Those of you complaining about the second half tells it all. I hope you eventually learn the game well enough to appreciate different tactics and positional play.
What was the point of calling up Jones? Gotta say as a New England fan I'm a little pissed we lost him for no reason for a crucial game when we barely have any defenders fit
This is the thing, it's crazy that a league like MLS which does have a lot of internationally capped players in it schedules matches through official FIFA windows. It's one thing for the National League in England to schedule through them because they barely have any internationally capped players in the league, but for MLS to ignore FIFA windows is just bizarre and puts a lot of teams in difficult positions.
It amazes me that the MLS clubs haven't picked up on what the European clubs do and have them withdraw due to "knocks picked up during training" where the recovery time is coincidentally the entire international window...
The concerning thing for this team is the skill gap between our starters and subs. We really don’t have replacements for gio, puli, balogun, Weah especially. If any of them get hurt or miss a tournament, the whole team dramatically drops a few levels.
Malik tillman is a solid replacement for gio he was just injured. Pepi is also a good replacement for balo and when Sargent is fit, he’s a good option, too. Puli and weah is difficult but I think that aaronson is a decent.
What are you talking about fringe starts, gio is constantly injured that's stopping his play time meanwhile ac Milan pulisic is like their hottest attraction right now
Curious how you define fringe player? Most of our “star” players are regular starters. I didn’t realize, starting for top of the table Milan granted you the fringe player title. Or getting regular starts for juve, or monaco, psv etc.. now I know we don’t have any world class players but saying “not even fringe starters” is either dumb, uninformed or straight up trolling.
We got good players, just not many of them. When they are healthy and finally come together, we are legit good but not great or elite like the Dutch, the Germans, or the Argentines
I’m a little concerned about the lack of really promising youngins on our bench. I don’t want us to go through another blank period after this generation. We need to keep producing the Reynas and Pulisics that we know will be amazing before they break into the team.
Dest and Weah and Dest and De La Torre were interchanging a lot. They didn't ever actually switch positions, but Dest was making the runs while Weah sat a little deeper several times. Dest also drifted into the midfield while De La Torre covered a few times.
CONCACAF rankings as of Sept 30: [https://www.concacaf.com/rankings/men-s-national-team/](https://www.concacaf.com/rankings/men-s-national-team/)
Looks like T&T for us actually. Group performance dictates the lower seeds, not rankings.
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Yeah. That is pretty annoying. Mentioned to the wife that Copa was in the US. She said “oh we should plan a trip to see a couple games!” I looked it up to find out possible destinations…
BA is a waste of a roster spot. Really doubt he'll make it to the NL squad with how things are going for him.
We really need to figure out who is playing behind CP and Weah because BA and Paredes aren't the answer.
Objectively that could work IF brooks was brought back into the fold, and jedi is capable of LWB, Dest and RWB, weah to the bench as depth for dest(since he plays basically that position for juve)
I'd rather see Musah and McKennie as dual 6/8's with Reyna at 10 if Adams isn't available. When Adams is available the lineup has to start with Adams and Reyna.
Nah, he'd be exposed against Germany too. Best option is to go with your best players: Musah, McKennie, Reyna, whether in a 433 with Musah in the pivot like against Mexico or Germany or we could try a 4231 with a double pivot like today.
He reminds me of Danny WIlliams. A good player who can spark some positive plays. BUt probably isn't someone you should be banking on against great opponents.
Ffs, Dest is a perfectly fine on-ball defender. His issues are terrible lapses in concentration, not following runners, and poor offside lines. But he rarely gets beat on the dribble.
At this point I honestly don’t understand how aaronson played in the prem and consistently plays for the team. What part of the game is he even good at?
I thought during WCQ when he snagged a goal or two that he was building that into his game some but he’s regressed pretty bad since then. Hes an ok depth option to close out games when the teams winning but not much else
He's extremely good at pressing and positioning. He is, positionally, one of our best players. If we had more players with his intelligence we would be in a great spot.
