News: 2018 Other Teams Discussion Thread (spoilers)

Go 'Gate! Winning a game in the NCAAs for the second year in a row. Another run to the sweet 16 is probably too much to hope for, but it's a bright start.

 

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dr-L1RNX0AE3IgH.jpg

AMARCORD

 

Nobody talking about the USMNT kicked in the teeth at Wembley?
I understand.

 

Team looked as brain dead as Sarachan appeared on the sidelines. He just sat there like a condemned man contemplating his last meal. Richie Williams was next to him with eyes so wide he looked as though he was being continually goosed.
My quick takeaways:
Guzan is not international quality, he almost gifted England with two goals due to abysmal distribution.
Brooks stole money with his transfer to Wolfsburg
Miazga is depth at best
Yedlin has learned nothing in his years in England
Villafana is a nice MLS player
Trapp must be related to Sarachan
Bobby Wood couldn't beat out Darren Mattocks for a starting position
The other younger guys -- Pulisic, Weah, Adams, McKennie, etc. desparately need to find a coach to instill an actual system and that team also needs "veteran" leadership that neither Yedlin nor Guzan nor Wood appear to be able to deliver.

In contrast, Southgate has remade that England team. There is real skill and creativity out there. Finally, Rooney did fine in his cameo, nice ending for his national career.

 

Yesterday reminded me why I haven't gone out of my way to watch the USMNT much this year.

Terrible, negative soccer. Players who look like they're playing as individuals, not a team. Brief flashes of brilliance squandered away by the mistakes of youth. A complete lack of direction. And now Pulisic is frustrated with the situation.

This year was wasted. Not quickly hiring a coach and using this year to full advantage was stupid. I wouldn't be surprised if the team stinks up the joint during the Gold Cup in 2019 as a result of all this.

 

Beerholder will fix all issues -- just ask his brother.

 

Getting [Hamid or frankly any other MLS goalkeeper] and Canouse some minutes in this game would have justified the US playing it. Frankly, they should be looking at Arriola to RB, too.

Or maybe I'm just a homer.

Happy for Wayne getting a NT sendoff in style, though. It's more than he could have hoped for and less than he deserves.

 

You are a homer.

But Arriola should replace Green on any roster, and move Pulisic to the middle.

 

Hamid and Arriola are (or were) nursing injuries, and no need to see what they can do. If the new coach can't see that, then he's lost to me. Canoes however should start at any Def Mid position.

 

In the Mens U20 CONCACAF tourney, yesterday the USA beat Costa Rica 4-0. They will play Honduras on Monday. If they beat Honduras (and Honduras and CR have already tied 1-1), they will play the winner of Mexico and Panama (who both have already beaten El Salvador 1-0).

Tourney was kinda weird. There was preliminary group play with six groups. Then the winners of each group went into another round of group play with two 3-team groups. The winners of each group advance to the Finals. (The first and second place teams in both groups also advance to the Mens U-20 World Cup in Poland next year).

 

Battle of the Chocolates: Belgium vs Switzerland

Belgium took an early 2 goal lead from some miscues on the Swiss defense. But then Switzerland had stormed back with 4 goals, and the last scored by the Swiss defender who scored an own-goal earlier.

 

I am barely starting to understand something about Nations League, I still don't know in practical terms what is going to mean but to read the word "relegated" near the name Germany puts a smile on my face.

 

Apparently there is also a Concacaf Nations League, with over 30 teams, even more ununderstandable than the Uefa one.
https://www.concacafnationsleague.com/en

 

I honestly would be more worried about qualifications to WC 2022.

 

In two days, there will be my personal "derby", the country where I was born and raised for thirty years vs the country which has hosted me for the last twenty. My heart is obviously with Italy although - being a friendly - I wouldn't really care if the US obtain a positive result like a few years ago (win 0-1 in Genoa).
Italy has been playing really well the last 2~3 games, the 0-0 against Portugal is deceiving, in the first half it was only Italy, then the second half was more balanced. And I have to say that Portugal has become really a top nation, with or without CR7 (who hasn't played in the NT since the last WC).
But Mancini is doing a great job and I think players are starting to grasp what he wants. It's a little disappointing however that a few players will be "injured" for this game.

 

I dont get why Cameron Carter Vickers consistenly gets called up. He doesnt get minutes with Spurs. Whenever he plays for the US, he looks poor. Like really bad.

 

Meh... OK game and nothing more. There is really a lot of work to be done for the US. A ton. Italy a far relative of the team admired in Poland and vs Portugal in Milan, but this team keeps the ball in a smart way and plays it well. Three players at their first cap, Sensi, Grifo and Kean, plus Tonali on the bench who did not enter. I' ll take the win. For the US, these are friendlies, and although nobody likes to lose, at the end there is no damage.

 

What stood out was that the US team sensibility didn't match the Azurri. They did not move cohesively or anticipate. They lacked a first touch that would give them space on the ball. They were like a 12 year old boy clueless in trying to figure out how to take a young girls panties off when it came to penetrating the Italian box.

 

When your starting striker is a teenager that has not even made the first team squad for his club, you have Exhibit 1 that your program is truly ********ed. Trinidad and the long limbo of the Sarachan era was, in Churchill's words, "the end of the beginning," nothing more. This program is a longshot to qualify for Qatar in 2022. The US team had two players with a soccer brain -- Pulisic and Adams. And, Adams is still a very unfinished product. I watched snippets of the game -- it reminded me of "Hamid and Hope" style DCU play with Horvath playing the Hamid role.

 

This match reminded me of the late '80's qualification cycle and the 1990 WC: youngsters with hope, energy and "potential"; staunch defending (with more than a little luck) and a reliance on set pieces to create chances. Pulisic is the one anomaly in this comparison. Let's hope he remains healthy and continues to develop.

asitis

 

is it just my bad memory that the USA used to have (almost) too many good defenders? We seem to have coached that out of the current generation. No really good defenders, no really good forwards - just a buttload of midfielders.

 

[QUOTE="yabo, post: 37291072, member: 8853" They were like a 12 year old boy clueless in trying to figure out how to take a young girls panties off when it came to penetrating the Italian box.[/QUOTE]
Couldn't you think of a less fraught example?

 

Couldn't you think of a less fraught example?[/QUOTE]

Sorry, it seemed so apropos!....

 

Sorry, it seemed so apropos!....[/QUOTE]
Yeah, if that 12 year old boy succeeds he might have a chance to be a Supreme Court justice someday!

 

I thought about a proper adjective for the US team, and the one I can better think of is FRAGILE. I wouldn't even worry about well figuring at the Gold Cup, the real deal here is to create a strong enough team to qualify for the next WC, since it ain't 2026 yet. And with a team like this in Concacaf qualifications, you are not going far.