2022 USMNT Thread

[OrangeFoo]

The problem is our attackers… they all blow. The other problem is Robinson is a turnover waiting to happen on the left side which makes it really friggin hard for Pulisic to combine with anyone. If I were triple g, I’d go with pulisic as a false 9 and call it a day. Zardes, Pepe, et all are a complete waste of time. This team is brutal to watch going forward.

 

[Alsacs]

Mexico draws Costa Rica.

Panama goes to Mexico on Wednesday.

We need to beat Honduras.

Costa Rica is still in this.
We lose in San Jose like usual.

We really need Jamaica to draw Costa Rica at home.

 

[cusefan88]

My only comment on the game is that the USA has a manager that thinks Gyasi Zardes is an international caliber player.

He's an abomination. Now let's get three points against Honduras.

 

[upperdeck]

So what was the call on the late bicycle kick we tried? had the sound off.. did they call offsides or handball or what?

outplayed canada all over except for not being as good on falling down when any physical play was about to threaten the ball. tons of possession and attacking but again no real finishing. the header was the real chance to get the tie.

 

[IthacaMatt]

The problem is our attackers… they all blow. The other problem is Robinson is a turnover waiting to happen on the left side which makes it really friggin hard for Pulisic to combine with anyone. If I were triple g, I’d go with pulisic as a false 9 and call it a day. Zardes, Pepe, et all are a complete waste of time. This team is brutal to watch going forward.

Tuchel played Pulisic as a false 9 once or twice. He was kind of ok in that slot - he's very direct, he's a good poacher, and he can head he ball for a shorter guy.

 

[IthacaMatt]

My only comment on the game is that the USA has a manager that thinks Gyasi Zardes is an international caliber player.

He's an abomination. Now let's get three points against Honduras.

Gyasi Zardes is not my favorite guy, either. But he has scored 14 goals and assisted 10 others in something like 62 or 63 games, which is almost a goal involvement every other game. He's not a guy to lead the line on a regular basis, but he is a valuable contributor.

 

[cusefan88]

Gyasi Zardes is not my favorite guy, either. But he has scored 14 goals and assisted 10 others in something like 62 or 63 games, which is almost a goal involvement every other game. He's not a guy to lead the line on a regular basis, but he is a valuable contributor.

Not against Canada (this new, power side), not away, not in a World Cup Qualifier. Sure he has good stats but it was against scrubs.

Just look at the touches and control Pepi had once he came in. I don't mind the MLS guys. Arriola is good, Acosta has his moments, but at striker you need someone dangerous and Zardes is just not that.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

But how many of the top 10 (field players) do you bring back for Canada and then not have them for Honduras?

I don't think a line-up of mostly 12-22, which is what I would do, can take the game to Canada.

Hence, my advocating playing for a point.

Well, Berhalter decided to go for it. Not what I would have done.

Now, he has a problem. Only one midfielder\attacker has gone the full 270. Tyler Adams in the first trifecta.

McKennie has gone 180; Musah 165; Adams 159 and likely out. Pulisic 155; Both games were also tough, hard-fought games, especially Canada. Can you realistically ask any of these guys to come back and play a 3rd game?

Robinson has gone the full 180 and Dest has gone 166 and both did a ton of up and back? Can you realistically ask them to play a third game?

3 points is a must on Wednesday.

Weah will be back. Aaronson has only played 94 so he is good to go. Acosta. Whoever he decides to start at the 9. Who are your other two mids? Can Robinson go 90 again? Yedlin?

Whatever he chooses, it either won't be our strongest line-up or it will be with guys who could have some really tired legs.

Not an ideal situation for a must-win game.

To me, points at Canada were always a luxury and why I wanted to play for 1 so I could ensure I have my strongest line-up for Honduras.

I know Honduras is really poor. I just hope we have enough to get it done.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

There isn’t a single question about today’s game that Jordan Morris is the answer to

Not a lot of other options on the bench. I did not have a problem with it.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

Ridiculous officiating and now this sub trio is perplexing.

