I worry that while I like the midfielder options we have individually the actual mix of them may just be off. Pulisic fixes a lot but they really lack for that player who stitches it all together and controls tempo and space. That elusive pausa, the ability to calm everything down and bring the attackers and supporting defenders in. Everything is still so naive, ball to feet turn and everyone run. Defenders defend and attackers attack and you play one role or the other. It has plagued us for a long time and I’m not interested in overreacting to a single match on the road but I was really disappointed in the approach more than the results.It’s mitigated some because the players are much more skilled now, but not showing to the ball has plagued us for ages.
We’ve had that guy once in my entire lifetime with Reyna the elder.I worry that while I like the midfielder options we have individually the actual mix of them may just be off. Pulisic fixes a lot but they really lack for that player who stitches it all together and controls tempo and space. That elusive pausa, the ability to calm everything down and bring the attackers and supporting defenders in. Everything is still so naive, ball to feet turn and everyone run. Defenders defend and attackers attack and you play one role or the other. It has plagued us for a long time and I’m not interested in overreacting to a single match on the road but I was really disappointed in the approach more than the results.
They weren’t tonight.I know CONCACAF road games are very dicey but I was surprised that the US didn’t really show anything in the final 1/3 of the field. El Salvador is a horrible team, US has to create something. That felt like a preseason Red Sox game at the jet
El Salvador is most certainly not a horrible team. The U.S. has a few wins there, as many draws, and they're looking a lot friskier this cycle than they have in a while.El Salvador is a horrible team
Agree with all of that, and yet that leaves me with hope. Nine players making their debut in world cup qualifying on the road with a not socially distance crowd. To come away with a point is fine. If they can get three points at home against Canada in a much more friendly environment, they'll be sitting in decent shape. The experience factor alone after this window will hopefully be dividends. Even someone like Dest who had played in some big matches showed a few niggles of the moment.I think this is a really young team that clearly didn’t play up to expectations or capability last night. Touches were awful and a lot of giveaways before even controlling the ball. Lots of long opportunistic passes that also went straight to the feet of El Salvador, often right after the US did all the hard work gaining possession, only to give the ball right back. And just not enough linking in the midfield and movement off the ball. Adams was good. McKennie had 20 minutes of good. Ream was fine. Other than them, no one brought their game.
The morning after it’s also impressive that this young squad came out attacking, kept on attacking, and kept a clean sheet on the road.Agree with all of that, and yet that leaves me with hope. Nine players making their debut in world cup qualifying on the road with a not socially distance crowd. To come away with a point is fine. If they can get three points at home against Canada in a much more friendly environment, they'll be sitting in decent shape. The experience factor alone after this window will hopefully be dividends. Even someone like Dest who had played in some big matches showed a few niggles of the moment.
Yes. First game, got a point in a hostile venue, a run-out for some of the newbies, it's all good. Hopefully Berhalter got some idea of what some of these guys can't do.The morning after it’s also impressive that this young squad came out attacking, kept on attacking, and kept a clean sheet on the road.
Columbia literally played to a draw last night against a team ranked lower than El Salvador. It happens.5. If we want to be a legit soccer nation, a 0-0 draw in El Salvador is not good enough. Period. Perhaps I am over-ranking the US, but I put us in the fringe top 15 team range in the world. I also put Germany, Uruguay and Colombia there right now. Would any of those teams say a tie in El Salvador is good enough? Hell no, and neither should we. If we want to be with these other countries, we need to start to act like it too.
Ignoring the reliance on FIFA rankings, that’s not the point. It’s the acceptance of some that it’s an ok result because, hey, at least we didn’t lose. I’m pretty sure nobody in Sons of Carlos Valderrama thinks tying away at Bolivia is solid.Columbia literally played to a draw last night against a team ranked lower than El Salvador. It happens.
What was wrong with them? They seemed to be mainly focused on getting fresh legs in for the players who do the most running. The players who weren't swapped out were the CBs, Adams, McKennie, and Reyna. Reyna is the only one who I thought might have been in line to be replaced. It seemed to me to be of a piece with our Gold Cup strategy of taking advantage of our superior squad depth to try to get a late result.The substitutions by and large made no sense except for bringing in Pefok.
I don't think anybody is happy with a draw, but it's not a terrible result. Especially considering the xG edge indicating a significant advantage in number and quality of chances created (yes, we do need to convert them into goals).If we want to be a legit soccer nation, a 0-0 draw in El Salvador is not good enough.
I think you're confusing folks saying a point on the road is acceptable in this situation *as it pertains to advancement* with people thinking they played well and it's all fine and no changes are needed.Ignoring the reliance on FIFA rankings, that’s not the point. It’s the acceptance of some that it’s an ok result because, hey, at least we didn’t lose. I’m pretty sure nobody in Sons of Carlos Valderrama thinks tying away at Bolivia is solid.
