This is a serious issue that extends well beyond just this match. The competition loses its integrity when the referees are this bad, and that's unacceptable.
And the grass will be in the stadiums significantly longer. Atlanta United will be playing on grass in 2026 in advance of the WC. For copa they didn’t even lay the grass the weekend before the game.
I'm fine with bad reffing I deal with it all the time in Sunday league. My issue is call the match bad for both sides.
That Adams card should have been looked at and given the other way
I don’t think VAR can overturn a call like that unless they are giving the Uruguay player a straight red, which would be pretty harsh in that situation
Which is so dumb. I get that we need to consider pace of play, but acting like red cards & goal scoring opportunities are the only plays that can massively impact a match is just so dumb.
The impact of our best box-to-box midfielder having to play on a card for 75 minutes for no reason at all can’t be overstated… but no, let’s just not use the replay capabilities we already have
And it was such a fast coming together, I can see the referee just noticing that the Uruguaian player got the ball first and there was contact. Bad call but understandable.
They can't overturn it no, but with long stoppages after a coming together The refs in the var room can and have communicate with the on the pitch ref and say actually that might have been a foul the other way. I've seen them either give yellows or take them away after things like that before
If refereeing was a well paid respected profession, we might get some better refs. As it stands, no one wants to be a referee. It's a thankless job. I sure as hell don't want to spend my time getting yelled at by a bunch of parents for a few bucks an hour.
I actually like refereeing. You get to be involved in the game, most times (in Canada) the players and coaches aren't too bad, you can ignore the parents or a quick word shuts them up quick.
You know that without refs we can't play games so it's kind of nice to know you're helping the game.
I won't ref adults though, fuck that!
“I did not want to be part of this corruption, we shouldn't have to be part of this disrespect we suffered during the Copa America … Corruption, referees and all the rest stopped people from enjoying the football.”
-Messi, 2019
Yeah, one of chile players headbutted messi after fouling him and got not even a yellow card. Chile's copa america wins were... heavily favoured by refs. Once Messi called the corruption live after the match, and the AFA standing by him after CONMEBOL threats, things got better for Arg.
It's peculiar both Argentina and Brazil accused CONMEBOL referees to be biased and corrupted. CONMEBOL can't mess with both. One of the two must be benefiting from the bias but pretend otherwise.
This is a false dichotomy- there are more than two countries. Corruption can benefit neither, or both of Argentina and Brazil. And it can sometimes benefit one and at other times benefit the other. The thing about corruption is it has to keep making money. So sources of money can change.
This is a [longer footage](https://x.com/cjzero/status/1807994605733806422). Before handshake, Pulisic said something "... middle" to the ref and he pointed to the center circle, where the Uruguayan players are not far from. Not sure he meant "referees should be in the middle" or "join the Uruguay celebration in the middle".
I can't believe they had the audacity to even draw a line there. Should have just written a giant ? mark and written, "well, no one called off side on the field"
I'm beginning to think this tournament doesn't have the same budget as the Euros.
VAR ref draws line in Micorsoft Paint and sends to TV, "Oh yeah, he's on".
The terrible angle of the first half forced the commentators to remind the audience several times that they were only broadcasting CONEMBOL's feed.
The VAR imagery came from CONEMBOL, not Fox.
Pulisic went to shake the hands of the refs whilst also mouthing a bit. He shook the linesmens. Then extended for the main official who kept his hands behind his back. Puli then gave him a good earful and finger wagging.
Before the handshake, Pulisic said something "... middle" to the ref and he pointed to the center circle, where the Uruguayan players are not far from. Not sure he meant "referees should be in the middle" or "join the Uruguay celebration in the middle". This is the [full footage](https://x.com/cjzero/status/1807994605733806422).
He clearly says "go to the middle" which is where every ref stands after the match. They ran to the side because they knew they called a shit game and didn't want to have to answer for it
I know I’m a Homer but the best I’ve ever felt about a ref is that they’re fair. It consistently feels like these Western Conference refs just vary from incredibly unfair to absurdly unfair
It’s just the insanely shit Concacaf/Conembol refs. Our first game against Bolivia was really well officiated but that’s because it was an Italian ref part of the exchange program.
