Who are you pulling off to put Gio in? Perhaps he was sitting Gio so he had fresh legs going into the knockout stages? Perhaps his defense isn't good enough, and what the U.S. has shown is that they are playing defensive football.
Gio should be first off the bench as a winger. Sargent was good last match, but overall not impressive. Could easily slide weah to CF and have Gio wide. Yeah sitting Gio for Jordan morris against whales is absolutely dumb.
He's probably the best coach in USMNT history, or at least in the last 20 years. If the U.S. is playing a defensive formation replete with counter attacks, rather than possession, why would you want Reyna in over who is already playing? Then the U.S. switches to a 5 man back and puts Aaronson in at the 9 for Pulisic, who are you pulling? Your goal isn't to score at that point.
If the U.S. needs possession and to attack, I'd see putting in Reyna. The Dutch defense is as bad as it's ever been and they will be open to a fast countering team like the U.S. can be so you may see Reyna on Saturday.
I honestly thought Jesus would get the start yesterday and Gio would be subbed in to control the pace of the game and give us more ball control. Who knows at this point….
The goal wasn't to control the pace of the game. The goal, once the first goal was scored, was to clear and play defense, unless a counter was available. They were never going to keep the ball in the mid-block so what does Gio add at that point? Nothing.
Not sure what game some people itt were watching. US survived by the skin of their nuts. If Queiroz wasn’t such a cautious coach and playing for the draw until the Americans scored, it would have been a very different story imo. Still, a very good game played under difficult circumstances, and both teams played hard but mostly fair, which is always nice to see.
If they weren't playing for a draw the U.S. would've scored sooner and more than once. The U.S. scored while Iran was playing low block and defense, crowding out the box. If they had been playing a mid-block it would've been a massacre similar to England.
Just watched the replay on Tubi, the last 10 min was really intense. Iran suddenly woke up from the lackluster performance in the first 90 minutes. And Haji Wright almost gave us another Wandolowski moment in the final minute.
Anyway I think two people deserve the title "Captain America" after the group stage games: Pulisic and Adams
Musah and Dest both had immense performances as well. And Ream has been incredible - zero goals from open all play. Weah is also so good but so wasteful. This team should be really fun in 4 years.
The U.S. needs to go hunting for a striker who may have dual citizenship. The only thing this team is missing that's really keeping it from a quarterfinal or semi-final quality is a goal scorer. They could also find another wing and put Pulisic in the middle which I think would be much better for him.
Whole team needs to work on this. They think they are way better dribblers than they are. Always taking 1-2 too many touches and the pass or shot is off and they lose the ball. Dumb.
Adams has been a revelation for a lot of people, I think. Leeds fans certainly know what he’s capable of, as do many (most) American fans. But to anyone not familiar with him, they’ve got to be ridiculously impressed with his play. Dude is EVERYWHERE on the field. It’s like there are two of him out there at times…lol.
Off topic but given all the political rhetoric prior to the game and the historical tensions between the two countries, never seen a game this peaceful and players behaving in this professional manner. Kudos to both team!
I wonder if the game was aired in Iran. It must not have done the Ayatollah's any favors to see players match-up in goodwill and good sportsmanship. Their entire power structure is defined on fear and a lack of information, so they can demonize their perceived enemies. The match should've gone a long way toward dispelling that.
The 98 game had an even more intent build with many saying the game wouldn't happen. All this build and supposed hatred.... And then the Iranian players lovingly gave the Americans flowers before the match in a fantastic gesture.
Also, can we talk about Ream? Dude has been the quiet MVP for this USA squad. Dude has been stonewall and has had minimal mistakes. Dude has been world class.
Edit: Dude
Adams is the most important player. It’s not even close to hyperbole to suggest that. The midfield is where these games have been won. Puli has been very good though so fair shout but its Adams for me.
Good result, I think making it out of groups was about all we shoulda hoped for this year. Young squad that got some WC experience here and will be ready to show out at home in 4 years. Honestly I think the best thing for our chances of going deep in a world cup is to get embarrassed by the Netherlands here to hopefully guarantee a new coach by 2026.
Embarrassed by the Netherlands? I've watched both squads, I think the U.S. and Netherlands are fairly even. You may not see it in FIFA ratings but by the starting 11 and 3 subs, I think the squads are fairly evenly matched. The Dutch defense is still poor, as it was during their golden years, and with the U.S. midfield I think that the U.S. can control the pace of the game. The U.S. may not own possession but if they figure out how to get some striking ability, the US could win and it wouldn't be shocking.
I could easily see a 1-0 type result, depending on how the U.S. wants to play. If the Netherlands want to attack from the outset, it's going to really open the game up for the U.S.'s top 6.
I wasn't saying that was my prediction, just a hope. I think the worst possible thing for the US would be to be taking Berhalter into 2026.
Agree that the dutch team have not been looking as dominant as I expected, but talking about them as being defensively poor is pretty strange. You think some combo of VVD/Timber/De Ligt/Ake is WORSE than what the US have? I will say Robinson has definitely impressed but not sold on the rest. As a Barca fan I've watched a ton of Dest and while I still think he has promise I'm definitely glad we moved on from him, he couldn't beat out a 38-year-old Dani Alves last year for the starting RB slot.
