Switch to a diamond. Bring more #'s into cm to deal with their speed/physicality and then try to connect and break with more speed/efficiency. Bring in Kayo and AOC at SS, for Yow and Scally. Move Saldana to rb, Leyva to dm.
I think Scally had the assist on the cross, but outside that he may be the worst on the field. It's between him, Yow, and Gray. Just a giveaway machine w/ poor dribbling choices and is getting beat for quicks. Every game I've seen him he's been a liability.
Lotta these guys make the correct decision but way too slowly. Senegal's defenders read a lot of our guys ideas before they happen. I think Gray is getting way too much hate here. He's not the cleanest on the ball but he's pretty effective and he's had a ton of work to do defensively and done it well. Edit: woof
This team is straight garbage. Never seen so many pros play and still suck at the international stage.
Yow is getting man-handled they kid is physically weak and doesn't have the speed to offset his physical deficiency.
Wow, awful. Even Kobe had a weak pass near the whistle, but he's one of the few that shows he can play.
You knew there was going to be enough time. When they know all they need to do is clear the ball out they can't do it. That was an issue at the regional tourney. Speculative header attempt by Saldana, clumsy clearance by Gray, no ball pressure by Scally. Please sub out Scally and Yow, soon. They've been rough. Scally due to his lack of anticipation and decision-making. Yow lack of physical ability w/out physical ability to bail him out.
hard to criticize Las for the goal. The Forward could have just as easily moved to the other side and targeted his other side of the goal. So he missed coverage of the corner in part for switching positioning to cover that.
Something that jumps out at me watching this team- I don't think we're terribly athletic compared to U17 teams of the past. Scally has been tracked down from behind relatively easily multiple times so far, and Busio and Yow aren't exactly pacy or physical, either. Reyna is really the only one that looks a threat to beat anyone off the dribble. Also just getting beat to 50-50 balls with regularity.
That was a smash and grab type goal, but it was a long time coming. Frankly, Senegal should be up one the way this game has played out. Wicky needs to show he can make adjustments. Give Pepi a partner so he's not on an island. Add a # to central midfield to compensate for the lack of speed and physicality. Strength in #'s. Remove clear liabilities like Yow and Scally.
We’re lucky it’s only 1-1. The biggest problems are that centrally we aren’t very good. KHF and Gray are not the tallest, so they lose headers, the CM are way off the pace in all regards of the game right now. Those four positions on the field have caused a lot of the problems this cycle. It doesn’t help that we are conceding a player on RW, and the LB isn’t all too good himself.
Like I was going to say, it's unbalanced. Wicky is learning perils of these tourney's. I tuned in at 28' and couldn't rewind to start, so,...….anyway, my first impression is that the team lacks Stroud's brain just for starters. I think Wicky missed that. Don't know what kind of athleticism Stroud achieved since the u15's but he had it back in the day. Wicky seems to think he can play defense in the back with 6 and offense with 4. Nobody in the front four is playing defense. Relying on the 6 (Senegal is marking Levya closely) without a brainy 8 is apt to make the 6 look bad. I don't see an 8, Wicky. There's no middle third.