re: United States of Advanced vs Fried Turkey | World Cup Group D | 9pm CT (FOX)

quote:

---

I'm not naive or arrogant enough to think I know better than Pochettino on how to have handled that game. Just disapoinited we didn't get the W,

---

Why though?

The game was fricking meaningless. Every World Cup it’s like it’s our first ever World Cup with the coverage from media all the way down to the fanbase

Get a fricking grip

quote:

---

Not sure why everyone is penciling in Egypt
They just got their FIRST WC win ever so no result is certain
Belgium has looked pedestrian as all hell but I could totally see them putting it together and whooping New Zealand just for one game
I wouldn't be surprised at all if Belgium end up winning the group - things have gone too easily so far for us this WC

---

it’s just the most likely outcome that Egypt win group but you’re right it’s not a given

its likely Egypt get at least a point against Iran. If they do then Belgium will need to beat New Zealand by 3+ goals.

Then final group standings would be
Belgium 5 pts +3 GD or better
Egypt 5 pts +2 GD
Iran 3 pts 0 GD

If Belgium only win by 2 goals it’ll come down to the scores. If they win 2-0 against New Zealand then Egypt would still win group if they drew 0-0 today

Egypt 5 pts +2 GD 4 Goals for
Belgium 5 pts +2 GD 3 GF

Bottom line if Belgium want to win group they need to thrash New Zealand but even then as I said would be reliant on Egypt not beating Iran

quote:

---

The game was fricking meaningless

---

And our B Team played pretty damn well but for our back-line which we knew would be bad

If this were a March friendly with the exact same squads we’d be a little grumpy and move on

If Trusty is healthy I think he showed enough as someone you could thrown on late. Aaronson is also fine as an offensive sub for fresh legs and pressing. I wish we had played Haji to see what he could because Pepi is just a waste of space so far.

But the starting 11 is clear and then your subs are Berhalter, Reyna, Aaronson, Trusty, Scally, and Pepi/Wright.

My takeaways from yesterday night’s match:

- Trusty may well be the future at LCB. In a back three for us. He spent a lot of the match barking at McKenzie/Robinson to get them to step earlier and help him cover so that Turner didn’t get exposed. He is vocal, his positioning is largely fantastic, and he is physical and pace-y enough to compete against most anyone. His football IQ is what shines most, though, alongside that vocal quality.

- Sebastian Berhalter can both win and lose us a game in the knockouts. His set piece play is elite, and we knew that. His motor is crazy good, and he is an attitudinal spark plug that I think needs to see some time against more physical opponents. The problem will be when said physical opponents are also technically gifted and good with spacing/positioning… He can’t hang at the technical/spatial level quite yet.

- McKennie is a flair player in our system. Our system seems to legitimately revolve around him, regardless of who else is on the pitch. Our attack was still decent, last night, and it was almost always him moving things forward and popping up in new places. He was the only real creative attacking threat that we had, and we still had a good amount of chances. His pairing with Malik Tillman (another creative threat) is why our “A Squad” is such a menacing presence offensively. They pull the strings to our wings and our striker up top, and having five players or more in an area is hard as frick to defend.

- Unless Trusty is able to go, any further injury to our back line that isn’t Ream likely results in us getting bounced from the tourney. Miles Robinson, Mark McKenzie, and Joe Scally are just not at the level that we need to be solid all match long from this point forward. All of them are highly mistake prone, and you WILL get punished for mistakes in the QFs and beyond.

- Weah had a stinker, but he was kind of thrown to the wolves. He very clearly is uncomfortable on the left, and I think it was just a tactical thing to keep our attacking prowess on the left viable. It backfired, though. He can shoot with his left, but he can’t pass with it. Also, I don’t think he was slow, I think the RB for Turkey just has great pace.

- Pepi wasn’t necessarily “bad”. This kind of goes back to the point about McKennie being our only creative threat, but you have to think… If a striker is only getting service from the keeper and ONE midfielder, and the wings are not giving supportive play (or anywhere near linking up with him or the midfield), it’s pretty obvious he won’t be able to make many plays at all. It’s why he kept dropping into midfield. There was ZERO linkage to him, so it’s hard for me to think he just had a shitty game. Strikers need support, otherwise they get shut down.

- Turner is an amazing shot-stopper, but good grief he is a spaz with the ball. I don’t know that his quality will ever change in that realm.

- We have a few young talents that are VERY promising for us taking another step forward on the world stage in World Cups to come. If Berhalter can improve his technical and spatial ability, he is a potential future captain. If you saw him in the prayer circle after the match, he was VISIBLY pissed. That’s the player I want with the armband, should he improve those qualities. Outside of him, the following players give me hope for the future: Trusty, Freeman, Richards, Tillman. Two World Cups minimum left in almost all those guys, and they all either are already solid players or have an incredibly high ceiling… And most of them are more defensive players, which is a huge deal considering our current defensive state. Add to that the up and coming attacking players in the youth system, and the fact that our current attackers are already both good and relatively young, and the future looks bright!

- Building off that last point… It is absolutely IMPERATIVE that we land a damn good manager for the upcoming cycle. We can’t go back to our MLS-level “tacticians” like Gregg. We absolutely must grab someone who knows what they are doing and will build in the same vein that Poch has. This team has unreal potential in the next two cycles, and there is an opportunity here to build us into a potential football power. A flub of a manager hiring in the next cycle could sink our potential if he isn’t up to snuff.

_____________________________________

All that said, I feel like if we get Egypt in the second KO match, we have a way less than “zero” percent chance to make the semis. One upset would be all it took, and Spain has had some head-scratching moments. I don’t think it is just a “puncher’s chance” for us to beat either them OR Portugal in the quarterfinals. Obviously we wouldn’t be favorites, but I like the chances we have.

If we play Belgium in the second KO game, we can definitely win that game. I don’t know exactly how we’d do in back to back matches against big names like Belgium and Spain/Portugal, but I think quarterfinals is floor in that scenario with a slightly lower ceiling.

If we get to the quarterfinals against Spain and somehow win, watch the frick out. Regardless of the path. The confidence level of this team outlines how well they play, so barring injuries, we have a puncher’s chance against anyone not named France in this tournament.

Dest, Freeman, Tillman

quote:

---

It's inexplicable to me how we struggle so badly to have defensive depth with our population pool. I understand it's been a long road to get the technical players in midfield and up front but JFC, get guys that can cover space, not get beat one on one and clear balls.

---

Couldn’t be said more. We should excel the most at D and GK.

quote:

---

The game was fricking meaningless. Every World Cup it’s like it’s our first ever World Cup with the coverage from media all the way down to the fanbase

---

This 100%

Cameron Carter Vickers getting hurt was a big blow. Would’ve been a major upgrade over McKenzie and Robinson at least.

I agree with your assessment of McKennie. He seems fearless in the crowd and puts enough pressure near the goal that he attracts a crowd. He's the real engine of this team. Get him Pulisic, Tillman and Balogun in synch and there is a high ceiling for this team scoring wise.

I'm still suspect on the defense. I know we had the second string playing last night, but they have concerned me since Paraguay. I'd like to see them get a little more aggressive.

Question, what are your thoughts on Dest? In the last WC I thought he might turn into something almost special. I still think he is a menace coming off the wing but I can't quite get excited with him..... tell me I don't know what I am looking at.