Onderwerp: [NT] USA NT - Discussion

USA - Schweiz: 11 shots, 5 goals
USA - Österreich: 12 shots, 6 goals
Portugal - USA: 8 shots, 4 goals
Österreich - USA: 9 shots, 4 goals

Therefore I have to assume that the USA has the best Sokker team, as the "handicap" is always to hurt the USA. Harming or benefiting a team is a simple flag in the middle of thousands of lines of code. A flag that activates or deactivates this handicap you mentioned.

The only way the USA didn't concede goals in Sokker was not having conceded any shots in the last game. Thus, with 0 shots it was possible to have 0 goals conceded.

I am a software developer. In the project where I work, in my real life, there is a configuration file, where we define a black list of PRBs for which we cannot schedule. We don't need to change the code to change whether we are going to schedule these PRBs or not. Just change the configuration file. In Sokker there are files like these, at least functioning as a dictionary, to translate Sokker into different languages.

As a software developer, I at Sokker would do this:

bool apply_handicap_home = false;
bool apply_handicap_away = false;
float home_average_mark = get_average_mark(home_team_id);
float away_average_mark = get_average_mark(away_team_id);
if(home_average_mark > (1.05*away_average_mark) || check_black_list(home_team_id)) {
apply_handicap_away = true;
} else if(away_average_mark> (1.05*home_average_mark ) || check_black_list(away_team_id)) {
apply_handicap_home = true;
}

We don't need to be a genius to write lines of code like these, at the beginning of time.
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USA - Schweiz: 11 shots, 5 goals
USA - Österreich: 12 shots, 6 goals
Portugal - USA: 8 shots, 4 goals
Österreich - USA: 9 shots, 4 goals

Therefore I have to assume that the USA has the best Sokker team, as the "handicap" is always to hurt the USA.

that's not a handicap... those are just "normal" games, you don't understand what handicap is... it activates when there is a massive difference between teams in ratings and in shots, like 24:2 or 15:0 etc...

examples from my games

Deutschland - USA 4:2 (14:3 shots)
Deutschland - Israel 5:1 (17:3)
Deutschland - England 3:1 (25:2)
Österreich - Deutschland 1:4 (2:19)
Deutschland - República Dominicana 5:1 (20:1)
Deutschland - Daehan Minguk 3:0 (33:0)

Germany 24 goals from 128 shots = 18.7% scoring rate
Opponents 6 goals from 11 shots = 55% scoring rate

and when playing equal opponents and the game is close the handicap doesn't active

vs Ireland 13 shots, 5 goals
vs Serbia 10 shots, 3 goals
vs Cuba 14 shots, 4 goals
vs Argentina 9 shots, 2 goals
vs Bułgaria 15 shots, 5 goals

61 shots, 19 goals = 31% scoring rate

of course the scoring rate is always influenced by striker skill, form, actual quality of chances (long shot/1v1/header/marker or unmarked etc) so if in close games you always score below average and lose above average then it's probably caused the quality of strikers or by your tactics
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Schweiz (1) - (4) USA

How long has it been since the USA beat a Pot 1 team?

What did I see in this game? Statistics like those that hurt us all season, but this time in reverse. And with statistics like that, we also managed to win 4-1.
- Schweiz made 11 shots but only scored 1 goal.
- We took 9 shots and scored 4 goals (last week we took 13 shots and scored 0 goals).

In my opinion, today's statistics are not enough to balance the statistics that have been against us for an entire season. But it has been proven that when they are the other way around, we also win.

The most important aspects for today's victory were:
- Jonas Woock hit a Pace of 17 this Thursday. This was the first time I had 5 defenders with a Pace of 17! The first! And I don't have older players with a form that would allow me to have 5 defenders with Pace 17. To beat this Pot 1 team... I had to use this 23 year old player. If these players won this game... can you imagine what they will do in the next Qualifier? I'm being criticized a lot for giving minutes to these young players, and I'm tired of it! I'm doing the boring job of losing games to prepare for the next Qualifier, and it's annoying so many criticisms. But do you want the USA NT to be in 3rd/4th place forever? Or would you rather give up this season, take 3rd place... but in the next Qualification take 2nd/1st place and go to the WC? I KNOW WHAT I'M DOING! And for the first time it was enough to have 5 defenders with Pace 17... to win this difficult game.
- It was also important that King Cancela did not play today. He has less experience than other players. This was the player who didn't score a goal against Kazakhstan, when GK wasn't even in the goal! This week the USA NT's best striker gets to play as form has gone up to 14... and I've taken King Cancela out of the team.
- In the first game against Schweiz. we had played very well for 60 minutes, and I was teased for having that opinion. In this game, I obviously repeated the same tactic. The only difference is that I decided to separate central midfielders more, as Schweiz has a huge hole there, and I didn't see the need to play with 3 central midfielders.
- I followed a suggestion from borkos007, and placed the attackers further forward. So thank you borkos007.

