74 Whitecap

Pretty respectable performance from them, given the group they were in, and that they have turned over much of their roster and had the youngest team at the Copa. Basically the same results as Canada, a 1 goal win, a scoreless draw and a multi-goal loss. It is possible they are heading back in the right direction again.

But now Brazil scored right as I posted that...

You're not wrong, but Costa Rica, is going for it - up by 2 already - they have cut the goal difference from 6 to 4 Maybe Colombia can help them (and Uruguay) out a little bit

That was some game

Once again, the Euro knockout game is quite similar to our friendly result. And both of our opponents are now into the Euro quarter-finals. Romania had 0.4xg vs 3.1xg for the Netherlands Canada 0.7xg vs 2.6xg for Netherlands and it was a similar game where the pace and relentless attacking of the Dutch eventually overwhelms the opposition.

Everything you say is valid, and I also think that in the quarter-final, we will be 'playing with house money' as the saying goes, so I agree that there will be less pressure, but I also think that the lack of goals since Marsch took over is also in part down to just simple bad luck. Sometimes the breaks go your way (France today vs Belgium, or Hutchinson vs. El Salvador for an extreme example) and sometimes they don't. The one goal we scored under Marsch was a clinical finish on a breakaway, but have we had any good fortune around the opposition net since he took over? No, we have not. That doesn't mean we magically get some luck vs. Venezuela, there is no 'law of averages' when it comes to this sort of thing But it does mean, that if we keep generating chances at the rate we have been doing (a little over 1xg/game against top class opposition), then goals will come, maybe not next game (although that would certainly be a good time for it), but eventually.

I feel like I have some bad karma coming my way for how much I loved watching that game, but I can't help it. Even if they let me script it, I don't think I could have come up with a much more painful night for the Americans...

I was already cracking up, but that was the icing on the cake, I was almost literally rofl at that point

It was offside (and yeah I saw the still purporting that it wasn't) but really, Turner should have done better with that ball.

This is actually an advantage for the US, they will know the final score in the other game with 5-10 minutes left. They should make them restart the 2nd halves simultaneously like at the Euros

They are worse, that was like they got Wheeler and his two even more homer brothers to do the halftime show

The referee is fortunate that Tim Ream saved the would-be goal on the quick kick while the ref was handing out a yellow card, that would have been a total gong show. US played hard that half, I guess we will see what they can sustain in the 2nd half.

The problem with this approach is missing the crowd noise. I remember decades ago, the French CBC commentators were on strike (during the NHL playoffs) so they just showed the game with the full crowd noise, rinkside mics, etc and no commentary - best thing ever, I don't understand why in this digital era, we can't have that as an option - I would pay extra to get 'less'!

Honestly, it is remarkable how similar France-Belgium was to France-Canada. Just shows how much France dictated the type of game to both Canada and Belgium. xg was 1.2 France, 0.2 Canada xg was 1.2 France, 0.2 Belgium All of the other stats (shots, possession, corners, etc.) are similar as well, and beyond just stats, the two games were similar in how they played out, France got a lucky bounce vs. Belgium and they didn't vs. Canada, that was really the only substantive difference. Maybe Belgium generated a little more offence than Canada (despite the xg being similar), but not by much.

Should be an interesting match between France and Belgium, two top teams where you are not entirely sure what you will get from them on any given day. Still, I would be surprised if Belgium find a way through