Posted September 11, 201212 yr The U.S. Men's National Soccer Team plays tonight at 8PM in Crew Stadium. They face Jamaica in a World Cup Qualifier match in a sold out Crew Stadium here in Columbus. The game was actually "sold out", then temp bleachers were added to the south end zone, then "sold out" again, then temp bleachers were added to the north stage, then finally "sold out" again. US Soccer estimates 24,000 to be in attendance including SRO. Official stadium capacity for the fixed seating is 20,145. Although portable seating was used for an MLS regular season game on October 4, 2008 against the L.A. Galaxy where the reported attendance was 22,685. Expanded seating on the stage and south end was used for the legendary 2010 World Cup qualifying win over Mexico on February 11, 2009. The attendance for that game was 23,776. U.S. National Team is in a tough situation tonight. They lost 2-1 at Jamaica last Friday - it's first loss ever to Jamaica. Because of this, the U.S. is now tied for 2nd place in their Qualifying group. To be one of the two teams in their four team group to advance to the final Qualifying Round for our region of the 2014 World Cup, tonight's game is must win for the USA. If you don't have a ticket, you can see the game at 8PM on ESPN2. Below is a bit more background for tonight's gamein the form of links to the Stars and Stripes FC fansite and my go-to Columbus Crew website - Massive Report: Stars and Stripes FC: Home-Field Advantage Is The Key For USA's World Cup Qualification Stars and Stripes FC: Remembering 9/11 As USA Gets Ready For Crucial World Cup Qualifier Massive Report: U.S. National Team Back to Business Massive Report: U.S. Soccer Needs the "Magic" of Crew Stadium
September 12, 201212 yr Great win by the USMNT!! An announced crowd of 23,881 and they were rocking the place. They had a good reason to as the USMNT were an absolute beast for the fist 60 mins or so. I don't think I have ever seen such a fluid performance from a US team, this was Spain tiki-taka, short quick passes, style and it was beautiful. The amazing thing is that the never scored. They managed to hit all three posts of the goal, and one by Danny Williams was an absolute cracker. 35-40 yards from goal he launched a rocket that had to leave the goal shaking for a full min. They did all of this while Jamaica had pretty much all 11 players behind the ball, amazing that they were able to find the space they did. After half they finally broke through on a beautiful free kick by Herculez Gomes (best name on the team btw). Wonderful curling kick that in all honesty should have been saved by the Jamaica keeper, especially with the stand on his head performance he had in the fist half. After the goal Jamaica opened up and started playing for the tie/win moreso. The US stopped playing their possession game and you could just feel how nervous it was, and this was on TV I don't think I could have been in the stadium watching it. Despite the sudden change of the game though the back 4 were resolute in their defending. Tim Howard didn't really ever have much to do either (which can be a bad thing as then he has no rhythm for the game), except in the last 10 minutes Jamaica unleashed a long shot the he had to push out. Could have been an easy one to get caught on. This was definitely a big win as it puts the US back in control of their own destiny. Their remaining games for the Group Stage are at Antigua and Barbados on Oct 12th, which they should win easy but nothing is every that easy on the crappy away field in CONCACAF, and they are home at KC for a match against Guatemala on Oct 16th. The last game against Guatemala could be for tops in the group. Should be an exciting game in KC.
September 12, 201212 yr Author Great win by the USMNT!! ... you could just feel how nervous it was, and this was on TV - I don't think I could have been in the stadium watching it. Second that. After hitting the goal frame three times in the first half and going into the second half 0-0, I was thinking the U.S. team might tie or lose despite playing a superior game. Fortunately, Herculez Gomez hit that great free kick goal in the 55th minute. But then those nail-baiting moments to finish out the game. Glad the USMNT won. Now their qualifying path is much easier.