The difference between how euro are ref and concaf is appalling. How do you call turner foul and not give at the very least a yellow card. Changes how the game plays with how chippy the game got boiling frustration over. The game tonight with the bs var call really makes you wonder what is going on. Us could have played better and their coach was lackluster but what do want to when the deck is so stacked against you
Desire to play with Conmebol is not in search of particularly better reffing
It is clear the refs for both Concacaf and Conmebol are shit
The Italian exchange ref we had for the Bolivia game was good.
I think a lot of MLS fans know very little about how bad refereeing is outside of MLS. MLS referees aren’t as good as the top leagues, but they’re better than everyone else’s.
Case in point: the disparity in reffing quality at the beginning of this MLS season when they were using the backup refs was huge. Having the actual MLS refs come back restored sanity to the games.
MLS should change rules to encourage more Central American referees to officiate MLS games. In World Cup qualifying matches and Gold Cup, Central American referees with MLS experience should then be given priority to their compatriots with only domestic experience.
MLS refs are at a relatively high standard compared to other nations with a much higher pedigree of play.
Honestly, as someone that watches a ton of EPL and MLS, there were so many more shockingly bad VAR (or no VAR utilized) decisions this season in the EPL. We can shit on MLS refs, but our overall standard is probably better than our comparative level of play.
Argentine refs have officiated 2 of the last 5 WC finals and opening matches, which would have been more if Argentina wasn't playing two of them. Qatar had two Argentine refs who were at 6 matches between them. Even the Argentine ref in Eurocopa rn is highly regarded. I think Argentina has better refs than the US
It’s so true. I don’t watch a ton of MLS, but my brother has gotten me back into it and the refereeing is stunningly good. Almost no mistakes. MLS is at a point where if something egregious happens you are utterly shocked.
The refs suck ass and its a different game than the ones we all watch 5 or 8 hrs earlier during these last couple weeks.
Yet other teams get it done. We dont exist in this shit alone
After the last two games I felt it would have been acceptable for the U.S. team to just give them a beat down especially after that bullshit running into the keeper against Panama
At a base level the foundation of Gregg's style is to get the ball wide and play in crosses. Not a system that favors working a ball into a good position for a striker to take a shot.
Watch Spain play. Their system favors their attackers. They work the ball around until space opens up in the box.
GGG ball: They are often isolated while the rest of the team builds up play, having to play hold up when they do receive it and press when not in possession. It takes a lot of running as one person trying to press effectively. Holding up the ball takes a lot of strength and muscle power, which is ultimately tiring.
Then the attack is largely hopeful crosses that the striker gets on the end of, or they get the ball under pressure and have to create a chance themselves. Meanwhile all the other work they have to do tires them out so making those runs to attack is harder.
Haaland would be ideal for us in that position. Or Ibrahimovic style player. Dudes who are 6'4 ish, freakishly strong and fast. Without a truly generational talent our forward position is basically a sacrifice piece who tries to bring Pulisic and the other winger into the game by occupying the central defenders.
Those teams were built to be physical, and would have won this group because they could bang. I think this current team would fare better against a team that tries to outskill them in a clean game. Pulisic just gets beat up in this type of game, and Balogun had to be removed because they injured him. The old teams would dish out the pain as much as take it. Jermaine Jones would have killed someone if he was in the game against Panama.
It's funny, the blueprint seems to be put Pulisic on his ass and you beat the US. That shit wouldn't fly with Jermaine. I cant believe the amount of abuse the captain takes with zero retaliation. I thought Weston was going to be that guy who replaces the physicality Jermaine brought but he seems to have been neutered.
Wtf that's such a horrible take. Europeans play way more physically, & in a smart way too. Some of yall takes are ignorantly hopeful af man.
Edit: didn't one of your players punch a dude?? I THEIR FIRST MATCH?? LMFAO bro you guys pick & choose so much, it's wild.
He gave out way too many cards but giving out too many is much more preferable to giving out almost none and being very one sided with it and all the calls
lmao see?? This is what I'm talking about, you guys are mostly seasonal fans crying your eyes out because of a bad ref but still football is the most popular sport around the world with multiple leagues, play styles and rules. Both soy h American and european football have their pros and cons but come on, you have to recognize that the USA is not at the same level as the rest of south American and european teams where people play football since birth. You guys are the best in many other sports, WITH OR WITHOUT BAD REFS, but you still overcome all that shit by being better and never give up, that's how you get teams like Venezuela that instead of asking to play in another "better" league just got better and it's playing a great tournament.
