where do you find good stats for USMNT games? the MLS site used to have the Opta chalk boards, but since they stopped doing that, I have a hard time finding good numbers.
I preferred your pre-edit version of this post, which showed: Lletget And that seems about right for what he did, unless you count turnovers. I will never forget his epic three consecutive turnovers in about 40 seconds.
That is a good win, and one any fan of the MNT should be happy about. If you're feeling all pissy about it, go check out the pre-game thread, where the consensus--warranted consensus, IMO--was that the game was pretty close to a toss-up on paper. That was Jamaica's A team (maybe A- when you remove Bailey, though he's never as good for them as he is for Leverkusen), and our B team. Jamaica's also improved a lot recently so the level of their top players is higher than what we saw in recent years--including 2015, when a weaker version of Jamaica beat a better version of the US in the GC semis. Then after the first sphincter-tightening moment, the US controlled possession, created more dangerous chances (and conceded no SOGs in the second half), and eventually wore them down and won a deserved if not resounding 1-0 victory. That is a hell of a good outcome, especially coming on the heels of getting outplayed against Canada (though their win over Costa Rica makes our win over them look a lot better). This was no masterclass, and that is not my point. Point is that in the context of this tournament, and the team we brought, beating Jamaica's best players in a win-or-go-home match is something to be proud of and excited about. It's also relevant to evaluating players for WCQ or any other future game--the ability to win ugly games when you're not at your best and you face a determined opponent is critical to success in Concacaf. Seeing this group do that was very encouraging. Good win, warts and all. I'm psyched about it also because it gives us another chance to see these guys in action, now against a very interesting opponent in Qatar.
Earlier you said Richards is ready for the USMNT because he played for Bayern Munich (how many games exactly?) and Hoffenheim. Yet Brooks will miss the WC? He has consistently started for a BL club that 1) finished well above Hoffenheim, 2) will be in the Champions League this year, and 3) had one of the best defensive records in the BL. If club performance is your measure, how do you drop Brooks? Bit of a double standard, no?
Lletget is about his floor not his ceiling. With a better team, he won't be leading the offense or taking corner kicks. He's the guy you put in there as the fourth or fifth best attacking player who keeps his head, moves the ball around, and can score if the defense ignores him. He won't win you a game but he won't lose you a game. I think Berhalter wanted him to be someone better and gave him the shot this round but it didn't work out. He'll be passed by younger players, even in this narrow role, but I'm not certain it will happen before the world cup.
Busio has a good track record in MLS. It's one of his best qualities. Mexico scored one deflected goal against El Salvador. I don't know why they are suddenly going to run wild on the USMNT.
I think most here are pleased with the win. But despite what any of the "experts" here thought, the US was a comfortable favorite in this match (according to the guys paid lots to create odds). I think many here aren't as rosy as you because this team continues to just eke out results, while not playing particularly well. Is there a skill/benefit to that? Absolutely. But over the last 6 competitive matches, how often has the US looked like the superior team, while having superior talent? We dominated Martinique, and that was it. Every other game we've basically played down to our opposition (or not matched up well, vs. Mexico). I said it before the game, if the US was going to win, it'd have to be 1-0. It wasn't hard to see, but that's a big issue. Our best players are Hoppe/Robinson/Sands, young guys who haven't had much of a chance yet. Our A team guys look poor. Lletget has gone from "leading our offense in a B team tournament and starter with the top team" to "well, he completes lots of passes, and doesn't make any mistakes and he did just as well as Busio, what else do you want from him!?!?". We're creating nothing up front with either our A or B team. Our defense has looked solid, which is great. So in this case, I think the results have been good, but the process and overall performance continues to be unimpressive. But Gregg is winning, so that counts for something. But beating Jamaica in a quarterfinals isn't much to get all excited about. It's basically "Job. Done."
Generally I thought this game was a really good preparation/test for WCQ. I know they had some injuries but Jamaica put out a team very much at the level that we are going to see during qualifying. And honestly even though the field sucked I think even that is good prep for some of the conditions we may face on the road. I continue to think Turner looks more and more comfortable back there each game. I still don't know if there is any way that Berhalter starts him over Steffen come September. Maybe if we get to the final against Mexico and Turner puts in a performance and helps us steal a game we don't deserve to win. With that said, I wouldn't be surprised if he supplants Steffen later in qualifying though. I thought Acosta did an incredible job defensively. I just think sometimes his first touch lets him down in not ideal places on the field, leading to opportunities for the other team. I really like what we saw from Hoppe, though he definitely seemed like he was fading at the end despite the goal. I don't think we'll see it this tournament but I'd like to see how he looks as the number 9. Moore is another one who I thought seemed like he was definitely fading in the second half. Overall though he's had a good tournament and I wouldn't be surprised if Berhalter included him on the first qualifying roster as a reward. I thought Robinson was the man of the match. He did a great job defensively and the man has incredible recovery speed. I wasn't really high on his performance in the first two games, but he's really picked it up these last two. I thought Busio was up and down but he really did a much better job this game of winning his duals in the midfield, which is a promising sign for the future. I don't really have strong thoughts on either Lletget, Arriola, or Zardes as I think we have a good sense already of all three players. Vines was fine I guess. I didn't really have strong thoughts other he's probably second on the left back depth chart behind Robinson (if you don't include Dest), and I imagine he's going to get called up for qualifying. For the most part I thought Sands was solid. There was just a couple points in the game where I thought the physically was a bit too much for him and he's lost the ball in not great spots. Dike did not have a good game but I think he still has a ton of talent and he's going to ok in the long run. He was also carrying an injury and more generally I don't think he's had any break whatsoever since starting in MLS last year. I definitely like Roldan playing more on the right similar to how he does for Seattle, as opposed to playing center mid.
