***** USMNT vs Wales WC Game Thread (11/21) *****

51,608 Views | 1053 Replies | Last: 1 yr ago by akm91
Gordo14
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Also Pulisic should never take a set piece for us again. There has to be a better option.
PatAg
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I don't get this conceding a loss to England mindset.
Gordo14
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La Bamba said:

Is there a chance in hell we can at least tie with the English? The firepower on that squad is impressive.


I mean they had been pretty bad in Nations league. Maybe Iran just sucks?
oh no
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La Bamba said:

Is there a chance in hell we can at least tie with the English? The firepower on that squad is impressive.
my heart is tellin me there's a chance, but my brain says not likely.
birdman
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Forget about salaries or resume. Or maybe you're just a guy that tunes into soccer every four years for World Cup. Where would you rank Pulisic on USMNT based on what you saw?

You wouldn't think of him as the second coming. You wouldn't even think he was pretty good.

Judging from today's game (and most WCQ games), you would think of Pulisic as middle of the road player for American team.
Furlock Bones
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Gordo14 said:

Also Pulisic should never take a set piece for us again. There has to be a better option.


There was. Acosta! That's why he is on the team. But he came on and didn't take the corners? Why? I need a reporter to ask Gregg directly.
rsf0626
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Really needed a win today. Tough road ahead to get out of the group
oh no
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Gordo14 said:

La Bamba said:

Is there a chance in hell we can at least tie with the English? The firepower on that squad is impressive.


I mean they had been pretty bad in Nations league. Maybe Iran just sucks?
really befuddling result from earlier this morning. Iran was FIFA ranked around 20, with USA and Wales both in the teens... Iran had to beat a solid South Korean squad to qualify. Surely they aren't that bad, right? ..is England that good.. -like - they're finally living up to what they look like on paper? Was Iran GK injury in the first half super-devastating? Is he out for match day 2 and/or 3?

my fear is Iran GK #1 injury keeps him out of match day 2 vs Wales.. and he's back for match day 3 vs USA
deadbq03
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It was a tale of two halves with him. 1st half, he was incredible (except set pieces). 2nd half, pretty bad all around.

I'm a dummy, but I honestly don't even think we should play him out wide. He's only ever good when he cuts inside. Crossing is largely the same skill set as corners and he sucks at both. He needs to be a 10 or false 9.
deadbq03
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If he really does have a concussion, that ought to be 2 week minimum.

Then again, Iran might execute his family if he refuses to sacrifice his body again.
PatAg
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oh no said:

Gordo14 said:

La Bamba said:

Is there a chance in hell we can at least tie with the English? The firepower on that squad is impressive.


I mean they had been pretty bad in Nations league. Maybe Iran just sucks?
really befuddling result from earlier this morning. Iran was FIFA ranked around 20, with USA and Wales both in the teens... Iran had to beat a solid South Korean squad to qualify. Surely they aren't that bad, right? ..is England that good.. -like - they're finally living up to what they look like on paper? Was Iran GK injury in the first half super-devastating? Is he out for match day 2 and/or 3?
They also have a lot of unrest at home, gotta be messing with their minds
birdman
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Gordo14 said:

Also Pulisic should never take a set piece for us again. There has to be a better option.
A better option? I can't imagine there's a worse option.

I'd like to score on some set pieces. Maybe we can make them work to defend them. Or at least give the opponent some hesitation about fouling on defense.

Right now, opponent can hack without consequence. And more often than not, they get a fast break going the other direction off our set piece.
Furlock Bones
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Jesus H Christ

Berhalter says about Gio: "In the phase of the game we were at, we went with Jordan who we felt could give us speed and power."
deadbq03
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Yeah I think that's the bigger part. You could see the looks on their faces. Also, many Iranians abroad are criticizing them for not boycotting outright. Their 26 man roster was delayed because their regime made them toe the line or get scratched.
Furlock Bones
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PatAg said:

I don't get this conceding a loss to England mindset.



Not conceding a loss. But recognizing they are a very, very good team. So we needed to take care of business today. Wales we're not good. We should have beaten them handily. We didn't.
Gordo14
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Furlock Bones said:

Jesus H Christ

Berhalter says about Gio: "In the phase of the game we were at, we went with Jordan who we felt could give us speed and power."