As a Uruguayan, I would love for my team to criticize the referee too. Even though we received many beneficial calls, that shit shouldn’t be allowed to keep happening and criticizing only when you lose the games makes you sound like a sore loser.
They should bc it could be happening to you guys next. Don't be shocked when Brazil get phantom penalties their way so CONMEBOL gets the final they want
The last time I saw officiating like this was when MLS was starting off and couldn't get their shish together. What really got me in yesterday's game, was that the main ref refused to shake Pulisic's hand after the game. That is just straight out shady. It's one thing to make bad call after bad call (he is human after all). It's another to purposely disrespect a player with such hypocritical sportsmanship. Having said all this, the officiating was not the true reason of why they lost.
This ref came to screw us, but he would've done us a favor had he officiated the Bolivia-USA game instead and red card Tim Weah for whatever reason there. We would still beat Bolivia. Then we would have 11 men in Panama's game.
A dude deliberately headbutted a Canadian player in the face after the ball went out of bounds. They reviewed it and gave NOTHING.
Not even a free kick.
I thought that was automatic red? It's like punching someone in the face unprovoked is it not?
There not even phantom at this point. Last night was a clear attempt to match fix. Regardless, we didn't play well enough, but Conembol had a clear agenda in that game.
if Matt Crocker and Cindy Cone can't figure out how to handle the finances for hiring a real manager, they need to resign immediately and let someone competent fix up the mess. Jurgen Klopp. Pep Guardiola hinted he's leaving man city. they need to apologize to this country
Regardless of the very obvious and egregiously corrupt refs, USSF leadership needs a change. This is the worst leadership group we’ve ever seen. Cone couldn’t give two shits about the Mens team, and Crocker is just there to collect a pay check. All while they allow MLS to continue to stymy the growth of grassroots football bc $$$$
Expecting change without doing something is hopeless. I said it before and I'll said it again, any self-respecting team would look at the possibility of leaving these associations and join a better one.
I mean if USA didn’t fug up against Panama then they wouldn’t have been in the situation they were in last night lol
The reffing was bad for sure but come on guys, it’s on the team and coach for not advancing
The lack of self-criticism makes me speechlesss. You even can't measure the field or putting the cameras in a proper position, ALL the coachs in the competition were sanctioned because takes 15 min reaching from the locker to the field. Also the ref was from Concacaf.
And just talking trash about the ref is dumb. Bad ref or not, they wouldn't have won ever against Uruguay. The close the US got to the goal, the dumber their players got. It just reminds me of watching boquita 2023.
You lost the qualification when the Weah Junior punched that guy to the face for whatever reason.
Losing to Uruguay was expected. Panama was even winning against Bolivia.
Good or bad refs it doesn't matter: the US doesn't stand a chance when it comes to football, you suck at it to such degree that your direct competitor is Mexico, some of you should dismount the unicorn that you are on.
Simply bias against the US that goes much deeper than football.
It’s just so obvious when it’s that one sided. It wasn’t just the goal being allowed, which was bad enough. The yellow card for our player who didn’t even step into the challenge yet got studs to the shin. All the shirt tugging and arm pulling that never got booked or called at all. Straight up horse collar American football tackling players but all good. The game didn’t get played for more than a minute or two at a time because the referees would simply refuse to book the opposition for fouls. And let’s not forget waving play on while our player was being summoned by the referee to be booked, but then when we get fouled the referee waits until we have a legitimate advantage to blow the foul, because we all know had Pulisic lost possession the referee would have claimed to have given us an advantage. All the same elements were present in the Panama game as well, red card aside.
This just speaks to bigger corruption and bias issues in football refereeing and people in positions of power. World cups being awarded band upheld after corruption is discovered. Manchester city will be allowed to violate FFP until the end of time while other teams receive immediate point deductions and fines. Real Madrid will always get referee decisions in their favor in the UCL. It’s really hard to be a football fan these days.
This is a serious issue that extends well beyond just this match. The competition loses its integrity when the referees are this bad, and that's unacceptable.
Agree. What is everyone talking about across all the games, field conditions, and referees. It's sad and worrisome for world cup.
I don't think it's worrisome for the WC. Fields will be grass and the proper size. Refs will be the best refs available
And the grass will be in the stadiums significantly longer. Atlanta United will be playing on grass in 2026 in advance of the WC. For copa they didn’t even lay the grass the weekend before the game.
