USMNT: Hold My Beer
- Thread starter Titans Bastard
- Start date
When you have a chance to chest it in you’ve gotta take it. Best unconventional body part goal since Deuce against Portugal.
Re lack of stoppage time, I don't think there was really any point to playing it out. Once the U.S. got ahead of Panama on GD (which I think happened at 1-0) the score makes no difference (we top the group on a win or draw, finish second on a loss).
They didn't get double figures, so they held off on dancing with the bench.
Totally agree on McKennie. I think that playing the same position consistently will help him. Schalke were awful this year, played awful soccer, and McKennie was yanked around constantly. I hope he finds more stability under David Wagner next year.
Next up is Panama on Wednesday. Both teams are 2-0 and have clinched advancement to the next round. Because the Gold Cup has expanded to 16 teams, there's no more convoluted best-third-place finisher system, so the knockout bracket is pretty simple. Winner of our group plays C2 and second place plays C1.
To make a long story short, the US will play one of Jamaica, El Salvador, or Curaçao in the quarterfinal. Honduras is already eliminated after losing to both Jamaica and Curaçao. The winner of the US/whoever game plays the winner of the Panama/whoever game in the SF, so the exact 1-2 finishing order of each group isn't especially consequential.
I'd hope Berhalter rotates the team somewhat. There's no point in maximizing the Panama game at the expense of fatigue and yellow card trouble. I think you can make some changes and expect to win, too. The US isn't any great shakes right now, but it's Panama at home. A draw clinches the group.
On another note, I'm wondering if we'll see some changes to the CONCACAF pecking order this cycle. Honduras and Costa Rica will probably take a step back, as they have important cohorts of players who are aging out and their replacements aren't as good. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Honduras miss out on the Hex. On the flip side, I think Jamaica could do well by their standards, and I think Canada has a real shot to make their first Hex since 1997.
Mexico still rules the roost, but their recent youth teams have been very bland. That won't affect them for 2022, but I wonder how'll they do after that.
On the whole CONCACAF feels much weaker than it was in 2014, when three teams made it to the WC knockouts. In regional play, that might ease the "transitional" period that we're going through with the USMNT.
To make a long story short, the US will play one of Jamaica, El Salvador, or Curaçao in the quarterfinal. Honduras is already eliminated after losing to both Jamaica and Curaçao. The winner of the US/whoever game plays the winner of the Panama/whoever game in the SF, so the exact 1-2 finishing order of each group isn't especially consequential.
I'd hope Berhalter rotates the team somewhat. There's no point in maximizing the Panama game at the expense of fatigue and yellow card trouble. I think you can make some changes and expect to win, too. The US isn't any great shakes right now, but it's Panama at home. A draw clinches the group.
On another note, I'm wondering if we'll see some changes to the CONCACAF pecking order this cycle. Honduras and Costa Rica will probably take a step back, as they have important cohorts of players who are aging out and their replacements aren't as good. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Honduras miss out on the Hex. On the flip side, I think Jamaica could do well by their standards, and I think Canada has a real shot to make their first Hex since 1997.
Mexico still rules the roost, but their recent youth teams have been very bland. That won't affect them for 2022, but I wonder how'll they do after that.
On the whole CONCACAF feels much weaker than it was in 2014, when three teams made it to the WC knockouts. In regional play, that might ease the "transitional" period that we're going through with the USMNT.
This story got the NY Times treatment today.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/25/sports/us-soccer-berhalter.html
Altidore or Zardes?
https://sports.yahoo.com/news/usmnt-jozy-altidore-gyasi-zardes-starting-striker-berhalter-034526623.html
Zardes:
https://sports.yahoo.com/news/usmnt-jozy-altidore-gyasi-zardes-starting-striker-berhalter-034526623.html
Zardes:
Altidore:
To me it seems match-up dependent. Zardes is frustrating because he blows chances; but there is something to be said for a striker getting himself into position that frequently. Altidore at this stage of his career is a completely different player, he's trending towards Akinfenwa territory with his body and to me that is someone you'd like to have in the rough-and-tumble CONCACAF games. I think whoever starts, the other will be an option off the bench depending on how the games go.
Neither one of those guys are the long-term answer, that will be Sargent/Weah.
Neither one of those guys are the long-term answer, that will be Sargent/Weah.
US is through to the quarters. So, win or tie tonight and US wins group and plays Curacao, with a loss and they play Jamaica. Either game is on June 30th in Philly at 530 or 830.
Then they could play Panama again in the Semis on July 2nd.
Is there any motivation to win this game? Avoid Jamaica, a team they lost to on 6/5 in a crappy friendly (altho beat in GC Final in 2017).
Play vanilla, avoid yellows, etc in case of the Panama matchup in a week?
Also, why can they see Panama again before the finals? Shouldn't they go the other side of the bracket, like in the WC?
