Pre-match: 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup Group Stage: USA vs Trinidad and Tobago

altidore for zardes has to happen. long doesnt look right to me- it may be lingering injury issues/shaprness but need to miazga back in regardless.

im not throwing my hat into the genius ring- i would never presume to question "the system"- but why do we not play dual (not)6(s) instead of dual 10s? not that we dont have a single 10 on the team (which we dont), but why not sit mckennie (fingers crossed) deeper with bradley/trapp?

it makes sense with or without the rb/cb hybrid. do we really need another 6 months for that right-sided cm to act as a "pulley" with lima? either way there are two de facto 6s sitting back on top of 3 cbs when we attack. is having a variable (either that cm OR the lima joins the attack) too complicated?

is "adding" a deeper lying central mid who, in ANY scenario, is a far better defender than bradley/trapp bad in any way?

mckennie isnt amazing as an attack first player (and roldan shouldnt be in the team if thats the role), but putting either of them deeper plays to their strengths AND the defense, which can use a lot more cover than the negligible help bradley/trapp provide.

so...

____________steffen____________
______miazga___zimmerman___ream
lima
_______mckennie___bradley
____________pulisic
boyd______________________arriola
____________altidore

either lima or mckennie/roldan push forward in possession while the other sits on top of the backline w/bradley- it also helps that if pulisic HAS to be central at least give him as much room as possible in there.

as far as rotation goes (injury related or not), i feel fine with roldan if played deepter. bradley/trapp is whatever- other than trapp still playing up to 15% of passes forward and bradley sending those sweet long diagonals to fans along the endline, theres really no difference.

id like to see boyd and arriola switch occasionally (id like the two of them and pulisic to be fluid throughout the game re who is where but im not going to get ahead of myself- im still keeping this berhalter-possible).

get miazga back in, roldan for mckennie if necassary, altidore for zardes is non-negotiable.

lets get it. im far too encouraged by not looking like hot garbage against dudes with second jobs for one match- this one cant come soon enough for me.

 

Watch the highlights of TNT vs PAN. Was this the Trinidad defense we played in the last qualifier? Very porous. But will Pulisic, Boyd or even Arriola score against them?
This is the 2nd time in a row McKennie gets injured playing for the USMNT. Roldan will be a poor substitute for him whether he plays back with slow poke Bradley and useless Trapp. Good job with the roster Berhalter.
I bet Long will play instead of Miazga, Zardes instead of Altidore.

 

Is there an injury report on Weston?

 

Revenge should be a motivating factor against Trinidad & Tobago. But then we also move from a 177th ranked opponent to a 92nd ranked nation. So we'll try harder , but face a less weak opponent.
Given how deliriously happy Chicago House's party line tells us we should be about besting Guyana, I suppose a victory over the mighty TnT should send us all into a powerful chant of "What do We Want? To Extend General Egg's Contract! When do We Want It? Now!"
My prediction? We win 3-1.

 

My line up.... 4-4-1-1

GK Steffen
RB Cannon
CB Miazga
CB Zimmerman
LB Lima
DM Bradley
RM Arriola
MF McKennie/Roldan
LM Pulisic
CF Boyd
FW Altidore

*Boyd and Pulisic interchanging throughout the game. But I want Pulisic to start the game out wide for a change.

Likely subs:
Morris (Altidore) 80
Lovitz (Lima) 80
Lewis (Arriola) 70

 

I don't hate it.

 

Berhalter said postgame, however, that McKennie “should be OK – it looked like it was a little bit of a cramp.”

McKennie, speaking about 90 minutes after the match, said it was “feeling better. Still getting evaluated, but as of right now, I think it’s looking good.

“Just a little tight, that’s about it,” he added.

https://sports.yahoo.com/usa-guyana-gold-cup-result-score-usmnt-takeaways-035855985.html

 

With Berhalter's comments indicating that the substitutions of Bradley and Pulisic were planned on Tuesday, I think they both start and that Berhalter will rotate only 3-4 players. Something like this:

--Arriola---Altidore---Boyd--
-----Pulisic-------Roldan-----
-------------Bradley-------------
Ream--Long--Miazga--Lima
-------------Steffen-------------

 

My lineup for Saturday:

------Boyd--------Altidore---------Pulisic------
Arriola------Bradley---Roldan-----McKennie
--------Long------Miazga----Zimmerman-----
---------------------Steffen-------------------------


I'm playing a 3-4-3, I guess primarily for 2 reasons.

1. It's T&T at home. We "should" be able to defend with only 3 back here.
2. We have zero left backs that I can play - Ream is not a LB at all and not even a LCB that I can feel. Lovitz is an aging comedian as far as I know. The RBs are likewise not going to play Champions league anytime soon.

If Altidore is not fit to go, I start Morris as my CF. Certainly not ideal, but at least it's not Jar Jar. At least there's speed across the entire front line.

If McKennie needs to rest, I would still play this and put Lima there.

