2021 USMNT Thread

[upperdeck]

I wonder what Roy Kent would be saying after that performance,

 

[cusefan88]

Finally getting a chance to chime in. I'm torn honestly. First WCQ for a lot of guys at a tough venue. USA is more talented than ES. I feel like I should be happy with a draw but I'm not.

I thought GGG having aaronson at MF and Reyna wide for most of the game was horrendous.
Good: Adams, Konrad, Ream
Bad: Sargent, Dest, Aaronson.

 

[OrangeFoo]

I think people are sleeping on Canada… Davies starts for Bayern is one of the best fullbacks in the world, David is a really talented striker who big clubs are looking to sign. This is no cake walk… they beat us pretty handily in Canada during nations league.

Unfortunately until this team prooves ir can score goals and win matches when it counts the pressure is going to grow and grow.

 

[IthacaMatt]

I think people are sleeping on Canada… Davies starts for Bayern is one of the best fullbacks in the world, David is a really talented striker who big clubs are looking to sign. This is no cake walk… they beat us pretty handily in Canada during nations league.

Unfortunately until this team prooves ir can score goals and win matches when it counts the pressure is going to grow and grow.

Oh yeah, we have to play better than last game, no question.

We didn't have focus and intensity. People have to be ready for dirty play and really bad referees.

 

[upperdeck]

the field wasnt great, the players had a long road trip, they lacked experience in that spot. Still had more than enough chances to win. got cute a few times over passing and they had a few decent chances they rushed and hit way off target. would have lost that game 2 yrs ago.

 

[OrangeFoo]

the field wasnt great, the players had a long road trip, they lacked experience in that spot. Still had more than enough chances to win. got cute a few times over passing and they had a few decent chances they rushed and hit way off target. would have lost that game 2 yrs ago.

I was pleasantly surprised that we controlled the game and for the most part el sal was not able to get through our defense with two passes. Tyler Adams is great in a Kante, destroyer role.

My main concerns are
- the number 9 of the future isnt on the roster, unless it’s Pepe
- dest cannot play fullback for this team… Bench him or go 4-4-2 with dest as a wing
- no 6 who can connect the offense and defense… maybe Reyna goes there next time
- the players know there is no 6 and are over dribbling in an effort to do it themselves

 

[IthacaMatt]

I was pleasantly surprised that we controlled the game and for the most part el sal was not able to get through our defense with two passes. Tyler Adams is great in a Kante, destroyer role.

My main concerns are
- the number 9 of the future isnt on the roster, unless it’s Pepe
- dest cannot play fullback for this team… Bench him or go 4-4-2 with dest as a wing
- no 6 who can connect the offense and defense… maybe Reyna goes there next time
- the players know there is no 6 and are over dribbling in an effort to do it themselves

Dest works best as a right wingback in a back 3. He could star in that role, but we would only play 3 at the back against "perceived superior" teams.

I see Reyna as our number 10, eventually, with Pulisic out on the left wing.

Is Weah good enough to force himself into this lineup? He has made few appearances. Is he really interested in being part of this team?

 

[OrangeFoo]

Dest works best as a right wingback in a back 3. He could star in that role, but we would only play 3 at the back against "perceived superior" teams.

I see Reyna as our number 10, eventually, with Pulisic out on the left wing.

Is Weah good enough to force himself into this lineup? He has made few appearances. Is he really interested in being part of this team?

Weah is good enough but he is snake bitten with injuries… every time he gets called up he is hurt. Not sure why he wouldn’t be interested in being a part of the team, he’s represented the us at every level and is cap tied as far as I am aware. In the future I can see a front 3 of pulisic, a #9 tbd and weah with a mid 3 of Adams, Weston, Reyna and a traditional back 4 as our go to lineup.

Our fullbacks need to improve a ton though… our weakest position other than striker in my opinion.. I could also see 3 man backline with Dest as a wingback but he’s getting exposed against the likes of el sal so I don’t think we can try that against better teams. If Dest doesn’t improve on both D and O he’s going to be bench fodder.

The other player I was not impressed with is McKennie… he is very sloppy and seems to like to go 1 v 3 and turn the ball over. However he does work his butt off on D.

 

[djcon57]

Weah is good enough but he is snake bitten with injuries… every time he gets called up he is hurt. Not sure why he wouldn’t be interested in being a part of the team, he’s represented the us at every level and is cap tied as far as I am aware. In the future I can see a front 3 of pulisic, a #9 tbd and weah with a mid 3 of Adams, Weston, Reyna and a traditional back 4 as our go to lineup.