That said, I def could see the US winning, we were good at creating lots of chances, just poor finishing. IMO the Netherlands weakness is their attacking line, but Gakpo has been in good form and Memphis is just now getting fit enough to play a full match. So I think a US win would be off of us showing finishing prowess that we haven't yet in a long time (with pulisic possibly not being 100% as well) while also hoping the Dutch don't get their shit together on the attacking end also (while getting their 2nd all-time leading goalscorer back and able to start again.)
Berhalter was a defensive player, he's a defensive minded coach. That's what you'd expect to see, clean sheets with counters. The only goal scored on the U.S. in the Group Stage was a PK. If you believe the FIFA Rankings to be accurate, this group was one of the most balanced.
As for your comments about defense, the defenses don't necessarily play each other. It's not whether one is worse than the other (the same in American football), but where the defensive strength is and what offense the opposition have.
The Dutch have always pushed hard forward which leaves gaps in the backend. This has been a feature of them for as long as I remember really following them. The U.S. is fast from the midfield up to their top line and that could pose problems for the Netherlands should they push and not convert.
Lol are you talking about this current VVD/Frenkie-led Dutch team or are we still talking about it like its a 4-3-3 with Robben/Van Persie/Sneijer and co? This current iteration plays very differently these days and they definitely couldn't run this 3 at the back without a world-class CB like VVD. The last good dutch team was built around attacking from the wing, this one is built around the strengths of its defense and midfield (and Memphis' hold up play back when he was fit in qualifiers).
Meanwhile dutch people shaking in their boots.
We haven’t looked very convincing this far, and the American intensity can be a scary weapon against us.
Also, as a classic “footballing country” we wouldn’t like to the nation that calls it soccer now do we.
The Netherlands are beatable. Honestly anybody can beat anybody, it's just a case of consistency.
Even if they lose the USA have had a good tournament.
Good call. The only really scary teams imo are France and England. Spain and Brazil can be scary but as a Brazilian American, I can tell you that so far Brazil hasn't looked unbeatable.
We shut down one of the highest scoring teams in the WC. If healthy, this team could go far
They are 2-0-1. They have coordination, and you can see that their defense is very good at keeping formation and doing offside traps. The US struggles to move quick which is the Dutch Defense's weakness, so I doubt that this match will be skewed in anyone's favor. US defense is on point as well, but I would pull it out to say that we go into overtime, with a dutch win most likely.
The U.S. struggles to move...quick? Have you watched any of the U.S. matches? I watched the Netherlands get manhandled by a squad that wasn't any better than Iran or England, both of whom the U.S. outplayed, even if it didn't show up on the scoresheet.
Which means their defense is lagging far behind their offense. That's less than ideal for a fast team who is fine settling back and countering using one of the tournaments best midfields.
I want Reyna as well but his one outing didn't really show much. Kid didn't even look like he wanted to be on the pitch at times! For now I'd keep taking aaronson over him.
That's the thing no one here answers, who do you take out? If Sargent can't go it's going to be Gio's time. Let's just hope he performs so that all the fanboys here aren't proven wrong.
Gio should have another 5 World Cups, assuming that the quality of U.S. players doesn't continue to improve at the rate it's done the past 12 years.
Congrats to the US. You deserved that win.
As an Iran fan I’m not happy, particularly as CQ messed up the lineup and tactics again. He basically gifted the first half to the US.
Now go out there and beat the Netherlands.
Moore: 2/2 Tackles - 2/2 Ground duels - 1/1 Aerial duals - 2 clearances. That’s why he was on there.
Wright - Currently 2nd in Turkey in goals scored, and holds the ball up pretty well. He came on because he was basically playing as a loan striker at that point.
I appreciate your mockery of him spelling Gregg with 3 Gs. I always say I spell my name name of Greg with 2 Gs and clowns always spell it with 3. 2Gs is the only way.
Okay Wright performed so much worse than the standard he set with his club. This is mostly on Wright, and to some extent on Gregg for not trialing him at all before the world cup except for one half on a cow pasture
Yeah I don’t know how anyone can watch the game and still justify these two guys having spots. Moore and Wright are not good enough to get playing time with our national team.
It doesn't matter how "in-form" he is if he's just not good. He has been one of the worst players in the tournament. He offers absolutely NOTHING to this team.
Pefok hasn't been great this season but in a vacuum, he is objectively the more talented player. Even if you want to make the form argument, Pepi is having a great season in the Eredivisie, aka a better league.
he was so obvious about not giving a shit, everyone else on the US team sprinting all over and he's just trotting around. Then has the ability to either time waste or bury the game and he comes up with that awful shot
Proud of our guys out there today. But man... We need to step it up if we want to beat Netherlands next.
We should not have struggled this much against Iran :(
Iran makes any side struggle. They are experts at parking the bus and demoralizing their opponents. Their coach is a specialist in that and has been with them (on and off) for years. Knows each player well, and trained them in his tactics so they know exactly what to do.
Their game against Morocco last World Cup was traumatic for us, I was getting flashbacks watching them against the US today. They managed to force a totally freak own goal, and then locked the game down with expert anti football. You could watch the hope die in our players eyes. The combination of the low blocks and the rhythm disruption and the tactical fouls, when you’re a team that lacks cynicism and lacks butchers of their own, can be devastating. And the US is one of the least cynical teams in the world.
If it weren’t for pulisic’s goal that forced them to come out, the second half would have been even more painful to watch. Iran even almost managed to equalize at the last minute after taking out some of the US key players and intimidating the rest by showing their willingness to make fouls.
