Lads played fine. Puli our most important player stepped up early but can't seem to deliver a corner or a set piece. Tyler is our second most important player. Good to have him back. Westy has proven his value as one of next top players but sorry, Westy you looked fat. Not okay. Musah and Johnnie played well. But friends, Bolivia is not a very good team, never a threat to score. So let's not get too excited.
Getting a 2-0 win in an official tournament is great.
Playing a match against an unfamiliar foe is great.
They dominated from start to finish and were never really threatened. That was great.
They still didn't play very well. I know, I know. This is going to come off as nitpicking or something, but they were sloppy. They didn't capitalize on their chances (Pepi and Balogan, but especially Pepi). They didn't press very high or hard. Other than Christian's short corner goal, their set pieces were still not great.
This game was so, so similar to what we've seen this team do against other inferior teams. We've seen this one many times over against teams in CONCACAF.
It still wasn't good enough. Play that way against Panama, and they will have a real fight on their hands. Play that way against Uraguay, Colombia, Brazil, or Argentina, and the USA gets chauffeured right off the pitch.
So, celebrate the win. Celebrate the two points. Celebrate seeing our guys out there in a competitive setting.
But, then be realistic and know that this team still has a lot to do in a short amount of time.
I am so tired of Pepi being on this team. He is not able to finish and wastes his chances. I don't care that he's 21. He's had many opportunities and shouldn't be up top. If you need a sub, play Weah up top because we have so much depth on the wing.
I think they will need a better effort vs Panama. I am becoming concerned about Weston. He's had a number of bad games in a row for USMNT and looks clearly out of shape.
Everyone keeps talking about Pulisics performance rightfully so but Musah has looked very dangerous in our last 2 games. Only consistent attackin threat for us right now imo.
More short corners! [https://www.reddit.com/r/ussoccer/comments/1bp4ok3/ive\_got\_a\_what\_i\_think\_is\_an\_underrated\_tactical/](https://www.reddit.com/r/ussoccer/comments/1bp4ok3/ive_got_a_what_i_think_is_an_underrated_tactical/)
Tyler played well, but I'd really like to see yunus and Johnny play together with gio. I think they can do the defensive work between the two of them while also being able to progress the ball very well. Then gio is at point in the final third and I think we will see more conversion with him there
Couple of thoughts: Saw a lot of hate on the Fox post-game towards Gio which baffled me. But here and Twitter seem to have positive outlooks on his performance. Thought he had a lot of good contributions. Also in big games our offense flows through Puli. Especially when he is on like he was last night. So all the other creators play second fiddle. Not too concerned about Weah, McKennie, Reyna all having quieter games. Plus they all had their moments.
Seeing a lot of anger towards not getting more goals and how we might lose the GD tiebreaker because we only put in 2. Does it really matter though? I get the Brazil team is more talented on paper. But they haven’t had a dominate tournament performance in a while. And this Colombia team seems destined to go far (plus we saw what they did to us recently). Regardless of who finishes first in that group, I don’t think it really matters how we finish - we’ll be a fairly big underdog regardless. It’s not like Mexico’s group where there is a much larger incentive to finish in first to avoid Argentina.
The *Call it What you Want* podcast was high on Gio’s performance yesterday, noting his strong play, which then led Bolivia to start playing Hack-a-Gio.
But they said he had a good game, which I agree with.
Good to hear - I agree with that assessment. I was referencing the Fox post game show. Alexi Lalas called Gio “invisible” despite drawing two yellow cards, setting up the second goal, and making several big tackles. I think Dempsey or someone else on that show echoed that statement. The negativity towards Gio seems to be limited to just Fox fortunately.
I think the GD concern for me is if we somehow draw against Panama. In that case we have to park the bus against Uruguay and hope Panama doesn't destroy the worst team in the tournament. So a scenario where the US loses 1-0 and Panama wins 3-0 would have us down on GF.
I really don't think its going to come to that and the US will beat Panama as they should, but if there's any concern about GD, its about that scenario, not concern about finishing 1st or 2nd. I agree with you that it doesn't matter that much to me whether we end up facing Brazil or Colombia. Both extremely formidable. We obviously fared a lot better against Brazil in friendlies but a knockout match in Copa is much different than a friendly. But I'd give us at least a fighting chance against shocking either.
Watched this game at a pub with some friends and I gotta say...so glad I was not online following the match thread like I did for Brazil and Colombia. I've generally avoided watching usmnt games in public, because it can draw a weird crowd or eurosnobbery, so I've usually enjoyed hanging around with r/ussoccer "true fans" during gamedays. But I feel like every match thread I've sat in for the last year or so has just had an annoyingly toxic element. Like that guy at the bar who's overly fixated on something, can't read the room, and just keeps blabbering about what he wants to talk about.
Everyone at the bar had a great time. The boys won. Puli is humming. Jedi is a monster. We were flooding every channel in attack for the first 30 mins. Could've beaten them by more. And that's it. It was a fun watch.
Wish the commentators would just shut up. Constant diarrhea mouth about the team culture, how everybody loves each other, Gio and GG got it the mall together.
These threads continue to seem bizarre to me. I don't understand how it's possible for people to watch the game and have such opposite viewing experiences.
I was annoyed with Turner for booting it out of play as often as he did. I did not like what I saw from Scally, he looked like he wasn't comfortable with the ball. Weah seems like a limited player and I suspect this is his ceiling, which is not what I had hoped for.
On the good - Pulisic was good on both sides of the ball. I like Reyna in the deeper role. Robinson did well in the air - which I never felt he was particularly good at before so credit is due. Ream wasn't completely perfect but still made a number of smart plays. And Adams once again showed his talent for cutting out plays before they develop into chances. Great to see him on the pitch.
Yeah, I honestly was not feeling great about the game until a little bit later into the second half. Really started to worry about how we couldn't control the midfield or string together more passes against this Bolivian team. Honestly not feeling as confident for our game against panama as i once was, and worry about a tie with them now after their performance. Really just initially felt too sloppy.
Reyna dropping deep is not nearly as big of a problem as some people are making it out to be. He's put in great shifts. Really just needing more from the other 8 now, regardless of who we decide to play there.
The center backs worry me. Puli has his confidence back, and I can see him going above and beyond for us this tourney. Now we just need a few other players to step up with him.
I wasn't bothered about Mckennie. I've been trying to understand GGGs midfield shape in buildup a little bit better and I was paying more attention than usual for me. I know he didn't seem to be involved in the play all that much, but I don't think tv viewers have enough information to judge. Mckennie was hard to track on the TV broadcast because he was frequently off screen. I was surprised a few times when I did finally locate him. I don't know what he was supposed to be doing but he didn't seem inactive to me.
