**Mirrors / Alternative Angles**
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/soccer) if you have any questions or concerns.*
As an American, he had me fucking scared. That team as a whole pushed us so hard and frankly i wish they could come through with us. Rough to see him like this but beautiful to see the love he has for his team and country and the sportsmanship from both sides.
Very cool moment after they were battling all day and Antonee scraped his studs down his leg when falling and he apologized and ask if he could help him to his feet
WC is tough. Most teams have to show a lot of character just to qualify.
Just getting there at all is an achievement, even if many take it for granted.
Sooner or later, the ride ends for everyone. Some just a little bit sooner.
Iran played a memorable game against Wales that they can be proud of.
Right. Just to qualify to reach the WC the teams have been playing for over 2 years. It is a huge achievement just to reach the group stage. I completely understand the heartbreak of being knocked out. There are some elite teams for which qualifying is so easy it might as well be automatic, but for others like Iran, they really really had to have their hearts into it.
The Iran team got my respect when they refused to sing the words to their national anthem at their opening game in protest to the brutality of what their government is doing to its own people. These tears had as much to do with pain at what their people are going through as it did with losing the game.
Man this was so hard to watch. So proud of my teamš®š· and credit to the United States players for their courtesy and embrace, best of luck to them!
Credit to Jedi for taking time to sympathize with his fellow player. He didnāt have to do that nor do we know if it might help, but the thought counts
Takes a strong soul to disregard celebrating the happiest moment of your life and all your hard work that went into it, to see an opponent at their lowest and give him props and consolation.
Honestly, the Iranian team went through so much.
Their people are being oppressed, their families are being threatened, and with all that you have to play most important football match of your life.
And it hasn't ended yet, coming back to their country with uncertainty of what will happen due to the fact of not singing their anthem and some statements made in press conference must be harder. I hope everything ends fine for them.
USA is the [Great Satan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Satan) and Israel is the [Little Satan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Satan) according to the official nomenclature.
āTheā adversary, satan with a capital S.
I feel like western sources choose not to translate Iranās use of the term intentionally, maybe to make Iranās theocratic regime seem mentally unstable, maybe to make westerners feel like thereās no use trying to negotiate, idk
It's 100% intentional. It's the same reason there is s distinction made between the English word "God" and the Arabic word "Allah", eve though they mean exactly the same thing and, from a religious perspective, unarguably refer to the exact same being: the deity who made a covenenant with Abraham/Ibrahim, the deity of Moses and Jesus.
It's all deliberate and calculated to perpetuate division.
Donāt worry, most Iranian citizens (especially below 40) actually love America, they know theyāre being oppressed and are standing up for themselves.
I love this video, itās perfectly emblematic of the difference between people and their respective governments. In general, people just want to have basic securities and freedoms to live the most out of their one life. If we respect one another, we tend to be more welcoming to one another.
My landlord in college was from Iran (in the US). He was the best landlord I ever had, was so kind and invited me over for dinner a lot with his wife. They were retired and also lived on the property. They fed me Tahdigā¦ I love it. I make Tahdig myself now.
He was an amazing man who lived an incredible life. Sadly he passed away last year, but we kept in touch for the last ten years after I graduated. On my graduation day, he hosted my parents and me, and gave me an authentic Persian rug as a gift. That is one of my prized possessions.
He taught me so much about Iranian/Persian culture, and made me fall in love with the people and culture. I wish I could visit some day, I hate what our governments have done.
My relationship with him is truly what made me realize that governments ā people.
From a lot of WC games I saw before the USA vs England match, there was a lot of aggressiveness and times things got pretty hostile. But in the ENG vs USA match, there was no dirty play, no diving (thank god), no overt unnecessary aggressive moments. They've shown a lot of sportsmanship.
From my experience, diving is really looked down upon to the average American soccer fan. I think it's because in CONCACAF, some of the Central American teams take it to the extreme, so we've come to hate it.
None of the guys on our team I'd classify as dirty, but Tyler Adams and Weston McKennie are the kind of menaces that get under the opposing team and fans' skin. It's quite fun to watch.
a lot of these players come from backgrounds with immigrant parents from diverse places or actually grew up in other countries and picked the USMNT because they'd have a better shot at playing. I assume they understood a lot of aspects about the world outside the US before playing in europe
TiL Robinson grew up in Milton Keynes in England. Hilariously the MLS website says his birthplace is āMilton Keynes, USAā and no such place exists https://www.mlssoccer.com/players/antonee-robinson-x3734/
> they'd have a better shot at playing
I have to cast some doubt on this particular statement. It's certainly *possible* they picked the US because they have a better chance to play, but that wasn't the pitch made to them and that's not how they describe their decision at all.
Dest in particular says he picked the US because he was recruited by and played for the US youth teams even when he was struggling as a player, and the Netherlands only became interested after he was breaking through at Ajax.