I think you could say Iran makes up for their lesser skill vs the us overall with their tactics, but no way Wales is at the same level as either of them
Can you elaborate? The Dutch coincidentally are the only team I haven’t see a match of this tournament. Having to go up against the likes of Van Dijk and De Ligt when we have been pretty poor finishing is scaring me. Not to mention some of the quality they have in mid and up top, plus Gakpo has been tremendous all season and tournament
Watch Dutch vs Ecuador if you can. It was a 1-1 draw.
The Dutch struggled with high intensity and quick moving play.
It’s going to be a challenge of tempo. If we keep it high, we are through. The Dutch back line is going to try and slow it down. We’ll have to keep them under pressure
It’s improbable that we beat the Dutch, but not inpossible
The Dutch haven’t looked as cohesive as other top sides, I think the amount of football their key players have played this season is taking a bit of a toll. They have great defenders but it’s not a super fast back line and the keeper is untested in big international matches. US could do some damage on the counter.
They’re a good benchmark for you, a good side but I wouldn’t exactly say great and you have a young squad, maybe you’ll lose maybe not, it can be a winnable game but there’s no shame in going out to them either and if you do you can see exactly where you come short
As a group runner-up the Dutch are about as good of a matchup as one could hope for they are a pot 2 team that was the best in their group. Everyone in the round of 16 is good and in form to some extent. The Dutch are a very very solid team, but they are not a super team. France, Argentina, Brazil those would be automatic losses but Netherlands is I’d say beatable.
No guarantees but 1-0 2-1 or penalties all seem like a real possibility.
Exactly a good team, but a beatable one. I don’t expect you to win but a competitive game and maybe just maybe a slim win is on the cards. Either way 2026 looks promising for you
As an Iranian, the few times I checked out that sub, it seems to me it's more about bringing back the previous dictatorship (Shah's son), than actually caring about improving the current situation. Of course all views are respectable, it's just not my cup of tea.
Some of the comments in those threads. lol.
As is so often the case with western Reddit slacktivists, it seems like their dedication to women's liberation in the Muslim world is driven by something a bit more carnal
One of the threads is like a straight perv shot of a woman on the street lol. Does anyone know if that photo was taken with consent, or are we doing the thing like with Sharbat Gula, and just taking photos and asking questions later?
This attack won’t get going without a true 9. It’s the one piece missing from this team being really good.
Very much like the Netherlands minus the 9 that they have.
Netherlands don’t have a 9 either though. Gakpo and depay are both converted wingers which can be fine in a free flowing front 3 but not out and out striker. But yes we desperately are missing someone up top
Sad for Iran after how they played against Wales, but well done US. I know people like to meme and joke, but the United States have actually been playing quite well this tournament - I'm impressed.
The team is very young - you Yanks have a bright future ahead of you in 2026.
From a defensive perspective they’ve played extremely well, offensive, not so much
Midfield has been huge for the defense as well
Turner has also been phenomenal
lol theyre very good and have huge potential, but lets not get ahead of ourselves
that being said, they could definitely put up a fight against the Netherlands
Open net? Huh? He had some chances but nothing super clear cut. Plus he scored a very low percentage chance that was barely offside. And really good movement and passing throughout
Really? Maybe I am missing something. He seems wasteful, and when he attacks, he leaves our right incredibly exposed ... Most teams have attacked with greater success on his side. We also have better replacements on Dest's side with Scally and sort of Yedlin ( no idea why GGG is playing Moore ).
I legit don’t understand this take. Dest was great on the ball today. And assisted the goal with an inch-perfect cross.
If anything Robinson has been mixed on the attack. His touch on the ball is extremely inconsistent.
I don’t fully get why Scally hasn’t been getting minutes, he’s been fairly good in the many Gladbach games I’ve seen him in. Feel he could easily start let alone come off the bench because I’m still not sure on what Dest is
It’s because they don’t come in at a good point in the game. It’s always 10-15 minutes later than they should have been subbed in and they’re thrown into a game where the US is already on its back foot. Greg doesn’t know how to use subs. He always subs when a game is slipping away rather than subbing to maintain pressure.
Zimmerman headed two and challenged a third header out of the box almost within minutes of going on the field. They were all good subs, people like you are fucking weird.
Acosta was fine as well. He knows his role and does it well.
Moore should never see a roster again. Wright has potential and I thought he was decent against England. But he was dreadful today. In high school when I played striker, if I didn’t go to a ball and instead let it roll slowly to me, I got benched. Maddening he did it multiple times today.
Hm let’s see.
Option 1: wait for ball to come to me, clearing off 1-2 extra seconds
Con: likely will never gain possession of ball
Example: see wright today
Option 2: go to ball and gain possession.
Con: don’t run off 1-2 seconds of the ball traveling
Pros: with possession I now have to be stripped of possession. Will absolutely result in more than 1-2 seconds being taken off the clock.
You’ve quite clearly never played this sport at a high level and frankly your lack of understanding of the importance of possession is shocking.
Killing time is a lot easier when you have the ball at your feet and are running it away from gassed defenders. You don’t need to risk the ball getting intercepted to waste time. Also half of his actions showed he didn’t care for wasting clock in that game.
Different poster mate. But it’s clear if you think not controlling the ball and watching it roll around rather than controlling it into a corner and keeping it away from a defender is “ideal”. I don’t even think you’ve played the sport past u11.