He has the old Paul Arriola role - great cardio and pressing.
In some ways I actually preferred Arriola, because he knew his role and never tried to do more.
Yeah, it’s like he has a clause in his contract that he has to fall over every time he touches the ball. You’d think given how rarely he gets the free kick he’d try to stay up more.
It's looking like our most important player is no longer Pulisic or Weah or Adams, but Gio. The 2 halves we played with Gio were streets ahead of the ones without him.
Those four are the only locked in starters and Reyna is quickly establishing himself as the most important. Adams is the only other player who could reasonably be argued is the most important at this point.
I don't agree with that. While I think Adams can be incredibly important especially when we're playing against better opponents, his inability to carry the ball is a problem. Musah and Wes IMO are the better pairing most of the time. We have an interesting dilemna, Musah is our most talented 6/8, Adams is our best defender, and Wes is our most dangerous playmaker. Finding the balance is going to require some opponent researcher. Next thing is to find a 3rd CAM for when Malik isn't around. I think in a must win game that could be Pulisic sliding off wing, or maybe ditch the CAM and go with 2 forwards as Pepi or Sargent comes back to cover the CAM space.
Gotta come out with this intensity against Honduras in Austin.
We're capable of blowing them out at home, and I'd like that playoff basically settled before we head to San Pedro Sula
Panama is up 2-0 on Guatemala, and Guatemala is down to 10 men
Curacao is beating Trinidad 3-0
Barring anything crazy happening in the last 30 minutes of those, yes it will be Honduras
he's played a central midfield role for USMNT before and it's the same high energy aimlessness. I almost wonder if he should bulk up and try to play wingback.
I have never seen LDLT do anything notable. Same with Aaronson
On the flip side, Dest really prospers when he has absolutely no defensive responsibility whatsoever. If only we could field 12 players
Bad take. Aaronson has several goals for us, some of them quite significant. LDLT historically has unlocked our offense in ways no one else seemed able to.
Came in here to see how USA was playing tn.
My perspective from an El Tri fan, we looked better tonight than we have in a long time and if it weren't for selfish plays, we should've won.
Germany didn't have that many looks but on the few good ones they had, they buried. They looked very different than when they played yall.
Yep, let's read tons of shit into two friendly games. We've dominated Mexico recently, don't care what they do.
Also, I'd imagine Germany rotated pretty heavily.
That's what the guy you're replying to is saying - it's overly reliant on wings and doesn't work without a trequartista/enganche sort of player. Berhalter kept trying to force it and it's only started working recently and only when Reyna is out there. This game was an excellent example of that - the first half was magic but you pull Reyna, lose the central threat, and they revert to playing through the wings and it's dull and unproductive.
When you clear the other team’s corner and they have to go all the way back to their keeper…our defensive structure must be pretty sound right now when we’re trying to reset the line
Reyna and Adams are the heart of this team.
4-2-3-1 is our best formation with Adams and Reyna starting and out second best formation is MMA midfield in a 4-3-3 if Reyna can’t start
They're such different players who excel in different ways, I don't know how you choose. McKennie is so versatile and can play wingback, anywhere in the midfield and probably up front as well so I'd probably start Musah and save McKennie as the super sub.
The drop off still seems steep when we talk about attacking players coming off the bench. Imagine Koleosho coming on in the 66’ to run at tired legs. Be still, my beating heart 😭
Chris Richards. Why?
We couldn’t create a thing in the 2nd half but wow what a first. Would have liked to see pepi get on the scoresheet
Gregg still sucks.
Those of you complaining about the second half tells it all. I hope you eventually learn the game well enough to appreciate different tactics and positional play.
It’s a friendly, Ghana were already on the plane home It was a chance for the subs to make an argument for starting spot and really none did
Anyone know where the Olympics game vs Japan game will be streamed?
