English! What if US wins June 12?

[RuleBritannia]

Shit CES I hope the US footballers are nicer people than the UK ones because many of them are scum

LOL, like who?

[Coito ergo sum]

Shit CES I hope the US footballers are nicer people than the UK ones because many of them are scum

I don't know. I expect they're about the same. People is people.

[quisquose]

Don't need pads to play sport CES I played Rugby ......you big girls blouse .

Once again, they're different sports. And, if you played American football without pads you'd be near killed. I've played rugby too. There is no comparison.

One, American football players are hitting their tackling targets at about twice the force of a rugby tackle. There are some reasons for this. American football is more of a set-play sport, and rugby is more fluid and players must keep going. So, American football players need not have the same long-distance running endurance fitness that rugby players have. This allows them to be much bigger and stronger. They also can "tee up" players and put all their force and energy into smashing the shit out of their target.

Two, the purposes are different. In American football it doesn't matter how you take the ball carrier down -- once he is down the play stops and everyone pauses for a breather. In rugby you must continue to play -- don't control the runner once he is down and he just gets up and keeps going. The tackler make sure the runner stays down, and then must be ready to get to his feet and poach the ball or ruck. So you can't commit 100% to the hit -- that is just handing points to the opposition. In American football, you CAN commit 100% to the hit, and that's part of the whole point.

I guess that AF evolved from rugby, and I understand that in AF the ball can be passed back as many times as you want but forward only once. Is this right? If it is, then have you known an AF strategy where they have passed the ball backwards, or is it simply that it would be suicidal?

I tried to ask this question to a mad AF fan in a bar in Monterey recently, and he just looked at me as if I must be nuts.

[RuleBritannia]

American Football, it's Rugby, for pussies...

[RuleBritannia]

Almost time to hit the pub, it's good to get a couple, six, hours of drinking in before kick-off.

[klr]

Almost time to hit the pub, it's good to get a couple, six, hours of drinking in before kick-off.

I thought only the Irish and the Scottish did that.

[RuleBritannia]

Almost time to hit the pub, it's good to get a couple, six, hours of drinking in before kick-off.

I thought only the Irish and the Scottish did that.

I am half Scottish, so maybe that explains it.

[Coito ergo sum]

American Football, it's Rugby, for pussies...

I've played both. Trust me. Rugby ain't that bad-ass.

[Coito ergo sum]

Almost time to hit the pub, it's good to get a couple, six, hours of drinking in before kick-off.

I am with you there. Finishing up some work, and then off for some lunch and the long-awaited - for me - US v England.

May be the better team of the day win. May the game be good, and close. May it be decided by terrific play, and not an error, mis-call by a ref, and may there be no flippin' red cards putting either \team a man down.

Go, United States! "Just win, baby!"

[Coito ergo sum]

England and the U.S. have at least one thing in common heading into the World Cup -- fans in both countries hold heightened expectations.

England, seeking to end an agonizing 44-year drought, raised its level under hardened Italian boss Fabio Capello. In late May, all-world forward Lionel Messi included the Three Lions in his trio of favorites.

The U.S., meanwhile, stunned European champ Spain in last year's Confederations Cup, before bravely succumbing to Brazil. Getting out of Group C is a minimum.

Much, then, is at stake when the two nations go head-to-head to begin their South African odyssey June 12. Besides the obvious (as in, scoring more goals than the other), here's some of what each team needs to do to win.

U.S.
1. Hope the defense excels
England figures to go forward in waves, with Wayne Rooney and Peter Crouch leading the charge up front. So, the central defenders have to be up to the task.

Is that realistic without world-class Oguchi Onyewu? He's logged in some time during the pre-tournament friendlies, but his fitness is still suspect.

Jay DeMerit didn't finish the season fit with Watford, and he alternated between central and fullback at Vicarage Road. DeMerit struggled heavily against Australia in the 3-1 friendly win last week, bailed out by Marcus Hahnemann. Clarence Goodson excelled alongside DeMerit against the Socceroos, although England is no Australia.

And, of course, Tim Howard has to be focused. He'll be busy and butting heads with Crouch on free kicks and corners more than once.

