Weah showed me enough to think I'd liked to have seen him for at least 25 mins. I think I'll complain about that until June.
Don't forget about Jonathan Gonzalez from Cali. A lot to be optimistic about for the future of American footballers!
I disagree. Although Pulisic is a great player, I don't see him as a "natural" goalscorer, and I would suspect that either Sargent or Weah (or both) end up picking up the scoring mantle quite nicely during this cycle. By the time we start playing games in 2 years, I have to hope that one of them starts hitting the back of the net.
Put Wes in for Nagbe and we're kickin A with that midfield. Paraguay couldn't get through the middle third. Didn't think I'd praise Adams for a performance as an 8 but that was just the right idea with Delgado shifting 86 and Adams going 810. Goal. 1-0.
Loved: Adams Liked: Saif, Miazga, Trapp, Delgado, Nagbe Encouraged by: CCV (and his partnership with Miazga), Weah in his short time out.
I must admit I'm happy about what I saw today. I know I should be jaded and skeptical and I should complain about the lack of time given to the players, but I just can't. I liked how we could come out playing, how our passing looked a lot more precise than during the Hex, and the way the midfield was bossed with speed.
Adams really played well. Saief's ideas will come off when he's playing with better players like Pulisic. Trapp was good but I still think he's awful vs the press, which Paraguay didn't do at all. Delgado was unsurprisingly good.
It seems that a lot of people are a LOT more worried that Sarachan will be hired full-time than I am. And I don't have much more trust in our fed than you do...
Oh yeah masterclass coaching grinding out of a 1-0 win on a penalty goal in a friendly 4 years before the next time we play in a world cup. Exactly what I wanted to see
Was anybody else really impressed with miazga tonite? For a guy I always took for a talented but cold snake, he really played with a lot of guts.
so what is Sarachan supposed to do: blow the game so interwebz critics will be happy? Sarachan had a job to do and he did it very well. The team looked fast and relatively solid. Quite whining FFS.
Miazga-CCV look like a good, solid pair going forward. I think JAB will have to prove he deserves back in.
Takeaway. 1 - Loved the hunger and bite these young guys bring. After all, they got something to play for. A spot on the senior team, a bigger contract, a big move to another club. Unlike our spoiled and rich millionaires. 2 - Trapp and Delgado had been the underrated MOTM players on this game. They were all over the field breaking up plays, blocking shots, and disrupting the opponent's flow. This was the job that our Captain America was supposed to do. Not missing him at all. He can retired into the sun set. 3 - Like to see more of Nova and Weah, and a few others that did not get the chance to play, due to no faults of their own. Nova and Weah supposed to come on at the 45th or 60th min in order to get a chance to get into the flow and rythm of the game. 4 - This game shows exactly why Sarachan is not a head coach material, not even for an MLS side or a Div I college side. He's a small time coach, with a small time mindset. You don't grind out and defend a 1 goal lead in a meaningless friendly. These games are your rare chances to explore, discover, and integrate young talents into your squad. You don't do that by having them sit on the bench or bring them in at the 89th. Yes, you're an interim coach and if you want to be the permanent coach; you have to act like one and coach like one. Unfortunately, your true skin showed up in this game to the rest of the world. Like they say in the corporate world; you dress and act for the job that you want, not the job that you have.
I liked the way Yedlin played today (looking away from the 2nd half when it was obvious Sarachan had told them to get forward in 2nd half with Adams right and Delgado left). US really sewed up the middle third and Yedlin was always there to cooly pick up the occasional leakage. A mature performance.
I think it's a combination of a lack of easily identifiable candidates and the cluelessness of the Fed which leads many to (rightly) worry a little how things might go down. It's easy to say the pool will expand post-Russia, but how many coaches currently contracted are really viable candidates for this job? We may be looking at an American coach by default, which inexplicably gives Sarachan an opening. God help us all if that is what happens, but would you really be surprised? I think I'd rather we get bludgeoned in the next series of friendlies if only to stave off that possibility.
team was well chosen, team played relatively coherently. Ya know, the coach's job. ps-I don't want him as full time coach, but there is no point making shite up about the performance. It was fine/good for 11 guys who haven't played together