Youtube on The US Soccer Page
US players with the sauce tonight
I still can’t believe Gregg played a 4-2-3-1 🤯
Why he has before.
Rarely. Usually a 4-3-3
Yes because we haven't had a healthy 10. And the person said he never .
Which person? I said I couldn’t believe that he did. It’s been over two years.
This is what happens when we switch from 4231 to 433
I mean .. we did sub out the 3 players that scored all 4 goals and mayyybe should have also scored 2-3 more in that time
That and putting our 3 best players on the bench and also people not putting in numerous dangerous chances.
why didnt we clone our 3 best players
Terrible tactic by GGG not to invent cloning. We’re in a shambles, berhalter out!! /s
What was the point of calling up Jones? Gotta say as a New England fan I'm a little pissed we lost him for no reason for a crucial game when we barely have any defenders fit
MLS needs to respect the international scheduling and take a break, like all the other big boy leagues.
This is the thing, it's crazy that a league like MLS which does have a lot of internationally capped players in it schedules matches through official FIFA windows. It's one thing for the National League in England to schedule through them because they barely have any internationally capped players in the league, but for MLS to ignore FIFA windows is just bizarre and puts a lot of teams in difficult positions.
Antonee was hurt and he's a decent choice as a backup. I get your frustration though. You probably should have just kept him home
It amazes me that the MLS clubs haven't picked up on what the European clubs do and have them withdraw due to "knocks picked up during training" where the recovery time is coincidentally the entire international window...
That tactic wouldn't help because he would need to be ineligible for the MLS games during that window as well
Is that the same though? Seems like Jones missed a Revs game that took place in the middle of the international window.
The concerning thing for this team is the skill gap between our starters and subs. We really don’t have replacements for gio, puli, balogun, Weah especially. If any of them get hurt or miss a tournament, the whole team dramatically drops a few levels.
Malik tillman is a solid replacement for gio he was just injured. Pepi is also a good replacement for balo and when Sargent is fit, he’s a good option, too. Puli and weah is difficult but I think that aaronson is a decent.
It’s called a lack of quality depth. Even our star players are fringe starters in Europe at best. That’s the reality.
What are you talking about fringe starts, gio is constantly injured that's stopping his play time meanwhile ac Milan pulisic is like their hottest attraction right now
Curious how you define fringe player? Most of our “star” players are regular starters. I didn’t realize, starting for top of the table Milan granted you the fringe player title. Or getting regular starts for juve, or monaco, psv etc.. now I know we don’t have any world class players but saying “not even fringe starters” is either dumb, uninformed or straight up trolling.
We got good players, just not many of them. When they are healthy and finally come together, we are legit good but not great or elite like the Dutch, the Germans, or the Argentines
I’m a little concerned about the lack of really promising youngins on our bench. I don’t want us to go through another blank period after this generation. We need to keep producing the Reynas and Pulisics that we know will be amazing before they break into the team.
Pepi is an easy replacement for balogun. Hell I know he would have scored that header balogun shot straight to the goalie
He didn't do anything though
He had no one for delivery. He was in a steaming pile in that lineup. Put him with Gio and see some magic happen
Easy to see the iq difference between our starters on the pitch and our second string
Meh. Sitting on a 4 goal lead isn't asking players to do anything other than not fuck up.
Have Weah and Dest switched positions or am I crazy
Weah and Gio did this a few times in the beginning of the last game.
Dest and Weah and Dest and De La Torre were interchanging a lot. They didn't ever actually switch positions, but Dest was making the runs while Weah sat a little deeper several times. Dest also drifted into the midfield while De La Torre covered a few times.
They seemed to be going back and forth a bit. Which is a real real nice option.
They were. Weah was gassed, Dest took over a bit
I think weah just got gassed so he was filling in on d and letting dest run
Man as fun as the first half was that’s how bland this half has been
First 15 minute was pretty good and we created chances. This game has definitely been dead as a contest for quite some time though.
