USMNT: Hold My Beer
- Thread starter Titans Bastard
- Start date
it wasn't disastrous, but I think it was bad. Do you want to argue he made the highest-percentage play? My impression was that he was ahead of the defenders, or nearly so, but instead of putting it straight forward to take a centered shot on goal (or draw everyone and then lay it off), he chose to stop, go to the side and then put it wide to Arriola who then took enough time to let the D get reset. I'd listen if that's really the play there though. We ultimately had 4-on-2 and didn't even get a shot on goal.
I'm not arguing that it was the highest-percentage play, just that I feel like "bad" makes it sound worse than it was. He could have done better, certainly.
Easily a second yellow there on Je-Vaughn Watson, a player who I've seen get sent off in the past more than once for similarly sloppy play.
Watching this at a bar in Stanley, Idaho, population 68. Inexplicably, the entire bar of tourists is engaged in the game.
There's some things Zardes does well, but he just had another pretty shocking turnover in the middle of the park.
He's made some good runs. He did well to get through on the ball that he proceeded to mishit badly.
He does do a few things well, but he's REALLY bad at the things he's bad at, which is why he just isn't up to the level of the NT.
He's got speed. He's tall and occasionally can head it ok.
I'm told that at the MLS level he's a stone-cold killer, but at the international level it's usually a bit of a clownshoes display.
I'm not sure I'd describe Zardes as a stone cold killer in the MLS. He's good, but he's not Wondo. Ha.
Isn't the last U.S.-Mexico GC final at Soldier Field the one that Benny won with the volley golazo from the top of the 18? (Wow, it doesn't seem like it was 12 years ago...)
TBH, Zardes isn't even that fast.
Goals in MLS:
2013: 4
2014: 17
2015: 7
2016: 6
2017: 2
2018: 20
2019: 6 so far
2014: he was on the same team as Robbie Keane and Landon Donovan, enough said.
2018: playing for Berhalter's Crew, a team that was set up to deliver a lot of one-touch tap-ins for the forward. Kei Kamara and Ola Kamara also had career years in this system.
I'm seeing just enough to be titillated for when Adams is well and Sargent/Weah come along. Who knows what the back line will bring beyond a healthy Brooks, though.
The clip begins with footage of Frankie Simek coming on as a sub. That DOES seem like a long time ago!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcGA2W4d5_E
Healthy Brooks plus this crew is honestly something I’m pretty comfortable with, CB-wise. RB seems to have increasingly decent depth too once Yedlin is healthy. Just need to hope for an LB to turn up somewhere.
I've been fairly encouraged by this Gold Cup run; the Curacao game shouldn't have been close and the Panama game could have gone better, but so far this team looks like they shouldn't have too much trouble qualifying for the next WC (knock on wood).
The takeaways have been that Pulisic is the best player in CONCACAF, McKennie looks like an elite player for this team, Steffen looks like he can bail them out of some games, Boyd looks like a promising contributer and Miazga looks competent. Throw in a presumably healthy Brooks, Adams and Yedlin, with some development from Sargent/Weah and you can start to see a real team that can win.
The takeaways have been that Pulisic is the best player in CONCACAF, McKennie looks like an elite player for this team, Steffen looks like he can bail them out of some games, Boyd looks like a promising contributer and Miazga looks competent. Throw in a presumably healthy Brooks, Adams and Yedlin, with some development from Sargent/Weah and you can start to see a real team that can win.
Had to tape the match and watch this morning....
Great game for tactical adjustments (having 90 minutes to analyze video of the first 1/8th of the game was a boon to Jamaica). When they came back out, Jamaica started marking Bradley tight and forcing the CBs to play the ball out...and it was ugly. I know Berhalter wants CBs that can pass, but it’s still a weakness. Now when Adams returns and If he plays at the base of the midfield instead of that “false 2” thingy, it will really help. Adams can operate in tighter spaces and can show better for his CBs. Anyway, I expect Mexico will start off marking Bradley and forcing our CBs to distribute.
After a a kind of dud against Curaçao, McKennie was back tonight! There’s a lot of reasons why he could be so inconsistent right now - new role in a new system, young, had a tough club season with time lost to injuries - but getting McKennie to consistently play at the high level he’s capable is vital to this team.
The ball just circulates so much better with Jozy on the pitch. His ability to control and pass is a difference maker up top right now. I hope Jozy is ready to start and go 75 against Mexico. Please?
