Post-match: USA v Netherlands Round of 16

Discussion in 'USA Men: News & Analysis' started by OWN(yewu)ED, Dec 3, 2022.

  1. freisland

    freisland Member+

    Jan 31, 2001
    Lol... I was talking about Bale!

    Everyone so fired up all the time. Isn't weed legal everywhere now?
     
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  2. Yowza

    Yowza Member+

    DC United
    United States
    Oct 23, 2019
    Arlington
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    A confident striker buries that one time right over the keepers shoulder.
    Also, Pulisic needed only to look far post, get the keeper to lean and slide near post.
    I’m always hoping we have goal scorers with some top notch goal scoring skill. Still waiting.
     
  3. Excellency

    Excellency Member+

    LA Galaxy
    United States
    Nov 4, 2011
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    The only criticism I have is that Christian wasn't quite right yet from the knock he took v. Iran which affected the power on the shot. Christian has to be 100%. A top tier team would have put Christian on the bench for this one. We're not there yet.

    Berhalter needed to give Adams the gun sight with Aaronson in the target zone which is what he has at Leeds. It was Adams who got our best pass to Christian for the shot on goal. Using Aaronson as a sub in this tournament was the worst decision Berhalter made. At some point, Berhalter lost his nerve.
     
  4. QuakeAttack

    QuakeAttack Member+

    Apr 10, 2002
    California - Bay Area
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    They weren't tired at the 10 minute mark when the first goal was scored. The second goal could have been tired legs. The third goal was not being tired (I.e. Robinson was already back), but poor marking.

    We didn't have the depth at outside back to rotate with any level of confidence.
     
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  5. nbarbour

    nbarbour Member+

    Jun 19, 2006
    Washington DC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    You can have absolutely have heavy legs from the beginning of a match after playing all out for 270 minutes over the previous week and a half. Doesn't excuse not sprinting back, but it adds to the difficulty.

    Also, I have watched a fair bit of Joe Scally over the past year and a half (more than any non-foals fan should have to slog through), and he was 100% capable of holding his own on either flank (preferred on the right, obviously).

    And if you don't think you have any subs for your outside backs or DM, how about not playing a system that asks those three players to run all day and put them under constant pressure.

    Everybody knew we would be exhausted for Netherlands due to Gregg's choices leading up to the match. See all the commentary on hoping it didn't go to extra time. I think many underestimated the effect from the beginning.
     
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  6. Excellency

    Excellency Member+

    LA Galaxy
    United States
    Nov 4, 2011
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    At some point ARob's legs just stiffened from too frequent use because you saw it on his touch in opening minutes. People should realize the Prem players were played a hectic schedule to fit the World cup into a regular season. Then they got on planes and flew to Qatar and slept in strange beds and operated in different temperatures, and played away games.

    An older team might have dealt with these issues better over the long run in terms of pacing themselves.
     
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  7. Excellency

    Excellency Member+

    LA Galaxy
    United States
    Nov 4, 2011
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    One of the reasons I think Berhalter didn't play Scally was that Berhalter still thinks a lot of crossing and Scally's left foot cross from wide isn't strong enough for him.

    I saw stats showing USA as the team with the most crosses in Group. Out of 32 teams, we led in crossing. Hey, we're #1 !!!
     
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  8. Excellency

    Excellency Member+

    LA Galaxy
    United States
    Nov 4, 2011
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    At some point late in the game ARob was dealing with something and I could see he was physically spent and needed subbing out because I've seen it before. We just weren't ready because we didn't have a complete roster. ARob has history of heartbeat problems, too.

    The next manager has to ignore the Eurosnobs and find replacements in MLS who can put in a 10 minute shift so we don't end up with these same problems in 2026. Waiting til 3 months before kick off doesn't do it. The work has to start much earlier or the replacement will not be ready.
     
  9. The Clientele

    The Clientele Member+

    Portland Timbers
    Jun 25, 2005
    Portland, Oregon
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I can’t see any other team than France or Brazil winning. Their collective talent is on another level from all the other teams.
     
