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USMNT Qualifying Window Thoughts
Posted on 9/10/21 at 4:41 pm
Posted on 9/10/21 at 4:41 pm
A few final thoughts on this past qualifying window:
1. As a fan, the 3 game windows are a lot of fun as it’s a pretty good simulation of a tournament group stage. Hopefully (assuming we qualify) this serves Gregg well in figuring out who can give 270 and who needs rest.
2. I think Tyler Adams needs to be the US captain. Even out of position the first half of Honduras there was no lack of effort with admirable attempts from him to make overlapping runs. Absent an injury, this guy will play every minute going forward and is the team’s tone setter.
3. As much as I love a team with pulisic and Reyna as attacking wingers, I think one of these two needs to play centrally in the midfield for the USMNT. Maybe mckennnie will ultimately provide this, but there was just no linkage through the midfield during this window. Pulisic or Reyna playing in front of Adams and mckennie (or acosta) in the midfield is what I would like to see at some point.
4. The next window of games must produce 7 points. Anything short of 7 and the US will be looking at the rest of qualifying happening during the mls off-season and needing points from the two Mexico games.
5. A. Robinson and Ream played well. Maybe the Championship really is the GOAT league for preparing people for concacaf away games.
6. If Scally continues to start I’d love to see him as the next teenager to earn a cap.
1. As a fan, the 3 game windows are a lot of fun as it’s a pretty good simulation of a tournament group stage. Hopefully (assuming we qualify) this serves Gregg well in figuring out who can give 270 and who needs rest.
2. I think Tyler Adams needs to be the US captain. Even out of position the first half of Honduras there was no lack of effort with admirable attempts from him to make overlapping runs. Absent an injury, this guy will play every minute going forward and is the team’s tone setter.
3. As much as I love a team with pulisic and Reyna as attacking wingers, I think one of these two needs to play centrally in the midfield for the USMNT. Maybe mckennnie will ultimately provide this, but there was just no linkage through the midfield during this window. Pulisic or Reyna playing in front of Adams and mckennie (or acosta) in the midfield is what I would like to see at some point.
4. The next window of games must produce 7 points. Anything short of 7 and the US will be looking at the rest of qualifying happening during the mls off-season and needing points from the two Mexico games.
5. A. Robinson and Ream played well. Maybe the Championship really is the GOAT league for preparing people for concacaf away games.
6. If Scally continues to start I’d love to see him as the next teenager to earn a cap.
3
Posted on 9/10/21 at 5:24 pm to ned nederlander
quote:
Maybe mckennnie will ultimately provide this, but there was just no linkage through the midfield during this window. Pulisic or Reyna playing in front of Adams and mckennie (or acosta) in the midfield is what I would like to see at some point.
Yunus Musah exists
Posted on 9/10/21 at 5:52 pm to Broski
Musah can replace Pulisic in the middle when Pulisic invariably takes a knock and can’t play 270 in 6 days.
Posted on 9/10/21 at 8:12 pm to ned nederlander
Or Musah can start in the midfield from the beginning.
Posted on 9/10/21 at 9:46 pm to Broski
Does the beginning mean eventually? Or like the October 7, 10 and 13th window?
Dropping musah into the middle of the midfield on October 7 in a game the US needs to win and Jamaica has to earn a point seems ambitious.
Dropping musah into the middle of the midfield on October 7 in a game the US needs to win and Jamaica has to earn a point seems ambitious.
Posted on 9/10/21 at 10:11 pm to ned nederlander
Have you seen Musah play, bud? I doubt he has a problem stepping into this midfield.
Posted on 9/10/21 at 10:58 pm to DByrd2
quote:
Have you seen Musah play, bud? I doubt he has a problem stepping into this midfield.
Considering we just started sands in the midfield I can’t really argue with that.
But the question is whether Musah is a better option to help the midfield than dropping Pulisic or Reyna centrally. At least for October 7, think yes even accounting for what you lose on the wing.