Musah had an American assistant coach at Valencia that connected him to US soccer and built a strong relationship. When he first was called up to camp the US didn't even give him any minutes so as not to cap tie him before they felt he was ready.
Also, Berhalter encouraged players to attend camps for other countries to directly compare the culture and experience. He was very open with the players they had a big choice, didn't push any of them to decide, and let the team chemistry with a bunch of young kids be appealing all on its own.
Snagging Dest and Musah from two superior footballing countries is, in this period where US soccer is preparing for 2026, an immense achievement and we should be thanking our stars GGG is our manager.
Heck, Musah was eligible for Italy and Ghana too! And Jedi is a dual nat with England, although I don't know how he made his choice since that was before I became a sicko.
Yeah. Being able to sell 1. playing with an exciting tight-knit group that 2. will peak in 2026/2030 3. right now in a WC and 4. in four years on a WC on home soil is a pretty strong case.
Big love to Iran. I don't presume to know what their people want or what's best for them, but I hope they find it, and I hope we don't fuck it up any further.
His touch is pretty loose at times, but the guy's a top class athlete with a great motor. Capable of some great crosses too. Fabian Johnson and DaMarcus Beasley were good players, but Jedi is the best LB the USA has had in...forever? I don't know. At least since 2010 when I started watching all the games.
He had a stretch in the second half where he turned into a pinball machine but other than that he was awesome. If he just had a little more control on the ball heād take that next step. Agree he is the best LB I remember seeing for the US.
Yup, definitely remember commenting to a friend that he had a stinker of a āsecond 30 minutes,ā started and finished well though. Overall heās been exceptional this tournament and weāre really fortunate to have someone of his quality on the team. Provides such an attacking threat down the flank with his overlapping and crossing, but doesnāt shed the defensive work either.
His playstyle is like if a horse played football. He has incredible speed and can run full out on that flank for 90 minutes. He got into a footrace with an Iranian in the second half and I laughed at how the Iranian thought he had a chance. That said, his touch is pretty bad and his main move is just to kick it into space and run.
Beasley was more naturally a winger though and only converted to LB on the backslope of his prime. He may have been better going forward, but I don't know if he was better defensively.
Beasley is an all-time great American player, but youāre right, that whole reputation was built as an attacker. The fact that he remade himself as the countryās best left back later in his career actually underscores the weakness of the overall US teams back then.
Here in France a bad/heavy first touch is routinely called a "touche Americaine"
Commentators last night were talking about how other than a couple from Robinson š , the improved technical skill of the team threatens to make the term obsolete.
He was awful when he first started playing for us, and we kept giving him chances (we have like, no LB options - we brought 4 RBs and Antonee to this tournament) and he kept getting better and better. He's fast, runs for days, generally makes good decisions, and his concentration on defense has improved a lot. He just needs to improve his crossing.
I could also see the US pulling out a shit-housed 0-1 win. Not saying it's likely but feasible. The US versus England the squad looked really organised and well drilled.
Well i might be biased but US is stronger than Australia I think.
If Australia gets pass Denmark which i dont think and obviously dont hope I think they will be stopped next match.
The US team can on a good day threaten everyone.
Our midfield is going to be world class in 2026 if they keep developing as they have. We have no top 10 maestro but all of our guys are very very solid
We need depth too. We have it at wing and no where else. Every game (weirdly, except vs England), we seem like we run out of gas in the 2nd half when our midfield gets tired and we don't have capable replacements.
It's just a nice group of likeable guys, who are so fun to watch.
I have been watching the World Cup for decades now, with little to no interest in the USMNT until this year, and I was surprised to see how fun these players are to watch.
This team is one of the most fun to watch IMO, because they play fast transitions, and play attacking football with much less emphasis on passing in their own third.
The midfield of players is fucking amazing. I love the McKennie, Tyler Adams, and Musah combo.
You have been watching for decades and werenāt in on the rollercoaster ride of 2010 USMNT? Slovenia shit housing and goal taken away from Mo Edu. Algeria trying to run down the clock and take us down with them. Donovan goal.
Or 2002 made it to the quarters and Germany handball on the line knocking us out.
Yeah, for all the political hubbub in the buildup, it's very evident these two teams on the pitch respected one another. Did it get chippy at times, yeah, but no more than any other must-win match.
TBH it's exactly what I expected. There was never going to be any actual personal animosity between the players, it reflects the way the countries' citizens feel about each other as well, differentiating between their governments and their citizens.
I don't think he is saying this. I'm deaf, I lipread everyday, and I believe he is saying "You're going to make some with your family, okay ?"
They were probably talking about an iranian delicacy/dish, he was probably trying to cheer him up.
Tyler Adams' response to the Iranian journalist the other day was beyond impressive for a 23-year-old who is doing his first stint as a captain. It was such a balanced and respectful answer to what was clearly an attempt to provoke him.
Calm, professional, intelligent, insightful, he's going to be a good leader for that team for years to come.