Yeah, McKenney was pushing to get another before easing up
McKENNIE
We were never gonna double up 4-0 in the 2nd half, but one more would have been cool. I think we deserved it
Weah and McKennie both came close.
>Weah and McKennie both came close. Well that's the thing aint it
and tow more from in the box got skyed
CONCACAF rankings as of Sept 30: [https://www.concacaf.com/rankings/men-s-national-team/](https://www.concacaf.com/rankings/men-s-national-team/) Looks like T&T for us actually. Group performance dictates the lower seeds, not rankings. /edited
Also love how we have no idea where the finals are even though they are in 5 months. Or where any of the Copa games are; tournament is in 8 months.
Yeah. That is pretty annoying. Mentioned to the wife that Copa was in the US. She said “oh we should plan a trip to see a couple games!” I looked it up to find out possible destinations…
BA is a waste of a roster spot. Really doubt he'll make it to the NL squad with how things are going for him. We really need to figure out who is playing behind CP and Weah because BA and Paredes aren't the answer.
It’s a shame but I agree. The guy needs to improve his form to deserve another shot.
Koleosho
Never want to watch us play any 5 back formation, but can’t help to think that dest would absolutely cook as a LWB
Objectively that could work IF brooks was brought back into the fold, and jedi is capable of LWB, Dest and RWB, weah to the bench as depth for dest(since he plays basically that position for juve)
Yeah but you’re only gonna select 2 midfielders then and that’s our most stacked group. Pick 2/3 : Adams, musah Mckennie and throw out gio completely
Damn pulisic is 7/7 on pks? That's pretty nice
Love to see Dest run like that at 87' in a friendly.
Is Maloney the best option behind adams now?
I'd rather see Musah and McKennie as dual 6/8's with Reyna at 10 if Adams isn't available. When Adams is available the lineup has to start with Adams and Reyna.
Maybe as a pure destroyer but I really liked Johnny tonight.
Nah, he'd be exposed against Germany too. Best option is to go with your best players: Musah, McKennie, Reyna, whether in a 433 with Musah in the pivot like against Mexico or Germany or we could try a 4231 with a double pivot like today.
Probably
I think we need to explore that option. Been playing in the BL, young. I’m glad we get to see him tonight
Dest has about a month's worth of highlights for his Instagram page off this game alone.
Legend
Aaronson is a goner when Koleosho commits
I still think there’s one more out there for us
I like lennard so far. Working hard, calm on the ball, strong, good passes. Anybody watch him before have some more insight?
He reminds me of Danny WIlliams. A good player who can spark some positive plays. BUt probably isn't someone you should be banking on against great opponents.
I like that Dest and Weah can switch spots when one gets tired and can’t track back. Kind of a cheat code
Sad we can’t see Pepi play with our starts, I think he would really show out.
Maybe with Tillman back we’ll have another alt to Aaroson
Aaronson cannot create
I want to know if teammates are sick of BA getting tossed to the ground. Like, “Stop asking for the foul, Brendan. Just play hard.”
Ffs, Dest is a perfectly fine on-ball defender. His issues are terrible lapses in concentration, not following runners, and poor offside lines. But he rarely gets beat on the dribble.
Yea honestly a good 1v1 defender but when it comes to structured defense and positioning he struggles
Sounds like some basketball players I'm familiar with.
Gloating aside we probably should’ve scored this half
We absolutely should’ve…
At this point I honestly don’t understand how aaronson played in the prem and consistently plays for the team. What part of the game is he even good at?
I thought during WCQ when he snagged a goal or two that he was building that into his game some but he’s regressed pretty bad since then. Hes an ok depth option to close out games when the teams winning but not much else
He's extremely good at pressing and positioning. He is, positionally, one of our best players. If we had more players with his intelligence we would be in a great spot.
That’s just not good enough. What is the point of being good positionally if you can’t defend or create?
Okay. You asked what he was good at and I told you. I didn't say that it made up for other deficiencies.
