I think you have this completely backward. Lainez certainly ate Lichaj's and Trapp's lunch in the first 40. When the USA switched to the 4-2-3-1, Adams basically took him out of the game. This play was the first time he had seen the ball in awhile and Miazga calmly outclassed him. Lainez pulled his shirt and got in Miazga's face. How many times has the USA's NT and YNTs been in CONCACAF and the American does something stupid and gets a Red? (paging Altidore, Jozy). The game had turned to the Americans and Miazga does what anyone who has 50 lbs and 6" on someone looking for a fight does, says it isn't worth it. In a tight tense game, at that point, the Americans mentally dominated Mexico for the first time in awhile. Mexico lose it and get a Red themselves soon after. This is something different people. This is exactly the kind of thing that was missing last cycle. Plus, if Mexican fans want to keep shouting their homophobic chant, we can insult their players as much as we want.
He had his way with Lichaj (and Trapp- ouch)...but unfortunately for him, and Mexico- not so much with Miazga, CCV or Steffen. And contrary to the logic some are using in already being scared of this kid for the next decade- they (our defensive spine) might just get better, too.
The switch from the 4141 press to the 4231 non-press helped everyone and changed the match. We were better towards the end of the first half (last 5) and were on the front foot before the red. For all the justifiable complaints about the offense, the D was pretty darn good over both games. Mistakes made but not a lot of chances allowed vs two very good attacking teams. I believe you build a team from the back & we have done that. Steffen + Yedlin, Miazga, & Brooks look to be the starters going forward. Robinson has not locked up LB, but has showed enough to keep getting looks. And CCV is a solid CB deputy. Lichaj proved LB is not where he should be & Moore proved he is not up to snuff yet, but I would not mind either getting more looks as Yedlin's backup. I get where Sarachan is coming from on the midfield. Against superior teams putting 3 CMs in there shores up the D, Adams & McKennie shield Trapp some & allow him to distribute, and we don't really have a #10 anyway, so it is worth a look. Ditto on the wings & I get wanting Acosta on the field for the FKs. Defensively, it worked. Not on O. I think the time has come to try the 4231. I get that Trapp is the Beckerman type who the coach can trust will stay back while McKennie & Adams need/tend to roam more (particularly Adams). But let us see if we can get away with only 2 of those 3 out there at once & put a playmaker/2nd forward out there (Green, Pulisic, Lletget, Nguyen, etc). The 3/4 atracking spots are a mess. Green, Weah, & Zardes had some nice moments but were crippled by the formation in the first half. We miss CP. Weah has some promise and Zardes is just fine in CONCACAF. Eventually, I hope McKennie is the 6 and Adams the 8, but right now neither is a 6 so I am fine with Trapp there (or Williams when healthy). Just do not go 3 CMs (or four!) at once.
Was about to get geared up to post this as well. Moore looked like a young RB who got not solid coaching on tactics/expectations during the camp. Given the staff, not surprised. Otherwise, was very happy with his performance.
i see a lot of complaints about 3 DMs but maybe we wouldn’t need that many to have a solid defense if one of them was a strong ball-winner. Trapp’s defensive styling reminds me of MB’s with a bigger emphasis on directing lines of play rather than ball-winning. I think that we need a very strong ball winner given the CBs that we have. That being said, I thought our defensive shape was quite good in the game and that can’t be sacrificed for more offense IMO.
i agree. i mean, this is a guy who basically hasnt played a real match in how long?? this is him in pre-season form basically....and he was only off slightly in many situations from creating real danger. i thought the refs were very hard on him too and gave him no calls. i like his attitude and approach out there and considering how mexico didnt score and didnt ever really come close to scoring....he (and the rest of the defense) deserves more credit. on top of that, he had acosta as his "wing partner"....and acosta clearly didnt get the memo about pressing and seemed on a different page than his teammates all night long basically.
I agree with a lot of this, but strongly disagree on Trapp- particularly him freeing Adams/Mckennie. I think it's the exact opposite, I think he anchors them- and not in a good way. I think both are stunted by having to sit so deep to help cover defensively for a defensively poor "d" -mid. Comparing Trapp (this isn't a direct reply) to Beckerman is bananas. It's like saying, defensively, Ventura Alvarado is basically the same as Gooch Onyewu. We all rate players differently, but Trapp/Beckerman? Athleticism, short passing, composure? Sure. But defensively?! Just...no. C'mon man...no.
He was going to pay us wether Miazga did this or not. The kid is talented, you have to play mind games with players like this. Ultimately doing this led to an ejection and a win, we had no business winning this game, we were terrible and Mexico controlled the game prior to ejection.
