Quote:
Originally Posted by Kaioshin Sama
It would be funny if the USA has another tournament like the IIHF World Championship where they drop 3 straight games only to pound some non-competitive team in relegation. Actually do they even have relegation in the World Cup or do they just go straight home if they lose a group.
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I wouldn't be surprised if it's 2006 World Cup all over again for the US. In 2006 they got a draw against future world champion Italy, lost both it's other matches and ended up last in the group, exit tournament. The fixation on the England match could result in the same thing. Qualification to the next round is earned in the matches with Algeria and Slovenia, not England. Slovenia even managed to take out the Russians in a 2-leg play-off so should not be underestimated by the US team. Certainly not given their own vulnerable defense.
The US team has talented players in their primary squad but they lack experience in competitive international tournaments. The team as a whole has got some nice results against top tier nations in friendlies and B-tournaments in recent years, but how will they perform when the opposition puts on it's game face? That's the big question for now.