September 12, 201212 yr Author Great write-up and lots of photos from last night's USA vs. Jamaica game in Crew Stadium from Columbus Underground: Columbus Underground: US Trumps Jamaica 1-0 at Sold Out Crew Stadium Also an interesting write-up from The New York Times Soccer Blog. Along with the player ratings - a rating of the Columbus Crew Stadium venue was included. And Columbus has been great for the USMNT - 6-0-3 all-time and 5-0-2 in World Cup Qualifying games in Crew Stadium. The NYT Soccer Blog: Player Ratings: U.S. (1) vs. Jamaica (0) "Columbus, Ohio: I have never given a rating to a venue or a crowd, but Tuesday’s is worth noting. On Sept. 11 and with the U.S. team needing a win, Columbus put together maybe the best crowd ever for the national team. The atmosphere was electric and it clearly gave the team a boost of energy. Rating: 10"
September 12, 201212 yr I was there and the crowd was amazing. Everything said in these articles is true. I really think that these intimate, close to the field venues are much more formidable than the non-soccer specific venues. It was especially exciting to see an entire, probably 99.5% of the crowd rooting for the USA. I went to the US/Honduras WC qualifier in 2009 in Chicago and the Honduran fans, hailing from a nation about 3% the size of the US, outnumbered US fans 2:1. You have to think the USSF will think about having more qualifiers at these niche markets over NY, Chicago, LA, etc. We'll see if the crowd at KC is the same next month. A collection of what was being said over Twitter about the fans last night: http://www.thecrew.com/blog/post/2012/09/11/usa-vs-jamaica-tweets
September 12, 201212 yr I was also there. One of the most memorable sporting events I have been to. I have been to world cup games, 1997 all-star game, world series, NBA playoffs, browns...but since it was 9/11...people were fired up. Not sure I will ever experience that again. Crowd was raucous, i hope people got that vibe from watching on TV.
September 12, 201212 yr ^baseballman...you and I must corss paths alot. I was at the qualifier in Chicago in 2009 as well. LOL
September 12, 201212 yr I was there and the crowd was amazing. Everything said in these articles is true. I really think that these intimate, close to the field venues are much more formidable than the non-soccer specific venues. It was especially exciting to see an entire, probably 99.5% of the crowd rooting for the USA. I went to the US/Honduras WC qualifier in 2009 in Chicago and the Honduran fans, hailing from a nation about 3% the size of the US, outnumbered US fans 2:1. You have to think the USSF will think about having more qualifiers at these niche markets over NY, Chicago, LA, etc. We'll see if the crowd at KC is the same next month. A collection of what was being said over Twitter about the fans last night: http://www.thecrew.com/blog/post/2012/09/11/usa-vs-jamaica-tweets There are some really good quotes on there. Especially the ones from the players and about how Crew Stadium gives them a real home field advantage. 2 of my favorites though: Danny Williams: "I have played before emotional fans in Germany but never anything like this. The 24,000 felt like 50 or 60,000 in here" — roger bennett (@rogbennett) September 12, 2012 Tim Howard: "We were talking inside and there’s no bigger homefield advantage for us in America than here." #USMNT — Adam Jardy (@AdamJardy) September 12, 2012
September 13, 201212 yr It was a great game to experience. The only games that come close are the Mexico games over the years - la guerre fria being tops. Hopefully, this earned us that game.
February 14, 201312 yr Author Report: US-Mexico qualifier will be played in Columbus Here's the least surprising news of the day: Columbus has reportedly been picked as the site for the all-important World Cup qualifying matchup between the US and Mexico on Sept. 10. The stadium has hosted the US team's home qualifier against Mexico in the final round for the last three consecutive World Cup qualifying cycles, with the United States collecting identical 2-0 scorelines in 2001, 2005 and 2009. READ MORE: http://www.mlssoccer.com/blog/post/2013/02/09/report-us-mexico-qualifier-will-be-played-columbus
February 15, 201312 yr oh thats good news. i love watching the runup and the world cup matches out and around in nyc, its the most amazing event. i follow the argentinian league and my boca juniors, so its the only time i ever take notice of and root for us soccer. it will be so cool to see a match from columbus.
