Euro Tournament 2024

[joseephuss]

https://www.givemesport.com/uefa-announce-euro-2024-team-of-the-tournament/

 

[RustyBourneHorse]

Yup. Spain and France.
Argentina likely still up there in top 3.

I think France are going to fall off. Normally,they have one good WC followed by a horrible one. They have had two back to back good WCs. They looked horrible in the Euros. I think their 2026 WC will be bad.

 

[joseephuss]

https://www.cbssports.com/soccer/ne...ad-the-way-ahead-of-spain-england-and-france/

 

[RustyBourneHorse]

Bye Southgate

 

[jterrell]

I think France are going to fall off. Normally,they have one good WC followed by a horrible one. They have had two back to back good WCs. They looked horrible in the Euros. I think their 2026 WC will be bad.

I suspect France simply has too many good/great athletes to be bad.
But they need do need to find a skilled midfielder to be the best of the best again. I suspect Sherki may be that kid. If he even 21 yet? --it is Rayan Cherki... my bad
And Mbappe probably should be playing somewhere that challenges him not coasting with Real.

 

[RustyBourneHorse]

I suspect France simply has too many good/great athletes to be bad.
But they need do need to find a skilled midfielder to be the best of the best again. I suspect Sherki may be that kid. If he even 21 yet? --it is Rayan Cherki... my bad
And Mbappe probably should be playing somewhere that challenges him not coasting with Real.

Maybe, but they were more shocking than England this tourny. If I were them, I'd be worried entering the WC after that.

 

[jterrell]

Maybe, but they were more shocking than England this tourny. If I were them, I'd be worried entering the WC after that.

They def had some rough outings where the midfield play was controlled by opponents, especially Spain.
But current Vegas odds have them tied for best chance to win the tourney with Spain and Brazil (?? have looked like trash) just a touch ahead of England.

If Mbappe can be that best in world level guy he should be they will always have a path.

US is about to get them in the Olympics which doesn't feel very fun at all TBH.

 

[RustyBourneHorse]

They def had some rough outings where the midfield play was controlled by opponents, especially Spain.
But current Vegas odds have them tied for best chance to win the tourney with Spain and Brazil (?? have looked like trash) just a touch ahead of England.

If Mbappe can be that best in world level guy he should be they will always have a path.

US is about to get them in the Olympics which doesn't feel very fun at all TBH.

I think the US National Team is going to be irrelevant at both the Olympics and the WC. Point blank. It's mainly due to poor fundamentals with the way the US system is developed and operated.

As for France, yes, Mbappe is good. However, I see some weaknesses in their game. I think the favourites should be Spain, Argentina, Germany (I like their manager), and Brazil. Id also possibly throw in Japan who have been getting better every WC.

 

[joseephuss]

I don't know why Brazil is still highly regarded. They haven't made a deep run in a World Cup in quite some time. They didn't make the finals of the Copa. They currently sit 6th in CONMEBOL WC qualifying after 6 matches. They have a long, rich history, but in recent memories they have been severely lacking. I don't see them fixing their issues in two years enough to be serious title contenders.

It's ironic that German had the oldest average age of the teams at this year's EUROs. With Kroos and Mueller gone, that average age will go down. They have some young talent.

France will likely not have Griezman or Giroud for the next WC. but they had already began the transition away from them. Kante, either. I think Pogba being suspended hurt them a bit. Unless he manages to win an appeal, he won't be available for the WC. They have to strengthen that mid-field.

I have no idea about the quality of the Olympic team for the USA or any country. Looking forward to seeing if any youngsters stand out during the event.

 

[RustyBourneHorse]

I don't know why Brazil is still highly regarded. They haven't made a deep run in a World Cup in quite some time. They didn't make the finals of the Copa. They currently sit 6th in CONMEBOL WC qualifying after 6 matches. They have a long, rich history, but in recent memories they have been severely lacking. I don't see them fixing their issues in two years enough to be serious title contenders.

It's ironic that German had the oldest average age of the teams at this year's EUROs. With Kroos and Mueller gone, that average age will go down. They have some young talent.

