OK OK. Soccer is not really my game. But hey who isn't going to take notice of this little rematch. We stunned them back in 1950. And that was the biggest upset since... 1776.
England vs. USA, not Britain. For some reason (likely the overdominance of the united UK), the UK competes in international soccer as England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland sides.
Orr, Thanks for the correction. I will amend the title. Frankly I think we were lucky to get the tie. I was not very impressed by our team. It seemed we spent 2/3 of the game in front of our goal.
I'm no expert on soccer, but I have to disagree with you, John. I'll not deny that there was an element of luck involved: Dempsey's was a clean and strong shot on goal, but the English keeper should have blocked it easily. So yes, it was a lucky goal.
But that said, I think our side played very well, especially in the 2d half. We spent a good deal of the time on defense, but that is to be expected against a very strong offensive side like England. We spent a good deal of time in front of our own goal, but we did so very effectively. England kept control of the ball much of the time, but thanks to our good defense it did them little good. They had relatively few good shots on goal, and those that they had Tim Howard handled very effectively.
If the match had gone as expected I think England would have won 2-nil or perhaps 3-1. For Team USA to take a lucky goal and make it stand up for a tie against England was no small accomplishment.
England vs. USA, not Britain. For some reason (likely the overdominance of the united UK), the UK competes in international soccer as England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland sides.
ReplyDeleteOrr,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the correction. I will amend the title. Frankly I think we were lucky to get the tie. I was not very impressed by our team. It seemed we spent 2/3 of the game in front of our goal.
I'm no expert on soccer, but I have to disagree with you, John. I'll not deny that there was an element of luck involved: Dempsey's was a clean and strong shot on goal, but the English keeper should have blocked it easily. So yes, it was a lucky goal.
ReplyDeleteBut that said, I think our side played very well, especially in the 2d half. We spent a good deal of the time on defense, but that is to be expected against a very strong offensive side like England. We spent a good deal of time in front of our own goal, but we did so very effectively. England kept control of the ball much of the time, but thanks to our good defense it did them little good. They had relatively few good shots on goal, and those that they had Tim Howard handled very effectively.
If the match had gone as expected I think England would have won 2-nil or perhaps 3-1. For Team USA to take a lucky goal and make it stand up for a tie against England was no small accomplishment.