I didn't have a problem with Morris. Look at the other options on the bench. Not much there.

Adams was hurt. Dest was tired but choosing Cannon over Yedlin was a bit perplexing. Yedlin clearly not Robinson or Dest but Cannon is more of a stay-at-home defender.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

I agree with you; the modern approach to the game requires us to play from the back, although we can be a bit more direct doing so. And until some of our players get better at playing this way (especially in the defense and defensive midfield), I think the way to beat better teams is using 3 at the back to be more solid, so we can push the wingbacks a bit higher up the field and create width for the attack. 3-4-3 requires a true target man at the 9, which is like saying the SU football team needs defensive linemen - it's been going on forever.

With a 3-5-2, you can have two somewhat-lesser attackers, individually, but they can combine off of each other (think Pulisic and Pepi, or even Pulisic and Reyna, since they both like coming inside ...), and it still gives us 3 in midfield, where most games are won and lost, and we can keep MMA on the field. I think Robinson and Dest might be more dangerous as wingbacks, too.

It is harder to play the 3-5-2 than the 4-3-3 and, as was shown yesterday, does not take much, at times, to expose our centerbacks.

Having said that, conceptually, it does make sense. Gets Pulisic further up the field. Keeps MMA on the field. Where do you slot Weah though? He has to be on the field, especially with Pulisic's form being so poor.

At the end of the day, that is Berhalter's biggest challenge. Right now, our optimal team does not include our best player and that is a real problem that he has to solve. Our best game during qualifying has been Mexico and Aaronson and Weah started that game. Spacing was excellent since neither is inclined to cut inside. Both provided width and allowed Mckennie and Musah those vertical runs down the channel in the midfield.

If we want to do maximum damage in Qatar, we need our best player both playing well and making the team better. Right now, neither is happening.

 

[Orangezoo]

I didn't have a problem with Morris. Look at the other options on the bench. Not much there.

Adams was hurt. Dest was tired but choosing Cannon over Yedlin was a bit perplexing. Yedlin clearly not Robinson or Dest but Cannon is more of a stay-at-home defender.

Yeah I can see that I guess. At this point he is just a fresh body with some physicality and pace so it just wasn't going to get us over the hump.

My bigger frustration is that I think concacaf honestly needs to look at the officiating. It's all over the place, VAR midway through qualifying and maybe either non concacaf nations or something better for options on the crews.

I rewatched the first half last night and it was worse than I thought. Canada came in it looked with the expectation that they were going to let things go. There was zero hesitation to throw a body check, a late trip or a cheap shot. The US seemed shell-shocked at times they were letting it go. At least Mckennie came in and fought through it and delivered some of it himself.

Physicality and fighting for position I have no issues with. Yesterday was something completely different.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

Yeah I can see that I guess. At this point he is just a fresh body with some physicality and pace so it just wasn't going to get us over the hump.

My bigger frustration is that I think concacaf honestly needs to look at the officiating. It's all over the place, VAR midway through qualifying and maybe either non concacaf nations or something better for options on the crews.

I rewatched the first half last night and it was worse than I thought. Canada came in it looked with the expectation that they were going to let things go. There was zero hesitation to throw a body check, a late trip or a cheap shot. The US seemed shell-shocked at times they were letting it go. At least Mckennie came in and fought through it and delivered some of it himself.

Physicality and fighting for position I have no issues with. Yesterday was something completely different.

No doubt there were some nasty fouls. Yellows come out a lot earlier for that type of game in Europe.

But that is Concacaf. I've been watching it since they started putting the games on TV. Team has to fight through it.

Field looked like a high school field it was so narrow. Took away a lot of what we like to do. But, again, you have to play on whatever field the home team wants to play on.

Canada plays like we used to. Bunker and counter and they have guys who can really counter. Give them credit. We simply need to be able to play faster in order to break these types of teams down.