Our fullbacks need to improve a ton though… our weakest position other than striker in my opinion.. I could also see 3 man backline with Dest as a wingback but he’s getting exposed against the likes of el sal so I don’t think we can try that against better teams. If Dest doesn’t improve on both D and O he’s going to be bench fodder.

The other player I was not impressed with is McKennie… he is very sloppy and seems to like to go 1 v 3 and turn the ball over. However he does work his butt off on D.

Yep...my head out of his butt comment with McKinnie was really specific to his decision making near goal. It simply has to be better.

 

[creatorsgam]

Good breakdown of last night. Grant asks proper questions and Landon is excellent.

Also, interesting bit on China building stadiums in CONCACAF countries..

Google Podcasts is no longer available

podcasts.google.com

 

[IthacaMatt]

Weah is good enough but he is snake bitten with injuries… every time he gets called up he is hurt. Not sure why he wouldn’t be interested in being a part of the team, he’s represented the us at every level and is cap tied as far as I am aware. In the future I can see a front 3 of pulisic, a #9 tbd and weah with a mid 3 of Adams, Weston, Reyna and a traditional back 4 as our go to lineup.

Our fullbacks need to improve a ton though… our weakest position other than striker in my opinion.. I could also see 3 man backline with Dest as a wingback but he’s getting exposed against the likes of el sal so I don’t think we can try that against better teams. If Dest doesn’t improve on both D and O he’s going to be bench fodder.

The other player I was not impressed with is McKennie… he is very sloppy and seems to like to go 1 v 3 and turn the ball over. However he does work his butt off on D.

Those are a couple good points. That's kind of what I meant when I said earlier there was too much one-on-one in the final third. McKennie dribbled into a LOT of dead ends of 3 defenders, and Reyna started well, but just kind of drifted out of the game.

We do need a couple more fullbacks to emerge.

 

[LPOrange]

Watke's breakdown

 

[Forza Azzurri]

Ok. I will take that point. A lot of sloppy play at times. Be glad when Pulisic comes back.

Dest and Yedlin were dissapointing. Sargeant showed a bit of creativity but we need a lot better play in the box.

I liked how they started and then how they ended the first half.

This felt a little like the Haiti and Canada games where the guys were trying to find the combinations.

Siebatcheau was a little sloppy but much much more assertive than Sargeant was.

I hope Berhalter switches up the combinations/lineup going forward.

Ream didn't have any giveaways but he plays the old boot it the other way to no one in particular way too much.

Take the point and add another 6 and we are in good shape.

I think we missed Pulisic much more than the board thought we would.

Can we delve into the performances of Dest and Yedlin a little bit.

I'll start with a couple of questions:

What are Dest's and Yedlin's strengths and weakensses, both in absolute and relative to others who could have started?

What is the role of each when they are on the pitch?

Once we agree on that, we can move on to discussing the success/failure of each during the game and the causes of that success/failure.

Ream was the least of our issues.

 

[Shrmdougluvr]

Looked like a team of players who were not individually sharp, who really nutted up. I wouldn't even put 5% of that on Berhalter.

Alsacs seems to sincerely think that someone like Hugo Perez is out coaching him, which is a strange take. And world-class coach Tata Martino just got out done by Berhalter twice this summer. Geez, Canada is playing their best ball in forever and they are coached by a guy whose last two gigs were the Canadian Women, and the New Zealand Women.

Players need to make plays!

 

[Alsacs]

Looked like a team of players who were not individually sharp, who really nutted up. I wouldn't even put 5% of that on Berhalter.

Alsacs seems to sincerely think that someone like Hugo Perez is out coaching him, which is a strange take. And world-class coach Tata Martino just got out done by Berhalter twice this summer. Geez, Canada is playing their best ball in forever and they are coached by a guy whose last two gigs were the Canadian Women, and the New Zealand Women.

Players need to make plays!

Player selection and formation are coaches decisions correct?

Several players were out of possession and the selections weren’t ideal.
I expected a draw against El Salvador. I didn’t expect us to look lifeless.
We were mediocre the entire Gold Cup.
I am glad we won and it was a credit to Berhalter but I am not a fan of him as manager.

 

[cusefan88]

Hugo Perez is a wonderful coach that got run off by USSF because he voiced his opinion they the federation was anti-latino with their policies. GGG has made things better but Hugo wasn't wrong at the time. What most of you may not know is that Hugo coached the u17 team when they had pulisic, Adams, mckennie etc. A lot of them learned and improved under his watch.

