US Loses to Ghana
- June 22, 2006
- 3 comments
Let me start this off by saying Bruce Arena needs to be fired. The man never seems to bring the right stuff to the world stage. He always seems to prefer a defensive setup in big games, and I just don’t understand why. Especially in a game like this one where the US needed nothing less than a win. From the start, the setup of the team was defensive and it stayed that way the whole time. Even when the US was down and running out of time! I don’t get it. How do you expect to score with only one striker (and a tired one) up front?
Now that I’ve vented on Bruce, the US team was touted as being one of the best we’ve ever fielded, and that could be true, but we never really showed it. Our game against Italy was inspiring, but seemed to only be a flash in the pan. One of the MAJOR problems the US has always had in World Cup games is we can’t seem to finish. We can get the ball up there, but then we just turn into retards. We continually overshoot the group or the goal. We pull back when we should be pushing forward with the ball.
I will say that Beasley’s breakthrough and perfect pass to Dempsey for the lone US goal was beautiful. That goal was also the first US goal in World Cup play in Europe that they actually scored themselves. The goal against Italy in game two was an own-goal.
The last thing I’ll vent about is the officiating again. I lost track of how many fouls there were. Both sides had like 500 each I think. And the penalty kick that turned into the winning goal for Ghana should’ve never been called. There was contact between the two players, sure, but nothing that warranted a penalty kick. It’s amazing how many times the refs have influenced the outcomes of games in this World Cup.
All of that said, Ghana has a great team with a lot of spirit. They played the better game today and deserve to move into the second round with their 2-1 win. Italy eliminated the Czechs too, so they win Group E. Ghana’s amazing run in this World Cup isn’t over yet. It should be a good game between them and Brazil.
Well, I posted that comment before reading the rest of the entry so let me continue…
Yes. Yes. Yes. I absolutely agree. Did you see that interview with Arena where he was talking about how scoring within the first few minutes was crucial to winning and then went on to say that if we could keep the other team from scoring so early, we might have a chance? or something along those lines.
Anyway, I think that comment showed that he was playing the game completely wrong. He should have been concentrating on getting OUR TEAM to score early, but instead it’s like he thinks we had no chance from the beginning. His lack of confidence in our team is what kills me.
But, yeah. Ghana played well… a few too many dives for my taste tho.
Arena has always seemed to think defensively in big games. He doesn’t exude confidence in his team either. I remember the huge hubbub over Arena after the ’98 World Cup. I’m surprised nothing was done about him then, but will be floored if nothing is done about him now.
Yeah, Ghana was into grass diving a lot today, but it was smart playing really. Especially since they were tired and were clinging to a 2-1 lead.
“Let me start this off by saying Bruce Arena needs to be fired.”
Word.