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World Cup Qualifying

McKinnie out with a thigh injury for Panama. Had an MRI that came up negative, but he'll sit this one out as will all of the Prem players.
 
Definitely B-side today against Panama. What is the deal with those moon shot corner kicks from Acosta?
 
The best player for Panama today, both offensively and defensively, is Gyasi Zardes. I swear he’s an infiltrator.
 
This is very uninspired by us. Feels like 2018. Panama sucks. They look slow. But we look slower and blind. The kicks down field into nothing are mind boggling.

We also got ripped off at least 90 seconds in stoppage time.
 
We also got ripped off at least 90 seconds in stoppage time.
Yeah, the ref pointed to his watch at least 4 times during stoppage time indicating that he was adding on the time Panama was wasting…then he blows the whistle at +7:03…
 
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I don’t know why they can’t do the clock like NCAA soccer. It’s fine and there is no funny business.
 
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Didn't see the match, but I did see Beer?halter's roster & figured we might have a problem. The likes of Moore, McKenzie & Bello on the back-line is asking for it. Did Chris Richards ride the bench? Then there's Zardes who hasn't scored a meaningful goal for us in 2-3 years and Acosta whose bad plays far outnumber the good, plus he's a hot-head.

Yet Beer?halter loves both these pretenders and will continue to play them. Arriola played the full 90 vs Jamaica & started tonight?? This dude must have run out of gas after 20 minutes. We'll see who Beer?halter puts forth vs Costa Rica on Wednesday for a very important game.
 
you underestimate Zardes, he scored the only goal of the game. The back line was fine but we had no offense. If they had replaced Zardes with Aaronson, instead of Arriola or Weah (whichever he went in for) we would have had a shot. In the first half he played a ball and was called for offside where if he had simply let it go Weah would have been one on one with the keeper. Then in the second he headed a ball into the net on a corner when Turner clearly had a bead on it.
 
7 new guys. Different team today.

Missed Robinson at center back too. Bello is not impressive. Why no Dest?
 
7 new guys. Different team today.

Missed Robinson at center back too. Bello is not impressive. Why no Dest?
Dest took a knock at the end of the Jamaica game.

Berhalter should have approached this cycle differently. Start the B side vs Jamaica. They are struggling mightily and the side that started last night can likely equal them. The US needed to start the A team vs Panama who has been playing exceptionally well lately. They are solid. Then figure out who is healthy enough from the A side to play vs Costa Rica and go from there.

I am not a fan of Bello or Moore starting on the defensive wings. They don't play enough defense whereas you have Antonee Robinson and Dest who are full goalline to goalline players. Yedlin is better than Moore and Bello. And there's no doubt that Adams and McKennie on the field together create a ton of problems for opponents. Their speed and skill and vision really get teams out of trying to high press the US.
 
you underestimate Zardes, he scored the only goal of the game.
I would ordinarily LOL to that, but it pi$$es me off too much. I'm guessing that the Zardes/Beer?halter love affair stems from their player/coach days at Columbus. Sure, Zardes scored some for Beer?halter then, but calling this guy up & actually starting him in the most important game to date for the USA (not to mention 35 minutes of mop-up duty vs Jamaica) is just rolling the dice and Beer?halter crapped out last night.
 
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Also, how is it possible that the Concacaf WCQ Table isn’t updated yet with last night’s results? It’s only the USMNT’s qualification for the world’s most important sporting event…
 
Also, how is it possible that the Concacaf WCQ Table isn’t updated yet with last night’s results? It’s only the USMNT’s qualification for the world’s most important sporting event…
Yeah, ESPN didn't update it. US is still 2nd tied with Panama in points but ahead on GD. Canada drew with Jamaica which is not a great result for them in their push to qualify. Costa Rica won puling them even with Canada in points but behind in GD. Current Standings are:

Mexico 11pts +5
US 8pts +4
Panama 8 pts +3
Canada 6pts +3
Costa Rica 6pts E
El Salvador 5pts -3
Honduras 3pts -6
Jamaica 2pts -6

A win vs Costa Rica will likely put some separation between then and 4th place teams. Canada has a tough match vs Panama on Wednesday. I expect after this set of games Jamaica, Honduras, and El Salvador will all be relegated to the role of spoilers for the rest of the CONCACAF WCQ cycle.
 
