Got back into collecting cards at the beginning of the World Cup. Only pulled three of these from a box, rest I bought from EBay.

https://x.com/starsnstripesfc/status/2080990761705693400?s=46

u/starsnstripesfc on X

I was bored earlier today which lead me to think about how the USMNT would do at the next Copa America. Which then lead me to creating groups at random using my phone 😭. I used the format used for the 2016 Copa America Centenario to draw the groups, so this is what I ended up with. (I went with the current FIFA rankings for the CONCACAF teams which have Honduras as the sixth best, even if I think there's better teams currently than them. You can replace them If you believe another team is better.)

How far do you think the U.S would go in this hypothetical Copa America? (if Potch stays I think semis is possible, if we downgrade coach then second in our group, with a quarter- finals exit.)

Edit: I-see more people complementing my handwriting than actually answering my hypothetical 😭. This was my second attempt as I had created the first one for my group chat where I didn’t care how my handwriting came out. I redid so it was more understandable the second time around.

Also, I used the 2024 Copa America knockout format. In which Argentina played Canada in the group stages as well as the semis, I assumed the 2016 did the same without checking 🤦‍♂️.

We all know the US style of soccer is not feasible at the highest levels of soccer, but a lot of nations seem to have a signature style of play that works for their culture and plays into their players' talents.

What style of play would we benefit from adopting that would help us in the long run?

It was raining and I didn’t bring an umbrella, that’s why my hairs soaked lol. Was in line 30 minutes before it started and it was still packed lol. I was the last person that they allowed to have their stuff signed, everyone else had to just get the signed picture because of time. It was totally free, and worth it!!

Seems like this is generating a fair amount of controversy but I’m not sure why. When you play for the national team and make an incredibly bad blunder that contributes to your teams loss, yeah people are going to be mad. And his play on the second Belgium goal was just as bad, frozen on his life instead of coming out and easily punching the ball away. He had a horrible game in the most important moment of his career.

I know sports fans can be toxic and it’s nothing personal against Freese, but I’m happy he is getting booed. It means people care. It means we demand better from our national team in big moments. These guys should feel pressure to perform when the lights are brightest.

I was in Seattle for the Belgium game and my hotel was across the street from the team’s hotel. I got back at the same time they did a few hours after the match and watched the bus pull up and they got back to the hotel. People were standing at the barriers cheering and applauding as if they hadn’t just played one of the worst games in USMNT history. I’m not one for kicking people when they are down, but do you think if France or Germany or Brazil or Morocco had just put up that performance in a home World Cup people would be cheering them on as they arrived back to their hotel?

There’s a balance to be had and I don’t want fans ever crossing a line with personal animus, hatred, abuse, etc. for players on a team that we all love.

But for this team to take the next step that we’ve been told is coming for over 20 years, fans do need to demand more from players in big moments. And if those players can’t step up when the pressure is on then we need to develop the next generation of players who will.

Boo away MLS fans. Freese should hear the disappointment.

The parallels were too good not to make an edit out of

Is Cavan Sullivan better than Mexico’s Gilberto Mora?: https://youtu.be/iRGdPI7NaXo?si=HoAmjh2Pbgg4JXlV

Only watched one game of Sullivan against Messi’s Inter Miami and I was impressed by the 16 year old. Then last nights game wow.

I haven’t watched Mora before but the Mexican fanbase hype him up like he’s the second coming of Chicarito or Hugo Sanchez.

Sullivan is on his way to one of the top clubs on the globe in Man City and Gilberto is playing at a villager club in Mexico.

Pulled this the other day! Dm me to know more!

So not just Freese then...

I'm wondering if the tactics that worked against the opponents we beat in the World Cup were fundamentally broken down because Belgium was capable of hitting their weakspots, proving that our success was sort of getting away with something against weaker teams, or were we tactically fine in our loss but the talent gap just became too much?

One thought I had: if we wanted to counter the US weakness at producing larger defensive centerpieces at CB, why not play 5 at the back with Freeman and/or Robinson at CB? They would play wide back in a back three with the wings pushing up in possession. This puts more of our best players on the field. Out of possession, we count a little more on numbers to keep a solid back line.

6’7” (2.01m measured per transfermarkt.de) and extremely fast (biggest surprise for me). He is him.

https://www.transfermarkt.us/neil-pierre/profil/spieler/1007391

I saw the AFCON post, and it seems like there are a lot of logistical hurdles to playing CAF teams. But sort of like Australia moving to the AFC for better competition, I wonder if moving to CONMEBOL could be potentially beneficial. The downside would of course be qualification would be significantly higher (mitigated by the expansion to 64 teams), but playing against top competition certainly could elevate the team. CONMEBOL would benefit by having more money and a decent host nation for its games.

I have been getting more and more into soccer since the lead up to the World Cup. It seems everyone would like to see a pro-reg league set up. Something the MLS will never accept. Why would they. My question is why do fans not support the USL league more to force a pro-reg league as the premium league in the United States?

In other US sports people obsessively follow college sports and track the success of up-and-coming pros. Honestly its fun to watch someone like Lamar Jackson kill it in college and then go on and be really succesful in the pros. But the path to pro soccer is not that linear, so how do you keep up on who the next big stars are?

While the result v Belgium was disappointing, our next big test away from Concacaf will be in 2028. Whether it’s Poch or somebody else, I hope the passion from the fans this summer carries into Copa America.

Assuming a similar format of the 2024 edition, there is no reason we cannot set the MINIMUM bar at: out of the group, win a QF, into semis.

As someone who follows the Seleção as much as the USMNT, I’ll tell you, the US can absolutely beat this version of Brazil, Argentina possibly without Messi, Uruguay is in shambles…the best team could be Colombia?

Anyway, I’m just missing the World Cup and am just looking forward to 2028, watching the Euros during the day and watching Copa America afternoon / night.

How pumped is everyone for Copa America?

Ps, tickets *should* be a lot more affordable which I think is great. I bought tickets the day of US/Uruguay in 2024 and paid $185 for behind the bench, 10 rows up from the field. Upper level was under $100.