OT: Copa America
- Thread starter zookeeper2000
- Start date
I’m not ignorant enough to know that international soccer is an afterthought in this country…but it is embarrassing that they roll out turf before the matches and it clumps up, comes up at the seams and is very sub par for a tourney of this level. And I’m not even mentioning 1/2 full 90K stadiums.
I would think Jerry World is the gold standard stadium for this event and for the World Cup…but it was half full, had a bad surface, and was only 70 yards wide. What an embarrassment. But hey I guess they had 47K for a USA match. Ship all the games to MLS stadiums like Cincy. Better figure things out for 2026.
Funny. As I’ve said before I’m still a newbie. But I read about Argentina pissing and moaning about then field. I then caught the comment last night about the field only being 70 yard wide. If the powers that be want the world to think the USA is serious about futbol these are things that could easily (you’d think) be controlled are not. I also caught what they said about Dallas not being able to do 75 yards. Then don’t have it there FFS. I agree they’d be better off in Cincy or anywhere they can make a more professional representation. I still know little to nothing and I thought my god wtf are we doing.
Agree with most of what you said but I was thinking that might have been the most US fans to ever attend a USMNT game because when you think about it, when they get great crowds at football stadiums, its because the visting team had a shit-ton of fans.
I sure hope FIFA requires the 2026 stadiums to actually rip out the turf surface like a year in advance and lay down a real grass field for the non-dome or retractable stadiums. The final is being played at the Meadowlands. There is 0 reason that whoever owns that stadium cant install a real permanent grass surface for a few years and then go back to turf.
This Copa America is a really hard watch. Playing at the same time as the Euros was a dumb idea. They used to do it the year after the World Cup and then do WC qualifers after Copa. Now they start WC Qualifiers almost directly after the last World Cup and do Copa America in the middle, which is so stupid. As a fan, its hard to go from watching sold-out stadiums of passionate fanbases all in one color on one side and the other color singing and chanting all game to half-empty NFL stadiums where fans seem to make very little noise. The games seems so sterile. It doesn't "feel" big. It doesn't "feel" like Copa America. And the prices, my God. I fully planned to go to Argentina/Chile in Jersey tonight but the cheapest lower level seats were $426 face value. The game isnt even sold out, though its like 99% sold out. Plenty of tickets still remaining for USA/Panama. They completely price out the typical soccer family, who may not be huge USMNT fans. I paid $125 for USA/Paraguay in Philly 8 years ago. Similar tickets to USA/Panama are $160.
I never watch Copa. Just can’t get into South American Futbol. If the US wasn’t in it, I wouldn’t be watching. Good post though. I don’t disagree.
5PM on a Tuesday. Why? Who makes these decisions. It was near 100 degrees. A ref passed out. FIFA better be smarter about this in 2026 than CONMEBOL. The problem is that FIFA probably isnt going to allow many primetime games because its too late in Europe and they need TV ratings. I suspect it will be similar to Brazil 2014 times, which were something like noon, 3, and 6. But it was winter in Brazil and only a few northern cities had warm temps. Noon, 3, and 6 in Miami or even New Jersey could be 100 degrees.
I'd say only the indoor games or Toronto and Foxborough can start in between noon and 7PM local. Mexico, South Florida, KC, Santa Clara, etc have to either start at 10AM or earlier or 7PM or later in my opinion.
As for Canada/Peru, this is why Copa is so bad. There are too many trash games that look like friendlies on TV. Dont get me wrong, there's some bad Euro games also but the crowds are LIVE. Friggin Albania brought their whole country. They honestly outnumbered Italy fans maybe 100 to 1. When you turn on a game between 2 bad Euro teams, the place is packed, the crowd shots show fans living and dying with every moment. Even the Mexican fans are fed up with their team and there's no passion there.
This is just the Messi Invitational + Colombia and Brazil. For whatever reason, Colombia has one of the world's best fanbases. Never quite understood that.
You just might see Uruguay win the invitational. Ecuador is interesting too even though they don’t appear ready to compete. They are developing young world class talent. Kendry Paez is a young kid whose move to Chelsea became official this week and there are plenty of Messi comparisons. He just turned 17 last month and already has a bunch of caps with the national team. Starting as they’re #10. As part of the deal, his home club insisted in the add on that if he wins the Balon D’or, they’ll get additional millions. You have him, the two young kids at Brazil (one headed to Madrid and the other to Chelsea) and the young kid at Barcelona as the future of the game.
