2022 USMNT Thread

[Alsacs]

Canada is going to be a hard matchup.
I would just play the best defensive lineup and play for a draw.
Win the Honduras matchup after.

 

[Orangezoo]

Canada is going to be a hard matchup.
I would just play the best defensive lineup and play for a draw.
Win the Honduras matchup after.

Yeah.. Canada is missing some big pieces though. Honduras like most years, once they are out of the picture they fade quickly. Hard to get a feel for this weaker Canadian group based on Honduras.

 

[IthacaMatt]

I thought this was a sluggish performance tonight. The field looked like people's spikes were getting caught, too.

Pulisic was not very good tonight. Twellman complimented him on his service on corners, but I don't think he did so well. Plus he seem to lose he dribble to easily a few times, losing to not very difficult challenges, and he drove into 3 man dead-ends a lot.

Musah was much better in the 2nd half after being invisible in the first half. Too many people were all trying to occupy the same space, both in midfield and in attack in the first half. They spread out a bit more in the 2nd half, and you noticed that Musah's 2 or 3 good runs came from the left side of midfield.

Antonee Robinson not only scored the game winner, but he also had another excellent effort at goal that was well struck, and a third that was off target. So he active in attack, although better shooting than passing. His crosses often went nowhere, but I guess you could say that's statistically accurate for nearly all winger types.

Robinson and Chris Richards were shaky defensively, though. They didn't seem to talk to each other enough, and were not aware enough of the space around them. Most of the danger came from their side of the defense.

I was thinking around the 60 minute mark when he took out Pulisic that he should have taken out McKennie, too. I hope he isn't hurt too badly. He was very good tonight, maybe a bit too showy a couple times on the ball, but very skillful, clearly enjoyed his football especially before the goal was scored. He was linking really well with Dest, Musah and Pulisic.

Tyler Adams is brilliant defensively, and bailed us out a couple times, although I felt like he was getting a bit too deep, so we were almost playing 3 at the back, when we could have used him 10 yards or so more forward, so he could take the pass from the center back, turn and look upfield.

Ferreira, if I'm getting that right, was a zippy waterbug out there in the first half, but missed 2 or 3 chances, a couple of which were pretty good. He should have had 1 goal for those chances.

I thought Weah was pretty good in the first half but kind of drifted out of the game in the 2nd half.

Glad for the win. Too bad Mexico staged the comeback against Jamaica. We have to play much better to beat Canada on Sunday.

 

[IthacaMatt]

How do you bring VAR into WCQ half thru.

I mean that is totally a CONCACAF move.
It should be in all of them or none.

Other stadiums in the Caribbean don't have the technology. I'm surprised they let us use it, to be honest.

 

[Alsacs]

Other stadiums in the Caribbean don't have the technology. I'm surprised they let us use it, to be honest.

I get that but you can’t change the rules half way in qualifying.
It has to be all or none.
They didn’t use it to start so you shouldn’t introduce it now.

 

[IthacaMatt]

I get that but you can’t change the rules half way in qualifying.
It has to be all or none.
They didn’t use it to start so you shouldn’t introduce it now.

Yeah, I agree. I'm surprised they allowed us to use it.

Must be the nukes. We still have those, right?

 

[Orangezoo]

I thought this was a sluggish performance tonight. The field looked like people's spikes were getting caught, too.

Pulisic was not very good tonight. Twellman complimented him on his service on corners, but I don't think he did so well. Plus he seem to lose he dribble to easily a few times, losing to not very difficult challenges, and he drove into 3 man dead-ends a lot.

Musah was much better in the 2nd half after being invisible in the first half. Too many people were all trying to occupy the same space, both in midfield and in attack in the first half. They spread out a bit more in the 2nd half, and you noticed that Musah's 2 or 3 good runs came from the left side of midfield.

Antonee Robinson not only scored the game winner, but he also had another excellent effort at goal that was well struck, and a third that was off target. So he active in attack, although better shooting than passing. His crosses often went nowhere, but I guess you could say that's statistically accurate for nearly all winger types.