2. Neutralize Lennon
Aaron Lennon is Theo Walcott, though much more developed. A healthy Lennon terrorized defenses this season and started for England on the right side of midfield. He's back from injury and will be bombing down the wing, ensuring a nervy afternoon for the U.S. left back, be it Bocanegra, Jonathan Spector or much-maligned Jonathan Bornstein.

When Tottenham beat West Ham 2-1 at Upton Park in August, Spector's slip allowed Lennon to net the winner. Whoever starts, they'll need plenty of help from the left-sided midfielder.

3. Get a big performance from Altidore
A goal or two from Jozy Altidore -- assuming he overcomes his ankle injury -- is a bonus. After all, he had a difficult time finding the net (and keeping time) at his club, the now-relegated Hull. His job, rather, is to wreak havoc in the England box by bullying the center backs.

On the surface, that seems like a tall order. But consider this: England is without captain Rio Ferdinand, and his replacement, Ledley King, looked shaky defensively against Mexico in a pre-tournament tuneup. John Terry remained his inspirational self at Chelsea, but his leadership abilities probably outweighed his performance on the pitch. Terry, never the most graceful or fastest defender, has lost a step.

Altidore will look to win the first ball in the air and hope teammates Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan, among others, pick up the scraps. The U.S. should target Glen Johnson. Brilliant offensively, the right back is a liability on defense.

England
1. Don't get complacent
The bookies usually list England as the 4/9 favorite, there or thereabouts. Will a few players take their foot off the gas, expecting to cruise against a nation that historically hasn't done much at the Cup?

Probably not.

First, Capello won't allow it. Second, the U.S.'s performance in South Africa last summer raised eyebrows, upping the respect level. Third, England's squad knows the danger posed by Donovan and Dempsey, since they tangled with the duo in the Premier League last season.

2. Beware of the counter
The first group games can be cagey as neither team wants to lose, which is the worst case scenario. However, in this game England is certainly gunning for all three points. Anything less will be considered a failure back home.

While Rooney, Crouch, Frank Lampard, Lennon and Steven Gerrard press, England can't over commit. Doing so would leave the door open for Donovan and team to hit them on the break, a tactic that proved so effective for the U.S. at the Confederations Cup.

That's where England's holding midfielder, Gareth Barry or other, comes in.

If the U.S. scores the first goal, look out. There could be more.

If England scores the first goal, it spells big trouble for the U.S.

3. Avoid the howler
David James is expected to get the nod ahead of Joe Hart and Robert Green as England's No. 1 goalkeeper. Despite the fact that he's made fewer blunders as he's gotten older, "Calamity James" can surface at any minute. James is far more likely than Howard to let a long-range effort go through his legs, flap at a cross or produce a poor clearance. Should James keep a clean sheet, England's chances get even better.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-cup/ ... 901&ver=us

[Coito ergo sum]

For England, the U.S. seems to be sort of a generic opponent, like the teams that lose to the Harlem Globetrotters. During coach Fabio Capello's nine-minute prematch news conference, there was not a single reference to the Americans. While England is ranked eighth in the world and the U.S. 14th, it might as well be first and 207th.

Perhaps my initial feeling that the "pressure was all on England" is not correct.

The US is now ranked about 14th in the World. That's not really a slouch out of 202 some-odd countries on the globe. We're in the top 10 percentile, right? By any measure, that's good.

But, the US soccer team is not respected by the big dogs, England, France, Germany, Brazil, Italy, Argentina, Holland, and a few others, and hardly respected by anyone else. The reason must be that we haven't won very much of consequence in World Cup competition.

As the US has slowly clawed its way from irrelevance to now being at least a team that makes the first round of the World Cup every time, we need victory in order to be taken seriously. Clearly the US needs to advance to the next round, but we also need to defeat a superior foe. I think, perhaps, the pressure is all on the US in the sense of - if they make the knockout round without beating England, the world has an excuse to look at the US's matchups and say "yeah, you just made the next round because of weak competition. You lost to who you were supposed to lose to, and beat who you were supposed to beat. Ho Hum." If they want anyone's eyebrows to raise, the must beat England. This game is partly about respect. Without a win against England, even advancing to the knockout round will not get the US any respect.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_g80KiEf ... r_embedded[/youtube]

[Clinton Huxley]

I will not take the USA seriously until they beat England at Shove Ha'penny.......