 

[Orangezoo]

No doubt there were some nasty fouls. Yellows come out a lot earlier for that type of game in Europe.

But that is Concacaf. I've been watching it since they started putting the games on TV. Team has to fight through it.

Field looked like a high school field it was so narrow. Took away a lot of what we like to do. But, again, you have to play on whatever field the home team wants to play on.

Canada plays like we used to. Bunker and counter and they have guys who can really counter. Give them credit. We simply need to be able to play faster in order to break these types of teams down.

Yeah meant to say that 15 years ago we played like them for sure. I think the yellows not coming out early were key- I get it's concacaf but this one was a mess.

 

[OrangeFoo]

No doubt there were some nasty fouls. Yellows come out a lot earlier for that type of game in Europe.

But that is Concacaf. I've been watching it since they started putting the games on TV. Team has to fight through it.

Field looked like a high school field it was so narrow. Took away a lot of what we like to do. But, again, you have to play on whatever field the home team wants to play on.

Canada plays like we used to. Bunker and counter and they have guys who can really counter. Give them credit. We simply need to be able to play faster in order to break these types of teams down.

I think it's time to start playing two lineups... a home lineup where we will have decent field conditions and the game will be typically less physical and a road lineup where the crowd is hostile, the field sucks and the refs will let the other team kick the crap out of us. Pulisic, in his current form, belongs in one line up but not the other. He's lost his undroppable status and should be used much more strategically.

 

[IthacaMatt]

To me, points at Canada were always a luxury and why I wanted to play for 1 so I could ensure I have my strongest line-up for Honduras.

I know Honduras is really poor. I just hope we have enough to get it done.

Terrific analysis. I agree; he should have kept some of his powder dry.

 

[IthacaMatt]

It is harder to play the 3-5-2 than the 4-3-3 and, as was shown yesterday, does not take much, at times, to expose our centerbacks.

Having said that, conceptually, it does make sense. Gets Pulisic further up the field. Keeps MMA on the field. Where do you slot Weah though? He has to be on the field, especially with Pulisic's form being so poor.

At the end of the day, that is Berhalter's biggest challenge. Right now, our optimal team does not include our best player and that is a real problem that he has to solve. Our best game during qualifying has been Mexico and Aaronson and Weah started that game. Spacing was excellent since neither is inclined to cut inside. Both provided width and allowed Mckennie and Musah those vertical runs down the channel in the midfield.

If we want to do maximum damage in Qatar, we need our best player both playing well and making the team better. Right now, neither is happening.

You could put Weah in the front 2 with Pulisic or Reyna. He and Reyna are both fairly tall.

 

[upperdeck]

like SU Fball if we dont screw up a free kick its at least a tie.. the Can Goalie messed up several as well but nothing ended up hurting him.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

Pulisic, in his current form, belongs in one line up but not the other. He's lost his undroppable status and should be used much more strategically.

Could not disagree more.

You need to fix Pulisic and fix Pulisic within the team. That does not happen with him on the bench.

He has only played 40% of possible minutes. He needs to be on the field with Mckennie, Adams, Musah, Weah, Robinson, Dest and other clear, first-choice players.

To elaborate on that point, Musah, Mckennie and Adams have been on the field together for 70% of the minutes over the last five qualifiers. Pulisic has only been on the field with the three of them for 33% of those minutes. Pulisic needs to be on the field as much as possible, especially when we are fielding our first-choice line-up.

With three game sets, all players, but especially midfields/forwards, need to be used "strategically" but he needs to be on the field as much as possible.

You dramatically lower the ceiling at Qatar, if we do qualify, for this team if you cannot fix Pulisic.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

You could put Weah in the front 2 with Pulisic or Reyna. He and Reyna are both fairly tall.

You could but not ideal.

Both Pulisic/Reyna could play the withdrawn striker role. With that, you really need a true 9 and Weah is a natural winger.

