2014 FIFA World Cup

[Colly]

Shaw he did.

[Szumi]

Jurgen Klinnsman has lost the plot. This is John Harkes 1998 levels of bad decisions. Different reasoning behind it, but still - absolute shocker. I get picking Julian Green over Landon (give him the cap that ties him to USA forever), but to say Alejandro Bedoya, Brad fucking Davis, Green, and Chris Wondolowski are better than Landon Donovan right now is just asinine. Getting rid of the most creative player on the 30-man roster, one of the undisputed leaders of the team, and still one of the top 4 players on the team is just ludicrous. Might as well have just thrown in the towel with this list, Jurgen.

[TCO]

That US team is carrying a fair amount of foreigners too, 5 Germans in the squad!

[Blaze09]

Jurgen Klinnsman has lost the plot. This is John Harkes 1998 levels of bad decisions. Different reasoning behind it, but still - absolute shocker. I get picking Julian Green over Landon (give him the cap that ties him to USA forever), but to say Alejandro Bedoya, Brad fucking Davis, Green, and Chris Wondolowski are better than Landon Donovan right now is just asinine. Getting rid of the most creative player on the 30-man roster, one of the undisputed leaders of the team, and still one of the top 4 players on the team is just ludicrous. Might as well have just thrown in the towel with this list, Jurgen.

Green is already tied to the US.

and TBH, Wondo should be staring.

[GoGo Yubari]

Jurgen Klinnsman has lost the plot. This is John Harkes 1998 levels of bad decisions. Different reasoning behind it, but still - absolute shocker. I get picking Julian Green over Landon (give him the cap that ties him to USA forever), but to say Alejandro Bedoya, Brad fucking Davis, Green, and Chris Wondolowski are better than Landon Donovan right now is just asinine. Getting rid of the most creative player on the 30-man roster, one of the undisputed leaders of the team, and still one of the top 4 players on the team is just ludicrous. Might as well have just thrown in the towel with this list, Jurgen.

Again, Donovan has been pretty uninspiring this year. For all we know he could have been bad in training too. I don't agree with the decision because he's still Landon Donovan and I'd still want to bring someone with big-match experience over, say, Brad Davis (especially since Davis' biggest strength is crosses and setpieces, and Klinsmann called up a grand total of one target man), but the backlash has gone from "oh man that's sad and kind of a questionable decision" to "THIS IS THE WORST THING THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED TO US" pretty quick.

EDIT: Oh god, if we actually started Wondolowski instead of using his as an opportunistic sub then wow we're in bad shape.

EDIT II: Actually, to me the worst decision is John Anthony Brooks over Clarence Goodson. That's a pure "experience for the 2018 qualification cycle" move from Klinsmann, which is not good when Omar Gonzalez has been incredibly shaky for a good while and Geoff Cameron has only really looked all that great in the USMNT setup as a defensive mid.

[Szumi]

Doesn't Green have to play in a FIFA match to be tied to the US? Appearing in a friendly doesn't count; Jermaine Jones represented Germany in a friendly before coming to USA.

Goodson being dropped was a terrible decision, and I am shocked Yedlin made it (gutted for Brad Evans) too. This is a World Cup. You prepare for 2018 after this one, not during it.

[HailtotheYo]

Goodson and Evans missing the cut for Yedlin and Brooks are bigger than Donovan for me.

I completely understand why Donovan needs to be there .... but the decision to leave him home can be justified given his play and the play of many others on that list. Add to that, that he's had to (wrestling reference) "find his smile" in the last 18 months about playing soccer at all, and I completely get it. I mean, it isn't like the team shit the bed while he was gone .... they've actually looked pretty good with everyone else in there.

All of that said, I dunno how the shit Brad Davis is there and Donovan isn't.

I'm also not a fan of Wondo (never have been at the NT level) ... but really only EJ is someone I'd rather have there and he wasn't even in the 30.

Looking it over, and it seems that he's going to press with this lineup.

Doesn't Green have to play in a FIFA match to be tied to the US? Appearing in a friendly doesn't count; Jermaine Jones represented Germany in a friendly before coming to USA.
.

Green applied for the one time FIFA switch ... he's tied.

[Baddar]

Shaw would have asked for 23 too.

Really? Did he tell you this?

He told me you're a knob.

[TCO]

I find the USMNT abbreviation that the Yanks insist on, amusing. Only because I always read the NT part as Ninja Turtles.

Edited May 23, 2014 by TCO

[GoGo Yubari]

So does everyone else.

[Colly]

I said that like twenty years ago.

[Mad Jack]

That US team is carrying a fair amount of foreigners too, 5 Germans in the squad!

4, by my count. Fabian Johnson, TImothy Chandler, John Anthony Brooks and Jermaine Jones.

They do have Mikkel Diskerud too, but he's Norweigian.

Edit: looking at the wiki page with World Cup squads on it, that is a fair amount. Only Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Honduras, Russia and South Korea have no foreigner born players in, Russia also has the only squad full of players that play solely in their home country (England and Italy come close in this regard, with 1 and 3 foreign-based players).

Algeria has the most foreign born players (in a 30 man provisional squad) with a staggering 21 coming from France, the same amount in France's final 23 (Patrice Evra being Senegalese and Rio Mavuba being born 'at-sea').

Croatia has the most international squad, with 5 other nationalities represented, with Switzerland and Portugal both on 4.

There could be a total of 50 French born players at this World Cup, which is ahead of Germany on a possible 36.

130 players in the squads play in English leagues, ahead of the German leagues with 100, although Bayern Munich have the most representation, with 15 players from their club. Man United have 14, whilst Barcelona join Italian sides Napoli and Juventus on 13.

[EddieG]

According to the Uruguayan FA, it was the (obvious red card ) tackle from Dummett that injured Suarez.

[Baddar]

He's had death threats too, and was sent on to injure Suarez to help England according to the Uruguayans.

...they haven't realised that he's Welsh yet.

[Mad Jack]

So Welsh he was born in Newcastle.

[Lineker]

Germany's Lars Bender has been ruled out through injury.

[Colly]

According to the Uruguayan FA, it was the (obvious red card ) tackle from Dummett that injured Suarez.

Idiots.

[TCO]

4, by my count. Fabian Johnson, TImothy Chandler, John Anthony Brooks and Jermaine Jones.

Julian Green is German too, making 5.

[Gazz]

Anybody would think there are a shitload of US military bases in Germany or something.

[HailtotheYo]

Ha, at least Brad Evans has a sense of humor about things:

 

 

You got off easy this time @Cristiano

— Brad Evans (@brad_evans3)

May 23, 2014