USMNT soccer team thread

[Toga]

"I think Dempsey is clearly the biggest beneficiary of Pulisic (Duh.) Dempsey really knows how to move off the ball and now he has someone with both the vision and the skill to find him and put the ball in the right place for him."

Wasn't that a delicate little pass to Dempsey when he scored while being pulled down in the box?

 

[Forza Azzurri]

"I think Dempsey is clearly the biggest beneficiary of Pulisic (Duh.) Dempsey really knows how to move off the ball and now he has someone with both the vision and the skill to find him and put the ball in the right place for him."

Wasn't that a delicate little pass to Dempsey when he scored while being pulled down in the box?

That was a pass that you cannot teach.

It was a terrific finish by Dempsey but it never happens if Pulisic doesn't make that pass...Just my opinion but no other US player, past or present, even tries to make that pass...

For Pulisic to make that pass, in that manner with the perfect weight...kid has a chance to be really special.

Ramos, Reyna, Dempsey, Donovan...this kid has more natural ability than all of them combined.

Doesn't mean he will be. He has to stay healthy. He has to continue to have the right club situation so he can continue to develop. But I think this kid could be our first true world-class field player...

 

[OrangeFoo]

That was a pass that you cannot teach.

It was a terrific finish by Dempsey but it never happens if Pulisic doesn't make that pass...Just my opinion but no other US player, past or present, even tries to make that pass...

For Pulisic to make that pass, in that manner with the perfect weight...kid has a chance to be really special.

Ramos, Reyna, Dempsey, Donovan...this kid has more natural ability than all of them combined.

Doesn't mean he will be. He has to stay healthy. He has to continue to have the right club situation so he can continue to develop. But I think this kid could be our first true world-class field player...

I'll give you one name: John O'Brien. If I remember correctly JOB hit a pass like that to Clint Mathis to score against s. korea:


People forget about JOB but he played regularly for Ajax when Ajax was a true world class squad and not just a feeder club. I think you are also underestimating how good Reyna was. I also think Stuart Holden had the ability of Pulisic but injuries also ended his career way too early.

There's a 20 year old US kid who plays for Rangers who is known for making passes like that named Emerson Hyndman (Hyndman nominated for Rangers Young Player of the Year)

 

[OrangeFoo]

I think that we finally have a true #10. He is still very young but his skill level is miles ahead of any player that has ever donned the Stars and Stripes.

And the best part is that the sneaker companies have been burned so many times anointing various US soccer players as the first US soccer superstar that, hopefully, they don't realize how incredibly talented this kid really is and they just leave him to develop without all the hype.

Anyone notice that our outside backs were a non-factor? Not sure that either Cameron or Villafana made one overlapping run between them. We absolutely destroyed them right through the middle of the field and it was all Pulisic, Dempsey and Altidore. When has the US ever done that before? We clearly now have loads of skill upfront, We aren't Germany (and, to be fair, we aren't even close) but we are more talented than we have ever been before.

I think Dempsey is clearly the biggest beneficiary of Pulisic (Duh.) Dempsey really knows how to move off the ball and now he has someone with both the vision and the skill to find him and put the ball in the right place for him.

One of the hard parts about watching a game is watching a player assume a role and not knowing if he is playing the role the way the coach wants him to play it or if he is freelancing. Same with a formation.

Bradley really dropped deep, many times almost playing as a 3rd center back. Was that intentional? Did Arena want more cover for the back four? Was he forced deeper than he should have been by Honduras' high pressure? Tough to tell. What it did do was create huge gaps in the midfield. One of the commentators even said, at one point, that the US is almost playing 2 lines of 5. The distance between Bradley and the rest of the midfield helps explain some of the issues Bradley was having. Honduras' high pressure also explains some as Bradley is not the best at coping with that. But what Bradley does give you is an extremely high work rate with very good positional discipline - something that was sorely needed playing with what could be described, at best, as a makeshift back four.

But the gaps that it opened up are worrisome. Better teams will exploit that. It's like having too much distance in pass coverage between your linebackers and your secondary...

We desperately needed 3 points so Arena had to be really attack-minded vs Honduras and the players selected reflected that.

I will be very interested to see what he does vs Panama.

My guess is Pulisic out wide with Bedoya on the right side... Nagbe to the bench and Jones and Bradley protecting the D with Clint and Jozy up top.