France will likely not have Griezman or Giroud for the next WC. but they had already began the transition away from them. Kante, either. I think Pogba being suspended hurt them a bit. Unless he manages to win an appeal, he won't be available for the WC. They have to strengthen that mid-field.

I have no idea about the quality of the Olympic team for the USA or any country. Looking forward to seeing if any youngsters stand out during the event.

That and their key pieces seem to be starting to fall apart. Still, they might make one last big push.

 

[jterrell]

I think the US National Team is going to be irrelevant at both the Olympics and the WC. Point blank. It's mainly due to poor fundamentals with the way the US system is developed and operated.

As for France, yes, Mbappe is good. However, I see some weaknesses in their game. I think the favourites should be Spain, Argentina, Germany (I like their manager), and Brazil. Id also possibly throw in Japan who have been getting better every WC.

US will have host country advantage at Olympics and have a lot of talent by US standards.
Hosts get boosts to drive success.

They likely make it out of groups as they typically do then fizzle in knockouts, but it will be a matter of the match up.
They are certainly no real overall threat. Raw talent-wise they sit about 15th best in the world and the tactics lately haven't even been that good.

I'd probably largely agree with Vegas. I think Spain and France, Argentina, Colombia would be my top 4. England about 5th but pending manager change could easily hit top 4.

Brazil has fallen way off. We just saw them draw with the US.
Germany is too inconsistent. Portugal has to move on from Ronaldo.

 

[jterrell]

I don't know why Brazil is still highly regarded. They haven't made a deep run in a World Cup in quite some time. They didn't make the finals of the Copa. They currently sit 6th in CONMEBOL WC qualifying after 6 matches. They have a long, rich history, but in recent memories they have been severely lacking. I don't see them fixing their issues in two years enough to be serious title contenders.

It's ironic that German had the oldest average age of the teams at this year's EUROs. With Kroos and Mueller gone, that average age will go down. They have some young talent.

France will likely not have Griezman or Giroud for the next WC. but they had already began the transition away from them. Kante, either. I think Pogba being suspended hurt them a bit. Unless he manages to win an appeal, he won't be available for the WC. They have to strengthen that mid-field.

I have no idea about the quality of the Olympic team for the USA or any country. Looking forward to seeing if any youngsters stand out during the event.

They have a lot of raw talent. Much of not yet even on the team but they have played awful football lately.
Europe has done a great job pulling the best Brazilian kids and they are gone by 13-15 so they never play with their countrymen.
Stylistic and swagger advantages disappear then.

This isn't Pele's Brazil.

 

[RustyBourneHorse]

US will have host country advantage at Olympics and have a lot of talent by US standards.
Hosts get boosts to drive success.

They likely make it out of groups as they typically do then fizzle in knockouts, but it will be a matter of the match up.
They are certainly no real overall threat. Raw talent-wise they sit about 15th best in the world and the tactics lately haven't even been that good.

I'd probably largely agree with Vegas. I think Spain and France, Argentina, Colombia would be my top 4. England about 5th but pending manager change could easily hit top 4.

Brazil has fallen way off. We just saw them draw with the US.
Germany is too inconsistent. Portugal has to move on from Ronaldo.

My problem with the US team is that it's pay to play at the younger levels. If theyd actually take the opportunity to get young players with clear talent, regardless of income levels, into an academy where they can hone their skills, the US would be much better at the sport.

 

[joseephuss]

This article has some interesting points about Brazil. Also, their team didn't qualify for the Olympics, so their younger players won't be able to be tested.

https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...azil-copa-america-endrick-vinicius-jr-selecao

 

[joseephuss]

My problem with the US team is that it's pay to play at the younger levels. If theyd actually take the opportunity to get young players with clear talent, regardless of income levels, into an academy where they can hone their skills, the US would be much better at the sport.

I agree. It is not a good system and hinders development of the players. It is fairly common criticism of the current system. Still, this current squad should have had a better showing in the Copa. No one expects them to win such a tournament or win the World Cup, but they do have sufficient talent to have a better showing than they did.

 

[RustyBourneHorse]

I agree. It is not a good system and hinders development of the players. It is fairly common criticism of the current system. Still, this current squad should have had a better showing in the Copa. No one expects them to win such a tournament or win the World Cup, but they do have sufficient talent to have a better showing than they did.

