Post-match: United States vs Martinique; 7/15/2021

Discussion in 'USA Men: News & Analysis' started by EXALIFTIN, Jul 15, 2021.

  1. onefineesq

    onefineesq Member+

    Sep 16, 2003
    Laurel, MD
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    As I have said in multiple threads, we can't be playing to avoid teams. So we beat Canada and end in 1st place. And Costa Rica wins group C, while Mexico ends its group with a draw vs El Salvador (which currently leads the group) -- well guess what? It would mean that our next 2 games would be against Jamaica and likely Mexico, if things went true to form. You simply play to win the game in front of you because that is the point of sport. Remember, in the case of group C, their group finishes 2 days AFTER ours does. And Mexico's group finishes on the same date as ours, but several hours LATER in the same night (our game begins 5 hours before the Mexico v El Salvador finale). We will have absolutely NO IDEA who we will play at the time that we play our game. However, those other teams will know when they play.
     
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  2. comoesa

    comoesa Member+

    Aug 13, 2010
    Christen Press's armpit
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    If Roldan gets to just roam and make use of his work rate and not get asked to do what Busio and Williamson were doing he's a useful guy on a 23 man squad.
     
  3. xbhaskarx

    xbhaskarx Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes
    United States
    Feb 13, 2010
    NorCal
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    May we see these sort of turns like a thousand more times with our promising young new USMNT [emoji120][emoji120][emoji120]

     
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  4. butters59

    butters59 Member+

    Feb 22, 2013
    Aaronson does it 2-3 times per game.
     
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  5. mfw13

    mfw13 Member+

    Jul 19, 2003
    Seattle
    Club:
    Newcastle United FC
    Although he generally plays as a DM or Right Attacking Mid for the Sounders, Roldan can play four positions:

    Right Back
    Defensive Mid
    Right Wing

    And he's currently playing as a #10 for the Sounders due to Nico Lodeiro's injury.

    That's a valuable quality to have when you may need to shuffle formations mid-match, as well as during a long tournament where you may have to deal with injuries and/or yellow-card suspensions using a 23-man roster.

    So he's someone who could, in a pinch, back up Dest, Adams, McKennie, and Reyna.
     
  6. rgli13

    rgli13 Member+

    Mar 23, 2005
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    not to take anything away from roldan tonight, but some of yall need to slow your roll. this is his first of 21 caps where he has looked remotely useful. he shouldnt be anywhere near a 23.

    let him get 3 good matches, push his "decent showing" percentage safely into double digits first.

    jesus, people go out of their way to downplay dike and busio but roldan punched his ticket?! what are yall, gregg berhalter?
     
  7. butters59

    butters59 Member+

    Feb 22, 2013
    You can't stop Seattle people, you can just try to contain them. Seattle invented the NT.
     
  8. LouisZ

    LouisZ Member+

    Oct 14, 2010
    Southern California-USA
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    For Dest you have Cannon and Reynolds. For Adams and Mckennie you have Musah and probably Acosta for now. even as a #10. You have Aaronson and pretty soon Clark.
    Your body Roldan doesn't have a prayer making this team
     
  9. Pl@ymaker

    Pl@ymaker Member+

    Feb 8, 2010
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Scally, De la Fuente, De la Torre, etc.
     
  10. Rep_Le_Rouge

    Rep_Le_Rouge Member

    Chelsea
    United States
    Jul 11, 2021
    Really really interested to see what Dike and Hoppe look like vs Jamaica and/or Mexico.
     
  11. YNWA Rob

    YNWA Rob Member+

    Liverpool FC
    United States
    Nov 12, 2020
    Indiana
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Look forward to watching this one again for more review of everyone.
     
  12. yurch10

    yurch10 Member+

    Feb 13, 2004
    I don't get the "well, let's all caveat our praise with the fact it was Martinique". We just played a similar CONCACAF minnow and looked terrible.

    You play a poor team, you shouldn't be holding onto a 1-0 lead, you should dominate them. That's what these guys did.