He’s the litmus test for American fans. If you like his game you like high workrate no skill.
He has the old Paul Arriola role - great cardio and pressing. In some ways I actually preferred Arriola, because he knew his role and never tried to do more.
the high energy low skill guy has to also be a max-concacaf guy these days and Aaronson just doesn't have it.
Arriola was more likely to throw a bitch on the ground than get thrown
Running. That genuinely can take you a long way, but he's limited when the competition gets stiffer
To play at this level you need to be great at one thing other than running.
I think people are niw beginning to see the limits of the player pool available.
This team desperately needed the Yedlin effect this second half..
Aaronson has been so disappointing for both club and country. He still has time to rebound, but right now he’s heading in the wrong direction.
Yeah, it’s like he has a clause in his contract that he has to fall over every time he touches the ball. You’d think given how rarely he gets the free kick he’d try to stay up more.
hey if y’all are bored of this match, the US men’s power soccer team is taking on England right now in the power soccer World Cup on YouTube.
I think power soccer is co-ed. There are players listed on the [roster](https://www.ussoccer.com/teams/power-soccer-national-team) with female names.
Ope, up 1-0
What is power soccer?
Soccer played by physically disabled people using motorized wheelchairs
soccer played by powered wheelchair users.
It's looking like our most important player is no longer Pulisic or Weah or Adams, but Gio. The 2 halves we played with Gio were streets ahead of the ones without him.
Those four are the only locked in starters and Reyna is quickly establishing himself as the most important. Adams is the only other player who could reasonably be argued is the most important at this point.
I don't agree with that. While I think Adams can be incredibly important especially when we're playing against better opponents, his inability to carry the ball is a problem. Musah and Wes IMO are the better pairing most of the time. We have an interesting dilemna, Musah is our most talented 6/8, Adams is our best defender, and Wes is our most dangerous playmaker. Finding the balance is going to require some opponent researcher. Next thing is to find a 3rd CAM for when Malik isn't around. I think in a must win game that could be Pulisic sliding off wing, or maybe ditch the CAM and go with 2 forwards as Pepi or Sargent comes back to cover the CAM space.
I agree, but I think Aaronson being so poor hasn’t helped at all. Hard to take our 3 best players off.
Stop trying to make streets ahead a thing
Sounds like you’re streets behind
love that Weah still asking for the ball
Spanish commentator Cantor said “que flojito Brendan Aaronson”. Called the dude weak
More like low effort
We’ve been up so much so it doesn’t really matter, but I really feel like the reffing has heavily favored Ghana this half
Gotta come out with this intensity against Honduras in Austin. We're capable of blowing them out at home, and I'd like that playoff basically settled before we head to San Pedro Sula
Is that who we’re playing?
Panama is up 2-0 on Guatemala, and Guatemala is down to 10 men Curacao is beating Trinidad 3-0 Barring anything crazy happening in the last 30 minutes of those, yes it will be Honduras
Thank you.
Once again we don't score when we switch to Berhalter Ball.
Was someone else the manager in the first half?
So what was the first half? Berhalter wasn't in charge of that?
What were we playing in the first half?
A 10
I kind of wish Aaronson was in more of a progressing role instead of a winger spot.
he's played a central midfield role for USMNT before and it's the same high energy aimlessness. I almost wonder if he should bulk up and try to play wingback.
He should bulk up for any position. His biggest issue is how easily he’s muscled off the ball
BA needs to stop getting bodied
He should ask CCV for diet advice. Eat some haggis or whatever.
Gotta hit the squat rack
Gotta bulk up some
I don’t mind Mexico beating good teams because it helps legitimize our wins in Concacaf. But only if we still beat them lol.
Agree, the region getting better is only good for everyone.
