Ideally, every American fan should pump the brakes a little and remember that we won the group due to circumstances beyond our control, not because we were the best team. But many won’t, because ‘Merica and #1 and I BELIEVE THAT WE WILL WIN

And now, the way things have shaken out, probably not even Brazil!

Haha yes. We will always have that bike against United, even if the game was over.

That’s kind of the weird thing for me, and maybe it’s just my own selective memory. But my lasting thoughts on Benteke after this season were that he really wasn’t as good in the air as he should have been. Any time the ball was crossed he always seemed to float between the penalty spot and top of the 18 instead of…

I’m not on a crusade against Benteke by any means. Clearly he has great technique and is extremely talented, but he’s a square peg in a round hole with Klopp’s system. He just doesn’t have the movement - the achilles rupture certainly didn’t help - and is way too static in the final third to be influential. The Lovren…

To be fair, most of the time that other teammate he would need to bring into the game is Benteke.

Not saying he hasn’t proved he is worth more than the 80ish million Euros Barca paid, but that is the 4th highest transfer ever, behind Bale, Ronaldo, and Neymar.

I feel like every day since the tournament started I hear a different member of the national team whispering in his ear about moving to a more successful team. SHUT UP ALVES AND LUIS LEAVE HIM ALONE *sobs uncontrollably*

To be clear, the reason I jumped into this thread was simply to point out the couple things he does well that are understandably overshadowed by the things he doesn’t. I don’t look at him as a long-term solution for anything on this team. But yes, trying to build a consensus of what constitutes as good defensive…

I guess we watched two different games.

I agree completely. But what I will say in his favor is that he seems to understand exactly how Klins wants him to play (whether or not you agree with the coaching is an entirely different discussion). His pressing is getting better and knowing how and when to do that seems critical. Plus he was always in good…

His biggest qualities as of late have been the work he’s done off the ball, especially defensively. I’m not trying to sell him as an underappreciated talent, it’s just less noticeable than the moments when you see him in the final third and his touch is just too heavy.

nope

I don’t know how to say this without sounding like a US homer, because admittedly I am, BUT....

Totally curious here, but is there a chance that “filha da puta” is used in a similar way people say “son of a bitch” as a generalized way to vent frustration?