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re: Would Gregg Berhalter have had the team better prepared for Belgium than Pochettino?
Posted on 7/7/26 at 11:55 am to jmcwhrter
Posted on 7/7/26 at 11:55 am to jmcwhrter
quote:
I dont think it was a coincidence that Belgium benched three studs to start the game. They wanted to make a statement about us.
Yeah, it wasn't a coincidence at all. Rudi Garcia chose the players to execute the exact tactics he prefers. High work rate defending to press and win the ball in vulnerable areas, playmaker type instead of classic striker, speed to play in the air to racing wingers etc.
That Poch only seemed to get the team adjusted to that after being shellshocked for 45 minutes when it seemed kind of obvious as soon as the lineup was announced is certainly on him.
0
Posted on 7/7/26 at 11:58 am to dgnx6
quote:
Could Gregg get spurs to a champions league final? No.
Ok, let’s go with that line of thinking.
Poch lost that game.
He also had prime Harry Kane and could not win Premier League.
Kane leaves Spurs and is plugged into Bayern, wins Golden Boot and his first silverware. So it looks like it wasn’t Kane…
Poch absolutely WASTED Harry Kane.
He’s only won ONE Championship silver … at PSG…once… ffs I could win silver at PSG.
This post was edited on 7/7/26 at 12:02 pm
Posted on 7/7/26 at 12:07 pm to ghoast
Geez, there’s so much ignorance here.
Posted on 7/7/26 at 12:11 pm to Alyosha
Pot meet kettle.
This post was edited on 7/7/26 at 12:17 pm
Posted on 7/7/26 at 12:11 pm to Stinger_1066
quote:I'm as disappointed as anyone, but I think USMNT fans vastly overestimate how talented this squad is. I have never been convinced that the squad was as good as people say. How long have we heard about Pulisic being the next best thing? Top to bottom it's just not close to good enough. Expecting to get beyond RO16 is unrealistic given how dogshit the team is.
I vote to not renew.
This post was edited on 7/7/26 at 12:12 pm
Posted on 7/7/26 at 12:21 pm to GeorgeTheGreek
quote:
We were 10x better vs the Dutch. They just buried their chances in the first half.
Our players performed better against the Dutch in 2022, but from a tactics standpoint, Gregg got them wrong in that match just as bad as Poch got them wrong yesterday.
Posted on 7/7/26 at 12:22 pm to Broski
Agreed Gregg = Poch, Poch = Gregg
Posted on 7/7/26 at 12:24 pm to baldona
quote:
They looked flat as hell. They looked scared. The touches of half the players were horrible. Pulisic's touch wasn't there.
If it were only a player or two that was off, but when pretty much the entire team seems to be infected with the same disease, who do you blame it on? Either the coach or the captain. There is no one else.
Posted on 7/7/26 at 12:27 pm to Riseupfromtherubble
quote:
If you watch the first 10 minutes of the second half after we switch tactics we looked like the better team. We didn't change anything we did from the group stage and Belgium came in with a plan tailor made to counter what they'd seen us do the last 4 matches and it worked.
We looked every bit ready to find an equalizer early in the second half until Freese made the dumbest play of the tournament. We go down 3-1 after a run of great play and it just totally deflates everyone. That's not a team that beats us 9/10 times. We had 57% possession of the ball and 89% pass accuracy to their 83%. Their chances weren't generated as much as they were mental lapses by our guys. They just didn't frick up, which is the hallmark of an experienced European side along with clinical finishing.
I think there's a decent chance that Gregg doesn't get us out of the group. He wasn't exactly known for his front foot tactics. A Gregg team isn't putting 4 in on Paraguay. I don't know what the hell happened last night aside from the guys just realizing quickly that Belgium's plan in the first half was stifling our plan. Yes, some individual quality was at play, but part of their plan was to have Courtois send it long to whoever Ream was marking and bypass our whole team. That's not exactly a tactical masterclass, it was route 1 Burnley football for 45 minutes, but it does beg the question why Ream went the full 90 when he was clearly a marked man to pick on.
Great post.
Posted on 7/7/26 at 12:29 pm to baldona
quote:
Lets not forget that Belgium benched 3 of their veteran starters and it worked out perfectly for them
Doku has been bad and KDB is a shell of his former self. It was 100% the right call.
Posted on 7/7/26 at 12:33 pm to wm72
quote:
I'll bite.
This match was so frustrating in that as soon as the Belgian lineups was announced and Rudi Garcia chose:
Speed and defensive work rate over just best attacking players at every chance and a #10 type skilled player at striker.
