Someone was saying back at the start how this was slim pickings for a friendly. Teams that ended up playing friendlies this time include: Japan Paraguay Korea Saudi Arabia Northern Ireland Peru Ecuador Honduras Chile Argentina Ivory Coast Tunisia Morocco Brazil Colombia Costa Rica South Africa And the solution was play Mexico twice in a row. One thing I am befuddled about is we don't play fresh teams that would expose different things, good or bad, about the players and the formation. I also think there are hints of something racial and arrogant in assuming we are beyond playing Asian or African sides. We who can't qualify out of Concacaf. Our mentality is stuck back somewhere about 2002.
433 is more of the fans' emphasis. GB has been more flexible. What he has insisted on is a deep-lying playmaker.
My point is that it makes sense that if a coach...any coach calls in a guy like Morales that he would want to see him in action. If he is going home after the first game, it makes sense to play him in the first game. People (coaches are people) do things that don't make sense all the time so it is not guaranteed but I still think it is kind of premature to criticize him the day of the game before the lineups are out. After the lineups are out there will probably be something to gripe about...if it is Trapp starting or Zardes starting. Those would be extremely legitimate gripes that I believe would be indefensible, but I am just saying wait 9 more hours...obviously less now. (I haven't had a chance to check....are the lineups out yet?) Again...I am not making a prediction on whether or not Morales, Trapp, Zardes or whoever would start, only that it makes sense to start Morales. Whether Berhalter starts him or not is another question and this close to game time I'd rather wait and see.
Other than the U20, I haven't seen Dest play. Having said that, Dest doesn't remind me at all of Yedlin. Yedllin has poor skill compared to Dest. We should get a good view of Dest's defensive qualities vs. Mexico but I have seen enough to believe that offensively and in possession they are 100% different.
What’s the downside in stating a worry before the rosters come out? We’ve been through this before - I was worried that the gold cup roster would be too familiar / MLS biased and you wrote pretty much the same thing (“it’s too early”) and predicted that we’d be surprised by how many new faces were brought in for the gold cup. Well, there was only one new face to get excited about and he was benched after strong performances. Conversely, the same players we’re excited about today weren’t brought in then. IIRC, you acknowledged that your hope for new players was mostly unmet. My biggest hope is that we move away from the regista position as our foundation. More specifically, we have to move away from Bradley and Trapp in that role. Irrespective of the result (and I’ve got skin in the game), it would be a welcomed, albeit overdue, systemic change and I’ve got my finger crossed. If we start Trapp and he’s both our defensive cover and distribution hub, I’ll be quite irate.
Will be interesting actually to see how well Dest attacks down the flank against Mexico. He has tremendous skill and speed .... but when necessary will he have the mental set to defend well? But he is starting at Ajax ... that says alot.
I 100% expected that. I don't think it's right but with the Uruguay game being in Sargent's home town, it was almost a guarantee Zardes would start this one. The LB spot is where I'd like to see another change. If he starts Morales and a non-Ream/Lovitz left back, I'll be happy.
I think a lot of countries would love to be on the way down the Dutch way....like beating the 2018 World Champion France and their predecessor Germany in the Nations League group and while on that track spiraling down into the semi final demolishing the 2018 WC semi finalist England. We keep on spiraling down with this evenings win in Hamburg by beating Germany 2-4 in a European Championship qualifier match. Gsus, I feel so depressed by all that doom and misery we have to endure with the Orange team this year. Things arenot looking good, it's terrible.
The Dutch are playing wonderfully, which means they should be getting ready for yet another heart-breaking loss in the Qatar final.
I'll take a stab at GB's 11 ………..Zardes...………… Puli......McK……...Morris …...Morales...Trapp...….. Ream...JB..Long….Dest ………...Stef...…… Hoping to see Mckennie back with Morales and Lletget further up.
Yeah, but you're still dreaming of ever having a chance of a heart break. I dated several super models, but they all broke my heart by swapping me for a billionaire....but hey....I was there first
I'm not crazy for Zardes either. Hopefully we see a 20 min Sargent cameo and a Sargent start in St louis.