Last night just felt like I was watching a boys WPIAL game. Don’t get me wrong WPIAL games can be fun because they are back and forth, direct, fast played and helter skelter. But this was like turnover after turnover and let’s see if I can carry the ball on a 40 yard run out of the back and dribble through 4 people. I was just wondering what the managers were even doing and how they were looking to play. Once Canada went a man up, it became clear they wanted to get that Shackleburg dude on the ball and use his pace. But it’s not complicated when you’re up a man.
But all in all, that game and the two 3pm euro games were trash. In those games, it watch match day 3 and everything on the line, and the games were duds.
I knew Ecuador was young but they werent impressive in their opener, but they played a man down for most. Also didnt know about the 17 year old.
Yes, Uruguay may win it but I meant the whole thing is just Argentina, Colombia, and Brazil fans plus the US and Mexico fans. I would suspect that Copa America is making a lot more in the US than if it was in Ecuador, who opted not to host. The stadiums are too small and they cant get this kind of money. 80K for Argentina last night. Average ticket price had to be north of $500. That's $40 million for CONMEBOL for one game.
As for the 3PM games, its one of the drawbacks of the 3 teams possibly advancing. England just needed a draw to win the group. Slovenia just needed a draw to advance. Both would be thrilled with a draw and that's how they played. It felt contrived.
They are absolutely going to be playing games in the afternoon in the US. Because those games would be in good time spots of Europe, and the television people over there paying millions are going to demand it.
What will be interesting to see will be if they shuffle the schedule around in order to get better television slots in the home markets. Meaning that, for instance, the US is playing Paraguay then that match will start at 8 or 9 eastern, which would work out well for both home markets. Then when Germany is playing South Africa the game will start in the afternoon, so it can be on at the best times in those two countries.
In the past the game times were determined ahead of time, for example the game between the first team in group A playing the third team from group A will start at 6:00, no matter which teams get drawn into those spots. I think they did away with a lot of that at Qatar, but surely they have to do that in 2026.
Of course the Europeans will then all bitch that their games are played in the heat of the day, but we all know that FIFA doesn't give a crap about anything like that (see also, Qatar, Saudi Arabia).
If they play them in the afternoon, then those have to be the Toronto, Foxborough or dome games. I dont want to watch 2 teams play at 3 in the afternoon when its 101 degrees either on TV or in person.
BTW, watching Ecuador/Jamaica now. Friends and family only. Should have played it at Bishop Gorman instead of Allegiant. Copa is a joke. Just watched the whole nations of Turkey and Georgia going crazy now I have to watch a MAC-level crowd. Really really hard to watch this with the Euros going on. Whoever had the idea to switch Copa to the Euro year are complete idiots.
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MetLife better make changes before the WC Final. The lot I had to go to was across the highway from the stadium, which is accessed through a covered walkway, followed by covered stairs. Way too many people all trying to get through and not enough space. Glad the two teams' fans got along because fights in that tight space would have been disastrous.
Did you pay any attention to the last World Cup?
They don't care, and I mean not even a little bit, if it is going to possibly be hot when the game is played. If there are two European teams, or a European team (especially one of the big boys) and an African team playing, their game isn't starting at 8:00 or 9:00 eastern, meaning say 1 AM local time for the teams. It's just not going to happen. There is too much money to be made to do something like that. And there is nothing at all that FIFA likes more than money.
The European and African teams can play in Toronto, Foxborough or indoors then.
As far as Qatar, the US and Mexico in the summer will be hotter than Qatar in late November. Also, due to the time zone difference and the sun going down early in the late fall, very few day games were played. In 2026, they are probably going to be having teams playing in 103 degree weather at a 3PM game in Miami or Kansas City.
I don’t have my own children. Most of my trips to theme parks were on dates. But, I have gotten to go on two vacations to Disney with children: once with my niece and nephew, who were 9 and 7 at the time, and once with someone I was dating and her 10 year old daughter.
I can’t explain why, but both of those trips were magical. The smiles on the faces, the light in the eyes of those children are things you can’t duplicate anywhere else. I mean they loved the sites in Washington, DC, but nothing came close to the sheer joy at Disney.
Don’t try to understand it. Just do it and enjoy it.
Went with our daughter for the first time earlier this year. My wife and I were skeptical. It was magical. Unparalleled.
I went once as a kid and told my wife we are going one time when they are the right age. Went that one time, it became like their favorite thing so now pretty much all my money goes to Disney. We go all the time.
You know as much about weather as most other topics. The average high temperature in Mexico City in July is 75 degrees. Right now, today, at 4:38 in the afternoon, the temperature in Mexico City is 65 degrees. Now it appears to be raining right now, so maybe that's a bit unfair. So according to the weather channel, over the next 14 days the highest predicted temperature for Mexico City is 77 degrees. Mexico City weather is nothing at all like Qatar.
