Its Iran but its also 5 extra goals. Today will tell alot about the US but I see a draw coming. Not sure England has enough to win it though.
Their chances to win it all has increased quite a bit IMO with France's Benzema being out of the tournament with injury.
I didn't see a lot of betting line movement due to that but it does improve a few teams chances. France was already riddled with injuries and questions so I wasn't sold on them anyway. Brazil and Argentina are always favored but they are a ? until they play a good Euro side. Sundays Germany/Spain match could be a final preview.
I already liked the Netherlands as a dark horse...and even moreso now. Let's see how they do against Mane-less Senegal.
I meant finals preview. I've got the semi's as GER vs ENG and ARG vs ESP. I think NED/USA in the round of 16 would be a good match if they win that they have a good chance to knock off ARG to get into the semi's.
Portugal. If they finish second in their group I could see them pulling some upsets and getting to the final. Germany seems to always have their number though. Denmark is another one to watch.
Who got shafted? I saw the foul that gave the penalty kick to Wales. That was a dumb foul by Zimmerman.
It wasn't that call. That was the correct call. There were several others like the two cards to Dest and McKennie. Even the card to Bale from Wales was bad. The no call on Pulisic where the Wales guy made no attempt at the ball should have been a card. And right before the PK the ball was out of bounds and should have been US ball.
I didn't see the whole match. Normally the refs are not very nice to the US teams. Were not a soccer nation and they seem to penalize us for it. Although the South American teams play a much more rough style and rarely get called for it unless one of the preferred teams are on the pitch.
I really thought DEN would handle this one. Now France has a chance to get a early lead in the group if they can get a result against the Aussies.
One thing I've noticed over the years is that the USMNT is reluctant to engage in the type of gamesmanship the soccer powers tend to engage in. Yesterday, for instance, Welsh players were really selling the fouls. This embellishment helps the ref to be more forthcoming with yellow cards
Likely true. However, its better than what happens to some World Cup or Olympic venues as they sit unused and derelict for years. South Africa, Russia and Brazil all had this happen. Personally I think it should be awarded only if the countries have the existing infrastructure or can show future use for the venue. Germany and the US were able to do this.
After further exposition from the announcer, this particular venue is actually constructed from shipping containers...so it was built with the specific intention of being a temporary structure.
Lots of injuries in that squad but they have a large pool of talent. I think they are ok until the knockouts.
