Ghana beats US....Bank on it

[Unregistered]

Your assessment could not be more offbase. The US loss can be pinned on the shoulders of Altidore and his lack of finishing skills. The lack of finishing skills can be pinned directly on youth soccer's obsession with technical skills EXCEPT for shooting. For some reason youth coaches in the US think that points are being given out for possession and stringing passes together. Ghana's 2nd goal resulted from a kick and chase goal that would have the US soccer snobs wringing their hands in agony over the lack of artistic beauty.

The US can neither defend NOR finish. That's where blame for the loss lies.

[Unregistered]

Your assessment could not be more offbase. The US loss can be pinned on the shoulders of Altidore and his lack of finishing skills. The lack of finishing skills can be pinned directly on youth soccer's obsession with technical skills EXCEPT for shooting. For some reason youth coaches in the US think that points are being given out for possession and stringing passes together. Ghana's 2nd goal resulted from a kick and chase goal that would have the US soccer snobs wringing their hands in agony over the lack of artistic beauty.

Germany first goal againt England is second touch from goal kick! Well run and kick needs good skills to execute right. How many Americans can perform the final strike of Gyan? Maybe Dempsey, maybe none. US is lacking in skills, in shooting and in passing as well.

[Unregistered]

Agree about the skill issue. How many times did US players go 1v1 and cough up the ball? Just about every time they tried, I think, so maybe we should consider other means of moving the bal???

[Unregistered]

Agree about the skill issue. How many times did US players go 1v1 and cough up the ball? Just about every time they tried, I think, so maybe we should consider other means of moving the bal???

For your kids upcoming season keep a log book and note how much time they spend practicing shooting and working on set plays. If they do practice shooting note what percentage of the time it is spent working with balls in the air. At age U14 and over 1/3 of goals are scored on set plays. 50% of all goals are scored via balls NOT on the ground. If you don't work on it in training you won't be able to do it in games. 95% of all youth soccer practices are spent passing, trapping, receiving the ball, etc etc. That is fine but if you can't put the ball in the friggin net why bother?

And when they do shoot it is all macho power. Better strategy is less velocity and more accuracy but nothing stirs a soccer moms heart more than watching their little Landon whack the ball 10 feet over and 10 feet wide.

[Unregistered]

Your assessment could not be more offbase. The US loss can be pinned on the shoulders of Altidore and his lack of finishing skills. The lack of finishing skills can be pinned directly on youth soccer's obsession with technical skills EXCEPT for shooting. For some reason youth coaches in the US think that points are being given out for possession and stringing passes together. Ghana's 2nd goal resulted from a kick and chase goal that would have the US soccer snobs wringing their hands in agony over the lack of artistic beauty.

Wow!!! You have impressed me!! You have taken a team sport on a world level and blamed the loss of a team on a single player. If you want to blame only one person, the blame the coach for his lack of insight and organization.
There was only one player on the USA team with good finishing skills; Donovan. The rest decided that it was best to blast the ball through the goalie....above and to the sides.
As a group, the team tried to shove the ball down the middle of the field making it easier to defend.
As for the game of soccer.....if you must simplify it; the offense wins games and the defense loses them. On good teams it seems as though there are 8 guys playing offense and 8 guys on defense. This is how a team wins games.
The USA defense was poor. Tim Howard was not the stellar goalie that may exist in the English Premier league.
As for physical fitness, the US was average.
Overall, they were lucky to get out of the weakest bracket and then lost to a better more fit team.

[Unregistered]

Wow!!! You have impressed me!! You have taken a team sport on a world level and blamed the loss of a team on a single player. If you want to blame only one person, the blame the coach for his lack of insight and organization.
There was only one player on the USA team with good finishing skills; Donovan. The rest decided that it was best to blast the ball through the goalie....above and to the sides.
As a group, the team tried to shove the ball down the middle of the field making it easier to defend.
As for the game of soccer.....if you must simplify it; the offense wins games and the defense loses them. On good teams it seems as though there are 8 guys playing offense and 8 guys on defense. This is how a team wins games.
The USA defense was poor. Tim Howard was not the stellar goalie that may exist in the English Premier league.
As for physical fitness, the US was average.
Overall, they were lucky to get out of the weakest bracket and then lost to a better more fit team.

Altidore could have been the hero but alas it was not to be. This failure goes back to the core philosophy of training for young american soccer players. We are producing kids who can juggle for hours and string 20 passes in a row and still not advance the ball past midfield. US club soccer pays fealty to the soccer moms and dads who go from falling in love with kick and chase soccer that wins games at U12 to pass pass pass and pass some more without any purpose whatsoever at U16. But the club coaches give the parents what they want and that is the brass ring of a big fat D1 scholarship and state cup trophies. All the passing in the world won't help you if you can't piss into the ocean while you are standing ankle deep in the surf.

