Doesn’t ESPN do a piece on WAGS of Internstionals! Whose corrupt! FIFA!Sonsofbitches!! Was one of my favorite parts
Doesn’t ESPN do a piece on WAGS of Internstionals! Whose corrupt! FIFA!Sonsofbitches!! Was one of my favorite parts
How dare they! These pillars of mortality!Sonsofbitches!! Was one of my favorite parts
VAR shows its value.
I was not a VAR fan going into the World Cup, but have done a 180 and see the value for these top level professional games.
Ronaldo with Argentina and not Messi would've went further than they did.So is it too early to consider the lessons for the world cup and how they apply to US soccer? I'll take my swipe:
1. The possession game: when Spain won the World Cup everyone rushed out to copy it. But I think the world cup has definitively shown that possession for possessions sake doesn't always get the job done, with Spain scoring a record for possession but being routinely unable to penetrate.
2. The high press: The legacy of Germany's victory still plays out. The high press is an effective means of countering the possession game, and forcing errors upon the keeper/defenders, as Croatia showed.
3. Negative soccer v. the English long ball: But I don't think a definitive style came out of the world cup that other teams will try to imitate. France played a very negative game, relying on possession, but also relying on a fast counter attack. England on the other hand played a long game focused on set plays. Most of their goals were off of direct kicks or corners, which is something US coaches don't spend a lot of time on particularly on the lower levels. Sure, you can say England was on the weaker end of the brackett and lost, but they also have had success in the U-20 with the same style. France is also more academy centric (which is why they were able to incorporate and nurture their immigrant style), while England's youth soccer is organized more like our AYSO and rec leagues where everyone can play and talent is identified later.
4. Headers: Heading was very important in this tournament. Might we play a price for our pushing back the introduction of headers due to concussion concerns?
5. Defense/Offense: Second tier teams were often able to frustrate possession game teams by emphasizing their defensive back line, including the Spain v. Morrocco game. While its a problem worldwide, the US doesn't give as much emphasis to training defenders (where the most athletic kids drift the glory positions of 9 and 10). Similarly, teams like Argentina and Portugal that relied solely on their one world class striker weren't able to advance very far either.
4. Headers: Heading was very important in this tournament. Might we play a price for our pushing back the introduction of headers due to concussion concerns?
In the context of discussing World Cup competitiveness in a soccer forum, yes, limiting headers might hurt us. For 99.999% of kids who won't play in the 2026 World Cup, more protection is better.I do not believe limiting headers at the younger ages was primarily to prevent concussions. The current research into CTE seems to show that repetitive sub-concussive blows to the head have a cumulative effect on the brain. Since the skull is not fully formed for many younger players, I fully support the delaying the introduction of heading to the game. If a serious soccer player cannot learn proper and game effective heading technique after they are allowed to head in games, maybe they are not coordinated enough to play at the next level.
4. Headers: Heading was very important in this tournament. Might we play a price for our pushing back the introduction of headers due to concussion concerns?
For the organized sports I agree. But when my little brother was in 6th grade, he invented a game that he played with all his friends called "red card soccer". It is a game where only red card-able fouls were allowed and if you took the ball from someone without committing a red card offence, then you would give up a free kick.In the context of discussing World Cup competitiveness in a soccer forum, yes, limiting headers might hurt us. For 99.999% of kids who won't play in the 2026 World Cup, more protection is better.
For the organized sports I agree. But when my little brother was in 6th grade, he invented a game that he played with all his friends called "red card soccer". It is a game where only red card-able fouls were allowed and if you took the ball from someone without committing a red card offence, then you would give up a free kick.
Needless to say, it was very popular, even amongst the kids that didn't play club soccer.
There is a reason that the US exports more goalkeepers relative to the other positions. It is because that is how kids train themselves when they are not playing soccer.
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It's red card soccer, not "go to jail soccer" or "go to hospital soccer". You gotta respect the rules, even in "red card soccer" haha.Interesting reminds me of the underground fight clubs of my day..
My kid gets labeled as a aggressive player sometimes, red card soccer I don't know man sounds like a invitation for broken bones to me but I don't know I guess it could work out among friends or something?
But a side note: my hunch is the goalkeeper thing might be changing. .