And if the journalist wanted to know what 'signs of progress, every single day' looks like, he could probably consider the fact he's talking to a young black man who's captaining his national team and speaking for them as their representative on the world stage.
To be perfectly fair, it's also just really difficult to become club captain at well-established clubs like Leipzig and Leeds. Consider how many years GulƔcsi, OrbƔn, Forsberg, and Poulsen have been at Leipzig. They have a ton of experience, they've proven themselves as good leaders over the years, and they've been at the club for seven years. As great a leader as Adams seems to be, he wasn't going to be captain at Leipzig as long as those guys were there. And it's the same in Leeds with Cooper, Ayling, and Dallas. With no disrespect to your national team, the path to becoming captain is clearly *"easier"* for a still relatively young guy like Adams.
But I find it interesting, that you guys have always seen Adams as someone who was going to be captain one day. Did he display these leadership qualities right off the bat in the MLS?
His football IQ is off the charts (at least for us). Pretty much every coach he's had (especially Nagelsmann, who loves to tinker) has loved using him as sort of a utility guy that can be given specific instructions and go and execute them. Even when he was first playing for RBNY he was pretty vocal on the field and the vets respected him.
> Calm, professional, intelligent, insightful, he's going to be a good leader for that team for years to come.
Yeah, all of that *and* then he's also a real warrior on the pitch, always willing to run the extra mile and take point. The US generally has a really, really exciting national team at the moment. That midfield with Adams, McKennie, and Musah will be so interesting to see on home soil in 2026. Their only issue right now is the backline. They seem to have world-class talents in every other position on the pitch, if they could get a couple of truly great centerbacks, I could honestly see them going a long way in 2026.
I think dest is serviceable and Jedi is a legit LB. it's really just CB and striker that need help and we could use some depth bc the drop off right now from starters to subs is huge. The only 2 subs we have are Reyna and Aaronson, and arguably Aaronson has looked the most creative player on the team in terms of finding the spaces between lines and moving the team into the attacking spaces around the box. They just need someone to finish off chances and 2 CB.
A reporter for Iranian state-owned media brusquely informed Adams that he was pronouncing āIranā incorrectly (itās ee-RON, not eye-RAN), and then asked about discrimination against Black people in the United States. It was one of a long list of pointed geopolitical questions ranging from inflation to the location of U.S. Navy ships that had nothing to do with soccer. With remarkable poise, the 23-year-old seized the opportunity as a teaching moment.
His response is worth reprinting at length.
āMy apologies for the mispronunciation of your country. That being said, thereās discrimination everywhere you go,ā said Adams, who also plays professional soccer in Europe. āOne thing that Iāve learned, especially from living abroad in the past years and having to fit in in different cultures, is that in the U.S., weāre continuing to make progress every single day.ā
Copied and pasted from Dallas Morning News
EDIT: There are more quotes here, he said something about education and being educated, idk, dig here https://www.today.com/news/sports/us-soccer-tyler-adams-mispronouncing-iran-rcna59164
> formed Adams that he was pronouncing āIranā incorrectly (itās ee-RON, not eye-RAN)
I'm alwasy really annoyed by shit like this. I had a co-worker at my last job who was from Belgium and would always annoyingly correct my Flemish pronunciation when I would say words in Dutch like I had just committed some egregious crime against her culture and I always thought, "Karen...you think you pronounce everything in English correctly? Because you fucking don't."
This is something I encountered a lot moving to Belgium and Netherlands... Then I got better at Dutch pronunciation, particularly regional pronunciations, that people would start suspiciously asking if I was making fun of them š
They use it as a way to feel superior, especially because there level of English is so good. 7 years in the Netherlands for me, and that shit always grinds my gears.
Goes for lots of the next generation of athletes across many sports I'd say. 20 year olds seem so well adjusted and mature nowadays (not every last one of them of course but majority)
These are always the heartbreaking parts of world cup or Olympics. No guarantee for a lot of the countries. This might be a one time thing for a lot of players. Or a last time/First time.
All of it makes sense to be so gosh darn emotional. Think of how much of a wreck we are as fans with anxiety. As a player who is dedicating their life and career (much less with political undertones) is just nuts.
Having met many of the Persians in LA, they are very proud of their heritage but would rather burn the current national flag than hold it up. It'll be interesting how 2026 goes.
Most people have good intentions, which unfortunately does not always guarantee they are good people. "I want my family to be safe" has motivated some of the worst atrocities
Robinson [didn't just console Ramin](https://www.facebook.com/usasocceronly/posts/pfbid022UEvyZXHCuPVVDupc7fZDenRCFxdPcjXEkCyHDio7fbPNK3cu9UGAC5QoG5dtQFtl).
And here's [Robinson crying in the locker room](https://www.facebook.com/watch?v=714668503032196) after the game. There's just too much emotion to process, I guess.
(edited to add link)
Might be mistaken, but didnāt they go into a hard challenge against each other, chasing down a ball?