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LOVE. L-O-V-E. LOVE. The starting 10 field players. Not sure why you would switch GKs at this point especially since Turner has been playing well

Added: Even better, Weah has been inserted at the right wing in place of Arriola. This is the youngest starting 11 the US has ever started in a WCQ. It may also be the most talented and most athletic. This 11, even w/o Pulisic and Reyna has superior talent to Mexico IMO
 
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It would be preferable if these games were on one channel/ platform. I feel like every time it’s game figuring out how to watch. Also, there’s a major difference between the broadcast crews. I like Dempsey/ Paramount the most. The ESPN crew is effing annoying.
 
US needs to see this one out. They've been far superior to Costa Rica in this game. Costa Rica is lucky they're not losing 2-3 in the goal differential.
 
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We’re lucky they didn’t score on they last pass. I liked the line about the CR guy never being very quick and that he’s even slower now.

Good win. I don’t know why Steffen played. Turner is way better.
 
LOVE. L-O-V-E. LOVE. The starting 10 field players.
Is Beer?halter finally figuring out where his WC bread is buttered? Well, kinda. Bla noted Arriola was scheduled to start-for the 3rd game in a row. He tweaks an ankle or something in warm-ups & Tim Weah takes his place. Huh? Weah should have started anyway. All he does is score (well, his low liner caused the own goal) the game winner. I just love to see him glide up the pitch-gazelle like.
 
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We’re lucky they didn’t score on they last pass. I liked the line about the CR guy never being very quick and that he’s even slower now.

Good win. I don’t know why Steffen played. Turner is way better.
I’ve never been a Steffen fan. He’s a good keeper and is probably better than Turner in some aspects of the game but I think Turner’s reflexes would have saved that first goal.
 
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I was really impressed with Busio tonight in his limited playing time.

Looked much stronger and more confident on the ball than during the gold cup.
 
Costa Rica really had no answers for the US game plan which was to use the youthful athleticism and put CR on their heels and press the crap out of them. CR had trouble stringing together more than 5 passes. The opening goal was a fluke really.

Backline was solid and really the only awful error was the one square pass from Robinson to Richards that got intercepted by the Costa Rican 9 who had the pace of a Sherman tank. One, the ball can never go square there and two, Richards should have dropped to give a little more angle to play that pass back or space to play wide to A Robinson.

Another key I saw tonight…the willingness of US players to turn with the ball in tight spaces. Several times McKennie, Dest, Adam’s, Weah, etc. turned and eluded the initial defender and it turned into an instant dangerous attack.

This 11 would put Mexico under serious pressure. El Tri’s backline already struggles against most teams when an attack can be built up, especially against pace (See Canada last week). This is why Mexico plays that frenetic press as it forces teams to clear the ball long.
 
The pro-Mexican announcers complaining about El Salvador's fans throwing water bottles on the field at Ochoa seems a little bit like the pot calling the kettle black right?
 
Looking at the table and the schedule, if the US can beat Mexico at home and then beat Jamaica in the next 2 games, they will be hard to catch.

Key game in the octagonal next set, Mexico at Canada. If Canada can win this game it will go a long way in their qualification. Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador, and Jamaica can all but be eliminated from the top 4 talk after the next 2 games if they don't get decent results as Mexico, US, and Canada can all put distance between themselves and that group.
 
Those 3 seem to be clearly the best from what I have seen.
 