Then they could play Panama again in the Semis on July 2nd.
Is there any motivation to win this game? Avoid Jamaica, a team they lost to on 6/5 in a crappy friendly (altho beat in GC Final in 2017).
Play vanilla, avoid yellows, etc in case of the Panama matchup in a week?
Also, why can they see Panama again before the finals? Shouldn't they go the other side of the bracket, like in the WC?
vs Panama? If Jozy is fit and his tank isn't still near E, he needs to be out there. Zardes is a frustration factory. He doesn't get himself into good positions any more frequently than Jozy, and Jozy is better at finishing (which isn't to say he's exactly Zlatan out there, but still better than "no first touch" Zardes).
(also, the chorus of "why not Sargent" ought to be deafening in Berhalter's general vicinity, but it doesn't do us any good to raise here)
Definitely don't-lose the game and take Curacao. And yes, not having group winners and runners-up on opposite sides of the bracket is pretty stupid. Nobody wants a non-Finals rematch, we all want to see new matchups.
(also, the chorus of "why not Sargent" ought to be deafening in Berhalter's general vicinity, but it doesn't do us any good to raise here)
Definitely don't-lose the game and take Curacao. And yes, not having group winners and runners-up on opposite sides of the bracket is pretty stupid. Nobody wants a non-Finals rematch, we all want to see new matchups.
Why not Sargent? Since February 22nd, he played about 10 minutes for his club. He didn’t do much against Jamaica. He’s got a bright future ahead of him but it’s not the worst thing the world that he isn’t at this tournament.
Some talk on the radio at lunch:
1--Still unsure if Zardes or Altidore will start. (Guest was--he's not saying Berhalter is)
2--Pulisic likely 60-65 minutes. But that could make it difficult to start Altidore if you know he can't go 90--that burns 2 subs.
3--They want to get Pulisic/Altidore time together despite that.
4--McKennie may not start because he's a bit foul-prone and already has a yellow and they'd like to see Roldan.
1--Still unsure if Zardes or Altidore will start. (Guest was--he's not saying Berhalter is)
2--Pulisic likely 60-65 minutes. But that could make it difficult to start Altidore if you know he can't go 90--that burns 2 subs.
3--They want to get Pulisic/Altidore time together despite that.
4--McKennie may not start because he's a bit foul-prone and already has a yellow and they'd like to see Roldan.
We probably need a separate USSF thread, but Cordeiro responded to this:
https://twitter.com/GrantWahl/status/1143950491052904448
It's such as USSF move a press release in response to a negative story, that acknowledges people are upset, encourages them to let USSF know about their issues (so long as it's through the private internal system not in public) then lavish one of the people at the center of the controversy with praise, and praise the culture they created (which is what is making people upset) to make clear that what they care about is money and making sure that everyone in the gravy train gets satisfied.
Sure, some of it is surely internal politics etc. But the USSF is rotten to it's core and we've known that for years.
My expectations are low, so I'm thinking that the US doesn't look bad for an almost entirely second XI.
Lovitz has no idea what he's going to do with the ball when he gets it. No wonder we keep going up the right.
Lovitz is a generic MLS left back who is here because Berhalter happens to prefer him over several other identical, generic MLS left backs. We just don't have the horses there.
Maybe when Yedlin gets healthy we can move Lima to LB. He's gotten a number of reps there for the Quakes.
How bad could Fabian Johnson possibly be? It's not like he got worn to the nubs starting every week for his club.
This random group is somehow handling the middle of the field but has literally nothing in the final 3rd
He would seemingly be the best possible stopgap until a youngster hopefully develops. There have been rumors that he's not especially interested in returning to the USMNT. Or maybe he's just being ignored / put out to pasture.
The paperwork is complicated. AFAIK, his American father was never married to his mother and also died before Jeremy was born.
Also, Toljan's interest level is very much unknown. If Croatia were interested in him, he may well opt for them instead.
Fabian Johnson is 31, he'll be 34 when Qatar(?) 2022 rolls around. He might conceivably contribute to our best starting 11 at that time, which is more than I can say for most of the aging retreads that failed last cycle.
Someone younger and better should be taking the job from him, he shouldn't be just cast aside (unless he no longer wants the job) and letting whatever flavor-of-the-month LB get run out there. Yeah, sure, in the abstract his best position might be a left mid in a traditional 4-3-3, and a lack of speed could be costly on defense, but he's still got the best instincts and passing of anyone we're going to find to fit there.
Someone younger and better should be taking the job from him, he shouldn't be just cast aside (unless he no longer wants the job) and letting whatever flavor-of-the-month LB get run out there. Yeah, sure, in the abstract his best position might be a left mid in a traditional 4-3-3, and a lack of speed could be costly on defense, but he's still got the best instincts and passing of anyone we're going to find to fit there.