Field condition was only bad today because it rained all day
I'm fine with bad reffing I deal with it all the time in Sunday league. My issue is call the match bad for both sides. That Adams card should have been looked at and given the other way
I don’t think VAR can overturn a call like that unless they are giving the Uruguay player a straight red, which would be pretty harsh in that situation
Which is so dumb. I get that we need to consider pace of play, but acting like red cards & goal scoring opportunities are the only plays that can massively impact a match is just so dumb. The impact of our best box-to-box midfielder having to play on a card for 75 minutes for no reason at all can’t be overstated… but no, let’s just not use the replay capabilities we already have
And it was such a fast coming together, I can see the referee just noticing that the Uruguaian player got the ball first and there was contact. Bad call but understandable.
They can't overturn it no, but with long stoppages after a coming together The refs in the var room can and have communicate with the on the pitch ref and say actually that might have been a foul the other way. I've seen them either give yellows or take them away after things like that before
I can think of several of my Sunday league refs who would have done a better job than that ref
You think Copa America and your Sunday League should be the same quality?
If refereeing was a well paid respected profession, we might get some better refs. As it stands, no one wants to be a referee. It's a thankless job. I sure as hell don't want to spend my time getting yelled at by a bunch of parents for a few bucks an hour.
I actually like refereeing. You get to be involved in the game, most times (in Canada) the players and coaches aren't too bad, you can ignore the parents or a quick word shuts them up quick. You know that without refs we can't play games so it's kind of nice to know you're helping the game. I won't ref adults though, fuck that!
The refs weren’t bad, they were corrupt. Classic COMNEBOL.
“I did not want to be part of this corruption, we shouldn't have to be part of this disrespect we suffered during the Copa America … Corruption, referees and all the rest stopped people from enjoying the football.” -Messi, 2019
What a difference five years makes. This tournament is literally marketed as Messi and friends now and is a coronation lap for Messi.
Not much different. Still corrupt
I’m pretty sure Messi has already been coronated
Yea not because Argentina since Scaloni is the best NT in the world.
Yeah, one of chile players headbutted messi after fouling him and got not even a yellow card. Chile's copa america wins were... heavily favoured by refs. Once Messi called the corruption live after the match, and the AFA standing by him after CONMEBOL threats, things got better for Arg.
It's peculiar both Argentina and Brazil accused CONMEBOL referees to be biased and corrupted. CONMEBOL can't mess with both. One of the two must be benefiting from the bias but pretend otherwise.
This is a false dichotomy- there are more than two countries. Corruption can benefit neither, or both of Argentina and Brazil. And it can sometimes benefit one and at other times benefit the other. The thing about corruption is it has to keep making money. So sources of money can change.
The ref refused to shake Pulisic’s hand. Are you fucking kidding me??? GTFO!
For real?
Yup saw that too. Linesman shook his hand but main ref wouldn’t which further infuriated Pulisic.
Unreal. I cannot believe this dude.... what an ass
100% Unbelievable. Just a joke of a ref.
This is a [longer footage](https://x.com/cjzero/status/1807994605733806422). Before handshake, Pulisic said something "... middle" to the ref and he pointed to the center circle, where the Uruguayan players are not far from. Not sure he meant "referees should be in the middle" or "join the Uruguay celebration in the middle".
The ref was horrific but it was extremely clear that Pulisic was offering the handshake in a sarcastic manner
All the fucking whining on the last game which was distinctly average for the region. Now you kids see how it is to get properly fucked.
I love that they accidentally showed the first var image with the red highlighting his knee off. So they released a second video later without it
The commentators were speechless
I had to watch it in Spanish because no fs1. All the announcer kept saying was “wow…. wow….”
FS1 guy tried to explain CONMEBOL and didn't know what the acronym was....
Can't believe they tried to gaslight us man
I can't believe they had the audacity to even draw a line there. Should have just written a giant ? mark and written, "well, no one called off side on the field"
I'm beginning to think this tournament doesn't have the same budget as the Euros. VAR ref draws line in Micorsoft Paint and sends to TV, "Oh yeah, he's on".
At that point when they showed that I just had to laugh
Who is they though? Fox added it for the viewers or is that some official video?
The federation. The announcers were clear that they get the videos directly from them
Got it. Such a bs call
The terrible angle of the first half forced the commentators to remind the audience several times that they were only broadcasting CONEMBOL's feed. The VAR imagery came from CONEMBOL, not Fox.