[Unregistered]

Altidore could have been the hero but alas it was not to be. This failure goes back to the core philosophy of training for young american soccer players. We are producing kids who can juggle for hours and string 20 passes in a row and still not advance the ball past midfield. US club soccer pays fealty to the soccer moms and dads who go from falling in love with kick and chase soccer that wins games at U12 to pass pass pass and pass some more without any purpose whatsoever at U16. But the club coaches give the parents what they want and that is the brass ring of a big fat D1 scholarship and state cup trophies. All the passing in the world won't help you if you can't piss into the ocean while you are standing ankle deep in the surf.

Are you blind? It is Ghana that can pass 20 times nonstop and US can't make more than 5. Most of the extra time wa Ghana doing this passing drill and US could hardly touch the ball. Get real, dude.

[Unregistered]

Altidore could have been the hero but alas it was not to be. This failure goes back to the core philosophy of training for young american soccer players. We are producing kids who can juggle for hours and string 20 passes in a row and still not advance the ball past midfield. US club soccer pays fealty to the soccer moms and dads who go from falling in love with kick and chase soccer that wins games at U12 to pass pass pass and pass some more without any purpose whatsoever at U16. But the club coaches give the parents what they want and that is the brass ring of a big fat D1 scholarship and state cup trophies. All the passing in the world won't help you if you can't piss into the ocean while you are standing ankle deep in the surf.

You are partly correct and not really wrong. There is nothing wrong with the juggling, the dribbling, and the passing as long as there is purpose and thought in the play. You absolutely have to have the ball handling skills before learning the rest of the game. It is as the same as catching and throwing a baseball, dribbling and shooting a basketball etc etc.
However, at some point the skills have to be applied to the game play.
While they may or may not win this world cup, I am enjoying watching Brazil. The work well as a team, and move the ball with a purpose. The defense contributes to the offense and the offense contributes to the defense. They utilize the full 120x60 (or so) field and spread out the defenders allowing better odds for their skilled offense to take on the opponents defense.
However, prior to learning the game, they learned how to handle the ball.
As for youth soccer in the USA, it is hampered by the 'win, win, win' to show success and get parents to send their kids to the winningest clubs. If your team wins all their games at U10 or U11, don't be surprised that U14 and up yields a different result. You may have been winning because that was the coach's goal.
However, at U14 your kids may have learning nothing regarding skill and technique. Now they are lost.

[Unregistered]

What is striking is how inferior the US team appeared, in relation to teams like Germany, Spain or Brazil, even when they were supposedly 'playing well', winning or tying. The Americans were too often mispositioned, behind the game and struggling to catch up. They were often clueless about where to move off the ball and caught watching a lot of the time. Only Donovan and a few others had an idea of what was going on. I can't even say that Bradley knew what was happening, because how could the team perform like that if he did? Slovenia's two 1st half goals said it all about the US team. Out of position, not keeping pace with the flow of the game...

[Unregistered]

I should add to the last post - its a question of 'soccer intelligence'. Some guys like Donovan have it. Most of the US team doesn't have it.

[Unregistered]

I should add to the last post - its a question of 'soccer intelligence'. Some guys like Donovan have it. Most of the US team doesn't have it.

Nor do they have the speed, agressiveness, or athleticism of teams like Ghana or Germany. US soccer needs to start developing kids with ball skills who are strong, fit and fast.

[Unregistered]

Are you blind? It is Ghana that can pass 20 times nonstop and US can't make more than 5. Most of the extra time wa Ghana doing this passing drill and US could hardly touch the ball. Get real, dude.

I think you watched a different game. The possession time during the game was about 50/50.

The US can't score because there is an inherent prejudice in training about teaching shooting and finishing skills. Both on the part of parents and coaches. It drives me nuts when I hear parents bemoan a 1-0 loss as follows: "We really dominated that game, had possession most of the time, and they got lucky with a kick and chase goal"......

Too many people involved in US soccer have forgotten that at U16 and older scoring during games begins to become the one thing that matters.

[Unregistered]

Nor do they have the speed, agressiveness, or athleticism of teams like Ghana or Germany. US soccer needs to start developing kids with ball skills who are strong, fit and fast.

Those kids play other sports. Let's face it. Great American soccer players are going to be an anomaly.

[Unregistered]

Those kids play other sports. Let's face it. Great American soccer players are going to be an anomaly.

I don't think there's a real lack of athletic talent available to US soccer. The world's best soccer players have body types that aren't made for football or basketball. But the system here sends most of the intelligent players packing. High school soccer wastes their time with inadequate coaches and poor quality soccer overall. College then dilutes the training intensity even more. And the smart ones go where the money is, which is a profession, not a soccer career. What's left is what you see in MLS and the national pool. It doesn't add up to much.

[Unregistered]

I don't think there's a real lack of athletic talent available to US soccer. The world's best soccer players have body types that aren't made for football or basketball. But the system here sends most of the intelligent players packing. High school soccer wastes their time with inadequate coaches and poor quality soccer overall. College then dilutes the training intensity even more. And the smart ones go where the money is, which is a profession, not a soccer career. What's left is what you see in MLS and the national pool. It doesn't add up to much.

All you need to do is watch a EPL or other top league game on Sat AM and then watch a MLS game Sat PM. MLS games often look more like u14 games than European matches. Sometimes it is unwatchable.