February 15, 201312 yr oh thats good news. i love watching the runup and the world cup matches out and around in nyc, its the most amazing event. i follow the argentinian league and my boca juniors, so its the only time i ever take notice of and root for us soccer. it will be so cool to see a match from columbus. They have been playing this game in Columbus for years now. Typically it has been scheduled for the early round of World Cup Qualifying (US lost at Honduras last week 2-1, a bad loss to have but not the end of the world). We try to bring the Mexican players out of their element by playing in Columbus when its cold. They do the same thing by playing us down there in the heat. Gamesmanship. There is also a rumor that the US will play Belgium in Cleveland toward the end of may at Cleveland Browns Stadium. US Soccer has not confirmed or denied. http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2013/01/30/report-us-meet-belgium-cleveland-may-friendly
July 10, 201311 yr Mods Can this thread be renamed as the USA Men's Soccer thread. The USA dismantled Belize 6-1, granted Belize is a tiny nation and we should dismantle them, but the highlight was Chris Wondolowski scoring a hat trick in the first half and Landon Donovan coming back into the National Team fold after his sabbatical. Wondolowski's time to shine Posted by Jeff Carlisle The U.S. went into its Gold Cup opener against Belize with little to gain other than three points in the standings. After all, reputations are rarely enhanced when a team is forced into the role of Goliath. Yet Chris Wondolowski ensured that this wasn't a night for underdogs and improved his own standing in the process by netting a first-half hat trick to lead the Americans to a 6-1 victory. Ian Gaynair tallied for the Jaguars, while Stuart Holden, Michael Orozco-Fiscal and Landon Donovan scored in the second half for the Americans on Tuesday night. Donovan added two assists, giving him a total of 52 in his international career, and becoming the first American player to record more than 50 goals and 50 assists.
July 11, 201311 yr Mods Can this thread be renamed as the USA Men's Soccer thread. Done. Thank you. FYI next Gold Cup match is Sat. against Cuba. Anyone want to take bets that Cuba doesn't show up with the full 23 man roster?
July 22, 201311 yr The US is on a 9 game winning streak. Granted a few of those games have come against the likes of Cuba and Belize, but it is still a pretty impressive run of form. Their last loss was actually the game in Cleveland against Belgium, I wonder if they were to play again if it would be so lopsided. Probably, but still no reason to not enjoy the way this team is playing. US plays in the Semi-Final of the Gold Cup Wed. 24th against Costa Rica, and, provided they can keep the streak going, will be playing in the Final on Sunday against the winner of Mexico v. Panama. Donovan shines again for U.S. in Gold Cup Posted by Jeff Carlisle With each passing game, the evidence has been mounting that Landon Donovan is back. In Sunday's Gold Cup quarterfinal against El Salvador, Donovan delivered his most impressive performance to date since his national team return, delivering a goal and four assists in a 5-1 victory. In the first half, Donovan set up Clarence Goodson and Joe Corona to stake the Americans to a 2-0 lead. El Salvador then pulled a goal back just before halftime thanks to a Rodolfo Zelaya penalty and went on to create some nervous moments for the U.S. immediately after the break.
July 22, 201311 yr ^ i recognize and appreciate the 9 game winning streak, but reserve judgment for a bit. THey beat a short handed Germany team, and had to score 4 goals to do it. I still dont trust the defense against world class offenses and thats what belgium has. We will see what happens in the next few months as they lock up a world cup bid
July 22, 201311 yr Saw the team in San Diego. They looked so off key but then started to gel. In the second half the offense got that chemistry going. Some really great passes that set up some really great goals!
July 22, 201311 yr ^^^The US will play Honduras in the semi-final, not Costa Rica. Honduras pulled off a relatively surprising victory in the second match last night.
July 25, 201311 yr Author The US knocked off Honduras 3-1 last night to advance into the Gold Cup final. The third and final US goal by Landon Donovan was particularly dazzling - coming only 1 minute after Honduras got their only goal to get within one of the US. The second game of the night featured Panama upsetting Mexico 2-1. So the US will face Panama in the Gold Cup final. The Gold Cup final game is Sunday at Soldier Field in Chicago.