Great game for tactical adjustments (having 90 minutes to analyze video of the first 1/8th of the game was a boon to Jamaica). When they came back out, Jamaica started marking Bradley tight and forcing the CBs to play the ball out...and it was ugly. I know Berhalter wants CBs that can pass, but it’s still a weakness. Now when Adams returns and If he plays at the base of the midfield instead of that “false 2” thingy, it will really help. Adams can operate in tighter spaces and can show better for his CBs. Anyway, I expect Mexico will start off marking Bradley and forcing our CBs to distribute.
After a a kind of dud against Curaçao, McKennie was back tonight! There’s a lot of reasons why he could be so inconsistent right now - new role in a new system, young, had a tough club season with time lost to injuries - but getting McKennie to consistently play at the high level he’s capable is vital to this team.
The ball just circulates so much better with Jozy on the pitch. His ability to control and pass is a difference maker up top right now. I hope Jozy is ready to start and go 75 against Mexico. Please?
I thought Long has done quite nicely. Has some offensive pop and is solid at the back.
Miazga has looked a step slow and needs to hit the gym a little
Lima and Cannon looked solid at RB, then of course Yedlin in the future.
I'm going to expose my ignorance, I've played defense, mostly CB, my entire life. What makes finding a LB so difficult?? Why not just put Lima on LB and Yedlin at RB or whatever?
IS it the footedness of the player - aka want a left foot dominant player to play wide crosses?
These are pro players, they should be able to hit an off foot cross halfway decently (then again some of our guys can't play an on foot cross decently) or cut back to dominant foot and play an in-swinging cross
Footedness is a part of it, but I think a lot of it has to do with comfort and familiarity. FBs are expected to make serious contributions to the attack in the modern game, and if a typical RB just doesn't quite feel comfortable on the left flank because the angles are all reversed, he's going to have trouble getting forward at the right times and combining with other players on that side.
Cutback crosses are fine, though they take longer because it requires at least one extra touch. Sometimes that second can make the difference for a defense that is trying to recover their shape.
All that being said, Lima has played more LB than RB this season for San Jose, so I'd be interested to see him tried there.
We actually have a number of legit LB prospects in the pipeline, but they are unready to step up and young enough that it remains to be seen whether they will reach their potential.
2000 — Chris Gloster (Hannover, possibly moving to PSV)
2002 — George Bello (Atlanta), Kobe Hernandez-Foster (LA Galaxy, not pro yet, might move abroad)
2003 — Jonathan Gomez (FC Dallas, not pro yet, but has been playing for their reserve team in USL)
If things go well, Gloster could enter the NT picture before 2022. The others, probably not unless they really get on a fast track.
When did Zardes get so bad? It seemed like anytime he had to participate in a play, rather than just run defenders off the play the attack was doomed to fail.
Sucks that it is going to happen for Chelsea, but holy shit Pulisic looks great for a twenty year old.
I really need him to be better at ball stopping and not get pushed around on set pieces in the box if he is going to keep up his on field tough guy act.
Absolutely sparking offense is a key for FB these days. And while angles are slightly different, it is the same game. Take a RB who is used to bombing down the wing wide, overlapping runs etc - so a lot of straight forward motion with a wide, out swinging cross. But they cut back all the time and play square or short passes too.
The converted LB can cut back and play more of the possession passes square and inside if needed, but still provides an attacking presence, with the occasional off foot cross.
Perhaps I am over simplifying this for a national team level, just seems incredible after all these years the US 'can't find anyone.'
Glad to hear we have some prospects in the pipeline coming of age soon though.
edit - also - is CCV still in the pipeline for the US or he hasn't developed enough as expected? (I know he is still just 21).
I agree that it sounds simple, but it just doesn't ever seem to work out that way. I'd guess that the minor differences can cause players to hesitate slightly in moments or play slightly more tentatively and often that makes all the difference.
It matters too how the rest of the team is constructed. If a team is playing with real wingers, the footedness of the FB matters a lot less. E.g. Pep's City teams get their width from the wingers and use the FBs as possession players, so Pep can experiment with all kinds of weird choices at FB (he won the title playing converted central midfielder Fabian Delph at LB).
If a team is playing without wingers or with inverted wingers, then the team is much more dependent on the FBs to provide width, and the footedness of the FBs becomes more important, so that they can overlap.
I am not a Berhalter fan on the aggregate, but I’m just glad that we’re not dealing with the weird distractions and tangents of the JK era. Underperforming against Curaçao is bad, there are holes in the roster, the tactics are still taking shape, the federation is evidently a train wreck, they’re really not that good, but this team has some talent, they are putting one foot in front of the other, and we’re in a Gold Cup final. Not enough but better than it was.