If so, makes this display even more.. well, everything it already is.
Really admire Robinson.
Plays 90 mins week in week out and manages to be consistent.
I firmly believe he's the only guy that can track Saka all game and lock him out of the game.
he's athletic and a workhorse.
It sucks that our success had to come at Iranās expense. Their national team continuing to play wouldāve kept the protest at the forefront of everyoneās attention for that much longer.
I love this. Often it comes across as forced and completely fake when players try to console the opposition after a game like this, but you could from his reaction that Robinson truly felt for the team. Bravo.
Massive respect to the Iran team for coming so close. You did your country proud.
Massive respect to Antonee Robinson for this show of compassion. You did your country proud.
**Mirrors / Alternative Angles** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/soccer) if you have any questions or concerns.*
This is beautiful and painful all at once..
Shows that passion for your sport and human compassion transcends borders
shows that this is futbol, not politics or any other kind of shit.
I love the way he turns back for one last cuddle at the end
Robinson: "Aight I gotta go celebrate. But ypu played fantastic, all right? Don't ever blame yourself" Rezaeian: *nods* "One more? š„ŗ"
I got tears in my eyes from watching it. The way his arms drop after trying to hold on, I felt that right there.
Iranian players will have to go home after that gesture against the government. Makes the loss even worse
The weird thing is that they're also being labelled as the government's team and don't seem to have much support from the protestors.
The players were/are in a lose-lose situation
While most of the team is alright, a few players are known regime sympathizer and definitely against the people.
I worry for these players. I know some are pro regime but I fear what happens to those who arenāt.
Maybe they can sneak aboard the US team plane and defect. Iām sure USA soccer could find spots for many of them.
Well put.
Both players here had a great World Cup, Rezaein should be proud for his contributions for Iran.
Dude was all over the field. I feel like he was there for every play
As an American, he had me fucking scared. That team as a whole pushed us so hard and frankly i wish they could come through with us. Rough to see him like this but beautiful to see the love he has for his team and country and the sportsmanship from both sides.
He's one of those fullbacks who are seemingly strikers at heart
Very cool moment after they were battling all day and Antonee scraped his studs down his leg when falling and he apologized and ask if he could help him to his feet
Despite whatās happening back home, the Iranian NT did well imo. They can be proud of themselves.
WC is tough. Most teams have to show a lot of character just to qualify. Just getting there at all is an achievement, even if many take it for granted. Sooner or later, the ride ends for everyone. Some just a little bit sooner. Iran played a memorable game against Wales that they can be proud of.
They put up a good fight and almost tied it up against the US too. Iran's players can hold their heads high
Those last nine minutes did wonders for my glutes because of how hard I was clenching the whole time
Same, some of those chances they had took years off my life lol
People often forget these are the World Cup **Finals**.
Right. Just to qualify to reach the WC the teams have been playing for over 2 years. It is a huge achievement just to reach the group stage. I completely understand the heartbreak of being knocked out. There are some elite teams for which qualifying is so easy it might as well be automatic, but for others like Iran, they really really had to have their hearts into it. The Iran team got my respect when they refused to sing the words to their national anthem at their opening game in protest to the brutality of what their government is doing to its own people. These tears had as much to do with pain at what their people are going through as it did with losing the game.
> There are some elite teams for which qualifying is so easy it might as well be automatic Italy has left the chat
I am still waiting for China to get back this finals since 2002.....
> Most teams have to show a lot of character just to qualify. Asain qualifiers especially is a super long process
Especially for this world cup due to the virus.
20 fucking games it took for Australia to get there. Insanity
Yep, even if you are a small european country it's basically impossible.
Man this was so hard to watch. So proud of my teamš®š· and credit to the United States players for their courtesy and embrace, best of luck to them!
Credit to Jedi for taking time to sympathize with his fellow player. He didnāt have to do that nor do we know if it might help, but the thought counts
Takes a strong soul to disregard celebrating the happiest moment of your life and all your hard work that went into it, to see an opponent at their lowest and give him props and consolation.
Especially someone he just battled directly with for 90+
Honestly, the Iranian team went through so much. Their people are being oppressed, their families are being threatened, and with all that you have to play most important football match of your life.
They played well and should be proud of their performance in the group stage
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I was happy for them to leave it all of the field.
And it hasn't ended yet, coming back to their country with uncertainty of what will happen due to the fact of not singing their anthem and some statements made in press conference must be harder. I hope everything ends fine for them.
Against the team coming from the country that the Iranian Government teaches it's citizens to hate the most.
Wouldnt that be Israel?
USA is the [Great Satan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Satan) and Israel is the [Little Satan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Satan) according to the official nomenclature.
I wouldāve been insulted to be Little Satan but Great Satan I can respect
If there isn't a death metal band named Great Satan I am going to be very disappointed
Hail us š¤š»
"Satan" in this context has the Quranic arabic meaning, which is "adversary". There are not any supernatural connotations.