July 25, 201311 yr The US knocked off Honduras 3-1 last night to advance into the Gold Cup final. I'm embarassed to say I totally forgot about the game last night. I'm IN DALLAS! After work went straight to this bar (awesome TOD by the way!) and three guys with Honduras jerseys walked in and I instantly realized I missed it. Do'h!
July 25, 201311 yr They're on a tear right now. Landon looks completely locked in. With Clint, Landon, Jozy and Bradley playing some of the best ball of their life, WC2014 could be pretty fun for the Americans. I know it's against CONCACAF "minnows" but Jurgen-ball finally is catching on. They look quick, precise and purposeful on the ball. The frantic, half pitch "passes" from the back line seem like a thing of the past. Thank God.
July 29, 201311 yr That final was not pretty, but that was Panama's gameplan. Park the bus and look for something on the counter. With their speed it was a good plan, and if they tried to play too open the US would have picked them apart. Shea's goal couldn't have been easier, but it did look at first like he may have been caught offside. Donovan didn't touch the ball however, so Shea was good to tap the ball in, @45 sec after entering the game. That is the second time this tournament that a sub has scored in less than 1 min. Overall a nice addition to the trophy case, but the real work starts in a little over 1 month. Costa Rica v. USA, in Costa Rica. The first match was the infamous Snowgedden game, I don't know if the Costa Ricans have any weather tricks they can play, but you can be sure they want some revenge for a game they thought should not have been allowed.
August 15, 201311 yr Author Normally, international friendies don't mean much. But the USMNT's 4-3 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina yesterday was really something. One, it was against a team ranked #13 in the international standings (B-H is good, who knew?). Two, it was in Sarajevo - so B-H likely didn't want to lose at home. And three, it was a thrilling game. The US was down 2-0 at halftime. Then the US started a scoring onslaught. Scoring in the 55th and 59th minute to tie. Scoring in the 84th and 86th minute to take the lead. B-H made the final score close with a 90th minute goal. Jozy Altidore led the US with a hat trick of goals.
August 16, 201311 yr And his curling free kick was a thing of beauty. I can't link to it as I am at work, but look it up. It puts Beckham to shame.
September 10, 201311 yr Author Columbus is the center of the American soccer universe tonight. Both the US and Mexico lost last Friday. US 3-1 at Costa Rica. Mexico 2-1 at home against Honduras. Mexico fired their coach. A US win tonight might clinch their 2014 World Cup berth. A Mexico loss might prevent them from getting an automatic qualifying spot.
September 11, 201311 yr Author Another dos a cero USA win in Columbus!!! And because Honduras tied Panama tonight, the US punched their ticket to Brazil.
September 11, 201311 yr Another dos a cero USA win in Columbus!!! And because Honduras tied Panama tonight, the US punched their ticket to Brazil. Nothing irks the Mexicans more than losing to the USA at soccer, except asking them "yeah, it would be like us losing to you at real "football", right? :evil:
September 11, 201311 yr ^^ Was Clint Dempsy's late penalty miss to preserve the "dos a cero" score line? Perhaps ... It has been a rallying cry against Mexico for the past 3 WC cycles. The game was extremely tense at first, Mexico came hunting for a goal and nearly got one on a few occasions. But Tim Howard proved again and again that he is the rock you need back there. After about the 30 min mark you could see Mexico begin to stiffen up and the US realize that with that early pressure withstood they could begin to take the game to Mexico. Nearly scoring too on a corner, although Eddie Johnson got his fantastic header of a goal just after halftime. Once that first goal went in you could feel the "Dos a Cero" scoreline coming.