Robinson and Chris Richards were shaky defensively, though. They didn't seem to talk to each other enough, and were not aware enough of the space around them. Most of the danger came from their side of the defense.

I was thinking around the 60 minute mark when he took out Pulisic that he should have taken out McKennie, too. I hope he isn't hurt too badly. He was very good tonight, maybe a bit too showy a couple times on the ball, but very skillful, clearly enjoyed his football especially before the goal was scored. He was linking really well with Dest, Musah and Pulisic.

Tyler Adams is brilliant defensively, and bailed us out a couple times, although I felt like he was getting a bit too deep, so we were almost playing 3 at the back, when we could have used him 10 yards or so more forward, so he could take the pass from the center back, turn and look upfield.

Ferreira, if I'm getting that right, was a zippy waterbug out there in the first half, but missed 2 or 3 chances, a couple of which were pretty good. He should have had 1 goal for those chances.

I thought Weah was pretty good in the first half but kind of drifted out of the game in the 2nd half.

Glad for the win. Too bad Mexico staged the comeback against Jamaica. We have to play much better to beat Canada on Sunday.

Pulisic needs to find a better home. At 23, he needs a position and a club where his role is more locked in. That way he can rid himself of the mental blocks as well. Maybe go to Spain or Italy or even back to Germany as well vs staying in the PL.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Pulisic needs to find a better home. At 23, he needs a position and a club where his role is more locked in. That way he can rid himself of the mental blocks as well. Maybe go to Spain or Italy or even back to Germany as well vs staying in the PL.

I think Spain would be best for him. Referees protect offensive players more, and the weather is warmer. That would probably do wonders for all his muscle pulls.

 

[Melancer46]

I flew up to Columbus to go to this game. First time I’ve been to a USMNT game. Pretty cool stuff.

The things that stood out to me:

ES was begging us to play down the sidelines the whole time, particularly through Robinson. They pretty much left him alone to try to keep the middle congested. Unfortunately most of our crosses didn’t really have a prayer.

Felt like pretty much everyone but Dest struggled to control the ball. McKennie and Pulisic in particular seemed to just not quite have it when they tried to make their moves. Musah felt like he was on the verge of losing the ball at all times but somehow held on.

ES got in behind our defense a few times but they never had other attackers moving in with them so it felt like we were able to take our foot off the gas a bit in the 2nd half.

Not really surprising, but probably the biggest cheer of the night was when Zardes came in. I thought he made a few nice passes in his limited minutes. Feels like if we had anyone but Ferreira in the middle we probably win by multiple goals last night.

 

[cusefan88]

Another underwhelming WCQ game. If this is what they bring to Qatar (assuming they qualify) I don't see them getting out of the group.

How many first-half goals have they scored? I honestly only remember one at Jamaica.

 

[Orangezoo]

Another underwhelming WCQ game. If this is what they bring to Qatar (assuming they qualify) I don't see them getting out of the group.

How many first-half goals have they scored? I honestly only remember one at Jamaica.

Yep. I think it's been hidden in the positive results but it's the weakest I've seen concacaf as a whole in wcf in a while. We are doing well amidst playing a bunch of dead fish

 

[upperdeck]

Other than a couple of give aways in bad spots ES never really did anything going forward so that was good.. just the headers alone you need to score at least 1 of those 4-5 chances.. the field was ok but soft and the ball was bouncing and players were digging in a bit.

Still we cant be a team that turns 4 in 1 goal because better teams will generate some offense and we lose 2-1 instead of winning 4-2.

CR beating Panama helps a bit.

Panama probably tops out at 24 as does CR if things break perfect for them.

We need to beat Hondo and tie one of the Can/mex games to get to 22 with 2 games left

those last 2 against CR/Pan can still be huge.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Another underwhelming WCQ game. If this is what they bring to Qatar (assuming they qualify) I don't see them getting out of the group.

