USMNT: Don’t Screw the Poch

[sezwho]

https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2024/10/usa-vs-mexico-lineups-starting-11-usa-lineup-today

Tonight’s USMNT Starting XI vs. Mexico: 1-Matt Turner, 4-Mark McKenzie, 5-Antonee Robinson, 6-Yunus Musah, 7-Aidan Morris, 11-Brenden Aaronson, 13-Tim Ream (Capt.), 14-Gianluca Busio, 17-Malik Tillman, 22-Joe Scally, 24-Josh Sargent

Substitutes: 16-Patrick Schulte,18-Ethan Horvath, 2-Auston Trusty, 12-Miles Robinson, 15-Tanner Tessmann, 19-Haji Wright, 20-Brandon Vazquez, 21-Alex Zendejas, 23-Kristoffer Lund

Apparently Mexico is expecting it will be a 4-2-3-1 according to the coverage

 

[SoxFanInCali]

Took less than a minute to hear the homophobic chant.

 

[ernieshore]

Not the most rousing ovation.

 

[luckiestman]

That was sick

 

[Catcher Block]

Clean strike off of a crap call.

 

[SoxFanInCali]

That free kick looked soft, leads to a goal.

 

[McBride11]

Soft call but a great free kick. Perfect placement

 

[McBride11]

Oh Ream’s ponytail deflected it slightly

 

[luckiestman]

Our guys have been bad since Everyday Eddie kissed his shirt and left the pitch.

 

[luckiestman]

This Jimenez guy is feeling himself tonight

 

[McBride11]

US is getting worked

 

[sezwho]

Hope Poch can conjure something at the half: we are getting smoked pillar to post. We seem to be sitting down and crying for a whistle again.

 

[SoxFanInCali]

Oof

 

[cromulence]

It's time to put Ream out to pasture.

 

[Catcher Block]

Great recovery by Ream, followed by a complete lack of awareness by Ream.

Make the St. Louis game his last and move on.

 

[sezwho]

Glad I went to bed there was no reason to stay up for this.

Please Poch find some guys that will initiate and be aggressive or find something in the ones you have. Can’t watch us get punked over and over again. Won’t. Embarrassing.

No I’m not advocating they goon it up but they are always reacting to someone else’s aggression and hoping the ref will give a call while you are crying on the ground with your arms up in the air. No more fucking victims. Im pissed.

The late subs had some fire at least

Lose if you have to but don’t lose like a pussy. Again.

Lund you suck.

/endgamethreadpost (edit)

 

[rguilmar]

The roster for the upcoming Nations League games is out. There are a few discussions points, like the CBs, the FBs (only 2), and the forwards given the injuries. I’m glad Tyler gets to stay in England for now. No use risking him now. I’m glad to see McKenzie get the call as he’s been playing pretty well lately from the few games I saw. I’d probably prefer Kochen with the U-20s unless they plan on using him, which is doubtful with four GKs in camp.

View: https://twitter.com/usmnt/status/1855628937734369789?s=46&t=XvGOrrWIyL-5CHVVL_0JYQ

 

[67YAZ]

I can understand getting Kochen into camp. He probably already is the best keeper we have in terms of playing with his feet and jump starting counters. Poch wants to see the kid up close, put him through his paces, see how close he might be to contributing. Kochen could bring a whole new element to the squad.

 

[Jimy Hendrix]

Steffen remains perplexing given how mid to bad he's been in MLS, but if 2nd to 4th GK is where things are perplexing that means I basically have no complaints if I am honest.

Excited to see Poch with a healthier, closer to ideal midfield and where Weston McKennie slots into that, the double pivot or the 10.

I remain very interested in whether we can get Tillman or Cardoso going with the USMNT, those are the two guys who really have given nothing for the US who would raise the level of the squad's top 15 if they started delivering their club performances.

Cade Cowell in the attack is always a fun wildcard for me, at least at the youth levels, and he's in the middle of his most successful season as a pro since his one good SJ season as a kid. I am fascinated at how Poch might interpret that strange package of attributes when he sees it.

 

[rguilmar]

Thinking a bit more about this roster, I wonder if Poch is thinking hard about going with variations of a 3 CB formation. 5 CBs and only 2 FBs with plenty of CMs and guys who can play that wide wingback role. Poch said in his presser that Tim Ream can cover at LB, and I hope he means LCB not LB or LWB. They can only register 23 players, so one GK (hoping Steffen but likely Kochen) and one field player will not be on the game day roster. Weah is also suspended for the first match against Jamaica which is too bad because he usually brings it against the Reggae Boys. I’m also guessing that Cowell and Miles were late replacements for Haji and CCV.

I remain very interested in whether we can get Tillman or Cardoso going with the USMNT, those are the two guys who really have given nothing for the US who would raise the level of the squad's top 15 if they started delivering their club performances.

This is probably the most important thing going forward. I remain unsure of how good Tillman really is. Sometimes I see him play for PSV he looks great, and other times he looks just ok. I don’t watch them consistently enough to know if it’s just a lack of consistency in a younger player or level of competition or whatever. I do see every Betis game and know how good Cardoso is for them. He’s been spectacular in La Liga and significantly less so for the USMNT. I can’t really wrap my head around why that’s the case. It’s not like he’s being asked to do anything different when wearing the red, white, and blue. He was battling injuries earlier this season, some of it around international windows, but most of his errors seemed mental.

 

[InstaFace]

I do see every Betis game and know how good Cardoso is for them. He’s been spectacular in La Liga and significantly less so for the USMNT. I can’t really wrap my head around why that’s the case. It’s not like he’s being asked to do anything different when wearing the red, white, and blue. He was battling injuries earlier this season, some of it around international windows, but most of his errors seemed mental.