Our D scares me... Gonzo is not solid at all and now Brooks is out. No bueno.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

I'll give you one name: John O'Brien. If I remember correctly JOB hit a pass like that to Clint Mathis to score against s. korea:


People forget about JOB but he played regularly for Ajax when Ajax was a true world class squad and not just a feeder club. I think you are also underestimating how good Reyna was. I also think Stuart Holden had the ability of Pulisic but injuries also ended his career way too early.

There's a 20 year old US kid who plays for Rangers who is known for making passes like that named Emerson Hyndman (Hyndman nominated for Rangers Young Player of the Year)

I remember O'Brien. Very Good player. Beautiful pass but it was still a pass (actually halfway between a chip and a pass)...Pulisic lifted it...that is so much harder to do with any degree of touch and precision...

Reyna was a phenomenal US player. Pulisic has far more natural ability. That doesn't mean he is a better player than Reyna. Far from it. But I think he is oceans more talented than Reyna ever was.

He is the first US player, that I have ever seen, that just seems to glide by people with the ball at this feet...

 

[Forza Azzurri]

My guess is Pulisic out wide with Bedoya on the right side... Nagbe to the bench and Jones and Bradley protecting the D with Clint and Jozy up top.

Our D scares me... Gonzo is not solid at all and now Brooks is out. No bueno.

Or Jones on the left, Bedoya on the right, Pulisic up top and Bradley in the hole...Jozy and Deuce up top...

Klinsmann loved Jones. We'll see what Arena thinks of him...

 

[Alsacs]

I think that we finally have a true #10. He is still very young but his skill level is miles ahead of any player that has ever donned the Stars and Stripes.

And the best part is that the sneaker companies have been burned so many times anointing various US soccer players as the first US soccer superstar that, hopefully, they don't realize how incredibly talented this kid really is and they just leave him to develop without all the hype.

Anyone notice that our outside backs were a non-factor? Not sure that either Cameron or Villafana made one overlapping run between them. We absolutely destroyed them right through the middle of the field and it was all Pulisic, Dempsey and Altidore. When has the US ever done that before? We clearly now have loads of skill upfront, We aren't Germany (and, to be fair, we aren't even close) but we are more talented than we have ever been before.

I think Dempsey is clearly the biggest beneficiary of Pulisic (Duh.) Dempsey really knows how to move off the ball and now he has someone with both the vision and the skill to find him and put the ball in the right place for him.

One of the hard parts about watching a game is watching a player assume a role and not knowing if he is playing the role the way the coach wants him to play it or if he is freelancing. Same with a formation.

Bradley really dropped deep, many times almost playing as a 3rd center back. Was that intentional? Did Arena want more cover for the back four? Was he forced deeper than he should have been by Honduras' high pressure? Tough to tell. What it did do was create huge gaps in the midfield. One of the commentators even said, at one point, that the US is almost playing 2 lines of 5. The distance between Bradley and the rest of the midfield helps explain some of the issues Bradley was having. Honduras' high pressure also explains some as Bradley is not the best at coping with that. But what Bradley does give you is an extremely high work rate with very good positional discipline - something that was sorely needed playing with what could be described, at best, as a makeshift back four.

But the gaps that it opened up are worrisome. Better teams will exploit that. It's like having too much distance in pass coverage between your linebackers and your secondary...

We desperately needed 3 points so Arena had to be really attack-minded vs Honduras and the players selected reflected that.

I will be very interested to see what he does vs Panama.

Pulisic is like having a PG. The service he gives is great and obviously makes sense as he is playing Champions league matches for Borussia Dortmund.

He gives Dempsey the ball in spots to finish. Dempsey is still more ready for International play than Wood but I think Wood will be the future at that spot.

Bradley is going to kill us in road matches. He is a turnover machine when he gets pressed. I would tell him to just kick it out of bounds when he gets pressured and can't find an obvious open pass.

The starting XI will tell us what Arena wants out of Panama. All we need is a draw to be honest.
Mexico/Costa Rica are qualifying.
US just needs to get ahead of Panama and Honduras.
We won last cycle at Panama. We can get a draw.

 

[OrangeFoo]

Pulisic is like having a PG. The service he gives is great and obviously makes sense as he is playing Champions league matches for Borussia Dortmund.