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  10. TheHoustonHoyaFan

    Oct 14, 2011
    Houston
    Club:
    FC Schalke 04
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    England vs France will be a match to watch. Now that England has switched to their version of MMA (replacing ACM Mount with box to box more gritty/defensive Henderson), England should be able to match and even control France's midfield.
     
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  11. grandinquisitor28

    Feb 11, 2002
    Nevada
    What fans? Random yahoos, or people crazy enough to post a dozen times a day in an obscure forum? The former, sure, the latter, not really. People know that Arriola lacks technical ability, and finishing skill and can draw cards too easily. People know Reyna is impressive technically, but not the fastest guy ever, and doesn't have the same defensive work rate as others. People appreciate Richards, but know his aerial game needs work, people know he's not a complete player yet, prone to more miscues than expected. People know that Dest and McKennie both are notorious for defensive lapses.

    It's not "he's good/he sucks" in this forum other than a handful of people that are best ignored (and a tiny percentage).
     
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  12. grandinquisitor28

    Feb 11, 2002
    Nevada
    I've had more than one student whose 5 foot nothing and thinks they've got a pro basketball career ahead of them regardless of the odds. Spud Webb, and Mugsy were 35 years ago, that road is closed. Crazy that people are that deluded, STILL. You can make it at the edges (there have been a bunch of recent WR's under 180 pounds that recently hit, despite a near non-existent track record before) but its exceptionally rare. Each sport has its particular demands.
     
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  13. Marko72

    Marko72 Member+

    Aug 30, 2005
    New York
    The English or the Argentines could surprise and upset them on the way, but... no, I just don't see it, either. And they're cruising.
     
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  14. tomásbernal

    tomásbernal Member+

    Sep 4, 2007
    Club:
    Portland Timbers
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I appreciate the nuanced reviews of players here. For the record, Paul Arriola has 2 yellows and 1 red in over 2800 minutes for the USMNT--which doesn't equate to "draws cards too easily", unless you're talking about other players getting carded for fouling him. He's gotten a bad rap on here ever since the red card he got. He has his deficiencies, but he's been a quite clean player throughout his career in the fouling department.
     
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  15. The Clientele

    The Clientele Member+

    Portland Timbers
    Jun 25, 2005
    Portland, Oregon
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    From what I’ve seen of the English team, I just can’t see them getting past France. It’s possible, but I’ll be surprised.
     
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  16. gogorath

    gogorath Member+

    None
    United States
    May 12, 2019
    Look, I think you (and many others are very reasonable posters, but I literally just came from another thread where a very frequent poster was "mesmerized" by Reyna's amazing play in the second half of the Netherlands game, and other posts where people are very mad that "people said we had the most talented team ever" and still aren't Top 8.

    There's a mix, but the overwhelming USMNT fanbase opinion -- from BS to Twitter -- hedges heavily to an overrate of our players.

    My original point somewhere was simply that I think people should listen to unbiased views of the players because that's a valuable data point. Most USMNT fans -- and yes, that means you are on a FAR FAR extreme, wildly overrate our players. It's good to listen to someone who doesn't have a stake in the game.
     
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  17. gogorath

    gogorath Member+

    None
    United States
    May 12, 2019
    I think the English have a good shot. It'll probably turn on something ridiculous from Mbappe, but they are going to absolutely try to strangle out the game, and I think the French midfield is more serviceable than dominant.

    I really struggle to see Argentina going far. But I have England at #3. I think Spain is going to struggle to finish a bit; they are better in a lot of ways but I think Kane and company are better suited to upset Brazil/France.
     
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  18. grandinquisitor28

    Feb 11, 2002
    Nevada
    "hand raised".

    I think Morris was highly useful during the last cycle, and his injury, alongside JAB's late summer, was as relevant as anything in why we didn't make the trip to Russia.

    I also think he's been passed by, there are five wing forwards I prefer to him and a ton coming in this next U20 group, not to mention the latest attempted KDLF reclamation project. Striker's certainly a barren wasteland in comparison, but I wouldn't put him top 5 there.

    As for Sargent. Looked solid to good at the World Cup, in the midst of a very good season in the championship, Before that 19 goals in 3.5 seasons in Germany and last eyar in the EPL. Not great by any stretch, but not horrible either.

