9/8 US vs. Brazil, Foxboro

Because they sat back and let us have the ball a lot after they scored.

 

Anybody who doesn't have below average speed for a forward and actually provides something with their head. Johannsson is not a center forward, period. And with a team counter-attacking he doesn't have much of a role in that position either. It's foolish to try and just force-fit him into a lineup even if you believe in isolation, ignoring role, he's a little better player than the next guy. If you're going to use a lone center forward, Altidore is a much, much better option for that. And for this particular match where we'll be defending and then advancing the ball quickly into significant space, arguably every other player on the roster is better for that role. And I'm not keen on Wood or Wooten right now in general, while Zardes to me is much better on the wing.

If Johannsson is played, it wouldn't shock me if he picked up the scraps and scored a goal on the set piece, or something to that effect. But that still wouldn't make him the right selection beforehand because it's one event and in open play he doesn't project to do well so if you played this game many times over you'd probably see he was more liability than asset (see Julian Green in general outside of scoring vs. Belgium).

 

Johannsson often looks better than Jozy with movement, on the ball, but fails to deliver the most the important thing. Scoring goals.

 

He tries to make frequent, smart runs, but alas they seldom amount to anything in a counter-attack situation because of his lack of speed. Whereas Jozy has the capability to run at defenders over significant space and run onto balls in it, even if inconsistent.

That slick flick from Jozy to Aron should have resulted in a 1 v. 1 situation with the keeper, but he got run down by the defender and had to retreat, killing the chance. That's a microcosm of Aron playing on the counter.

Aron is a little bit of a rich man's Wondo. I think Wondo has the technical ability and awareness to have a lot of success with a solid Dutch club, and maybe in a higher league than that, if he got the chance, but he's seldom a fit for the U.S.' style. The teams he helps us against are the type we'd beat anyway, greatly limiting his value. To a lesser degree I think that to be true about Aron.

 

Best attacking game I've ever seen the US play against an elite side

 

You know you are describing Dempsey too. Dempsey is actually slower than Johannsson, Johannsson has a stronger shot and is way better of a passer. What Dempsey excels is knowing exactly where the ball is going to be, AND that is what Johannsson is lacking.

 

Especially on their left side via Neymar and Marcelo, Brasil were sending numbers forward. The US' good stats were generated by an effective press that was let down by poor play from the aging centerbacks.

AJ has good pace that looks to be at the level of Jozy and Zardes or perhaps a little faster. The problem in the last match was that Peru's defenders had scintillating speed; even Wood wasn't getting much separation.

 

Dempsey is much better in the air, a longer strider, and has more ability to take players off the dribble. That combo makes it OK for him taking up one of the positions against better teams. But I'd agree that they are bad complements for one another because they don't have enough dissimilarities.

 

AJ is an orthodox center channel forward.

Dempsey is a different creature altogether. He has a background as a collegiate attacking midfielder who then played an inside-wide role with Fulham. He is a flair player with a gift for poaching in both scoring and setting up goals.

 

Your estimation of relative pace and touch are off from what I've seen.

 

Here you go again......

 

One of my best friends, who's a major USMNT fan, said plenty seats are still available. He lives in N. Boston and is going... By himself. His normal crew (4 total) have decided to boycott attending games. Won't get in to why, but it has made me curious about how big the crowd would be. Your situation seems to point to a smaller crowd than initially expected.

 

Pace:
Elite: Shea, Bunbury, Nagbe, Morris, Wood, Yedlin, Gyau(maybe not after the injury), Fabian, Ream
Average: Zusi, B. Davis, Wondo, Corona,
In between: everyone else

 

They're still available because everyone knows the US is going to get mauled the way it usually does when playing against Brazil. The US's overall record against Brazil is a horror show, something like 17 losses and 1 victory. I can see why American fans aren't particularly willing to watch in person a rout of their team.

 

Perhaps that is playing a part for a lot of the fans. Wouldn't for me, but I could see that affecting some.

They apparently boycotted the Haiti game, back in July, as well.

Enjoy the game!

 

Problem is he said his friends are boycotting (so how many others are?), Revs' games do mediocre at best even though the team has been good recently, and it's still Brazil. Brazil should sell. 68K attended the last meeting.

 

No, but I have it from a good source that there will be 11 men in the lineup.

 

Johannsson is more of a finesse player than Dempsey. If we ever build a quick-passing team that is able to dominate possession in the opponent's final 3rd, he'd fit right in. Dempsey roves all over to find the ball and actually covers a lot of ground for a forward.

 

I have a source in the popcorn vendor that we will be starting:

FW: Wooten
Mids: Jones, Morales, Williams, Bedoya, Bradley, Corona
Backs: Brooks, Alvarado, Orozco
GK: Howard

3-6-1

Jurgen was getting his popcorn ready for the reaction.

 

Agreed. I want to elevate to the level where we wouldn't even consider Johannsson in the starting lineup, then to the level where he'd be an automatic start.

 

Where the hell do you get your sources from?
At least @thedukeofsoccer gets his from a popcorn vendor.

 

AJ tends to thrive via early balls and inside the area efforts. Altidore and Zardes thrive via the quick combinations. The NT don't find AJ consistently enough with the early balls.

 

Im not going for several reasons and I luv to go to NAT games:

1) When the tickets went on sale, we had no idea who would be playing for the USA. I got burned badly the last time the NATs were here for the Spain game when Bradley dressed a B-C team

2) The cheapest ticket was $70 and with not knowing who would play, was not worth the chance

3) Its a Tuesday night and some of us have to work on Wed.

All things considered, I decided to pass on this one and will watch on TV

 

I dont agree. I have watched Dempsey since his Revs days and he can be a total finesse player as he was in his younger years. When he went to the UK, they coached that out of his game.

 

Wretched!