They are also playing in Guadalajara in Mexico. The average high temperature in Guadalajara in July is 82 degrees. Not exactly Qatar-like either. It's 86 degrees there right now, and if you look at their 14 day forecast, that is as warm as it is going to get over the next two weeks. The place in Mexico that they are playing that will be hot is Monterrey. The average high temperature there in July is 96. Which still isn't as bad as what it was in Qatar, but that's clearly the place with the highest average temperatures that they are going to be playing.
Yeah Mexico City I believe is higher than Denver elevation wise. In fact, it is almost a half mile higher than Denver.
Really Monterrey wouldn't be any different than Dallas. At least not by much.
Denver is actually probably a good comparison. It can get hot in both places, no doubt about it, but it's not that way normally.
Also, the average high temperature is actually higher in May in Mexico City than it is in July. It's almost as if there is more to the climate of a place than just how close to the equator it is.
I agree that Ream was offsides there, but that surely did look like a hand ball by Panama before the offsides.
Qatar was in late Nov/Dec. Most at night. Not as hot as USA/Mexico summer afternoons. You disagree with that?
I just told you, it is 65 degrees in Mexico City this afternoon. The temperature in the whole country of Qatar during the whole of the world Cup was never as low as 65 degrees. Or even close to it.
You seem to have absolutely no idea what the weather in Mexico is like, beyond "well it's further south than here so it must be a lot hotter". That isn't the way that it actually works.
I hope so, but they've got their cover now.
"It wasn't Burp's fault that Tim Weah took a red card, so we have decided to continue on with him as our coach."
Sadly this will very likely be the excuse used to keep him.
This guy is such a chooch and zero feel for the game. He is just a bit below Weah as reasons for this loss. Any manager worth their salt gets at a minimum a draw.
There's no cover. You are up 1-0 at home. Just defend for 70 minutes and dont give up 2 goals. 1 is fine. A draw is ok. Even with 10 guys, you cant give up 2 goals in 70 minutes to Panama. If Berhalter wants to keep his job, beat Uruguay. That's it. They are good but this is a team that is supposed to challenge for a semifinal bid in 2026. We were almost there in 2002. Senegal has been there. Uruguay. Croatia. Morocco. USA at home - the goal is the semis. If you cant beat Uruguay then bye.
Actually there is a really good chance that a draw wouldn't have ended up very good either. Because if the US loses to Uruguay then you have to count on a Bolivia team that has nothing at all to play for to keep the game against Panama close.
For example, a one goal loss to Uruguay would have meant that a three goal Panama win over Bolivia and you are going home anyway.
Yea but had we drew, we probably had like an 80% chance to go through. Its a lot better chance. Now its probably like 30%.
The US are in a weird spot where they can advance with a win, draw, or loss or they can be eliminated with a win, loss, or draw depending on what Panama do.
Scenarios:
Beat Uruguay
- advance if Panama loses or draws
- advance if Panama wins by 1 or 2. If Panama wins by 3, it comes down to total goals so if Panama wins 3-0 and USA win 2-1 or 1-0, Panama go through
Draw Uruguay
- advance with Panama loss or draw
- eliminated with Panama win
Lose to Uruguay
- advance with Panama loss unless Panama loses by 1 and we lose by 3
- eliminated with Panama win or draw
Scenarios:
Beat Uruguay
- advance if Panama loses or draws
- advance if Panama wins by 1 or 2. If Panama wins by 3, it comes down to total goals so if Panama wins 3-0 and USA win 2-1 or 1-0, Panama go through
Draw Uruguay
- advance with Panama loss or draw
- eliminated with Panama win
Lose to Uruguay
- advance with Panama loss unless Panama loses by 1 and we lose by 3
- eliminated with Panama win or draw
I swear at some of these non-marquee games, there arent even 10 casual fans at these games meaning not fans of either team but just some locals who want to see a Copa game. The attendance at some of these games is embarrassing. They have the Pitt Athletics pricing strategy. Gouge the true fans because they'll pay anything but to protect what those fans paid, prices are too high for casual fans
Canada about to go through with a new head coach and playing in arguably a more difficult group.
Meanwhile in the US….
Meanwhile in the US….
Berhalter is 100% gone if he doesn't go through. 100%. You just cant keep a coach who couldn't get out of a weaker group then he will have in 2026. And his results up until that point were weak at the World Cup and in qualifying. He can beat a terrible Mexico team though so there's that.
I don't understand how people simultaneously argue "US needs a name/accomplished coach" and "Marsch should be the US coach".
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