But could be worth a shot just to see if it works.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

The problem is our attackers… they all blow. The other problem is Robinson is a turnover waiting to happen on the left side which makes it really friggin hard for Pulisic to combine with anyone. If I were triple g, I’d go with pulisic as a false 9 and call it a day. Zardes, Pepe, et all are a complete waste of time. This team is brutal to watch going forward.

Not really a fair characterization...

Pepi is 19; Ferreira is 21; Dike is 21...they are in the infancy of their careers...calling them a complete waste of time when they are so young is a judgement that, IMHO, is premature. Be like calling a freshman hoops player a complete waste of time...lots of time to improve.

Now, if you want to ask why Zardes, a known quantity, is the first-choice #9 for a game where Berhalter wants all three points, knock yourself out...I'm right there with you...

 

[IthacaMatt]

You could but not ideal.

Both Pulisic/Reyna could play the withdrawn striker role. With that, you really need a true 9 and Weah is a natural winger.

But could be worth a shot just to see if it works.

I just don't trust our defenders against Portugal, England, Spain, etc., with only 2 at the back and who we currently have as fullbacks (A. Robinson / Reggie Cannon / Dest / Yedlin ), mostly offensive-minded guys, not rock solid on defense except maybe Yedlin, when you consider the coaches he has played for.

If we play 4-3-3, you have GK, say A. Robinson and Dest at Fullback, M. Robinson and Zimmerman / Brooks as center backs. You have to have Adams, McKennie and Musah, although if you drop one of those guys, it's Musah. So then, who are your front 3?

It has to have Pulisic somewhere. It probably has to have Reyna somewhere if he's healthy, and then there's Weah, who is really talented, but really inconsistent. Aronson is fun, active and dangerous. Then you have all the big guys, like Pefok, Pepi and Dike. How do you fit those guys together in a 3, and even if you can figure it out, you still only have 2 CBs against good teams.

Weah and Reyna are both 6 feet tall. If Pepi, or Pefok or Dike can't make the position their own pretty soon, they all become bench options. If you want your best 11 on the field, I don't know if any of the 3 traditional nines have shown enough to win more than a sub's role in the last 20 minutes.

Weah does tend to stay wide right, but Reyna and Pulisic both like to come inside. If you watch much Chelsea, you know that Pulisic has sometimes scored from headers or rebounds within the 6 yard box. He also attacks the back post well.

I think most agree that Berhalter hasn't figured it out yet. He's got more pieces at his disposal than many US coaches have had. I think he's built a good squad but don't think he will max it out. Hence, European coach (I hope) for 2026.

 

[IthacaMatt]

OK, Berhalter qualifies for Qatar, and they go out in the group stage.

Berhalter clearly can't be retained. Who are the European candidates? What characteristics would we like them to have to fit our style of play?

Some discussion, for fun.

Point 1 - English speaking - yes or no? I think "yes", not that it has to be their first language, but they have to (a) get their ideas across on the pitch, and ((b) have to be able to deal with the media in a convincing fashion.

Point 2 - Should they know MLS? It's our feeding ground for the national team, and even if you point to all the European based players these days, a lot of them were discovered by Euro teams' connections to academies in the US.

Point 3 - How unique is CONCACAF qualifying? It seems biased as hell to me, full of crappy fields and unfair gamesmanship. Do the nasty parts of European rivalries prepare coaches for an away game where bags of piss are being thrown at your players on the corners? Are any South American leagues like that? I would guess "yes". So maybe somebody with CONMEBOL experience could anticipate the worst that we encounter in qualifying.

Point 4 - As a national team, we have moved beyond the bunker and counter style of play we played out of necessity from 1994 to 2018. It's a different game now. Even Mourinho can't win (at least in England) with that style of football anymore. Bob Bradley or Bruce Arena are of that school, so don't even mention them.

So who fits that profile? Who might be interested in a couple years' time? Who might fit? A list of names, and some random thoughts. Feel free to add your own.