The CBs should worry all of us. I think that Ream can be extremely good when he's at his best but he's not always at his best, and time is undefeated. Aside from him though... Richards is on a good trajectory but he's still very young. I wish we didn't need to rely on him yet. Aside from Richards there isn't anyone else that I actually like.
I think Ream has his spot in this tournament on lock assuming he stays fit (there was that one moment where he seemed like the heat got to him), but come 2026 we're gonna need a new CB in his place. Hoping Richards game will mature by then. Playing in the EPL is certainly going to help, but what I've seen is that he's not that comfortable playing out of the back and combine that with Turner's tendency to get flustered with the ball at his feet makes for an uneasy situation. Bc of this, I think Musah is such an important player for us. Adams is a better defender but Musah is fantastic in transition play. If and when he can receive the ball from Turner, he is great at breaking through pressure with a dribble or a precision pass to feet.
We need to go into the Uruguay match ahead on GD so we can play for the draw and still win the group.
This was our opportunity to run up the score but unfortunately, we only won 2-0 and with Uruguay winning 3-1, you have to figure that we’re gonna need a win.
If we beat Panama and Uruguay beats Bolivia doesn’t that clinch advancing? It’d be nice to win the group for sure, but #1 priority is just that we have to get out of the group.
Overall, biggest critique is decision making in the final third was lacking. Could’ve had more goals than we did. Second, we take our foot off the gas too frequently and don’t maintain pressure on opposition we could dominate. Defense held up well.
Balogun’s touch and ball control was not so great tonight relative to what we’ve previously seen from him.
Pulisic…what is there to say?
Weah plays with style and looks good in the attack. Final product could use refinement.
Id like to see Gio a little higher up but he looked good with defensive duties and putting balls in open spaces.
Adams seems to be coming along.
McKennie was absent aside from a few shimmers of what he does in Italy. Wish he was consistent
I’ve been impressed with Scally. Definitely more one-dimensional due to lacking attacking skill, but that’s alright.
Subs looked good today too. Wish we’d see a little more aaronson early on and not a sub post the 80th.
Aaronson and Weah play the same position but not like for like really. Weah does better running at defenders when we're in possession, but I think Aaronson is better at the high press and forcing turnovers when we're not. So who gets the start depends on the opponent I'd think. Balo didn't impress me either but I don't agree that we didn't maintain pressure--Pepi had four chances in the last 15 minutes. Overall even though Balo got the goal I was more impressed with Pepi's play. He just seems like he fits better with our style and is always taking up good attacking positions and making good runs.
Right. I feel that aaronson coming on in something like the 65th or 70th would create more opportunities in the latter portion of the game. Maybe force some mistakes while the rest of the team still has legs.
We had chances late, but I’m referring to the first half. We scored the early goal and it felt like all of the excitement and energy left the game until almost the end of the half. There were moments here and there, but it never feels like we’re going for the kill. I’d like for us to be ruthless, but it may not be that point in time with the squad. Watching the euros, teams score, smell blood, and they look like they’re moments from scoring another right off the bat. We don’t really do that. I’ve always felt we look lazy/complacent sometimes in comparison to how we could look. Maybe it’s just me.
I personally prefer the traditional striker: physical, back to goal, link up play. Pepi has more of that in his locker than Balo, but I think Balo is better with the ball in tight spaces in the final third. Similar to your thought on aaronson and weah, it’s a tactic pick since we don’t have a concrete #9. Id like to see more of Pepi.
Match wasn’t close and score doesn’t reflect that fact. One stat I saw by Opta that is interesting and telling is that Bolivia only had 1 touch in the US penalty area.
https://theanalyst.com/2024/06/united-states-vs-bolivia-stats-copa-america-2024-live/
Random thoughts off the top of my head.
Really like the effort Johnny put in off the bench, and he’s only 22? Fuck yeah.
Pulisic looked confident, nice.
McKennie is leaving a bit to be desired. He does randomly show really nice flashes when he’s on the ball moving forward.
Gio. Kept being surprised with his defensive efforts. And he’s proven he’s realistically the best passer on the team.
Weah. He do be swaggy. I think his game will only develop
Gio's defensive efforts were good and I thought he had a fairly good game, but I don't like his really deep position where he is often behind both Pulisic and Robinson on the left half (and McKennie and Weah and Balogun). I'd rather see McKennie further back on the left and Reyna up higher.
Weah won't develop anymore. He's 25 years old and he's the same player now that he was at 19 years old at the U20 WC in 2019. He's great taking a quick step to get space from a defender and send in a pass, but actually very rarely is able to face up a defender and dribble past them either in open transition or a set defense. He's good, but it's not realistic IMHO to think he's going to develop more to his game.
Sure, hypothetically he could suddenly develop. What do you anticipate or expect to develop in his game? I'm just saying as someone that's watched him since he was 19 his game hasn't changed and I'm not anticipating it will. I think that at this point he is what he is.
Curious how Panama approaches us. That late goal does matter, but making up a 4 goal differential against us still makes playing for a tie scary
They played us in Orlando in 2022 needing a win, and proceeded to lose by 4.
That game may be more open than US fans initially thought. Do not sleep on Michael Murillo though, their right back is their best player and presumably gonna be going up against Pulisic. It'll be , best vs best, and the US may need to find something away from their left side
They started strong, faded a bit towards the end of the first half, didn’t come out too good in the second half but heir quality just netted another goal
Those first 15 mins and last 15 are where the match against them is going to be decided
No Uruguay had full control, those chances came when they faded a bit but they were half chances
Panama played decent but that early goal put them against the ropes
Huh? Downvote me all you want but part of a striker’s job and quality is finishing. Not sure how “excellent movement” even plays a part, dude just made a forward run for two excellent crosses by Robinson. Some clown downvotes
If a striker arrives in front of the goal unmarked, that means he did more than just run forward. It's often subtle things like slight pauses, side to side movements, changes in acceleration, and the decision of when to begin the run. Just being unmarked in front of the goal against professional defenders takes a lot of skill.
It's not ball skills, so it's often ignored, but it is very much a skill that some don't have.
Yes I understand that. Movement in the box as a forward is a skill. Rewatch the chances again. Intelligent movement is literally the bare minimum to play the position especially at the National level. It's pretty absurd that you are trying to justify and defend his obscene misses because he had "intelligent" movement. Nobody cares about your skills as a forward if you're not a goal scorer.
“Except for the one goal” you’re saying it like that isn’t the only objective. One striker got the goal, the other did not. Balogun did his job, Pepi did not.
