goals. Put them away as well!

Only time will tell!

Prediction: USA 1, Italy 1

- Fear #2 comes to fruition. The USA sees an early goal, only to have the Italians steal a point at the end with a late goal. (Maybe I will be wrong)

Popular posts from this blog

No Zion, No Problem? Not So Fast.

Everyone in the media has wanted their piece of the pie with Zion this year. Each highlight reel dunk and spectacular block has only increased the media fervor and number of followers. As Duke looks to face Syracuse, and presumably Virginia Tech as well, without Zion, let's consider what Duke looks like without Zion, and what it must do against Syracuse to leave the Carrier Dome with a W. DUKE WITHOUT ZION Duke without Zion is not a cart without a horse. But it might be a sports car without its turbo. Or maybe a chef without her secret sauce. Here are the main points to consider: MAIN POINTS - A Five Spot 1. Without Zion, Duke can’t play “position-less basketball” since all bench players have limitations. Not only is Zion our best two-way player (offense and defense), but he also allows the greatest roster flexibility in terms of building around him. He wreaks havoc wherever he is on the floor. We don't have another player like that, certainly not from the bench

Processing US Women's World Cup Final loss

Without a doubt, this year's Women's World Cup was the most entertaining (on this side of the pond, as they say) since the 1999 edition of the global tournament. The USA's performance and "never say die" attitude endeared this team to many American fans rather quickly, which was no more apparent than when the team stormed back to tie Brasil in 120+ minute, before going to win in penalties. Unfortunately, the dream ended in penalty kicks to a resilient Japanese side who was more fit for the task. Here's my attempt to process and set expectations on yesterday's US loss: 1. The best team doesn't always win in soccer. Sometimes, even the most dominant team in a particular game doesn't win that game. (HT: Grant Wahl , Sports Illustrated) 2. Here are some notes on penalties ending this game: (a) Tough on USA, since Japan had data on US shooters, since they had just seen them against Brasil. There are players that take their penalties the same direction

BCS Postseason Analysis

If the controversy surrounding the BCS System and college football bowl format, it certainly is the most complex and misunderstood controversy. The morning after the BCS championship game, here are three talking points: 1 - We're closer than ever to seeing a change in the traditional bowl format. The 2011 bowl season again proved how difficult it is to sell out every bowl game. This usually results in the participating schools having to eat the cost of those tickets. That trend can't continue. Playing in a meaningless bowl game actually costs some schools more money than they make by participating in the game. You can read about one instance of this happening here , involving the 2011 Virginia Tech football team, which made it to the Orange Bowl. The school had to eat 9,500 tickets it couldn't sell. They lost a total of $421,000, and it could've been a lot worse. 2 - The BCS isn't the enemy of the playoff system. In fact, they could actually be really good friends