soccer soccer soccer

[soccer10k]

not strong enough up top to create the lion's share of chances

 

not clinical enough to win via ruthlessness

 

not deep enough to outlast a team of this caliber after 3 high intensity games

 

Yeah. We're close but we're not quite good enough. It's not like we advanced out of the group but were smoked by England and the Netherlands.

[wolf stansson]

not strong enough up top to create the lion's share of chances

 

not clinical enough to win via ruthlessness

 

not deep enough to outlast a team of this caliber after 3 high intensity games

 

Yeah. We're close but we're not quite good enough. It's not like we advanced out of the group but were smoked by England and the Netherlands.

It was a good, not great, Cup while also leaving tons of room for very attainable improvement. I’m satisfied. Improve and mature the existing squad. Find a couple forwards. Build your identity around MMA. 2026 will be fun.

[wolf stansson]

I’m not sad at all. I’ve never felt more confident about the program. WNT is about to go upside the world’s head in a couple years. We got the Olympics, which we will take seriously with the lack of quali and other competitive games. I’m going to build a sports fan religion around Tyler Adams the way I did Deuce (wherever he goes, that’s my club team). I live more US players than ever because we are legit better than ever. Musah’s dev will be fascinating to watch. Reyna’s will be fascinating to watch. New coach probably.

 

I’ve never been an “it’s only a matter of time” guy when it comes to running a men’s cup, but I am am now. We will win a World Cup in my lifetime.

[Mark Priors Calves]

For those in the know, is the next wave of U.S. talent (U-20s, U-17s, etc.) having those need complimentary pieces that this current team needs for replacements and depth?

[UMFan83]

[scarey]

All three goals against were basically uncontested runners with the Dumfries' goal the most egregious. Very frustrating to see that.

 

There were times in the game that the US just looked way better athletically. Netherlands execution is very impressive though. I think both teams had an equal amount of good opportunities, but the Dutch were just more comfortable in those opportunities.

 

Dest has an unbelievably horrible game after the first 35 great minutes he had. I thought he looked like the weakest link throughout the tournament and felt I may have pre-judged his play in the first half.

 

This was the first time I got a chance to watch Reyna. He had a huge impact when he came in. Is he not starting because of his age? WTF?

 

Having a core of Adams, Pulisic, Reyna, Musah, Robinson, and Aaaronson will be a great start to the 2026 team. If Turner can keep up the high level of play into his 30s, I'm looking forward to what USMNT can do in the next 4 years.

[wolf stansson]

For those in the know, is the next wave of U.S. talent (U-20s, U-17s, etc.) having those need complimentary pieces that this current team needs for replacements and depth?

The stand outs from CONCACAF u-20 qualifying were our wingers and attacking midfield. Most outstanding, Brendan Aaronson’s lil bro Paxten. So no, but we’ve got plenty of time. Think of how few of these players were in the picture for this tournament back in 2018. Christian & Tyler, basically. For example: Pepi, even though it doesn’t feel like it, is still a premier striker prospect.

Edited December 3, 2022 by wolf stansson

[stitchface]

For me, it's a 7 of 10 world cup. Results exceeded my expectations to be honest. Need to be better in attack to put away teams like Wales and Iran. Need to be better in attack to take your chances against England and Netherlands. Need more depth to compete against Brazil/France. I like our chances for 2026 but definitely need more depth - chances of everyone being healthy are not great. My run down:

 

Keeper - Turner seems like a premier shot stopper - amongst the best in the world. Terrifying with the ball at his feet and I hate the amazing double save/jump up and punt the ball to the other team. Happy here but not super happy that he isn't playing at his club.

 

Outside backs - definitely need to be better both offensively and defensively. Dest does some amazing things but is more wingback than 2/3. Jedi amazingly athletic and works so hard but makes so many terrible touches and passes. Maybe he is young enough to improve or just be more focused? Probably not the weakest part of the team but the inability to play a decent cross hurts the scoring chances and both got beat by the wing back for goals in this game (the first goal was the left forward). The replay of the third goal is so painful to watch . . . it's a bit petty but I also thought Jedi dropped too far inside on the first goal.