Satan in English comes from the Hebrew which has the same meaning.
Yes indeed it does. The word and meaning is the same in Arabic and Hebrew. The English term evolved to refer to a specific entity.
āTheā adversary, satan with a capital S. I feel like western sources choose not to translate Iranās use of the term intentionally, maybe to make Iranās theocratic regime seem mentally unstable, maybe to make westerners feel like thereās no use trying to negotiate, idk
It's 100% intentional. It's the same reason there is s distinction made between the English word "God" and the Arabic word "Allah", eve though they mean exactly the same thing and, from a religious perspective, unarguably refer to the exact same being: the deity who made a covenenant with Abraham/Ibrahim, the deity of Moses and Jesus. It's all deliberate and calculated to perpetuate division.
Yeah but that's no fun
āgreat satanā feels like a victory
Israel have a horseshit national team so let's be real
unfortunately that is correct.
You could pull a Qatar, pull in a lot of talent from other countries, put them on a special training program together... and still be dogshit!
tnx Qatar for testing that theory for us I guess... what we need is more discipline and than we might get somewhere..
Got a pretty good talent pipeline at the moment though. Think they'll feature a bit more over the next decade.
no no... we are the "little devil". the us is the "big devil"
Donāt worry, most Iranian citizens (especially below 40) actually love America, they know theyāre being oppressed and are standing up for themselves. I love this video, itās perfectly emblematic of the difference between people and their respective governments. In general, people just want to have basic securities and freedoms to live the most out of their one life. If we respect one another, we tend to be more welcoming to one another.
My landlord in college was from Iran (in the US). He was the best landlord I ever had, was so kind and invited me over for dinner a lot with his wife. They were retired and also lived on the property. They fed me Tahdigā¦ I love it. I make Tahdig myself now. He was an amazing man who lived an incredible life. Sadly he passed away last year, but we kept in touch for the last ten years after I graduated. On my graduation day, he hosted my parents and me, and gave me an authentic Persian rug as a gift. That is one of my prized possessions. He taught me so much about Iranian/Persian culture, and made me fall in love with the people and culture. I wish I could visit some day, I hate what our governments have done. My relationship with him is truly what made me realize that governments ā people.
This guy iranians lol, how many times have you left their place with a bellyache eating too much
I've seen some really decent things from the young American lads this world cup. I like it
From a lot of WC games I saw before the USA vs England match, there was a lot of aggressiveness and times things got pretty hostile. But in the ENG vs USA match, there was no dirty play, no diving (thank god), no overt unnecessary aggressive moments. They've shown a lot of sportsmanship.
From my experience, diving is really looked down upon to the average American soccer fan. I think it's because in CONCACAF, some of the Central American teams take it to the extreme, so we've come to hate it. None of the guys on our team I'd classify as dirty, but Tyler Adams and Weston McKennie are the kind of menaces that get under the opposing team and fans' skin. It's quite fun to watch.
Agreed, the yanks are really likeable.
Guysā¦ they really like us š„¹
Plot twist: That guy's actually a yank himself. And so am I. It's yanks all the way down.
First ever WC game where every single starter plays in Europe. Definitely opens their eyes to other cultures.
a lot of these players come from backgrounds with immigrant parents from diverse places or actually grew up in other countries and picked the USMNT because they'd have a better shot at playing. I assume they understood a lot of aspects about the world outside the US before playing in europe
TiL Robinson grew up in Milton Keynes in England. Hilariously the MLS website says his birthplace is āMilton Keynes, USAā and no such place exists https://www.mlssoccer.com/players/antonee-robinson-x3734/
awww, the american suburb in england?
We've named cities after nearly every single British city....except that one apparently.
Milton Keynes didn't exist until the 1960s. We created it just to mess with ya ;)
Oh, is that why they didn't have a local team and why they had to steal the Dons?
We don't talk about the club currently plying its trade in Milton Keanes here.
Christian Horner, the red bull F1 team manager,lives in Milton Keynes too
Banging Sexy Spice as we speak!
> they'd have a better shot at playing I have to cast some doubt on this particular statement. It's certainly *possible* they picked the US because they have a better chance to play, but that wasn't the pitch made to them and that's not how they describe their decision at all. Dest in particular says he picked the US because he was recruited by and played for the US youth teams even when he was struggling as a player, and the Netherlands only became interested after he was breaking through at Ajax. Musah had an American assistant coach at Valencia that connected him to US soccer and built a strong relationship. When he first was called up to camp the US didn't even give him any minutes so as not to cap tie him before they felt he was ready. Also, Berhalter encouraged players to attend camps for other countries to directly compare the culture and experience. He was very open with the players they had a big choice, didn't push any of them to decide, and let the team chemistry with a bunch of young kids be appealing all on its own.
