USMNT WCQ Thread
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Our 2 most effective players (through the qualifying cycle so far) are both out (McKennie, Dest). Aaronson was a reliable playmaker with a ton of pace up front. Musah, Ferreira, Busio, de la Torre have been anywhere near as effective. Yedlin and Cannon are good and reliable but they don't present the same dynamic problem for defenses that Dest creates. Dest = Trent Alexander-Arnold is how people should view Dest's importance to the US attack.
The hits keep coming. GB admits Weah can’t and won’t go the full 90 in any of the three games.
What really hurts is Aaronson. He’s the only player to appear in every qualifier if my count is right. Even if he didn’t start, that type of trust and consistency missing hurts.
What really hurts is Aaronson. He’s the only player to appear in every qualifier if my count is right. Even if he didn’t start, that type of trust and consistency missing hurts.
Yes, I am feeling a bit worried by these player availability problems. Pulisic is going to have to get back to form and we will need to find some explosiveness elsewhere in the attack. Weah will likely be needed as well.
Is there an important futbol game played tonight? Naaah! Only eight hours away from now and I wonder who Beer?halter will start. Will it be half of the "B" team guys, to rest the other starters for remaining games? Or will he send out our big guns to beat the green mice for the first time ever at Azteca? I vote for Plan B, although there will be lots of substitutions at almost 8k feet above sea level.
Yes it was ok.
Disappointed in Pefok though. Missed a golden opportunity and did poorly holding the ball down the stretch.
Also we lost two important guys for Sunday on suspension.
Losing Weah for Sunday is going to hurt a lot.
On the plus side Reyna looked like the best player on the field. Hopefully he can stay healthy. I wish we would see a Reyna + Peppi combo. They seem like they would work well together. Pepi has shown he has the ability to finish even if his form has suffered as of late.
On the plus side Reyna looked like the best player on the field. Hopefully he can stay healthy. I wish we would see a Reyna + Peppi combo. They seem like they would work well together. Pepi has shown he has the ability to finish even if his form has suffered as of late.
I think Yedlin has played well in qualifiers and is the best choice behind Dest. The younger guys are a bit of a crapshoot and I don't like Cannon too much either.
Cannon is out for good. We brought up Shaq Moore as an emergency player for the Panama game since we lose Yedlin to accumulation and Cannon has been ruled out.
We need a 2-0 win in Orlando. Costa has to win both games and make up 7 goals in the process. We’ve lost there 4-0 in a game that should have been 7-0. If they lose either game, we are in.
A draw in Orlando clinches the play-in game regardless of any other result, if my math is right.
If Canada had won last night, it would be over with a draw Witt Panama. But nooooooooo.
We have never won in Costa Rica and haven’t had a competitive draw down there since Joe-Max was lighting it up.
It has to be decided in Orlando.
I didn't get to watch the entire game, only the last 25 minutes or so. US seemed pretty compact in the back but also really well organized. Only a couple of dangerous balls that had me tense up. Felt the US' counter attacks were much better and probing and resulted in the better of the chances between the two sides. US has to be more clinical in finishing. People are bagging on Pefok but let's be honest, Pulisic finishes his chance 95 times out of 100 and this time he didn't steer it one way or the other, just pushed it straight into Ochoa.
And for once, a hispanic referee cautions a Mexican player for simulation. They go down way too easily. And even in that situation it's clear Jordan Morris is not ready for the speed and precision this level requires. I like Morris as a player but asking him to defend Mexico's speedy wingers is asking a bit much of him.
I am just going on the math.
Any two results advances us. I am pretty sure a draw or better versus Panama guarantees no worse than 4th place.
I was just reading up a little because it seemed like half of Europe gets to compete in the World Cup. Sure enough 13 countries will compete from Europe. 5 from Africa, Asia, and South America. 3-4 from North America. 0-1 from Oceania. Why does Europe get soooo many more teams?I understand North America has only 23 countries vs Europe with 44. However, Africa has 54 countries and still only gets 5 invites. Asia has 48 countries and only 5 invites.
On the other side, South America only has 12 countries and still get 5.
On the other side, South America only has 12 countries and still get 5.
I'm pretty satisfied with a point on the road...there. Was anyone else displeased with our goalies clearances? Steffen seemed to kick out of bounds or right to an opponent. Too many long ball kicks which lost possession, when a throw to a teammate would suffice. I want to see Horvath in goal in one of these next 2.
There was a pass through that turned into a Mexico opportunity where Steffan could have come out and gotten the ball. I think he misjudged that it was headed out of bounds.
There were a number of questionable decisions from Steffen. The letting the cross go through the box instead of coming out to snag it. Reasonably, that's the only place that cross could go and be dangerous and I feel like Steffen should have been more aggressive. He let several run out over the goal line for goal kicks. There was a late ball into the box that looked like it might run out and Steffen let it go and a Mexican attacker stopped it from rolling out. Steffen needs to assume it's staying in play and if he can beat the opponent to it, he should be going after it. He could have avoided a lot of anxiety for the team and fans.
A clean sheet is a clean sheet. All the best keepers like to make things difficult. Just like good closers. It’s imperative that when protecting a one-run lead in the ninth, you walk the first two batters.
The opponent with bases loaded in the 9th is the only way I know my heart still works.
Walker Zimmerman has been the surprise of this qualifying run to me. He's been an anchor in our box and a disruptor in theirs.
How are we leading this thing 4-0? Weird lineup, spotty defense and I’ve seen better passing from eighth graders. I’ll be happy when Turner is healthy, no ball is safe when Steffen is in goal.
De La Torre has been very good. Finding players in dangers spots.
Because we are really good and actually playing with effort, even with half of our bets lineup out.
Reyna gets a pass in this one for what seemed like disjointed play. After half time Panama was ankle hunting. How they didn't end up 2 men down by the 75th minute is beyond me.
When the US went full on press in the 1st half, we were really good and created lots of dangerous situations. US D was fine.Zimmerman is solid, Robinsons are solid and Shaq Moore was steady. I still hate when Steffen tries to play the ball out of the back b/c 75% of the time he makes the wrong decision in distribution.
the high 4 for the US (De la Torre, Pulisic, Arriola, and Ferreira) were pretty well suited to take this game head on and their quickness allowed the US to press hard and cause problems for Panama.
So on to Wednesday. Believe Costa Rica needs to beat the US 6-0 and that would only probably drop the IS to 4th spot and into a playoff.
We fairly criticize this team and coach sometimes but it really says something that we were missing probably 5 of our best players and nonetheless dominated the match. We obviously have the deepest talent pool in US men's soccer history.
100% accurate. The fact we were missing Dest, McKennie, and Weah would have caused panic in the past. I panicked a little when Aaronson was ruled out as he can fill McKennie's role albeit he is a very different type player.
Seriously, if Berhalter plays the WC to win every match instead of staying close, the US has a chance to do some damage. The US is as athletic as any team in the world. Their attack can be dynamic. The biggest question mark will always be if the backline can hang with teams like Spain and Brazil and be able to cover when the press or the attack breaks down.
I usually worry about the physicality the African nations play with but it looks like only one of the traditional central African powers is going to qualify (either Ghana or Nigeria) with the other 4, as it stands, looking to be the Muslim northern African countries that tend to play with more speed and finesse (Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Tunisia).
I really want to see Berhalter play to win Wednesday and not to not lose by 5 or more.
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