Musah has 17 total club starts and a few international caps in friendlies. He was hurt to start this year and has only 5 valencia games to get into form and his spot as a starter for valencia isn’t a sure thing yet. We just watched dest, mckennie and brooks put in some pretty shaky minutes this past window. In what is a near must win game, I’d go with more known commodities.
Then again I thought Sargent was our best 9 and thought Juan Agudelo would be a star so musah is probably Paul scholes reincarnated and should start immediately.
Posted on 9/10/21 at 11:39 pm to ned nederlander
quote:
in a game the US needs to win and Jamaica has to earn a point seems ambitious.
Huh?
You know Musah has played for us already and has played exclusively in the midfield right?
Posted on 9/11/21 at 12:13 am to ned nederlander
I hear you man.
The thing with Musah is that he advances the ball from the midfield. When you have a player like him, the wings have better spacing and freedom as well as the striker.
When we have wings like Gio and Christian, they will ALWAYS drop into the midfield at times to create 1-2s or provide an outlet.
Having a true mid there helps to make the opposition respect our abilities in the middle of the park. In his few caps, Musah has shown an eye for line break passing and pretty good passing ability. He also has the ability to take on defenders and use muscle to win balls.
I think that if Pepi is what he seems to be, we need to have a good, solid mid to slot in next to McKennie and Adams. I don’t like the idea of having four attackers with the way that Gregg employs his tactics, but then again that’s exactly what was on the field when Pepi exploded down in San Pedro Sula, so who the frick really knows?
The thing with Musah is that he advances the ball from the midfield. When you have a player like him, the wings have better spacing and freedom as well as the striker.
When we have wings like Gio and Christian, they will ALWAYS drop into the midfield at times to create 1-2s or provide an outlet.
Having a true mid there helps to make the opposition respect our abilities in the middle of the park. In his few caps, Musah has shown an eye for line break passing and pretty good passing ability. He also has the ability to take on defenders and use muscle to win balls.
I think that if Pepi is what he seems to be, we need to have a good, solid mid to slot in next to McKennie and Adams. I don’t like the idea of having four attackers with the way that Gregg employs his tactics, but then again that’s exactly what was on the field when Pepi exploded down in San Pedro Sula, so who the frick really knows?
Posted on 9/11/21 at 12:47 am to DByrd2
It won't happen next window barring a miraculous recovery from Gio Reyna, but if we ever see this XI, it would be the most balanced lineup we've played since the 2002 days of Claudio Reyna, McBride, Stewart, LD, DMB.
Posted on 9/11/21 at 12:58 am to Broski
He’s played for us in friendlies. Those are practices.
We need a competent attacking central midfielder to play 270 minutes over 6 days in october. I would fill those minutes with pulisic and reyna. Seems like you would fill those minutes with musah. That’s what makes horse racing. Here’s betting Gregg goes another direction entirely.
We need a competent attacking central midfielder to play 270 minutes over 6 days in october. I would fill those minutes with pulisic and reyna. Seems like you would fill those minutes with musah. That’s what makes horse racing. Here’s betting Gregg goes another direction entirely.
Posted on 9/11/21 at 1:17 am to ned nederlander
quote:
He’s played for us in friendlies. Those are practices.
More than Pepi played for us before Wednesday.
quote:
We need a competent attacking central midfielder to play 270 minutes over 6 days in october.
Musah has a better chance of doing that than Reyna/Pulisic. I mean, Reyna won't even be in camp in October.
Posted on 9/11/21 at 1:30 am to Broski
I would have McKennie as the more advanced one but I don’t think it really matters that much. If Musah and McKennie can progress the ball adequately I’m cool with that formation, but I’m still hesitant at putting our best players out wide. I really think Reyna will light things up this year for club and country playing in the middle.
I wanted to share with the board my experience from the Nashville qualifier. I’ll just share here instead of making a separate thread.
1. Getting into the stadium was easy, as was transportation (just ubered). A lot of people were walking to the stadium from further distances and it was cool to be at a game where the majority of fans were in red white and blue.
