Tag: USMNT

With the USA Out, What Team Should You Root for in the World Cup?

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With the United States Mens National Team missing the cut after failing to qualify for the World Cup, I am a free agent in terms of rooting interest. Lets find us a team shall we?

You don’t necessarily want to ride the coattails of the favorite, but you gotta have a team that actually has a shot at going deep because if you pick Tunisia and they’re out in group play well then you’re back to square one.

Since the last year I bought FIFA was like 2010, I’m a bit dated in my knowledge. Wayne Rooney is on the verge of joining MLS so he’s clearly not playing for Team England. I just learned Schweinsteiger is out on Team Germany. I need to catch up quick.

Rooting for Brazil is like rooting for the Yankees. They have the most talented team in the world just about every year. Plus they have absolutely massive amounts of Team Brazil shit every time I walk into the Marshalls in Watertown. But Neymar though…

Neymar is back and healthy after having his previous World Cup run cut short by what looked like an incredibly painful back injury. Brazil is always fun as all hell to watch though as they just breed soccer players down there.

Russia is apparently instructing its citizens to not have sex with foreigners so they’re out. Its like the Olympic Village except the World Cup is twice as long. If you can’t have some fun with someone who doesn’t even speak the same language then why even go?

Portugal and Argentina are always great to watch with the 2 greatest players in the world in Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi leading the way for each squad. Plus this might be the last World Cup for each of them so you could ride off into the sunset with one of those studs if you like that vibe.

If you want to join forces with the country that is voted the Happiest Country in the World just about every year then Denmark is your team. Christian Eriksen is pretty goddamn good at soccer too. The Ringer described him:

“Eriksen’s carrying tool is that ineffable ability to just make the ball do what he wants—stick to him in possession, curve gently to a teammate’s foot or the corner of the net in attack. In Denmark’s last competitive game, Eriksen scored three sublime goals against Ireland to secure qualification.”

If you’re like me and follow the English Premier League like an absolute savage, and by that I mean watching games when you’re hungover on the couch or when you’re out for Hooligan Saturdays drinking a Guinness at 9 am in Cambridge, then the name Eden Hazard is familiar to you. Hazard plays for Chelsea in the EPL, which is the only team I moderately follow, so this is a solid candidate for my team as he leads Belgium into the World Cup.

Egypt is a pretty good choice if you’re looking for an up and coming dark horse as they’re in the World Cup for the first time in 28 years. They’re also led by a dude named Mo Salah who Vox said “took the soccer world by storm in 2017 and seemingly came out of nowhere to become one of the planet’s best players.”

If you want to be a bully and root for the champ then Germany is your team as they’re looking to repeat after winning the World Cup in 2014. Oh and Thomas Müller is a beast with 10 goals in the World Cup including 5  last time around to help Germany take the title.

Just a fan of general, all around assholes? Then you should go with Luis Suarez and Uruguay. He’s the guy that literally bites opposing players on the field and is a bit of a racist.

Are you a degenerate gambler looking to play the odds? Well Brazil is the favorite at 7-2, followed by defending champion Germany at 4-1, and then France is at 6-1. If you want to just burn your money, the biggest long shots are Saudi Arabia (they lost 5-0 to Russia today), Iran, and Panama at +4,000!

So there’s your breakdown of who to watch at the World Cup and some insights if you’re looking for a new team sans the USMNT. As for me? I’m going with Belgium. They’re a healthy -140 and feature by guy Eden Hazard. Lock it up.

Who should I root for? Who are you rooting for? Tweet us @the300sboston to state your case as we all pretend to be soccer hooligans for the next month.

United States Failing to Qualify for the 2018 World Cup is Downright Embarrassing

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CBS Sports – The U.S. men’s national team will only be spectators during the 2018 World Cup in Russia. That’s because the USMNT lost 2-1 at Trinidad and Tobago on Tuesday night in the final match of the hexagonal group stage. The loss, plus a winning goal from Panama in the dying seconds against Costa Rica gave the Panamanians the third and final direct spot in the group, eliminating Bruce Arena’s squad. Honduras defeated Mexico to earn the fourth spot. 

For the first time since 1986 the United States won’t be playing in the World Cup. The USMNT failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup is downright embarrassing. The worst part? A goddamn DRAW against Trinidad and Tobago and they qualify, which was apparently too much to ask.

Just a quick side note, as of a September ranking by a little organization known as FIFA, the USA men’s team was ranked 28th in the world. Wanna guess what Trinidad and Tobago was? Come on, guess. Well, they came in at just under triple digits at No. 99.

A few spots behind Sierra Leone; a country made famous by Leo Dicaprio and Kanye West for fucking blood diamonds.

After a 2014 World Cup run that got people excited and legitimately asking if the US could finagle a Top-8 finish in 2018 and play with the big boys. Welp, a loss to motherfucking Trinidad and Tobago may have just killed an entire generation of young, budding soccer fans. Just to put this into perspective, the earliest the United States can make the World Cup next, I will be in my mid 30s.

People forget that qualifying for the World Cup isn’t exactly a foregone conclusion for the US, even if it should be. Well all that goodwill, excitement, and momentum that American soccer had built up over the last 7 years is gone. And they won’t even have a chance to redeem themselves for another 5 years. And who’s to say they’ll be any better?

American soccer has struggled to ever get a real foothold in the international scene. 2014 was one of the most exciting World Cup runs ever as the USMNT got to the round of 16 and were eliminated, but in absolutely thrilling fashion, which only got people that much more excited for 2018. Seriously, if you’re even half a soccer fan, read this quick recap of that final game and remember the good times. I know where I was. I was slugging beers at Clarke’s while the sun was still up like a goddamn soccer hooligan.

“The U.S. drew Belgium in the round of 16. After spending much of the match defending against Belgium’s potent attack, with goalkeeper Tim Howard setting a World Cup finals record for saves in a match, the U.S. survived with a 0–0 score after 90 minutes, sending the match to extra time. After quickly falling behind 2–0 to Belgium in extra time, the U.S. cut the deficit in half in the 107th minute when substitute Julian Green volleyed in a lobbed through ball from Michael Bradley, but were unable to score a second and were eliminated.”

Anddd now we’re back to square one. I don’t think anyone is more bullshit than our boy and former Revs player Taylor Twellman though. TAKE EM TO THE WOODSHED, TAYLOR.

At least we got this A+ quote Jozy Altidore to put it all into perspective:

“If you don’t look at yourself after this individually, then you’re fucked up in the head,” Altidore said.