 

Center backs - other than the Bale penalty, seemed pretty solid. Composed on the ball. I think Miles Robinson is a better option when healthy.

 

Tyler Adams - someone compared him to Kante. I'll buy it. Amazing and everywhere. Could still getter better with passing - Kante did.

 

Musah - hard to measure how important he is but I know from experience that mids that can keep possession are critical and the team is so much better when he is on the field,

 

McKennie - Works great with this midfield. I think the US needs a true 10 though to spark the attack. Could Gio play that role? Would also create midfield depth. I love Aaronson too but I don't see him as a true 10.

 

Forwards - not as bad as is being stated here. They lack cohesion (no one seems to know where to run). 9 is a black hole and that is a killer. Haji should have had three or four goals in this one (ok, that's probably hyperbole but). Pulisic is a very good player but he's not Messi or Mbappe. Weah is dangerous. The whole front line feels like less than the sum of its parts and I'll go ahead and blame the 9. Everything keys off the 9s movement. Fereira did well in the build up but then when he is dropped deep, there is no one up front and Pulisic and Weah are wing players.

 

Coach. Not a fan. Need a better coach to move to the next level. He's the Doug Collins - we need a Phil Jackson.

 

From where we were four years ago though - this is fantastic. I'll never forget playing Mexico and being completely dominated to the point of just booting balls forward and praying Pulisic could make a play.

[Rex Buckingham]

We need fullbacks who actually defend with more than speed (Jedi recovers well, but doesn't mark well), healthy CBs, and a striker who can put the ball in the back of the net. But there's a lot of promise and opportunity for growth.

 

Finding a way to get Reyna, Weah, Pulisic, Aaronson on the field with MMA would be great, but idk how you do that.

 

Hoping to see some attacking threats emerge.

[scarey]

I’m not sad at all. I’ve never felt more confident about the program. WNT is about to go upside the world’s head in a couple years. We got the Olympics, which we will take seriously with the lack of quali and other competitive games. I’m going to build a sports fan religion around Tyler Adams the way I did Deuce (wherever he goes, that’s my club team). I live more US players than ever because we are legit better than ever. Musah’s dev will be fascinating to watch. Reyna’s will be fascinating to watch. New coach probably.

 

I’ve never been an “it’s only a matter of time” guy when it comes to running a men’s cup, but I am am now. We will win a World Cup in my lifetime.

 

In past World Cup performances, it always felt like a missed opportunity to do more when the US was eliminated. I definitely have a much more positive outlook after this loss.

[stitchface]

I’m not sad at all. I’ve never felt more confident about the program. WNT is about to go upside the world’s head in a couple years. We got the Olympics, which we will take seriously with the lack of quali and other competitive games. I’m going to build a sports fan religion around Tyler Adams the way I did Deuce (wherever he goes, that’s my club team). I live more US players than ever because we are legit better than ever. Musah’s dev will be fascinating to watch. Reyna’s will be fascinating to watch. New coach probably.

 

I’ve never been an “it’s only a matter of time” guy when it comes to running a men’s cup, but I am am now. We will win a World Cup in my lifetime.

 

In past World Cup performances, it always felt like a missed opportunity to do more when the US was eliminated. I definitely have a much more positive outlook after this loss.

 

In a way, it's almost the opposite for me. In the past, I felt like the US needed a huge amount of luck to win any game - now I feel like they should have won except for a couple flaws that can be fixed.

[scarey]

Forwards - not as bad as is being stated here. They lack cohesion (no one seems to know where to run). 9 is a black hole and that is a killer. Haji should have had three or four goals in this one (ok, that's probably hyperbole but). Pulisic is a very good player but he's not Messi or Mbappe. Weah is dangerous. The whole front line feels like less than the sum of its parts and I'll go ahead and blame the 9. Everything keys off the 9s movement. Fereira did well in the build up but then when he is dropped deep, there is no one up front and Pulisic and Weah are wing players.

