I don’t know why CCV doesn’t get more love. The guy will be starting for a champions league club next season.
USMNT: Hold My Beer
- Thread starter Titans Bastard
- Start date
I watched it this morning. I think it’s one of those games where you can’t take too many positives because of the gulf in talent was so great. Players couldn’t play themselves on the team with a good performance but could play themselves off with a bad one.
I really want to see old school Morris as I think he has more to offer than Arriola. But he just didn’t do much. For me, wingers in a 4-3-3 have to be able to create chances for themselves and for others. That’s why players who profile as a 10 more often end up playing as wingers. You have to be able to take players one on one and to get dangerous passes into the box, which also necessitates an ability to create a little space. Morris did none of that. Running hard and disrupting the other team isn’t good enough for a winger (for a 6, sure). Now, much the same can be said of Arriola, but he did put himself in goal dangerous situations.
For Ferreira, it was much the same as usual with smart runs, good link up play, but now with actual end product. The amount of grains of salt needed would be a health hazard because this really was a mismatch. The third goal was a good example of how the second half went. Training ground corner where nobody marked him near the top of the 18. It was the second time the US ran the same corner. He won’t get that against anyone else. However, hopefully he gets in a groove now for the USMNT.
I was happy to see Gregg try a little more tactical options. It looks like he had Cannon staying back again more as a RCB. There were about 20 minutes where LDLT and Acosta played as a double pivot.
I really want to see old school Morris as I think he has more to offer than Arriola. But he just didn’t do much. For me, wingers in a 4-3-3 have to be able to create chances for themselves and for others. That’s why players who profile as a 10 more often end up playing as wingers. You have to be able to take players one on one and to get dangerous passes into the box, which also necessitates an ability to create a little space. Morris did none of that. Running hard and disrupting the other team isn’t good enough for a winger (for a 6, sure). Now, much the same can be said of Arriola, but he did put himself in goal dangerous situations.
For Ferreira, it was much the same as usual with smart runs, good link up play, but now with actual end product. The amount of grains of salt needed would be a health hazard because this really was a mismatch. The third goal was a good example of how the second half went. Training ground corner where nobody marked him near the top of the 18. It was the second time the US ran the same corner. He won’t get that against anyone else. However, hopefully he gets in a groove now for the USMNT.
I was happy to see Gregg try a little more tactical options. It looks like he had Cannon staying back again more as a RCB. There were about 20 minutes where LDLT and Acosta played as a double pivot.
@ThePrideofShiner can add more, but the times I've watched the Sounders in MLS and CCL this season, Morris doesn't look all the way back. Maybe it's the mental hurdle of trusting his body after surgery or maybe he's lost that tiny bit of speed and agility. That's 2 ACL tears now, that's a lot to get over physically and mentally.
I didn't see the game, but if he played like he has been for the Sounders then I'm sure it was underwhelming. He has OK stats this season, but he seems to be scoring off of great crosses and is no longer finishing by creating with the ball down the side. It's weird watching him because I can't tell if it is physical or mental issues, but he certainly isn't the same Jordan Morris.
Hopefully it is mental and he can overcome it and start scoring and creating again. The other thing I wonder with him is at the club level his team has added more and more playmakers the last few years while he has been injured and I wonder if he isn't being challenged enough or doesn't try to create as much because he doesn't have to because of Lodeiro, Rusnak, Roldan, Ruidiaz, etc.
Hopefully it is mental and he can overcome it and start scoring and creating again. The other thing I wonder with him is at the club level his team has added more and more playmakers the last few years while he has been injured and I wonder if he isn't being challenged enough or doesn't try to create as much because he doesn't have to because of Lodeiro, Rusnak, Roldan, Ruidiaz, etc.
Did we know this already? 26 roster spots and 5 subs per match for Qatar? I have to think that helps allay some worries about getting the best XI on the field, how to get MMA + Pulisic + Weah + Aaronson or whomever out there together, etc... the answer is, they're all going to get tons of minutes. For better or worse, this is going to be a tactical World Cup. I think it helps the US more than most teams. I also think a few extra roster spots means Arriola is now a lock and he's going to be a surprisingly big part of how things shake out on the field.
edit - better link
edit - better link
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I disagree, our world-cup quality depth is not nearly as good as our best starting 11. France could field an entire second roster of 26 that could probably make at least the knockout rounds. Our 2nd-player depth could be decent or could be terrible, depending on health (think CB, or CM). Our #2 RB or LB is not inspiring, nevermind our #3. The dropoff at DM from Tyler Adams to "anyone else" is enormous, much as I love Kellyn Acosta for giving everything he's got.
I think 23 is probably better for us on a competitive basis than 26, assuming everyone's healthy. Our #24-26 is probably worse than that of Iran or Wales, to say nothing of England.
