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USA Men's Soccer National Team

bigskyirish said:
I guess the glass half full outlook is that the ability to get chances off of long balls would be excellent if we could ever get even a hint of sustained possession over the course of a game. Holy s*** did Bradley have some terrible giveaways in the second half.
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That is why I'm concerned, because it not like we're hitting long balls to mix up from our possession, causing the opponent to wonder what we're doing. We're playing a long ball because we have no other options...ugh.

Bradley had some horrible give aways. A guy goes left, and he's playing the ball right. Once, ok it happens, but I can remember at least 3 times in the 2nd half that happened! I used to love Bradley when he was over in Italy playing regularly, then coming back to the national team with real grit. Defending and attacking well. He used to have a lot of long range chances coming from midfield, not anymore. He's a shell of that player, and I think it correlates with him coming back to the MLS. No offense to the MLS, but it's not on the same level as Serie A. Training and playing in that environment day in and day out makes you better. Iron sharpens iron.
 
Nate said:
US went all in first 25 minutes......lost their chips.
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This sounds about right. Should bring back Donovan at midfield, too.
 
Watching that game, the US could have won 2-1, or lost it 3-0.

Bradley was just dreadful, I really do not believe he is the best option we have there. He was never on the same page with any guys making moves, he is slowing as he ages (I know the feeling all to well) and was never that athletic to begin with.

up front... Altidore is better than Zardes... but that doesn't mean much. Defensively, I thought the US was much better than it has been in ages. The only goal they gave up was on a GREAT pass/finish from Mexico despite Mexico having possession for what seemed like 60 minutes of a 47 minute half.

I feel like we have a few players that are ready to compete at this level with other good teams like Mexico/Costa Rica (Mckennie/Miazga/Pulisic impressed me) but overall we are still missing players with that finishing/creativity to win these games.
 
mancest said:
I feel like we have a few players that are ready to compete at this level with other good teams like Mexico/Costa Rica (Mckennie/Miazga/Pulisic impressed me) but overall we are still missing players with that finishing/creativity to win these games.
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I completely agree with this. As others have said, I think Pulisic desperately needs some help up top. To your list, I'd add that I thought Cannon showed some real promise, though not all that consistently.
 
bigskyirish said:
I completely agree with this. As others have said, I think Pulisic desperately needs some help up top. To your list, I'd add that I thought Cannon showed some real promise, though not all that consistently.
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I agree with both these points. Pulisic can't do it on his own, but he doesn't have other players who step up consistently. Which leads to my point on Cannon. He takes guys on, and is dangerous a few times, but doesn't do it with consistency. I think our issue is we don't have players, mainly on the outside, who can create issues in 1v1 situations. Instead of trying to take them on, we pass the ball back around. I'm all for possession of the ball, but it has to be purposeful possession. If we're aren't creating numbers up chances through possession, we need to change our tactics, formation, personnel so that we can. It looks like Mexico made tactical changes at half, and we were content with little possession, packing it in defensively.

Watch the game again, and you will see how Mexico kept better possession. When we have the ball, we needed our forwards/wingers to show back hard, keeping the ball, and advancing our position. Anytime Altidore etc. tried, they didn't create separation, and the Mexican defender was right on them. Reverse the situation, when Mexico had the ball we allowed them to play it in to their forwards feet, gave them a 5 yards cushion right in the middle of the field. When we did apply pressure, it was too much and we fouled them. Giving them the ball, either way, closer to our goal. Maybe we were playing off to keep our shape, but in the end, it allowed easy possession, and we had to chase. Chasing is harder than being the one in possession, both physically and mentally.
 
So recent injuries have us making some changes. I see Dest on here, but I’m not sure how much he’ll contribute given the recent injury. We need 4 or 6 points out of this window imo to comfortably qualify.

 
Glad to see this thread resurface. The 21/22 soccer thread seems to be all europe which is great but makes the stop start nature of national teams hard to follow the running convo.

Feel really good with 4. I havent dug deep enough to know if three matters how aligned the other results need to be.
 
I like seeing Pefok in the roster. He seems to score for his club with regularity.
 
I mean, that roster has to be able to find four points, right?
 
Scooby45 said:
I mean, that roster has to be able to find four points, right?
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it HAS to. Can it, the talent Is there but again I’m not sold Berhalter doesn’t coach scared and won’t unleash the speed/athleticism We have to beat the likes of CR and Panama.
Mexico is always tough and in Azteca will be a hard ask imo. So 4 is the minimum we need imo.
 
mikeg_74 said:
it HAS to. Can it, the talent Is there but again I’m not sold Berhalter doesn’t coach scared and won’t unleash the speed/athleticism We have to beat the likes of CR and Panama.
Mexico is always tough and in Azteca will be a hard ask imo. So 4 is the minimum we need imo.
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This is a good take. Should the wheels come off he will get second guessed right out the door with the timid setups we had on the road.
 
 
RealPretendPsychic said:
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I’m not sure what my thoughts are. Seems presumptuous a bit to pass on points but Im also not close enough to k ow how much playing there really takes out of folks
 
Sunday is a must-win. I can see him not wanting to go all out with the squad at Azteca. With the numerous injuries, they are pretty thin right now
 
 
I hope the USMNT escapes Estadio Azteca without any more major injuries.
 
Nothing is guaranteed, so I'd hope we at least play for a point. Sit in, look for the counter if we want to go that route. Try to get a corner, or free kick in a dangerous position, because the US has the advantage here. But just putting a squad out there to run around, with no objective, is foolish. Looking for the counter, and not always possessing, does 2 things in my mind:

1. Uses our youthful legs to our advantage. Look to spring one on a counter.
2. We don't possess the ball as much, which against Mexico might be a good thing. The more possession you have, the more opportunities your opponents have to hack at your ankles, shins, etc. Quick 1-2 touch possession, look for outlets into the forwards, and run off them.

If this is the tactic, I'd put Pepi as our #9, and look for him to hold the ball, then have Pulisic, Weah, running off of him. Steal a point, and try to steal a goal.

Stay compact in the back, and don't make any mistakes. Keep the crowd out of it my limiting their chances. Give them all the 25 yards shots they want, but really tighten up in and around the 18.
 
I need a nap before kickoff.
 
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Nate said:
Gonna miss McKennie here…….
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Yep, agreed. He was a menace of corner kicks last game, at least I think it was last game. Scored, hit the post, and was generally dangerous each time.
 


Go Time!!!
 
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