 

I tend to agree on most of this. We are being pretty hard on the forwards, but I think that's only because of how fantastic the midfield play is. I think Weah is going to have a lot of international goals to his name.

[scarey]

I’m not sad at all. I’ve never felt more confident about the program. WNT is about to go upside the world’s head in a couple years. We got the Olympics, which we will take seriously with the lack of quali and other competitive games. I’m going to build a sports fan religion around Tyler Adams the way I did Deuce (wherever he goes, that’s my club team). I live more US players than ever because we are legit better than ever. Musah’s dev will be fascinating to watch. Reyna’s will be fascinating to watch. New coach probably.

 

I’ve never been an “it’s only a matter of time” guy when it comes to running a men’s cup, but I am am now. We will win a World Cup in my lifetime.

 

In past World Cup performances, it always felt like a missed opportunity to do more when the US was eliminated. I definitely have a much more positive outlook after this loss.

 

In a way, it's almost the opposite for me. In the past, I felt like the US needed a huge amount of luck to win any game - now I feel like they should have won except for a couple flaws that can be fixed.

 

I don't think I conveyed my sentiment correctly.

 

What I meant was the players they had in the past were going to either be retired from international play, or past their prime. I especially remember this being the case in 2014. The best players on this team are going to be in their prime for 2026. We're not missing out on an opportunity with this group. 2026 is an even better opportunity in my eyes.

[imb]

a healthy chunk of the 11 is set

 

need to develop at least one CB with overseas quality

 

get christian on a team that will horsefeathering play him

 

grow pepi and bribe balogun to choose us

 

probably need to make sure Slonina gets playing time since Turner will be 32

 

hopefully we just get deeper so we dont have to burn everyone out in the group stage in 26

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Mostly echoing, but for me the biggest things are:

 

- Can a striker make the leap? Sargent seems to have stopped his career's free fall and is still only 22, Pepi is scoring goals in the Eredivisie and is still 19, maybe Balogun is the next recruiting win? Dike(also only 22) gets healthy and starts scoring for fun again?

 

- MMA depth, those 3 are great and will continue to improve(especially Musah) but we can't be one knock from being unable to control the last 30 minutes of games. Maybe this becomes Reyna but I think it's a struggle to see him as an engine room guy, and frankly he's a gifted enough attacker that he's not gonna get forced there at the club level. Maybe Pomykal finally stays healthy and gets a European move or just levels up in the way Acosta did between cycles? Does Malik Tillman get a chance to be that guy for club or country? Can Jack McGlynn become enough of a defender to complement his passing? Is Aidan Morris able to be an Aldi-brand Adams level ball winner? Maybe Busio, Tessman, or Bassett get their careers back on track? Maybe Johnny Cardoso becomes a thing?

 

- Can we get a top class CB pairing? CCV's improvement(he'll be under 30 next cycle) gives some hope plus Robinson and Richards seem like a good pairing now that just weren't healthy. McKenzie, EPB, and Trusty will all be in their primes at the end of the next cycle too.

 

- Outside back depth. RB seems in decent hands between Dest, Scally, and some youngsters(Reynolds, Che), but left backs, especially left footed left backs, are more scarce. Robinson can hopefully keep improving and he's a perfectly fine baseline, but you hope someone like Vines, Tolkin, or Jonathan Gomez(if he commits) can make it possible to at least sub off Robinson for freshness.

 

- What recruiting wins can they get? Berhalter did an excellent job this cycle at creating the culture that players wanted to be a part of, and if it had been a random international coach I shudder to think of how the tournament would have gone without one or more of Dest, Robinson, or Musah. I mentioned Balogun above, but what others that we have no idea about now(like Dest, Robinson, or Musah) could play a part in this cycle?

[stitchface]

It's a good point on Berhalter and the recruiting. My question on Gio and the 10 is in reaction to the US lacking a 1v1 attacker in the middle to break teams down. CP ends up dropping to that spot but the US is always outnumbered going forward. How many times did we see US players with space in front of them getting caught from behind? That' shouldn't be happening - there have to be forward options or spaces to attack.