I think part of the trouble is that Johnny is always asked to be Tyler Adams and be a CDM when he's sent out for the USMNT, and that's just not his game, he needs a double pivot. I'm confident that Poch can find a way to deploy him more effectively than Berhalter could.

 

[rguilmar]

I think part of the trouble is that Johnny is always asked to be Tyler Adams and be a CDM when he's sent out for the USMNT, and that's just not his game, he needs a double pivot. I'm confident that Poch can find a way to deploy him more effectively than Berhalter could.

I could be wrong, but hasn’t Johnny been playing mostly in a double pivot for the US lately? The more defensive of the two maybe, but not a sideline to sideline destroyer 6 a la Tyler. That’s how he’s used at Betis.

Admittedly I missed the last USMNT game because I was traveling.

 

[InstaFace]

I could be wrong, but hasn’t Johnny been playing mostly in a double pivot for the US lately? The more defensive of the two maybe, but not a sideline to sideline destroyer 6 a la Tyler. That’s how he’s used at Betis.

Admittedly I missed the last USMNT game because I was traveling.

Johnny wasn't part of the October roster - he was named, but withdrew due to injury.

He started the September Canada match next to Musah and Tillman, both of whom like to play forward (Musah is maybe more of a double pivot partner for him, certainly accepts some defensive responsibilities). I recall we were in a 4-3-3 though, and that's what the sources say. Vs New Zealand, we started Musah and Aidan Morris in a double pivot, with Brendan Aaronson at the #10, and Johnny came on for 5 minutes - maybe he was playing it then but I don't know for sure. Of course, that window wasn't yet under Pochettino, though he may have had some influence on it (we don't know).

And yeah if we're going to play him, I want him playing with responsibilities similar to what he's got at Betis. Looks like he's mostly starting next to Altimira or Mateo Flores, I don't know their styles at all, so any insight you've got there would be interesting.

 

[rguilmar]

And yeah if we're going to play him, I want him playing with responsibilities similar to what he's got at Betis. Looks like he's mostly starting next to Altimira or Mateo Flores, I don't know their styles at all, so any insight you've got there would be interesting.

Altimira is more of an 8 and Mateo Flores is a youth team player who is more of a CAM but is playing a pivot because of injuries. Normally Marc Roca or the injured William Carvalho play the other pivot. None of them would be considered much of a ball winning defensive force.

Putting Johnny next to Musah or even a more attack minded player like Weston would be in line with his partner for Betis.

 

[Jimy Hendrix]

Where Wes plays will be interesting to see. In Motta's 4-2-3-1 this year he's spent time in the pivot and at the 10 and I could see either with Poch

 

[rguilmar]

It looks like the game tonight is on TNT and Max in English, and Universo and Peacock in Spanish. Kickoff is 8 pm tonight in Jamaica.

Jamaica named a very strong roster.

 

[Saints Rest]

I'm interested to see the lineup and if there are any tactical changes appearing now that Poch has been around for a bit.

 

[rguilmar]

Lineup is out. Musah is wide right again, but I’ll be curious how he’s actually used. Very curious to see the Tessman/Johnny duo and how McKenzie looks.

View: https://twitter.com/usmnt/status/1857209761101393995?s=46&t=XvGOrrWIyL-5CHVVL_0JYQ

 

[Titans Bastard]

Lineup is out. Musah is wide right again, but I’ll be curious how he’s actually used. Very curious to see the Tessman/Johnny duo and how McKenzie looks.

View: https://twitter.com/usmnt/status/1857209761101393995?s=46&t=XvGOrrWIyL-5CHVVL_0JYQ

That's an extremely conservative lineup, with only two real attackers on the field.

I guess with Reyna injured, Weah suspended, and Aaronson ill, the number of attacking midfielders of any type is small. Still, it shows that Tillman has work to do to get into the circle of trust.

 

[rguilmar]

El Tren!!!

 

[cromulence]

Nice through ball by Puli, great finish by Pepi. Let's go.

 

[allstonite]

What a pass. Great finish too.

 

[speedracer]

this pitch seems super narrow?

 

[speedracer]

was about to say that side-to-side stuff isn’t going to be work, we gotta go vertical either through or over the defense lol

 

[cromulence]

The pitch is a disaster.

 

[rguilmar]

Ugh penalty

 

[cromulence]

It's time to put Ream out to pasture.

 

[cromulence]

Turner redemption!

 

[allstonite]

It's time to put Ream out to pasture.

He was useful for way longer than I ever could have expected and a great leader but he’s been torched like 3 times already tonight

 

[Arroyo Con Frijoles]

Four bad plays at the same time.

e: and one good one!

 

[rguilmar]

Nice!

 

[Jed Zeppelin]

Brutal stuff from both CBs.

 

[nayrbrey]

Wow Turner.

 

[speedracer]

looool

 

[rguilmar]

He was useful for way longer than I ever could have expected and a great leader but he’s been torched like 3 times already tonight

Jamaica is a bad matchup for him as well. The US needs CBs to step up and/or stay healthy so we can move on from Ream.

 

[allstonite]

Jamaica is a bad matchup for him as well. The US needs CBs to step up and/or stay healthy so we can move on from Ream.

Yeah as I sent that he had the slide tackle that wasn't a foul but was so far upfield it almost game them another advantage. I think he’ll make a great coach someday but we need some CBs

 

[rguilmar]

Johnny off. That stinks. He was looking solid so far.

 

[rguilmar]

I would’ve expected either Weston or Musah to go into Johnny’s spot, but so far it’s Tillman.

 

[speedracer]

playing from the back seems it’s going to be a constant adventure with the ball as slow as it is

 

[rguilmar]

Looks like McKennie and Tillman swapped finally. Tessman has been off the pace so far and gave it away too easily a couple of times.