re: United States of F#ck Yeah v. Panorama | The Hex | 9pm CDT (beIN)

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Wales, Iceland, and Portugal

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Then how have we done it before? Between 2000 and 2009, we only lost 8 games against CONCACAF opponents out of 96 games.

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We are doing poorly in the Hex THIS cycle.

What exactly is so funny? All those teams did employ a low-block set in a variety of formations. Portugal is obviously more talented than the other two, but all three showed superb positional sense, and punched above their weight. Employing the counter-attacking low block is a tried and true method. There isn't anything regressive about it, especially when Klinsmann seemed unable to teach the possession game.

We can't seek to employ any sort of possession if our positioning is wayward.

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We are doing poorly in the Hex THIS cycle.

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Whose fault is that? Why did we dominate CONCACAF with less talented teams?

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We're in this hole because of our talent pool.

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So you believe the talent pool has gotten worse since 2002?

I'm sorry, but that is just 100% false.

My thoughts after watching the match:

Regarding the Panamanian goal, soccer can be fortuitous and soccer can be cruel. In this case, failure by the US to win the ball in the air, a fortuitous deflection, and a tremendous eye, pounce, and finish by a Panamanian player were the pivotal factors. First, the marking by the US was very good. When the ball comes down, every Panamanian is marked well by an American. The US should be better in the air considering the height, physicality, and athleticism of its players. Jones, Bradley, and Ream are all there but fail to win the ball in the air. The ball then takes a deflection and lands perfectly for a Panamanian to make a play. The Panamanian player instantly sees the ball and flys from around Villafana, who had sealed the Panamanian off from the throw in. Villafana, Ream, and Bradley are in best position to break up the play. Villafana, Ream, and Gonzalez all immediately spot the ball; Bradley never does until after the crucial instant when it is too late to assist. Gonzalez does well by instantly grabbing and sealing off his man then bolts toward goal to assist as Villafana and Ream are desperately flying toward the ball. The Panamanian beats them by a fraction of a second to the fortuitously deflected ball and strikes it as Villafana and Ream go airborne with legs extended to block as best they can. Howard makes himself big as well but the strike is a fast and perfect shot. Goal.

Regarding the US goal, of course the duel by Pulisic and the calm in which he read that play was brilliant. He knew to beat a defender and a keeper, both in position, from a standstill point would be difficult and therefore controlled, fought off, and attacked while using his vision to spot the opportunity he sensed was coming into the box. He followed all of this up with a perfect pass to Dempsey for the finish. Dempsey's role was wonderful as well. The run that he made into the box was not just happenstance. He maneuvered well and found the space necessary to exploit, timing it perfectly. He placed himself in the perfect position to finish. It was a great goal that involved American players taking on defenders and beating them head to head with control, skill, physicality, and movement.

I was not too impressed with Jones and I believe the US missed Lletget on the pitch from an offensive as well as defensive perspective. I think Kljestan in central midfield rather than Jones would have offered more creativity, control, and possession in the attack. Ultimately, my preference is for Pulisic. He is just a playmaker and needs to touch the ball as much as possible.

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We're in this hole because of our talent pool

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We currently have the deepest pool we've ever had.

Hell, we were down to our 6th choice at RB last night and he didn't do terrible. You can make a full team with players in their correct position of players that were out injured and we still got a point on the road.

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A diamond of Pulisic, Nagbe, FabJo and Bradley would be pretty sweet.

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Yep. Take Fabian and put him where Lletget was last game and roll out. Hopefully Villafana can keep his spot at LB locked down so we can keep Fabian in the MF

He's possibly the best right back in the championship. Did you watch him once two years ago and come to this conclusion?

Ehh, that might've been the case two years ago but he's improved tremendously after the stint at Sunderland and now Newcastle.

Why Deandre Yedlin is Newcastle's best player (UK article)

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Further to the visuals of Yedlin's Championship appearances this season, statistics from Opta also present the Seattle native in a favourable light when compared to his team mates. From the players in Rafa Benitez's squad that have played more league games than Yedlin, no-one has a better 'Points Per Game' figure - with the American achieving an impressive 2.39 points for every game played. (Note - these statistics are prior to this weekend's game).

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There are visuals in the link, but an assist every 64 minutes in 23 appearances for a defender indicates he's more than just a track star.

And even if he wasn't, I think his performance in the World Cup proved that track stars can make a difference in soccer, this guy is one of the fastest players on the planet and that causes major problems for opponents. When they're game panning for Newcastle I imagine his first touch doesn't come up in the conversation very much. Blistering pace is a great equalizer and has to be accounted for.

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Regardless, Yedlin is still way better at RB than Zusi is.

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Well i can't argue that. I don't think the gap is that wide but maybe it is. Zusi was deplorable last night. I think he just booted another useless long ball that Jozy is going to pretend to run after.

I'd rather see CP at #10. Nagbe offers the same pace and work rate though. He had two runs last night that were insane, just exploded right by defenders.

Something like this for Russia and I'm a happy guy.