 

To elaborate, the US seems to almost play with 6 and two 8s - I don't want Gio to play in McKennie's role, I want McKennie to sit deeper. You could also go 3-5-2 if you have the center backs allowing Dest and Jedi to play as wing backs, which might be more comfortable for them and eliminates the need for a 9. Might not suit Pulisic and Weah as the forwards though but who is to say they will be there in four years. I guess it feels to me that the US needs to carry more threat through the middle to open the wider spaces. Right now, there is no threat from the 9 and basically no 10 (we all saw McKennie's positioning chart). Musah is fantastic but he's not a 10.

Edited December 3, 2022 by stitchface

[wolf stansson]

To me the Gio question can only be answered by Gio, Puli, Weah, and Aaronson. MMA is set. Balogun or Pepi should be our starting striker early in the reset because they represent the biggest upside. After that, you’ve got four players for two spots. If Gio wants to be all he can be, all he has to do is stay healthy and outplay two of those guys. He should be able to pull it off if he’s everything we think he is. The criticism of his lack of minutes has definitely been dulled by how well Weah played and how little Gio did with his opportunities.

 

 

I am fascinated to see the next two transfer windows. These guys are going to level up. Especially MMA.

[JudasIscariotTheBird]

The criticism of his lack of minutes has definitely been dulled by how well Weah played and how little Gio did with his opportunities.

Weah played pretty well overall, but in the 55 minutes of play that Gio had this World Cup, he created a LOT of chances. You and I didn't watch the same games.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

The criticism of his lack of minutes has definitely been dulled by how well Weah played and how little Gio did with his opportunities.

Weah played pretty well overall, but in the 55 minutes of play that Gio had this World Cup, he created a LOT of chances. You and I didn't watch the same games.

 

I'm with Wolf, Gio was more dangerous as a 9 when he got the ball wide than the other strikers, but he wasn't a part of any clear cut chances, he benefitted from game state, and wasn't very attentive defensively/as a presser.

 

 

On a different note, it seems like the expectation is less that US Soccer will make a decision on Berhalter but rather that he's gonna move back into the club game thanks to mutual interest: https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/three-takeaways-as-usa-suffer-world-cup-exit-against-netherlands

 

Gregg Berhalter is a very good coach who’s had a very good tournament, and will go on to do very good things somewhere (I’m one of the many who think he will leave the US program for a club side in Europe in the coming weeks)

 

Whatever the reason, if they are looking for a new manager, they can afford to take their time a bit and find the right person, though I am intrigued that Pellegrino Matarazzo is currently available. For those unfamiliar, he's New Jersey born and played college soccer before moving to the lower levels of Italy and Germany as a player, then moving up the German coaching ranks(he's close with Nagelsmann and was his assistant at Hoffenheim). As a manager he got Stuttgart promoted back into the Bundesliga and had a strong initial campaign, then struggled with an injury ridden team last year and got sacked after a bad start this year.

[Derwood]

That was really close to being a disaster for Argentina

[stitchface]

That was really close to being a disaster for Argentina

 

 

they just switched off though I would take Lautaro Martinez to bury that on 9 out of 10 times.

[wolf stansson]

Pellegrino Matarazzo.

Pelle is my American choice. My top choice is LVG. The way be approached us & everything he has said after the game indicates that he’s intrigued by the talent and he obviously put on a tactical masterclass against them today.

[stitchface]

Pellegrino Matarazzo.

Pelle is my American choice. My top choice is LVG. The way be approached us & everything he has said after the game indicates that he’s intrigued by the talent and he obviously put on a tactical masterclass against them today.

 

Enrico Pallazo for me!

 

I've never been an LVG fan though I can't really say why.

[Derwood]

A lot of empty seats at this France/Poland match

[Derwood]

Expected goals just be around 5-3 so far. So many chances.