A WAKING GIANT - US Soccer Comes of Age

DER SPIEGEL ^ | June 11, 2006 | Andreas Tzortzis

[NZerFromHK]

Hard to say. Punters put the odds of the US team winning at 1:100, same as Australia which is ranked 42nd - they think the US's soccer level of play more at Australian levels.

[burzum]

The United States can let other countries, such as your Germany, be the leaders in soccer

We could, but we don't. The US team is ranked #5. The only teams in Europe that beat it are the Czech team and the Netherlands team. Yes, that means we are higher ranked than England, Germany, and Italy! We have an awesome team!

[rb22982]

I could care less about what one gambling site has. I take far more stock in FIFA rankings. I don't think the US will win it all but I do think they will advance past the first round.

[rb22982]

The US is 18-4-6 since World Cup qualifying started in mid 2004; that's nothing to sneeze at.

[Rightwing Canuck]

"Why do you say that? The US has a higher FIFA rating than Italy (#5 vs #13) and the Czechs have injured players (though they are rated #2). I'm guessing that we will come out #2 in this round and then get beat by #1 Brazil in the next round (unless they somehow come out of the first round as the runner up). I'm hoping that we come out #1 in this round and don't have to deal with Brazil for a while. It is a possibility due to the Czech injuries. If we don't have to face Brazil initially we have a strong shot for at least the semi-finals."

No offense intended, but FIFA rankings aren't taken seriously by any soccer fan. They're based on a variety of unbalanced methods, mainly on wins. The US team plays the vast majority of its games against other CONCACAF teams, most of which are pretty pathetic (Canada included, unfortunately). Italy, on the other hand, plays mostly against Europeans sides of far superior quality.

If the USA tops the group, it'll be the shock of the tournament's group stage, by far.

As for the Czechs, Milan Baros is certain to miss the opener, but they still have Nedved and Rosicky in midfield and Cech in goal. Those three are highly rated, and as an avid follower of Serie A, I know the magic Nedved can produce.

Of course, anything is possible, but semi-finals is a bit unrealistic for your team IMO.

[eleni121]

whats soccer?
______________________________________________________

That's how I feel about it. I have been to some games here and abroad..and found the whole experience boring except for the people watching aspect.

[rb22982]

I've heard many pundits talk about how good the US is this year just that they are in the toughest bracket to start.

And the US has advanced the last 3 world cups ranked far lower. I'd put semi finals chances low as well but its not out of the realm of possibility.

Guess we'll find out tomorrow how good the US is.

[burzum]

Hard to say. Punters put the odds of the US team winning at 1:100, same as Australia which is ranked 42nd - they think the US's soccer level of play more at Australian levels.

Not true. The reason we have a 1:80 chance (not 1:100 if I recall correctly) is because we are in the death group, group E. In our first round we face the #2 ranked team, the Czech Republic (though there is a runner up slot in the first round) and in the next round we have a chance of facing #1 ranked Brazil. Assuming that the Czech team or the Brazil team move forward (which is a good assumption), we will have to face at least one of them again.

[ILS21R]

The only thing wrong with soccer is that the field needs to be longer and wider.

[rb22982]

It's a lot more entertaining and action packed than baseball, golf, tennis and many other sports. Soccer just hasnt' been a past time here forever like the first 2 listed. The only sports I say are definately more fun to play and watch are basketball & football. People who grew up watching all sports, including soccer, tend to find soccer very interesting. It's the ones who never did until they were adult. But most people don't pick up new sports that late in life either.

Networks here are also slow to pick up soccer because there are no commercial timeouts like all of the other major sports.

[Dead Dog]

whats soccer?

A COMMUNIST PLOT!!!!

[soccer_maniac]

12 hours to go and I'm so excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Atlantic Bridge]

Although I share your view about the US-Team and its future abilities, I do not give a damm about the FIFA-ranking. FIFA is the most corrupt und incompetent society on this planet. They are even much worse than the UN.

The FIFA ranking probably is in direct dependency on the palm grease that is transfered to Sepp Blatters account in Switzerland...

[Rightwing Canuck]

It's a tough group indeed (I'm an Italia supporter), though I think the toughest group is Group C, with Holland, S&M, Argentina, and the Ivory Coast. Yowza

Although I don't personally put much stock in pre-tourney friendlies (since Italy never takes them seriously), it was a bit of a shocker when Italy beat Germany 4-1 and then a few weeks later Germany beat the USA 4-1.

As for the rankings, here's a good article on why FIFA will be moving to a new ranking system:
WORLD CUP 2006: FIFA adapting new world rankings

[rb22982]

http://www.docsports.com/world-cup/world-cup-odds.html

US has 1:40 chance to win the world cup, vs 1:130 for Australia. That's with the US starting in a MUCH harder bracket and the possibility to face Brazil in round 2.

[soccer_maniac]

I'm hoping Italy v. Ghana tie to ensure that both teams lose points and neither builds up a large goal differential.

[dennisw]

The collectivists socialists communists all adore soccer. Now it's going to be flung in my face for the next six weeks as this retarded world cup gets played out. It's the UN with kicking a ball and head butting. A 3rd world cesspool can beat a civilized industrial nation and live for years on the bragging rights. They won't care if they only have rice and beans to eat just so long as they whipped country X ten years ago in the world cup

[Rightwing Canuck]

I heard Blatter's being investigated now for bribery. Big surprise. He's a big bag of douche.

[burzum]

No offense intended, but FIFA rankings aren't taken seriously by any soccer fan. They're based on a variety of unbalanced methods, mainly on wins. The US team plays the vast majority of its games against other CONCACAF teams, most of which are pretty pathetic

Don't forget CONCACAF includes Mexico. And we won the Gold cup last year. US mens soccer is greatly underrated not because of how we perform, but because of our history (and our 0-11 loss in a previous World Cup). Additionally, many of the men who play on our team play professionally in European leagues. The US team may do better than you think.

[goldstategop]

We have a great team. They'll never become celebrities in the way foreign football stars are icons in their homelands but they have talent. Its unfortunate they happen to be playing in what for most Americans, is the Rodney Dangerfield of team sports. And I say this as a lifelong World Cup fan.