He gives Dempsey the ball in spots to finish. Dempsey is still more ready for International play than Wood but I think Wood will be the future at that spot.

Bradley is going to kill us in road matches. He is a turnover machine when he gets pressed. I would tell him to just kick it out of bounds when he gets pressured and can't find an obvious open pass.

The starting XI will tell us what Arena wants out of Panama. All we need is a draw to be honest.
Mexico/Costa Rica are qualifying.
US just needs to get ahead of Panama and Honduras.
We won last cycle at Panama. We can get a draw.

100% agree on Bradley... he is a turnover machine and lingers too long on the ball near his own box when he should just boot it out of there. Ironically the best dmid on the team is probably Geoff Cameron who is killing it for Stoke playing dmid but no US coach seems to be the one who wants to sunset Bradley. Given that I almost prefer Jones behind Bradley on the road to minimize the damage the Bradley's turnovers can do.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

100% agree on Bradley... he is a turnover machine and lingers too long on the ball near his own box when he should just boot it out of there. Ironically the best dmid on the team is probably Geoff Cameron who is killing it for Stoke playing dmid but no US coach seems to be the one who wants to sunset Bradley. Given that I almost prefer Jones behind Bradley on the road to minimize the damage the Bradley's turnovers can do.

Jones freelances too much. Klinsmann was willing to give him that freedom.

I don't think Arena will which is why I'm interested to see what he does.

Part of being caught in possession is also having teammates who are not moving to get open...

 

[OrangeFoo]

Jones freelances too much. Klinsmann was willing to give him that freedom.

I don't think Arena will which is why I'm interested to see what he does.

Part of being caught in possession is also having teammates who are not moving to get open...

True but Bradley causes his own problems. He might or might not be the best #6 in the us pool but apparently the world will never know because us coaches won't try anyone else as long as Bradley is eligible to play.

 

[CUSU]

I think that we finally have a true #10. He is still very young but his skill level is miles ahead of any player that has ever donned the Stars and Stripes.

And the best part is that the sneaker companies have been burned so many times anointing various US soccer players as the first US soccer superstar that, hopefully, they don't realize how incredibly talented this kid really is and they just leave him to develop without all the hype.

Anyone notice that our outside backs were a non-factor? Not sure that either Cameron or Villafana made one overlapping run between them. We absolutely destroyed them right through the middle of the field and it was all Pulisic, Dempsey and Altidore. When has the US ever done that before? We clearly now have loads of skill upfront, We aren't Germany (and, to be fair, we aren't even close) but we are more talented than we have ever been before.

I think Dempsey is clearly the biggest beneficiary of Pulisic (Duh.) Dempsey really knows how to move off the ball and now he has someone with both the vision and the skill to find him and put the ball in the right place for him.

One of the hard parts about watching a game is watching a player assume a role and not knowing if he is playing the role the way the coach wants him to play it or if he is freelancing. Same with a formation.

Bradley really dropped deep, many times almost playing as a 3rd center back. Was that intentional? Did Arena want more cover for the back four? Was he forced deeper than he should have been by Honduras' high pressure? Tough to tell. What it did do was create huge gaps in the midfield. One of the commentators even said, at one point, that the US is almost playing 2 lines of 5. The distance between Bradley and the rest of the midfield helps explain some of the issues Bradley was having. Honduras' high pressure also explains some as Bradley is not the best at coping with that. But what Bradley does give you is an extremely high work rate with very good positional discipline - something that was sorely needed playing with what could be described, at best, as a makeshift back four.

But the gaps that it opened up are worrisome. Better teams will exploit that. It's like having too much distance in pass coverage between your linebackers and your secondary...

We desperately needed 3 points so Arena had to be really attack-minded vs Honduras and the players selected reflected that.

I will be very interested to see what he does vs Panama.

If the past is any indicator Arena likes the fullbacks to provide width but without Yedlin, Chandler and Johnson they were more stay at home fullbacks last game. I think Bradley dropping back was by design because the CBs drift really wide and the FBs get up the side line.

Like you said though we didn't need the width last game, but part of that was due to Honduras' odd formation of 5-2-3 essentially allowing us to dominate the center of the park.

Very interested to see how we play vs. Panama and when the squad is more healthy.

 

[CUSU]

 

[Toga]

Pulisic is like having a PG. The service he gives is great and obviously makes sense as he is playing Champions league matches for Borussia Dortmund.

