Tony "Near Post" Meola huh? I hear he's making a comeback. What a shame he picked the end of his career to get a work ethic. Such a likeable guy too. Wasn't there some talk that he might actually make the 23 man roster for this world cup or am I imagining things?
The odd thing about Meola is that he was never truly a good goalkeeper. A great athlete for sure, but his remarkable athleticism allowed him to perform well even though he was not really a technically sound player.
(1) US win AND Italy win.
(2) US win by 4 or more AND the Czechs win 1-0, 2-1, 3-1, or 4-2.
(3) US win by 3 or more AND the Czechs win 2-0, 3-0, or 4-1.
(4) US win by 2 or more AND the Czechs win 4-0, or 5-1.
(5) US win by 1 or more AND the Czechs win 5-0.
In the following scenarios the US would have to draw lots to advance:
(1) US wins 2-1 AND the Czechs win 4-0.
(2) US wins 2-0 AND the Czechs win 3-0.
(3) US wins 3-0 AND the Czechs win 3-1.
(4) US wins 4-0 AND the Czechs win 3-2.
If either of the following two occur, the US is definitely out:
(1) The US loses.
(2) ITA-CZE draw.
-A8
Likeable? No, he's is and has been a tool since I first met him at age 16. I'll agree with the point about his athleticism, but there have usually been at least a dozen more capable GK's available to replace him at any time since he first got a spot on the MNT.
IMHO, he's just one more piece of evidence that politics have almost always trumped performance for the national team selection.