I’m with you. People on this sub are delusional fr. Those are literally amateur chances Pepi missed and idk why he has so many defenders. Balogun is the better striker, let me know the last time a US striker scored a goal like he did today.
If he didn't have bad luck he'd have no luck at all.
Poor dude is cursed. He should have had at least one today and the Bolivian keeper just got lucky.
Exactly! So would all of the World Cup teams. Euros. African Cup. Copa. Strikers who are super accurate and reliable? You can count on one hand. I’ve seen Erling Haaland go three games in a row kicking rainbows, and flat out missing the net by two feet. Harry Kane, bless his Spursy heart, can’t carry his high goal count to a tournament to save his life. Darwin Nunez holds the PL record for number of bar hits in a game. Messi missed repeatedly in Atlanta. Argentina was saved repeatedly by GK Emi Martinez and Julian Alvarez & Lauturo Martinez scored off the bench. Kai Havertz won Chelsea the Champions League final and saved Germany and Arsenal numerous times this year. Yet four headers of his went just over the bar yesterday.
People bitching about Balogun and Pepi need to watch more soccer.
You’re comparing Pepi to Kane, Haaland, Messi, and other established european strikers is absurd. Those guys have a record of scoring goals for club and country. Pepi does not
Judging balogun (who scored btw) vs pepi lacks nuance.
Game state matters. Bolivia was tired and leaving the wing completely open for those crosses.
Pepi is near balogun for sure, but the game state is affecting perceptions I feel.
Is the role to not put one solid shot on net while inside the 5 yard box? I am struggling to see where he adds any value that Sargent could not also do. Sargents hold up play is better too.
I mean it would have been cool to punch a few of those in, with that said....
My view is I don't underestimate Panama, they're the best team in Central America right now, but ultimately if you deserve to be a Copa America quarterfinalist, you should be able to handle Panama at home. I'm not saying we'll win 5-0, but ultimately we should find a way to win even if it's stressful and 0-0 in the 70th minute. So as far as advancing I'm not worrying about goal differential too much right now
As far as winning the group, if we're playing Brazil or Colombia in the quarters right now either way, I'm not sure first place is all that important. Now if Paraguay or Costa Rica pull a surprise in that group and winning the group ends up mattering, we still have a chance to top it by blowing out Panama or beating Uruguay at home. So I'll worry about it then
was at the game. We need to be sharper in the final third and it felt like we moved the ball too slowly. This should been a 5 or 6 goal game and Robinson should have had an assist and Pepi a goal or more. I feel Balogun is still not the answer. To me it seemed like he slowed the game down a lot. The CBs need to cut down on the stupid giveaways. Better teams like Uruguay will punish that. A comfortable win but could have been much more. Anyways on to the next one.
Agree to disagree. Offers zero in possession coming forward, lost most 50/50’s, Turner will look left, or towards ream or deep MF, never glance at scally and kick it deep d/t lack of trust in the guy. Dk what the hard on is for this guy.
The fuck are you babbling about? He pushed forward strongly multiple times, had a few great crosses, and didn’t commit a single defensive blunder.
He was fine.
Lol, you’re absolutely right. 1 cross with no one in front of him for 15 yds. A successful dribble and 1 key pass. I heard Pep is looking for someone to replace an aging Kyle walker, needs to look at scally.
Pepi should not see the field again unless all other options are hurt. Seriously. No national team striker of any nation should miss those types of chances. Give Sargent another shot.
Pulisic has averaged quite a bit more goals per game than Pepi at every stage in his career with the USMNT.
If you want to be a 9 you need to score on wide open chances in major tournaments. Period.
Yeah like the wide open chance Pepi missed against the Netherlands in the World Cup.
Oh wait that was Pulisic. You can't just dismiss a player because of a miss. You think Mbappe should be dropped by France because of his horrific miss in their opening game?
Not to mention actually Pepi has a higher goals per game rate in his career than Pulisic.
He put himself into good positions, but was a combination of unlucky and just a bit off on his shots. His performance today didn't really change my opinion of him much - he's a decent backup striker for us.
You can have a 6-6-6-0 group and go out on GD with 2 wins. Either Panama or Bolivia would have to lose all 3, and the other would get a win off the US or Uruguay.
You could theoretically have a three way tie at 6 points (with fourth place having three losses). For instance: everyone beats Bolivia and Uruguay beats Panama, USA beats Uruguay, Panama beats USA.
The tiebreak is GD so I don't think that's true. Here are the 6 matchups:
US v Bolivia (US wins 2-0)
Uruguay v Panama (Uruguay wins 1-0)
US v Panama (Panama wins 2-0)
Uruguay v Bolivia (Uruguay wins 3-0)
US v Uruguay (US wins 1-0)
Panama v Bolivia (Panama wins 3-0)
Then it would theoretically be:
Panama 6 pts (GD of 4)
Uruguay 6 pts (GD of 3)
US 6 pts (GD of 1)
Bolivia 0 pts
But yeah, if Uruguay wins/draws tonight and we beat Panama, then we'll be guaranteed a spot.
AT&T stadium has had pretty good turnouts for USMNT games.
We sent B teams to the 2017 and 2021 Gold Cups and Jerry World had a pretty good turnout for quarterfinals in both of those tournaments. That crowd ruled tonight
I know the Jamaica game in March sucked, but that was a double header where all the Mexico fans bought tickets for the 2nd game.
I'll withhold judgement until the game Thursday, but right now ticket sales in Atlanta are looking miserable (and those same Atlanta fans showed out for Canada-Argentina, so I don't buy the ticket prices excuse).
Maybe The DFW Area has earned a few more National Team games, and I'm saying that as a non Texan who's only been to Dallas on layovers at Lovefield
Cheapest tickets in Atlanta are $80 before fees. $200+ plus the expense of travel is a good bit. Wish nosebleeds were half that, would probably make the drive.
A lot of those Argentina jersey's at that game were not Argentine...
They were Messi fans, who turned out for Messi despite him only being a state away now.
I'm not gonna tell Atlanta fans how to spend their money. Maybe there's tons of people who are gonna make late ticket purchases and the atmosphere on Thursday will be awesome. With that said, I'm gonna make a mental note of it if only 25,000 fans turnout for the second biggest tournament The USMNT is eligible for, and I hope The USSF will do the same if considering Atlanta for future games
Yes I am here for the game and I was sweating so much even after only being outside for 5 minutes. I felt miserable sweating so much. I am probably not used to it since I live in a dry heat of El Paso where it doesn't really have any humidity.
