Taunting Gods

It's ten minutes before kick-off. I've got a good feeling.
I'm thinking win. Ba'al help us all.

Halftime:

I hate the fucking Italians, the biggest group of diving whinging pussies outside of American conservatives.

All was looking positive until Mastroeni made an admittedly bad tackle, a certain yellow, and was shown a straight red. If I give the Uruguayan referee the benefit of the doubt, he was concerned that the game didn't descend into a total bloodbath, a bit late since McBride bled profusely after a vicious elbow to his face. I don't give the ref the doubt: it was a make-up call for the red which should have been give to Di Rossi for the elbow to McBride's face. (And is it a FIFA regulation that McBride is required to have his face damaged in every other international game?)

The Italians had one chance, a free kick set up by a dive, and they exploited a poorly executed offside trap to go up one. The US scored on an own goal, but it was deserved as they dominated possesion and the pace. If the US was one half a gear faster they could have scored three.

And we've seen, hopefully, blessedly, the last international game of Beasley's career. Dempsey, who I will hate with all the hate I have within the context of my Unitedness once he's back in Ningland, is so clearly an upgrade over Beasley that Beasley looks triply lame.

Still no Donovan. Well, he had one nice touch at the top of the box around the 40th, but he's still invisible. Mastroeni was the best player on the field. It shouldn't have been a red, but he shouldn't have made the tackle in the first place, not when the US was playing well, not in the US end of the field. Pope looks old and slow. Onyewu is going to get a yellow for wrestling.

Side note: this part of Minnesota feels like summer DC in it's effing Augustest. They must have two seasons in Minnesota: suck winter and suck summer.

Fulltime:

More later, but...

I was wrong about Beasley playing again, but I stand by my assessment of his useless ass. Yes, he did put the ball in the net that was PROPERLY disallowed for offsides, but on a field of only 17 players (not counting the keepers), with the freshest legs, he simply, with the ball at his feet, refused to run at anyone.

Mastroeni deserved a yellow and got red, for which anger is justified, but Pope's tackle would have been yellow under any circumstances and as such he deserved to be sent off ESPECIALLY SINCE HE KNEW HE ALREADY HAD THE FIRST YELLOW, HIS TEAM WAS DOWN TO TEN ALREADY, THE BALL WAS AT MIDFIELD AND THE DEFENSE WAS NOT IN DANGER, AND IT WAS A STUPID TACKLE EVEN IF HE DID GET PART OF THE BALL.

McBride looked cooked, and the only reason I can think of for why Arena didn't sub in Wolff or Ching was that he needed McBride's experience on defense more than he needed Ching or Wolff's energy on offense.

A just result in terms of flow of play, but I wish the game had been able to play out 11x11. Arena's 4-1-4-1 was working, and the Americans were the better team in the first half. Now Pope and Mastroeni will have to miss the Ghana game, but at least the Ghana game will matter, something I didn't think would happen until Ghana beat the Czechs and I wavered on my pessimism ten minutes before kickoff.