USMNT WCQ Thread
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GOAL!!! McKennie off the free kick with a header. US really needs to look at McKennie more and I'd
like to see McKennie attack the middle of the box more in the air. The US has not had a problem getting into good wide spaces deep and hitting the crosses in. McKennie is as good as there is in the air right now, worldwide.
like to see McKennie attack the middle of the box more in the air. The US has not had a problem getting into good wide spaces deep and hitting the crosses in. McKennie is as good as there is in the air right now, worldwide.
Win in a must win game. Better yet the US looked and played like the more dominant team. The US should not have a lineup that does not feature McKennie AND Weah on the field to start the game. The 2 of them are one of the more dynamic duos In the game. Pepi also needs to be the featured 9. De la Torre started slow and was too easily knocked off the ball but after half time he started being active and combining with McKennie and Weah to create some havoc in the attacking 1/3. Morris was OK. Acosta played great tonight. Cannon and Robinson played well and I didn't think the 2 CBS were ever put under any real stress and Turner was basically a wall flower all evening. Did he even record a save tonight?
On to Azteca and chain link protective fences and batteries being thrown and the US being forced to play 14 if the refs are Latino. US can get a result there. The US is better than Mexico right now.
On to Azteca and chain link protective fences and batteries being thrown and the US being forced to play 14 if the refs are Latino. US can get a result there. The US is better than Mexico right now.
Mexico up 1-0 on an 80th minute PK. Also in this game, Lainez and Lozano have put themselves in position to be the prohibitive gold medal favorites for tandem diving in the 2024 Olympics
Canada can finish no worse than 4th so would at least guarantee a spot on the playoff.
Too many permutations for me to figure it out, but it seems you did. Thanks.
This story about Costa Rica playing Covid positive players is something. We lose a top player against Canada over testing questions. I wonder if they are knocked out/ penalized. The problem is you would have to penalize them in favor of the top four teams, equally.
So, Beer?halter is a friggin genius. Starting Acosta to replace a hurt Tyler Adams finally paid off. His free kick onto the head of Wes McKinnie was a beautiful thing. If the rest of his game was as good as his free kicks, I'd have no problem with him.
And starting CP on the bench turned out to be another good move. So happy for Pulisic for scoring & hopefully getting that psychic monkey off his back. He still might be history at Chelsea this summer but another big club will surely snatch him up.
The guys played well under those "conditions" and thankfully, vs the worst team left and should get a confidence boost after Canada. Still concerned about the March call-up. Reyna will certainly be there. Would like to see Sargent-assuming he continues to star for Norwich, Pefok & maybe Dike in the mix. But who knows with the newly crowned "genius". His call-ups & starters continue to be somewhat "experimental".
And starting CP on the bench turned out to be another good move. So happy for Pulisic for scoring & hopefully getting that psychic monkey off his back. He still might be history at Chelsea this summer but another big club will surely snatch him up.
The guys played well under those "conditions" and thankfully, vs the worst team left and should get a confidence boost after Canada. Still concerned about the March call-up. Reyna will certainly be there. Would like to see Sargent-assuming he continues to star for Norwich, Pefok & maybe Dike in the mix. But who knows with the newly crowned "genius". His call-ups & starters continue to be somewhat "experimental".
If Berhalter doesn't have Kellyn Acosta lineup at azteca, he is an idiot
He needs to be in there sticking guys in tackles, playing great balls and setting up players. I love him.
You need warriors in Mexico City. They are old now and can't keep pace. It is going to get nasty and dirty, and they try to slow it down. We need people that can stand in there and stick them back when needed. Acosta is one of those guys. He is a major reason why Colorado was so good this year in MLS. He is a great player for the US. He needs to be a starter.
He needs to be in there sticking guys in tackles, playing great balls and setting up players. I love him.
You need warriors in Mexico City. They are old now and can't keep pace. It is going to get nasty and dirty, and they try to slow it down. We need people that can stand in there and stick them back when needed. Acosta is one of those guys. He is a major reason why Colorado was so good this year in MLS. He is a great player for the US. He needs to be a starter.
Are you talking Weah? My understanding he wasn't considered fully vaccinated by Trudeau.
No idea about vaccination statuses, but Weah is absolutely a linchpin for us. There shouldn’t be a match that we need to win without him in the lineup if we can help it.
Weah couldn't get approved to enter Canada because of his vaccination status. The FS1 guys talked about how Weah's status is good enough to play in France and Europe but not for Canada. These players are already isolated and quarantined for the most part and it's not like they're in the country long enough to interact with the general public. I can see this being an issue in the future where countries gig the system to keep key players out of the mix for visiting teams.