2. Mask wearing was about half and half. A lot of people wore them in the crowded indoor areas (concessions, bathroom) but took them off while seated. Concessions lines were long. Our friend tried to get something at half time but gave up.
3. Atmosphere was a little muted. A ton of families at this game. Definitely something that needs improvement. Having a massive stadium only half full (they didn’t open the upper areas) just looked kind of weird and sad. These games need to be in a soccer specific stadium imo.
4. USSF hired this cringe motherfricker in a red blazer to lead some USA chants and he was awful. He was like a hype man or some shite but it was just bad. He hung out with a DJ. He was annoying and there were a ton of people commenting on Reddit that they couldn’t stand him.
5. American outlaws led some of the better cheers.
6. A ton of people sang the anthem and it was awesome. I don’t think I’ve ever been at a sports event where that many people were belting it out all together. The guy singing it did a great job, too. The audio/acoustics were good.
7. The game sucked except for two moments which produced the loudest cheers of the night: Aaronson scoring to put us ahead, and a guy drinking a very full beer, who they put on the jumbo tron, who proceeded to down the beer to rapturous applause.
8. Tickets were about 115 total (Ticketmaster GFYS). We sat on the 40 yard line in the lower bowl, kind of near the back but honestly they were great seats. It was hard to see stuff going on at the near sideline and I had to use the video boards for that.
9. There were no replays shown. Probably the most frustrating part because you couldn’t get confirmation if you were actually getting concacaf’d or not on some of the closer calls.
Happy to answer any other questions.
I wanted to share with the board my experience from the Nashville qualifier. I’ll just share here instead of making a separate thread.
1. Getting into the stadium was easy, as was transportation (just ubered). A lot of people were walking to the stadium from further distances and it was cool to be at a game where the majority of fans were in red white and blue.
2. Mask wearing was about half and half. A lot of people wore them in the crowded indoor areas (concessions, bathroom) but took them off while seated. Concessions lines were long. Our friend tried to get something at half time but gave up.
3. Atmosphere was a little muted. A ton of families at this game. Definitely something that needs improvement. Having a massive stadium only half full (they didn’t open the upper areas) just looked kind of weird and sad. These games need to be in a soccer specific stadium imo.
4. USSF hired this cringe motherfricker in a red blazer to lead some USA chants and he was awful. He was like a hype man or some shite but it was just bad. He hung out with a DJ. He was annoying and there were a ton of people commenting on Reddit that they couldn’t stand him.
5. American outlaws led some of the better cheers.
6. A ton of people sang the anthem and it was awesome. I don’t think I’ve ever been at a sports event where that many people were belting it out all together. The guy singing it did a great job, too. The audio/acoustics were good.
7. The game sucked except for two moments which produced the loudest cheers of the night: Aaronson scoring to put us ahead, and a guy drinking a very full beer, who they put on the jumbo tron, who proceeded to down the beer to rapturous applause.
8. Tickets were about 115 total (Ticketmaster GFYS). We sat on the 40 yard line in the lower bowl, kind of near the back but honestly they were great seats. It was hard to see stuff going on at the near sideline and I had to use the video boards for that.
9. There were no replays shown. Probably the most frustrating part because you couldn’t get confirmation if you were actually getting concacaf’d or not on some of the closer calls.
Happy to answer any other questions.
Posted on 9/11/21 at 1:39 am to cwil177
quote:
1. Getting into the stadium was easy, as was transportation (just ubered). A lot of people were walking to the stadium from further distances and it was cool to be at a game where the majority of fans were in red white and blue.
There was a lot under an overpass that was free and a half mile walk to the stadium. We parked there and crossed the foot bridge to Broadway.
quote:
2. Mask wearing was about half and half. A lot of people wore them in the crowded indoor areas (concessions, bathroom) but took them off while seated. Concessions lines were long. Our friend tried to get something at half time but gave up.
