United States of Colombia’s Son v. Samba de Amigo | Friendly | 6pm CT (TNT)

O/U 5.5 goals against tonight?

I for one, welcome our new Brazilian overlords.

Also, does Gregg roll over and die at halftime on purpose to get subs playing time in a “3-0 friendly” that we just spent three months hyping as one of two “tune-up” games?

We all know he isn’t getting fired no matter how hard Brazil beats our arse… My money is on the after half rotation and call it a humbling “lesson learned” on the way into COPA.

I think they may attempt a narrative shift to say “but did we REALLY expect to be Brazil?”

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have any candidates in mind myself, but there has GOT to be someone available that is better than Gregg in terms of tactics, lineup selections that support the tactics, and in-match adjustment.


ETA: We could really use a Coaching Change Prayer Thread, but that would go against our USSF overlords’ forced support LGBTABC123+ policy I think…

Either way, it would be nice to see actual possibilities of who could coach the squad if we were to drop Gregg either after tonight or down the line.

Hopefully we lose 10-0 and he gets shite canned so that we can get some fresh ideas and a sense of urgency up in this bitch.

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I will pushback a little on this. I think his XI's have been correct pretty much every match since Qatar... but that's only because we have no one really pushing the usual XI so it's not hard to pick. For the way we play under Gregg (hold onto the ball, don't takes risks, don't make mistakes, when all else fails, keep your defensive shape) there isn't some seldom-used guy in our pool who will suddenly make it less of a slog.

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I’ll submit that point. Injuries and stupid suspensions haven’t really helped that situation a whole lot (sheesh, Destiñó).

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I think everyone realizes what a successful 2026 does for the sport here. It's an unprecedented goldmine (moreso than it already is just for hosting) for the present and future if we make a run to the quarters or beyond. This tournament is our first true dry run and if Gregg still doesn't have a non-Mexico statement win by the end of this, you gotta move on. Too much money and legitimacy is at stake.

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I think I just distrust USSF. They want the money and they want it any way they can get it. They don’t seem to make big financial moves for the future in terms of managing, that’s for sure, so with all this money they are trying to bring in what are they doing with it?

I think if we are even half-arse competitive with Brazil in either match, it will be more of the same “we just aren’t there yet, and that’s ok”. Like yeah, that was an L but it was a CLOSE L. The American fan can stomach that loss and still support a coach that got his team to finally punch above their weight again.

Like right now, assuming everyone is healthy, the only questions we have for a first choice XI are who are the CB's?

GK - Turner locked in even though he has been meh since Qatar.. no one's pushing him.

LB - Jedi locked in, one of the best LB in EPL, but also no real backup

RB - Dest locked in, Scally is his backup, but doesn't have near the quality on the ball that Dest has.

6 - Tyler Adams locked in when healthy, Musah or Cardose when he's not. Hopefully Johnny has a good Copa to really create some questions going forward.

8 - McKennie locked in, Really need Musah to become more of a force when it comes to final third distribution. LDLT is a solid backup as well, but not really pushing for an XI shout.

10 - Gio locked in. Really need both he and Tillman to find stable club situations. Also really need Tillman to show he can perform at the international level. Something he has yet to do.

Wings - Pulisic and Weah locked in. You can make the argument that their two first choice backups right now (Wright and Aaronson) aren't even true wingers.

9 - Balogun locked in. I believe he has started all but one game he has been available for since joining the USMNT. Pepi hasn't shown to be effective as a starter in the last two years and Sargent hasn't been available to push him.

Tillman really needs a stable club situation? He played all year at PSV they bought him. Bayern have some sort of but back in the contract but Tillman will spend another year at PSV.

Balogun Gregg in his own words "we have to find a way to get the most of Balo.". He still hasn't and I have no belief that he is capable of doing so. Sargent is better in the air and with holdup play and fits Greg's system that has lots of crosses. When he is healthy he will replace Balo.

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"we have to find a way to get the most of Balo."

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Balo is a poacher at heart, so to get the best from him we need to be able to retain possession and move the ball fluidly in and around the opponents box which is an absolute problem because we just can't do that.

The ideal striker for Gregggg's system is prime Peter Crouch

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Pepi backs up the leading scorer and club captain in the Erdeves when he has been able to play he scores.

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But he has yet to show that he can be effective as a starter