For me, this game confirms once again that I am right in my ideas, namely in the importance of Pace, in investing in these young players, and in the importance of the experience verified when I removed King Cancela from the team... and whoever continues to influencing the community, saying that experience doesn't matter, or that I shouldn't use these players... it will make my job difficult, because I'm also human, I don't like losing and criticism... but in this case I have to apply this strategy, for the success of USA NT. If I give up on the USA NT because of all these criticisms... the USA NT will never have another coach with the courage to put up with what I'm going through here, to execute the project that will make the USA NT successful.

Nice win. 4 goals on 9 shots shows that the match engine is not rigged against you like you regularly claim

1 game is not worth 8 games

you're still complaining..??

lol ...
you are too much !!!

at least you finally won a game!
shows you should have won a lot more of them...!!!!!!
If only you spent the same time on your tactics as your do with your excuses..
you would have qualified..!!!
as the team was strong enough to move on to the next round...
PERIOD

To remember:
USA - Schweiz: 11 shots, 5 goals
USA - Österreich: 12 shots, 6 goals
Portugal - USA: 8 shots, 4 goals
Österreich - USA: 9 shots, 4 goals

Just because there's finally a game where the statistics reversed doesn't mean I'm happy. There are still a lot of shots that shouldn't have been goals against us through 8 games... and 1 game doesn't erase it all.

Congratulations on the win.

I think the result doesn’t have much to do with luck or match engine. I think it has a lot to do with changes in strategy that you implemented.

Strikers played higher,
We played with only 1 DM not 2
2 MIDS positioned wide were giving us playmaking options.
Overall strategy was just great.

It all lead to USA team having very high xG opportunities, many of which were converted to goals.

I do believe you are very capable tactically.

Something also makes me think that you might not yet developed full understanding of the game, a feel for it.

With everything that is going around your person you are in a very challenging position. It definitely doesn’t help when you don’t take accountability for losses. You just proved yourself and everyone else that improving strategy is a key to success in this game.

This was the first game where I had 5 defenses with Pace 17. From the beginning I highlighted how important this was. At the beginning of the season, I had an old team, with low Pace, and I was forced to renew the team during the Qualifiers, as the previous coach didn't do it at the right time. At a certain point, I pay dearly for using so many young people... but time is starting to prove me right. Yes, ranking is important. But if we can build a squad that beats everyone... then it doesn't matter if the USA is in 5th/4th/3rd/2nd/1st Pot. We will be able to win and achieve the goal of going to the WC.

Just like I said, I prefer a bad season, but build a good squad and come in 2nd place in the next Qualifier. And this result already shows that we are on a good path! Than to do like Adivip, and only have average seasons, without ever reaching 2nd place.

In Portugal we plant trees, potatoes, etc., and then we get the results. In the USA, many Americans go to supermarkets and buy potatoes. Americans need to know how to wait. This is why the USA NT was unsuccessful.

Just like I said, I know what I'm doing. It's not the first time I've done this.

Finally, the first match that went well for you and after tactical advice from Borkos. You still have a lot to learn, but the USA is not a good place to study. The USA has another important match ahead of them, prove next week that it is not a coincidence, because so far in the second part of the season they have won only 1 match.

the USA is not a good place to study
This was said by someone who spent 6 seasons in the USA.

I at least assume that Borkos's advice was good. I at least changed the team to try to improve.

I didn't go 6 seasons without making changes, despite the bad results. In fact, you didn't study at all in the USA. But is that better than changing the team after Borkos' advice?

I'd rather not be the best coach in the world like you, and study something, even if it is in the USA.

Either way, it was very important that the defenders improved at Pace.

You have far too weak results for the US, and that's a fact. Such a poor U.S. performance has never been recorded, the U.S. has never had a worse result than a win against Kazakhstan, Ty drew, it is the worst result in history. One game a season you're out, it's definitely not enough. In a week's time, he's up against Albania and he can decide whether he'll be in a three or four basket at the end.
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With you, the USA comes in 4th place (3rd/4th/3rd). With me, the USA will be 3rd in the group. It's false that it's the worst result in history... because you did worse.

You lost against mediocre teams with old players. I was forced to renew the team, I played this season with a very young team, and therefore very promising for the next Qualification. Anyone who looks at our squad certainly has confidence for the next Qualification. But whoever looked at your results with 34-year-old players, there was no hope that things could improve.

You're funny again, I've always been played by the best players regardless of age, and the fact that the team is rejuvenating it already wrote in that season, the U.S. has unsightly potential, and you're down to 4 basket with them. You couldn't even win with that weak Kazakhstan.

grabbing more popcorn :)