oragator said:

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First game. Juggling lineups. Injuries, players that haven't played together etc. And at best our B team. So just happy to win, hope Thursday they look a bit better and start to play their way in to the tournament,

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Yeah, this is our C team. Only two or three of these guys go to Qatar.

Ghost of Andrew Eaton said:

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oragator said:

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First game. Juggling lineups. Injuries, players that haven't played together etc. And at best our B team. So just happy to win, hope Thursday they look a bit better and start to play their way in to the tournament,

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Yeah, this is our C team. Only two or three of these guys go to Qatar.

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More like 4-5 probably

Dike, Lleget, and

Yueill because Berhalter loves him

And Zardes because Zardes' survive.

Arriola, and possibly Hoppe.

Ghost of Andrew Eaton said:

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Dike, Lleget, and

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Cannon (didn't play due to injury), Acosta and one of Zimmerman/Robinson.

jeffk said:

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And Zardes because Zardes' survive.

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He must be a Loki variant

A lot can happen in a year, especially with young players. Busio showed flashes of brilliance. I'd like to see him start next game (and please sit Yueill).

Shaq Moore was probably the best guy out there last night, and I think he was better than I've ever seen Cannon. I think if he can keep it up, he could easily break into the WC squad, possibly even pushing for a starting job if Dest stays on the left. Obviously it's just one game and I'm probably getting ahead of myself, but I'd like to see him get more playing time even if Cannon gets healthy.

We're definitely lacking some depth at fullback right now. Dest is an obvious starter on one side but the other spot is pretty wide open with Yedlin, Cannon, and whoever else might get into the mix.

Would rather see Dest on the right and have someone step up on the left for a couple of reasons:

1. Gio does a bit better job tracking back on defense than Pulisic
2. CB on Dest side will have to cover for Dest and rather it not be Brooks who isn't great in those situations

I saw the Gold Cup thread yesterday and didn't realize there was a game thread.

I was impressed with Shaq Moore. Better attacking runs than Yedlin and Cannon make, though I think Dest the #1 RB. Gregg plays Dest at LB often out of necessity. I've been waiting for a long time for Antonee to step up at LB so Dest can stay at #2, and always thinking we are the most bare at LB... but I was impressed with Sam Vines last night too.. Between Dest, Antonee, and Vines at #3 and Dest, Moore, Cannon, Yedlin at #2, we might actually be in better shape at fullback than I thought. ...and if Gregg decides to go with 3 CBs and use wing-backs, Dest and Moore are great the attacking transition and overlapping runs.

Last night's squad seemed way too vulnerable to counter attacks. Maybe they were overconfident against an over matched Haiti squad and got too far up the field at times, but if they don't get more recovery speed at #6 and figure it out, Canada will burn those guys and in the knock outs, a squad like Mexico will destroy them.

I definitely agree on Moore, he is a good example of what a game like this (and the tournament overall) is good for at this stage of WCQ.

He made a case to be given more minutes and evaluation.
Just like some other players made a case to be dropped from consideration until they show some improvement at their clubs. *thinking Yueill and Lewis specifically here"

I saw some people on Twitter saying that Giaocchini played poorly, but I think that was somewhat to be expected considering how out of position he was played. I think on the whole he played pretty well, he just doesn't really have the ability to put in a decent cross (he's a striker).

Maybe Berrhalter wanted to see if any of these strikers have positional flexibilty in their bag, but we basically started this tournament with 2 true wingers...and one may be injured now. (the other one isnt good, in Lewis.)

Moore looked good but he was also playing Haiti and not CR or Mexico.

Color me skeptical on this Gold Cup roster. Young players with virtually no competitive experience will result in a 1-0 win vs a far inferior side. That being said I want to see how these players adapt as this tournament goes on.

I wasn't able to see the whole game but I liked what I saw from Busio and Moore. Am excited to see Hoppe and Bello in action.

They need to learn from yesterday, I'm sure they got better at playing together - first real match for this group. Then they need to whip Martinique worse than Canada did to get some confidence and try to get on top in GD in the group. Eye ball test on limited first group stage first matches - Mexico squad that somehow tied T&T the other day despite 30 shots and 83% possession would destroy these guys.

Vines didn't really stand out last night from my perspective. Yes, it was a nice goal he had but he was bodied off the ball too easily and seemed like there were a few times he was caught too far upfield and didn't make it back at all to defend.

both Moore and Vines were eager to overlap and transition to attack and the team nearly got burned on counters, but I liked the mentality and runs both were making. Vines does seem to have the pace and end line to end line fitness to recover and transition back to defense - just need to be more patient and pick his attacking runs more carefully, especially if Moore has pushed up to attacking third - and vice versa. Vines' goal was great.

more than anything, it's nice to see a LB other than Dest or Robinson get a shot. Ream isn't the answer and more depth at LB needs to be developed.

akm91 said:

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Vines didn't really stand out last night from my perspective. Yes, it was a nice goal he had but he was bodied off the ball too easily and seemed like there were a few times he was caught too far upfield and didn't make it back at all to defend.