September 13, 201311 yr Author ^^ Was Clint Dempsy's late penalty miss to preserve the "dos a cero" score line? Perhaps ... It has been a rallying cry against Mexico for the past 3 WC cycles. Pretty balsy if he missed it on purpose. Nothing wrong with "tres a cero". I'm just glad the USMNT won this game again in Columbus. The WC Qualifying home game against Mexico is the most desirable game to host. Crew Stadium has been awarded the game partly on the past three "dos a cero" games held here. If the USMNT had lost this game, Seattle and Kansas City would have a bigger case to host this game in 2017. But with this win, I think the USMNT would want to continue playing the US/Mexico match here. EDIT: Great photo recap from CU at http://www.columbusunderground.com/usa-remains-undefeated-by-mexico-at-crew-stadium-with-2-0-win-me1
September 16, 201311 yr ^ I think that the Crew's new owner is going to be pushed to make some upgrades to the stadium. It is nearly 15 years since it was opened and is in definite need of some upgrades.
September 16, 201311 yr ^I agree. And please get two more light towers at midfield. The shadows produced by the existing four towers make it look like amateur hour on TV.
September 16, 201311 yr It was an amazing atmosphere. Though the whole capo crap with AO Seattle was pretty silly. I think substantial upgrades are forthcoming. It needs a roof and a more family friendly section (a decent concourse that isn't dominated by folks waiting in line for beer would be fine). Most importantly, it needs development and transportation that tie it to the city a bit more. Rumor has OHS is looking at there property next door for redevelopment as well, perhaps some synergies between these two neighbors.
September 16, 201311 yr The fist time I heard the acronym USMNT I thought it was U.S. M&T and that it was a bank.
October 16, 201311 yr Author The U.S. clinched their World Cup berth back on September 10th in Columbus. But two more sets of games remained. Last Friday, the U.S. beat Jamaica 2-0 and clinched first place in the CONCACAF six-team final (i.e. The Hex). The same day Costa Rica clinched 2nd and Honduras clinched 3rd. The top three automatically qualify for the 2014 World Cup. The fourth-place finisher faces a home-and-away playoff with New Zealand to advance to the World Cup. On Friday, Mexico beat Panama to move into 4th place. Last night was the final set of games in The Hex. Mexico played at Costa Rica, and only needed to get a tie to clinch 4th. Instead, they lost 2-1! This opened the door for Panama to advance into 4th place with a home win over the U.S. team. The U.S. team, with nothing to play for, played mostly reserves. Panama, with everything to play for, got an early 1-0 lead in the 18th minute. The US tied it 1-1 in the 64th minute. Then, Panama took the lead back in the 83rd minute. Only to see the US score two goals after the 90th minute in second half stoppage time and win 3-2. The US win/Panama loss keeps Mexico in 4th place and places them in the playoff with New Zealand. If the US hadn't mounted that stoppage time comeback, Panama would have been in the playoff and Mexico would have been eliminated from the World Cup. The US Soccer Federation tweeted #YoureWelcomeMexico after the game. More about this and the Panama game hi-lights at http://espnfc.com/news/story/_/id/1584570/us-wins-keeps-mexico-hopes-alive?cc=5901
October 16, 201311 yr The one time I wish USMNT would have lost... Oh well. Hopefully Mexico loses the playoff game. It would be sweet seeing them out of the World Cup next year.
October 17, 201311 yr Author I know Mexico is our most bitter rival in soccer. But this recording of the Mexican announcers calling the US goal that tied Panama and sent Mexico into the playoff is just amazing. The MLS website has the youtube recording at http://www.mlssoccer.com/sideline/news/article/2013/10/16/mexican-television-announcers-lose-their-mind-usmnt-win-sends-el-tri-playoff The first 35 seconds is the best part. Especially when the announcer says: (in spanish) "GOOOOAAAAAAL!!!! GOAL USA! (then in english) “We love you! We love you forever and ever! God Bless America! (then back in spanish) USA puts us in the playoffs!
October 17, 201311 yr The one time I wish USMNT would have lost... Oh well. Hopefully Mexico loses the playoff game. It would be sweet seeing them out of the World Cup next year. Its better for the region if Mexico is in the WC. We have a better chance of maintaining our number of WC berths with them in. Plus they are now forever in our debt.
