UGC looked like a Sunday league team. Our boys started to break them down and play a more fluid game.
Sorry I stopped checking because you were doing it. 78' | Head coach Jason Kreis makes his final pair of changes as Hassani Dotson and Jeremy Ebobisse replace Kyle Duncan and Alex Mendez.— U.S. Soccer YNT (@USYNT) November 17, 2019 United Grand Canary through out a different 11 then they did against Argentina.
I think Aaronson is a must play for this team in qualifying, but at 8 or the a-wing position where you're requiring less scoring and creativity. He's great at this level at everything but his final 3rd precision and decision-making. A real fuse piece. Hopefully he develops the rest with reps to be a complete player. Richards I think is a made man with this group. Wish he would have gotten more of a defensive test, but very secure breaking up counters and nipped in for bonus wins in mf without ceding position. And he takes the onus as a dribbler and passer out of the back. The goalkeeping comp is up in the air between Freese and Marcinkowski. Again, unfortunately he didn't get much of a test as a shotstopper. That more came against the Netherlands where he was very reflexive. Here he did shot off his deft footwork and decision-making as a passer. This was much more of a test than it should have been. A lot of sloppiness in the touch, accuracy of passing, or shooting to secure more goals in spite of the positional dominance. Takes one cog in the machine not to be off kilter a little for goals to happen usually. Need another camp at least for answers before qualifying. January camp should be largely a domestic/Nordic u-23 exercise.
I liked Aaronson as well. I kinda describe him as "cute" which is weird. He appears to have a skill that almost the entire pool of US players lack which is off ball movement. He seems able to find pockets of space to receive balls in dangerous areas (not just this game, he did this vs. Brazil as well). But, he needs to be cleaner when he receives those balls. Several times his first touch popped up. He was then able to make kinda nice looping passes out to runners, but that just takes too much time and allowed defense to get back. Contrast to Mendez pass on the first goal - one touch perfectly behind the defense. Also shots on goal were poor.
Aaronson, like a lot of US attacking prospects, needs to spend the entire off-season working on his shot. He'd be a very good two-way prospect if he could just finish.
Depending on who is available I think this team needs to play 3 of the AM’s at once with an AM out wide. It’s a little tough because I would think that should work better at LW because of how good Robinson is attacking wide. Bofo was pretty good there but he’s not a lock. Overall they dominated the first two-thirds of the field but couldn’t get enough going in the box in the first half. In the second half they did a better job of pushing their advantages when entering into the final third from midfield and thus running at a defense that wasn’t fully set. Mendez is most likely the best American player to have checking to the ball in/around the final third with runners off him. His influence can wax and wane and he’s maybe not a natural runner in the box but a team can get a lot from him if they are going to have the ball. Speaking of which... Cappis looked very promising as the deep distributor. The tempo he was playing at and his ability to see passes looked like it should translate. He also showed some elusiveness, in particular he had an excellent behind his plant-foot turn into space followed by a quick, firm pass up to Bofo in space. He tended to hit his passes firmly and maybe lacked a little precision as to which foot he was playing to or where his teammate was/should be moving. There was at least one lightly forced error on a square pass out to the right. I don’t have a great sense for how good of a defender he is but he had some moments where he chased well and used his body to win 50/50’s. Djordje, I’m higher on him than the first game consensus seems to be. Not that he’s a standout or a starter or a full team player. Useful enough with an eye for a mid/long range pass, Richie maybe didn’t get a great chance to shine against Brazil but the talent is still there and he’s a bit more well rounded than Mendez and better at the telling touches than Aaronson. Great ability to turn or evade and then carry the ball upfield, sees runs and hits passes before the defense can start to close them off. Aaronson reminds me of Adam Llalana. Great control and ability to shake markers, not the best weak foot, okay quickness, but seizes up a little bit when it comes to finishing and to a lesser extent setting up teammates to shoot or seeing all the runs in the box. I think he could learn to play at a higher tempo and maybe see patterns in attacks better. Sometimes skilled guys’ finishing just clicks into place, because I think it’s a mental blockage and not a technique/skill issue, often it does not. Useful on defense. If I was RSL first off I would have never hired Petke. That said I also would have tried to turn Lennon into Wondo, even if that meant he mostly played for the Monarchs for a couple seasons. Runs, finish, press, quick and simple passing, don’t ask him to create. Robinson, we all know what he brings. Same goes with CCV and Richards.