He gives Dempsey the ball in spots to finish. Dempsey is still more ready for International play than Wood but I think Wood will be the future at that spot.

Bradley is going to kill us in road matches. He is a turnover machine when he gets pressed. I would tell him to just kick it out of bounds when he gets pressured and can't find an obvious open pass.

The starting XI will tell us what Arena wants out of Panama. All we need is a draw to be honest.
Mexico/Costa Rica are qualifying.
US just needs to get ahead of Panama and Honduras.
We won last cycle at Panama. We can get a draw.

Bradley used to be solid. Now he's scary. Dempsey continues to be stone cold.

 

[orangenauburn]

Can't wait to see what he has in mind

 

[CUSU]

Can't wait to see what he has in mind

Here's my stab at the changes

1. Jones for Lletget (meaning dual 6 with Bradley)
2. Cameron to the CB for Brooks
3. Beasley for Villfaña at LB ( Bruce hinted it would be easier to play less experienced players at home)
4. Zusi at RB for Cameron moving central (Scary)

Those 4 changes would mean empty bucket 4-2-2-2

5. If Dempsey can't go another 90 then we will have to change to 4-2-3-1 and bring in another winger hence Arriola being added to the roster?



I really hope he doesn't make all those changes.

I'd go with only the necessary changes.

Besler for Brooks and Jones for Lletget or even leave Bedoya out there, he played fine when subbed on.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

Here's my stab at the changes

1. Jones for Lletget (meaning dual 6 with Bradley)
2. Cameron to the CB for Brooks
3. Beasley for Villfaña at LB ( Bruce hinted it would be easier to play less experienced players at home)
4. Zusi at RB for Cameron moving central (Scary)

Those 4 changes would mean empty bucket 4-2-2-2

5. If Dempsey can't go another 90 then we will have to change to 4-2-3-1 and bring in another winger hence Arriola being added to the roster?



I really hope he doesn't make all those changes.

I'd go with only the necessary changes.

Besler for Brooks and Jones for Lletget or even leave Bedoya out there, he played fine when subbed on.

Scanned the roster...not a lot of options...

Howard, Altidore, Pulisic, Bradley for sure.

If Deuce can go, go with him.

I would keep Bedoya. Not the most creative player but a high work rate and you need that on the road.

So, then it boils down to Jones or Nagbe. I am not a fan of the Jones-Bradley pairing but I would go with Jones here simply because of the experience factor.

The D? Oh man. I have always liked Besler. He is generally pretty consistent and is kind of the polar opposite of Brooks and Gonzalez...less athletic and less imposing but more consistent.

Whom to pair him with? Definitely a conundrum..Gonzalez was poor so I would go with Brooks, even though suffering from dehydration a few days before a game in 80 degree temps is not ideal.

Beasley vs Villafana and Cameron vs Zusi.

No idea. How much does Beasley have left in the tank? Can he still get up and down?

Not familiar with Panama but my guess is that they will have pace down the flanks. Can Cameron deal with it? Can Zusi deal with it?

This is where not watching these guys all the time leaves me at a loss...

We really need to get our guys healthy...

 

[Alsacs]

Scanned the roster...not a lot of options...

Howard, Altidore, Pulisic, Bradley for sure.

If Deuce can go, go with him.

I would keep Bedoya. Not the most creative player but a high work rate and you need that on the road.

So, then it boils down to Jones or Nagbe. I am not a fan of the Jones-Bradley pairing but I would go with Jones here simply because of the experience factor.

The D? Oh man. I have always liked Besler. He is generally pretty consistent and is kind of the polar opposite of Brooks and Gonzalez...less athletic and less imposing but more consistent.

Whom to pair him with? Definitely a conundrum..Gonzalez was poor so I would go with Brooks, even though suffering from dehydration a few days before a game in 80 degree temps is not ideal.

Beasley vs Villafana and Cameron vs Zusi.

No idea. How much does Beasley have left in the tank? Can he still get up and down?

Not familiar with Panama but my guess is that they will have pace down the flanks. Can Cameron deal with it? Can Zusi deal with it?

This is where not watching these guys all the time leaves me at a loss...

We really need to get our guys healthy...

Brooks was sent back to Germany.