December 6, 201311 yr Author Tomorrow is the draw for the opening round of the 2014 World Cup. We'll see if the U.S. team gets an relatively easy draw or possibly the dreaded "Group of Death". By the way, Mexico did survive their playoff with New Zealand to advance into the World Cup. So, you're welcome El Tri. I posted following in the newly formed 2014 World Cup thread: The live draw for the 2014 World Cup will be shown on ESPN2 starting at 11:30 a.m. tomorrow - and probably some web feeds at FIFA.com or elsewhere too. Here's some more about tomorrow's draw and a 2014 World Cup rundown: http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/final-draw/ http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/2013/12/4/5081552/world-cup-draw-2014 http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1874015-2014-world-cup-draw-critical-start-time-live-stream-and-tv-info-for-fans Moderator Note: We had a 2010 World Cup thread that got some good discussion, so it made sense to start another thread for the 2014 World Cup. Although, quite a bit of the discussion involved the U.S. team in the 2010 thread. And we now have a separate USMNT thread to cover that discussion. So we'll see how it goes this time with a World Cup and USMNT thread. Hopefully the discussion doesn't get diluted or confusing having two threads covering this. But there might some benefit to having one thread focused more on the non-US teams and this one focused on the USMNT. If it doesn't, we can always merge the two threads. Suggestions are welcome.
May 24, 201411 yr Author The USMNT's final 23-man roster was announced for the World Cup. And the biggest news was who was not on the roster. Namely, Landon Donovan: http://www.espnfc.com/news/story/_/id/1830254/landon-donovan-maurice-edu-left-world-cup-squad?cc=5901
June 17, 201410 yr I moved all of the talk of the USA's World Cup match against Ghana into the 2014 FIFA World Cup topic. Let's try to keep the World Cup talk into that topic to avoid double posts.
June 11, 201510 yr Author The USMNT pulled off two improbable "friendly wins" this past week against two of Europe's best: - First, last Friday, a thrilling come-from-behind 4-3 win against the Netherlands: http://www.starsandstripesfc.com/usmnt-friendly/2015/6/5/8737547/usa-vs-netherlands-2015-friendly-final-score-report - Then, two days ago, a dramatic 2-1 win against Germany: http://www.starsandstripesfc.com/usmnt-friendly/2015/6/10/8762159/usa-vs-germany-2015-friendly-final-score-report And a new U.S. soccer star emerged in these games, Bobby Wood. Wood is a Hawaiian-born 22-year-old playing in a second-division German league. He came on as a second-half sub in both games to score the game-winning goals in both games! His first two goals for the USMNT!
July 27, 20159 yr Author The USMNT had a disappointing Gold Cup (to say the least) - losing to Jamaica in the semifinal and losing to Panama in the 3rd-place match. Which has some people calling for head coach Jurgen Klinsmann to be fired: The USMNT should fire Jurgen Klinsmann Or not: The case for keeping Jurgen Klinsmann as USMNT manager
July 27, 20159 yr Kilnsman should not be fired or even considered. The US team is playing at its most competitive levels ever IMO. They play up and down to competition. The strategy is far superior to anything Bradley or Arenas implemented. They can play with the big boys. I don't look too much into the Gold Cup...they looked shaky the entire tournament, even in the wins. They need to bring equal intensity against inferior opponents. Advancing out of the group of death last year should make Klinsmann good for another 4 years.
July 27, 20159 yr I hate to frame it like this, but the loss to Jamaica was sort of flukey, USA was the more dominant team and the six second call against Guzan was horse manure. But it prevented them from playing in the final, which is what people will remember. The Panama loss is meaningless. It's too bad that Mexico cheated their way into the finals and won the whole thing. October 9th can't come soon enough. I don't think Klinsmann's job should be on the line, but there are some that think that that match against Mexico for a spot in the Confederations Cup is a must-win for him.
August 6, 20159 yr A lot of soccer news today. Cincinnati is receiving a USL team for 2016 and will likely play in Nippert Stadium at UC. Discussion here. A new crest has been leaked for team USA.
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