If any big European side played what ever we’re calling this successor to the Hex, with the grueling travel, heat, poor pitches, hostile crowds, hackery, CONCACAF refs etc. they would not get 3 points every game away. If this is our best away performance it’s a problem. It probably won’t be.5. If we want to be a legit soccer nation, a 0-0 draw in El Salvador is not good enough. Period. Perhaps I am over-ranking the US, but I put us in the fringe top 15 team range in the world. I also put Germany, Uruguay and Colombia there right now. Would any of those teams say a tie in El Salvador is good enough? Hell no, and neither should we. If we want to be with these other countries, we need to start to act like it too.
Update: this guy decided to peace out of Chile camp before any of their WCQs.Wild to see CONMEBOL nations calling up an American dual national with a relatively scant resume in MLS for WCQ. Robinson does have talent, but isn't someone whose loss of USMNT eligibility will cause a ton of heartburn.
View: https://twitter.com/kaufsports/status/1429861946183012352
Not sure another call will be forthcoming any time soon..."Thank you to the La Roja fans, players, coaches and staff for the warm welcome as I had the honor of joining national team camp," Robinson wrote in an Instagram post Thursday night. "I’ve really enjoyed training with you and feel very grateful for how well you’ve treated me.
"At this time, I’ve decided to return to South Florida to take some time to process my international allegiance while helping Inter Miami CF push for the playoffs."
I don't think that was the full first choice midfield for the U.S. (specifically I don't think Aaronson is the "A" starter---in fact, I'm pretty sure that was his first start at that position for us)....but if they can’t control the match against El Salvador with their first choice midfield then I’m definitely concerned with what lies ahead.
Bolivia on the road, at altitude, is always a pretty tough fixture, actually.Ignoring the reliance on FIFA rankings, that’s not the point. It’s the acceptance of some that it’s an ok result because, hey, at least we didn’t lose. I’m pretty sure nobody in Sons of Carlos Valderrama thinks tying away at Bolivia is solid.
I agree with this. Yes, results won't always reflect the performance and a 0-0 score line can mean a lot of different things. It was the performance that unsettles me more so than the result itself. We are well aware that the pitch was a mess, that the environment was hostile, and that this team is young. When they don't play well it's fair to ask why that was the case and to be critical of the performance. The first ten minutes were along the lines of what I would expect from this team.When did 1.6 xG become a good outcome? The xG says the US was a bit better but it hardly paints a picture of dominance squandered. Yes, a few headers could have gone their way and they probably should have nicked the points out of fashioning those chances but it would only have been a bit of a smash and grab. Too much of the discourse here reads like it was 3.5-.25 xG and those matches happen but this wasn’t that type of match at all
of course the point is fine in the context of qualification but when you bring in your European based contingent I’d really expect to see a far more cultured approach. McKennie spent a season playing for Pirlo at Juve, Reyna has been in one of the best Bundesliga sides for a while now. And so on up and down the roster. I’d expect these players to have picked up some of the tactical intelligence and composure that playing at a higher level than this match provides to help steady the match and make it a matter of when, not if, the goal will come. They had under 50% possession yesterday and that’s not remotely OK to me. They rushed everything and got into awful patterns of hit and chase. I don’t particularly care if they bang their heads against a bus for 90 minutes and draw but if they can’t control the match against El Salvador with their first choice midfield then I’m definitely concerned with what lies ahead. There will be plenty of matches where they need to soak up pressure and hit on the counter but those should come against Mexico or in the World Cup.
Starting Pepi would be very ballsy and could definitely backfire but I wouldn't call it crazy. I think the above would be pretty crazy, and doubly so to try it in a crucial home WCQ! Trying False 9-by-committee with a bunch of players who don't have a track record of being effective False 9s is way too much for me.Would it be totally crazy to run out a 3-4-3 without a true center forward? Maybe Aaronson, Pulisic, Reyna with lots of interchange on the attack against Canada? Dest would bring width on the right, with McKennie and Adams linking up in support.
I hope Berhalter gives it some consideration in the future if no one steps up and grabs the CF spot. It's been a revolving door of mediocrity for a while now, and I think it is the natural future of this US team, especially given the skill of our AM/winger types.Starting Pepi would be very ballsy and could definitely backfire but I wouldn't call it crazy. I think the above would be pretty crazy, and doubly so to try it in a crucial home WCQ! Trying False 9-by-committee with a bunch of players who don't have a track record of being effective False 9s is way too much for me.
We've talked in the past about how Pulisic is going to have to be ready for this type of attention in CONCACAF. So is Dest.I agree that Dest was poor, but it also looked to me like El Salvador was determined to take him out of the game. A number of times they ran a third defender, hard, at him and Konrad, and I don’t think Dest was prepared for the numbers or the aggression.
Rumors that there's a hamstring issue. Haven't seen anything definitive.It's gameday again, somehow.
Reyna was ominously absent from training yesterday.
McKennie was suspended at Juve last season for the same reason.McKennie is out for violating team policy.