Weekly Rekrap: World Cups and All-Stars

The World Cup is in full swing which means there’s been delight and disappointment, predictability and surprise. Frankly, at this point it’s hard to say who the favorite is. The bracket works out for an easy side that might have Spain walk into the final, though Croatia looms in their future perhaps. On the other side of the matches, all the good teams will play each other before the final. If say, Belgium were to make it to the final, they may end up playing Brazil and France before getting there. At the very least, the tournament is setting up some games between giants before the championship game.

Anyway, onto the Rekrap...

You call that a breakdown?

Argentina is the little meltdown that could and somehow they made it out of the group stage. Sadly, their problems from the weird fixation on playing a roster with half the players from the 2010 on it to a manager none of the players like to a completely dysfunctional federation just scratch the surface when it comes to what’s wrong with the team. It’s a meltdown of World Cup proportions - but, how does it shape up compared to other times national teams have completely fallen apart? Football365 has a look.

Nice try, I guess?

The two man penalty is one of the riskiest plays in soccer along with the Panenka. Get it right and you’ve converted a penalty with two players which somehow is more effective than one player stepping up and ripping one home from the spot - I guess? Get it wrong and it’s completely hilarious and you should be handed down a FIFA ban for life.

Get a job, they said. Move out of the house, they told me...

I subscribe to the Athletic, I encourage you to also if you have the resources. The site ventured into Players’ Tribune territory this week with an anonymous story from a NWSL player about the effects of living with host families on players in the league. Overall it’s pretty positive, but still challenging. If you don’t subscribe to the Athletic - get some free content about when Meghan Klingenberg and Morgan Brian were hosted by Jeff Van Gundy’s family.

Making new friends at the World Cup...

Meanwhile, fans of El Tri celebrated their loss to Sweden, and South Korea’s win over Germany, with a parade:

Then there was this

And people don’t think it’s OK to support Mexico...

Is Miami getting an MLS team? Maybe, but first they’re getting a name...

The MLS team in Miami that is totally happening and not just something that will have to re-launch again in three years because it can’t find a stadium site and the owners decide they’d rather focus their efforts on anti-communism than soccer might have a new name. The original idea was to call the club the Miami Freedom, but they’re getting closer to Futbol Club Internacional de Miami (Inter Miami) and Futbol Club Atletico Miami (Atletico Miami) according to the Miami Herald.

Someone asked the very important, necessary and important question...

Is the World Cup MLS? Who would think of such a dumb idea?

Thinking of England...

What do you mean football is coming home? Why do British people say this about their team whenever it plays? Football’s home is Brazil, not England. What’s with that? If you’ve ever thought those things, Andi Thomas has an explanation.

A cool and good story from Minnesota...

Minnesota United midfielder Collin Martin came out gay publicly before the team’s Pride Night match against FC Dallas. Martin is the only out male athlete in an American league. Outsports has the story of the importance of his announcement and how the club and its fans have supported him.

No, of course it’s not a retirement league...

Wayne Rooney is in MLS, because of course he is. It seems like a pretty odd choice for DC United. The team doesn’t really need another attacking player as their issues seem to be with having not played any home games this year, treating their fans badly, and not having any defensive solidity while it seems like the entire league has made a leap in attacking talent and philosophy while Ben Olsen has failed to keep up. It might not work out, but maybe it will according to Kim McCauley.

Some MLS All-Star alternates for Tata Martino to consider...

The MLS All-Star team is out and it got me thinking - who’s missing from this list? Here’s a way too long look at it -

Yamil Asad - The DC United winger is definitely on the “good player on a bad team” list. Somehow Tata Martino didn’t think he needed to give the player who has made Darren Mattocks look like Gyasi Zardes a chance to reunite with his former Atlanta United teammates. I guess Yamil will just have to be content playing with Wayne Rooney.

Mac Steeves - Yes, Mac Steeves should be on the All-Star team. While the team is packed with players who can do magical things with the ball at their feet, it’s missing a center forward that can run through opponents with such beefy force that it turns them into oatmeal. Please put Mac on the team, it is currently badly lacking in players that fit the Absolute Unit category. Does Steeves have the stats to warrant inclusion in the team? No, but neither does Zlatan.

Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports

Mohamed El-Monir - Does the Orlando City defender have any business on the All-Star team? Consider this, his team is in 8th place and he features on a defense that has allowed 33 goals. But it seems like whoever chose the All-Star team decided that didn’t matter when Francisco Calvo and the 29 goals the Minnesota United captain has helped allow was put on the team. Just give El-Monir a chance, I’m sure Gonzalo Higuain will manage to screw up an open shot he gets when the Orlando defender leaves him uncovered in the box.

David Bingham - Is the LA Galaxy keeper on a team that consistently goes on 5 game winless streaks in MLS? Yes. But it is a minor miracle that Bingham has kept 5 clean sheets while letting in just 23 goals in 15 games. After all, his defenders this season have included some guys named Dave Romney and Daniel Steres and whatever is left of Ashley Cole who people think is still good for some reason. He is perfectly average and that means that he’s the best goalkeeper of all time.

Will Bruin - I know what you’re thinking, Will Bruin? The player who is tries so hard you think his little heart is going to burst every time he touches the ball? What could he possibly offer against Giorgio Chiellini? Well, their skills match up better than you might think. Both are extremely slow and loaf around the goal box like they’re happy to be losing against Poland and are more likely to send the ball 80 yards in the opposite direction of the goal than towards it. WILL DESERVES THIS.

I got your goals...

As for your goals this week, well - I did all that already, what more do you want from me?

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Howler Radio - it’s back! The show is doing a series of reports from Russia by writer Tom Kludt.