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[QUOTE="IthacaMatt, post: 4151579, member: 405"]
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.
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