Why no Carter-Vickers? He's been playing frequently, and very well at Swansea. Is he really behind Ream and Long (and Omar, for that matter)?
CCV is on the margins for the USMNT right now because he's not a very good passer and that's a bad fit with Berhalter. Tim Parker was left off the January camp roster for similar reasons. I think they'll try to get him into the U23 camp if they can get him released.Why no Carter-Vickers? He's been playing frequently, and very well at Swansea. Is he really behind Ream and Long (and Omar, for that matter)?
There has been a lot of negativity about this roster on Twitter and elsewhere, but I think it's because of exactly what you describe: this is who we are and there's a lot of blah. With Sargent and Weah slated to be with youth teams in the March break, the ratio of "exciting young names" to "Omar Gonzalez and Gyasi Zardes" has once again become distressing.I find the forward selection horrifying, but less because it is a bad choice and more because it is a reasonable reflection of that side of the player pool at this point in time.
Ugh. I’m already on record as disliking the RB/CM because it’s both too difficult to play when you’re only practicing it in national team camp and it doesn’t maximize Adams’ skills.Oh, Bobby Wood isn't here either, but he's not exactly in good form. Maybe it's telling that I didn't even think about him when going through the roster.
Here's a reasonable projection of Berhalter's system:
But while Klinsmann seemed to tinker on a whim when it came to both positions and lineup choices, usually with no apparent method to his madness, Berhalter has clearly spent a lot of time thinking this possibility through
“He has a good cross, and he’s primarily used in wide positions,” Berhalter added.
What Yedlin isn’t quite as good at is actual defending. For all his experience at the highest levels, he still switches off in crucial moments. Add in the fact that Berhalter’s system requires fullbacks to find the ball centrally and sometimes even play with their backs to the opposing goal, and Yedlin’s particular qualities always seemed like a less-than-ideal fit.
But with fellow Bundesliga-based 20-year-olds Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie slated to man the “dual 10” role in Berhalter’s 4-1-2-3 scheme, the coach seems to think that Adams would be more shackled in a pure holding role. That spot seems destined for a deeper-lying, stay-at-home type.
“He’s not going to be in the back,” the coach continued. “He’s going to be forward, at the top of the penalty box, or he’s going to be combining in the wide areas, and that’s right in his skill set...
At the very least the 3 i bolded probably aren't getting released by their clubs for the Olympics, which runs right up to the start of their respective seasons.would be a scary team to play against at the Olympics. I really hope we qualify.
- Adams, McKennie, Pulisic, and Lewis from the senior team
- All the best 99s and 00s who are currently with the U20s
- a bunch of 97s and 98s who are injured or not available
Yeah, it's unlikely. And if a 2020 Copa America is organized, it's completely dead in the water.At the very least the 3 i bolded probably aren't getting released by their clubs for the Olympics, which runs right up to the start of their respective seasons.
Which would suck, because if you can't qualify for the world cup, the olympics is at least a nifty and memorable consolation prize for our youngest and brightest talent. Shit, no less than Neymar deigned to give it a go. He did so at the expense of the Copa America, but you can understand why, and now he's got a gold medal for his troubles.At the very least the 3 i bolded probably aren't getting released by their clubs for the Olympics, which runs right up to the start of their respective seasons.
I’m watching too.Anyone else watching tonight? Zardes the CF is a bit depressing but fascinating to see what we are up to
He also had a great opportunity played forward early on a long diagonalArriola can't put away a very good chance that results from some nice short passing at the top of the box.
Morris is playing RW at Seattle now that he's healthy again because they have Raul Ruidiaz up top. He's been really good through three games.He also had a great opportunity played forward early on a long diagonal
Edit: Is Morris capable of playing this wide? Seems like he and Zardes could switch and be more natural?
Yeah I agree. A bunkered approach was probably always going to be rough with so little time to prepare but overall they poked and prodded and certainly had a few bright moments. They’ll get their share of this in concacaf so they will need to learn to find a way.On one hand, there were stretches of nice combination play that we haven’t seen much of from the US in a while.
On the other hand, Ecuador decided to bunker like a CONCACAF minnow without the counterattacking verve and it still required a goalkeeper brain meltdown to get the ball in the back of the net.
I’m not quite sure what to make of it, but it’s an improvement over the past year, which I knew exactly how to think about.
It beats the tactical nihilism of the last qualifying cycle. I mean, say what you will about the merits of inverted RBs; at least it's an ethos.In the end I’m not sure Adams role was all that revolutionary and I think Berhalter is having to fit a few square pegs in round holes. Fundamentally, if the point of all this is to give Pulisic and McKennie a lot of responsibility in the half spaces between the lines then I suppose that makes enough sense but in my view we would need some tricky wide players to really stretch teams. Right now I can’t see why a team who needs points wouldn’t just pack the middle and dare us to pump crosses for 90 minutes
It's generous of you to characterize Schalke as a top team at this point...If McKennie is actually hurt, it's going to be an absolute war going forward to get Schalke to release him for anything short of the WCF knockout rounds. He's the single player on the roster on whom a top team absolutely depends.
Schalke is 15th and closer to relegation fight than being top team.If McKennie is actually hurt, it's going to be an absolute war going forward to get Schalke to release him for anything short of the WCF knockout rounds. He's the single player on the roster on whom a top team absolutely depends.
I assume his point is that Schalke are a top club. Routinely in the top 20 in rankings in terms of value worldwide, one of the highest membership counts in the world.Schalke is 15th and closer to relegation fight than being top team.
Or maybe not!This sounds like "out for the Gold Cup" to me...
Disappointed that we aren't rolling out the best XI for Chile as a real test of Berhalter's system. I know this team isn't ready for prime time yet, but having Adam & McKennie bed in against better competition would have been helpful. At the very least, let's hope for defensive solidity and more fluidity in attack.A few other notes:
- Media are reporting that Berhalter said Ethan Horvath will start at GK against Chile. With Adams and McKennie gone from camp, that means there will be at least three changes to the lineup. I'd bet on there being a few more.
- I really enjoyed the TSS tactical review of USA-Ecuador.
- The U23s lost to Egypt and tied the Netherlands. From reports, they looked like crap in the first game and did much better in the second.
- The U20s tied France and beat Japan. I read that Barcelona winger Konrad de la Fuente and DC United DM Chris Durkin looked good.