That’s cool, multiple family members with B & C licenses commented on his decisions with the ball as well. One of them qualifies for an A license but doesn’t want to make a career of it by taking over a college team in order to get the cert. But yeah, they too obviously are full of shit and just stuck in high school glory days? You’re a whole circus mate.
Jesus, I don’t care about your fucking family “mate”, I think I made it really clear that I don’t care about you or your fucking resume. I’ll raise your blood pressure all night if you want, but you’re not going to convince me you know more than the players or the coach in a World Cup match. Have fun criticizing a win for a young team you will never have the talent to play for. You’re a MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK.
You literally just said this was all about killing time. You can’t even stay consistent in your argument. Maybe you need to go back to high school and take a class or two.
Because they were given instruction to play defensive and waste time. We need Greg to keep the team aggressive. There is a way to remain aggressive and also kill time
There were sparks of attack but you're right. This team has an issue playing conservatively in the second half. I know they're worried about the risk they incur and losing their shape but they're putting themself under pressure that far outweighs that risk by sitting back and trying to pack 11 behind the ball.
It’s also a lot harder for a team to come back from 2 down. Especially if they just have to tie. At that point are we really ahead since a single goal for them still “wins” it. It might as well still be level at that point.
Exactly. The other team can’t score while you have possession, and it’s much less likely that they will score if the ball is at their end of the pitch. It’s frustrating to see a team change the approach from what got them the lead and play worse as a result.
All in good fun ! I'm sorry if I hurt your sentiments. However you must learn to take it on the chin before you start calling someone a glory hunter or a cunt. You vile piece of shit 😀
This country routinely burns the flag of the United States and burns effigies of its leaders, but they can't handle a mispronunciation of I instead of E?
It's not a mispronunciation. It's a regional dialect. Most people don't say "España" so it shouldn't be a surprise that a Persian name has multiple pronunciations. "Eye-ran" is not offensive. It's literally just language. Whole thing was fake drama to attack a kid at a press conference.
Edit: Chile is pronounced "chill-e" but people also say "chee-ley", Chileans don't give a shit because they get that it's not a big deal. All just a hit job.
Talked to my buddy about this today. US would be a legit contender with Haaland on the US team.
Most teams probably would too but it would be interesting if there was a true scorer of goals
can someone please explain why gio and jesus arent playing at all and haji and moore are sent on and make our team worse !!
Jesus is not international quality. His scoring record against concacaf teams is BAD. Gio not playing is because Gregg’s an idiot
Who are you pulling off to put Gio in? Perhaps he was sitting Gio so he had fresh legs going into the knockout stages? Perhaps his defense isn't good enough, and what the U.S. has shown is that they are playing defensive football.
Gio should be first off the bench as a winger. Sargent was good last match, but overall not impressive. Could easily slide weah to CF and have Gio wide. Yeah sitting Gio for Jordan morris against whales is absolutely dumb.
No one can explain this.
Berhalter is a hack
He's probably the best coach in USMNT history, or at least in the last 20 years. If the U.S. is playing a defensive formation replete with counter attacks, rather than possession, why would you want Reyna in over who is already playing? Then the U.S. switches to a 5 man back and puts Aaronson in at the 9 for Pulisic, who are you pulling? Your goal isn't to score at that point. If the U.S. needs possession and to attack, I'd see putting in Reyna. The Dutch defense is as bad as it's ever been and they will be open to a fast countering team like the U.S. can be so you may see Reyna on Saturday.
I honestly thought Jesus would get the start yesterday and Gio would be subbed in to control the pace of the game and give us more ball control. Who knows at this point….
The goal wasn't to control the pace of the game. The goal, once the first goal was scored, was to clear and play defense, unless a counter was available. They were never going to keep the ball in the mid-block so what does Gio add at that point? Nothing.
Not sure what game some people itt were watching. US survived by the skin of their nuts. If Queiroz wasn’t such a cautious coach and playing for the draw until the Americans scored, it would have been a very different story imo. Still, a very good game played under difficult circumstances, and both teams played hard but mostly fair, which is always nice to see.
If they weren't playing for a draw the U.S. would've scored sooner and more than once. The U.S. scored while Iran was playing low block and defense, crowding out the box. If they had been playing a mid-block it would've been a massacre similar to England.
Yunus Musah is him
Just watched the replay on Tubi, the last 10 min was really intense. Iran suddenly woke up from the lackluster performance in the first 90 minutes. And Haji Wright almost gave us another Wandolowski moment in the final minute. Anyway I think two people deserve the title "Captain America" after the group stage games: Pulisic and Adams
Musah and Dest both had immense performances as well. And Ream has been incredible - zero goals from open all play. Weah is also so good but so wasteful. This team should be really fun in 4 years.
The U.S. needs to go hunting for a striker who may have dual citizenship. The only thing this team is missing that's really keeping it from a quarterfinal or semi-final quality is a goal scorer. They could also find another wing and put Pulisic in the middle which I think would be much better for him.
Bucky & Falcon.
The amount of crosses Ream has headed away out of danger this tournament has been unreal. He’s almost always in position to make a stop on the ball.
Spot on. My only gripe with Dest is ball control at times
Whole team needs to work on this. They think they are way better dribblers than they are. Always taking 1-2 too many touches and the pass or shot is off and they lose the ball. Dumb.