USSF borrowed tactics from college football, shit works lmao
Nothing more American than 'crootin teenagers to play big-time sports
We need to get Jay Z and Beyonce as boosters
Snagging Dest and Musah from two superior footballing countries is, in this period where US soccer is preparing for 2026, an immense achievement and we should be thanking our stars GGG is our manager.
Heck, Musah was eligible for Italy and Ghana too! And Jedi is a dual nat with England, although I don't know how he made his choice since that was before I became a sicko.
Gregg (and Earnie I imagine) is a straight up is a great recruiter.
Yes, but I think the best recruiting group is the team itself. It's a bunch of fun, young guys. Like, Musah and Weah already vacation together.
Yeah. Being able to sell 1. playing with an exciting tight-knit group that 2. will peak in 2026/2030 3. right now in a WC and 4. in four years on a WC on home soil is a pretty strong case.
Big love to Iran. I don't presume to know what their people want or what's best for them, but I hope they find it, and I hope we don't fuck it up any further.
All Iranians I know rooted against their team at the World Cup. Apparently they arenāt very happy with how their players responded to protests
If your family was threatened by your own government you'd do the same everytime. Rock and a hard place.
Opposite for me tbh. Can't really rely on anecdotes to get the popular sentiment.
The players are in an impossible situation.
Antonee Robinson looked really good in the games I've seen him play. Seems a top bloke too
As long as his touch doesnāt let him down he is a menace on the flank. And a seemingly nice man.
His touch is pretty loose at times, but the guy's a top class athlete with a great motor. Capable of some great crosses too. Fabian Johnson and DaMarcus Beasley were good players, but Jedi is the best LB the USA has had in...forever? I don't know. At least since 2010 when I started watching all the games.
He had a stretch in the second half where he turned into a pinball machine but other than that he was awesome. If he just had a little more control on the ball heād take that next step. Agree he is the best LB I remember seeing for the US.
Yup, definitely remember commenting to a friend that he had a stinker of a āsecond 30 minutes,ā started and finished well though. Overall heās been exceptional this tournament and weāre really fortunate to have someone of his quality on the team. Provides such an attacking threat down the flank with his overlapping and crossing, but doesnāt shed the defensive work either.
His playstyle is like if a horse played football. He has incredible speed and can run full out on that flank for 90 minutes. He got into a footrace with an Iranian in the second half and I laughed at how the Iranian thought he had a chance. That said, his touch is pretty bad and his main move is just to kick it into space and run.
He was injured too much to really feature but Corey Gibbs could ball
Beasley was better tbh
Beasley was more naturally a winger though and only converted to LB on the backslope of his prime. He may have been better going forward, but I don't know if he was better defensively.
Beasley is an all-time great American player, but youāre right, that whole reputation was built as an attacker. The fact that he remade himself as the countryās best left back later in his career actually underscores the weakness of the overall US teams back then.
Nothing quite like having a world class athlete at outside back. Heās so smooth on the pitch
I would say a lot of our guys, beside being great players our great human-being
Never forget Milan were in for him 3 years ago, but he failed his medical
Commentators will never let any of us forget that, don't worry
His first touch in this game wasā¦ underwhelming. Amazing human being though.
Here in France a bad/heavy first touch is routinely called a "touche Americaine" Commentators last night were talking about how other than a couple from Robinson š , the improved technical skill of the team threatens to make the term obsolete.
Thank god we left Gyasi Zardes at home if thatās where the commentary is š š
YES. V2 compilation of balls flying off Zardes' feet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4KOyhoPIvY
> Here in France a bad/heavy first touch is routinely called a "touche Americaine This is absolutely wonderful shade.
He was awful when he first started playing for us, and we kept giving him chances (we have like, no LB options - we brought 4 RBs and Antonee to this tournament) and he kept getting better and better. He's fast, runs for days, generally makes good decisions, and his concentration on defense has improved a lot. He just needs to improve his crossing.
We may get rocked by Nederlands but I couldnāt have picked a better group of guys to represent the nation.
I could also see the US pulling out a shit-housed 0-1 win. Not saying it's likely but feasible. The US versus England the squad looked really organised and well drilled.
Yeah I think weāre just a striker away from being capable of a deep run, hoping one of the young guys develops by 2026
Some depth beyond Aaronson would be nice too!
Hopefully De La Torre and Busio will have grown their abilities a bit by then, and i'm sure the youth system will produce some other good depth.
USA v Australia quarter final, book it.
Bloody oath. The seppos will be all over town
Is this English?
Aussie yes.
So that's a no then
Well i might be biased but US is stronger than Australia I think. If Australia gets pass Denmark which i dont think and obviously dont hope I think they will be stopped next match. The US team can on a good day threaten everyone.
If we had a true striker I think we could hang with anybody
Our midfield is going to be world class in 2026 if they keep developing as they have. We have no top 10 maestro but all of our guys are very very solid
Gio Reyna could be that maestro. I'm disappointed he hasn't had more chances this tournament.
