Pre-match: 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup Group Stage: USA vs Panama

good, we need some real competition on the way to the final

Rest the key players where needed and let some backups show why they were included in the 23. Show some confidence coach!

 

ugh, i get the logic and all (and agree) but i cant say i WANT to play el salvador. for my money theyre both the most bunkering/anti-soccer AND dirtiest team in concacaf.

id be fine starting our best available vs panama to ensure that matchup, while resting our most rugged, least skilled players for the horrible slog of a match that will be.

 

https://deadspin.com/heres-what-every-member-of-the-usmnt-has-to-say-about-u-1835659843

This article is garbage.

 

Makes it seem so nefarious that they're staying out of the dispute - seems pretty obvious the reasons why they don't want to publicly insert themselves into the dispute. Plus, they are busy trying to not be terrible anymore in this tournament.

 

I think you rotate plenty. Gregg should be pretty confident with that starting XI against T and T's ability to beat whomever is in front of them, enough so to test the bench players against Panama. Bring in Trapp, Lewis, Lovitz, Cannon, Roldan, Morris from the start. Give Puli, Boyd, McKennie and others a rest.

 

Guess what the position of the US National team is?

https://ussoccerplayers.com/2019/03/usmnt-statement-on-wnt-players-lawsuit.html

The team supports the USWNT, as they should. I'm glad the men's players are letting their support speak for itself.

When it comes to soccer, Deadspin is transforming itself into Fox News. It used to just be Haisley who contaminated their coverage.

 

From Deadspin!? Shocked I tell you!

 

Honduras competes hard with them for the dirtiest title and got to show the whole world at the last WC. I have no idea why CONCACAF lets teams play differently than how they will play in actual the actual World Cup. It puts them at a disadvantage in what calls to expect and probably results in very different squads needed for qualifying than for the WC itself.

 

I have no idea what the rationale would be for playing the primary team again and not rotating. The stupidity of pretending this is some sort of meaningful and important tournament is how we constantly end up having to choose past their prime, "veteran", has-been's and never-were's in important matches down the road; we give every available minute to players we already know everything about.

Which is perhaps all my convoluted way of saying I can't wait to see Sargent suit up against Panama and Bradley ride the pine. Two things that are equally likely to happen.

 

Agreed with everything, up until the notion that Gregg wouldn't sit Bradley for a singular game. Already has. There's a bias toward Trapp too in a zero sum game. If I were a betting man I'd cast mine toward Trapp getting the start at the 6, even if there is only a minor rotation.

Hypothetically if they would get the draw of El Salvador again in the ko's, then they should employ a half proven players, half nt prospects, lineup. Not that it would still be that fruitful from an integration standpoint because of the lack of depth in this roster. Cannon and Lewis would just get looks. Roldan and Mihailovic I guess would get second chances to not choke. If they didn't, then maybe it would cultivate depth we didn't have at the end of WC qualifying. So, worth a try. They can always call upon reinforcements if it's not working.

 

To the contrary.

It shows the US players and staff are actually capable of getting on the same page and executing instructions.

I expect to win the GC now.

 

I’ve gone back and forth with rotating or not rotating... ultimately, Berhalter needs to assess his player’s fatigue and so forth. But I’ll go with saying they’re mostly needing rest...

—————Jozy—————-
Arriola——Pulisic——-Morris
———-Trapp—Roldan———
Lima————————Cannon
——Gonzalez—Miazga———
—————Steffen—————-

Subs:
Boyd (Arriola)
Mihailovic (Roldan)
Lovitz (Lima)

 

Rotate!!

The difference in the players' abilities is small enough that fresh legs and hunger should lead to the better play.

 

I think we should rotate, but mostly because it's our best chance to rest people.

The gap between first team and second team at several positions in this team is fairly massive. Especially since of the multiplicative effect that a full rotation will have.

We could perhaps deal with a switch from Bradley to Trapp, but can we deal with a switch from Bradley to Trapp when we no longer have McKennie, but rather Roldan? And instead of passing to Pulisic, it's Mihailovic?

A tie is as good as win from a seeding standpoint, and even a loss doesn't send us home, so rotation may be it anyway.

But there's no BIG drop offs here.

 

In other words, Panama should not be treated as a short cut.

 

I'd say the difficult part is figuring out who not to rotate.

At a minimum, I'd keep Ream, Pulisic, and Boyd. I don't trust Mihailovic or Lewis as starters at this point, while I think Berhalter has the least immediate need to see Lovitz play, out of the backup defenders. If things go well, Pulisic can get an early substitution.

---Boyd-------Altidore----Morris------
----------Pulisic-------Roldan----------
-------------------Trapp-------------------
Ream--Gonzalez--Miazga--Cannon
----------------Johnson----------------

I don't think the presence of Gonzalez or Trapp will thrill too many people, but I expect them to get the start.

 

Sorry, guys, but you're both wrong.

Guatemala retired that trophy back in 1996.

 

You may be right. Somehow they slipped my mind. I do think it’s fought again every cycle. So who internationally is even worse or at that same level? Surely CONCACAF isn’t best at something?

 

Maybe we should hire Bermuda's coach...

They look like they're having an awful lot of fun out there right now...

 

Boyd had dead legs - he was subbed out early. He needs to do whatever he does to re-charge.

I'd look at a full substitution roster which is


-------lewis-----------jozy----------morris
----------------djordje-------roldan
------------------------trapp
-------lovitz---miazga---gonzo---cannon
------------------------gk

Our first team will not lose to Jamaica in the ko round anyway. There were no subs last game so I would go with the full sub lineup v.Panama and rest the A team the full week except sub in 3 as appropriate to get the result v. Panama. It probably makes sense to get Jozy out of the game earlier in the 2nd half.

Sargent should have been with this team, especially considering Jozy's delicate situation.

I think Egg got the A v. B team correct with the exception of Bradley over Trapp but I agree with Egg that Bradley makes sense v. minnows and Trapp is better v. bigger fish.

 

I think you and I are the only two who think Trapp>Bradley and I’m wavering. Both are below the new Ralston Line.....

 

Deadspin is a joke. I'm not rooting against any team representing the USA, but that kind of crap from the USWNT "fans" makes it pretty tempting.

 

We'll know who the potential quarterfinal opponents will be for Group D 1 and 2 spots as of tomorrow night. That may change the calculus about rotation, but not sure how much. We've done much better historically, especially recently, against El Salvador than Jamaica. But regardless of whether they're the dirtiest team in Concacaf, El S plays a nasty game while Jamaica tends to be tough but fair. We may stand a better chance of beating El S but also a greater chance of injury. Then again learning to beat dirty-ass Concacaf teams is something GGG's teams will need to do, and right now something about GGG as a coach does not inspire a sense that they can do that [JMO here of course].

So the "who do we play" thing is pretty much a toss up, and in any event there may be value in taking on tougher opponents to get more experience. I still think actually winning and playing well in the process has value beyond just the fact that it's great to see that from the MNT. Momentum can play a role especially in short tournaments and keeping the hammer down after T&T would be good for the team's confidence going into the elimination rounds.

 

Honestly it's less "fans" and more randos looking for the online cause of the moment who probably couldn't tell Heath from Hope Solo if they had to pick them out of a lineup.

/though I noticed a "Pay the [3 stars]" banner in the supporters section on Saturday...