I agree whole heartedly, but in the mean time, we need some W’s to build some confidence back. I mean for the past 4 years, it’s been a giant black hole for US soccer. I’m just glad to see a little more belief again.
GGG has to pair McKennie or Adams if he will play Bradley. Bradley is excellent at switching the point of attack if you allow him space and time, but (at least for now) our opponents have to decide if they will back off on him and track CP and Boyd and Arriola or pressure him and get burned on the wings. Tonight T and T was marking CP and letting Bradley pick his passes. Pick your poison. But Pulisic was very smart - I saw three or four times where he was drawing two or three T and T players to him and then releasing someone. That is a tough conundrum for our opponent right now because they need to man mark CP and Arriola and Boyd and hope one person can pressure Bradley. Tonight the boys burned them in spite of a few of our misses.
You're really making predictions about stuff that's 3.5 years away? Just when I thought I've seen peak BS, here it is.
Pulisic, Bradley, & Arriola are the only repeat starters. Your memory is off. Then: 442: Howard; Yedlin, Gonzo, Besler, Villafana; Arriola, Bradley, Pulisic, Nagbe; Altidore, Wood. Now: 433/451/4141: Steffen; Lima, Zimmerman, Long, Ream; Bradley; Boyd, McKennie, Pulisic, Arriola; Zardes. Though Jozy will probably be starting again soon.
Zardes.....Arriola....Bradley. LOL. all the whipping boyz put in a shift tonight! Congrats to them all.
Look I think we'd all like to see a better holding mid out there but Bradley is the best at that position we currently have available and there's really no question about that. Yes Adams is better. He's hurt. Bradley is better than Trapp. We have no one else. Let's stop criticizing one of the best players we've ever had who's still trudging along in his 30s and thank him for holding down the fort until the next generation comes into its own. He's the best we have right now.
I said "the side we lost to." Meaning this T&T side was mostly the same T&T side we lost to in Couva. I believe it's 7 of the same starters. I'll edit it for clarity if it helps.
Not to mention probably the best team goal in a long time was Arriola to zardes to Bradley to Lima to zardes, for a tap in from 3 yards.
The numbers show a superior performance compared to Guyana. We won more duels 55 to 41. Had more possession 66%. More shots and more goals. So... good improvement but it's still far from perfect. Still that lack of sharpness until the first goal is scored. Still moments where the defense lacks coordination.
I thought Pulisic was great, especially in the second half. He did what no one since Donovan has done for us and raised everyone's game around him. The best adjustment was Zardes checking into the midfield to get the ball. TnT never seemed to sort that out and it left a lot of space behind in which we could work. A few donkey touches but one of his better games for sure. Lima also looked good, I've always thought he could contribute so nice to see him pick it up after a pedestrian first game. Same for Long. Only Ream continued to look poor. Arriola is what he is. In 1998, he's a top outside mid in a 4-4-2. In 2018, he just can't finish well enough to be a forward but he brings something different so I'm fine with him being a fringe player.
Curious what others saw, but it struck me as a more classic 4-4-1-1 than the previous system. Bradley had McKennie as his CM pair. Arriola and Boyd attacked wide. Pulisic (or occasionally Zardes) dropped into the hole. Everyone simply looked comfortable and free to get on with it. Am I seeing things, or did the system change for this one?
Oops, sorry. I guess I skipped over that because the comment makes no sense to me as written. Why is that disheartening? We pasted the same side we lost to two years ago. That is a good thing and a massive improvement.
But I was told in the game thread he was a slightly above average supporting player that needs other good players to look good
Can’t argue with Pulisic as MOTM but surprised Mckennie not getting more kudos. He was a beast out there. He is quick and precise in every aspect of the game. With Pumisic and Mckennie in midfield and Boyd somewhere else near the top I’m liking our chances going forward Nice results boys. And yes it doesn’t get rid of the scar but it was cathartic.
{ having not read thread before posting } The game started with a Bradley backpass to Ream which lead to a turnover and an attacking chance. Just too perfect for words. Onwards.
It took a half, but we finally started moving the ball quickly, which created space for Pulisic, and that was all she wrote. McKennie is a mini Jermaine Jones, nice to see some bite from somebody. Words I never expected to hear: Golden Boot candidate Gyasi Zardes.
Echoing the sentiment I'm seeing on the first page. That second half was the most fun I've had watching the US men in years. Zardes's curler was terrific, and the build-up for most of the others was superb. Plus, two goals for Long! ******** yeah! Excited for Panama.
This was a good game [particularly 2nd half]. The match against Guyana felt underwhelming, this felt just right. It was obviously important to get that first goal. It then forced TnT, which basically had to win if it wanted to continue in the tournament, to open up. In that situation, with a 2nd goal, if a team keeps opening up then it can be a runaway. We have a fair amount of attacking talent, about half of which is on this team, and if we don't play in a defensive "passback" mode we can be dangerous. Our own defense would have had serious troubles with a more incisive attacking team, but TnT's attack was what it was and I'll enjoy today. The two easy matches are now done. Panama is a middling match. A team we should win against, but capable of mucking it up and getting a draw. I would hope we don't play exactly the same lineup in that game. Let's see how some others might do. But not sure if General Egg is comfortable with that. In any case, let's see what happens when we play one of the semi-tough teams [Canada, Costa Rica, Jamaica]. Mexico can wait unti we meet Mexico.