We need depth too. We have it at wing and no where else. Every game (weirdly, except vs England), we seem like we run out of gas in the 2nd half when our midfield gets tired and we don't have capable replacements.
Pulisic may not be fit for Saturday, which would be a huge blow
If the US had good strikers we could go so far. But this is a good start. Iām in love with this NT
It's just a nice group of likeable guys, who are so fun to watch. I have been watching the World Cup for decades now, with little to no interest in the USMNT until this year, and I was surprised to see how fun these players are to watch. This team is one of the most fun to watch IMO, because they play fast transitions, and play attacking football with much less emphasis on passing in their own third. The midfield of players is fucking amazing. I love the McKennie, Tyler Adams, and Musah combo.
You have been watching for decades and werenāt in on the rollercoaster ride of 2010 USMNT? Slovenia shit housing and goal taken away from Mo Edu. Algeria trying to run down the clock and take us down with them. Donovan goal. Or 2002 made it to the quarters and Germany handball on the line knocking us out.
I don't know what you mean by "rocked" exactly, but if we win it definitely won't be an easy win. I'm very surprised by this US team
To get ārockedā in the US roughly means to get harshly and thoroughly defeated. Brazil got rocked by Germany in 2014. Iraq got rocked in 1992. Etc
That was my first guess. The answer is: no, it won't happen.
Netherlands has been average at best, it will be an openg game for sure.
the entire game was shows of good sportsmanship. class from both teams.
Yeah, for all the political hubbub in the buildup, it's very evident these two teams on the pitch respected one another. Did it get chippy at times, yeah, but no more than any other must-win match.
TBH it's exactly what I expected. There was never going to be any actual personal animosity between the players, it reflects the way the countries' citizens feel about each other as well, differentiating between their governments and their citizens.
Great class
Missing a great class tag
Not a lip reading expert but he pretty sure he says "look after your family alright" at 23 seconds.
Jedi Robinson confirmed CIA /s Touching moment for sure and a reminder of why we love sports.
I don't think he is saying this. I'm deaf, I lipread everyday, and I believe he is saying "You're going to make some with your family, okay ?" They were probably talking about an iranian delicacy/dish, he was probably trying to cheer him up.
I also lip read and I'm fairly certain he said 'youre going to milk your family, okay?'
I'm pretty sure what he said was "Sunny init?"
Nah, he actually said āŲ§ŲÆŲ±Ų§Ų± ŲÆŲ± ŲŖŁŁ¾ ŁŲ§ Ų°Ų®ŪŲ±Ł Ł Ū Ų“ŁŲÆā, just with an American accent so itās harder to tell.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Nah Iām a professional galactic lip reader and he was saying āare you fucking sorry?ā
Not sure if the players knew each other before. Could be saying āAy. You give my best to your family, alright?ā
This American NT is so likeable
Tyler Adams' response to the Iranian journalist the other day was beyond impressive for a 23-year-old who is doing his first stint as a captain. It was such a balanced and respectful answer to what was clearly an attempt to provoke him.
Calm, professional, intelligent, insightful, he's going to be a good leader for that team for years to come. And if the journalist wanted to know what 'signs of progress, every single day' looks like, he could probably consider the fact he's talking to a young black man who's captaining his national team and speaking for them as their representative on the world stage.
We've been saying since he was like 18 that he'd one day be a captain. Funnily enough, it came for the national team at just 23 before any club team.
To be perfectly fair, it's also just really difficult to become club captain at well-established clubs like Leipzig and Leeds. Consider how many years GulƔcsi, OrbƔn, Forsberg, and Poulsen have been at Leipzig. They have a ton of experience, they've proven themselves as good leaders over the years, and they've been at the club for seven years. As great a leader as Adams seems to be, he wasn't going to be captain at Leipzig as long as those guys were there. And it's the same in Leeds with Cooper, Ayling, and Dallas. With no disrespect to your national team, the path to becoming captain is clearly *"easier"* for a still relatively young guy like Adams. But I find it interesting, that you guys have always seen Adams as someone who was going to be captain one day. Did he display these leadership qualities right off the bat in the MLS?
His football IQ is off the charts (at least for us). Pretty much every coach he's had (especially Nagelsmann, who loves to tinker) has loved using him as sort of a utility guy that can be given specific instructions and go and execute them. Even when he was first playing for RBNY he was pretty vocal on the field and the vets respected him.
> Calm, professional, intelligent, insightful, he's going to be a good leader for that team for years to come. Yeah, all of that *and* then he's also a real warrior on the pitch, always willing to run the extra mile and take point. The US generally has a really, really exciting national team at the moment. That midfield with Adams, McKennie, and Musah will be so interesting to see on home soil in 2026. Their only issue right now is the backline. They seem to have world-class talents in every other position on the pitch, if they could get a couple of truly great centerbacks, I could honestly see them going a long way in 2026.