You read some fans saying Belgium was going to defend deeply but every random who follows European club soccer knew exactly what Garcia was going to do:
Gang press certain players/areas high up the pitch and use the playmaker at the striker position to facilitate breaking at speed when they won balls and also quickly play over the top to speed on the wings.
He's been doing that for 20 years. He hasn't in some Belgian matches only to accommodate aging stars.
US players made countless dumb mistakes but I think much of that is that from just not being prepared for exactly what they were going to see from Belgium. That is on Poch.
Maybe in this one match a different manager gets that right. I still think Poch is a very good manager with a great personality too for the USMNT.
Horrible that the one time he got his arse handed to him tactically was in such a massive match though.
Another great post.
Posted on 7/7/26 at 12:33 pm to Broski
quote:
No, Poch's performance last night was on par with Gregg's performance in R16 vs Netherlands.
In what way was it on par? Because I watched both of those games and can tell you last night looked worse.
Against the Dutch our xG was similar, with some sources saying we had the better xG. We played them evenly and lost to poor marking moments from Adams, Dest, and Robinson. In general I thought we looked competitive and performed to our expected level, if not slightly above, given the large disparity in talent.
LINK
Against the Dutch we had about even possession, more shots, more corners, the same number of big chances, and double their number of touches in the opposition box. We did this with the youngest team in the tournament. LINK
Against Belgium we had about half their touches in the box, 2 shots on target to their 7, and 1/4 their xG. In fact we had 20 less touches in the box again Belgium than we did against the Netherlands. We only had 12 last night.
LINK
Surprisingly duel percentage was about equal across the two games.
What advantages did we have in 2026? Five starters from 2022 played, we had Richards instead of Zimmerman, Balogun instead of Ferreira, and Tillman instead of Musah. We played a home game. We had a coach with a better pedigree. We were basically set up better for success in every way and completely underperformed expectations. At no point last night did we look competitive.
Maybe someone can convince me otherwise, but by every objective and subjective metric this performance was significantly worse to me.
Posted on 7/7/26 at 12:36 pm to Riseupfromtherubble
quote:
I think there's a decent chance that Gregg doesn't get us out of the group.
What’s your logic here? He got out us out of a harder group in the last World Cup with a worse team and no home field advantage.
Posted on 7/7/26 at 12:37 pm to cwil177
Like I said earlier, I think our players performed better against the Dutch, so I guess in that aspect point to Gregg for at least having the players mentally ready. Poch meanwhile loses a shite ton of points for having every single player scared shitless for some reason.
But from a tactics standpoint, we played right into the hands of the opposing team. When it comes to tactics, I view it as a pass/fail, because with those two games as an example, if the tactics are wrong, the play of non-world class players can only do so much to change. Both coaches failed in that respect.
But from a tactics standpoint, we played right into the hands of the opposing team. When it comes to tactics, I view it as a pass/fail, because with those two games as an example, if the tactics are wrong, the play of non-world class players can only do so much to change. Both coaches failed in that respect.
This post was edited on 7/7/26 at 12:39 pm
Posted on 7/7/26 at 12:38 pm to ghoast
quote:
He also had prime Harry Kane and could not win Premier League.
He finished runner up and their highest points total ever.
I'm not saying Poch is god's gift but this nonsense that he sucks and is a failure is BS.
Posted on 7/7/26 at 12:39 pm to BigPerm30
quote:
He made all the right adjustments at half
Those adjustments should have been made after we got shellacked for the first thirty minutes. Or hell, make them before the game when you see how Belgium is lining up.
quote:
Maybe Turner should’ve started?
Sounds like a coaching decision. Knowing this board y’all will probably find a way to blame Berhalter.
Posted on 7/7/26 at 12:39 pm to Riseupfromtherubble
quote:
I think there's a decent chance that Gregg doesn't get us out of the group.
Gregg being this weird US Soccer boogeyman has become tired.
He was a mediocre coach in a long line of mediocre coaches in USMNT history, nothing more, nothing less.
Posted on 7/7/26 at 12:39 pm to STLhog
He doesn’t know what he’s talking about
Posted on 7/7/26 at 12:40 pm to Riseupfromtherubble
quote:
but it does beg the question why Ream went the full 90 when he was clearly a marked man to pick on.
Because it could have been worse than what we saw. If you can believe that. I find it hard to imagine actually.
Posted on 7/7/26 at 12:42 pm to Broski
quote:
Poch got them wrong yesterday.
Please elaborate on this statement. What tactically, outside of taking some random gamble to start the game, should have been different that he didn't change at half time?
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