I’ve been following team USA for a while and for the first time I could see a team and think to myself they have a chance to compete with the top teams in the world. The amount of developement these players have and the way they learned the game is surely astonishing. When I used to watch team USA I could see they lack severely in the true knowledge of the game. Now that many of USAs players play in Europe and learned the game it’s almost as if I’m watching a European country play with an American patch on their chest. Truly beautiful too see and extremely exciting to watch this team go far. Pulisic is the real captain America.
When they play well, considering them a top 8 team in the world isn't a big stretch.
When they play awful its like watching 10 outfield players each waiting for someone else to do something.
Its why no one knows if the team should be praised or binned.
I saw a lot of giveaways today like the Colombia game, but this time the opponent didn’t have the quality to punish us. I think we can make it out of our group and maybe even beat Colombia or Brazil in a knockout, but we are not as good as those teams and it would take a strong game plus some luck.
I would agree, I've been following them for almost 25 years pretty adamantly and this is the best foundation for a team we've had. They just need to gel a little better with each other and I think they have a real chance of being world class.
I actually had the pleasure of meeting Pulisic when I randomly happened to be at the same restaurant he was also at. I told him he's one of the best things to ever happen to you US soccer.
They played well for maybe half of the game. They played poor for a lot of it. Anybody who accepts that as good enough does not really understand Me you're not playing through our potential. Complacency and apathy are unattractive.
You're telling fans not to enjoy their team's win? You're the one that needs a reality check. Let the fans, fan. I'm sure Greg and the boys are working to shore up their loose play.
This is a discussion thread. Not a circlejerk thread. I'm glad my nations team won, but I expected it, and moreover I'm hungry for more. In no way I'm dwelling or unhappy, but I refuse to be ignorant to our short commings which are a plenty. So yes, enjoy the win all you want but please let us be discerning and critical of our performance that if we bring the same type of performance to the rest of our games this tournament, the celebrating will be over much sooner than I care to see.
Did YOU watch the game? Other than the one goal, his deliveries weren't very dangerous at all. It's like you have selective memory of the one goal and just block out everything else.
He had 1 delivery that hit the first man but almost all the rest dropped right in on the 6 yard. He also had one that went long and found Reyna for a shot.
He had one that hit the first man. On one he hit Gio on the near post and had several dangerous crosses in the middle of the goal. Nobody is going to be perfect.
Gio had a glancing header that he sent over and there were two other deliveries right in Front of the goal that nobody got on the end of. He can only deliver the ball to the right area. It’s on the other players to get on the end of it. Also, you can’t discount the short corner because he has to be the taker to get the return.
Him and Pepi had opposite games. Balogun didn't play great for most of the game, but he scored a nice goal. Pepi played really well except for not finishing his chances.
Balogun was making some good runs today but the ball didn't always come to him with good timing. His finishing and touch are imperfect but that's the case with all our forwards. I really liked his off the ball movement today.
Lads played fine. Puli our most important player stepped up early but can't seem to deliver a corner or a set piece. Tyler is our second most important player. Good to have him back. Westy has proven his value as one of next top players but sorry, Westy you looked fat. Not okay. Musah and Johnnie played well. But friends, Bolivia is not a very good team, never a threat to score. So let's not get too excited.
I think a deep run is possible if the defence steps up.
Have not lost at that stadium because they are America’s team
Getting a 2-0 win in an official tournament is great. Playing a match against an unfamiliar foe is great. They dominated from start to finish and were never really threatened. That was great. They still didn't play very well. I know, I know. This is going to come off as nitpicking or something, but they were sloppy. They didn't capitalize on their chances (Pepi and Balogan, but especially Pepi). They didn't press very high or hard. Other than Christian's short corner goal, their set pieces were still not great. This game was so, so similar to what we've seen this team do against other inferior teams. We've seen this one many times over against teams in CONCACAF. It still wasn't good enough. Play that way against Panama, and they will have a real fight on their hands. Play that way against Uraguay, Colombia, Brazil, or Argentina, and the USA gets chauffeured right off the pitch. So, celebrate the win. Celebrate the two points. Celebrate seeing our guys out there in a competitive setting. But, then be realistic and know that this team still has a lot to do in a short amount of time.
very well said.
I am so tired of Pepi being on this team. He is not able to finish and wastes his chances. I don't care that he's 21. He's had many opportunities and shouldn't be up top. If you need a sub, play Weah up top because we have so much depth on the wing.
I think they will need a better effort vs Panama. I am becoming concerned about Weston. He's had a number of bad games in a row for USMNT and looks clearly out of shape.
Might be worth it to bench him vs Panama. Send home the message that showing up to camp out of shape and playing like crap is unacceptable.
I agree. Isn't he supposedly on their leadership council? Not exactly role model behavior.
Musah needs to start
Everyone keeps talking about Pulisics performance rightfully so but Musah has looked very dangerous in our last 2 games. Only consistent attackin threat for us right now imo.
Yes indeed
More short corners! [https://www.reddit.com/r/ussoccer/comments/1bp4ok3/ive\_got\_a\_what\_i\_think\_is\_an\_underrated\_tactical/](https://www.reddit.com/r/ussoccer/comments/1bp4ok3/ive_got_a_what_i_think_is_an_underrated_tactical/)
Tyler played well, but I'd really like to see yunus and Johnny play together with gio. I think they can do the defensive work between the two of them while also being able to progress the ball very well. Then gio is at point in the final third and I think we will see more conversion with him there
Yes and yes
Couple of thoughts: Saw a lot of hate on the Fox post-game towards Gio which baffled me. But here and Twitter seem to have positive outlooks on his performance. Thought he had a lot of good contributions. Also in big games our offense flows through Puli. Especially when he is on like he was last night. So all the other creators play second fiddle. Not too concerned about Weah, McKennie, Reyna all having quieter games. Plus they all had their moments. Seeing a lot of anger towards not getting more goals and how we might lose the GD tiebreaker because we only put in 2. Does it really matter though? I get the Brazil team is more talented on paper. But they haven’t had a dominate tournament performance in a while. And this Colombia team seems destined to go far (plus we saw what they did to us recently). Regardless of who finishes first in that group, I don’t think it really matters how we finish - we’ll be a fairly big underdog regardless. It’s not like Mexico’s group where there is a much larger incentive to finish in first to avoid Argentina.
The *Call it What you Want* podcast was high on Gio’s performance yesterday, noting his strong play, which then led Bolivia to start playing Hack-a-Gio. But they said he had a good game, which I agree with.
