re: Mexico got the first game of group play; Canada got the first game of the knockout round

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Yeah, if only there were a whole continent full of African freak athletes whose most popular sport is soccer, they would for sure dominate in the sport.

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fair point, but I doubt they’d all have access to the same training and skill development that we COULD have here

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Tyreek Hill might dominate if he developed his ball handling skills and his football IQ

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Tyreek Hill doesn't have an IQ for the football he does play.

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You can’t teach speed and they have the right body type and twitchiness that could be deadly. There are a ton of others..

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Speed is not a requirement for being a great soccer player. Pretty much all of the GOATS don't use speed in their skill set.

Sure, they may be fast...but we don't know if they are because they don't need to be able to outrun people.

Messi hasn't run in over a decade. Nobody can stop him.

Hill and Worthy could fit in as a goalkeeper. But I'm not sold on their having good enough reflexes.

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Lebron could be a monster on crosses and corner kicks. Dennis Rodman could dominate on finding the ball on deflections..

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LeBron is too big a pussy to crash the goal. For as much as people complain about flopping in the World Cup, I've seen LeBron flop more in a midweek game during December.

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Dennis Rodman could dominate on finding the ball on deflections..

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No he wouldn't. And the reason he is because he wouldn't be allowed to shove people around and swing elbows with no regard for injuring other players. His play style wouldn't allow him to be a star in the modern NBA and that's the sport he was great at.


Y'all have this misconception that being athletic means that you can master any sport. That's not how it works. NBA players can't cross over into football and be able to play that sport at a high level because they don't have the frame and build for it. Just like a 6'1" linebacker isn't going to cross over to the NBA and be serviceable.

US soccer players aren't going to come from the same pool of players that are fulfilling the needs of the NFL and NBA. But those pools are extremely small, and a lot of athletic kids get left behind because they don't meet the criteria required for those sports.

But if we can convince them that they can take their talents to soccer, they can get just as rich or richer than the NFL and NBA, we have a larger pool to pick from than every soccer superpower.

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Akeem was a world class goalie before beginning basketball.

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Because Aleem's wingspan extended 2 feet past the goal posts.