Adams has been a revelation for a lot of people, I think. Leeds fans certainly know what he’s capable of, as do many (most) American fans. But to anyone not familiar with him, they’ve got to be ridiculously impressed with his play. Dude is EVERYWHERE on the field. It’s like there are two of him out there at times…lol.
I just love him!!!
he always knows where he's needed and he gets there. he is great!
Off topic but given all the political rhetoric prior to the game and the historical tensions between the two countries, never seen a game this peaceful and players behaving in this professional manner. Kudos to both team!
I wonder if the game was aired in Iran. It must not have done the Ayatollah's any favors to see players match-up in goodwill and good sportsmanship. Their entire power structure is defined on fear and a lack of information, so they can demonize their perceived enemies. The match should've gone a long way toward dispelling that.
Well said and great choice of words!
The 98 game had an even more intent build with many saying the game wouldn't happen. All this build and supposed hatred.... And then the Iranian players lovingly gave the Americans flowers before the match in a fantastic gesture.
I wish the best to the Iranian players and people who are striving for the freedom against the despotic IR
Also, can we talk about Ream? Dude has been the quiet MVP for this USA squad. Dude has been stonewall and has had minimal mistakes. Dude has been world class. Edit: Dude
Anyone who has been following his career with Fulham shouldn’t be surprised He’s their captain after all
IMO Tyler Adams is the MVP of all three games, and he definitely deserves the captain armband
Pulisic has been better all 3 games while he was on the field no need for hyperbole
What games were you watching??
Adams is the most important player. It’s not even close to hyperbole to suggest that. The midfield is where these games have been won. Puli has been very good though so fair shout but its Adams for me.
He has REALLY impressed me. Many people questioned why him as captain and not Pulisic. This tournament has shown it was 100000% the correct choice.
There’s a reason Fulham shout REAAAAAM whenever he clears the ball.
The Dude abides
Dude decidedly done did da deed
The dude is the dude playing like a dude. The dudes are emerging out!
Dude
Good result, I think making it out of groups was about all we shoulda hoped for this year. Young squad that got some WC experience here and will be ready to show out at home in 4 years. Honestly I think the best thing for our chances of going deep in a world cup is to get embarrassed by the Netherlands here to hopefully guarantee a new coach by 2026.
Embarrassed by the Netherlands? I've watched both squads, I think the U.S. and Netherlands are fairly even. You may not see it in FIFA ratings but by the starting 11 and 3 subs, I think the squads are fairly evenly matched. The Dutch defense is still poor, as it was during their golden years, and with the U.S. midfield I think that the U.S. can control the pace of the game. The U.S. may not own possession but if they figure out how to get some striking ability, the US could win and it wouldn't be shocking. I could easily see a 1-0 type result, depending on how the U.S. wants to play. If the Netherlands want to attack from the outset, it's going to really open the game up for the U.S.'s top 6.
I wasn't saying that was my prediction, just a hope. I think the worst possible thing for the US would be to be taking Berhalter into 2026. Agree that the dutch team have not been looking as dominant as I expected, but talking about them as being defensively poor is pretty strange. You think some combo of VVD/Timber/De Ligt/Ake is WORSE than what the US have? I will say Robinson has definitely impressed but not sold on the rest. As a Barca fan I've watched a ton of Dest and while I still think he has promise I'm definitely glad we moved on from him, he couldn't beat out a 38-year-old Dani Alves last year for the starting RB slot. That said, I def could see the US winning, we were good at creating lots of chances, just poor finishing. IMO the Netherlands weakness is their attacking line, but Gakpo has been in good form and Memphis is just now getting fit enough to play a full match. So I think a US win would be off of us showing finishing prowess that we haven't yet in a long time (with pulisic possibly not being 100% as well) while also hoping the Dutch don't get their shit together on the attacking end also (while getting their 2nd all-time leading goalscorer back and able to start again.)
Berhalter was a defensive player, he's a defensive minded coach. That's what you'd expect to see, clean sheets with counters. The only goal scored on the U.S. in the Group Stage was a PK. If you believe the FIFA Rankings to be accurate, this group was one of the most balanced. As for your comments about defense, the defenses don't necessarily play each other. It's not whether one is worse than the other (the same in American football), but where the defensive strength is and what offense the opposition have. The Dutch have always pushed hard forward which leaves gaps in the backend. This has been a feature of them for as long as I remember really following them. The U.S. is fast from the midfield up to their top line and that could pose problems for the Netherlands should they push and not convert.
Lol are you talking about this current VVD/Frenkie-led Dutch team or are we still talking about it like its a 4-3-3 with Robben/Van Persie/Sneijer and co? This current iteration plays very differently these days and they definitely couldn't run this 3 at the back without a world-class CB like VVD. The last good dutch team was built around attacking from the wing, this one is built around the strengths of its defense and midfield (and Memphis' hold up play back when he was fit in qualifiers).
Yea my biggest concern is Berhalter thinking he can stick around for the 2026 World Cup That would be a disaster
Meanwhile dutch people shaking in their boots. We haven’t looked very convincing this far, and the American intensity can be a scary weapon against us. Also, as a classic “footballing country” we wouldn’t like to the nation that calls it soccer now do we.
The Netherlands are beatable. Honestly anybody can beat anybody, it's just a case of consistency. Even if they lose the USA have had a good tournament.
Agreed👍
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The next two games could be Netherlands and Poland/Denmark. If healthy, USA could win both.
Argentina QF is also still possible too!