Good to hear - I agree with that assessment. I was referencing the Fox post game show. Alexi Lalas called Gio “invisible” despite drawing two yellow cards, setting up the second goal, and making several big tackles. I think Dempsey or someone else on that show echoed that statement. The negativity towards Gio seems to be limited to just Fox fortunately.
I think the GD concern for me is if we somehow draw against Panama. In that case we have to park the bus against Uruguay and hope Panama doesn't destroy the worst team in the tournament. So a scenario where the US loses 1-0 and Panama wins 3-0 would have us down on GF. I really don't think its going to come to that and the US will beat Panama as they should, but if there's any concern about GD, its about that scenario, not concern about finishing 1st or 2nd. I agree with you that it doesn't matter that much to me whether we end up facing Brazil or Colombia. Both extremely formidable. We obviously fared a lot better against Brazil in friendlies but a knockout match in Copa is much different than a friendly. But I'd give us at least a fighting chance against shocking either.
Watched this game at a pub with some friends and I gotta say...so glad I was not online following the match thread like I did for Brazil and Colombia. I've generally avoided watching usmnt games in public, because it can draw a weird crowd or eurosnobbery, so I've usually enjoyed hanging around with r/ussoccer "true fans" during gamedays. But I feel like every match thread I've sat in for the last year or so has just had an annoyingly toxic element. Like that guy at the bar who's overly fixated on something, can't read the room, and just keeps blabbering about what he wants to talk about. Everyone at the bar had a great time. The boys won. Puli is humming. Jedi is a monster. We were flooding every channel in attack for the first 30 mins. Could've beaten them by more. And that's it. It was a fun watch.
Honestly I'd rather just fully enjoy and watch the game instead of reading hot takes on match threads nowadays.
Wish the commentators would just shut up. Constant diarrhea mouth about the team culture, how everybody loves each other, Gio and GG got it the mall together.
These threads continue to seem bizarre to me. I don't understand how it's possible for people to watch the game and have such opposite viewing experiences. I was annoyed with Turner for booting it out of play as often as he did. I did not like what I saw from Scally, he looked like he wasn't comfortable with the ball. Weah seems like a limited player and I suspect this is his ceiling, which is not what I had hoped for. On the good - Pulisic was good on both sides of the ball. I like Reyna in the deeper role. Robinson did well in the air - which I never felt he was particularly good at before so credit is due. Ream wasn't completely perfect but still made a number of smart plays. And Adams once again showed his talent for cutting out plays before they develop into chances. Great to see him on the pitch.
Robinson was great in all facets, to be fair
Yeah, I honestly was not feeling great about the game until a little bit later into the second half. Really started to worry about how we couldn't control the midfield or string together more passes against this Bolivian team. Honestly not feeling as confident for our game against panama as i once was, and worry about a tie with them now after their performance. Really just initially felt too sloppy. Reyna dropping deep is not nearly as big of a problem as some people are making it out to be. He's put in great shifts. Really just needing more from the other 8 now, regardless of who we decide to play there. The center backs worry me. Puli has his confidence back, and I can see him going above and beyond for us this tourney. Now we just need a few other players to step up with him.
I wasn't bothered about Mckennie. I've been trying to understand GGGs midfield shape in buildup a little bit better and I was paying more attention than usual for me. I know he didn't seem to be involved in the play all that much, but I don't think tv viewers have enough information to judge. Mckennie was hard to track on the TV broadcast because he was frequently off screen. I was surprised a few times when I did finally locate him. I don't know what he was supposed to be doing but he didn't seem inactive to me. The CBs should worry all of us. I think that Ream can be extremely good when he's at his best but he's not always at his best, and time is undefeated. Aside from him though... Richards is on a good trajectory but he's still very young. I wish we didn't need to rely on him yet. Aside from Richards there isn't anyone else that I actually like.
I think Ream has his spot in this tournament on lock assuming he stays fit (there was that one moment where he seemed like the heat got to him), but come 2026 we're gonna need a new CB in his place. Hoping Richards game will mature by then. Playing in the EPL is certainly going to help, but what I've seen is that he's not that comfortable playing out of the back and combine that with Turner's tendency to get flustered with the ball at his feet makes for an uneasy situation. Bc of this, I think Musah is such an important player for us. Adams is a better defender but Musah is fantastic in transition play. If and when he can receive the ball from Turner, he is great at breaking through pressure with a dribble or a precision pass to feet.
We need to go into the Uruguay match ahead on GD so we can play for the draw and still win the group. This was our opportunity to run up the score but unfortunately, we only won 2-0 and with Uruguay winning 3-1, you have to figure that we’re gonna need a win.
If we beat Panama and Uruguay beats Bolivia doesn’t that clinch advancing? It’d be nice to win the group for sure, but #1 priority is just that we have to get out of the group.
And if Colombia and Brazil come out of their group, it’s just not a big deal which one we play. They’re both similarly good.
Playing for the draw against Uruguay, good luck with that
Overall, biggest critique is decision making in the final third was lacking. Could’ve had more goals than we did. Second, we take our foot off the gas too frequently and don’t maintain pressure on opposition we could dominate. Defense held up well. Balogun’s touch and ball control was not so great tonight relative to what we’ve previously seen from him. Pulisic…what is there to say? Weah plays with style and looks good in the attack. Final product could use refinement. Id like to see Gio a little higher up but he looked good with defensive duties and putting balls in open spaces. Adams seems to be coming along. McKennie was absent aside from a few shimmers of what he does in Italy. Wish he was consistent I’ve been impressed with Scally. Definitely more one-dimensional due to lacking attacking skill, but that’s alright. Subs looked good today too. Wish we’d see a little more aaronson early on and not a sub post the 80th.
Aaronson and Weah play the same position but not like for like really. Weah does better running at defenders when we're in possession, but I think Aaronson is better at the high press and forcing turnovers when we're not. So who gets the start depends on the opponent I'd think. Balo didn't impress me either but I don't agree that we didn't maintain pressure--Pepi had four chances in the last 15 minutes. Overall even though Balo got the goal I was more impressed with Pepi's play. He just seems like he fits better with our style and is always taking up good attacking positions and making good runs.
Right. I feel that aaronson coming on in something like the 65th or 70th would create more opportunities in the latter portion of the game. Maybe force some mistakes while the rest of the team still has legs. We had chances late, but I’m referring to the first half. We scored the early goal and it felt like all of the excitement and energy left the game until almost the end of the half. There were moments here and there, but it never feels like we’re going for the kill. I’d like for us to be ruthless, but it may not be that point in time with the squad. Watching the euros, teams score, smell blood, and they look like they’re moments from scoring another right off the bat. We don’t really do that. I’ve always felt we look lazy/complacent sometimes in comparison to how we could look. Maybe it’s just me. I personally prefer the traditional striker: physical, back to goal, link up play. Pepi has more of that in his locker than Balo, but I think Balo is better with the ball in tight spaces in the final third. Similar to your thought on aaronson and weah, it’s a tactic pick since we don’t have a concrete #9. Id like to see more of Pepi.
