Berhalter and the US win by a comfortable 3-0 margin, as one would normally expect in a Camp Cupcake match against a Panama B team. Mihailovic, Zimmerman, and Ramirez get on the scoresheet. However, it's only the second multi-goal US win at Camp Cupcake in this entire decade.
I'll share my thoughts in more depth later on but quickly wanted to express my overall level of satisfaction in the first game of our first camp of the Berhalter era (that the second half was markedly better than the first calls to mind a few talking points that I'll get into later). That the opponent was weak isn't really worth going too much into at this point: it was an appropriately good match by January camp standards, really only one player arguably didn't make a good impression (Zardes, and that's with caveats), and a few players did. The only real negative I can think of, and it's a big one, is that tonight didn't happen a year ago like it should have.
Pretty decent. I was impressed by the low error rate across the board. Now, can they scale it up against a quicker and better team?
I want to complement Gregg. This was a well managed match that allowed a lot of different scenarios to happen. I like this as a more analytical fan, but it was also nice seeing Bradley, Mihailovic, and Baird play. Overall it was a nice scrimmage. I maintain that we are absolutely stacked at CB. We won’t be able to place all the talent in Europe.
It was a pretty good game for a January game, but that's a low bar. I think the two guys who unambiguously helped themselves tonight were Mihailovic and Roldan. Most others were adequate for this game, but didn't necessarily make the case that they could do it against higher level competition. I also thought that Lletget and Ramirez had some nice touches in limited minutes and hope they get more of a run out against the Ticos.
For a January camp match, I think you have to be pretty darn pleased with that performance. We're used to 0-0, 1-0, or if we produce it's off set pieces and with a leaky defense. Even against opponents of this ilk. But this was a deserved 3-0. They were carving out chances regularly and didn't ever get beaten badly in the back. Best chance was an unlucky bounce. Some swift passing moves up the field on offense, and did a good job of playing one-touch balls and evading defenders to maintain possession. - Baird, Mihailovic, and Lima had missteps but showed promise - Roldan and Bradley solid as could be in the middle - Steffen focused to make reflex saves when he was asked to do work - CB pairing that seldom would be reason US lost - Lletget showing again could be spark off bench - Sparkling cameo for Ramirez - Touch of brilliance by Lewis
There were a lot of nice plays into the box for the US this match. Unfortunately, a couple of players (ZARDES) couldn't capitalise on them and really let the attack down. Overall, not a bad start for the Camp Cupcake class of 2019....
Best we've looked at Camp Cupcake in a long long time. Awesome. That being said, besides Steffen, I don't think anyone here is overtaking any of the Euro based guys. Maybe Long over Miazga. Walker Zimmerman is intense, he plays with passion. Really like that dude. As per the fans, maybe cheaper prices and some self-awareness by the Fed will go a long way for this federation. What a mess we still are. This would have been a great chance to let everyone in for $10
Absolutely agree, Marko. And sometimes I never agree with your takes. We’ve never had a selection of CB’s like this...
Exactly. A lot of people might say, oh this and oh that, but for a January Camp, we looked very sharp. No one played themselves off the roster and more players played themselves into contention. I’ll get some flack for it, but I’ll argue for Zardes in the sense that he finds the game well and seems to connect well with his teammates. That said I was very disappointed with his finishing, and he should be worried that Ramírez replaces him. I agree with the big three you mentioned, Baird, Mihailovic, and Lima. They looked raw, true, but they showed hunger and made things happen. I can’t bash Bradley for tonight’s performance. He didn’t crowd the CB like he has been doing and helped transition the attack. Resurgence? Way too soon but I do like some crow if he can become again the player he was. Overall, no one I was disappointed in. They did the job. And Berhalter should be proud to get the 3-0 for the first game.
Mihailovic was the revelation. Others had good games, but this guy was relatively unknown, esp. because he was out for a while with injury. I just like his body type, the way he moves, and his positional awareness. He only turned 20 in Nov., so there's still room for improvement.
I’m willing to say that Horvath is our best keeper right now. Steffen playi;g this type of match is only a negative experience for him. Time to move on.
My only problem is that he’s not athletic and his passing range is pretty minimal. He looked good in this friendly, but you have to realize that doesn’t always materialize.
Great to see wide play out of a USMNT - the reason I'm in favor of 3G's game. I"ve been in favor of it for the last 2 cycles and was totally frustrated by last two managers. Yay Greg. Having said that, against better competition, there will be a big space in the middle of the pitch which has to be covered by people who see that space opening. That is yet to come. Berhalter's interpretation of the 8 position was always his great weakness in Columbus. He thought Artur was a great player because he had Tchani playing the 8 til he got rid of him and got Artur. Memo to 3G's: Artur aint that great. But how happy am I to see 3G's make an effort to get value out of the fb position. I'm talking about Lima. Cannon v. Lima will be an excellent narrative going forward and we're just getting started. Lima will be playing for a real manager this year, El Pelado himself, and I'm definitely going to be sampling some Quakes games. Bye-bye Yedlin, at last.
Lewis, Lima, Zimmermann, Ramierez move on to the next round. Agree that Lima vs Cannon is an excellent problem to have. Yedlin should be concerned.
That was a nice diversion. Low stakes, clearly better than the opposition, but still created chances and goals. Most things will have been commented on, but a couple of things I was pleased with... More than a couple of times in the match the team transitioned from the defense to the offense with three passes. I don't feel like I've seen that for a very long time with the men. Under Sarachan there were attempts, but I felt like a lot of his gameday teams were all frantic energy, this felt more controlled. The pressure from the front created many second chances. Panama played their bit. Many people will comment on Panama's quality, which was not good. I've sat through a lot of these matches and in too many of them the poor quality of the opponent was met with poor quality from the US as measured by few chances, few ideas, and a squeaked win off a set piece. This one was never in doubt, one data point for the books.
Granted, the competition was weak, but he showed enough to get more looks. Baird gives a solid effort, but he just seems like an old school USMNT player, without much skill.
And there were 4 other DM/CM who were better in camp then Bradley according toi multiple people who were there. One was sent home, the other did not dress, one did not play, and the other a sub appearance. It makes you wonder how good they would have been as well.
Bradley was man of the match with Lima a close second. Steffen, Lewis, and maybe a couple others raised their stock to varying degrees.
Steffen needs to do more than MLS... He needs more professional pressure. GB was basically running him out today for Caps. I completely agree with GB in doing that. Steffen will never be our undisputed GK will Horvath performing like he is right now.
it only takes 67 chances the last 3 years for him to even have a decent performance again. Imagine if Dempsey was given this special treatment by Arena back in 2017, and Dempsey starts more games (not a sub) after being the best goal scorer, we are probably in the 2018 world cup.