As for Acosta...he was fantastic last night but he should not start over Tyler Adams if both are healthy and ready to play. Acosta is solid...Adams is a dynamic world
class player.
My lineup vs Mexico:
GK: Turner
2: A Robinson
3. M Robinson
4. Zimmerman
5. Dest
6. Adams
7. Weah
8. McKennie
9. Pepi
10. Reyna
11. Pulisic
Subs: Zardes, Sargent, Lletget, Aaronson, Roldan, Cannon, McKenzie, De la Torre, Ferreira, Richards, Yedlin, Steffen
Yo, droolz: Here's my prob w/ Acosta. 1. Little, if any, on the ball skill. It's 2 dribbles & pass, usually to the side or backwards. 2. When has he scored a meaningful goal for the USMNT? Scoring for Colorado means nothing in the context of WC qualification 3. A warrior?? I call him a hothead. He thinks he's wearing the Cpt'n's armband the way he's in the face of the ref each time a call goes against us. And finally, who does he replace in the line-up? Last night it was Tyler Adams. Do you want Acosta to keep Adams on the bench? Honestly, who would you replace to start him?
I'm OK with Acosta coming off the bench late. As I noted above, his only redeeming feature....set piece delivery, could be useful if we need a late goal. In any event, Beer?halter loves the guy for some reason so you will prolly get your fill of K. A. I know I will. And I agree...Beer?halter is an idiot.
Tim Weah, 3 days removed from his 2nd MNT match, gets the start for his club team, Lille, vs the Big Dog in the French Ligue Un, Paris St. Germain. Neymar is absent but Mbappe & L. Messi are putting the hurt on Lille. It's 4-1 early in the 2nd half. Weah was sent in alone on goal, dribbled to far to his right and his shot was saved from a tough angle.
Anyway, to me, it's a measure of how important he is to his club team that he gets the start in a very big game after only 3 days removed from international duty. Be In Sports has it on one of their channels.
Anyway, to me, it's a measure of how important he is to his club team that he gets the start in a very big game after only 3 days removed from international duty. Be In Sports has it on one of their channels.
It’s really hard to tell because of the schedules of the other teams really make this an unknown quantity.
We need five points from the final three games to control our own destiny and avoid the play in. Or Costa Rica and Panama to lose two. There is considerable pressure on this squad. The schedule didn’t do us any favors. A cynic would say it was designed to maximize USA TV eyeballs at the end.
If we win in Mexico and beat Panama, we go. If we beat Mexico and Costa Rica and Panama lose their other two matches, we go, if I’ve done the math right.
To get to five, we have to tie or win at Mexico where we are 0-3-3 in the modern era of qualifying. (They are 0-2-2 when I am there. I may go if it’s a night game).
If we lose, then we have to beat Panama in Orlando and win at Costa Rica to avoid the play-in, if Panama and Costa Rica win their games.
We have never won at Costa Rica. After watching us lose 4-nil in 2018, I vowed to never go back. And I won’t.
If we lose the first two and Costa Rica wins the first two, and Mexico takes a point in either of the final two, then at Costa Rica would be a must win. If Costa Rica beats Canada at home and El Salvador and the United States loses to Mexico, then it’s a single game to qualify for both in a game in Costa Rica.
Most likely, most likely, we win in Orlando against Panama and lose the other two. That means the play-in at worst, if Costa Rica beats both, we lose to CR and Panama craps the bed. If Panama beats Canada and ties the USA, the final night of qualifying could be just as wild and ultimately disappointing as 2018.
I could punch Berhalter saying there’s nothing to worry about, the goal has always been to win at home and nick points on the road. It’s his jacked up team sheet that gave away points in El Salvador and the draw with Canada at home. Win either of those and we aren’t having this conversation.
I’m sick of watching Montgomery and Berhalter only look at their players during a game and totally get out coached. Both are loyal to their system to a fault. It’s clear that Pulisic is exposed to injury in this system compared to his club system, so he rarely plays and when he does he gets hacked to death. Nobody does anything about it, especially the coach, but everyone expects him to be Captain America and save the day. Go look at the metrics on our first half scoring this cycle. This guy should be on his ass in a sack.
If you guys really want a Huffy rant on what’s really wrong with US Soccer, why CP will never see his full international potential with GB, and why I think there’s a good chance we get stuck in the play-in, let me know.
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As Dr. BB said, the permutations make your brain spin. One thing that will certainly help the US cause, 19-yr old Gio Reyna was back on the field for Dortmund yesterday for the 1st time since getting hurt in early September. He came on around the 60th minute & from reports, did well. When match fit, he'll get a lot of minutes for Dortmund as they have a busy schedule coming up. The more the merrier for his club team and eventually, the MNT.
