Show me the money

How much to American players make for playing in the World Cup? SI's Grant Wahl looked into this and published a great column online. Turns out, making the roster provides a nice bonus, but the farther the team advances, the more money the players will make.

If you don't feel like reading the whole thing, here are the highlights:

• If you are a player on the final 23-man World Cup roster, you make a minimum of $76,000.
• FIFA gives out team bonuses in larger and larger amounts depending on how far the team advances in the tournament. The country's soccer federation can then distribute the money as it sees fit among the players. According to Wahl, in 2002, when the US advanced to the quarterfinals, "each player received $203,000. I have been told the figure would be more than double that amount if the team repeated the 2002 run in 2014."
• And here are the salaries of the MLS players who are competing for a spot on the final roster. As you can see, there is a pretty wide disparity among the players' salaries and just an extra $76,000 would make a big difference for some of the lower-paid players:
  
• Clint Dempsey: $6,695,189
• Michael Bradley: $6,500,000
• Landon Donovan: $4,583,333
• Omar González: $1,250,000
• Chris Wondolowski: $650,000
• Maurice Edu: $650,000
• Graham Zusi: $398,250
• Brad Davis: $392,062
• Kyle Beckerman: $378,750
• Clarence Goodson: $342,000
• Michael Parkhurst: $300,000
• Brad Evans: $293,666
• Nick Rimando: $235,833
• Matt Besler: $200,000
• DeAndre Yedlin: $92,000

61 Days until the World Cup - Answering some questions for casual fans

It's only 61 days until the 2014 World Cup kicks off in Brazil (I knew that without looking it up online, BTW). During the 2010 World Cup, I posted several blogs intended for non-soccer fanatics who were getting swept up in the tournament. I got some very positive feedback 4 years ago, so I'm giving it another go this year.

Here are a few questions casual soccer fans often ask me about the World Cup.

Why do we call it soccer in the US when the rest of the world calls it football (or futbol)?

Brian Phillips wrote a great piece in Slate 4 years ago answering this question. If you don't want to read the whole thing, here's the short answer from the article:

It's an abbreviation of association football. Both soccer and American football come from the same set of precursor sports, which became popular in upper-class English schools in the early 19th century and spread across the Atlantic. All these games involved advancing a ball through an opponent's territory and scoring at the far end, but the rules varied from place to place. Ultimately, the version adopted as standard in the United Kingdom came to be known as association football, while another set of rules won out in the United States. Thus the Americans took to calling their gridiron variety football, and referred to the British sport by the slang term soccer, derived from the soc in association.

Who is the US playing in the World Cup?

The US is playing in what most commentators are calling the "Group of Death." That's a hyperbolic way of saying the US is in the toughest group on the tournament. Their opponents are:

• Ghana - Ranked 38th in the world, but Ghana have knocked the US out of the last 2 World Cups. 
• Portugal - Ranked 3rd in the world, they boast arguably the best player in the world, Cristiano Ronaldo.
• Germany - Ranked 2nd in the world, they have won the World Cup 3 times (only Italy and Brazil have won it more).

The US are ranked 13th. So you can see why this is called the Group of Death. Keep in mind, however, that part of the reason it's considered the most difficult group is because it includes the US. Portugal and Germany would feel a lot better about advancing if, say, Australia (g'day, mates!) were in this group instead of the US.

Can the US advance out of their group?

Yes, if they can earn 4 points. (In soccer, you get 3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie and 0 points for a loss.)

Here's how the results could break the Yanks' way:

Germany ties Portugal
US beats Ghana

US ties Portugal
Germany beats Ghana

Germany beats US
Ghana ties Portugal

That would leave Germany with 7 points, the US with 4, Portugal with 3 and Ghana with 1. The top 2 teams advance, meaning the US and Germany would proceed to the knockout stages.

Who is favored to win the World Cup?

As the host, Brazil are the safest bet. The other favorites are Spain, Germany and Argentina. After that, you could make a case for France, Belgium, Italy, Columbia, Holland and Portugal having a chance.

What other questions do you have about the World Cup or the US team? Post in the comments below.

World Cup: Final 16

I'm not going to quit my day job. I only got both the advancing teams right in 2 groups 

Group A: South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay
Group B: Argentina, Nigeria, South Korea
Group C: England, US
Group D: Germany, Serbia, Ghana
Group E: Netherlands, Cameroon, Japan
Group F: Italy, Paraguay, Slovakia
Group G: Brazil, Portugal
Group H: Spain, Switzerland, Chile


I guess 10/16 isn't too bad.

Here are the remaining match-ups (remember that it's the knock-out phase; if a game is tied after 90 minutes, they play an extra 30 minutes; if it's still tied, they have a penalty kick shoot-out):

Uruguay

vs.

South Korea

-

Jun 26 10:00am (ET) on ESPN

United States

vs.

Ghana

-

Jun 26 2:30pm (ET) on ABC

Germany

vs.

England

-

Jun 27 10:00am (ET) on ESPN

Argentina

vs.

Mexico

-

Jun 27 2:30pm (ET) on ABC

Netherlands

vs.