 

[IthacaMatt]

I think we missed Pulisic much more than the board thought we would.

Can we delve into the performances of Dest and Yedlin a little bit.

I'll start with a couple of questions:

What are Dest's and Yedlin's strengths and weakensses, both in absolute and relative to others who could have started?

What is the role of each when they are on the pitch?

Once we agree on that, we can move on to discussing the success/failure of each during the game and the causes of that success/failure.

Ream was the least of our issues.

I know you weren't happy with their performances, but I'll bite.

I think Yedlin is a plus defender, from his time in the Premier League, particularly under the coaching of Rafa Benitez. I think Yedlin's presence was useful because he's been through qualifiers a coupe times now.

Dest is too much sizzle and not enough steak right now. It would help if he were played in his proper position on the right, though. Not fair to judge a talented young kid who is forced to play out of position, but no, he didn't have a good game defensively.

 

[upperdeck]

Pulisic probably not gonna play a ton tonight as well from reports.. have to find a way to finish some chances against this team.

 

[OrangeFoo]

Pulisic probably not gonna play a ton tonight as well from reports.. have to find a way to finish some chances against this team.

Have to create some chances first… xg of less than two against el sal ain’t gonna cut it. The biggest problem is no number 6… instead we have a bunch of dudes who pass side to side until they pass it to the other team or dribble into phone booths where they lose the ball.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

I know you weren't happy with their performances, but I'll bite.

I think Yedlin is a plus defender, from his time in the Premier League, particularly under the coaching of Rafa Benitez. I think Yedlin's presence was useful because he's been through qualifiers a coupe times now.

Dest is too much sizzle and not enough steak right now. It would help if he were played in his proper position on the right, though. Not fair to judge a talented young kid who is forced to play out of position, but no, he didn't have a good game defensively.

No, I was fine with Yedlin's performance.

I am actually more focused on Dest.

Dest is not on the field for his defense but for his offensive and, specifically, his 1 v 1 skills. Can we agree on that?

If not, we can further debate his role.

However, if we do agree on that, then let's discuss what defines success for Dest and what is required for him to be successful.

I believe that Dest's ability to influence a game relies on two things:

1. Getting him as many touches as possible in the final third
2. Having both really good spacing and good interplay with the left winger.

I saw neither of those things happen on Thursday.

So, why is that?

As others have mentioned, our ability to possess the ball, other than for a short time at the beginning of the game and then against towards the tail end of the game, was non-existent on Thursday. Passing triangles and quick little 1-2s either didn't happen or were consistently off-target.

And there was way too much of guys picking the ball up in the middle third and trying to dribble into the final third (Adams, McKennie, Reyna, Aaronson, Dest..) they were all guilty of it. That is the absolute worst way to try to get into the final third as, when you do that, you are dribbling directly into pressure and the most likely result is a turnover in a really bad spot. We really only have one guy who can pick the ball up in the middle third and go at the defense and that is Pulisic.

In order to get Dest into the final third, the team needs to possess the ball long enough to actually allow Dest to get into the final third. That rarely happened.

And, the few times that Dest did get into the final third, the spacing between him and Reyna was poor. They were inevitably on top of each other. This is another reason why I thought we missed Pulisic a lot. Pulisic loves to pick up the ball and then run at the middle of the defense which, if we had had better possession, would have left Dest 1 v 1 with the left back and given Dest a chance to do what he does best - run at a guy in a 1 v 1 situation. Reyna tended to stay wide with Dest leaving a 2 v 2 where it was easy to support the defender marking Dest.

So, yes, Dest had a bad game but a lot of that had more to do with his teammates not being able to put him into a position where he could leverage his strengths, rather than anything in particular that Dest did (other than defending poorly which we already know is an issue).

As a result, Dest really had little chance to influence the game. Combine that with his poor defending and it is understandable why he was subbed off.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

Somewhat OT but, a good friend of my son's is a freshman on the SU soccer team this Fall.

So, we have been watching the games on ESPN+.

They are getting really good crowds at the SU soccer stadium. The G'town crowd looked overflow. Do they always get crowds like that or what it, perhaps, a combination of summertime weather and the fact that the Hoyas are ranked #2 in the country?

Regardless, the SU soccer stadium is a great facility.

 

[DeGrozz]

Have to create some chances first… xg of less than two against el sal ain’t gonna cut it. The biggest problem is no number 6… instead we have a bunch of dudes who pass side to side until they pass it to the other team or dribble into phone booths where they lose the ball.