Mostly I’m just not really familiar with the guys on this roster outside of the handful of times I’ve seen Miazga—of whom my very first impression a few years back was that he was shockingly weak in the air given his height. I have liked Long, and I ride hard for Yedlin. I guess part of it has been waiting for the aforementioned CCV forever and not having other Pulisic/McKennie-level talents on D, but we’ve always been able to pull a decent crew together, even without a LB.
CCV is still in the pipeline. He was on loan at Swansea in the Championship last year. He was on the bench to start the season, but took over the starting job when someone got hurt and never let go of it even after the original starter returned to health.
CCV is disadvantaged in Berhalter's system because, among our CBs and CB prospects, he's a weak passer. I can't say I saw much of him for Swansea, but I've read some reports that his passing improved last season. If so, that greatly boosts his prospects. The other thing about CCV is that he reached full physical maturity at a rather young age, so sometimes guys like that peak early and plateau. For a prospect he has a high floor (he's already demonstrated that he's a solid Champ defender at worst) but it remains to be seen how much more upside he has.
CB prospects to pay attention to:
1997: CCV, Miles Robinson (having a breakout year for Atlanta), Justen Glad (RSL, though he's stalled out a bit and can look physically weak at times), Erik Palmer-Brown (he was awesome for the U20s last time, but his form is inconsistent, club situation is challenging b/c he's a "loan army" type with Man City)
1998: Auston Trusty (solid starter for Philly, not sure that he has high level / NT potential though)
1999: Mark McKenzie (Philly, injury issues this year have led to him losing his starting spot, also not sure of upside)
2000: Chris Richards (Bayern, I'm psyched about this kid, I think he's our best CB prospect and maybe the best prospect on our most recent U20 team)
Sometimes solid CBs come out of nowhere, like Aaron Long. He's a great story.
2010-13: a CM who played four years of college soccer at a nondescript program (UC-Riverside)
2014: drafted by Portland, cut after a few months, picked up by Seattle, then cut again
2015: re-signed to a USL deal for Seattle's reserve team, then cut after the season
2016: signed to a USL deal for NYRB's reserve team, converted to CB. Won USL Defender of the Year as NYRB II won the USL title
2017: moved up to MLS, immediately became a starter
2018: MLS Defender of the Year, signed $800k/yr contract
Anyway, I'd start Long in a full-strength US XI along with Brooks at the moment. He's mobile, he's tough, he reads the game, he's a good enough passer. Beyond them, Richards is someone I hope develops into a stud. Most of the rest will probably be good CBs who aren't game-changers for the USMNT, but there's a reasonable hope that a couple of them will really take the next step and rise above the rest.
Aka the Freddy Adu story in bold.
Nice thing about Long and Brooks they seem to have some offensive capability on corners and free kicks. US needs all the extra offensive power they can get.
Great to hear we have some others knocking on the door as well.
Never had world beaters in the back, but we generally seem to have a decent defensive core albeit without offensive capabilities - Jeff Agoos excepted of course as that was a great one timer shot.
Can the USMNT / USSF ask some of the MLS teams to move someone like Lima or Cannon to LB during the season? Is that a thing? Or we get DaMarcus Beasley out of NT retirement I guess...
Early physical maturity is just one factor that led to such an epic bust like Adu. Pretty much everything that could go wrong, did go wrong, except catastrophic injury.
McKennie is an absolute beast in the air, too. He reminds of Bocanegra, in that he is way better in the air than someone under 6'0" should be.
Ask and ye shall receive: Lima has mostly been starting at LB for the Quakes this year. He was bad in March, got benched, the newly-converted-to-RB Tommy Thompson took over, then Lima went back into the lineup at LB where he's stayed until he went off to the Gold Cup.
What are your expectations for the final?
I came into the tournament worried that the US wouldn't even get this far. It hasn't all been great, but I have been more or less pleased with the progress made. Maybe that's just because I didn't have high expectations and I take a long view with the quality of the player pool, which is nearing the end of a multi-year nadir and IMO beginning what promises to be a steady upward climb. It's obviously extremely frustrating to watch Zardes (et al), but he doesn't factor into the big picture for me.
All that being said, from past experience I know that it's easy to get swept up with how the US plays in the Gold Cup. The competition is not good; even a semifinalist like Jamaica fields starters who ply their trade at a sub-MLS level. Mexico is without many of their top players, who are injured or who have chosen to sit out the Gold Cup, but they have far more talent than our opposition so far. Sunday's game will be a different test and it's entirely possible that the good form we have seen at times will all evaporate in the face of a better opponent.