Slovakia

-

Jun 28 10:00am (ET) on ESPN

Brazil

vs.

Chile

-

Jun 28 2:30pm (ET) on ESPN

Paraguay

vs.

Japan

-

Jun 29 10:00am (ET) on ESPN

Spain

vs.

Portugal

-

Jun 29 2:30pm (ET) on ESPN

The game to watch this weekend is clearly US v. Ghana. I would call this game a pick 'em. My heart says the US will win, but Ghana is tough to break down defensively. I wouldn't be surprised if it goes to penalty kicks, unless the US forwards start scoring (all the US goals thus far have been scored by midfielders).

But there are plenty of other mouth-watering matches. Germany v. England, for historical (both geopolitical and soccer) reasons, is a must-see. Argentina v. Mexico is a rematch of a thrilling 2006 World Cup encounter. Finally, Spain v. Portugal is another high-powered game.

World Cup: USA v. Algeria

If you didn't watch the game live, I don't know what to tell you.

Or even worse, you followed the game live but gave up before the final whistle and turned the tv/radio/match tracker off. (If you were following the game online you were part of 2nd highest internet traffic day of all-time.) If you gave up on the US team shame on you. Because those guys never, ever quit. They knew that had to win and luck (and the refs) seemed to be against them. But Bob Bradley made aggressive, offensive subs and the US players responded by pushing, pushing, pushing for 90+ minutes.

The US got a bit lucky in the opening minutes when the Algerian cannoned a shot off the crossbar. But the US were extremely unlucky to have yet another goal wrongly disallowed and unlucky not to punch one in during regular time.

Still, the US kept coming and coming, sending wave after wave of attack. And finally, finally, with just minutes left they countered perfectly. A tepid header from Algeria went right into Tim Howard's hands and he immediately initiated a counter-attack by throwing the ball to Donovan.

Donovan charged toward goal with teammates running with him. An Algerian defender hesitated for a moment, considered whether to body-up Donovan, but another US player forced him to retreat. This allowed Donovan the space to pass to Altidore on the right. Altidore slipped a nice pass to the marauding and painfully unlucky Dempsey whose touch toward goal was deflected by the Algerian goalkeeper. But Donovan had intelligently continued his run (remember that this was after 90+ minutes of running his socks off) and smashed the ball into the net. Watching Donovan's tears after the game was incredibly powerful. He and the team had invested so much energy and emotion in all of the games so far that he could barely contain himself.

Nor could. I collapsted on the floor after the goal. I think I aged about 5 years during this game. And that's after aging 5 years during the US vs. Slovenia game.

Obviously I could not be more excited or happy about this. The US won the game and won their group. And they deserved to win. Just think how good the US would be if they finished their chances a little better and if the refs actually made the right calls. No team, with the possible exceptions of Brazil and Argentina, wants to play the US. They fight, claw, scratch, run, tackle and bleed until the final whistle blows.

Here's a good post-game take from Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated. His most interesting point is about who the US could play next: "If Germany can win Group D, the U.S. would probably meet Serbia or Ghana, avoiding Germany, with the winner of the U.S.’s second-round game to face the victor of Uruguay-South Korea. Long story short: Which quadrant would you rather be in, the one with Serbia/Ghana-Uruguay-South Korea or the one with Germany-Argentina-Mexico? I think we know the answer to that one."

That's all I've got for now. Don't give up on this team. Take off work or school and watch the rest of their games. Because they won't give up.

World Cup: USA v. Slovenia

Worst. Ref. Ever. 

I try (often in vain) to be objective when I evaluate referees in soccer games. For example, at first glance I thought the second Slovenia goal was offside. But when I watched the replay, I had to admit that the refs had got it right: the US had kept the Slovenian onside and the goal rightfully counted.

With that preface, let me say that the decision by the ref at the end of the game to wave off the game-winning goal was one of the worst decisions I've seen in a lifetime of watching soccer. Disgraceful. Shocking. Diabolical. Awful. Shameful.

To recap: The US had just tied it on a wonderful goal by the coach's son, Michael Bradley. Donovan curled a lovely free-kick into the Slovenia box, where it was met by midfielder Maurice Edu (not to be confused with Freddy Adu). The ball flew past the goalkeeper for what appeared to be the game winning goal. Inexplicably, the ref whistled -- well, I don't know what he whistled for. There was no offside -- not even close. If there were any fouls to be called, they were all on the Slovenians. Michael Bradley, for example, had a defender's arms wrapped around him from behind.

And I'm not alone here. The Guardian writes: "Quite why the referee's whistle had gone is not clear - there was no offside and the only fouls being perpetrated were by Slovenians holding on to assorted American jerseys. Mystifying decision."

And Sports Illustrated: "This was an all-time game marred by an all-time officiating blunder."

There were other poor calls as well. Robbie Findley (who had a poor game overall) was given a yellow card for hitting the ball with his face in the first half.  And Altidore was hauled down just outside the penalty box in the second half with a pretty clear path to goal; that should have been a red card, not just a yellow. On the other side, Clint Dempsey was lucky not to get a yellow in the first minute of the match for an elbow to the head of a Slovenian player.

