CONCACAF U20 Championship: USA v. Honduras, 3/5/17

Thanks for posting this. I haven't always been supportive of him as a coach, but I think he should be judged on results and he just won the first US CONCACAF U-20 Championship (on foreign soil even). He's now qualified 2 teams for world championships and his teams have shown the rare ability to improve as the tournament progresses (well, rare for US squads anyway).

If he gets his team out of their group, I'd like to see him rewarded with the Olympic head coaching job. If he qualifies that team, and they also advance to the knockout phase, I'd like to see him replace Arena after Russia. I'm a believer in rewarding coaches that get results. Give Tab a road map and if he gets the job done, he's earned the most coveted position in US Soccer.

 

I really haven't liked his tactics up to this point but he got this one right and deserves credit. I have no problem giving guys credit when they deserve it

 

I'll be really surprised if Williamson DOESN'T make the roster. He's been captain for multiple USYNT matches along the way, and definitely is highly regarded for his leadership within the squad. But I also like Zelalem and think he brings something different to the lineup as whole. Agree with a previous poster that having both could serve us well depending on the matchups. But that being said, I think how we played against Mexico is what Tab will be shooting for at the WC, and that calls for Williamson's athleticism much more than what Gedion will bring.

 

I get a serious feeling that his club movement and people not being able to see him play has taken a toll on what prople think of his soccer ability. He and Williamson don't even belong in the same discussion in my opinion. But , we will see. It's a really crowded midfield.....

 

Russia is in 2018 and the next Olympics are in 2020, so that plan will be tricky.

 

He deserves credit for bringing the team together, getting them to play motivated, and eventually having a cohesive plan offensively and defensively.

But let's not get carried away on the promotion talk just based on naked results. Player selection issues the degree of Haji Wright, Josh Perez, Kai Koreniuk, etc. you know would plague us on the senior level. He has to get that sorted before he's even in the senior nt discussion. Mature players need less encouragement and direction than immature ones. So if he's a good man manager and that's why his teams can punch above their weight like they eventually did in this tourney, that would only have so much of a carry-over effect.

 

*** TAB FOR QATAR ***

Because the world is not making it to 2022 anyway. ​

 

Against Slovenia, Torres played in a 2-man central midfield, a configuration for which he was ill-suited. He did a job in the 3-man central midfield used in the victory in the Azteca friendly. He played well on the flanks in the crucial home WCQer against Jamaica.

Imo, Torres, Zelalem, and De La Torre fill similar roles though not identical in skill set. Between the three of them, they have maybe 2 assists and no goals at senior and U20 levels.

Feilhaber filled a similar role for the US in the past, though he has latterly become more of a goal creator at club level. He has 1 assist in 1 cap since his reintroduction to the NT.

 

So I guess it's my turn to post my final thoughts on this team. In retrospect the Panama game turned out to be a hiccup and they were a bit lucky to score on their only shot of the game. In the end, our defense was so dominating that it suffocated all of the teams. The midfield and attack was decent enough and just needed a bit of extra effort. Their is an asterisk there in that we didn't face a Mexico with the level of attacking talent that we usually see. So hats off to Tab in maximizing the strength of this particular group.