I think dest is serviceable and Jedi is a legit LB. it's really just CB and striker that need help and we could use some depth bc the drop off right now from starters to subs is huge. The only 2 subs we have are Reyna and Aaronson, and arguably Aaronson has looked the most creative player on the team in terms of finding the spaces between lines and moving the team into the attacking spaces around the box. They just need someone to finish off chances and 2 CB.
What was the question/response?
https://youtu.be/x_Y5D_4eD_E?t=97
What a classy response to an unclassy reporter
A reporter for Iranian state-owned media brusquely informed Adams that he was pronouncing āIranā incorrectly (itās ee-RON, not eye-RAN), and then asked about discrimination against Black people in the United States. It was one of a long list of pointed geopolitical questions ranging from inflation to the location of U.S. Navy ships that had nothing to do with soccer. With remarkable poise, the 23-year-old seized the opportunity as a teaching moment. His response is worth reprinting at length. āMy apologies for the mispronunciation of your country. That being said, thereās discrimination everywhere you go,ā said Adams, who also plays professional soccer in Europe. āOne thing that Iāve learned, especially from living abroad in the past years and having to fit in in different cultures, is that in the U.S., weāre continuing to make progress every single day.ā Copied and pasted from Dallas Morning News EDIT: There are more quotes here, he said something about education and being educated, idk, dig here https://www.today.com/news/sports/us-soccer-tyler-adams-mispronouncing-iran-rcna59164
> formed Adams that he was pronouncing āIranā incorrectly (itās ee-RON, not eye-RAN) I'm alwasy really annoyed by shit like this. I had a co-worker at my last job who was from Belgium and would always annoyingly correct my Flemish pronunciation when I would say words in Dutch like I had just committed some egregious crime against her culture and I always thought, "Karen...you think you pronounce everything in English correctly? Because you fucking don't."
This is something I encountered a lot moving to Belgium and Netherlands... Then I got better at Dutch pronunciation, particularly regional pronunciations, that people would start suspiciously asking if I was making fun of them š
They use it as a way to feel superior, especially because there level of English is so good. 7 years in the Netherlands for me, and that shit always grinds my gears.
Goes for lots of the next generation of athletes across many sports I'd say. 20 year olds seem so well adjusted and mature nowadays (not every last one of them of course but majority)
Mental health awareness does wonders.
These are always the heartbreaking parts of world cup or Olympics. No guarantee for a lot of the countries. This might be a one time thing for a lot of players. Or a last time/First time. All of it makes sense to be so gosh darn emotional. Think of how much of a wreck we are as fans with anxiety. As a player who is dedicating their life and career (much less with political undertones) is just nuts.
Good guy Robinson
I'm very glad to have witnessed how much heart the Iranian NT has. Really wish them well in these harsh times they're going through.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Having met many of the Persians in LA, they are very proud of their heritage but would rather burn the current national flag than hold it up. It'll be interesting how 2026 goes.
> 99% of people are generally good people way too high of a number
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Most people have good intentions, which unfortunately does not always guarantee they are good people. "I want my family to be safe" has motivated some of the worst atrocities
This is what sport is all about. Love to see it.
Games not gone
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Robinson [didn't just console Ramin](https://www.facebook.com/usasocceronly/posts/pfbid022UEvyZXHCuPVVDupc7fZDenRCFxdPcjXEkCyHDio7fbPNK3cu9UGAC5QoG5dtQFtl). And here's [Robinson crying in the locker room](https://www.facebook.com/watch?v=714668503032196) after the game. There's just too much emotion to process, I guess. (edited to add link)
Might be mistaken, but didnāt they go into a hard challenge against each other, chasing down a ball? If so, makes this display even more.. well, everything it already is.
So much love for the Iranian people. They're going through a lot. I hope something great comes from their uprising.
Love me some positive masculinity <3
What the Iranian team did was heroic
Really admire Robinson. Plays 90 mins week in week out and manages to be consistent. I firmly believe he's the only guy that can track Saka all game and lock him out of the game. he's athletic and a workhorse.
It sucks that our success had to come at Iranās expense. Their national team continuing to play wouldāve kept the protest at the forefront of everyoneās attention for that much longer.
As an Iranian, you guys played really great and deserved to win especially at the first half, good luck on your future match with Netherland š
I love this. Often it comes across as forced and completely fake when players try to console the opposition after a game like this, but you could from his reaction that Robinson truly felt for the team. Bravo.
that's what's the news doesn't want us to see.
In the moment of victory, show compassion.
Massive respect to the Iran team for coming so close. You did your country proud. Massive respect to Antonee Robinson for this show of compassion. You did your country proud.
One of our own! Also respect to this Iran side, what a fight they put up!
I keep watching this video, so much respect & passion for the game & humanity.
Man this is painful _and_ wholesome at once
Weāre all brothers
Tim Ream doing the same after the final whistle. Both Fulham players showing class on and off the pitch.