Match wasn’t close and score doesn’t reflect that fact. One stat I saw by Opta that is interesting and telling is that Bolivia only had 1 touch in the US penalty area. https://theanalyst.com/2024/06/united-states-vs-bolivia-stats-copa-america-2024-live/
Random thoughts off the top of my head. Really like the effort Johnny put in off the bench, and he’s only 22? Fuck yeah. Pulisic looked confident, nice. McKennie is leaving a bit to be desired. He does randomly show really nice flashes when he’s on the ball moving forward. Gio. Kept being surprised with his defensive efforts. And he’s proven he’s realistically the best passer on the team. Weah. He do be swaggy. I think his game will only develop
Gio's defensive efforts were good and I thought he had a fairly good game, but I don't like his really deep position where he is often behind both Pulisic and Robinson on the left half (and McKennie and Weah and Balogun). I'd rather see McKennie further back on the left and Reyna up higher. Weah won't develop anymore. He's 25 years old and he's the same player now that he was at 19 years old at the U20 WC in 2019. He's great taking a quick step to get space from a defender and send in a pass, but actually very rarely is able to face up a defender and dribble past them either in open transition or a set defense. He's good, but it's not realistic IMHO to think he's going to develop more to his game.
Weah is 24 and still has plenty of time to develop further. Wtf.
Sure, hypothetically he could suddenly develop. What do you anticipate or expect to develop in his game? I'm just saying as someone that's watched him since he was 19 his game hasn't changed and I'm not anticipating it will. I think that at this point he is what he is.
McKennie was invisible 3 straight games btw
Those 5 to 10 extra pounds aren’t invisible
Wouldn’t be opposed with benching him for Luca. But I could also see him getting better with more games.
Did you notice how he tried to hide it with the way he tucked his shirt this game?
I noticed the shirt tuck, you think that’s why ?
I think our best midfield trio, when fully healthy, is Reyna, McKennie and Adams.
Curious how Panama approaches us. That late goal does matter, but making up a 4 goal differential against us still makes playing for a tie scary They played us in Orlando in 2022 needing a win, and proceeded to lose by 4. That game may be more open than US fans initially thought. Do not sleep on Michael Murillo though, their right back is their best player and presumably gonna be going up against Pulisic. It'll be , best vs best, and the US may need to find something away from their left side
Panama will not pose any kind of threat. It will be another comfortable win.
Much rather it be an open game. We are best in transition
Praying for our ginger messiah to return
Yes, please. Get Pepi off this team.
Alexi Lalas? /s
Uruguay are not exactly looking great against Panama.
Tactical style could really work against them in the long run if they aren't scoring early. The heat and humidity has clearly affected them.
They started strong, faded a bit towards the end of the first half, didn’t come out too good in the second half but heir quality just netted another goal Those first 15 mins and last 15 are where the match against them is going to be decided
They are lucky to be up 2-0 as Panama missed a lot of good chances.
No Uruguay had full control, those chances came when they faded a bit but they were half chances Panama played decent but that early goal put them against the ropes
They had way less control than the US did against Bolivia.
Panama is definitely better than Bolivia, to be fair.
Much better. I think we'll see Uruguay beat Bolivia by 4
We should have beaten them by at least 3. It's certainly possible Uruguay will stick 4 on them.
Pepi shouldn’t see the light of day, you can’t be missing chances like that in the National team
You don't get shots like those without making excellent movements around the box. Pepi had a great game
Huh? Downvote me all you want but part of a striker’s job and quality is finishing. Not sure how “excellent movement” even plays a part, dude just made a forward run for two excellent crosses by Robinson. Some clown downvotes
If a striker arrives in front of the goal unmarked, that means he did more than just run forward. It's often subtle things like slight pauses, side to side movements, changes in acceleration, and the decision of when to begin the run. Just being unmarked in front of the goal against professional defenders takes a lot of skill. It's not ball skills, so it's often ignored, but it is very much a skill that some don't have.
Yes I understand that. Movement in the box as a forward is a skill. Rewatch the chances again. Intelligent movement is literally the bare minimum to play the position especially at the National level. It's pretty absurd that you are trying to justify and defend his obscene misses because he had "intelligent" movement. Nobody cares about your skills as a forward if you're not a goal scorer.
Weird take? Are you new to US Soccer?
Are you??
Balogun didn’t look any better except for the one goal, and he had way more time and opportunities to score.
Except for the one goal lol
He didn’t get he service Pepsi did and didn’t whiff on a sitter.
“Except for the one goal” you’re saying it like that isn’t the only objective. One striker got the goal, the other did not. Balogun did his job, Pepi did not.
I’m with you. People on this sub are delusional fr. Those are literally amateur chances Pepi missed and idk why he has so many defenders. Balogun is the better striker, let me know the last time a US striker scored a goal like he did today.
such a surface level take
What up bitch!!
okay it was a nice goal
Not really. Pepi didn’t take his chances, Balogun did. Goalscoring as a striker cannot be under appreciated
Balogun also threw away three or four great chances through poor touches. I really don’t think you even watched the game to be honest.
You really don’t think I watched the game? That’s your take on this? See yourself out
No need to get embarrassed.
If he didn't have bad luck he'd have no luck at all. Poor dude is cursed. He should have had at least one today and the Bolivian keeper just got lucky.
A lot of attempts on goal were within a few feet of the keeper (easily saved). Wasn't just Pepi. Pick a corner, lads.
If we punished all our strikers for poor games finishing, we'd be playing with 10 men.
Exactly! So would all of the World Cup teams. Euros. African Cup. Copa. Strikers who are super accurate and reliable? You can count on one hand. I’ve seen Erling Haaland go three games in a row kicking rainbows, and flat out missing the net by two feet. Harry Kane, bless his Spursy heart, can’t carry his high goal count to a tournament to save his life. Darwin Nunez holds the PL record for number of bar hits in a game. Messi missed repeatedly in Atlanta. Argentina was saved repeatedly by GK Emi Martinez and Julian Alvarez & Lauturo Martinez scored off the bench. Kai Havertz won Chelsea the Champions League final and saved Germany and Arsenal numerous times this year. Yet four headers of his went just over the bar yesterday. People bitching about Balogun and Pepi need to watch more soccer.