Surprised this isn't getting more attention.

McKennie and Adams are supposed to be the core of this team, but they are absolutely timid when it comes to pushing the ball into a more advantageous position after winning it in midfield.

Brooks is going to help here a little bit as he's an excellent distributor. 2 cycles ago, we had a core midfield of Jermaine Jones and Michael Bradley who both could win balls, present as an outlet, and quickly turn a ball upfield. Now, we've lost that and are trying solve for it (like Aaronson's role this past game, which I think he shied away from).

The biggest worry though is that there's no one on this roster who can fill in here, so we'll have to tweak into an unconventional system/personnel choice (again, like Aaronson this past game) until we can figure out something that works.

 

[OrangeFoo]

No, I was fine with Yedlin's performance.

I am actually more focused on Dest.

Dest is not on the field for his defense but for his offensive and, specifically, his 1 v 1 skills. Can we agree on that?

If not, we can further debate his role.

However, if we do agree on that, then let's discuss what defines success for Dest and what is required for him to be successful.

I believe that Dest's ability to influence a game relies on two things:

1. Getting him as many touches as possible in the final third
2. Having both really good spacing and good interplay with the left winger.

I saw neither of those things happen on Thursday.

So, why is that?

As others have mentioned, our ability to possess the ball, other than for a short time at the beginning of the game and then against towards the tail end of the game, was non-existent on Thursday. Passing triangles and quick little 1-2s either didn't happen or were consistently off-target.

And there was way too much of guys picking the ball up in the middle third and trying to dribble into the final third (Adams, McKennie, Reyna, Aaronson, Dest..) they were all guilty of it. That is the absolute worst way to try to get into the final third as, when you do that, you are dribbling directly into pressure and the most likely result is a turnover in a really bad spot. We really only have one guy who can pick the ball up in the middle third and go at the defense and that is Pulisic.

In order to get Dest into the final third, the team needs to possess the ball long enough to actually allow Dest to get into the final third. That rarely happened.

And, the few times that Dest did get into the final third, the spacing between him and Reyna was poor. They were inevitably on top of each other. This is another reason why I thought we missed Pulisic a lot. Pulisic loves to pick up the ball and then run at the middle of the defense which, if we had had better possession, would have left Dest 1 v 1 with the left back and given Dest a chance to do what he does best - run at a guy in a 1 v 1 situation. Reyna tended to stay wide with Dest leaving a 2 v 2 where it was easy to support the defender marking Dest.

So, yes, Dest had a bad game but a lot of that had more to do with his teammates not being able to put him into a position where he could leverage his strengths, rather than anything in particular that Dest did (other than defending poorly which we already know is an issue).

As a result, Dest really had little chance to influence the game. Combine that with his poor defending and it is understandable why he was subbed off.

I think what you are alluding to is Dest is a luxury to player. As someone noted earlier, maybe it was you forza, Dest Is going to be great on a team like Barca which will possess the ball and even if he screws up he will a) have cover and b) will see the ball again and again. But he is a liability on a team where he is in front of Tim Ream and which needs to maximize every possession so being wasteful
Is a huge problem. The other issue is Dest needs to offer at least some resistance… too often the el sal wing back blew by him like he wasn’t even there. Imagine what Alphonso Davies would do to Dest… I pray Dest is on the bench tonight or at right wingback.

 

[Alsacs]

USA -0.5 is only -163.

So anything but a win tonight is an unacceptable result.

We should be fine.
Canada isn’t the worst team in this octagon.

 

[OrangeFoo]

Surprised this isn't getting more attention.

McKennie and Adams are supposed to be the core of this team, but they are absolutely timid when it comes to pushing the ball into a more advantageous position after winning it in midfield.

Brooks is going to help here a little bit as he's an excellent distributor. 2 cycles ago, we had a core midfield of Jermaine Jones and Michael Bradley who both could win balls, present as an outlet, and quickly turn a ball upfield. Now, we've lost that and are trying solve for it (like Aaronson's role this past game, which I think he shied away from).

The biggest worry though is that there's no one on this roster who can fill in here, so we'll have to tweak into an unconventional system/personnel choice (again, like Aaronson this past game) until we can figure out something that works.

Actually we have the perfect player for the number six in Gio Reyna. He plays centrally for one of the best club teams in the world. I think Berhalter wants Reyna closer to the goal… I think moving Reyna to the six would be the most impactful move we could make right now, outside of getting his dad to come out of retirement and play that spot.