How many first-half goals have they scored? I honestly only remember one at Jamaica.

They have played games much better than yesterday in Columbus. When they go to World Cup, they will have more then 2 or 3 days before the first game, as well.

 

[Alsacs]

They have played games much better than yesterday in Columbus. When they go to World Cup, they will have more then 2 or 3 days before the first game, as well.

If we had a good manager who uses the pieces like we can. This team makes the KO round then its all about matchups and draw from there.

 

[IthacaMatt]

If we had a good manager who uses the pieces like we can. This team makes the KO round then its all about matchups and draw from there.

For all the complaining about Berhalter, he's largely doing what he set out to do. He completely washed away all the old guys, went through practically 100 players to assess the pool, between him and Dave Saracen, created a new team, with its own identity and its own leaders, who are more adept at playing the modern possession based style of football with high pressing.

The chemistry is great among the group. There is undeniable talent on the roster. All we really need is a legit number 9 to emerge, and then this team could win a few games in Qatar.

 

[upperdeck]

You put a good finisher in there and we probably score 2 more just on that.. Those first 2 chances by Fierrera have to at least get on net in a dangerous way. Can Dempsey just play inside the box at his age? kidding. One kid is much more active and pepe a better closer.. can we mind meld them?

 

[IthacaMatt]

Yep. I think it's been hidden in the positive results but it's the weakest I've seen concacaf as a whole in wcf in a while. We are doing well amidst playing a bunch of dead fish

Eh, I'm not so sure that CONCACAF sucks is the right conclusion. More of these guys from the lesser teams in our region are playing in MLS and Liga MX. Both of those leagues are getting pretty good, almost on par with Belgium, Eredivisie or the English Championship. Styles of play might be a bit different between them, but those five leagues are kind of forming a nice second tier of leagues.

For those who think MLS is not that hard or not that good, people like Karim Benzema and many others who have played here have commented to their local media that MLS is much tougher than they think. It's not a retirement league for talented European players any more.

 

[Orangezoo]

Eh, I'm not so sure that CONCACAF sucks is the right conclusion. More of these guys from the lesser teams in our region are playing in MLS and Liga MX. Both of those leagues are getting pretty good, almost on par with Belgium, Eredivisie or the English Championship. Styles of play might be a bit different between them, but those five leagues are kind of forming a nice second tier of leagues.

For those who think MLS is not that hard or not that good, people like Karim Benzema and many others who have played here have commented to their local media that MLS is much tougher than they think. It's not a retirement league for talented European players any more.

It's not unilateral and I think it can be both weaker and everything you note above to be true.

Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras specifically are much weaker sides than in years past. Canada has elevated themselves into very much the older U.S. team versions of being hard to unlock and opportunists in attack.

Mexico has lost the momentum and are also lacking the quality players top to bottom you usually see. The U.S. side is much more talented for sure but still struggling with consistency.

Absent consistency I'm not sure there is confidence in any concacaf team getting out of group in Qatar as things look now. The U.S. should have the best shot. To me that is a tell in terms of current quality which isn't player specific alone.

 

[IthacaMatt]

It's not unilateral and I think it can be both weaker and everything you note above to be true.

Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras specifically are much weaker sides than in years past. Canada has elevated themselves into very much the older U.S. team versions of being hard to unlock and opportunists in attack.

Mexico has lost the momentum and are also lacking the quality players top to bottom you usually see. The U.S. side is much more talented for sure but still struggling with consistency.

Absent consistency I'm not sure there is confidence in any concacaf team getting out of group in Qatar as things look now. The U.S. should have the best shot. To me that is a tell in terms of current quality which isn't player specific alone.

Well, if our group was full of European and South American teams, I might agree. We're not consistently at that level, although I feel that on a good day, this group of players can beat almost anyone, outside of maybe the top 10 sides or so in the world.

When we get to group play, there is going to be an African team or an Asian team, or maybe both, in our group. Depends on the draw and how we are ranked as we approach the World Cup. Right now, after winning both tournaments this summer, we are ranked pretty high.

