Still Stunned

24 hours later and I'm still stunned at what happened in World Cup Qualifying last night.  I had no thought that the 4th, 5th, and 6th placed teams would all win.  I figured the absolute worst case was that we'd stumble and either Panama or Honduras would pull a major upset and we'd have to beat the Aussies for our trip too Russia.  More likely I figured we'd play a boring draw and just squeak into the 3rd spot.

There's a lot of hot takes out there right now about who to blame and what the U.S. should do next.  Personally, I think the players take the majority of the blame for only playing a complete game about 3 times in the 10 game hex.  Last night, especially in the first half, we looked like a team that assumed we were going to Russia and didn't have to make an effort.  Outside of Pulisic and maybe Yedlin I don't think anyone on that field deserves to continue as a Nats member, and that includes Howard.

As for what we do from here, I don't know.  There is no easy answer.  Pundits have talked about what Germany did after their failures in 1998 and 2000 and I think the general idea is the right one.  The USSF, MLS, the USL (I'd say the NASL but they're going to be out of business in a few months) and the USSDA need to get together, figure out what the long-term plan is, and all commit to that plan.  That will require some give and take from all parties, and most likely new leadership at the USSF, but its time to examine everything in the U.S. soccer sphere, from the Nats to the Rapids Academy.

Next June/July is going to be very different for American fans.  For the first time in most of our lifetimes, or at least in the part of our lifetimes when we've been soccer fans, the Yanks won't be at the World Cup.  I'm going to be watching the UEFA playoffs next month to see if either of my ancestral sides, Ireland and Sweden, get through to Russia.  If they're both eliminated I'm not sure who I'll back next year, maybe Colombia.

As Expected, Another Draw

As I predicted Friday, Colorado and Dallas played to a 1-1 draw.  A GK mistake that allowed Aigner his second goal was cancelled out by a solid header for Dallas in the second half.  The most interesting thing in the game was Atiba Harris being yellow carded for a tackle on Aigner and then having that yellow card waved off after discussions with the 4th official.  Right call as Harris never made contact, though I think Aigner might have admitted it to the ref as well.  Otherwise it was more of the same from this season. though I think at times we had a more organized strategy than we've seen in the past.

The Rapids now need 2 points in the final 2 games on the next 2 Sundays to avoid the worst season ever.

MLS Cup Rematch

Break out your scudetto jerseys and party like its 2010.  Dallas is in town makes their only trip to Commerce City tomorrow night and the Rapids have a chance to Burn their playoff chances to the ground.  Their 2-0 win over us last week is their only win in the last twelve games and they've tumbled from the top of the table to holding on to the last playoff spot by .04 pts/game. A loss tomorrow would drop them into a 3-way tie with San Jose and (sadly) FSL for the last playoff spot.  Kickoff is at 7pm and Fleming and Balboa will have the call on Altitude while Kevin Doyle will join Conor McGahey on the radio call.

The Rapids will be without Howard (who had a shutout against Panama tonight), Williams (who traveled with T&T but didn't suit up due to injury), and Watts, who got a 2 game suspension today for his red card last week.  Azira is also questionable due to the ankle injury he picked up last week.  Dallas is down Acosta and Figueroa to international duty.

Prediction: 1-1 draw, goal by Badji.  I want to predict a win because I want to see us kill Dallas' playoff hopes but after they easily handled us last week so I think that's a step too far.  We get 1 point, Badji gets his 10th goal, and Dallas' playoff hopes are on life support but not dead.

Two Bits Of News

Two pieces of news today.

• The players union's salary guide was updated today.  We know that Aigner is making $425K in base salary per year, with guarantees he's at $470 which is just over max salary range, making him a TAM player.  I assume he has an escalation clause for next season.
• Badji signs a new contract through 2019 with team options for 2020 and 2021.  Good move and well deserved.  He's clearly the team MVP this year.

Another Odd Game Featuring Montreal At DSG

Weird things happen when Montreal comes to town.  Four years ago the Rapids won on a wind-blown ball that was whistled out for a corner before it went in the goal but the goal stood.  This year it was two VARS, two red cards, the first goal from our new summer signing, and Alan Gordon's 3rd game winning goal of the season.  While I wouldn't go so far as to call the game quality or maybe even entertaining it certainly was interesting.

After reviewing the highlights on all the various calls I have to say the ref team largely got it right.  Certainly all the major calls were correct (or at least defend-able).  While the ref had some questionable restarts both reds were justifiable and the PK was correctly called off after VAR.

With the win the Rapids got out of last place, now ahead of LA on tiebreakers.  They also need just 3 more points in the last 3 games to avoid their worst season ever.