Apparently, we got docked points for calling it "soccer."


Not being very good at the game probably didn't help either...

World Soccer - The no. 1 international football magazine.

http://www.worldsoccer.com/

And that's a British magazine.

Bring on Mexico.

No, that's because their mom was late getting to the stadium in her new minivan.

We have soccer? When I was in school, we called it kickball, and we got hit hard with the ball, and we liked it.

Getting up to third in the FIFA rankings just by playing other terrible teams doesn't fool the FA either.

/cmon England.

Not being very good at the game probably didn't help either...

Times have changed; our national team is good now.

Sweet!!

I love soccer threads. I don't know why, but I always get a kick pissing off our overseas friends by saying "it's soccer, not football."

On topic, that's pretty sweet the USA finally has a good team. They've sucked for so long......

"... and the three remaining from CONCACAF Costa Rica, Trinidad & Tobago and the United States."

If you draw T&T do you have to play against two teams? or half of Trinidad and half of ...

I'll stop now.

I thought the USA beat Mexico in play recently?


/be kind, I'm trying

Did somebody say something about pot?

/got nothing

How the heck is Mexico, the second place team in the CONCACAF group, seeded ahead of the champions? The US is getting jobbed here.

How the hell did England manage to be #2 seeds? Seeded, certainly, but #2??? The mind boggles.

thats ridiculous, we've beat mexico head to head the last three times we've met. and mexico is in the top 8 and we aren't?

</soccer novice>

hmm. apparently my 'suck it america' link did not get greenlit...

/bet England, get the Dutch, the US and Ghana -- that would blow bigtime...

I'm not sure, but I think it was the last world cup where USA was facing germany. Germany scored a goal and retreated to their side of the field for the rest of the match. If it weren't for Oliver Kahn, we'd've been in the semis.

/If it weren't for my horse, I wouldn't have spent that year in college

yes.. you got robbed... there are mexicans dancing in the streets right now...

we got jobbed, but fifa knows they can get away with it because we don't really care

Iran, Japan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and the three remaining from CONCACAF Costa Rica, Trinidad & Tobago and the United States.

+++USA gets cushy 'geographical' draw shock+++

Why aren't the Americas in one pot? Oh yeah, 'cos the US would get creamed by Brazil and the US audience would vanish. But that tower of footballing strength Iran - now that's entertainment

/Dons asbestos shorts

I meant to add, USA futbol is good and worth watching. We are capable of pulling off some upsets.

2005-12-06 09:32:32 AM binnster

Not being very good at the game probably didn't help either...

Someone ranks the US number eight in the world, so there mus t be a whole lot of suckier teams out there.

mungo: and the US audience would vanish.


Oxymoron?

who cares?

/duke sucks

We lost to Mexico in Mexico City. They lost to us in Columbus, Ohio.

We beat them in the World Cup finals last time, in the second round. It was beautiful. They're pissed.

sorry mungo this ain;t the 'draw' - thats on friday...

take one from pot 1 + Pot 2 + ...

The way they seeded it was that they also used the results of the last two World Cups. Which makes sense, but it also makes it harder for turnover. Getting seeded well does not guaruntee that Brazil, England or Germany will win, but it does give them an advantage. A lot of that advantage is deserved by those squads, as they're consistently good. But I think it'd be a more honest approach to seed teams according to only their current standings.

Oh, so NOW you care, when it comes to world rankings?

mungo - I reckon you're right there. Iran/USA would be a draw for US audiences. Of course, it's a big draw for teh terrists too.

Damn you mungo, for drawing my into your web of misinformation!

/candygram for mungo

In Kazakhstan, we know that "football" is nuclear retardation disease where man grows foot out of testes region.

NakedReporta it's because they took into account the last 2 World Cups. And we sucked out loud in '98.

Well thats absolutely true. But didn't they also take into account the last three years results/world ranking? I know we have Mexicowned the Tricolores for the last three years as well as the 2002 World Cup.

/I know, I know, its all about points and we fell just short. I am just biatching about this like I do about the BCS rankings.

mungo

Why aren't the Americas in one pot? Oh yeah, 'cos the US would get creamed by Brazil and the US audience would vanish. But that tower of footballing strength Iran - now that's entertainment.

First off, that's not how the pot works. Nobody in the pot plays each other in the first round. We don't play Iran. We don't play Costa Rica.

Second, the U.S. has gotten creamed in the World Cup finals, in 1994, and didn't lose its fan base. They lost a huge game to Mexico in Mexico City in the CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers, and didn't lose the fan base. There's a hard core group of American soccer fans out there, and they ain't going away.

Apparently, we got docked points for calling it "soccer."

chuckle

1 point behind Italy and Argentina is not bad though

btw, a present for everyone..... </i>

WTF? WTFC?

I am amused by an Aussie I heard call it 'the round ball game' cause he refused to call it soccer and calling it football confuses all the footy supporters.

The simple fact is that nobody cares.

Actually the US lost to Mexico in Mexico City earlier this year.

d'art

Second, the U.S. has gotten creamed in the World Cup finals, in 1994, and didn't lose its fan base. They lost a huge game to Mexico in Mexico City in the CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers, and didn't lose the fan base. There's a hard core group of American soccer fans out there, and they ain't going away.


Yeah and 3/4 of the fan base are homosexuals or foreign.

MikeyG498 - I must be in the other 25% because i love soccer, and am not gay or foreign. i find it way more interesting that any major american sport.

NakedReporta: were it not for South Korea beating Portugal in the last game of group play in '02, we don't even make the field of 16

Duly noted and agreed upon. If GT hadn't beaten UNC in last year's ACC MBBall semis, UNC would have both the ACC and NCAA titles, because they would have beaten Duke. I was there for that one. It's good for US footy that, when we do get a lucky break, we turn it into more than just serendipity. I'm inclined to believe it's because we're well coached.

MikeyG498,

Bwahahahaha!
Three words: Growing Hispanic Population.

Soccer is an old British term.

World Cup Finals 101:

Seeds define pots, then pots are randomly drawn into groups of four. You play every team in your group, then the top two per group go on to single-elimination. Top seeds are all put into the same pot and distributed among the groups, so no "top seed" (Pot A, I think they call it) will have another in group play.

I'm only a lukewarm soccer fan, but I really get up for the World Cup. Same way with college basketball/March Madness. The final group draw is Friday, 2:15p East, 11:15a West. I'm considering biatching out of work in the afternoon to go home and watch.

Here's to a repeat of (or improvement upon) 2002 and not anything like 1998. "Sucked out loud" is exactly right.