We might get a draw something like

Germany / Italy / Croatia / someone similar as the European opponent from the top pool. Or Brazil or Argentina - the top dogs from South America. Those are the kinds of teams in Pool 1.

We might qualify for the second pool of the draw if we do well in the remainder of qualifying and finish first. That will result in an easier group, where we probably avoid a South American team in our group, in exchange for both an Africa and an Asian side. That would be our best draw, and if we played well, there's no reason we couldn't advance against that kind of group.

If we finish 2nd or 3rd in qualifying, we might slide a few spots in the FIFA rankings, and then another good team will get added above us.

Then we'll wind up with an African team (Cameroon, Ivory Coast) or an Asian team (Iran, Japan), but probably not both. Probably a mid-tier team from either Europe or South America will be added as the Pool 2 opponent, depending on who we get from Pool 1 draw with us.
It would be from the other confederation than the Pool 1 opponent.

 

[Orangezoo]

Well, if our group was full of European and South American teams, I might agree. We're not consistently at that level, although I feel that on a good day, this group of players can beat almost anyone, outside of maybe the top 10 sides or so in the world.

When we get to group play, there is going to be an African team or an Asian team, or maybe both, in our group. Depends on the draw and how we are ranked as we approach the World Cup. Right now, after winning both tournaments this summer, we are ranked pretty high.

We might get a draw something like

Germany / Italy / Croatia / someone similar as the European opponent from the top pool. Or Brazil or Argentina - the top dogs from South America. Those are the kinds of teams in Pool 1.

We might qualify for the second pool of the draw if we do well in the remainder of qualifying and finish first. That will result in an easier group, where we probably avoid a South American team in our group, in exchange for both an Africa and an Asian side. That would be our best draw, and if we played well, there's no reason we couldn't advance against that kind of group.

If we finish 2nd or 3rd in qualifying, we might slide a few spots in the FIFA rankings, and then another good team will get added above us.

Then we'll wind up with an African team (Cameroon, Ivory Coast) or an Asian team (Iran, Japan), but probably not both. Probably a mid-tier team from either Europe or South America will be added as the Pool 2 opponent, depending on who we get from Pool 1 draw with us.
It would be from the other confederation than the Pool 1 opponent.

I can agree it is group dependent. I guess I'm not nearly as bullish on this squad yet as you are.

 

[cusefan88]

I can agree it is group dependent. I guess I'm not nearly as bullish on this squad yet as you are.

I like the squad but Berhalter is an incredibly average to subpar coach. Look at his record in Sweden and MLS. Really not very good. Jesse Marsch got fired by RB Leipzig but has a much better resume than GGG.

 

[Orangezoo]

I like the squad but Berhalter is an incredibly average to subpar coach. Look at his record in Sweden and MLS. Really not very good. Jesse Marsch got fired by RB Leipzig but has a much better resume than GGG.

Yeah Greg is a big part of my opinion for sure. Lot of missed opportunity to date along with the status quo

 

[IthacaMatt]

I like the squad but Berhalter is an incredibly average to subpar coach. Look at his record in Sweden and MLS. Really not very good. Jesse Marsch got fired by RB Leipzig but has a much better resume than GGG.

You know what? He is showing himself to be a good teacher.
Klinsmann never got the old guys to play in this style. It's right there to see for yourself.

 

[cusefan88]

You know what? He is showing himself to be a good teacher.
Klinsmann never got the old guys to play in this style. It's right there to see for yourself.

I don't disagree. There's definitely buy in from the players, they like him. That means a ton. But I personally think as time goes on and there's more and more high-level american players, we'll need more high-level coaches.

Getting more UEFA pro licensed American coaches is the next hurdle to overcome.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

Musah is way too stationary tonight. As are the fans. Sounds like a Library there.

With Pulsic constantly cutting inside, there is no place for Musah to go.

Once Aaronson came on, it opened things up for him a bit.