    I really have a hard time understanding why people can't see what Sargent can do. I get that he was a lost option by '20-'21. But you just saw what he could when healthy, and feeling more confident, 9 goals in his league in just 3.5 months, in the cup he had a secondary assit for our first goal, hit the post on a flash header, and had a good game against Iran even if he didn't score. He's obviously useful and skilled.

    Morris was too, but at this point, I don't really see it anymore. Never had a true breakout season in MLS, but did have 3 10 goal seasons more or less. I think in that '15-'20 window, he was relevant. Post the latest injury, I'm just not.

    He's fine, you can argue the details, the evidence etc, I get the urge to set the record straight.

    Still, is he really that relevant anymore? Why? If we need a guy like Morris to lead the line at striker at this point, it's not really a good thing, at all. He's not what he was, and when he was what he was, he probably wasn't a good fit either for the talent we have on the wings and in CM.

    Im bummed he didn't have '18 and I'm bummed he tore that ACL. Might have locked down a Euro gig if that hadn't happened two years ago, but it did, and now he's had his one trip to the World Cup, and he's got his career, a good above average MLS goal scorer, time to bring down the curtain.
     
  19. grandinquisitor28

    Feb 11, 2002
    Nevada
    Might not have had the perfect Cup, if only those shots against England and the Netherlands went in, but there's no arguing the idea that we got "good Pulisic" this tournament.

    Good McKennie in games 2 and 3, bad McKennie in games 1 and 4.

    But Pulisic has a lot to be proud of, the best performers at the cup seemed like Ream, Adams, Musah, Weah, and Pulisic, with Pulisic standing out most of all, and McKennie in game 2 and 3, particularly outstanding too.

    Now Pulisic needs to get the hell out of Chelsea. This winter, or next summer, but leave he must.
     
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  20. gogorath

    gogorath Member+

    None
    United States
    May 12, 2019
    We got good Pulisic. I don't even know how there's a debate. He played well, and he played without trying a ton of hero ball.

    He's never been a great decision-maker or finisher. This was definitely good Pulisic, just not Project Restart where everything went in.
     
  21. dark knight

    dark knight Super Moderator
    Staff Member

    Dec 15, 1999
    Club:
    Leicester City FC
    Too bad Arena didn't really rate him. Man what a run - scoring with either foot, headers, making Beckham-esque passes, scoring vs. Germany and everyone - my favorite player of all time, including his gazza-esque flaws.

    These boards during that Cup were totally off the reservation.
     
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  22. twoolley

    twoolley Member+

    Jan 3, 2008
    partly just still poor behind 18 yards as a finisher for sure.

    The england shot would have been a wonder goal, that was not a "miss" from my perspective. Dutch game chance needed to be finished. He will regret that til... the next world cup.
     
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  23. dark knight

    dark knight Super Moderator
    Staff Member

    Dec 15, 1999
    Club:
    Leicester City FC
    Kinda like when Greece won the Euros.
     
  24. grandinquisitor28

    Feb 11, 2002
    Nevada
    The day after you post this we see upset contenders # 5 and #6 fail like the previous four, though Japan at least took Croatia to penalties (and honestly, Croatia is not a tier 1 team to me, they are a tier 2 UEFA team that at peak form, can play like a tier 1 side in brief spurts (1998, 2018, maybe 2022)
     
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  25. grandinquisitor28

    Feb 11, 2002
    Nevada
    Ugh, I perpetually forget about Dike. It will be really interesting to see what he can do over the next two years. If he can stay healthy, and build on what he did in 2020-2021, he can kick that door right open. There is nobody in the pool that's close to a lock at striker. I personally view Sargent and Pepi as easily the most relevant strikers worth paying attention to but Dike is like noone else in the pool, if he can figure out how to put it all together, he absolutely can jump back in to relevance. The funny thing about him is that he would have been really valuable the previous decade, this decade, unless he can get cleaner on the ball, he probably can't break through. But, I think he might be just good enough if his ridiculous finishing over expectations continues and doesn't fall back to the mean.
     
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