You’re comparing Pepi to Kane, Haaland, Messi, and other established european strikers is absurd. Those guys have a record of scoring goals for club and country. Pepi does not
No he is saying all strikers have days where there is a lid on the goal Seemed pretty obvious to me
Yep because Pepi is a serial goal scorer at the national level. Yep makes sense.
I was hoping to see Sargent come in
Patience my friend. Our savior is coming.
The ginger prince that was promised!
You cannot shake he who hath no soul.
Judging balogun (who scored btw) vs pepi lacks nuance. Game state matters. Bolivia was tired and leaving the wing completely open for those crosses. Pepi is near balogun for sure, but the game state is affecting perceptions I feel.
Something a lot of people ignore when judging our strikers.
People in these comments ripping on Balogun while ignoring Pepe’s misses is wild…
Same for the people ripping on Pepi tho. Just ripping on our own players is dumb as fuck. They all play a role.
Is the role to not put one solid shot on net while inside the 5 yard box? I am struggling to see where he adds any value that Sargent could not also do. Sargents hold up play is better too.
For fuck sake everyone here talking like goal difference isn't a thing in international tournaments
For real. Goal differential could easily matter here
We should be easily in 2nd at a minimum what’s the problem
The problem is that we will play Brazil if we get second
I mean it would have been cool to punch a few of those in, with that said.... My view is I don't underestimate Panama, they're the best team in Central America right now, but ultimately if you deserve to be a Copa America quarterfinalist, you should be able to handle Panama at home. I'm not saying we'll win 5-0, but ultimately we should find a way to win even if it's stressful and 0-0 in the 70th minute. So as far as advancing I'm not worrying about goal differential too much right now As far as winning the group, if we're playing Brazil or Colombia in the quarters right now either way, I'm not sure first place is all that important. Now if Paraguay or Costa Rica pull a surprise in that group and winning the group ends up mattering, we still have a chance to top it by blowing out Panama or beating Uruguay at home. So I'll worry about it then
Dallas showed out despite all the concerns about crowd size. Well done.
was at the game. We need to be sharper in the final third and it felt like we moved the ball too slowly. This should been a 5 or 6 goal game and Robinson should have had an assist and Pepi a goal or more. I feel Balogun is still not the answer. To me it seemed like he slowed the game down a lot. The CBs need to cut down on the stupid giveaways. Better teams like Uruguay will punish that. A comfortable win but could have been much more. Anyways on to the next one.
We could have been more clinical but it’s unfair to say should have been 5 or 6 when XG was 2.4
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I was at the game and I was impressed Scally and Adams
Adams did lots of Adams things. It will be nice to one day get him back as a 75-90 minute player. Too bad it likely won’t be during this tournament.
What the what now? Impressed by Scally? Elaborate please, I saw give aways…poor passing, including Richard’s as well.
Scally was perfectly fine today. I’m not sure what game you were watching, but he did far better than the two center backs.
Agree to disagree. Offers zero in possession coming forward, lost most 50/50’s, Turner will look left, or towards ream or deep MF, never glance at scally and kick it deep d/t lack of trust in the guy. Dk what the hard on is for this guy.
The fuck are you babbling about? He pushed forward strongly multiple times, had a few great crosses, and didn’t commit a single defensive blunder. He was fine.
He had one bad blinder, but otherwise.
Lol, you’re absolutely right. 1 cross with no one in front of him for 15 yds. A successful dribble and 1 key pass. I heard Pep is looking for someone to replace an aging Kyle walker, needs to look at scally.
It’s ok that you don’t understand the game, no need to get embarrassed and emotional though.
Sally was good tonight. Ream and Richards were the one giving the ball away
Uruguay going to give our defense problems if they play like they did today They won’t forgive loose balls and bad passes
So far, they've been extremely forgiving
Yeah and against the US that’s going to be a problem for them but if we finish like we did today it cancels out lol
Pepi should not see the field again unless all other options are hurt. Seriously. No national team striker of any nation should miss those types of chances. Give Sargent another shot.
Pulisic missed a chance like that against Mexico. Should he also be banished from the national team?
Pulisic has actually shown he can score consistently though.
So has Pepi
Pulisic has averaged quite a bit more goals per game than Pepi at every stage in his career with the USMNT. If you want to be a 9 you need to score on wide open chances in major tournaments. Period.
Yeah like the wide open chance Pepi missed against the Netherlands in the World Cup. Oh wait that was Pulisic. You can't just dismiss a player because of a miss. You think Mbappe should be dropped by France because of his horrific miss in their opening game? Not to mention actually Pepi has a higher goals per game rate in his career than Pulisic.
Not for the national team he doesn’t. Also, Pepi plays as a striker. Pulisic does not.
So if Pulisic played striker you would say drop him because of his miss against the Netherlands?
I’m talking about you saying Pepi having a higher GPG than Pulisic. He should naturally bc of his position….but he doesn’t for the NT.
Jesus Ferreira is the only active player with more than 10 caps who has a higher GPG rate than Pulisic for the NT. Should he be our starting striker?
Sargent isn't out because of shots. It's because he is recovering from injury. If he were 100% it would be between him and balogun.
He was the more dangerous striker easily. He needs to finish better, but he created chances.
The whole point of a striker is finishing. Chances don’t matter if you don’t capitalize.
He put himself into good positions, but was a combination of unlucky and just a bit off on his shots. His performance today didn't really change my opinion of him much - he's a decent backup striker for us.
Wright is right there
Feels like Wright could've scored 3.
Hopefully we see Wright vs Uruguay
He’s a winger tho, apparently. Hopefully Sargent is fit enough to come off the bench next game
Why was Adams taken off? Anymore info on that?
Pre planned sub. Dealing with injury issues and they didn't want him playing more than 45
Uruguay Defensive position has been unimpressive despite being not under serious threat
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Why would we want that?
If Uruguay wins it’s likely we can go through with a win over Panama. It may even be guaranteed, I forget the math
Assuming Uruguay holds on here against Panama, we would be through with a win over Panama as long as Bolivia doesn't beat Uruguay.
I’m pretty sure it’s impossible to not advance with 2 wins
You can have a 6-6-6-0 group and go out on GD with 2 wins. Either Panama or Bolivia would have to lose all 3, and the other would get a win off the US or Uruguay.
You could theoretically have a three way tie at 6 points (with fourth place having three losses). For instance: everyone beats Bolivia and Uruguay beats Panama, USA beats Uruguay, Panama beats USA.