EDDIE HOWE - English speaking, plays expansive football, still able to compete at a relatively high level in the Premier League with decidedly less talented teams. Might be available, might make a good choice for several years, like Roberto Martinez was for Belgium. Similar profile: Graham Potter, Brighton, although I think if Newcastle doesn't avoid the drop, Eddie Howe may be available, while Potter may be looking for better Premier League jobs.

ANTONIO CONTE - Say what you want about his temper, he wouldn't be able to argue with the front office about their lack of investment in the squad! LOL Tactically, this guy is in the top 5 in the world, and has already managed his beloved Italia. I could see him making the US tight at the back, and teaching the midfield and attack the proper rotations, etc. Where to be there, when to arrive. He's great at that stuff. Chelsea players used to get bored with the repetition in practice, but for a national team, where he sees them less often, his structure approach is amazing. Just look at how Italy did under him. He knows the 3-4-3 and 3-5-2 better than anybody, probably in history, and look how he transformed the Premier League in just a season from a 4-3-3 / 4-2-3-1 / 4-4-2 league to everyone suddenly experimenting with 3 in the back. Brilliant coach. We could challenge with him, IMO.

JULIAN NAGELSMAN / JESSE MARSCH - Nagelsman might be available in a couple years (Marsch perhaps sooner, if he doesn't turn thing around ...). Coaches in a similar style, both young and upcoming. I know you mostly think these kinds of coaches are out of reach. But let's just say one of them takes the job and then wins the WORLD CUP WITH AMERiCA. You don't think that guy can write his own ticket for the rest of his career? And what's the downside? Nobody expects us to win, even on home soil? I think it comes down to how much our European talent continues to impress a global audience. I think the overall respect for MLS is growing, as it becomes more international. As the financial rules loosen (as they sell more promising players to Europe ...), the quality of players will continue to improve, and the qualify of our player pool.

Any and all thoughts are welcome. Judgment free zone. We're not all football experts here, we're just fans with opinions.

 

[orangenauburn]

I just don't trust our defenders against Portugal, England, Spain, etc., with only 2 at the back and who we currently have as fullbacks (A. Robinson / Reggie Cannon / Dest / Yedlin ), mostly offensive-minded guys, not rock solid on defense except maybe Yedlin, when you consider the coaches he has played for.

If we play 4-3-3, you have GK, say A. Robinson and Dest at Fullback, M. Robinson and Zimmerman / Brooks as center backs. You have to have Adams, McKennie and Musah, although if you drop one of those guys, it's Musah. So then, who are your front 3?

It has to have Pulisic somewhere. It probably has to have Reyna somewhere if he's healthy, and then there's Weah, who is really talented, but really inconsistent. Aronson is fun, active and dangerous. Then you have all the big guys, like Pefok, Pepi and Dike. How do you fit those guys together in a 3, and even if you can figure it out, you still only have 2 CBs against good teams.

Weah and Reyna are both 6 feet tall. If Pepi, or Pefok or Dike can't make the position their own pretty soon, they all become bench options. If you want your best 11 on the field, I don't know if any of the 3 traditional nines have shown enough to win more than a sub's role in the last 20 minutes.

Weah does tend to stay wide right, but Reyna and Pulisic both like to come inside. If you watch much Chelsea, you know that Pulisic has sometimes scored from headers or rebounds within the 6 yard box. He also attacks the back post well.

I think most agree that Berhalter hasn't figured it out yet. He's got more pieces at his disposal than many US coaches have had. I think he's built a good squad but don't think he will max it out. Hence, European coach (I hope) for 2026.

We need a homegrown Harry Kane or Zidane or Ibrahimovic
That's all

 

[upperdeck]

I would think Striker would be the easiest thing for an athletic kid in the US to become a dominant player at.. be physical, control the ball for short bursts and get into space. too bad we struggle at getting our best athletes into the sport to start with.