4-1:

Belgium destroyed team USA in the World Cup, 4-1.  I watched the whole awful game, and I can verify that all four goals were handed to Belgium on a silver platter.  The first goal, no one decided to cover the easy slow rolling cross to the striker, who only had to tap it in.  The second goal, three defenders and a goalie were contesting a header from one Belgian striker in the area, and the Belgian of course beat all four of them to the ball and headed it in.  The third goal is straight out of a circus, as the goalie forgot how to kick the ball and kicked the ground instead.  This let the Belgian take it right off the goalie's feet and kick it into the exposed goal.  The fourth goal was similar, a defender failed to clear the ball and instead handed it back to a Belgian striker, who easily kicked it into the net from point blank range.

America never played like that up until this point.  The contrast between their play in this game, which 5 year old's would be ashamed of, and their play against Paraguay, where we won 4-1, is night and day.  It's hard to believe team USA through sheer coincidence could play that badly all together.  It was the worst play from any of these players in their lives, all 11 of them.  Belgium didn't have to do anything.  There's no proof Belgium is even a good team.  I could have beat team USA today.  At least I know how to kick the ball and not the ground.

I based my assessment of team USA on that wonderful Paraguay game.  I had no idea they intended to throw their match once they reached the round of 16.  How could anyone predict a showing that awful?  Professionals tend to play better under pressure, when the stakes are higher, but these players all played the worst in their lives.  They shouldn't be professionals.  They failed us so utterly they should just retire in disgrace.  Every single one of them should be replaced before the next World Cup.

How does a country of 340 million people, with the highest GDP in the world, fail to field a team that could compete with Cape Verde?  It's a national disgrace.  First we lose a war with Yemen, then Iran, and now we lose a match to tiny little Belgium.  Not only do we lose, we're completely humiliated.  We're lucky the score was as close as it was.  I thought Trump promised me that with him in charge America would start winning again.  That we'd win so much we'd get sick of winning.  Whatever happened to that?  America has instead become the laughingstock of the world.  On our own home soil.  With FIFA bending the rules to help us.  And this is what we can accomplish.  Clearly, despite all my criticisms, I still don't despise America enough, because I'm still surprised over and over at how awful we truly are.

Meanwhile, I finished my rewatch of Oshi no Ko S3.  To make my great anime hall of fame everything must not only be watched but rewatched and still deemed great.  For my #29 favorite anime, though, this was quite the low hurdle.  Not only was it still great, it made me cry when Sarina got to reunite with her precious Sensei after all this time.  I can't wait for Season 4, which is only going to be better, every episode until the last.

Next up I need to finish Xenoblade X.