Huffy may wish to continue his rant on how screwed up the USSF is. These jokers will soon take us back to the bad-ol' days as the former head of the Soccer Federation ( who brought us Bruce "Frogface" Arena & his epic fail), a guy named Perreira? Ferreira? (help Huffy, can't remember his name) is running again to lead the USSF. The only other candidate is a female who I know nothing about, although she could easily be better than the guy. (Please don't call me a misognyst, I've been married for 30 years!)
Huffy may wish to continue his rant on how screwed up the USSF is. These jokers will soon take us back to the bad-ol' days as the former head of the Soccer Federation ( who brought us Bruce "Frogface" Arena & his epic fail), a guy named Perreira? Ferreira? (help Huffy, can't remember his name) is running again to lead the USSF. The only other candidate is a female who I know nothing about, although she could easily be better than the guy. (Please don't call me a misognyst, I've been married for 30 years!)
Not Cindy Parlow is it? And can we really say Arena was a failure? Bringing him in late in the last cycle was unfair to judge him by. He was able to help sustain the initial progress under Bora in the early 90s. Bradley also got a bad rap. And I still think SUM runs way too much of the deal and views the USMNT as a marketing ploy for MLS which may have been accurate in the late 90s when the league was young but it seems to be doing pretty well now on its own. The US also has "A" level talent right now. We don't need a coach as much as a caretaker, someone who sees things happening and can adjust formations, lineups, etc. Seriously, Berhalter can name a starting 11 right now for the 3 games in March and it's pretty easy and almost ZERO debate. And there's only a couple of positions where you could name a different person (i.e. M. Robinson in place of Richards or Zimmerman; Aaronson start over Pulisic and have Pulisic come in late).
Yes. And the same crowd gave us Beer?halter ( in a phony search for a head coach which took 13 months) whose final chapter is yet to be written.
I don’t see the math as being that complicated. Unless I’m wrong each team has 3 games remaining for a maximum of 9 points. that means only 2 teams have a shot at pushing us to 4th, Panama and CR. We beat Panama and that eliminates them. We get one more point in the other two games or CR loses one game and we qualify. The key is Panama, that is a must win, we do that and I’m not concerned.
Arena did some great things with the USMNT when players like Donovan and Beasley were just coming up.
OK, I'm a little hard on Bruce Arena. At least he got us to a couple WC Finals which is, of course, why every country on the planet fields a team in the first place. But.........I'm still hurting from the 2018 failure and the manner in which it happened, e.g. losing to a T&T team, half of which were amateurs. This current group is very close to easing my worried mind and I don't want any slip-ups.
OK, maybe Arena didn't have a bunch of young studs developing in Europe like Beer?halter does. But he had enough to anchor a team & choose MLS guys more "wisely". Selection of personnel, the current coaches' problem too.
OK, maybe Arena didn't have a bunch of young studs developing in Europe like Beer?halter does. But he had enough to anchor a team & choose MLS guys more "wisely". Selection of personnel, the current coaches' problem too.
He did better than just get us there. The first team he took to the world cup basically announced to the world that the US was a real force internationally for the first time ever by their performance.
Jordan Pefok, aka Siebetcheu, continues to tear it up for Young Boys in the Swiss Super League. On Sunday, he scored twice to salvage a tie for his team. That makes 13 in 19 League games & 18 in 32 matches in all comps, including the Champions League.
Playing as a #9 for Young Boys, can anyone think of another team that needs a 9 that can actually score? Beer?halter hasn't called him up since September and he didn't get in the line-up then. Maybe in March, in place of Zardes, perhaps? Nah, I'm just dreaming.
Playing as a #9 for Young Boys, can anyone think of another team that needs a 9 that can actually score? Beer?halter hasn't called him up since September and he didn't get in the line-up then. Maybe in March, in place of Zardes, perhaps? Nah, I'm just dreaming.
All of this current crop of young studs like Weah, McKennie, Pulisic, etc. were available 4 years ago and Klinsmann decided to ride or die with the MLS crew. I think only Reyna, Musah were not available. Hell, even Sargent could have been on that team and instead we're trotting out Stonehenge Altidore and Michael "watch me pass it backwards" Bradley. Sure the kids may not have beaten Mexico that year but I would have run them out there and would be pretty confident they would have beaten T&T
Him or Sargent in place of Zardes. I think Berhalter likes Zardes late in games whether in the lead, tied, or needing a goal because he can put a lot of pressure on backlines who are just trying to hold onto the ball. Thing is, Sargent does that extremely well too and is much better technically than Zardes is and can be that hold-up 9 to allow the attack to build through the middle. I know a lot of people like Dike but he is not nearly as technically skilled as any of the other 3.