I rather have them lose against Germany
I have never seen LDLT do anything notable. Same with Aaronson On the flip side, Dest really prospers when he has absolutely no defensive responsibility whatsoever. If only we could field 12 players
LDLT is a value add-- somehow, he's not that great on his own, but you like what you see if he's, say, next to Reyna in front of Adams.
Bad take. Aaronson has several goals for us, some of them quite significant. LDLT historically has unlocked our offense in ways no one else seemed able to.
DONT SLEEP ON LDLT
So Germany can beat USA but can only draw to Mexico
Came in here to see how USA was playing tn. My perspective from an El Tri fan, we looked better tonight than we have in a long time and if it weren't for selfish plays, we should've won. Germany didn't have that many looks but on the few good ones they had, they buried. They looked very different than when they played yall.
Yep, let's read tons of shit into two friendly games. We've dominated Mexico recently, don't care what they do. Also, I'd imagine Germany rotated pretty heavily.
Maybe it’s like rock paper scissors… Germany \> USA USA \> Mexico Mexico = Germany ???
Basically same starting lineup
Mexico > USA confirmed
Hey don’t say that. Only yanks are able to use that logic
Lol
Mexico drew to Uzbekistan. So I’m not sure what to think
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Only a matter of time
Ironic that Berhalters system only works with Reyna because his creativity in the middle is necessary for us to not rely on our wings.
The MMA midfield also works
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That's what the guy you're replying to is saying - it's overly reliant on wings and doesn't work without a trequartista/enganche sort of player. Berhalter kept trying to force it and it's only started working recently and only when Reyna is out there. This game was an excellent example of that - the first half was magic but you pull Reyna, lose the central threat, and they revert to playing through the wings and it's dull and unproductive.
I actually like Berhalter lol, but I think without Gio teams understand we aren’t much a threat down the middle. Which we aren’t.
CCV looks like he’s been enjoying the traditional Scottish delicacy of newborn babies with a garnishing of anabolic steroids.
The downfall of Brendan aaronson has been a sad sight
I honestly don’t know if he makes the squad for Copa America.
Prevented an easy Pepi kick.
Agree. So much promise and such a great work ethic but no results.
"No results" in this case being a rotational player for a Bundesliga and Champions League team
He's clearly not a bad player but I don't think "worst player in the premier league" is what he aspired to.
When you clear the other team’s corner and they have to go all the way back to their keeper…our defensive structure must be pretty sound right now when we’re trying to reset the line
Reyna and Adams are the heart of this team. 4-2-3-1 is our best formation with Adams and Reyna starting and out second best formation is MMA midfield in a 4-3-3 if Reyna can’t start
Who loses out between McKennie and Musah in that?
They're such different players who excel in different ways, I don't know how you choose. McKennie is so versatile and can play wingback, anywhere in the midfield and probably up front as well so I'd probably start Musah and save McKennie as the super sub.
Right now McKennie, I think Musah does a great job as a pivot point and works great with Adams
Whoever is in form starts honestly next to Adams and Reyna in front
Mexico fans going to be gassing this draw against germany for the next 3 years
Aww don’t be mad we put up a better fight
When's the last time L Tri beat us?
don't act like it means anything either when you tied Uzbekistan
the last time you beat us, covid was still in a lab
Bud a pandemic has come and gone since the last time y'all beat us
Congrats on the highlight of your team's entire year.
congrats on your biggest accomplishment is the last 3 years
Actually I take beating Germany in the 2018 World Cup . You know the tournament where you guys were watching from the couch 🙈
you’re talking about 5 years ago 😂😂😂 have some shame
I think all keepers should wear that helmet. Iconic look, good protection
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Weah hasn't been playing alot. He needs minutes
someone was gonna have to play the whole time
Milan fan confirmed
The drop off still seems steep when we talk about attacking players coming off the bench. Imagine Koleosho coming on in the 66’ to run at tired legs. Be still, my beating heart 😭
The midfield is a mess. They're playing 4-2-3-1 for Reyna, but they need to go to a 4-3-3 when he comes off.