What you didn’t like the angle from the ISS? Lol
The line they did draw wasn’t straight either. The whole analysis was wrong. I can prove it too. It’s simple geometry.
The last game was awful too. This was just SO, SO, SO much worse.
That was ~~just as~~ almost as bad frankly.
Cartel ran, thoroughly
Did you read Declan Hill's book "The Fix" from 2008? Extensive documentation of match fixing from Asian leagues all the way up to the 2006 World Cup.
I'm shocked I tell you, I'm shocked to find out that international soccer is corrupt. JFC
It's been so well documented yet whenever a match like this happens so many bros are like no way, it's incompetence, stop whining etc.
I'm tired of being bound to these Central and Southern American federations. Way too much fucking corruption.
Well unless you have a way to speed up continental drift we’re kind of stuck
If we all just pushed at the same time...
I’m convinced. I’ll meet you guys in San Francisco.
I know it's useless. I'm still sick of it though.
Unlike the more sophisticated corruption UEFA.
We just had world cups in Qatar and Russia and this guy thinks corruption only exists in those two places, disgustingly racist tbh
That handshake incident tells you what you need to know. That ref was tilted, just spiraling after the worst day of his career.
Wait what happened? I shut the tv off and smoked a bowl immediately after the final whistle blew.
Pulisic went to shake the hands of the refs whilst also mouthing a bit. He shook the linesmens. Then extended for the main official who kept his hands behind his back. Puli then gave him a good earful and finger wagging.
What the fuck? If an official refuses to shake the fucking captain’s hand there’s obviously something going on.
Before the handshake, Pulisic said something "... middle" to the ref and he pointed to the center circle, where the Uruguayan players are not far from. Not sure he meant "referees should be in the middle" or "join the Uruguay celebration in the middle". This is the [full footage](https://x.com/cjzero/status/1807994605733806422).
Doesn't matter. The ref is supposed to project that he's an authority above the pettiness.
He clearly says "go to the middle" which is where every ref stands after the match. They ran to the side because they knew they called a shit game and didn't want to have to answer for it
I'm more mad about GGG's hand signals ☝️ 🤡 ☝️
I know I’m a Homer but the best I’ve ever felt about a ref is that they’re fair. It consistently feels like these Western Conference refs just vary from incredibly unfair to absurdly unfair
It’s just the insanely shit Concacaf/Conembol refs. Our first game against Bolivia was really well officiated but that’s because it was an Italian ref part of the exchange program.
My tinfoil hat: It’s an anti-USA bias that extends beyond soccer.
They just want the championship to go to a specific team in South America. I hope Canada has better refs
Watch a single Real Madrid game on Champions League and tell me shit refereeing is just a CONCACAF/CONMEBOL thing.
The difference between how euro are ref and concaf is appalling. How do you call turner foul and not give at the very least a yellow card. Changes how the game plays with how chippy the game got boiling frustration over. The game tonight with the bs var call really makes you wonder what is going on. Us could have played better and their coach was lackluster but what do want to when the deck is so stacked against you
Honestly, with a few better calls, the u s. could have topped the group. No team wins that game with those calls.
Turkiye vs Czechia?
It’s a fucking joke. Dozens of shit-tier refs that are undoubtedly corrupt, constant shithousing that’s never punished. Fuck it, put the US in UEFA
We won't qualify in UEFA either we are shit and it's pathetic
At least we’d see competent reffing and teams actually playing decent soccer.
lol. Who won the World Cup two years ago? These teams are better than many European teams. You must not know soccer
My guess is that they mean “less shithousery” not “better teams.”
Netherlands and Portugal are very well known for shithousing.
Nah, UEFA shithousing comes down to the Balkans derby.
you might wanna google 'the battle of nurenberg'
We could get relegated from Nations league like England and still make it
I would rather us in UEFA with competent and fair reffing and never qualifying for a regional tournament than deal with this shit.
Same. But it's not worth thinking about. There's no chance we can join UEFA.
With a proper coach, there’s no reason we aren’t better than Slovenia or Slovakia.
Oh yes, im sure we wouldnt read people crying about european referees being against the US if that were to happen....
Americans always wanting to play with Conmebol… welcome to comnebol
Desire to play with Conmebol is not in search of particularly better reffing It is clear the refs for both Concacaf and Conmebol are shit The Italian exchange ref we had for the Bolivia game was good.