Wow, talk about polar opposite opponents. I will say this, The US U23 2019 look a heck of a lot like the US WC 1994. And that's a step up! Say what you will, Brazil did not enjoy this game, the US defended and even though it looked as if Brazil could have scored more...they could have, but they didnt. The US defended well. I'm basically at a point where I enjoy watching the US defend effectively more than I enjoy the concept of us passing and attacking. A bit disappointed Kreis can't get his midfield to pass better. This has always been a Kreis strength. But this is a systemic issue more than a team issue. Against Grand Canaria, well, all I can say is, well. Go to town analyzing. It is not relevant. Much like the US Canada victory, go Kasey Keller Krazy!
And first touch. And off the ball movement. And 1 v. 1 challenges. And defensive positioning. And getting head up for attacking passes.
RSL has Freddy "benito' juarez (look him up) now. Don't know if he stays with the team, but he outcoached some very well respected MLS coaches in the playoffs with probably the least obvious talent available.
I respect the guys who try and make it in Europe, but CCV may have plateaued as a 25 year old 17 year old in the UK. Poor decision making gets him done in over and over again. I would actually suggest he take a year off of football and instead study football and try again. Don't know about Robinson.
The defense was by and large very, very good against Brazil. The midfield as usual for all US teams was the problem. They offered nearly nothing in possession, attack or defense.
We saw two teams basicallly. Was the first game to test fringe depth pieces for inclusion? Was the second game full of guys that won't get released but are next up for the USMNT? Hard to tell. Maybe the first group will be available for group and knock out stages. If allowed, the second group can fill in for the crucial knock out games, similar to U20 Qualifying? As with everything, no sure why this is a big secret. Seems as though Saucedo helped himself. Can he get out of RSL? He has performed there but never given a real run of games from what I understand. Should be in January camp. Cappis also helped himself and Aaronsen. Aaronsen doesn't make space for himself on the ball, but he is a busy worker.
I don't know what "Aaronson doesn't make space for himself on the ball" means, because I feel like that's the definition of what he does offensively. Moves into an open space to receive the ball a lot and then turns efficiently passed the defense, while maneuvering round them deftly. But then he doesn't make space for others in the final 3rd because he takes too many touches or just makes a poor decision not to pull the trigger. Which is why I think he may be best utilized as your 8 or width a-wing as of now. I heard Velasquez discuss this on @zlebmada 's podcast, but he theorized the first group was so MLS heavy because that's who will get released for a multiple week camp in March. That makes sense. Still would have some issues w/ the selection, but then the occasional MLS team even has been stingy w/ inclusions. Sands barely played and NYCFC may be the worst. I feel like, against Brasil, trying Richards, who is not yet broken into Bayern's squad, would have been worth it on account of his ball-playing complement and potential. Some transparency on reasons for their decisions would be helpful. Otherwise fan confusion in turn criticism will be inevitable.
Yes, he moves into space fantastically, without the ball. He is like Fabian Johnson, pass and move. His off ball movement and work rate are great. I think it was Warshaw that once said you can have a midfield of these type, pass and move. That Fabian never gelled with Bradley and Jones as a forward because they were not those types. When Aaronsen got the ball, Brazil were on him. He did a great job getting rid of the ball and moving into space to get a return. And Saucedo and Cappis were on the same page. Contrast that, even in the first half when nothing is going right, with Ledezma. Brazil never really get close to him because he is constantly shifting on the ball (how I describe it). They are not sure the angle so don't commit. Mendez was the same. Not saying one is better than the other. But some, like Warshaw, don't think the two types can mesh. I'm sure they could figure it out. Although, JK moved Johnson to FB so as to avoid the problem and solve another problem. I think Aaronsen would gel well with Adams. Another season with Philly, then make a move somewhere. I'm sure some will try and buy him in the Summer.
I finally had a chance to see the highlights of the Brazil game. I'm dumbfounded with our starting 11 against Brazil. The coach had Datson playing as a winger? Glad as a CB? I think the coach still experimenting.
Kinda like when you used to clamor for Agudelo’s inclusion at every single US camp, even when he was unattached and didn’t have a club?
Arguing to be in a USMNT camp and a u23 camp are two very different things. Agudelo is one of the reasons why a player needs to perform at their club for USMNT call ups. The 23's exist to evaluate guys who may not be old enough for that club break through but are great prospects. Yes, the 23's are for pet projects like Richards, Ledezma, and co. With that being said if there is a u23 with more experience and equal talent he should get the nod...we'll see this in the Summer if they bring the full u23 squad and 3 overage players.