{"id":297170,"date":"2025-06-16T14:11:53","date_gmt":"2025-06-16T14:11:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/uncategorized\/howler-2022-qatar-world-cup-takeaways-howler-magazine\/"},"modified":"2025-06-16T14:11:53","modified_gmt":"2025-06-16T14:11:53","slug":"howler-2022-qatar-world-cup-takeaways-howler-magazine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=297170","title":{"rendered":"Howler 2022 Qatar World Cup Takeaways \u2013 Howler Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Our staff has had about a month to process the glory and agony of the Qatar 2022 World Cup. What started with a big dream ended with a U13 club soccer-esque daytime drama. Here\u2019s our collective take on the USMNT\u2019s good, bad and ugly. <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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If you don\u2019t speak Spanish, you have three years to learn so you can watch the World Cup on TUDN instead of FOX.<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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It wasn\u2019t the in-game commentary that got us as much as the pre-game, halftime and post-match. While FOX\u2019s bro-tastic vibes may have worked for some people, the chatter from the lonely spaceship\u2014which could just as well have been marooned on a back lot somewhere in LA\u2014had more of a \u201cget ready for some XFL thrills and spills\u201d feel than we think they were looking for. American fans have said this before, but we\u2019ll say it again here: Thank god for Carli Lloyd.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The FIFA rankings make no sense.<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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While we\u2019re reluctant to celebrate the mysteries of NCAA football\u2019s rankings, but at least the top four spots on that mysterious ladder at the end of the playoff are occupied by\u2026the teams who made the top four spots. Games determine who\u2019s good\u2014Italy wasn\u2019t knocked out of World Cup qualifying by some fluke. They were knocked out\u2026at home\u2026by North Macedonia.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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VAR. It\u2019s not perfect, but it works.<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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We don\u2019t love everything about it. It somehow made the offside ruling more confusing, and those late flags are entirely disorienting, but we\u2019ll admit it feels better knowing we\u2019re trying as hard as we can to get this right. And that Japan goal\u2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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My parents think I should play more shouldn\u2019t be a World Cup takeaway.<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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If you haven\u2019t heard non-soccer people talk about this, you should. It sounds even worse than you think it would.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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There\u2019s no way Lukaku\u2019s sleeping through the night.<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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It doesn\u2019t matter who you were rooting for, we\u2019re all human beings. That was almost too much to bear\u2014and we\u2019ve all been there.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The only team Croatia beat on their way to the third-place game was Canada.<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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And Canada was wearing off-the-rack Nike kits from two years ago, which brings us to our next takeaway\u2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Hey, Nike, we think it\u2019s time for some consistency in a U.S. kit. Even a little.<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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A good national team kit only needs two things: A) Look good, and B) Look like it\u2019s supposed to look. There are good and less good Brazil and France kits, but they\u2019re all yellow and blue. Ours: Stripes? Sashes? White? Blue? Red? Some overcomplicated combination of our beloved colors? Denim? (Not Nike\u2019s doing, but it bears mentioning.) A few years ago the USWNT won the World Cup in white with black trim and and yellow socks. We get A every now and then\u2014we think it\u2019s time there was a B.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Is it possible that scoring to beat Brazil, taking off your shirt to look like a total badass, and then smiling when you get a red card the next best thing to actually winning the World Cup?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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The future is spelled MUSAH.<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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3 teams the US could learn from: Morocco, Japan, Croatia.<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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We know the US is good enough to beat anyone. Our performance against England came as no surprise to anyone who\u2019d seen us beat Mexico for trophies twice in 2021\u2014but we did wonder how a team that doesn\u2019t score much and is inclined to make the odd hideous mistake might navigate World Cup waters. We got our answer. You really do have to finish your chances and track your man. You just do. (One of two things the US story at this tournament shared with U13 soccer, as it turns out.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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CP10 is the real deal. No matter what Chelsea thinks.<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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OK\u2014so he did miss one of those chances. But still\u2014we\u2019re fans. Injuries notwithstanding, there will be more moments of magic in a US kit, whatever color it may be.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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There should never be mass casualties to put on a sporting event.<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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FIFA\u2019s not soccer (or football\u2014we know, we know\u2026). They\u2019re just the assholes we\u2019re stuck with.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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