You only have to choose odds. We don't know the outcomes ahead of time. We could prioritize certain games and have that lead to us taking all 9 points or ending up w/ 4. It's about prioritizing the right ones or balance. I said before the venues were chosen I'd put more emphasis on getting points at Canada, because 6 at home v. Honduras & El Salvador were virtually given. Now that's shifted w/ the self sabotage of electing to play in freezers. I'd assure those 6 at home & then pts at Canada are a bonus. Sad to say, because we're not optimizing and don't want to give their delusional noob fan base the satisfaction, but we have to be practical ultimately. But maybe we can create balance to get the best of both worlds by putting a gritty team that's not as talented out there against Canada. Defend and counter. While playing our most skilled, finesse squad at home to be flat track bullies. Again, this is complicated, at minimum, by putting one of the games in St. Paul, though. Tough choices were made much more complicated even.
It’s just nuts that we are missing one of our best players for all of World Cup qualifying. And that we have had so many key players, not fringe players, miss so many games.
Thanks for a good response. While I may not agree with your positions I do appreciate that we can have a reasonably thought out difference of opinion. I appreciate responses based on some actual soccer perspective over so much we see on here with the typical BS responses like well he sucks, every body knows he's no good, he is one of GBs buddies, blah blah blah. LOL
Same here! To add to that, sometimes it’s hard to decide on an opinion because it’s hard to make that decision. For example, Gyasi Zardes versus Jordan Pefok. Some might see that and interpret that I’m saying Zardes is a Lewandowski clone and Pefok sucks... but it’s just a hard decision and there are micro factors that split that decision. I wish all of us would just be cooler with each other... because I don’t get why some people seem to come on BigSoccer solely for the purpose to either insult other people or to exalt oneself as some know-it-all, Holier-than-thou, Jack ass. Jesus, we’re all just a bunch of nerds who probably come on here because our wives don’t really care who’s better between Yunus Musah or Gianluca Busio! /sorry just venting
This is how I saw WCQ going. I felt there was a good enough 2nd team in our roster to use to scrap away points while keeping our starters fresh to get those crucial home points. All of the injuries have really put those thoughts to rest. My original question was more about, is it more important to take two home points away from Canada and sacrificing two home points of our own (against Honduras). My thinking is if we play our best 11 in Canada, there’s a better “probability” we don’t have the legs in the second half in MN against Honduras; which could lead to us not getting all three home points.
It’s why I care more about why posters think the way they do than what they think. There’s more interesting conversations to be had in there. For instance what do you think “system wise” Zardes will pick up in camp that won’t be privy to Pefok? I see most of the attackers role being in the final third in that game, which I would think would limit “what GB wants from his striker”. So Pefok should be able to get caught up quickly. I personally think Pefok is better suited for this game than all of our other strikers (and I wouldn’t say that about him but for this game). His size will be a matchup problem for El Salvador.
A lot in which cannot be easily defined. In other words, I believe he will gain an inherent edge or at least an unconscious favoritism for being around Berhalter longer in camp. Ultimately, I see it as, more talent will always beat out lesser talent. But when it’s close, familiarity might be the tie breaker. That said, I can emphasize over and over again that my argument isn’t a slight against Pefok. Moreover, I tell you what beats familiarity is form. If Pefok comes into camp red hot and Zardes just seems a little off, well, my opinion will swing in favor of Pefok. But at this point, I’m just guessing who might have an edge come game time.
Three against Honduras at home. Would you rather have one more point or two more points? I understand we are competing against Canada, but I don't expect them to be the lowest of the Top 4, so I think I'd rather have the point.
Yup as long as he's healthy and playing him won't risk aggravating his injury. They can of course manage his minutes based on his fitness like they did for Pulisic last window.
I mean I think he's definitely played with Pulisic, McKennie, Zardes, Arriola, Brooks, Steffen, Adams, and Yedlin. Probably others too. The people he probably hasn't played with are Dest, Reyna, and Musah. He's been around awhile, and I'm not that worried about his ability to integrate with the the group. The only questions I have for him are fitness and sharpness related as he missed most of last year and hasn't played many games quite yet.