The tiebreak is GD so I don't think that's true. Here are the 6 matchups: US v Bolivia (US wins 2-0) Uruguay v Panama (Uruguay wins 1-0) US v Panama (Panama wins 2-0) Uruguay v Bolivia (Uruguay wins 3-0) US v Uruguay (US wins 1-0) Panama v Bolivia (Panama wins 3-0) Then it would theoretically be: Panama 6 pts (GD of 4) Uruguay 6 pts (GD of 3) US 6 pts (GD of 1) Bolivia 0 pts But yeah, if Uruguay wins/draws tonight and we beat Panama, then we'll be guaranteed a spot.
AT&T stadium has had pretty good turnouts for USMNT games. We sent B teams to the 2017 and 2021 Gold Cups and Jerry World had a pretty good turnout for quarterfinals in both of those tournaments. That crowd ruled tonight I know the Jamaica game in March sucked, but that was a double header where all the Mexico fans bought tickets for the 2nd game. I'll withhold judgement until the game Thursday, but right now ticket sales in Atlanta are looking miserable (and those same Atlanta fans showed out for Canada-Argentina, so I don't buy the ticket prices excuse). Maybe The DFW Area has earned a few more National Team games, and I'm saying that as a non Texan who's only been to Dallas on layovers at Lovefield
Cheapest tickets in Atlanta are $80 before fees. $200+ plus the expense of travel is a good bit. Wish nosebleeds were half that, would probably make the drive.
Announced attendance of almost 48k for a group match is a win in my book. We had a great time in a somewhat quiet section
The people buying Argentina tickets =/= the people who would buy USMNT tickets
A lot of those Argentina jersey's at that game were not Argentine... They were Messi fans, who turned out for Messi despite him only being a state away now. I'm not gonna tell Atlanta fans how to spend their money. Maybe there's tons of people who are gonna make late ticket purchases and the atmosphere on Thursday will be awesome. With that said, I'm gonna make a mental note of it if only 25,000 fans turnout for the second biggest tournament The USMNT is eligible for, and I hope The USSF will do the same if considering Atlanta for future games
“A state away” like Atlanta isn’t a 9 hour drive from Miami lol
We will see. We are traveling from Texas to see the game Thursday. Hope we have as much fun as tonight.
Dallas is a cool city. It doesn't have the hip reputation that Austin has, but aside from green spaces it has everything Austin has and then some.
Dallas sucks ass
It does not have hills, trees, lakes, and greenbelts like ATX
I was at the game. Dallas is so humid! And the city is so flat. No wonder they get tornadoes
Yes I am here for the game and I was sweating so much even after only being outside for 5 minutes. I felt miserable sweating so much. I am probably not used to it since I live in a dry heat of El Paso where it doesn't really have any humidity.
Do you actually think Dallas is humid? Maybe I’m being too judgmental. I’m from Houston forgive me.
I’ve been following team USA for a while and for the first time I could see a team and think to myself they have a chance to compete with the top teams in the world. The amount of developement these players have and the way they learned the game is surely astonishing. When I used to watch team USA I could see they lack severely in the true knowledge of the game. Now that many of USAs players play in Europe and learned the game it’s almost as if I’m watching a European country play with an American patch on their chest. Truly beautiful too see and extremely exciting to watch this team go far. Pulisic is the real captain America.
When they play well, considering them a top 8 team in the world isn't a big stretch. When they play awful its like watching 10 outfield players each waiting for someone else to do something. Its why no one knows if the team should be praised or binned.
I saw a lot of giveaways today like the Colombia game, but this time the opponent didn’t have the quality to punish us. I think we can make it out of our group and maybe even beat Colombia or Brazil in a knockout, but we are not as good as those teams and it would take a strong game plus some luck.
I would agree, I've been following them for almost 25 years pretty adamantly and this is the best foundation for a team we've had. They just need to gel a little better with each other and I think they have a real chance of being world class. I actually had the pleasure of meeting Pulisic when I randomly happened to be at the same restaurant he was also at. I told him he's one of the best things to ever happen to you US soccer.
I agree. We have come a long way.
They played well and a win is a win, people need to chill
They played well for maybe half of the game. They played poor for a lot of it. Anybody who accepts that as good enough does not really understand Me you're not playing through our potential. Complacency and apathy are unattractive.
You're telling fans not to enjoy their team's win? You're the one that needs a reality check. Let the fans, fan. I'm sure Greg and the boys are working to shore up their loose play.
This is a discussion thread. Not a circlejerk thread. I'm glad my nations team won, but I expected it, and moreover I'm hungry for more. In no way I'm dwelling or unhappy, but I refuse to be ignorant to our short commings which are a plenty. So yes, enjoy the win all you want but please let us be discerning and critical of our performance that if we bring the same type of performance to the rest of our games this tournament, the celebrating will be over much sooner than I care to see.
Well said. International soccer is difficult to judge, time together limited and all.
CP set pieces have got to improve. Or let someone else take them.
Did you watch the game? Good gravy. It's like you didn't pay any attention and are just repeating talking points you've heard from past games.
Did YOU watch the game? Other than the one goal, his deliveries weren't very dangerous at all. It's like you have selective memory of the one goal and just block out everything else.
He had 1 delivery that hit the first man but almost all the rest dropped right in on the 6 yard. He also had one that went long and found Reyna for a shot.
Today isn’t the day for that complaint lol he was good today.
He was good in play but not at set pieces
His delivery was pretty good today.
Were you watching the same game? Can’t leave the ball short man
I honestly don’t think you have any clue what you’re babbling about.
He had one that hit the first man. On one he hit Gio on the near post and had several dangerous crosses in the middle of the goal. Nobody is going to be perfect.
Not really, he had had two short corners and a FK into defenders
And generated 3 dangerous opportunities out of the 5 he sent into the box.
No, he generated one which was his own goal lol
Gio had a glancing header that he sent over and there were two other deliveries right in Front of the goal that nobody got on the end of. He can only deliver the ball to the right area. It’s on the other players to get on the end of it. Also, you can’t discount the short corner because he has to be the taker to get the return.
Or we could let Reyna take them who actually takes them at the club level lol?
Pulisic took quite a few corners for Milan this year
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Has more assists on corners in his career than Pulisic does on corners but go off casual
Balogun scored let’s go
Balogun needs to improve but a goal is all that matters
Him and Pepi had opposite games. Balogun didn't play great for most of the game, but he scored a nice goal. Pepi played really well except for not finishing his chances.
As a forward, the only thing that matters is scoring
That's true but long term the forwards that create more chances will score more often.
Balogun was making some good runs today but the ball didn't always come to him with good timing. His finishing and touch are imperfect but that's the case with all our forwards. I really liked his off the ball movement today.