Yes, and the managers have been subpar since Kinsman. They should have taken heed of what he was trying to do. Rather than arrogantly sack him, they should have let him rebuild the system the way he was wanting to. I know it doesn't necessarily fly with the other sports here, but you can't Americanise football.

 

[Miller]

My problem with the US team is that it's pay to play at the younger levels. If theyd actually take the opportunity to get young players with clear talent, regardless of income levels, into an academy where they can hone their skills, the US would be much better at the sport.

So my son is a 2012. Has been in club 3 yrs. It’s a horrible system. He was with a smaller club to start that was more about development. They sold out to Solar and he played great but all those coaches..including his old ones…cared about were Ws and they ruined a team of good kids. It was also eye opening going into ECNL tryouts this past Spring. He was their captain and top player but wanted him to play on one team. They took two other good kids who just had more size and said “you are Acsfemy” He then went and made a MLS Next Team and a FC Dallas team. When you aren’t on the Acsdemy team you are paying for the free Academy kids. It’s dumb. In the end one of the top young coaches/trainers in DFW decided to start a new 2011 team after success with a younger team. Every kid on his team now is former ECNL big league kids because they were tired of the system. Now there is a shift to development again.

Overall some of these Academy level kids are burned out early. They don’t get development. They have measurables and don’t care. In DFW there are a ton of extremely talented kids and I bet half are pushed out before even high school. System sucks. We did a Real Madrid camp over in Madrid this Summer and kids we met from there come from different mindset.

Sorry babbling but right in the middle there f when things get crazy …

 

[RustyBourneHorse]

So my son is a 2012. Has been in club 3 yrs. It’s a horrible system. He was with a smaller club to start that was more about development. They sold out to Solar and he played great but all those coaches..including his old ones…cared about were Ws and they ruined a team of good kids. It was also eye opening going into ECNL tryouts this past Spring. He was their captain and top player but wanted him to play on one team. They took two other good kids who just had more size and said “you are Acsfemy” He then went and made a MLS Next Team and a FC Dallas team. When you aren’t on the Acsdemy team you are paying for the free Academy kids. It’s dumb. In the end one of the top young coaches/trainers in DFW decided to start a new 2011 team after success with a younger team. Every kid on his team now is former ECNL big league kids because they were tired of the system. Now there is a shift to development again.

Overall some of these Academy level kids are burned out early. They don’t get development. They have measurables and don’t care. In DFW there are a ton of extremely talented kids and I bet half are pushed out before even high school. System sucks. We did a Real Madrid camp over in Madrid this Summer and kids we met from there come from different mindset.

Sorry babbling but right in the middle there f when things get crazy …

Yup, where as, with Europe, they go through the effort to find the top players and get them into a conducive environment for them to learn. That's probably why the team you're referring to met a completely different level with Madrid.

 

[Miller]

Yup, where as, with Europe, they go through the effort to find the top players and get them into a conducive environment for them to learn. That's probably why the team you're referring to met a completely different level with Madrid.

Exactly! They all play and then the coaches find the kids to develop and work up! Here you pay to play and they pull up kids too early that fit s mold and then they spit them out when they don’t work and repeat! Met a woman whose kids were all stars. One is first team FC Dallas pro. She told me to keep my son out of Academy as long as possible because most that do adjust easier by developing first and coming on later when more prepared.

 

[RustyBourneHorse]

Exactly! They all play and then the coaches find the kids to develop and work up! Here you pay to play and they pull up kids too early that fit s mold and then they spit them out when they don’t work and repeat! Met a woman whose kids were all stars. One is first team FC Dallas pro. She told me to keep my son out of Academy as long as possible because most that do adjust easier by developing first and coming on later when more prepared.

Exactly, and, in the US, it's also a question of what other sports will the talent be pulled to. It's ironic. A lot of Americans dream of becoming a professional athlete, and they typically spurn the sport that gives them the highest chance to do that. If the US wants to be great at football, the US must completely overhaul it's system. Might have to miss a WC or two, but it would need to be a full on overhaul to make the game here more inline with the rest of the world. Oh, and the MLS needs an overhaul too. Promotion and relegation needs to be installed like every other league.