By Clemente Lisi – NEW YORK, NY (Jan 9, 2023) US Soccer Players – This could be the year where the 4-2-3-1 begins to fall out of favor. It’s a tactical formation that has endured since 2012 when it was popularized at the European Championship that summer, reliable because it gives teams balance across the field. The recent World Cup highlighted a few tactical formations that could move into the . . .
US National Teams had a good 2022
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Dec 30, 2022) US Soccer Players - Setbacks and breakthroughs in both familiar settings and faraway lands. Tribulation, tragedy, and triumph on the field and off it. Steady, hard-earned growth, exhilarating new frontiers, and sobering reminders of well-established challenges. The US National Teams lived a spectrum of experiences and emotions in 2022. As is so . . .
2022 World Cup: Goalkeeping, upsets, MLS players, and USMNT TV ratings
By Clemente Lisi – LUSAIL, QATAR (Dec 19, 2022) US Soccer Players – With the 2022 World Cup over, now comes the time for assessments. It's natural to take a look back after such a massive event. In the end, what happened on the field proved to be spectacular beyond anyone's imagination. Let's start with the final. Never has a game delivered on every story line and talking point. It's rare to live . . .
Working through a marquee World Cup final
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Dec 15, 2022) US Soccer Players - The 2022 World Cup will conclude with an appealing final on Sunday (10am ET - FOX), a match-up that could turn out to be an instant classic. Argentina has sometimes resembled a team of destiny in Qatar. Lionel Messi’s fifth, and by his own account final, World Cup has given the Albiceleste a clear sense of purpose as he . . .
The importance of UEFA Champions League players in the World Cup semifinals
By Clemente Lisi – DOHA, QATAR (Dec 12, 2022) US Soccer Players – Four years ago, the World Cup semifinalists were all from Europe: France, Croatia, Belgium, and England. They finished in that order. It confirmed the trend that started in 2006 when Italy won it all. The last four World Cup winners all hailed from Europe: Spain in 2010, Germany in 2014, and France in 2018 extended the streak. In . . .
What to watch for as World Cup 2022 approaches its conclusion
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Dec 8, 2022) US Soccer Players - Eight more matches. That's all that remains of the 2022 World Cup. A journey that began in June of 2019, with 206 FIFA member nations vying to take part in the tournament has reached the quarterfinal stage. Eight contenders remain, now stand three victories away from the summit of their sport. Four of them have hoisted the trophy . . .
Concacaf, AFC, and CAF over 20 years of World Cup quarterfinals
Thursday's soccer news starts with the situations for Concacaf, AFC, and CAF with the 2022 World Cup a day away from the quarterfinals. Concacaf is one of the two confederations that didn't advance a team to the quarterfinals. With Oceania not qualifying a team, the Asian Football Confederation saw three of its six World Cup teams, Australia, Japan, and Korea, exit in the round of 16. They were . . .
What we’re learning tactically from the 2022 World Cup
By Clemente Lisi – NEW YORK, NY (Dec 5, 2022) US Soccer Players – A World Cup always brings to the forefront trends in the game. It is the only time the planet’s best teams and players converge on one stage to compete for a championship. More than halfway through the 2022 World Cup, we have a decent sample size of where the game is tactically. As is typically the case, the group stage brought . . .
Netherlands 3 – USMNT 1, World Cup round of 16
The United States lost 3-1 to the Netherlands in the World Cup round of 16 on Saturday at Khalifa International Stadium. Memphis Depay put the Dutch up in the 10th minute with Daley Blind doubling the lead in first-half stoppage time. Haji Wright pulled a goal back for the USMNT in the 76th minute, but Denzel Dumfries scored the third Netherlands goal in the 81st. THERE IT IS! THE @USMNT TAKES . . .
Previewing the Netherlands after an interesting group A
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Dec 2, 2022) US Soccer Players - When FIFA held the draw for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar back in April, American soccer fans got a glimpse of a possible future. FIFA's structure for the tournament not only put the USMNT into group B with England, Wales, and Iran, it revealed likely match-ups in the round of 16 if the Americans should advance to the knockout . . .
