USMNT

[Boone]

I know we have a general soccer thread, but if you have not tuned in to the current edition of the US Men's National Team, you are missing out. It has been a long time since we had such a young, aggressive, talented team on the men's side of US soccer. Last night, they played an extremely tough match against Canada, to determine who would play Panama in the CONCACAF Gold Cup semifinal game on Wednesday night. The US had never lost to Canada in CONCACAF competition. It was a very back and forth toughly contested match and although the US had the better of it in terms of TOP and chances, through regulation and 30 minutes of OT play, it was still all notched up. In penalty kicks, the US prevailed on the strength of Matt Turner in goal. The two previous matches say the US lay 6-0 spankings to their opponent, but this win was a grind it out gutcheck with a ton of physical play and quite a few penalties and yellow cards galore.

It has been a while since there was a USMNT this fun to watch and that had a fighting chance to win every match. Hoping they can get past Panama Wednesday to face the winner of Jamaica-Mexico in the final.

Also excited to watch the USWNT in the World Cup in a couple of weeks!

 

[Fat Bastard]

Great post Boone

Last night was not good for the blood pressure haha, but proud of the guys, especially Turner, to grind it out and advance on to face Panama. Will be a great accomplishment if they win the whole thing especially with so many A team guys if you will, not playing. These fringe guys are showing that the US is way deeper than perhaps some people thought we were.

I am actively trying to get tickets for the game on Wednesday! My lady does not like it, but sure she will like San Diego for a couple days if I can get some haha. Regardless if I do or not, have faith they will pull it out.

The women are the favorite to win the WC, but will not be easy. We shall see.

 

[Canadian Hog]

While it was disappointing to see Canada fall in defeat to the USA, it is great to see the USA and Canada both starting to make a bit of realistic noise on the world stage in soccer. Qatar was the first time in history that both nations qualified for the World Cup simultaneously and we will see the same scene unfold again with the North American shared host bid in 2026. There are several exciting players on both sides that will certainly help to reel in a new wave of fans young and old in the years to come.

Congrats to the USA and best of luck as they push on in the Gold Cup.