The challenge is how long can we give him to prove that. If he can't even be on the bench tomorrow for Dortmund (which is what it sounds like), he's got very little opportunity left. Two remaining games for Dortmund before the international break. As far as I'm concerned, if he can't even be on the bench for the Pokal game against St. Pauli on the 18th, he's out. He hasn't played one minute since September 3rd!! Our pool isn't so bereft of talent that we have to call up a player that won't have played a match in 5 friggin' months.
The points at home are the most important. We are in a competition to finish in the top 3, not to finish 1st. We have to prioritize the two home games and six points. Points in Canada are great and I hope we can snag them, but we have to rotate players and we have to make sure we have the most competitive teams in the two home games.
You might ignore the talent pool when you're talking arguably about the one player with maybe the highest ceiling in the bunch. A man even if young. If his club says he's 30 minutes good, he is. If they don't, and he agrees, keep him in Germany. The fact we have so much talent means one spot of the 23 isn't a big risk. It may mean one of the MLS whipping boys actually stays home this time.
Traveling from Europe aside there is are two really good reason to call Reyna in even if you aren't sure he can get any minutes. 1. Get him some training time with his teammates. They get so few opportunities that I hate to miss one. 2. You never really know if he can serve any minutes or not unless you get a look at him in camp. Unless Dortmund says he isn't healthy yet then get him here. What's the downside?
We aren't even limited to a window-wide roster. We have can more in camp, so there's even less risk to bringing him in.
You are so funny. Maintain a lead? Totally agree with you. However, the USMNT has rarely shown the ability to play a "clean" game throughout the last couple of years. There are always at least one 15-20 minute stretch were focus is lost or poor decisions made or both. Will they get there? I think so, but not in this WC. I get that we need to qualify, but pushing them into an injury whether in a qualifier or shortly after at their clubs is a concern.
USMNT newslet: Aaron Long just told reporters he aims to be available for selection for this month's WCQs - well ahead of sked on his Achilles recovery. "I'm feeling really good. Just got to keep getting fit ... I got 3 more weeks until the qualifiers so it should be good to go."— Charles Boehm (@cboehm) January 13, 2022 It would be rather ridiculous if Aaron Long was actually playing for the national team in crucial World Cup qualifiers despite not playing for a club team in like almost a year due to a serious long term injury (one that he might not be fully recovered from based on the usual timeline)... is Gregg on board with this? If not, he needs to have a conversation with Aaron to set reasonable expectations. If Gregg is on the same page that's... not good. Kind of regret Long being called into the last few camps now..... We have four guys who should be pretty close to locked in (M Robinson, Richards, Zimmerman, Brooks) which doesn't leave many CB minutes in a three game window, if any. Then after that we have a few guys who are actually playing games and in many cases performing well (McKenzie, Miazga, CCV), some who don't get called in at all... also other MLS guys like Trusty and Kessler... what message would this send to the team? Edit: You've read Aaron Long's outlook on Aaron Long's fitness; now here (along with some other tidbits) is Gregg Berhalter's:https://t.co/RYz87bdjnK— Charles Boehm (@cboehm) January 14, 2022 For his part, Berhalter sounds much more conservative in his approach. Speaking to media on Monday, the coach hinted that the upcoming Octagonal qualifiers vs. El Salvador, Canada and Honduras will arrive too soon for Long to step straight back into the fray. < puts away pitchforks >
That SHOULD be Aaron Long's goal. Of course he should be working hard to get back to fitness and put himself in contention. Berhalter's position will likely be different.
During COVID I don't think you're going to travel a player around the world "just to be with the group." If this is true, Reyna basically has the POKAL game on the 18th to show he's fit. That's it. I think we're in last chance saloon. If I was Berhalter's I'd already have ruled him out. We're not so desperate that we need to call up a player that hasn't played one club soccer minute since August. Call up.............de la Torre or whomever. We have good options. On or about Jan. 21 and following the completion of the January Training Camp, we will have the roster for the World Cup Qualifiers.— U.S. Soccer Comms (@ussoccer_comms) January 14, 2022
10 degrees + recovering hamstring = bad news. Probably no one with a history of muscle problems should play v Honduras. Do players now have some kind of gel or something that they can put on exposed skin?