Well contrary to what those people were saying, we had had plenty of success well before Klinsmann ever showed up, and aside from Donovan we did so with a lot less talent than we have now. Their point was always stupid right from the get-go.
I gotta say, I was impressed with Altidore as creator tonight. Not used to feeling that way. Glad to see it. I want him to score a goal or two, just cuz.
One last word on this: we can't copy Europe because geography works against us. Europe is what it is in large part specifically because of its geography. (And you know what? So is Brazil, and that hasn't worked out badly for them at all.) We have to learn to be great using what we have. And as we've known all along (in spite of forgetting form time to time), that's a long road. Most of the traditional soccer-loving world has a century on us, and it was always going to take a few decades to catch up...
"There are two kinds of American soccer fan - those who realize that Klinsmann is a fraud, and those who will realize it one day.. " https://www.bigsoccer.com/blog/2015/7/23/62u6mqffolantsjw9qcd5i8rgu8gkt
Not sure if anyone's mentioned this, but... the last time anyone scored 6 on Honduras in a competitive match was in 1935.
Let's be honest, if we ever want to be a world power beating minions like Honduras and Panama by 2 goals should be standard, whether home or away. The only real competitive matches on CONCACAF competition should be Mexico and maybe Costa Rica. This is the most talent we have ever had. The only reason we are not going to the Confederation's cup in June is because of Klinsmann
I said this before the game, talent wise of course the US was better. However with all the injuries, new-ish coach, the stakes this high, a loss would be detrimental, the pressure was on. They exceeded a lot of expectations. That's not saying there aren't improvements to be made but it's a breath of fresh air.
This wasn't a "perfect" game. But with 6 goals, a shutout, and excellent attacking play (not 6 deflections or set-pieces, 1 FK and 5 run-of-play goals, remember when we had that drought of run-of-play goals under JK?) this is about as close to perfect as you can get. We got the maximum positive out of this game, the only limitation being that Honduras is not CR/Mexico. The absolute best that we could've hoped for, hopefully Lletget is OK, since JAB should be fine.
I imagine it would look something like this: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/bd/32/cd/bd32cd1396657b0e676f75d843c23dd2.jpg "So let it be written....so let it be done."
He was on point post game last night that it looked like the team had an identity. Of course that follows a 6-0 home win. Lets see if we can have an identity in a hard 2-1 road win. My guess is yes, but it remains to be seen.
The team just looked so loose and they were having so much fun out there. If it was a "do or die game" you could not tell from the way they played. It was fantastic to see.
Waking up to 6-0!! @ussoccer #usmnt pic.twitter.com/KCG5FxViot— Aron Jóhannsson (@aronjo20) March 25, 2017
I love me some CP but he's not ready for that yet, put him in his comfy spot oh the right middle and let him work And then add in everyone that was hurt, my goodness. Honestly, what would the score have been with Fabian, Deandre, Wood.....that's a salty team
I also think Jozy has a decent passing game, the problem is to pass he needs to control the ball and there is his problem, sometimes he needs to control the ball to score, which more than once fails him. Looking at his record, he can score against the little teams but has a difficulty when dealing with experienced, top notch defenders. Panama is going to be hungry, they just lost to Trinidad. Would Jozy put one in against a better foe? We shall see.
Villafana's emergence makes me feel a hell of a lot better about deploying Johnson further forward, too.
As much as I hope you are right I think it will be a close game on the road. There were some defensive lapses last night that Honduras could not convert on that I think Panama can at home.
Their attack doesn't scare me a bit honestly, outside of set pieces I don't see them scoring. They have a decent defense but I don't think they will be able to stop CP-Demps-Altidore......those guys were on the same page last night and I think it continues. The form Pulisic is in is unstoppable at the moment
Panama is going to be extra hungry to avenge the loss they had at the last qualifying, which took them out of contention and put Mexico in. This is true. The defensive lapses last night were very clears. It is still our big weakness. Gonzalez is seviceable, but shouldn't be starting. The backs also made a significant amount of mistakes. Midfield and forwards for the US actually look good and with a lot of young talent for the future. Defense - sans GK - still need a lot of work.