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I agree. His goal was a matter of being in the right place at the right time. Defenders basically peeled off him because it looked like the play was breaking down. IMO Zardes deserves far more credit for keeping the ball alive than Vines does for putting it away.

Never. This board wont allow for any Zardes credit.

KCup17 said:

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Never. This board wont allow for any Zardes credit.

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Come on, we all know that flick by Zardes was accidental as he was falling backwards, just like anything positive that happens with him.

He's got a real nose for goal.

Let's try to keep the game thread on one thread this time, Pat.,

Kevin the 3-legged dog said:

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Let's try to keep the game thread on one thread this time, Pat.,

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I think you are new, but normally we create a specific thread for each game. That other thread is for the Gold Cup.

What a n00b.

PatAg said:

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Kevin the 3-legged dog said:

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Let's try to keep the game thread on one thread this time, Pat.,

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I think you are new, but normally we create a specific thread for each game. That other thread is for the Gold Cup.

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That game was the Gold cup.

And I change my username every 6 months.

Kevin the 3-legged dog said:

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PatAg said:

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Kevin the 3-legged dog said:

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Let's try to keep the game thread on one thread this time, Pat.,

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I think you are new, but normally we create a specific thread for each game. That other thread is for the Gold Cup.

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That game was the Gold cup.

And I change my username every 6 months.

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Ah gotcha.
Thats a thread to talk about the gold cup. We always make new threads for individual games, you don't F with tradition.

PatAg said:

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Kevin the 3-legged dog said:

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PatAg said:

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Kevin the 3-legged dog said:

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Let's try to keep the game thread on one thread this time, Pat.,

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I think you are new, but normally we create a specific thread for each game. That other thread is for the Gold Cup.

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That game was the Gold cup.

And I change my username every 6 months.

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Ah gotcha.
Thats a thread to talk about the gold cup. We always make new threads for individual games, you don't F with tradition.

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Except for the fact the Copa and Euro, there were no individual game threads and all games were discussed there.

But, do your thing, Pefok.

Kevin the 3-legged dog said:

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PatAg said:

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Kevin the 3-legged dog said:

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PatAg said:

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Kevin the 3-legged dog said:

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Let's try to keep the game thread on one thread this time, Pat.,

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I think you are new, but normally we create a specific thread for each game. That other thread is for the Gold Cup.

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That game was the Gold cup.

And I change my username every 6 months.

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Ah gotcha.
Thats a thread to talk about the gold cup. We always make new threads for individual games, you don't F with tradition.

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Except for the fact the Copa and Euro, there were no individual game threads and all games were discussed there.

But, do your thing, Pefok.

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I didn't know the US played in Copa America or the Euro's

Kevin the 3-legged dog said:

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PatAg said:

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Kevin the 3-legged dog said:

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PatAg said:

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Kevin the 3-legged dog said:

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Let's try to keep the game thread on one thread this time, Pat.,

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I think you are new, but normally we create a specific thread for each game. That other thread is for the Gold Cup.

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That game was the Gold cup.

And I change my username every 6 months.

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Ah gotcha.
Thats a thread to talk about the gold cup. We always make new threads for individual games, you don't F with tradition.

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Except for the fact the Copa and Euro, there were no individual game threads and all games were discussed there.

But, do your thing, Pefok.

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We always make a new thread for individual US games. You are new. Be respectful.

This new guy is kind of a doofus.

jeffk said:

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This new guy is kind of a doofus.

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He's a dog, what do you expect.

deadbq03 said:

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Kevin the 3-legged dog said:

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PatAg said:

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Kevin the 3-legged dog said:

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PatAg said:

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Kevin the 3-legged dog said:

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Let's try to keep the game thread on one thread this time, Pat.,

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I think you are new, but normally we create a specific thread for each game. That other thread is for the Gold Cup.

---

That game was the Gold cup.

And I change my username every 6 months.

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Ah gotcha.
Thats a thread to talk about the gold cup. We always make new threads for individual games, you don't F with tradition.

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Except for the fact the Copa and Euro, there were no individual game threads and all games were discussed there.

But, do your thing, Pefok.

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We always make a new thread for individual US games. You are new. Be respectful.

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My bad. I apologize.