Pathetic.
KCup17
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We needed a Gio type player at the end. Can provide great service as well as creativity in link up play…
JJxvi
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Disappointing result. In the end the team plays the same, and whether we win or lose or draw is wholly dependent upon what the other team is doing. We're just out there doing the same stuff, we look great while the other team plays into our hands, but when they don't, we're just playing the same way but forced to be reacting off of the back foot, and struggling because the game has changed and the other team is not allowing you to just do the same old stuff. There is no plan B.

Watching this team is disappointingly similar to watching a Football Manager stream where the streamer has his special tactic and instructions that they've downloaded because its a good one off the internet, and he has his whole bench set up to make like for like changes slotting into exactly the same formation and roles.

I assume they are being cautious for whatever reason with Reyna, but I think there is also some element of truth that he doesn't force his way into a game like this because he has no open obvious position/role in Gregg's tactic. He's probably fits into the same slot on the team sheet that Christian Pulisic is in.

Pulisic has got to get off of set pieces. We would legitimately be better off have him receiving short every time rather than the garbage we see over and over. I'm 99% positive that the only reason he's taking them is because they don't know what to do with him if he's not taking the kick.
oh no
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I think CP lost some velocity after all the injuries over the past two years. There was a moment in fall of 2020 with the covid re-start to the previous season where CP looked like he was ready to take Europe by storm, but he hasn't been same going to goal since injuries after that, either for Chelsea for USA. Should he be a #10 distributor in central midfield instead of a winger going forward? If so, which of the MMA midfield do you take off? Or is he best as Chelsea uses him now- a super-sub winger that gives you 20+ minutes of effort instead of 60-70+ minutes making all the required runs?
texagbeliever
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birdman said:

Forget about salaries or resume. Or maybe you're just a guy that tunes into soccer every four years for World Cup. Where would you rank Pulisic on USMNT based on what you saw?

You wouldn't think of him as the second coming. You wouldn't even think he was pretty good.

Judging from today's game (and most WCQ games), you would think of Pulisic as middle of the road player for American team.


Adams and Jedi are the 2 best players but they don't score or assist that often. Pulisic is probably the 3rd best player perhaps tied with Mckinnie.

His game has a sharpness but he is not a solo hero like a Salah/Mane guy that scores and creates by himself.
PatAg
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JJxvi said:

Disappointing result. In the end the team plays the same, and whether we win or lose or draw is wholly dependent upon what the other team is doing. We're just out there doing the same stuff, we look great while the other team plays into our hands, but when they don't, we're just playing the same way but forced to be reacting off of the back foot, and struggling because the game has changed and the other team is not allowing you to just do the same old stuff. There is no plan B.

Watching this team is disappointingly similar to watching a Football Manager stream where the streamer has his special tactic and instructions that they've downloaded because its a good one off the internet, and he has his whole bench set up to make like for like changes slotting into exactly the same formation and roles.

I assume they are being cautious for whatever reason with Reyna, but I think there is also some element of truth that he doesn't force his way into a game like this because he has no open obvious position/role in Gregg's tactic. He's probably fits into the same slot on the team sheet that Christian Pulisic is in.

Pulisic has got to get off of set pieces. We would legitimately be better off have him receiving short every time rather than the garbage we see over and over. I'm 99% positive that the only reason he's taking them is because they don't know what to do with him if he's not taking the kick.
Agree with all of this, except I suspect they think Pulisic would not handle losing that status well.
oh no
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...and when can we get Erling Haaland to immigrate and become a US citizen?
Dre_00
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Furlock Bones said:

Jesus H Christ

Berhalter says about Gio: "In the phase of the game we were at, we went with Jordan who we felt could give us speed and power."

I actually don't disagree with this if you consider that Morris didn't come on till the 87th minute. The game was a choppy mess of frantic flail ball. Midfield was an afterthought at this point for both teams. Reyna can't change that dynamic in 2 minutes and they didn't have time to give him time to change it.

But if Reyna could have come on at say, the 70th minute and didn't? Then that's really hard to understand. The 2nd half was just a disorganized muddle on offense and none of his subs did anything to try and correct that.
oh no
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Weah had so few touches in the first half, but nearly every touch was perfect. Need to target him more, get him more involved. Our midfield is obsessed with getting the ball to our left winger when our right winger might be the true superstar. CP's assist to Weah was outstanding though. Great finish by Weah.
deadbq03
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I still want him at false-9, but in my defense I might also be insane.

Or at the very least I'm having a glorious midlife crisis.