    I went to bed at the half (10pm starts are ridiculous), but I saw all I needed to. Dike had a real nice finish. I won't necessarily go crazy for him, because the game was wide open and chances were flowing, but he got his goal (even if the 2nd was an own goal), and looked positive. It remains funny watching him out there, as he simply looks like a free safety or something, about to take off a QBs head.

    Sands was great. Looked composed. His first touch was very clean, always moving it to a useful spot for his pass/next touch.

    Williamson was great, I thought, and surprised by the criticism. Maybe he cooled in the 2nd half, but he might be the best MF on this team.

    Zimmerman solid, Busio fine, wing backs whatever.

    Hoppe brings a Dempsey-style flair that I think everyone loves. The interest in trying creative stuff that doesn't always work, but when it does can very likely create a solid chance. He, Sands, Dike, Williamson should be starters the rest of the way.

    I would normally agree with most here, and minimize praise because the opponent was weak. But that performance was night and day, a team interested in putting their foot on an opponent's throat rather than eeking out a 1-0 win like it's the World Cup against Ghana or something.
     
  13. RefIADad

    RefIADad Member+

    United States
    Aug 18, 2017
    Des Moines, IA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Even taking the opponent into account, the team looked miles better last night. I just watched the first half (9 PM kickoffs aren't exactly ideal), but I liked what I saw. They looked more cohesive, faster on the ball, and more aligned when pressing. The only real issue I saw were some giveaways. Better teams may punish those.

    Dike should be the A team starter given the make up of the rest of the team. He's a better fit with Pulisic and Reyna since they are creators. If they were players closer to the skill set of Son or Salah, then I'd say Sargent is still the top choice. But Dike has a nose for goal and knows how to muscle center backs. He fits the team better.

    I really liked Zimmerman and Sands in the back. They worked well together. As others have said, Sands has the tools. He just needs reps and refinement. I really want to see him progress.
     
  14. ChambersWI

    ChambersWI Member+

    Nov 10, 2010
    Club:
    AC Milan
    I think the issue for Roldan was he just isn't a winger. I don't think he was nearly as bad as some say he was in the first half but I do think once he played more centrally in the 2nd half you saw him play more confidently and saw a much more dangerous player. In the first half a lot of those passes were knocked out for corners. In half 2 those passes became dangerous chances.

    On Busio, I saw a guy early who seemed like he wanted to impress people and was trying too hard to make things work so that led to some sloppy play at times. But once he calmed down a bit his class was clear.

    Will also always say this. After seeing us struggle multiple times under Jurgen and Bruce with lesser teams I'll never take for granted a big win
     
  15. RevsRule

    RevsRule Member+

    NE Revs, LAFC
    Jun 9, 1999
    N. Eastern, Mass
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    And yet what did Gregg do at the end when trying to score more goals? In go Acosta (cost us first place with the PK call),and Yueill. Shows me just WHO he thinks can get it done. Im shocked no Lletget. Roldan wasnt much help. I think we could have gotten the goals necessary to break the point tie with Canada had GB not screwed up the players on the field. Could feel the air go out of the attack when Yueill came on.
     
  16. NietzscheIsDead

    NietzscheIsDead Member+

    NO WAR
    United States
    May 31, 2019
    NO WAR
    It’s a long tournament. Guys are going to get rest where they can.
     
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  17. RevsRule

    RevsRule Member+

    NE Revs, LAFC
    Jun 9, 1999
    N. Eastern, Mass
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Im still not sure about Dike but he was good, against a weak team, last night. So what does GB do? Pull him off. He was starting to look better than Zardes so to protect his fav, GB gave him the hook. Be interesting to see what happens against Canada.
     
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  18. um_chili

    um_chili Member+

    Jun 3, 2002
    Losanjealous
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    It’s them or Costa Rica regardless of where we finish in the group. People are all in a snit about “when” we face mexico but the quarters will be no joke.
     