Kasey Keller pre-game comment before CR match: "going backwards or sideways is not going to score a lot of goals" Oooooooh-stick that in your pipe Beer?halter & smoke it. Beer?halter quote taking "responsibility" for the Panama debacle: " I don't regret at any moment playing that lineup". Maybe our Euro guys can overcome their idiot coach & qualify anyway, assuming, of course, he plays mostly those guys the rest of the way.
 
That Panama game ends 0-0 or 1-1 it changes the standings immensely. That own goal could reverberate for months and I hope it doesn’t end up putting us in that 4th spot.
 
That Panama game ends 0-0 or 1-1 it changes the standings immensely. That own goal could reverberate for months and I hope it doesn’t end up putting us in that 4th spot.
If we're anywhere close to 4th place at the end of this Berhalter and US Soccer failed miserably with their management of the team. The starting 10 field players we saw the other day were simply, IMO, the most talented group the US has put on the field at one time. There's no reason to not ride that all the way to Qatar. I was OK testing players out in the Gold Cup and CONCACAF Nations League but WCQ should be the focus and no messing around is allowed. Bello and Moore should not be starting for this team ever again barring injuries to our top 4 outside backs (Dest, A Robinson, Yedlin, Cannon). With only 2 games the next cycle, this 10 should start and Pulisic and Reyna as part of the substitute discussion. Cna you imagine bringing on Pulisic in the 75th minute vs Mexico for Weah, Musah, or Aaronson? Can you imagine bringing on a quality MF/F in Reyna in the 75th minute for any of those players. Sorry, I don't want to see Lletget any more. He's slow and lacks the same quality and pressure of the guys we just saw. He'd fit right in with Costa Rica though.
 
Wait you’re relegating two of our best players to be super subs?
Sure. The 10 on the field the other night showed a great chemistry about it. I liked the energy the top 3 played with, especially when trying to put the CR defenders and keeper under pressure. How many times was CR able to play out of the back effectively the other night? Not many and it's because Aaronson, Pepi, and Weah played with a frenetic tempo and pressure. Pulisic has never been about that style...and to be fair to Reyna, I can't say he can or can't or will or won't play that way. I think the US absolutely has to play with the speed and pressure against Mexico to force Mexico out of its own press. Mexico's backline is frequently spared embarrassment and mistakes because teams simply don't have the athleticism or technical skill to force Mexico out of it. I believe the 10 from the other night absolutely can do that and force Mexico and Ochoa into mistakes. And I'm all about not messing with a good thing.
 
Sure. The 10 on the field the other night showed a great chemistry about it. I liked the energy the top 3 played with, especially when trying to put the CR defenders and keeper under pressure. How many times was CR able to play out of the back effectively the other night? Not many and it's because Aaronson, Pepi, and Weah played with a frenetic tempo and pressure. Pulisic has never been about that style...and to be fair to Reyna, I can't say he can or can't or will or won't play that way. I think the US absolutely has to play with the speed and pressure against Mexico to force Mexico out of its own press. Mexico's backline is frequently spared embarrassment and mistakes because teams simply don't have the athleticism or technical skill to force Mexico out of it. I believe the 10 from the other night absolutely can do that and force Mexico and Ochoa into mistakes. And I'm all about not messing with a good thing.
I’d like to see how Reyna and Pulisic play alongside a striker that can finish in Pepi before we talk about leaving them out of the starting squad. Reyna might play with Pepi much like he plays with Haaland. I think Pulisic is just a better version of Aaronson when he’s fit.
 
I’d like to see how Reyna and Pulisic play alongside a striker that can finish in Pepi before we talk about leaving them out of the starting squad. Reyna might play with Pepi much like he plays with Haaland. I think Pulisic is just a better version of Aaronson when he’s fit.
I can see that and Pulisic is still the most talented player the US has although the kids are going to be pushing him for that mantle. I guess my thing is not trying to fix something that isn't broken.
 
It will be hard to keep Pulisic on the bench if he is 100% fit.
 
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