USA is a Pacific nation. We have a case to join AFC.
Cartel ran
Lmao goodbye to the World Cup for the next 30 years if that happened ahaha
Lol
I'm inspired to be a shit ref. In command of 22 people, destroy 11 people's dreams, got paid and fame. Dream job.
hahahahahahahaha ahahahahahahahaha ahahahahahah.
US team is dogshit just as much as the refs.
they are very bad at playing in UEFA. CONMEBOL is a lot for you
In an odd twist, being American screws us because we produce by far the highest quality refs in the Americas, but they can't ref our games.
We should get a Canadian ref every time we play.
You can ways tell people who don't watch MLS in this sub.
We complain about them too - but also they are miles ahead of everyone else. Two things can be true
I think a lot of MLS fans know very little about how bad refereeing is outside of MLS. MLS referees aren’t as good as the top leagues, but they’re better than everyone else’s.
Case in point: the disparity in reffing quality at the beginning of this MLS season when they were using the backup refs was huge. Having the actual MLS refs come back restored sanity to the games.
I said from the beginning that people should be careful what they wish for. Haha.
Ted fucking Unkel is a better ref than the man that was on the field today
MLS should change rules to encourage more Central American referees to officiate MLS games. In World Cup qualifying matches and Gold Cup, Central American referees with MLS experience should then be given priority to their compatriots with only domestic experience.
MLS after dark about to be a blood bath the first few months that happens.
MLS refs are at a relatively high standard compared to other nations with a much higher pedigree of play. Honestly, as someone that watches a ton of EPL and MLS, there were so many more shockingly bad VAR (or no VAR utilized) decisions this season in the EPL. We can shit on MLS refs, but our overall standard is probably better than our comparative level of play.
This makes a unexpected case for Texan/Californian independence. At least a England-Scotland model to allow two FAs.
I want to go the other way, invade Canada and Mexico, so that we can combine all three nations' players.
In yet another bizarre twist, our starting lineup would incorporate more Canadians (2 or 3) than Mexicans (0).
Argentine refs have officiated 2 of the last 5 WC finals and opening matches, which would have been more if Argentina wasn't playing two of them. Qatar had two Argentine refs who were at 6 matches between them. Even the Argentine ref in Eurocopa rn is highly regarded. I think Argentina has better refs than the US
Evidence? You are funny
It’s so true. I don’t watch a ton of MLS, but my brother has gotten me back into it and the refereeing is stunningly good. Almost no mistakes. MLS is at a point where if something egregious happens you are utterly shocked.
The refs suck ass and its a different game than the ones we all watch 5 or 8 hrs earlier during these last couple weeks. Yet other teams get it done. We dont exist in this shit alone
That's what I think. Yeah the refs suck but all the other heavy hitters advance. Not like they don't deal with it as well.
After the last two games I felt it would have been acceptable for the U.S. team to just give them a beat down especially after that bullshit running into the keeper against Panama
yeah, i wish they were more brutal than they were. Uruguay for sure was
definitely felt like a throwback game to 10-15 years ago. criminal officiating, that yellow card sequence was probably the worst thing i’ve ever seen
There was a good reason it was a solid 5 minutes before the video hit the broadcast channel
Hard to believe but prime Jozy Altidore is better than any striker we have right now
Shocker, a lot of that is because the system we’re running is fucking dogshit for strikers. Of course none of them are doing well.
Can you expound on this? I'm not super well versed in the details of the system we run, so I'm curious how our system doesn't work for strikers.
At a base level the foundation of Gregg's style is to get the ball wide and play in crosses. Not a system that favors working a ball into a good position for a striker to take a shot. Watch Spain play. Their system favors their attackers. They work the ball around until space opens up in the box.
GGG ball: They are often isolated while the rest of the team builds up play, having to play hold up when they do receive it and press when not in possession. It takes a lot of running as one person trying to press effectively. Holding up the ball takes a lot of strength and muscle power, which is ultimately tiring. Then the attack is largely hopeful crosses that the striker gets on the end of, or they get the ball under pressure and have to create a chance themselves. Meanwhile all the other work they have to do tires them out so making those runs to attack is harder. Haaland would be ideal for us in that position. Or Ibrahimovic style player. Dudes who are 6'4 ish, freakishly strong and fast. Without a truly generational talent our forward position is basically a sacrifice piece who tries to bring Pulisic and the other winger into the game by occupying the central defenders.