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  19. wrench

    wrench Member+

    May 12, 2007
    NYC
    Club:
    Arsenal FC

    I don't usually agree with GB, but I thought Zardes as a late sub was a good move. 90 mins of him is not. We are hoping Dike brings the promise we have seen in small doses. He has more upside than anyone we have IMHO. The way he walked through the back line of Martinique on the second goal was impressive. But Zardes coming on for 15 mins of high energy against tired legs is nice to have. And he's kind of scary coming at you to get the ball back.
     
  20. gogorath

    gogorath Member+

    None
    United States
    May 12, 2019
    Some thoughts before I read everyone else's:
    • I do think Haiti is better than Martinique, but I don't think the difference in scoreline is indicative of the quality difference. Kudos to them for playing hard, playing like grown ass men and knocking us around at times, but always keeping it clean. Not all of CONCACAF does that when outmatched
    • Dike is an absurd freight train. If you want to pick, there's a lot he doesn't do well, but it doesn't really matter and I'm not sure it will matter against better comp either. I mean, it'll matter, but he'll still being something gamechanging to the table. We have precious few players who both completely change the game physically and can still do some of the things he can do
    • I didn't mind the Hoppe-as-wing experiment because I thought the sort of one dimensional offense we saw at Schalke would translate to a an inside scoring winger. Turns out he has a lot more game -- fancy footwork, a nice, if unpressured cross, and a ton of tracking back. Kudos to Hoppe and Roldan for taking up the work rate -- one thing you don't get consistently from Dike so it is nice to bookend him with guys who can be all over the place. Only downside for Hoppe was unexpected -- he really had trouble taking control of crosses into the box and shooting
    • The midfield had plenty of promise but what not good overall. Williamson showed every reason why you want Eryk Williamson -- fantastic skill at times, aggressive play, good athleticism, slaloming through the defense. But even before his terrible run at the end of the first half, he had some of the worst decison-making I've seen a US player make. Passing to the wrong guy, over-dribbling in bad places, etc. I'll be interested to see if that was a fluke / he can shed that over the rest of the tournament or if it something that's more endemic to his game. I have not seen it that bad with Portland, so that's good.
    • Busio was similar in the sense that he showed lots of promise, but fundamentally didn't play that well. His corners were bad, he got bodied a LOT in midfield, he was not a consistent defensive presence but my biggest disappointment was really his lack of influential offensive play. There were a few sparks -- the turn and drive, the assist -- but largely a lot of one touch nothing.
    • Busio's better than Yueill right now, but it's interesting people are so emphatic about him because at his best right now, he's still a really good Yueill. I saw that because in the short run, he's the same defensive presence. He's going to play smart and pick up a bunch of interceptions and loose balls. But he can and will be bullied and he's not running anyone down.
    • We didn't allow a real SOG until like the 53rd minute ... but once we did, things kind of fell apart. A lot of them was Miles Robinson getting rattled, but Busio and Williamson contributed quite a bit as well. It *was* a 2 man midfield, so they had less help, but Martinique was able to get through there pretty easily in the second half.
    • Sands was fantastic. Strong, if not great passing, total composure, tons of smart defensive play -- he always seemed to be right there to disrupt. Should be up there with Dike as a big winner in the match.
    • Zimmerman was also solid. Miles fell apart later; it's too bad as he had been really quite strong at forward pressing to stop attacks for both games, but the bad decisions with the ball and another mistake defensively late means a not good game for a CB. Pines is not ready from that account. Do not get him in space.
    • Roldan was having the game I expected in the first half: he worked hard, was the forward presser that Sargent or Zardes usually make, but every time he got the ball it seemed we had to settle for a corner. Which is not terrible, but not ideal for a winger. Second half was completely different -- he was a key reason we broke the game open, and he absolutely owned the game for 10-15 minutes there. He started coming inside more and it created a lot more chances, plus he's more comfortable there. Still in many ways "a guy" but the last time we saw Roldan he was a net negative out there. Not yesterday.
    • Gioachinni continues to impress me simply with getting to the right place, playing hard, and getting things done. He's not a star or flashy but I like his game.
    • In general, in the first half, we played more defensively and more tentatively offensively, up the wings. In the second, it felt like we committed more to the attack and came up the middle a bit. I know we did that at the very end, but I'd really like to see if this was a tactical change -- we gave up NOTHING in the first half and owned the ball but weren't creating waves of danger; in the second half, we ran amuck offensively but opened up defensively a ton.
     