Really? I saw some masks, but definitely I felt like it was few and far between.
quote:
3. Atmosphere was a little muted. A ton of families at this game. Definitely something that needs improvement. Having a massive stadium only half full (they didn’t open the upper areas) just looked kind of weird and sad. These games need to be in a soccer specific stadium imo.
I thought the crowd was good for what it was, they did open the upper deck on one side (I assume the side that is viewable from the main TV broadcast camera). The lower level was completely full which was nice and the upper deck wasn't full but there was quite a few up there, which honestly shocked me.
As for the atmosphere, yeah it was subdued, but I think that had more to do with the game not really providing anything to cheer for.
quote:
4. USSF hired this cringe motherfricker in a red blazer to lead some USA chants and he was awful.
Wanted him murdered and I wanted his murder on the jumbotron.
quote:
6. A ton of people sang the anthem and it was awesome. I don’t think I’ve ever been at a sports event where that many people were belting it out all together. The guy singing it did a great job, too. The audio/acoustics were good.
I've never been very patriotic when it comes to the anthem, been to so many sporting events that I just naturally tune it out, but that was fricking awesome and I had goosebumps.
Posted on 9/11/21 at 3:25 am to ned nederlander
quote:
As a fan, the 3 game windows are a lot of fun
I don’t think my little heart can take much more of the 3 game windows
Posted on 9/11/21 at 6:35 am to Broski
quote:
It won't happen next window barring a miraculous recovery from Gio Reyna, but if we ever see this XI, it would be the most balanced lineup we've played since the 2002 days of Claudio Reyna, McBride, Stewart, LD, DMB.
Just think if we had a better gaffer. Instead my potential boner just stays limp.
Posted on 9/11/21 at 9:46 am to Girth Donor
The USMNT and fans are like the battered wife who swears they are going to get a divorce and then puts on makeup and get her hair fixed and goes out and gets told how good she looks and decides to stay.
The battering first two games and up till halftime of Honduras. The makeover the second half of Honduras. The problem is the things that caused being battered still exist. GGG's poor roster construction, bad lineups, poor substitution patterns(not counting the second half of Honduras), playing players out of position. Lack of solid patterns of play.
#FireBerghalter trended on twittter during the first half and halftime of the Honduras game.
The battering first two games and up till halftime of Honduras. The makeover the second half of Honduras. The problem is the things that caused being battered still exist. GGG's poor roster construction, bad lineups, poor substitution patterns(not counting the second half of Honduras), playing players out of position. Lack of solid patterns of play.
#FireBerghalter trended on twittter during the first half and halftime of the Honduras game.
Posted on 9/11/21 at 8:30 pm to Broski
That’s my ideal lineup. No weak spots.
Posted on 9/12/21 at 1:45 pm to lynxcat
Obviously still a long way to go, but if you were take a 23 to Qatar tomorrow, what strikers are you taking?
Because I'm honestly not sure if I'm taking Sargent. I rate Pepi and Zardes over him right now (OMG MLS), and I think I'd rather Hoppe over him even though he's never played at striker for Gregg.
Maybe I'm suffering from a little but of Dike-syndrome there where I'm assuming someone is better just because we haven't seen him. But even if you rule out Hoppe, I'm probably taking Pefok as a late-sub who can chase a goal because of his aerial threat.
Because I'm honestly not sure if I'm taking Sargent. I rate Pepi and Zardes over him right now (OMG MLS), and I think I'd rather Hoppe over him even though he's never played at striker for Gregg.
Maybe I'm suffering from a little but of Dike-syndrome there where I'm assuming someone is better just because we haven't seen him. But even if you rule out Hoppe, I'm probably taking Pefok as a late-sub who can chase a goal because of his aerial threat.
Posted on 9/12/21 at 5:17 pm to Broski
Dest is in definitely in the ideal 11 but personally I’d leave him out of any Concacaf road games. His style of play doesn’t translate well in that type of environment and field condition.
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