Pre-match: USA vs. Argentina - Copa Semi - 6/21/16

I would love to see Pulisic start here but I doubt it happens, but if we get down at half....my guess is he comes in....I'm honestly not sure why he doesn't start other than his age, when he's started for Dortmund he's played very very well

 

Now you're just flat-out lying. Hyndman is plateauing? Green is flaming out? He was our best player over BOTH legs. His move back to CM in the 2nd half of the 2nd game meant we actually had someone who could pass back there. He was much better under pressure than both Polster and Trapp. He was able to get the ball off of Colombian players feet and play the ball forward...and hold the ball. There's a reason he was rated higher in both games than both Trapp and Polster. For a player with "less physicality and toughness" than Polster, Hyndman sure made better tackles and held off defenders better than Polster did against the same competition.

Your fascination with Polster should be applied to other players who actually have the skillset to help the MNT. Nagbe wasn't forced on anyone. JK was interested in Nagbe as far back as 2014 and called him up the first chance he got. The fact that you think Nagbe isn't worthy of a call-up should kinda just end any discussion of your evaluation of talent. You think he's overrated, that's cool.

 

What? ha! You think the American soccer media, which sounds like an all boys choir, forced a player on JK? HA!

 

quoted to rep it 1 more time

 

Or we will need a new coach...which I am all for. It amazes me that so many on this board think Nagbe is either slow, small, or not dynamic enough. I like to think of him as an all-around footballer, like Reyna (in his prime) and JOB. He does hustle back on defense with Portland, but is also a great outlet in the midfield. Having said that, I fully expect Wondo, Beckerman, and Zusi. I have nothing against Zusi, and in fact, like the lineups that some have posted with Bradley, Zusi, and Nagbe in midfield, with Pulisic coming in as a supersub.

 

Well, we would also need another performance for the ages from our goal keeeper.

 

Not the most popular opinion but 90% of the stops Howard made that game were pretty standard. I think it's an overrated performance.

 

Guzan is going to have to make 3 world class saves to have any hope of pulling this one out. Before you ask...yes I pulled that number out of thin air, and it lacks any discernible basis. For the spelling trolls, yes, I may have misspelled discernible. For the grammer trolls, there may be commas in the wrong places.

***There is a secret spelling error in this post***

 

OT Alert

Still bitter. Oh but for a healthy Bish...Vasy like Aston Villa Guzan - let's in 3 goals a game amid ridiculous saves.

Drouin = Pulisic!??

Finally - Gator baseball better bring the bats this evening..

 

Secrets whispers and unicorns

your GrammAr is, fine, but your Speelling needs a lot of work.

Unfortunately any errors, spelling, Grammar, or otherwise immediately negates anything else in your post, no matter how eloquent or accurate. Better luck next time.

 

Shhh....you should spoiler alert that...you are ruining the game

 

Exactly. Both the Belgium and Mexico matches were perfect examples of Klinsmann utterly failing. He got lucky not to get blown out on the scoreboard like he did on the pitch, and much of it do to his tactics of fielding 3 defensive midfielders and zero playmakers and possession mids.

The question is if he learned form these matches. Though considering he said those matches were "even", and the Belgium match was the fault of the players for not attacking, I have my doubts. I can only hope.

 

I was envisioning one of the players during your reffing gig blurting it out to you.

 

"I'll take Costa Rica for $100, Alex"

Really hope JK does not go 4-3-3 against this Argentina without JJ & Bedoya, or maybe even with them available. But it is not out of the question that a confidence buoyed JK will eschew the pragmatism he's shown in this tournament and not see this game in this tournament at home as chance to get a USMNT "signature win". You know he wants to pressure and attack, especially with how well the spine has played since Colombia. A striker always has "goal eyes."

 

I would prefer a 4-3-3, that is more likely to force the Argentina attack wide, which is better for us than having them waltz down the middle and carve us up, which is what I fear happens with the width of a 4-4-2.

 

I think he sees Pulisic as like-for-like role change as Wood's role in the 4-3-3 (though the two obviously have different skill sets.) I don't think Nagbe is in contention for the same role, as he's spent the bulk of his time in midfield with the US.

 

Who were the three defensive mids vs Belgium? Bradley, Jones, and?

 

Ya, he thinks there's some wide ranging conspiracy theory where Sunil picks the players for Jurgen and does so to prop up Europe so the USSF gets more money and we become a marketing power....or something like that.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

I agree. 4-3-3 can look attractive with players that can be plugged in but I'm not sure the US is able to run a 4-3-3 well enough against a team like Argentina. Against weaker teams, yeah. Probably morph into a 4-2-3-1 with Dempsey stranded up top and US doing a lot of defending. The preparation that the team has done before this match is going to be very important. Just hope they look coherent even if it means a lot of defending and the occasional counter while keeping enough pressure on them to take advantage of the extra 48 hrs of rest.

 

The only way I am OK with Beckerman starting is if the tactical decision is made to invert the triangle in the middle of the 5-man midfield*. In other words, if Bradley stays deep and retains his duties of covering the back line, I am OK with Beckerman becoming a tandem in that assignment.

What I don't want is for this to be the game JK moves Bradley into a more advanced role when Mike is finally (after 20+ months, his critics would say) displaying some consistency.

Jeez Louise -- I have to wait four more hours for this game to start? Grrrrr


* here I am referring to the 4-3-3 we've been using getting compressed by Argentina's attack, so becoming a 4-5-1

 

So true. Most of Belgium's chances were basic saves. Saves he is supposed to make.

 

For me, it's house money now that we are in the semis against Argentina. I don't care who replaces Jones, Bedoya or Wood so long as JK doesn't do anything crazy like playing a central defender as a winger.

As long as we play hard and don't pull a Mexico, then I will be a happy camper tonight, win or lose.

Nevertheless......

 

What you refer to as giving someone "shit", I see as Bedoya rightfully calling out a despicable statement from someone who should know better. Thankfully, she'll never wear the crest for the USA again.

Conversely, LD had crackers in his mouth and said nothing. It's embarrassing from our arguably best field player.

 

Geoff Cameron I believe.

 

To match up against Fellaini's threat of winning headers, as I remember it.