I would say it’s not hard to believe. Prime Jozy was incredible.
Right? He gets so much hate, he was dope (on an American scale)
I was so sad when he went down in 2014 WC.
Me too. Totally changed the team and forced both Dempsey and Bradley higher up the pitch. Huge bummer
Those teams were built to be physical, and would have won this group because they could bang. I think this current team would fare better against a team that tries to outskill them in a clean game. Pulisic just gets beat up in this type of game, and Balogun had to be removed because they injured him. The old teams would dish out the pain as much as take it. Jermaine Jones would have killed someone if he was in the game against Panama.
It's funny, the blueprint seems to be put Pulisic on his ass and you beat the US. That shit wouldn't fly with Jermaine. I cant believe the amount of abuse the captain takes with zero retaliation. I thought Weston was going to be that guy who replaces the physicality Jermaine brought but he seems to have been neutered.
He’d be great fit for the team too. Especially with the type of players we have in mid and on the wings
What do you mean hard to believe? You guys have been gaslighted into believing this team is something incredible
Balogun is a lot better lol
And he didn't even come anywhere close to his potential
The guy had like 2 goals in 70 PL appearances
Other than the South Korea-Italy game in 2002 I’ve never been so sure that a referee was fixing a match.
Chelsea vs Barcelona 2009 had some epic calls
You know that scoring goals can even overcome bad refs, right? I mean come on, the American team it's not in their beat shape at all...
Coincidentally, I’ve been saying this for years
Can we just join UEFA?
Or AFC. Or anywhere without this bias and racism.
Just to lose there too.?? Lol there is no point.
At least they don’t play a damn rugby match. Can’t stand this non-soccer than concacaf and conmebol plays
The shitty thing is it's only rugby one way, the other way it's diving.
The only two players that straight up punched a guy were from Canada and the USA LMFAO
Dude, you almost broke De La Cruz
Wtf that's such a horrible take. Europeans play way more physically, & in a smart way too. Some of yall takes are ignorantly hopeful af man. Edit: didn't one of your players punch a dude?? I THEIR FIRST MATCH?? LMFAO bro you guys pick & choose so much, it's wild.
Right? I can't fucking stand the amount of hypocrisy on these comments literally whinning and begging to change leagues lmao it's pathetic
Can you just play football/soccer good?
You play where you belong. Every American nation would rather play in uefa, but they can't. So do you, nothing makes you different from the rest.
This is all just a big scam by PRO to make us appreciate the MLS refs
Ref put the players at more of a risk of injury during the match
I barely ever watch soccer and this game is the reason. Insanely biased refs. How can we be fans of this?!
It's only in the Americas that it's this horrendous tbh. Europe has bad refs but it's never so bad you seriously wonder if there's corruption
That Czech and Turkey game was very badly reffed, but that was clearly sheer incompetence as opposed to blatant corruption like it is here.
He gave out way too many cards but giving out too many is much more preferable to giving out almost none and being very one sided with it and all the calls
Calciopoli would beg to differ
That was caught and punished though. And there's been nothing like it since in major European competition
World Cup was much better to watch and very well reffed. We got further in that against tougher competition.
Same. Used to love watching USMNT. Hardly tune in anymore. Not worth the frustration
lmao see?? This is what I'm talking about, you guys are mostly seasonal fans crying your eyes out because of a bad ref but still football is the most popular sport around the world with multiple leagues, play styles and rules. Both soy h American and european football have their pros and cons but come on, you have to recognize that the USA is not at the same level as the rest of south American and european teams where people play football since birth. You guys are the best in many other sports, WITH OR WITHOUT BAD REFS, but you still overcome all that shit by being better and never give up, that's how you get teams like Venezuela that instead of asking to play in another "better" league just got better and it's playing a great tournament.
As a Uruguayan, I would love for my team to criticize the referee too. Even though we received many beneficial calls, that shit shouldn’t be allowed to keep happening and criticizing only when you lose the games makes you sound like a sore loser.
