re: Let’s discuss the positives

Which would be a crazy price for him.

Other than 20 minutes or so of madness in the 2nd half, we created the better chances. On another night, we convert those opportunities, and score 2 or 3 goals.

It's not like Mexico was great in the final third, even when they were bossing the game.

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yea but hes old

he will be 34 come WC time

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But there's a lot of games to play before we get there. If he could continue to play well for the next 2 years, then hopefully that will be long enough for a decent replacement to come along.

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I'm upset that McKennie is staying at Schalke, unless they can get their shite together. They just have him playing all over the place trying to cover their shite heap. I'd love to see him get consistent time at one position

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I'm hoping the coaching change will put an end to it.

There's a ton of positives, and I feel about a billion times better about the team than I did a month ago.

THE CORE: Pulisic/McKennie/Adams have arrived. They are all 20 years old and they are our three best players. That's a midfield spine to build off of.

STEFFEN: Guzan is 35, Howard is 40. We needed to turn the page. Steffen now has 15 caps, the only other keeper in the pool with 10 caps. Steffen showed he could play at this level. He had a good tourney and yeah, he got beat flat-footed, but that was a near perfect shot.

RIGHT BACK: Please God, let the Adams experiment end. Part of the idea of Adams at RB was that there were no other options. Lima (age 25) and Cannon (age 21) showed they can capably cover the position. This allows Adams to play a position that makes him more effective going forward and probably is the best thing to come out of these Gold Cup games. We have a right back other than Adams, who can move back to MF.

CENTRAL DEFENSE: Has the USMNT ever had a better central defense? (Damning with faint praise alert!) Long is older than you think, but he played well in his first real action. Miazga has locked down his role. Brooks is one of our best players when he returns and one of our few reliable vets. Omar is getting shuffled off the roster, opening up chances for Zimmerman and then the next gen of Carter-Vickers and Robinson.

FORWARDS: You have to squint for this one, as the forward play was atrocious in this tourney. But that bodes well for the guys NOT on the roster: Sargent, Soto, and Weah. They made a pretty convincing case to be on the roster by being notable in their absences.

INJURIES: Brooks, Adams, Wood, Yedlin, and Lletget all likely would have started on this team had they been healthy. That's about half your field players. and the team played well without them for the most part (frankly, the player we missed most was Bobby Wood, if only if he keeps Zardes off the roster).

This roster looked like the last chance for a lot of that middle generation before the kids come and force them off the roster. Some of them, like Long and Boyd, showed they can hack it and should be on the team going forward. Some were Roldan or Morris. But guys showing they shouldn't be on the team is helpful at the point with a new manager in his first real competitive tournament. As long as he reacts properly.

I'd like it if we had more vets to help integrate the U-20 graduates instead of just turning over the roster, but that looks like the best option going forward. The only players with at least 30 caps who look like they should feature in WC qualifying are:

Brooks 38
Yedlin 59
Bradley 150 (say what you will, he still creates chances and is lethal on set pieces, he's a nice role player)
Altidore 114
Wood 44

And oh yeah, Pulisic 31

And it would be great if Sargent and Soto push either Wood, Altidore, or both off of the roster though I could live with one of them as a veteran sub.

Agreed with pretty much all you said.

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RIGHT BACK:

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Yes please god put Adams at CDM. Then you have an Adams, McKennie, Pulisic MF 3 and he is where he is most effective. Also try Lima at LB for god's sakes. He plays there for his club and Cannon and Yedlin can lock down RB for the next few years until someone else (see: Dest) maybe emerges. This will also help the MF as now you have FBs on both flanks that can advance the ball instead of playing with 3 CBs.

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CENTRAL DEFENSE

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Wasn't sold on Long coming in but for me now he won his spot next to Brooks as the first choice CB pairing. Behind them Miazga and Zimmerman.

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FORWARDS

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Jozy is still #1 even though he clearly wasn't at his best. Zardes is just not good enough for this level. Hopefully Sargent can grab at least the #2 role soon.

I will add wingers in here as well: Morris should be gone. Arriola is a nice depth option but lacks that quality you need against top opponents. Boyd is a nice find and should be called in going forward. Weah for me should take Arriola's spot and have him combine with Pulisic on the left. Would be nice if someone like Amon could also fully break through

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The wings were clearly the weakest part of the team not named Zardes. I thought there was nice build up throughout the tourney and even for most of the Mexico game, but with absolute garbage finishing.

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Which is frustrating because it looked like we were actively trying to get them isolated but then you end up with the ball at Morris' feet and not much will come from that against the likes of Mexico.

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You could try Holmes or just go all-in on youth and throw De La Fuente and Amon into the deep end and hope they swim.

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Holmes would be an interesting look for me paired with CP as well since he can play winger and MF and the interchange between those 2 could be even more fluid.

After watching some of the U20s DLF looks like he has some promise but he was even the youngest kid on that roster and looked like it at times. Morris and Lewis being on this 23 over Amon is just ridiculous to me

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The biggest issue, and probably the biggest reason for negativity is whether Berhalter sees these issues. I'm willing to look at his roster selection in the most favorable light for now, but his choice of subs and lineups... ouch. It doesn't bode well. Boyd better be hurt or something.

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Agreed. Hopefully come October everyone is available and this worry will be lessened. We will see

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Weah and Sargent need to be starting. Forget being on the roster, they should be starting

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Weah can be in the discussion to start, but Jozy is easily our #1 striker right now.

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go with Nagbe, but he's 29.

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Nagbe needs to play any of the center mid roles or nothing.

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go all-in on youth and throw De La Fuente and Amon into the deep end and hope they swim.

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Konrad should not be on the USMNT he struggled a lot in the U20 WC. He's just not ready. Amon could play, but he's just incredibly one footed and inconsistent.

Yeah, I like Altidore and I'm not gonna let one bad shot dictate how I feel about him. He's proven he can score and it seems like he plays well with Pulisic. But others have addressed my concern: A) injuries B) I want Sargent to get reps. Sargent should be starting with Altidore coming on as a late energy sub to physically dominate his tired opposition.

We have paper thin striker depth and Atlidore can be a bench player so we can get an extended look at Sargent and Soto.

I should say that as much as I dislike Arriola on the offensive end, he does track back well and he was a real asset defensively. That's not nothing. He plays hard and he defends, and that will always keep you in the pool, even if he can't get it together on the attack.

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We have paper thin striker depth and Atlidore can be a bench player so we can get an extended look at Sargent and Soto.

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When in the last 30 years has this not been the case? The same applies for finishers. "Verily, there is nothing new under the sun."

Great ideas, otherwise, though.