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U.S.A. vs. Costa Rica SoftSport question ! What happend to the USA Strike force of "Lassiter and Wegerle"? Fact The Data details how ineffective the USA strikers were against Costa Rica. USA manager Steve Sampson was all smiles after his team toppled Costa Rica in its recent World Cup qualifier. However behind that joyous exterior he must have realized that his experimental strike force of "Lassiter and Wegerle" just didn't have the necessary firepower to penetrate Costa Rica's defense and were correctly substituted as the game progressed. If Steve Sampson and his squad are actually going to enjoy their stroll down Les Champs Elysees in Paris next summer, the team has to improve dramatically as an attacking force and solve the forward line problem. Based on SoftSport's analysis of these two strikers,the data shows that they were no threat to a Costa Rica and there is definitely room for improvement for both players as individuals and as the team forward line players. Wegerle Completed Passes Lassiter Completed Passes The Data shows: 1. Wegerle passed to Lassiter only twice during the entire game while he received no passes from Lassiter showing no connection between them. Some how they should complete and or attempt many more forward passes into the penalty area because playing backwards did not create any opportunities for themselves or other players to attack. 2. Wegerle entered into the Costa Rica penalty area only twice and none of his passes to his team mates were completed inside the Costa Rican penalty area. Lassiter completed 3 passes in 1/3 of the defense of Costa Rica, none of them were in the penalty area, as well. 3. Wegerle's completion rate was 74% (23/31) which is very good for a Forward who played 70 minutes. However, 90% of his passes were backwards! On the other hand Lassiter's completed passes was 48% (10/21) which is not so good for a Forward . 90% of his completed passes were backward as well. 4. Wegerle intercepted 9 passes inside the defensive 1/3 of Costa Rica and although he attempted two passes into the penalty area, they were intercepted by Costa Rican players. With the main strikers having problems it was perhaps fitting that the winning goal should come from a midfield player, "Ramos". USA Goal According to SoftSport Match Analysis database, Tab Ramos showed that he is back, in shape and in form. His stats matched up well to his performances before his injury. RAMOS PERFORMANCE Against Costa Rica Ramos played mostly in midfield, not touching the ball at all in the defensive 1/3 and hardly at all in the attacking 1/3. RAMOS PLAYER RANGE The data definitely shows that Ramos had a impact on the game:
Interesting fact : The data shows that Pope, Defender , had the most shots on goal (4 out of the 16 total). While that was pleasing for Pope it is another indictment of the lack of fire power up front for USA.
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