just watched the us being manhandled by the czechs . for a team ( usa that are by some rated the #5 best team ) they heed a lot of work before they play italy on the 17th . landon donovan was almost non existant . .
not a good start for the us .....
czech republic 3 usa 0
Yeah, USA were quite poor.
I thought Damarcus Beasley was particularly useless which is a shame as on his day, he can be a highly impressive player.
Nice goals though from Czech Republic.
The US are only rated 5th by FIFA. No-one else.
They are a top 20 team at best. A team capable of beating plenty around their level.
The Czechs may not be #2 in the world themselves but they are certainly one of the dark horses for this tournament.
Despite the rankings, the Czechs were outstanding and the US was chasing shadows all day.
I've got £100 on the Czech's to win the whole thing. If they finish 1st in their group they'll miss Brazil in the next round so it's a pretty good bet.
What are their odds, like 20-1? I'd do it too if I had anything spare!
Czech Republic - Italy should be a good game.
I'll also stick my neck out and say that the USA will beat Italy this weekend.
Czech Republic - Italy should be a good game.
I'll also stick my neck out and say that the USA will beat Italy this weekend.
I heard the host of a Buffalo radio sportstalk show predict the USA beating Italy this weekend. Personally I think its going to be a shock if the US win.
I watched the USA play Poland before the world cup and I thought the USA looked pretty average, so it was no real suprise to watch Poland get beat and then to see the US get stuffed by the czechs. To be fair to the USA they did have a little more possession, but like a lot of things sometimes it aint how much you get its what you do with it :wink: The early goal was a real killer for the US, the czechs slowed the US down and when the USA got anywhere near the czech penalty box they gave the ball away and the czechs made the most of their chances and looked far better on the ball. Beasley was played on the wrong side and seemed to be going backwards, Donovan ran at the czech defence once and then disappeared (maybe underneath Koller's shirt? :wink: ) and poor old Brian McBride was all alone and chased bad crosses and skewed passes.
I think it was the worst game Ive seen the US team play in a while but it wasnt a complete suprise, because I think theyve lived on the crest of wave of the last world cup and I think the FIFA rankings is evidence of a grossly overranked team.