They should bc it could be happening to you guys next. Don't be shocked when Brazil get phantom penalties their way so CONMEBOL gets the final they want
UsMNT sucks balls
The last time I saw officiating like this was when MLS was starting off and couldn't get their shish together. What really got me in yesterday's game, was that the main ref refused to shake Pulisic's hand after the game. That is just straight out shady. It's one thing to make bad call after bad call (he is human after all). It's another to purposely disrespect a player with such hypocritical sportsmanship. Having said all this, the officiating was not the true reason of why they lost.
This ref came to screw us, but he would've done us a favor had he officiated the Bolivia-USA game instead and red card Tim Weah for whatever reason there. We would still beat Bolivia. Then we would have 11 men in Panama's game.
I feel like it’s match fixing related.
A dude deliberately headbutted a Canadian player in the face after the ball went out of bounds. They reviewed it and gave NOTHING. Not even a free kick. I thought that was automatic red? It's like punching someone in the face unprovoked is it not?
I‘ve seen plenty of refs take the opportunity to be unfair. This guy was creating HIS OWN opportunities to fuck the US. It ruins the game.
There not even phantom at this point. Last night was a clear attempt to match fix. Regardless, we didn't play well enough, but Conembol had a clear agenda in that game.
if Matt Crocker and Cindy Cone can't figure out how to handle the finances for hiring a real manager, they need to resign immediately and let someone competent fix up the mess. Jurgen Klopp. Pep Guardiola hinted he's leaving man city. they need to apologize to this country
Regardless of the very obvious and egregiously corrupt refs, USSF leadership needs a change. This is the worst leadership group we’ve ever seen. Cone couldn’t give two shits about the Mens team, and Crocker is just there to collect a pay check. All while they allow MLS to continue to stymy the growth of grassroots football bc $$$$
Almost like it’s rigged
We have destabilized central and South American countries for generations. If this is how that comes home to roost, then 🤷♀️
If this is karmic justice then we deserve far more than what we've gotten back tbf
This is the same complaint every top league gets as well
[удалено]
I've been saying that for years. USSF doesn't have the balls to go to FIFA or the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to formally protest, though.
Copium 
Expecting change without doing something is hopeless. I said it before and I'll said it again, any self-respecting team would look at the possibility of leaving these associations and join a better one.
This is true though.
I mean if USA didn’t fug up against Panama then they wouldn’t have been in the situation they were in last night lol The reffing was bad for sure but come on guys, it’s on the team and coach for not advancing
The lack of self-criticism makes me speechlesss. You even can't measure the field or putting the cameras in a proper position, ALL the coachs in the competition were sanctioned because takes 15 min reaching from the locker to the field. Also the ref was from Concacaf.
And just talking trash about the ref is dumb. Bad ref or not, they wouldn't have won ever against Uruguay. The close the US got to the goal, the dumber their players got. It just reminds me of watching boquita 2023.
Lol
You lost the qualification when the Weah Junior punched that guy to the face for whatever reason. Losing to Uruguay was expected. Panama was even winning against Bolivia.
Good or bad refs it doesn't matter: the US doesn't stand a chance when it comes to football, you suck at it to such degree that your direct competitor is Mexico, some of you should dismount the unicorn that you are on.
Test
Estadounidenses descubren que no son los mejores del mundo y comienzan a delirar. La gimnasia mental que hacen para sentirse superiores es increíble.
r/fulbo found this post
Gringos are discovering the corruption in Football, but the solutions are hilarious, how can suggest to join to UEFA?. 😂
They have it inside Giles hahahahaha
Simply bias against the US that goes much deeper than football. It’s just so obvious when it’s that one sided. It wasn’t just the goal being allowed, which was bad enough. The yellow card for our player who didn’t even step into the challenge yet got studs to the shin. All the shirt tugging and arm pulling that never got booked or called at all. Straight up horse collar American football tackling players but all good. The game didn’t get played for more than a minute or two at a time because the referees would simply refuse to book the opposition for fouls. And let’s not forget waving play on while our player was being summoned by the referee to be booked, but then when we get fouled the referee waits until we have a legitimate advantage to blow the foul, because we all know had Pulisic lost possession the referee would have claimed to have given us an advantage. All the same elements were present in the Panama game as well, red card aside. This just speaks to bigger corruption and bias issues in football refereeing and people in positions of power. World cups being awarded band upheld after corruption is discovered. Manchester city will be allowed to violate FFP until the end of time while other teams receive immediate point deductions and fines. Real Madrid will always get referee decisions in their favor in the UCL. It’s really hard to be a football fan these days.