Player thoughts in this scheme:

• Pulisic - get him wide where he can do damage. Even in a pedestrian game vs. Guyana you saw it. Pulisic wide in space - then he attacked, either marauding centrally or down the end line.
• McKennie and Arriola. They both have played as wingbacks or even is outside backs a bit, so If they need to defend they should be fine. McKennie actually had a couple of his better games for Schalke at RM. I also like the idea of McKennie and Pulisic combining here.
  
• Roldan - I may be his last supporter. He's pretty much burnt every chance, but lets give it another college try. He also did well at Sounders as a RM last season, so he and Mckennie could switch if it feels right.
• Bradley - Good god I don't want to play him. I don't know what else to do though.
• Steffen - This guy has earned absolutely nothing. But, the backups here I can't trust at all. He stays.

 

It's payback time.

From Conan the Barbarian movie ...
(When asked "What is best in life?")
<Conan> To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women!

 

For Berhalter, this is a must-win game. A poor performance and he and the rest of the team and federation will be unmercifully pilloried. The Gregg honeymoon, such as it is, will be over and then some.

As such, he'll be compelled to put his best foot forward in terms of player selection and tactics. No doubt this is why he rested Jozy. Who knows, perhaps he did the same with Omar, and we'll see Omar try to take his revenge on Saturday.

 

My starting XI for Saturday. Flame away.

GK - Steffan
CB - Miazga Gonzalez Zimmerman
MF - Lima Boyd McKennie Bradley Arriola
F - Pulisic Altidore

Jozy posts up and with Arriola and Boyd creating havoc on the wings, Pulisic roams to space. McKennie plays box to box. Lima plays wing behind Boyd but tends to stay back to support Bradley.

 

Hmmmm not a bad idea at all. An Altidore & Pulisic tandem as forward would let one anchor the ball and distribute out, while the other stretched and brought uncertainty to the TnT defense. If Lima emphasized the staying back to support Bradley, who will badly need that support, then our defense would be less stressed.

 

In interviews I have heard/read from Egg, he acknowledged that he tried "too much, too soon" regarding the amount of tactical lessons he has tried to impart on the groups he has brought in so far.

That leads me to assume he will stress more continuity from match to match than in the friendlies. So to me just one or two switches (Miazga, Altidore) and the rest of the set-up looking the same feels most likely.

That said, I do like that 3-4-3 posted above as a way to get Ream off.

Can't play this one soon enough.

 

Yet he's had more time with his "group" than many NT coaches get over a period of 12-18 months.

A month in Jan. March window. Now June. Many of the same players. Tata has spent far less time with Mex and they're playing an intelligent, cohesive brand.

Perhaps, and this may be a wild theory, the problem is the teacher in this case.

 

We beat them 2-0 at home in the Hex. I think that's our baseline.

I think we will have the majority of possession as TnT will cede it and try to counter-attack. What I'm looking for:

- organized defense with limited scoring opportunities for TnT
- good communication
- a very small number of turnovers in our third
- outside shots peppering their goalie

 

Not sure our team has the mindset to pepper their goalie with outside shots..... I would like to see more of that, however.

 

Wanted to repost the same line up I wanted before the Guyana game:

------------------Altidore-----------------
Boyd---------- Pulisic---------Arriola
-------Bradley(6)-Mckennie(8)-------
Ream--Miazga--Zimmerman---Lima
--------------------Steffen------------------

With Boyd and Pulisic interchanging at times.

Gregg made progress in my book by letting Lima play as a real RB last game. The next step for me would be to have McKennie and Bradley playing parallel on defense, with Pulisic functioning more as a true 10. I doubt he'll do this, but one can hope.

I predict us winning 3-1.

 

Well if McKennie is indeed going to sit, Roldan is good for one thing at least.

 

If GGG sees anyone giving a "Couva-like" effort, sit their a$$ down.

 

Im assuming you dont play McKinnie just because we really shouldnt if he was tight, give him a week off and then some sub minutes in the last group game.

My lineup would be
-----------Altidore
Boyd---Mihailovic------Pulisic
-----------Roldan
Arriola-----------------------Lima
---Miazga--Zimmerman-Long
-----------Steffen

Maybe Horvath can get a few games in the fall, looks to be back on track but I dont rate Sean Johnson, and Im not sure its a good spot to give Tyler Miller his intro.

Should be an easy win and get Morris and Lewis some minutes.

 

I actually think this would be the game to try with a Bradley-less Trapp-less midfield but I doubt it would happen.

 

Maybe the last game as well.

 

Most important is to keep T&T out of the final third as much as possible, win the central midfield battles, play quickly, keep the ball wide on the wings, switch the play with diagonal long balls, have dynamism in the attack, recover quickly on loss of possession (this means you, wingbacks), mark tightly on set pieces and any attackers running through when in defense. OK, that's a basic soccer checklist. Hey, maybe one of our guys can do this: