Happiest I’ve ever been after a US loss. Pretty great showcase and interesting players. We definitely are getting deeper.
This was a pretty young and limited Serbia squad, so everything we saw is with a bit of a grain of salt. Limited player thoughts: I think people saw more of what Cade Cowell can be tonight. He was a real problem for Serbia, and only a few inches kept him from a goal. Also had some nice passes and dribbles. Just a fantastic game. Zendejas took some time to settle in, and I think people took a bit to adjust to his inverted style. DeJuan Jones helped there, too -- I think he synced better than Gressel. Really fantastic skill. Question will be the physical side of it. Love the flair. Vazquez had the bad/good striker game. I thought he was generally pretty mediocre -- poor hold up, disappeared at times -- but he had a beautiful goal so that makes it all good. Same kind of with Gressel -- pretty mediocre to poor, and then a gorgeous cross. Jalen Neal had the opposite game. I thought he was surprisingly really good ... except the goal he gave up. Ugh. That makes it a poor game but think he has a lot of promise. Thought Morris was very good. He's not quite ready for the big time, but he impressed both with his defense and offense.
Best Jan friendly performance in recent memory. By a wide margin. By recent memory I mean the last 5 or so years. Cowell was the most impressive. Easy to see why his talent projects to the higher levels. Just a question of putting it together. But a level above everyone else today.
You could tell that a lot of guys are not in season so alot of performances should be taken with a grain of salt. That being said team looked a lot better with Jones, Williamson, and Acosta replacing Pomykal, Gressel, and Sonora (though Gressel had a nice assist) Players that IMO were encouraging- Slonina, Jones, Cowell, Vazquez, Williamson, Zendejas. Showed good things but need seasoning- JoGo, Neal (both had good moments but were at fault for second goal), Morris (up and down game but saw some good. Didn't impress- Pomykal, Sonora, Hoppe (though Hoppe got no service) Of the core guys? Acosta was best. Long was fine. Zim had 2 bad mistakes one leading to first goal, Arriola had a moment or two. Now again not to be too harsh as quite a few players you could clearly tell haven't played for awhile.
I'm not sure what to make of this game. I was hoping that we could identify a player or players who while not quite ready for the A team could be looked at someone to keep monitoring and hope they could progress to the next level. But I don't think I saw any performance that gives me that hope. Cowell showed his athleticism but we already knew that about him. Zendejas showed his qualities later in the 2nd half but maybe I expected more from him.
Best flowing soccer I've in a Camp Cupcake match since the Donovan era. The superior fitness and sharpness of the in-season Serbians eventually told, but the US impressed with their skill level and tactical nous.
This is the most I’ve liked Cowell when watching him for the USMNT and with the U20s. He really was very good tonight and hopefully he takes that and has a big MLS season. Really liked what we saw from Zendejas late and think he definitely deserves a call up in March. Liked his interplay with Williamson as well, who I thought did well except for his one really bad giveaway. Thought Jones showed more than Gressel and assuming we are going to see him start the second game. The goal was nice and in the first half I thought he was at least getting in dangerous positions, but definitely faded a bit after that. A lot to work on, but good he played and glad he scored. Just that one really terrible play. But that’s how you learn. Hoping he plays a ton with LA Galaxy this year. I thought he was a bit better offensively than I anticipated.
Keystone Kops defending and set piece defending ruined a good effort in other parts of the pitch. Have I ever said how much I hate a wall that jumps? My opinion hasn't changed in decades, for the extra 12 inches you get a wall that breaks open a heck of a lot. Might've cost us an Olympic medal one time. At various times Cowell and Zendajas show the ability to take over a game. Both Pomykal and Sonora show clever touches and ability in tight place. Vasquez nicely took a header but did poorly on a couple of other chances. Other than the one cross, I thought Gressel was our worst player, surprising with his experience. Despite Martino's love affair with Acosta, I think I like Morris, especially considering his age, much better as a player at the 6. Gaga looks like a decent shot stopper, probably needs to organize his defense a little better. For all the chaos of the last 20 minutes, we need to trouble the keeper more with that much possession, and that many set pieces. Not especially impressed with either the talent or production of HBO Max, I don't know where they're getting their people from but they committed the cardinal sin of soccer broadcasting, they interrupted a breakaway to show a replay.
Better in attack than defense. We needed Acosta out there for backbone, for sure, though Acosta isn't Messi even against Serbian Cs.