(Edit - this was in reply to your CP post)
JJxvi
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The fact that there was some kind of a question or debate about Tim Ream for so long is mind blowing. This guy hasn't played for like a year? He look like the best defender on your team by a mile, where the **** has he been?
tysker
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Furlock Bones said:

Jesus H Christ

Berhalter says about Gio: "In the phase of the game we were at, we went with Jordan who we felt could give us speed and power."
I like Ggg pressing the Wales team using speed and power but in hindsight, we needed possession and some calmness on the ball. Aaronson plays so frenetic I think it may amp up guys like Wright and Morris too much and they wind up playing themselves out of the game
deadbq03
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I think it's been well over a year, right?

And if I recall, last time we used him, he was playing for both club and country as a slow, no-nonsense LB, not a CB. Switching to CB has been good.

And in that same time span we've also had a lot of injuries at the position and have seen Brooks go from good Bundesliga LCB to being rarely-used Benfica backup.

But I agree that he was at least worth a call up in Sept.
ColoradoMooseHerd
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oh no said:

Weah had so few touches in the first half, but nearly every touch was perfect. Need to target him more, get him more involved. Our midfield is obsessed with getting the ball to our left winger when our right winger might be the true superstar. CP's assist to Weah was outstanding though. Great finish by Weah.
This was dictated by the Welsh defense. They were not allowing us to go to Weah easily.
Bubblez
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I've had time to calm down, though Zimmerman still exemplifies a quintessential MLS level of intelligence out on the field. The idiocy of that challenge can't be understated.
oh no
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who else do we have as a CB who is very comfortable playing out with their left?

Miles Robinson (injured), Chris Richards (injured), Walker Zimmerman (in Qatar), Aaron Long (in Qatar), Matt Miazga (never selected by Greggg the last two years) are all right CBs

for the left:

John Brooks (too slow), Mark McKenzie (not selected, and frankly not developed enough technically after all he was used in qualifying), Cameron Carter Vickers (in Qatar) and Tim Ream (in Qatar) are all left CBs.

...so what's crazy to me, is why didn't Greggg know about a year and a half ago that Brooks was too slow (and maybe didn't care enough) and McKenzie wasn't technically good enough? because CCV and Ream should have been in every camp, at all four WCQ windows, at the concacaf nations league and concacaf gold cup, at the September intl window friendlies, etc. with these guys- they're your best CBs for the left side and Gregg should have known it a long time ago.
JJxvi
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Tim Ream played centerback for the US once in a 0-0 draw in the octagonal (El Salvador awayin September). The back 4 was Dest, Ream, Miles Robinson, and Yedlin (Robinson sub for Dest).

So Berhalter saw him play, he was in the pool. So they cast him off in the past year, basically, even as centerback after centerback got hurt, nobody is even aware that this current season is happening until it slaps them in the face right before the final team is picked? And then he starts and is like one of our best players? We would be ****ed if that guy wasnt on the team I think.
oh no
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ColoradoMooseHerd said:

oh no said:

Weah had so few touches in the first half, but nearly every touch was perfect. Need to target him more, get him more involved. Our midfield is obsessed with getting the ball to our left winger when our right winger might be the true superstar. CP's assist to Weah was outstanding though. Great finish by Weah.
This was dictated by the Welsh defense. They were not allowing us to go to Weah easily.
nonsense. we were in position to dictate what we wanted to do to them. get Weah more involved. CP is a decoy.
oh no
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yeah, Greggg saw Ream once or twice and blew him off. Seemed to love McKenzie for most of qualifying, then blew him off for Qatar and selected Ream. Feels like pressure because of the where they play right now.


regardless, we lost because we were unlucky while defending the whole second half after our goal forced Wales to attack the whole second half.

Needed to be dogs and get that second goal. Break their wills. Crush their spirit. We didn't.
Marvin
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Furlock Bones said:

PatAg said:

I don't get this conceding a loss to England mindset.



Not conceding a loss. But recognizing they are a very, very good team. So we needed to take care of business today. Wales we're not good. We should have beaten them handily. We didn't.

I'm conceding a loss. Matter of fact, I think the second half today ended the WC for the US. They won't win against England, and Iran will run it back like 1998. I have zero faith in GB to lead this team, and Pulisic is too slight to stay on the ball.
I love Texas Aggie sports, but I love Texas A&M more.
 
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