Whatever happened to Hoppe? I loved his ability and work rate but nobody talks about him anymore.
He'd be in front of Zardes for sure. Honestly if you're looking at 9's specifically, the US has 4 true 9's who would be better options than Zardes. Pepi, Pefok, Sargent, and Hoppe. Dike needs some work but has the physical skills to be a true 9 as well. And if you look at Berhalter's style, you need a hold up 9 and one who can be dominant in the air. The US has one of the best wing attacks in the world right now driven by Dest, A Robinson, Pulisic/Aaronson, and Weah. This group absolutely is the thing of nightmares for wing defenders and because each of those players can beat most wing defenders 1 v 1, they're going to pull a CB out of position and if the 6 or 8 is late in dropping in the middle to defend, I like my chances with any one of the true 9's winning a battle to get a head on the ball...Zardes is not a true 9. He is typically not beating defenders 1 v 1, not winning aerial battles, and certainly not holding up the ball when play does come into the middle. And this doesn't even take into account McKennie who is, IMO, one of the more dominant aerial players in the game right now. He's a bigger, stronger, faster version of Roberto Firmino...maybe slightly less creative. A true 9 is absolutely going to free McKennie up for more chances.
Signed a big deal with Mallorca and sat on the bench and beach since. 4 appearances I think.
All these players everyone keeps mentioning. They are very very young and most are very raw. They are getting chances in Europe because they are cheap and clubs are slashing expenses. Before, a club would pay $4 million a year to keep a vet on a side to practice and mentor. Not anymore. They will bring in young talent and give it a shot long enough to get to the next window to replace him and deal him or cut him.
A lot of these players aren’t really even on the team. Does anyone actually think Zach Stefan would ever feature for Man City? He’s been there three years and hadn’t played in a meaningful match. Most of his time even in League Cup matches has been because the starter had CoVid or was injured. And he got loaned out while they flirted with others.
Remember when Matt Miazga was going to win 100 caps for the US and captain Chelsea?
Every once in a while you see guys with legit vision or reflexes or obvious tactical knowledge that goes along with the athleticism and you’re like OK. That’s special. That’s more than speed and athleticism. Those are the guys to watch and hype. Gio fits that bill. CP too. Weston. The rest of these guys are mostly fringe players that would be in MLS five years ago.
Ian Harkes is a bencher in MLS he’s in Scotland and playing because both he and his Dad know it and he’s got the passport. Shaq Moore, Bryan Reynolds same. He needs to leave Roma btw.
Pefok is an interesting prospect but Switzerland is not even MLS. He will learn more there but he must show more there and move up. No takers … yet.
Dike. Same. He unlocked the Premiership achievement on a bargain deal. Now go play and show you belong. Nothing … yet.
Gioachinni, De La Fuente, Musah, these are all guys with flashes of speed and athleticism that makes you turn your head but the technical skills are gaping and quickly found out.
These guys aren’t much better than Tanner Tessman, Alex Mendez and others that the pundits aren’t hyping. You only hear about players in the pool because their agent or MLS told them to. There’s plenty out there just as good, and by that I mean not good enough, because you (and the players) have been fed a piece of crap by folks trying to make money off of them. Reggie Cannon is a good player. They bend shape to favor him so he looks better. He’s not a competitive international or European club back. His energy and drive is attractive but he’s showing that work rate because deep down he knows he’s not quite up to where we need him to be. Most of our squad of young studs believes their clippings and thinks they are world class. Not even close. Couldn’t beat Canada. Not even close.
He’s a good prospect but very very raw in terms of vision, game awareness and recognition of what they are trying to do,
I like Pulisic, Weah, McKennie, Adams. Musah, Dest and A. Robinson. Would take those seven in most matches.
Unsure about the CBs though it might be interesting to try Richards and Brooks together if Brooks is on form with his club.
GKs have been pretty good in qualifying so far.
Still leaves us with a key, missing piece.
Unsure about the CBs though it might be interesting to try Richards and Brooks together if Brooks is on form with his club.
GKs have been pretty good in qualifying so far.
Still leaves us with a key, missing piece.
If you look back about a year, I wrote a brief message regarding CB pairings and indicated that Richards/Brooks is the best tandem we have, at least in theory, if you look at the feet they favor and their heat maps. Zimmerman/Brooks is serviceable but suboptimal. A lot of times it isn’t your best two guys back there. It’s how well they compliment each other. And what you are doing with low or high pressure. More on that later.
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