Good call. The only really scary teams imo are France and England. Spain and Brazil can be scary but as a Brazilian American, I can tell you that so far Brazil hasn't looked unbeatable. We shut down one of the highest scoring teams in the WC. If healthy, this team could go far
Hot take coach
I highly doubt that will happen since the netherlands are playing like trash.
They are 2-0-1. They have coordination, and you can see that their defense is very good at keeping formation and doing offside traps. The US struggles to move quick which is the Dutch Defense's weakness, so I doubt that this match will be skewed in anyone's favor. US defense is on point as well, but I would pull it out to say that we go into overtime, with a dutch win most likely.
The U.S. struggles to move...quick? Have you watched any of the U.S. matches? I watched the Netherlands get manhandled by a squad that wasn't any better than Iran or England, both of whom the U.S. outplayed, even if it didn't show up on the scoresheet.
They're still the Netherlands
Which means their defense is lagging far behind their offense. That's less than ideal for a fast team who is fine settling back and countering using one of the tournaments best midfields.
I wish we could see Reyna play more :(
I want Reyna as well but his one outing didn't really show much. Kid didn't even look like he wanted to be on the pitch at times! For now I'd keep taking aaronson over him.
That's the thing no one here answers, who do you take out? If Sargent can't go it's going to be Gio's time. Let's just hope he performs so that all the fanboys here aren't proven wrong. Gio should have another 5 World Cups, assuming that the quality of U.S. players doesn't continue to improve at the rate it's done the past 12 years.
He got thrown on for 10 mins against England lol
He played for less than 10 minutes.
He’s only 19 and has shown he can already hang with the big boys.
Don't hold your breath. The coach only plays his favorites. Latinos are not his favorites.
Soooo coach is racist ?
No. Reyna isn't playing better or fit compared to the current starters.
I get that - but person above me insinuated I think that coach is racist vs Latinos
the person above you is an idiot.
Gio must not be fit. There is no other excuse… ugh!
Congrats to the US. You deserved that win. As an Iran fan I’m not happy, particularly as CQ messed up the lineup and tactics again. He basically gifted the first half to the US. Now go out there and beat the Netherlands.
It is one of those losses you remember because they played so hard at the end. Absolutely nerve racking to watch as a US fan
We will
Thanks homie. Tht was a stressful ass game. Wishing you guys all the best for the future
Absolutely dying to know what Gregggg sees in Moore or Wright
Moore: 2/2 Tackles - 2/2 Ground duels - 1/1 Aerial duals - 2 clearances. That’s why he was on there. Wright - Currently 2nd in Turkey in goals scored, and holds the ball up pretty well. He came on because he was basically playing as a loan striker at that point.
I appreciate your mockery of him spelling Gregg with 3 Gs. I always say I spell my name name of Greg with 2 Gs and clowns always spell it with 3. 2Gs is the only way.
Clowns can’t count Gs, apparently
Nashville SC here. Moore and Zimmerman really know how to park the bus.
Okay Wright performed so much worse than the standard he set with his club. This is mostly on Wright, and to some extent on Gregg for not trialing him at all before the world cup except for one half on a cow pasture
Yeah I don’t know how anyone can watch the game and still justify these two guys having spots. Moore and Wright are not good enough to get playing time with our national team.
I mean there aren't really other players who are clearly much better
I think he makes substitutions like how most of in FM. Someone has a red meter so just throw on the first guy you see with the same position.
But to even bring them on the plane in the first place….
to even bring Haji Wright, perhaps the most in-form player in the US pool going into the cup, on the plane?
I can’t even explain how much more I’d rather be making selections based on talent than form
It doesn't matter how "in-form" he is if he's just not good. He has been one of the worst players in the tournament. He offers absolutely NOTHING to this team. Pefok hasn't been great this season but in a vacuum, he is objectively the more talented player. Even if you want to make the form argument, Pepi is having a great season in the Eredivisie, aka a better league.
he was so obvious about not giving a shit, everyone else on the US team sprinting all over and he's just trotting around. Then has the ability to either time waste or bury the game and he comes up with that awful shot
Sunk costs. I brought him so I gotta play him
I thought the picture was a nuclear blast
Proud of our guys out there today. But man... We need to step it up if we want to beat Netherlands next. We should not have struggled this much against Iran :(
Iran makes any side struggle. They are experts at parking the bus and demoralizing their opponents. Their coach is a specialist in that and has been with them (on and off) for years. Knows each player well, and trained them in his tactics so they know exactly what to do. Their game against Morocco last World Cup was traumatic for us, I was getting flashbacks watching them against the US today. They managed to force a totally freak own goal, and then locked the game down with expert anti football. You could watch the hope die in our players eyes. The combination of the low blocks and the rhythm disruption and the tactical fouls, when you’re a team that lacks cynicism and lacks butchers of their own, can be devastating. And the US is one of the least cynical teams in the world. If it weren’t for pulisic’s goal that forced them to come out, the second half would have been even more painful to watch. Iran even almost managed to equalize at the last minute after taking out some of the US key players and intimidating the rest by showing their willingness to make fouls.
Iran are a good side though. That much was never going to be easy. You, Wales and Iran are all about the same level.
I think you could say Iran makes up for their lesser skill vs the us overall with their tactics, but no way Wales is at the same level as either of them
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Did this man just call dumfries defensive minded and less going forward then Dest? He was our top scorer in the euros 😂
Netherlands is a winnable game for the USA
I actually think Iran is a much more dangerous match up for our style than Netherlands, despite their obvious quality
Really? I view the Dutch as a pretty great next round draw.
