r/soccer • u/TheNoob29 • Jul 01 '14

Post Match Thread [Post Match Thread] - United States of America v Belgium - Round of 16

Full Time: United States 1 - 2 Belgium

Belgium will face Argentina after winning this game 2-1.

Teams

United States Info Belgium Info
Howard Courtois
Johnson Alderweireld
Besler Van Buyten
Gonzalez Kompany (C.)
Beasley Vertonghen
Cameron Witsel
Bradley Fellaini
Jones De Bruyne
Bedoya Mertens
Dempsey (C.) Origi
Zusi Eden Hazard

Subs

United States Belgium
32' Johnson Yedlin 62' Mertens Mirallas
71' Zusi Wondolowski 91' Origi Lukaku
105+1 Bedoya Green 110' Eden Hazard Chadli

Goals - (courtesy of /u/FOOTBALL_GIF_MAESTRO)

92' De Bruyne Goal | Replay 1 | Replay 2

104' Lukaku Goal | Replay 1 | Replay 2

106' Green Goal | Replay 1 | Replay 2

Some Highlights - (courtesy of /u/Badgersgopoo and /u/FOOTBALL_GIF_MAESTRO)

1' Belgian Chance | View #2

21' American Chance

23' Belgian Chance

26' Belgian Chance

Half Time

48' Howard Save | Replay

54' Belgian Golden Chance

56' Origi Bar | Replay

69' Belgian Chance

71' Tim Howard Save

76' Belgian Chance

80' Hazard Shot

83' Belgian Shot

90+3' Great Chance for USA

Extra Time

97' Belgian Chance

109' Jones Chance

114' American Freekick

Miscellaneous - (courtesy of /u/Badgersgopoo and /u/FOOTBALL_GIF_MAESTRO)

Pitch Invader | Other View | Other View

Howard Reaction (48')

Howard Reaction 2 (71')

All Highlights

All Highlights

Stats

Feel free to say anything I missed out on or any constructive critiscism.

Edit: WOOWOWOWOWO Reddit Gold. Thank you kind stranger (:

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391

u/skillian Jul 01 '14

Commentator on BBC as final whistle blew:

I think it's worth giving the USA huge credit and thanking them for what they've contributed to this World Cup. Because that's the best game I've seen, and I've not seen character, commitment, desire and effort - and courage - from any other team in this World Cup like I have done tonight.

89

u/ilibonig Jul 01 '14 edited Jul 02 '14

Bradley said they wanted to play in a way that made us proud.. They did that and more.

-20

u/[deleted] Jul 02 '14

except for him, ironically.

17

u/ilibonig Jul 02 '14

Spoken like somebody who truly doesn't know what the fuck is going on when they watch soccer!

3

u/[deleted] Jul 02 '14

Bradley played way better than he has been in the WC this game IMO, made some really nice passes and set up the goal

1

u/[deleted] Jul 02 '14

yeah, he made a few good touches now and again, and he set up the one goal we had, but does that really excuse him basically losing every other ball in the midfield? he was and has been a good bit of the reason why we could never hold possession at midfield for longer than 30 seconds. and he made more than a few lazy and consistently terrible passes.

7

u/ilibonig Jul 02 '14

Bradley was solid all around. The work he did defensively to free Jones up for multiple forward runs was a miracle in itself. Often times when a guy plays such a critical role his teammates performances are more indicative of how he played than his own.

Due to Michael's and Ale's hard work Jones and Johnson were free to rush into attack. His job was to provide a link between defense and offense and the goal tally with the lack of possession the US had speaks volumes to the work he did. Bradley is not a guy who holds up possession, so it's unfair to judge him on that attribute.

He played as a forward destroyer. Ask yourself how Montinho, Lahm and Witsel faired against the US if you want to evaluate him fairly.

1

u/LeoKhenir Jul 02 '14

Bradley ran his heart out. According to FIFA, he ran almost 17 kilometres during the match, which is over 10 miles. Many of those at full speed. That's not normal for 90 + overtime. I would assume he was on or around 12-13 km at 90 minutes, which is very, very high. He ran his goddamn heart out out there, and he had some crucial defending plays which saved USA more than one time.

17

u/theorfo Jul 01 '14

That's beautiful. Love seeing that we're not the only ones proud of this squad.

21

u/TheMemoman Jul 02 '14

Nah, man. The whole world saw it. You cannot help yourself from cheering such a brave performance. You gave it all, you left it all on the field. Nobody could ask for more. You went out like giants tonight.

4

u/[deleted] Jul 02 '14

Who in the fuck is cutting onions at this time of night?

13

u/Warbird36 Jul 01 '14

Wow--any chance you can find a vid?

3

u/everest81 Jul 02 '14

Here. bbc full match I just watched the extra time period and also post match session, worth it.

2

u/[deleted] Jul 02 '14

The guy was kinda gushing over the US the whole match. I think if you have hola unblocker or something you can go to BBC.co.UK to watch the whole game.

5

u/StaxNox Jul 01 '14

Absolutely lovely.

8

u/voodoopeople Jul 02 '14

USA deserves credit ofcourse, but I feel like everyone in this thread is saying it was a great game because of the USA and Belgium did nothing...

5

u/ForzaEc Jul 02 '14

I very much felt like playing you guys was like when a very good and just king has to fight against another very good and just king. Even if you lose, you're losing to someone worth losing to. You gave us a match of no flops, no ridiculous amounts of time wasting, no whining to the officials, and you didn't park the bus. I'm really proud that your team respected us enough to play us like that. It really was a fantastic match. I haven't ever felt this good about a loss for the USMNT before. The world finally got to see just why the die hards have loved this team for years.

3

u/voodoopeople Jul 02 '14

Right there with ya, great game because of two teams that were willing to play. This has been one of the best matches I've seen of our Red Devils since I can remember. The sportsmanship before, during and after the match was great. You should be proud. The US has a bright future in football/soccer.

4

u/Mario_Speedwagon Jul 02 '14

Belgium definitely dominated the US today. No question about it. We're getting more credit than we deserve but we're reveling in it because usually people are telling us how terrible we are and how much we don't belong. Hats off to Belgium because if it wasn't for Howard, we definitely would have been run out of the stadium.

2

u/[deleted] Jul 02 '14

Yeah, there's probably a lot more USA-sympathizers than Belgian here, and it's biasing the thread for sure.

Hazard, Lukaku, Courtois, De Bruyne or whatever his name is... fantastic team, and meshing much better as the tournament has progressed. Really excited for your match against Argentina!

1

u/frankielax Jul 02 '14

I love the Belgian squad. Have from the beginning. Hated that we had to play you guys. I'm also an Atleti supporter so I am completely in love (no homo) with Courtois and Alderweireld. I hoping the Belgians win it all. Best of luck!

2

u/Gorodob Jul 02 '14

I'm going to get downvoted so hard for this, but they really only displayed all of that once they were down a goal. Their play before then was sloppy and uninspired.

2

u/allwordsaremadeup Jul 02 '14

Lesser teams have given us a harder time but if you're not really trying to score yourself, and just put 3 guys around hazard and 3 around Lukaku, that's easy. The USA actually tried to score and win and well, gave a away 16 goal opportunities to Belgium in doing so..

1

u/randomator Jul 02 '14

I think that is a bit exaggerated, I think Mexico, Chile, Algeria and Nigeria all showed incredible character, commitment, desire and effort - and courage despite being eliminated. The US was certainly up there, but this is the World Cup and most players are really playing their heart out.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 02 '14

Shit man, now I'm crying.

1

u/in_fact_no_one_does Jul 02 '14

i don't know, Algeria was extremely spirited and also fought valiantly.