World Soccer XXX: We Have Men Too!

[Jimjamesak]

2 minutes.

Still 2-0.

 

[Jimjamesak]

 

[Fighting Sioux 23]

Well, we are officially qualified!

Now, other than Qatar, what Pot 1 team do you want to see the US get paired with? Who do you want to see them avoid?

 

[Jimjamesak]

They looked tired, like they were playing their 3rd game in a week.

They qualified and that's all that matters.

Of course #USMNT Twitter is melting down.

 

[Jimjamesak]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15R6Qv5PZqE

 

[Spartanforlife4]

Well, we are officially qualified!

Now, other than Qatar, what Pot 1 team do you want to see the US get paired with? Who do you want to see them avoid?

Play Portugal. Avoid basically everyone else, but especially Brazil, Argentina, and France.

 

[Jimjamesak]

Players available for the US with World Cup experience in minutes:

Deandre Yedlin - 112
John Brooks - 45
Julian Green - 15

 

[Jimjamesak]

Well, we are officially qualified!

Now, other than Qatar, what Pot 1 team do you want to see the US get paired with? Who do you want to see them avoid?

Avoid France, Brazil, Argentina, and Belgium

Try to avoid Arab/Middle East nations like Iran or Saudi Arabia (worried about them in a Middle East World Cup).

 

[Jimjamesak]

I've said it before but this CBS crew is entertaining. Discussing the potential draws:

Kate Abdo (English Presenter): "Nobody wants England? You don't want this smoke?"
Clint Dempsey: "Hey! We tied the last time we played at a World Cup." *smiles*

 

[Jimjamesak]

With everything in qualification now wrapped up, some thoughts:

The top 5 teams (Canada, Mexico, US, Costa Rica, and Panama) combined lost one game at home, CR lost to Mexico 1-0. 35 games, 1 loss.

The bottom three teams were really bad. El Salvador’s win at home over Panama was the only win over a top 5 team. They were largely the reason why things came down to the last match day for qualifying spots.

 

[Jimjamesak]

Latest simulated draw for me:

Qatar
USA
Poland
Scotland

Some other notable groups:
England
Uruguay
Japan
Canada

(RIP Canada)

Belgium
Mexico
Serbia
Cameroon

A thing to look out for: If the US draws into Group G or H they will play on Thanksgiving.

Edit: Link

 

[RaceBoarder]

I like the timing of a match taking place on Thur/Fri/Sat of Thanksgiving weekend... I hate the idea of having to travel to Chicago to take in the watching festivities however....

 

[Jimjamesak]

I like the timing of a match taking place on Thur/Fri/Sat of Thanksgiving weekend... I hate the idea of having to travel to Chicago to take in the watching festivities however....

Is outdoor viewing going to be thing this World Cup? Sitting outside for two plus hours in November/December doesn’t seem appealing.

 

[Jimjamesak]

Also, it’ll be interesting to see how Fox schedules Thanksgiving and the Sundays with their NFL schedule (and of course now you understand why FIFA essentially gave them the 2026 rights).

 

[RaceBoarder]

Is outdoor viewing going to be thing this World Cup? Sitting outside for two plus hours in November/December doesn’t seem appealing.

Not so much for outdoor viewing...

Chicago has a pretty big microbrewery industry. Thanksgiving weekend has become the go-to drinking weekend when it comes to craft beer. As a result, many bars in the city are quite busy over the entire weekend. You also have the shopping crowd which often makes an entire day of their trip to the city and will eat Lunch and Dinner.

So table space will be a premium. I'm honestly going to plan on showing up 2 hours before the US Kickoff just to get a table. And this is before US Soccer does their deal, as they have made a point to market in Chicago since it's their HQ.

 

[Jimjamesak]

Weirdly, they haven’t scheduled kick off times and locations for the group stage yet. Those are usually done in advance of the draw but they’re waiting until after.

 

[Jimjamesak]

Not so much for outdoor viewing...

Chicago has a pretty big microbrewery industry. Thanksgiving weekend has become the go-to drinking weekend when it comes to craft beer. As a result, many bars in the city are quite busy over the entire weekend. You also have the shopping crowd which often makes an entire day of their trip to the city and will eat Lunch and Dinner.

So table space will be a premium. I'm honestly going to plan on showing up 2 hours before the US Kickoff just to get a table. And this is before US Soccer does their deal, as they have made a point to market in Chicago since it's their HQ.

Well, kick off times aren’t going to be great. Everything seems to be morning kick off times in the US.

 

[RaceBoarder]

Yahoo Sports had a World Cup 101 type article and they had kickoff times at 5am, 9am, 11am, and 2pm EST for all the group stage matches with final day group matches being 11am or 2pm.

The article also said they will look at the games on a given day and try and move them to promote TV viewership. So that tells me that the US will be 11am or 2pm kickoffs unless they are paired with S. Korea, Japan, or the Aussies.

Match Schedule per MLS.com - Currently times only... Teams will be shuffled on their match days to maximize TV viewers.

 

[Jimjamesak]

Yahoo Sports had a World Cup 101 type article and they had kickoff times at 5am, 9am, 11am, and 2pm EST for all the group stage matches with final day group matches being 11am or 2pm.

The article also said they will look at the games on a given day and try and move them to promote TV viewership. So that tells me that the US will be 11am or 2pm kickoffs unless they are paired with S. Korea, Japan, or the Aussies.

Match Schedule per MLS.com - Currently times only... Teams will be shuffled on their match days to maximize TV viewers.

Yeah the whole schedule is unprecedented for the World Cup. They've never had flexible scheduling, it was always set well before the draw. They've never done more than three matches in a day and now they're doing four a day. I understand why it's happening (to appease the clubs) but man that schedule is compressed, makes the rumors of 26 player rosters make sense.

 

[Jimjamesak]

When the satire hits close to reality.

Between routinely roasting the lineup choices, coming up with mocking nicknames for Gregg Berhalter and finding unknown United States prospects playing in the second division of Slovenia that are clearly better than an MLS player on the roster, Andrews indicated that all his attempts to improve the federation by speaking out to his 452 followers has failed.