Comments on: 4 Points And Home. A Success?

By: Abdul

Abdul — Sat, 24 Jun 2006 09:34:48 +0000

We all knew that this group is actually the group of death. Ghana despite their dayview in the WC are a powerhouse soccer nation and that’s well documented all over the world except in our misleading commentator minds, Italy on the other hand need no introduction we all know what Italy is capable of, and the ole Czech Rep, they are still a great team to be reckoned with even though they passed their prime. What I do not appreciate is the bashing on Reyna who gave so much to the game in this country, such a player we should build a statue for, not judge him on one mistake. As for Bruce Arena, he also put us soccer on the world map he did his part, if we say we need new ideas that’s the cycle of life and its whithin our rights, but what we don’t have right for is insulting and bashing people who did so much for our country.

By: chris

chris — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 11:09:00 +0000

ranked #5 in the world? you have to be kidding me…FIFA’s ranking is so screwed up, stop kidding yourselves…enjoy the humble pie, train hard, maybe get some players international exposure and maybe you might do better next time around…a little humility goes a long way

By: Mickey

Mickey — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 02:28:21 +0000

The U.S. team suck’s! Especially Reyna! Not only that he’s a Pussy! If you get carried off the field on a stretcher, something better damn well be broken!!!

By: Nayo

Nayo — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 23:15:23 +0000

Why give Africa more spots when out of the five they’ve got only one has qualified, and only one more has an opportunity of qualifying. Compare that to say, South America where 3 out of the 4 are on the next phase. If anything take spots away from Asia, Africa, and Concacaf and give it to South America. Also Europe doesn;t deserve all the spots they get either.

By: Luis

Luis — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 22:17:03 +0000

FIFA rank the US #5? what a joke. If you believe (I don’t) that the US is the fifth soccer powerhouse, then, their “possible” 4pts might be a BIG faliure. Now, I think that if that happens, the US is actually lucky and to be fair you can say that they have improve, a little. Mainly because this group is not all that. You will not see a team from this group advancing any further later on. Time will prove me right!

By: dietmar

dietmar — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 20:30:54 +0000

man… i listened to that idiot, arena! what a loser,”it doesnt matter what the score is after the first half”and” we all know how important it is to score early in this game”, he sounds like a freakin politician tryin to white wash americans, or at least a coach that should never be coaching at this level! and ,hell no, if you dont go on there is no success-its called failure! to even consider “building” for 2010 now is just a joke, that sort of complacancy is exactly why they havent had the success the guys deserve! i started playing when i was 5 in germany and have had some good and bad coaches but this jack-ass i could never play for! he shouldnt even show up, just let the guys play.”if we get 4 points and dont advance, well thats life”, can anyone imagine any(not just in the tourney
)coach saying something like that before the biggest game of their life? shame on you arena you suck!

By: ETucker

ETucker — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 19:44:35 +0000

FIFA does not seed all 32 teams because it wants to avoid regional rivalries.

Basically, FIFA does not want a group with more than 2 European teams. That’s why during the lottery there were special lots for CONCACAF, ASIAN, and MIDDLE EASTERN teams.

I think we should go beyond this “regionalism” and seed all 32 teams, but FIFA is owned by the European Countries.

This is why Africa has so few slots. Otherwise, we would all be delighted in seein Egypt, Senegal, Camaroon, and Nigeria play (all of which are World Cup calibre teams).

The current format is too cut throat for African teams…one DRAW and you’re out. African teams are more deserving of respect…

By: Stuart

Stuart — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 19:16:22 +0000

Had we played the Czechs straight-up and lost 3-0, I’d say yes, but since we didn’t, I view 4 points and out as merely salvaging some pride. I said going in that we could play really well and get 0 points, and that while I’d be disappointed at the result, I would be proud of the team and their game. Regardless of how things settle today, our marching orders for the next 4 years are clear…finishing, finishing, finishing. We showed against Italy that we can play, but we haven’t shown that we can score, and it’s that lack of finishing skill that’s keeping us from warranting a high FIFA ranking.

By: KB Cho

KB Cho — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 19:15:26 +0000

The team has ONE shot on goal so far.

By: Miguelinho

Miguelinho — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 15:15:24 +0000

An honest statement, and one that makes sense. This was a tough group for the U.S. in its current state of development. Sadly, in the eyes of most Americans, this will be more proof that soccer is not worth supporting here. People who don’t follow it will just hear on TV or radio that, “hey, the US couldn’t even make the first cut.”

This will probably turn away some new fans of the sort that U.S. soccer gained in 2002.

Basically, the U.S. has done all it could by playing mostly in its own zone. Now the Federation guys need to work hard on scheduling more friendlies with European and South American sides. Seriously, this will be the only way to approach the creme de la creme of the football world. No matter how many players we have at “famous European teams” like Fulham United, the American national team must actually play the best players of the top countries – together on one field – to improve beyond this point.

Regardless of who’s coaching or who’s playing two years down the road, the fact remains the same: to be the best, you have to beat the best. And to even get the chance to beat the best, you have to play them first. Enough of this Jamaica/Bahamas/Nicaragua nonsense. It inflates the ranking, but cannot actually improve the U.S. team beyond where it is now.