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  21. IndividualEleven

    Mar 16, 2006
    It's best to consider these over a larger sample size. For example, for the 20/20 B1 season, Sargent was middle of the pack for top speed.
     
  22. dams

    dams Member+

    United States
    Dec 22, 2018
    #97 dams, Jul 16, 2021
    Last edited: Jul 16, 2021
    Maritinique was bad. I'm looking at the game from the lens of trying to project how each player will look against better competition. Better CONCACF, and then WC, and then WC Knockout stage levels. Will any of the players we saw last night be able to contribute at those higher levels? Hopefully, the rest of the tournament helps answer some of these questions.

    Dike - was great and should be an absolute monster in qualifying against mid level CONCACAF level opponents, just what the doctor ordered. Will he be effective against high tier international competition, I'm not so sure about that, but we absolutely need to find out.

    Moore - looks to be better than Cannon to my eye. We obviously need to see more of him against better teams. Hopefully GGG doesn't go super heavy on Cannon the rest of the way.

    Not surprisingly, Hoppe looked good to me (although I don't think he is match fit) and should be in consideration in qualifying. Unfortunately for Hoppe, his major value at qualifying in my mind would be as a poacher that can bang in goals and he is clearly behind Dike, Sarge, and Zardes on the depth chart. He isn't going to beat out the Reyna, Aaronson, Weah, or Pulisic's of the world on the wing. He is young and talented, will improve, and has a bit of swagger about him, so he is one of those guys that will not surprise me if he is in the picture for a long time. Let's see what he does for the rest of the tournament.

    Busio - I thought he looked way better in the second half, more composed. He was a bit of a breath of fresh air, but Yueill has set the bar pretty low for us. Busio obviously has potential but he is not ready for elite levels yet IMO. He isn't physically dominant and needs to quicken up his speed of thought a bit still. He really needs to get to Italy PRONTO, he could end up a very very good player.

    Super intrigued by Sands. We need to see him against better competition. I haven't watched him much in MLS. Can he play as a destroyer at the 6? How is his range, could he backup Adams?

    Roldan had a really good game, nobody can argue that. IMO, against, better competition, especially elite competition, he will struggle though. I'd rather see Lletget, and I'm no huge Lletget fan. I could be wrong though, we will see.

    Zimmerman is fine, should be somewhere in the picture, he obviously can play against CONCACAF.

    Gio looked great at this level but he against better competition he will always be just a bit off the pace IMO. I could be wrong though and hope I am.
     
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  23. gogorath

    gogorath Member+

    None
    United States
    May 12, 2019
    Also, you know, there's another game on Sunday and Daryl Dike isn't the highest endurance athlete.

    Seriously, what is wrong with our fanbase? Daryl Dike is removed from play, up big, in a sequence where we play 3 games in 8 days and people think it is to "protect" favored players?

    That's the dumbest thing I've heard.

    Strikers are commonly replaced. We're playing 3 games in 8 days. Dike's had a long season, and he's not really a 90 minute guy in a press anyway. And Zardes never stops running.

    This isn't that hard.
     
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  24. tomásbernal

    tomásbernal Member+

    Sep 4, 2007
    Club:
    Portland Timbers
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Shouldn't get a single shot on goal? Even from 40 yards? This would be an absurd standard.
     
  25. Grumpy in LA

    Grumpy in LA Bringing It Since 1807™

    Sep 10, 2007
    Chicago
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    This is all Berhalter’s fault.
     

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