I (regrettably?) ventured over to BSMX for the first time in years to see their thoughts on their team's performance and man, were they salty. From a moderator: From the Portuguese-American fan that trolled here non-stop pre-WC 2014 and then disappeared after the US got a result: An aside, I'm of average height, probably on the below average side, and I'm struggling to see why some are so offended by Miazga's antics. I'd laugh it off if someone did that to me. Some of the takes on the situation are ridiculous: Not surprised it was a #USMNT player who made a short joke on a soccer field. Obsession with height & size in ‘coaching’ circles in this country is absurd. Some kids in U.S. actually grow up thinking they have an advantage in soccer because they’re tall. Imagine that. 🤦♂️🙄 https://t.co/zJmrd18StC— Sebastian Salazar (@SebiSalazarFUT) September 12, 2018 1039729654754672640 is not a valid tweet id Although I don't think anything tops Angel Zaldivar, the guy who got the straight red card, saying the US played dirty and questioned their values. "You see what their values are, they don't know how to win," Zaldivar told Univision afterward. "They poked fun, [and] tried to play a dirty game that honestly we don't think is how you should play. That's their game and we couldn't do anything about it." http://www.espn.com/soccer/mexico/s...divar-says-united-states-dont-know-how-to-win
Random thoughts... Always happy to get a win vs Mexico. Sure, the Miazga thing was a bit silly, but it also got this team motivated and if some 5' 5" guy wants to step to him, you can't expect him to back down. I was glad to see Mexico being the team to be thrown off their game by a little gamesmanship for a change. Robinson keeps looking like the left back position is his to lose as long as he keeps improving. Lichaj will start aging out soon and has never been more than moderately serviceable anyway. CCV was solid and really the right back spot is Yedlin, but Moore looked a serviceable backup. Add Brooks to this group and I think our back line will be a strength this cycle. I don't think Trapp is bad, but he is in no way the rock around which you build this team. That's just absurd. Shame to see McKennie hurt, but at least we finally got a player who can handle the ball in tight spaces in the middle where space is tight when Green came on. Green is a really solid option for this team with our severe lack of anything but hard workers and runner in midfield. Adams ran and worked hard, showed well for his goal. Acosta was another hard worker, like most of the midfield. Weah is a forward at PSV, but we insist on playing him on the wing because he is fast and we want someone burly up front. He's going to be wasted. One aspect of his game the announcers seemed to ignore is that he seems adept at switching play and spreading the ball around when he drops deep. They did a replay once where Twellman was on about how his bad touch on the play and then the cut the replay completely just before Weah spread the ball wide, which eventually led to the goal. There were 2-3 times he got the ball deep and found a player in space on the opposite side that led to positive attacks. Zardes is what he is. No real reason for him in this game. He's big, but not good with back to goal and he's not quick or decisive enough to be an effective runner up top. Wood isn't much better. I am fine with playing a forward who doesn't score a lot if they really bring something else to the game. Neither of these guys did. So yeah, our young guys beat Mexico's young guys. That absolutely bodes well for the future. I' actually starting to get excited about what these players can become once we finally get a coach who starts molding them into a team. Shame that hasn't started yet.
We also don't know how to break down the press along the sidelines, particularly on the right side. We are naive on how to move and show for the ball in those settings.
This is almost as good as reading the salty takes of Vikings/ Cowgirls/ Giants fans as the Eagles strode their way to SB52. Love the salt.
I can't stand the pressing approach we used. It's a waste of effort to stand off players so far and then just make runs towards them. The opposing team has tons of time to pass the ball off and we just waste energy and open up the midfield. If a team is going to really press, they need to use Liverpool as an example of effective pressing. Using the tactics we did, it's hard to effectively evaluate any of the forward/midfield players...
RE: wing players and lack of options.... 1. I am optimistic about the chances of guys like pulisic sabbi, amon, gall, carleton, saief, gooch, manneh jonathan lewis picault etc etc etc i think there are options there that havent had much of a run and i think some will emerge. 2. playing players who arent wingers at wing is not a good idea. we have seen zardes, jordan morris, acosta etc there under sarachan. please play players in the position they play for their club. 3. I think it is very hard for anyone to look good as an attacker for the USMNT due to how the team plays and moves together. often the ball is passed ahead and the player is isolated with no outlet. the team is often very stretched and does not stay compact which makes it very hard to maintain possession and attackers are often going against many defenders in isolation. i think the team needs to allow more players to join into the attack to unbalance defenses and allow the attackers to have options for combination. you saw it on the goal vs mexico - acosta came from deep in midfield on the left as the catalyst for the goal. whoever is playing central mid - even at the 6 position needs to join in and create an outlet for the wingers.....this is a huge weakness of the midfield, imo. they dont support the attackers properly. 4. when possession is difficult the wide mids get very passive and squander attacking sequences with bakcpasses that often lead to toothless losses of possession. whoever is playing wide mid needs to understand that merely getting the wide mid the ball in an attacking posture is a small victory that cannot be wasted. the wide mid with the ball needs to attack, dribble try to creat and not worry so much about possession. at the end of the day, yes, it will lead to a lot of turnovers....and the wide mid - in order to become a starter for the team will actually have to be good at playing in isolation and driving forward with the ball and shooting/crossing....but this is part of the job description for the position. sure the less turnovers the better but not attacking when the opportunity is there is even worse because of how rare those chances are. the wide mids must be aware that merely maintaining possession and backpassing isnt enough. they have a lot of responsibity to do more than possess the ball....especially when playing with uncreative mids. their job isnt easy...but they must be aggressive and attack...and if they want the position they have to be successful doing so.