Aside from the frustration at not getting the win they deserved, the American team has to wonder why they are so poor in the first phase of their games. They've coughed up two goals in the first 15 minutes of both games and it's tough to go far in a tournament making mistakes like that. I blame the coach's insertion of Jose Torres, who is skillful on the ball and takes nice free kicks, but both Slovenian goals were the result of poor midfield tracking of players.Bradley recognized this and put in Edu in the second half.

But full credit to the US for fighting back in the second half. You might not see a better goal than the one Donovan scored to open the first half. If the goalkeeper had just stood his ground, he probably would have stopped the ball with his face and suffered a concussion. Instead, he flinched and the ball nearly ripped the roof off the net.

The second goal was a thing of beauty. Donovan played a nice ball into Altidore, who did well to win the aerial battle and play the ball into space. Second half sub Herculez Gomez ran across the penalty box, dragging a defender with him. That run left space for Bradley to run onto the ball. Many players would have blasted the ball into the keeper's gut or over the crossbar. But Bradley hit it with with a wonderful combination of touch and strength and arched it over the helpless keeper.

So obviously the US would have loved to get a win. And they deserved the win, showing great heart and spirit in the second half and scoring what should have been a goal.

The US is not eliminated with this result. In fact, even if they had lost they would still be alive to make the second round. But a win would have put them in a very good position to make the knock-out stage. And I think that the best outcome for the US in the England v. Algeria match would be a 0-0 tie (but I'm not sure). That game starts 2:30 EST on ESPN2. 

Watch ESPN video highlights of today's game here.

---

Yesterday, I made a big deal at work to make sure nobody told me the scores of the Greece v. Nigeria and Mexico v. France games. I was taping them at home and planning to watch with the family during dinner.

I sat down to watch the early game (Greece v. Nigeria) with Meg, Mary and John ready for a night of World Cup soccer with the whole family. Mary took a bit of her dinner, then asked, "Daddy, did you know that Mexico beat France today in the World Cup?"

I stared at her blankly for a minute, then admitted that I actually hadn't heard that yet. "Mr. Williams, my tennis coach, told me today at camp." She smiled warmly, thinking she had really impressed me with her soccer knowledge. I didn't have the heart to tell her that I had been avoiding the score all day. And it turns out our DVR hadn't recorded the Mexico v. France game anyway.

World Cup: Brian Ching out!

Well, I was close. I predicted the following players would not make the final team:

Marshall, Pearce, Bedoya, Kljestan, Rogers, Findley, Johnson

I got 6 out of 7 right. 

US Coach Bob Bradley surprised nearly every US soccer fan and journalist by dropping Brian Ching. The Flyin' Hawaiian was considered by me and most others as a lock to make the team. Instead, Bradley elected to take Robbie Findley, a speedy forward who has never really shown anything is a US shirt. 

It must have been a surprise to Ching as well; an ESPN soccer writer posted this on his Twitter feed: 

Got a vmail from Brian Ching while i was on flight. Said he was "disappointed and a little crushed." Didn't say why Bradley cut him. 

It's easy to forget when talking about highly paid pro athletes -- who we boo and cheer and yell at and talk about -- that they are regular people too. I've never met Ching but everything I've seen and read about him is that he is a humble, hard-working, stand-up guy.

World Cup: 30-7=23

Simple math, right? 30-7=23. But for US soccer players trying to make the team that travels to South Africa, that simple equation is much more than math.

30: The number of US players currently competing for the World Cup (WC) squad.
23: The number of players the US will bring to South Africa.
7: The number of players currently on the roster who will be cut, maybe as soon as tomorrow.

Now, certain players are a lock for the WC team. Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, Tim Howard and Josy Altidore are the best known American players whose places are secure. They may not even play in the exhibition match tonight (ESPN, 8 pm EST) against the Czech Republic.

But for a number of other players, their future is less certain. Here are the players who have the most to gain -- or lose -- in tonight's match:

Forward: Herculez Gomez, Edson Buddle, Eddie Johnson and Robbie Findley are all competing for the same position: forward. Of those 4, only 1 or 2 may make the final cut and play up top with Jozy Altidore.

Midfield: DaMarcus Beasley, Alejandro Bedoya, Sacha Kljestan, Robbie Rogers and José Torres are all trying to make their case for inclusion as midfielders. Just like the forwards, only 1 or 2 may punch their tickets to South Africa.

Defense: Jonathan Bornstein, Heath Pearce, Clarence Goodson and Chad Marshall are trying to make the squad as defenders. Bornstein and Pearce play the same position (left back); only 1 will probably be selected. Same with Goodson and Marshall, who both play in central defense.

The US players have been in training camp for more than a week, so Bob Bradley (the US coach) probably already has a good idea of most of his final 23. But for those players on the bubble, tonight's game may be the deciding factor.

Oh, and the US player with arguably the highest profile in the US -- Freddy Adu -- is not even in consideration for the US team this year. But he is still young (only 20) and will likely try to make the 2014 squad.