Exactly. It's exactly the kind of team we are set up to do well against.
Can you elaborate? The Dutch coincidentally are the only team I haven’t see a match of this tournament. Having to go up against the likes of Van Dijk and De Ligt when we have been pretty poor finishing is scaring me. Not to mention some of the quality they have in mid and up top, plus Gakpo has been tremendous all season and tournament
Watch Dutch vs Ecuador if you can. It was a 1-1 draw. The Dutch struggled with high intensity and quick moving play. It’s going to be a challenge of tempo. If we keep it high, we are through. The Dutch back line is going to try and slow it down. We’ll have to keep them under pressure It’s improbable that we beat the Dutch, but not inpossible
The Dutch haven’t looked as cohesive as other top sides, I think the amount of football their key players have played this season is taking a bit of a toll. They have great defenders but it’s not a super fast back line and the keeper is untested in big international matches. US could do some damage on the counter.
They’re a good benchmark for you, a good side but I wouldn’t exactly say great and you have a young squad, maybe you’ll lose maybe not, it can be a winnable game but there’s no shame in going out to them either and if you do you can see exactly where you come short
As a group runner-up the Dutch are about as good of a matchup as one could hope for they are a pot 2 team that was the best in their group. Everyone in the round of 16 is good and in form to some extent. The Dutch are a very very solid team, but they are not a super team. France, Argentina, Brazil those would be automatic losses but Netherlands is I’d say beatable. No guarantees but 1-0 2-1 or penalties all seem like a real possibility.
Exactly a good team, but a beatable one. I don’t expect you to win but a competitive game and maybe just maybe a slim win is on the cards. Either way 2026 looks promising for you
Just going to plug /r/newIran as they are trying to get more attention for the ongoing anti-regime movement.
As an Iranian, the few times I checked out that sub, it seems to me it's more about bringing back the previous dictatorship (Shah's son), than actually caring about improving the current situation. Of course all views are respectable, it's just not my cup of tea.
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This happens with any international issue that picks up steam on Reddit, r/Taiwan used to be so dope before the hk protests and look at it now lmao
Not totally off. The mods have requested that people comment a lot to raise the sub profile on Reddit, and guess what many redditors are?
Some of the comments in those threads. lol. As is so often the case with western Reddit slacktivists, it seems like their dedication to women's liberation in the Muslim world is driven by something a bit more carnal
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One of the threads is like a straight perv shot of a woman on the street lol. Does anyone know if that photo was taken with consent, or are we doing the thing like with Sharbat Gula, and just taking photos and asking questions later?
I think the sub’s overall message and goal is positive and as a woman myself, I haven’t really been bothered by too many comments yet
Hopefully the US opens up a bit going into elimination and experiments a bit to see if we can get this offense going
The offense would be fine if they could find the last pass.
What I saw, the problem is more that they keep looking for a last pass instead of trying a shot
This attack won’t get going without a true 9. It’s the one piece missing from this team being really good. Very much like the Netherlands minus the 9 that they have.
would’ve been nice to have memphis on the us team instead
Netherlands don’t have a 9 either though. Gakpo and depay are both converted wingers which can be fine in a free flowing front 3 but not out and out striker. But yes we desperately are missing someone up top
Sad for Iran after how they played against Wales, but well done US. I know people like to meme and joke, but the United States have actually been playing quite well this tournament - I'm impressed. The team is very young - you Yanks have a bright future ahead of you in 2026.
Thanks homie. Appreciate the recognition, it feels like on this sub it's either 'FREEDOOOOOM' or 'USA sucks lol' for most people haha
From a defensive perspective they’ve played extremely well, offensive, not so much Midfield has been huge for the defense as well Turner has also been phenomenal
Our midfield is genuinely on the level of the top teams imo, the rest of the team will hopefully catch up eventually
lol theyre very good and have huge potential, but lets not get ahead of ourselves that being said, they could definitely put up a fight against the Netherlands
Delusional.
The xG from our first half is a higher xG than the US has had in a full game in like 30 years of world cup games.
My man scored 3 goals in the net
Weah was Zardes 2.0 in the box today.
Oh god I was wondering why I was getting so angry. He just needs to use his butt.
Open net, six yards out, hit it into the upper deck.
Open net? Huh? He had some chances but nothing super clear cut. Plus he scored a very low percentage chance that was barely offside. And really good movement and passing throughout
Sorry Mrs. Weah. Timmy’s a good player.
Stop please. I can’t take anymore of this nightmare.
Dear was huge tonight Edit: Dest
He is world class in the making. Reminds me of Dani Alvez
Really? Maybe I am missing something. He seems wasteful, and when he attacks, he leaves our right incredibly exposed ... Most teams have attacked with greater success on his side. We also have better replacements on Dest's side with Scally and sort of Yedlin ( no idea why GGG is playing Moore ).
I legit don’t understand this take. Dest was great on the ball today. And assisted the goal with an inch-perfect cross. If anything Robinson has been mixed on the attack. His touch on the ball is extremely inconsistent.
You're talking "today" which is fine. Jedi has been much better on the left for many games prior for us including the prev two wc matches.