Hmmm... England, certainly. But against Wales and Iran, I don't know. My hunch, perhaps unfounded, is that it unlocks more potency at the top of the roster (instead of the last few spots). The 11-person combinations that the US can create with an extra midfielder or winger gives us better options than those squads. And and it helps us overcome injuries and card trouble without an unsurvivable dip in quality. I guess we'll see.
Horvath getting the start tonight.
View: https://mobile.twitter.com/USMNT/status/1536871326664871940
View: https://mobile.twitter.com/USMNT/status/1536871326664871940
Did CP just take a boot to the nuts?
I just want to leave tonight with no injuries. I can't even imagine what the pitch will look like by the end of the match.
I just want to leave tonight with no injuries. I can't even imagine what the pitch will look like by the end of the match.
You see keepers get caught flat-footed like that all the time, but usually with a rocket, not a floater like that.
I’m not convinced it was a shot. He was shaping his body for a cross then hits it dead straight. It’s either ridiculously clever or a lucky strike
The US is really hurt by having two CBs and a DM with no passing range whatsoever. There are opportunities for switches and long diagonals to open space in possession but nobody even wants to attempt to hit one.
I can’t watch the second half, I am tired from all the NBA Finals watching and this is just too perverse soccer to watch until midnight.
When the most elegant passer in the back line is Antonee Robinson and it’s not even close, there’s not a lot of clever build from the back you’re gonna see.
Cannon has been truly wretched this window in the games where he’s an orthodox fullback. Playing his way off the plane to Qatar.
they're basically playing in the keg mud behind a frathouse, so there would be none of that anyway.
That's not a red. That's a stupid challenge, and a yellow for sure, but nowhere near a straight red.
Edit: The defender kicks through Arriola. It's a high challenge, but he kicked high into it. Brutal.
Edit: The defender kicks through Arriola. It's a high challenge, but he kicked high into it. Brutal.
I way late to this - but this looks like the horse racetrack I used to play on in my adult league.
All that time wasting, and they complain about the red blowing for extra time on the second. *Chef's kiss*
That was fucking ridiculous. Shitshow travesty.
Proud of the team for persevering but this confederation is a complete joke.
Proud of the team for persevering but this confederation is a complete joke.
I watched the game this morning on DVR. I don't often yell at my tv during recorded games but that was a Concacaf masterpiece. Unspeakably bad field, bad goal against play, dodgy red card, fake macho fights, a time wasting master class, DOGSO on a breakaway, missed handball with no VAR, tying goal in stoppage time. Wow, I'm exhausted.
I feel like GGG is kind of seeing this and sliding Musah back to advance the ball. Not quite a double pivot but also not not a double pivot at times too. I also think that is why he toyed with a pseudo 10 of sorts in Aaronson a little too. Zim has improved his distribution a bit over the last year and Richards is much better than Long at it. I know a lot of folks assume a Zim/Long pairing but I do think it ends up as a Zim/Richards back line*. For all my criticism of Gregg I do like the wrinkles he tried out this window.
Between allowing Musah to drop back and start the play and improved CB passing, we should be much improved.
*Assuming full health.
That's interesting. Musah was great last night and I can see why his ability to carry and pass might be a big part of the solution. I guess in the short term its really just about figuring out some strategies to get by and in the longer term we have to hope that some better CB talent with more technical ability eventually emerges out of the pipeline. A CB with the talent and technical ability of some our better attackers would be a huge boost.
The other Aaronson with a visionary assist in Concacaf U20 play:
View: https://twitter.com/TUDNUSA/status/1539779177909559300
Quinn Sullivan, who I’ve yet to learn much about, had a hat trick.
View: https://twitter.com/TUDNUSA/status/1539779177909559300
Quinn Sullivan, who I’ve yet to learn much about, had a hat trick.
He might crack the best 11 for this particular U-20 team. I wouldn’t start him but I could see the argument for him. At full strength though he’s at best a bench piece. The hat trick was nice but all three goals were nicely set up for him. You still need to finish them (cough, Ferreira, cough) so I’m not knocking the success. Development is different for each player though. If he develops into a poacher of sorts he might be useful down the road but he doesn’t have the technical skills to play in a creative spot or physical skills for a striker yet.
Just straight trolling @candylandriots at this point...
View: https://twitter.com/USMNT/status/1553043513926893568
(he's about to have a lot more company in his team's threads this year though)
View: https://twitter.com/USMNT/status/1553043513926893568
(he's about to have a lot more company in his team's threads this year though)
I know, right? it's inconceivable to me at this point that Berhalter once had hair.
(No, TB, that is not a cue to post the Michael Bradley pic...)
(No, TB, that is not a cue to post the Michael Bradley pic...)
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Brandon Vazquez scored two goals tonight to move into the Golden Boot lead in MLS on a tiebreaker. He's as yet uncapped by the US, but he's looking increasingly intriguing in our unsettled forward depth chart. He's passing the eye test and he's not just scoring goals — he has a pretty complete skillset for a target forward. You never know if it will translate to the NT until the moment comes, but I think it's a priority to give him a look in September.