The CBs are likely Cameron/Gonzalez.
Beasley is the rumor for LB.
I have no clue who will be the RB as CUSU said we don't have a RB on the roster now.

 

[CUSU]

Scanned the roster...not a lot of options...

Howard, Altidore, Pulisic, Bradley for sure.

If Deuce can go, go with him.

I would keep Bedoya. Not the most creative player but a high work rate and you need that on the road.

So, then it boils down to Jones or Nagbe. I am not a fan of the Jones-Bradley pairing but I would go with Jones here simply because of the experience factor.

The D? Oh man. I have always liked Besler. He is generally pretty consistent and is kind of the polar opposite of Brooks and Gonzalez...less athletic and less imposing but more consistent.

Whom to pair him with? Definitely a conundrum..Gonzalez was poor so I would go with Brooks, even though suffering from dehydration a few days before a game in 80 degree temps is not ideal.

Beasley vs Villafana and Cameron vs Zusi.

No idea. How much does Beasley have left in the tank? Can he still get up and down?

Not familiar with Panama but my guess is that they will have pace down the flanks. Can Cameron deal with it? Can Zusi deal with it?

This is where not watching these guys all the time leaves me at a loss...

We really need to get our guys healthy...

Zusi at RB will be an issue on pace. Arriola has played RWB in Mexico. I don't get why Bruce didn't call in Chandler.. he said he didn't want to have him fly all the from Germany for one game, ummm we need him.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

Zusi at RB will be an issue on pace. Arriola has played RWB in Mexico. I don't get why Bruce didn't call in Chandler.. he said he didn't want to have him fly all the from Germany for one game, ummm we need him.

That may say more about what Arena thinks of Chandler...we have no RB and Arena won't fly him in...

 

[Forza Azzurri]

Brooks was sent back to Germany.

The CBs are likely Cameron/Gonzalez.
Beasley is the rumor for LB.
I have no clue who will be the RB as CUSU said we don't have a RB on the roster now.

Ouch. Did not know Brooks sent back to Deutschland...

It's getting paper-thin..

I'll go with Cameron, Gonzalez, Ream and Beasley...

 

[Alsacs]

That may say more about what Arena thinks of Chandler...we have no RB and Arena won't fly him in...

Arena didn't fly him in he said because Chandler was suspended for Honduras due to yellow cards.
Arena said he didn't want to fly him 10 hours for one match in respect for his club team.

He should have done it but your right he may not like Chandler who was a Klinsmann guy.

Also interesting article on something you talked about in the past on player development.

Europe is recognising football talents developed in U.S. - Schalke's Jobst

 

[Forza Azzurri]

Arena didn't fly him in he said because Chandler was suspended for Honduras due to yellow cards.
Arena said he didn't want to fly him 10 hours for one match in respect for his club team.

He should have done it but your right he may not like Chandler who was a Klinsmann guy.

Also interesting article on something you talked about in the past on player development.

Europe is recognising football talents developed in U.S. - Schalke's Jobst

Yeah, I read it this AM...

I don't know why Arena is getting all hissy.

Germany's youth system is one of, if not the, best in the world. If Pulisic stays stateside, no way that he is anywhere near the player he is today.

That is not necessarily an attack on the US youth system but our youth system is miles (and miles and miles) from Germany's. It is getting better now that the MLS teams have their academies but it cannot compare to Germany's...

The more kids that go over there, the better off we are...

 

[Alsacs]

In other CONCACAF matches
In Honduras
Costa Rica 1 Honduras 1

This draw helps the Americans as Costa Rica took a point from Honduras which needed the home points.

Mexico and T&T score less in the 28th minute in Port of Spain.

 

[orangenauburn]

In other CONCACAF matches
In Honduras
Costa Rica 1 Honduras 1

This draw helps the Americans as Costa Rica took a point from Honduras which needed the home points.

Mexico and T&T score less in the 28th minute in Port of Spain.

Mexico needs to get the 3. Don't need T&T catching any breaks

 

[CUSU]

In other CONCACAF matches
In Honduras
Costa Rica 1 Honduras 1

This draw helps the Americans as Costa Rica took a point from Honduras which needed the home points.

Mexico and T&T score less in the 28th minute in Port of Spain.

Outside of CONCACAF Argentina loses 2-0 to Bolivia. 4 game suspension. Only Messi for cussing out a ref. Argentina may fail to qualify.