Not that worried about missing Bedoya since Zusi can fulfill his spot with ease. Jones and Wood are critical to the team and we simply don't have the depth to be committing petty fouls like Jones did last match. Perhaps we could see Pulisic earn his first start with the team today( although I doubt it), this could also be the big break that Nagbe has been waiting for as well.
I think if the US tries to 'bring the game' to Argentina it would be suicide. US just doesn't have that technical or tactical ability to play toe to toe vs Argentina. Argentina is very accurate with their passes and the best way to play them is to stop/slow down momentum in the MF. Using smart fouls, physicality, holding the ball longer when possible, creating set plays and 'killing time' to slow down their game will start to frustrate this Arg team. Boring you say? Yes, more than likely but it's a matter of having skilled patience to counter only if the right situation presents itself. I wouldn't play to pressure them up top until the second part of that 2nd half. They are very good at getting out of high pressure situations and all of a sudden you've left too much space for them to counter. This is not a perfect team (Arg) folks. There has been plenty of doubt around Tata and on paper Arg should be killing teams but their play and results in qualifiers show otherwise. In comparison to the US, Argentina has also had an easy road to this point with their toughest match being one of the great games of this tournament beating Chile 2-1 ...in that 1st game that could've gone to either. Mind you Messi did not play, but keep in mind that Argentina can actually show to be a more dynamic team without the star player. Besides Chile they had to play against the two weakest Conmebol nations and an aging Panama team that until Messi came in, was still creating some headaches for Arg. This doesn't change the fact that Arg is an incredibly stacked team with the best player in the world but it should motivate the US players to know that this is a team that's vulnerable and at times seems to lack that leader on the pitch. In fact, I think if the US can get to the 65th or so they have a good shot . That's when you can start to bring a bit of their run and execute set plays (Argentina's weakness) and now you can pressure on top---use that endurance and athleticism they're known for to bring up the intensity during those final minutes. The inverse of that scenario (early Arg goal), would likely be too much for the US to push thru. But it will mean strong concentration and focus from key holding MFs like Bradley. If MB keeps on giving balls away like it's candy than turn the lights off and go home. They've already secured a top 4 finish, managed to provide a great environment for futbol fans, so as mentioned before, this is all gravy at this point.
That's hilarious that somebody has a "confirmed" line-up 24hrs ahead. We shall see. But in any case ARG is going to be pretty well stacked.
El Piojo when he was Mexicos manager would tweet the lineup 2 days before hand. Not everybody is like the USMNT who like to keep it a secret until the last minute.
I'm expecting to still have some hope for the US at halftime. I do not expect to still have hope by the 60th minute, though. Just enough hope that it is painful to watch and I pace around and drink a lot and maybe yell at the tv.
Someone told me they'll have one huge central AC system on + over 72,000 fans in the stadium... 72 thousand fans - that's one hell of a cooling system!
The roof closes, so no need to rely upon any special "cooling technologies", but yeah, it's a big system. Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis is a similar set up.
Exactly. Mexico had a nightmare game against Chile. Before that they had a long undefeated streak, indicating they were doing well, or at the very least not struggling. They were also without arguably their 3 most talented players. Add those two factors in and they're clearly the top dog in Concacaf.
Agree with this part. The US doesn't even bring the game to Mexico and they're going to bring it to arguably the best team in the world? LOL Their best chance is to bunker down, fight like crazy and win on an illegal goal, like Peru vs Brazil. Very unlikely, though. In fact, I'd be surprised if Argentina only win by 1 goal.
Lol.. what if USA pulls the upset? I don't see it happening.. but that would be some real mind blowing stuff, if it does..