I was expecting to get thumped by Mexico in the final. I'm still expecting a loss, but hold out a bit of hope given El Tri's short-handedness and their struggles in the knockout rounds: they got by the Ticos on penalties and needed extra time to beat Haiti. They haven't been great.
My central fear revolves around our central midfield. Michael Bradley has never been the quickest player and at age 32 his ability to close down players and win 50/50s has deteriorated further. This hasn't been a huge problem on a practical level (one goal conceded in five games!) but from the eye test, I think the cracks are there and I worry they'll be exposed against better competition. If Mexico can set up shop at the top of the box, it's going to be a long night. McKennie will need to put in a mature, positionally disciplined defensive performance and our CBs will need to be on their toes.
Is @Bosoxen watching? Would be good to get the El Tri perspective.
I came into the tournament worried that the US wouldn't even get this far. It hasn't all been great, but I have been more or less pleased with the progress made. Maybe that's just because I didn't have high expectations and I take a long view with the quality of the player pool, which is nearing the end of a multi-year nadir and IMO beginning what promises to be a steady upward climb. It's obviously extremely frustrating to watch Zardes (et al), but he doesn't factor into the big picture for me.
All that being said, from past experience I know that it's easy to get swept up with how the US plays in the Gold Cup. The competition is not good; even a semifinalist like Jamaica fields starters who ply their trade at a sub-MLS level. Mexico is without many of their top players, who are injured or who have chosen to sit out the Gold Cup, but they have far more talent than our opposition so far. Sunday's game will be a different test and it's entirely possible that the good form we have seen at times will all evaporate in the face of a better opponent.
I was expecting to get thumped by Mexico in the final. I'm still expecting a loss, but hold out a bit of hope given El Tri's short-handedness and their struggles in the knockout rounds: they got by the Ticos on penalties and needed extra time to beat Haiti. They haven't been great.
My central fear revolves around our central midfield. Michael Bradley has never been the quickest player and at age 32 his ability to close down players and win 50/50s has deteriorated further. This hasn't been a huge problem on a practical level (one goal conceded in five games!) but from the eye test, I think the cracks are there and I worry they'll be exposed against better competition. If Mexico can set up shop at the top of the box, it's going to be a long night. McKennie will need to put in a mature, positionally disciplined defensive performance and our CBs will need to be on their toes.
Is @Bosoxen watching? Would be good to get the El Tri perspective.
To me, McKennie is the key. Bradley is who he is. But as you said, McKennie needs to realize he will have to help defensively more and pick his spots going forward. If he plays a complete game, I think the US has a decent shot. If he plays hero ball and tries to get forward too much then it could be problems.
I just want to see some signs that they can withstand pressure from a better side and can still execute a gameplan. A win would be great, and I'd certainly celebrate it, but at this point in the cycle it's not going to change my thoughts on the team and what they need to do.
If we win, we tie Mexico for total Gold Cups won (at 7 apiece).
Curious what everyone's ideal lineup would look like right now, after seeing 5 games.
Curious what everyone's ideal lineup would look like right now, after seeing 5 games.
The lineup is out a little early today. No changes to the team that beat Jamaica. The rotating captain for this most important of Gold Cup games is Weston McKennie.
I don't think Zimmerman or Lima did anything particularly wrong, but they've been beaten out by Miazga and Lima here. Cannon in particular was good last game. After a good start, Boyd's performances have dipped, so Morris retains his place as the RW.
150th cap for Bradley. Only Donovan and Cobi Jones have reached that mark for the US.
Arriola — Altidore — Morris
Pulisic — McKennie (c)
Bradley
Ream — Long — Miazga — Cannon
Steffen
Pulisic — McKennie (c)
Bradley
Ream — Long — Miazga — Cannon
Steffen
I don't think Zimmerman or Lima did anything particularly wrong, but they've been beaten out by Miazga and Lima here. Cannon in particular was good last game. After a good start, Boyd's performances have dipped, so Morris retains his place as the RW.
150th cap for Bradley. Only Donovan and Cobi Jones have reached that mark for the US.
I've been pointing out their flaws all tournament but I am also talking myself into the idea they can win this. I feel like an English fan.
For FIFA or UEFA competitions the players walk out to inspiring orchestral music. In CONCACAF they come out to AC/DC.