Serbia's Dragan Stojkovic on US: "They try to play in the 433 system, like top team ... they tried to have possession, control the play, but sometimes because of maybe inexperienced players, young players, they also make some mistakes. But this is very, very normal"— Charles Boehm (@cboehm) January 26, 2023
Hard to know what to make of the game. Serbia made Gressel and Sonora suffer several times but couldn’t capitalize (and Morris and Pomykal couldn’t help), but then scores on two pretty impressively bad individual blunders from the centerbacks. Vasquez had moments and a nicely taken goal, but was generally poor receiving the ball. Zendejas looked lost for a half and then got in the ball and showed some flair. Good Cowell showed up— let’s see if he sticks around this year. Arriola continues to be Arriola in the box. Neal was the biggest enigma. Looked cool and solid in the first half but the second half showed that was actually disconnected and slow. Jones forgot the other team is allowed to run and wants the ball, but then made some decent crosses. Acosta accepted the leader/boss role as a veteran might, but then botched his free kicks and couldn’t weight passes (corners were ok). All in all, have to be disappointed to lose to Serbia C/D at home, but maybe someone will take their positives and build.
It wasn't just that one play. He subsequently got bailed out by an offside to not allow another goal because he hesitated approaching the ball. Then in the sequence he did the same thing to just let a ball bounce off him out of bounds. He got shook, hard, for a while. He's always had potential, but he needs to work those things out w/ the u-20's and Galaxy in a league with a generous playoff system. Hopefully they finally give him a shot. His hold-up was pretty good too. He kept showing to the ball and then at least sending it back. He also demonstrated his strong movement, post-ups, aerials, etc. It wasn't as clean as normal because he's out of season. But I think he indicated he belongs. A lot more to prove, though.
Interesting that Beasley just said he wants to see more of Neal. I think he's reacting to what others have observed about him- that he's a good passer out of the back and has potential. But Neal has to straighten out his positioning, composure under pressure. The jury is still out, but if he can turn that corner he might be another CB for the future.
Anthony Hudson said lack of fitness with so many players in preseason was the big issue #USMNT faced in approaching the match with certain starters on set minutes. Example: Alan Soñora, whom he would have liked to have played longer.— Paul Kennedy (@pkedit) January 26, 2023
What kind of Serbia team was this? If it was as "C" team it's kinda disappointing, as they looked pretty good against our "whatever the hell level" team we threw out there. Our guys, man, it was an up and down night. For every good play there was a sloppy one. Most of these guys showed why they are getting a Nats run, while 2 minutes later showing why they haven't/shouldn't. And that's exactly as expected for this group. Biggest plus of the night was Cade Cowell. SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES: STOP DICKING AROUND AND JUST GIVE THIS GUY THE RUN OF PLAY.
He might, but it will have to be after he breaks through to at least the MLS level. He's got some ability but he's not ready for this.
Pretty wild for a coach to flat out admit "I don't care what else happens this January, it's a success if we lock down this one player."He's right, but it's still pretty insane to hear admitted out loud by #USMNT. https://t.co/kAyW1ZmhGr— Kyle Bonn (@the_bonnfire) January 26, 2023
Also, I watched this one on Universo. Skippy choppy the entire game from the main camera. AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL.
That's because Hoppe was invisible to the degree that he doesn't even count. Yes, Gressel can't play defence, he is just a crossing machine
It was mostly the domestic Serbs (and a couple of MLSers) who don't play for the "Rangers and Celtic" of Serbia. In other words, C-level. Or less. Much like our side.
Pluses: Morris - he's a terrier, the comments questioning his defense were bizarre, but he does doddle on the ball and to take it to the next level he's got to clean that up. Jones - brought a lot more defensive speed, 2-footedness to play the square instead of back, evasiveness, dynamism on the ball, while still having some end product Vazquez - he's a physical force, moves well, good finisher, solid hold-up, it'll get cleaner as he gains comfort and sharpness Cowell - he couldn't be contained, did they just not scout him, is he a fitness animal even in his offseason, or will he finally take his game to the next level? Neutral: Zendejas - ghost in the first 60, but turned it on the last 30, very rapid fire attacking ideas once he gets on the ball Gressel - killer crosser, but lacking in possession and defense Williamson - rangy and had ideas to advance, but sloppy Slonina - made some big saves, but beaten twice, & his kicking game still needs work Gomez - jack of all trades, master of none Minuses: Sonora - he was lightweight, lacked tenacity, range, ability to beat his man, and high-level ideas. Bad first impression. Hoppe - he was a step behind the play, not very mobile, and shoddy on the ball. Kind of looking like a flash in the pan or woefully or out of form (for a long time). Pomykal - wanted to see if he had the range and he didn't in this one, would like to see again w/ several more days of fitness, also was kind of negative on the ball Neal - may have even been in the positives if not for a horror 5 minutes, where he got beat for one goal, was fortunate on another, and had other TO's, otherwise made some interventions and tried to be progressive N/A: the vets