So most of this match didn't really show us anything new. CBs are pretty good. Adams looking better than McK so far. Attack is triple-meh. But I did see a little glimmer of something new in our newest player, Robinson. Yes, he came in fresh. Yes, Mexico was down a man. So it's no surprise that he was able to surge forward. What did surprise was a quality that soccer coaches call vision. That's the ability to quickly scan a wide area and pick out the open man. Including his assist, I saw two occasions where he quickly and accurately placed the ball to an open player near the top of the box. I have big expectations for this guy.
Things we learned from these two games: - Tyler Adams has the potential to be awesome. I’ve loved this kid since I set eyes on him and I think he could develop into the most game influencial of his generation. (Yes, yes , I know. But I love midfielders and I did say powtential.) - Matt Miazga is a bad ass. He is filling the potential he showed when he broke through for the Red Bulls - Center back in general may be a position of strength this cycle - and factoring in age, the next as well. - I respect Zardes and the year he’s having. Berhalter has made him a visibly better player. (Notice how he has shorten his stride on the ball in traffic? His tactical improvements are unexpected at his age.) Maybe with Pulisic behind him he is more effective. But right now he is just not at a national team level. - I love will Trapps brain and vision. Remain concerned about the physical and athletic side. My son, a good defensive mid, suggested he needs to be more fearless going into tackles. He thinks just being more willing to crash im may improve that side enough. Not sure where he ends up. - the veterans I would most like to have seen mixed in last night would have been Jozy (I duck as I say that but too many people undervalue the hard work and hold up play he does) and Lletget. We were lacking out wide and his two-way work rate would have provided additional defensive cover. Two side notes: Typically I like Twellman, although Darke has devolved into an annoying bag of verbal ticks who doesn’t seem to know the players beyond the top line players. But everyone was annoying me last night. It was like a competition to see who could be the most outraged about (fill I’m the blank) and who could beat their particular dead horse the hardest. Darke also just chatted on about personalities and whatever while never acknowledging anything players were doing I’m build up or defense. Finally, this: Not calling you out. Just want to point out that one can be interested in Green NOW while still believing he has no place on the 2010 team. That was then, this is now.
I know you want offense and attractive football but we can’t give the ball up in our zone and give odd man rushes. We don’t have ball winners and we need to clean up our man-marking on crosses. I feel confident that we can address the latter but doubtful on the former.
A-Rob is such a good playmaker. That cut back pass was perfect. I can't recall the NT making much use of cut back passes from the end line in recent memory. Yedlin usually swings it in towards the goal
Problem is #18 was diving as well. Both fouls called for him were dives. Just like cheap shot artists, you start to get a rep, and disrespected. Miazga should have walked away, but we got fired up after that.... It's not a rationale game.
im talking about what happens in the final third...which is ill-conceived. its like the players in attacking positions care more about possession and not being the one who loses the ball than scoring.
A couple of thoughts on the Miazga kerfluffle. Yes, on one level, mocking someone who is short is distasteful generally. I don't think it crossed any lines and, as Susaeta says, this is psychological warfare. If anything, I am encouraged by what I see from Matt. The manner in which he stepped to a petulant Neymar and this kid shows me that he has some controlled fire in his belly and that he is not afraid to be an asshole. While some may prefer for us to hew closely to some antiquated sportsmanship ideal, the reality is that some of the most successful defenders are assholes. And despite his myriad flaws, JK might have been onto something that we need more nasty* in our game. Sure, it is great that our all time greatest CB also happens to be a super nice guy, but imagine if Pope had been partnered with someone a little nasty? I can't help but think that playing every day in practice with Thierry as an 18 year old had an indelible impact. I will never forget the RBNY v. Columbus game during Miazga's first full season when Henry celebrated the go ahead goal by running back to the center line screaming "Do your f*cking job!" at Miazga. As an aside, that was a good Crew team and RBNY turned the game around when Tim Cahill and Henry decided to both physically and tactically go after a young Wil Trapp. It was not a great game for him. I want these young guys to be tough and nasty, so long as it is controlled. I like the fact that Tyler Adams swatted away Schweinsteiger's patronizingly outstretched hand in the aftermath of his hard foul on Adams. *See, Materazzi, Jens Jeremies v. Reyna in '98, Sergio Ramos, Claudio Gentile in 82, Chiellini, Bonucci, Godin, Heinze, Jaap Stam
Ya and it's a direct repeat of Bradley. A DM with little physical presence requires the CM's to lay back to help cover his weakness. And that throws off the entire shape and from the jump forces us into a more defensive setup. I say we run Adams and McKennie out there as dual 8's and allow them the time to learn playing off one another. Funny thing is, we have a string of friendlies that could be great for such an exercise. Instead our schmuck coach is wasting these games. The USSF should go find a cliff to jump off.
Yeah, that first half was on him and self inflicted. He went with a 451 and like 4 DM types to start. "Funny, why can't we get the ball past half field."