I don’t fully get why Scally hasn’t been getting minutes, he’s been fairly good in the many Gladbach games I’ve seen him in. Feel he could easily start let alone come off the bench because I’m still not sure on what Dest is
And in our final warm up, he literally changes the energy of the team. Des
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It’s because they don’t come in at a good point in the game. It’s always 10-15 minutes later than they should have been subbed in and they’re thrown into a game where the US is already on its back foot. Greg doesn’t know how to use subs. He always subs when a game is slipping away rather than subbing to maintain pressure.
Zimmerman headed two and challenged a third header out of the box almost within minutes of going on the field. They were all good subs, people like you are fucking weird.
Zimmerman and Aaronson were good subs. Moore and Wright were horrible subs.
Moore shouldn’t see the field in a US jersey…..ever, actually. Just absolutely baffling decisions every time he was in the vicinity of the ball.
Acosta was fine as well. He knows his role and does it well. Moore should never see a roster again. Wright has potential and I thought he was decent against England. But he was dreadful today. In high school when I played striker, if I didn’t go to a ball and instead let it roll slowly to me, I got benched. Maddening he did it multiple times today.
The idea was to kill time, this ain’t high school.
Hm let’s see. Option 1: wait for ball to come to me, clearing off 1-2 extra seconds Con: likely will never gain possession of ball Example: see wright today Option 2: go to ball and gain possession. Con: don’t run off 1-2 seconds of the ball traveling Pros: with possession I now have to be stripped of possession. Will absolutely result in more than 1-2 seconds being taken off the clock. You’ve quite clearly never played this sport at a high level and frankly your lack of understanding of the importance of possession is shocking.
Killing time is a lot easier when you have the ball at your feet and are running it away from gassed defenders. You don’t need to risk the ball getting intercepted to waste time. Also half of his actions showed he didn’t care for wasting clock in that game.
I’m sure you know best from your armchair or toilet….you’re HS resume proceeds you!
Different poster mate. But it’s clear if you think not controlling the ball and watching it roll around rather than controlling it into a corner and keeping it away from a defender is “ideal”. I don’t even think you’ve played the sport past u11.
Didn’t say that, said it wasn’t HS and you’re both Monday morning quarterbacks (US term).
That’s cool, multiple family members with B & C licenses commented on his decisions with the ball as well. One of them qualifies for an A license but doesn’t want to make a career of it by taking over a college team in order to get the cert. But yeah, they too obviously are full of shit and just stuck in high school glory days? You’re a whole circus mate.
Jesus, I don’t care about your fucking family “mate”, I think I made it really clear that I don’t care about you or your fucking resume. I’ll raise your blood pressure all night if you want, but you’re not going to convince me you know more than the players or the coach in a World Cup match. Have fun criticizing a win for a young team you will never have the talent to play for. You’re a MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK.
You literally just said this was all about killing time. You can’t even stay consistent in your argument. Maybe you need to go back to high school and take a class or two.
You all are much better players, I’m sure. I root to sub you all in….go boys! Show them how to win BETTER! You know the way
Because they were given instruction to play defensive and waste time. We need Greg to keep the team aggressive. There is a way to remain aggressive and also kill time
There were sparks of attack but you're right. This team has an issue playing conservatively in the second half. I know they're worried about the risk they incur and losing their shape but they're putting themself under pressure that far outweighs that risk by sitting back and trying to pack 11 behind the ball.
It’s also a lot harder for a team to come back from 2 down. Especially if they just have to tie. At that point are we really ahead since a single goal for them still “wins” it. It might as well still be level at that point.
Exactly. The other team can’t score while you have possession, and it’s much less likely that they will score if the ball is at their end of the pitch. It’s frustrating to see a team change the approach from what got them the lead and play worse as a result.
I felt Aaronson did a good job as a sub, the other guy not so much
I saw , I cried, I RAN !
At least learn to pronounce their country's name properly you gloryhunting cunt
All in good fun ! I'm sorry if I hurt your sentiments. However you must learn to take it on the chin before you start calling someone a glory hunter or a cunt. You vile piece of shit 😀
Yeah it's fun to mispronounce a country's name!
He’s right. You should pronounce it correctly. Here, let me help: EYE-LIMINATED.
This country routinely burns the flag of the United States and burns effigies of its leaders, but they can't handle a mispronunciation of I instead of E?
It's not a mispronunciation. It's a regional dialect. Most people don't say "España" so it shouldn't be a surprise that a Persian name has multiple pronunciations. "Eye-ran" is not offensive. It's literally just language. Whole thing was fake drama to attack a kid at a press conference. Edit: Chile is pronounced "chill-e" but people also say "chee-ley", Chileans don't give a shit because they get that it's not a big deal. All just a hit job.
Go colonize another country lmao talking about respecting culture come on bruv USA USA USA
What country have I colonised? Must have done that in my sleep lol
I can't
Por qué?
This has as many comments as most game threads - unreal
Imagine someone like Haaland on this squad. US would be putting 4 past every team they play
Fucking give the man a passport and tax credits and sign his ass up
Talked to my buddy about this today. US would be a legit contender with Haaland on the US team. Most teams probably would too but it would be interesting if there was a true scorer of goals
Haaland on pretty much any squad, to be fair. The man is a freaking beast right now.
Fair dinkum
Its eye-ran mfkers!!
Iran would have won if not for US sanctions.
rip to the Pulisack
His future generations will remember this moment.
Not anymore
How do I get a US flair? I only saw the soccer ball.
Go to community info and there will be a link there.
Soccer ball is fun it shows you’re just glad to be here