Yeah, they would control possession, but our defense has been very solid, and Hoppe and Dike are fully capable of causing them problems on the counter or on corners. We would need some luck, but I don’t see it as a definite victory for them.
A couple things about the midfield strike me as potentially significant for the way the team plays going forward and how particular players are deployed. In the second half, Busio was used as a deep-lying playmaker but not the 6 defensively. The two roles, DLP and defensive 6, were severed. Acosta meanwhile played the defensive 6. He did well on defense but had his usual share of iffy passes. It seems to me a good move on Gregg's part to redefine the roles to play to the relative strengths of Acosta and Busio. It also seems to me it would be wise for Gregg to continue to tailor roles to individual player's strengths and weaknesses (and how those match up against particular opponents), even when Adams and the rest of the big dogs get called back up.
Much better performance. Maybe a week of training helped. Every player had some important plays, and the formation was reasonable. Jamaica was solid, and the US always looked more like they deserved the result. Some credit to Gregg on this one! For me, the MOTM was Acosta. He made the de rigueur amount of giveaway passes, but he was the only midfielder who could really be counted on to win a tackle or make a key recovery, and he did it over and over. Against this physically stronger opponent, his contribution on that front was huge. The next tier includes Sands, Robinson, and Hoppe (maybe also Turner). If Hoppe will (not can, I am sure he can, but will he?) learn/decide a little better when to try his tricks and when to play safer, he can be even more valuable. I wonder what he looks like at the 9? Sands will get physically outdueled occasionally, but he wins way more than he looks like he should and his comfort ont eh ball is important. Part of his place in this tier is just the context though -- stepping in for Z and playing such a key role. Robinson was a wall. Very good shutdown marking. The middle tier was Vines, Moore and Busio. All had more good moments than bad, no complaints on the whole, good games. The lower group was Arriola, Lleget and Dike. Arriola just looked a step off, and that may be down to being out for a couple of weeks. Lleget did a good job of helping the midfield take control for periods, and circulated well with Acosta and Busio, but he didn't provide much incisiveness. I don't think he was asked to provide a ton of that, but would have been appropriate to see a little more. He wasn't awful or anything, but didn't make either a physical or a technical imprint. Dike is not suited to a pressing style, but neither is he good at holdup play. He may expand his game and in the meantime will be valuable in situations, but he is not now the best fit for the way this team plays. This just wasn't a good game for him. The only problem with the Zardes sub was it was 5 minutes too late. So that's getting picky maybe. Roldan and Cannon were solid. Gregg did well there. Will need Moore/Cannon and Acosta to be a little more defensive minded against Qatar, but should be a fun game.
Hoppe is an interesting player as to what this all means. We had three strikers, Dike, Zardes and Hoppe. Hoppe is the only one of the three to not get a run at striker and when we played two strikers we went with Dike and Zardes. Yet, Hoppe has has been by far the best of the trio as far as his overall play goes. When we get our actual wings back, does he get a shot at competing for the lead striker spot or is he being shifted? I think his ability to play on the ball and drop deep means he could be real competition for Sargent who relies on his abilities hustling and playmaking to make up for his lack of scoring. What if Hoppe can do those things too and get us more goals? Is he the real stealth competitor for Josh's spot instead of Dike? Or, is it telling that Berhalter hasn't played him as a central striker yet?
No actually I didnt say that at all. I was rsponding to the ridiculous idea that Richards has zero pro experience and should therefore be excluded. He has better club experience actually than almost every other CB in the pool. Maybe that poster was thinking of Justin Che...who actually now has pro experience/ (not sure) I am not GGG who bases everything off of club. I am just looking at the slow foot speed of Brooks and I see it as a liability. best passing CB in the pool...by a good margin. but he is slow of foot and for a pressing team that is very dangerous. I am looking at skillset...and I want fast athletic good passing CBs - a la Richards, Sands, etc...so Brooks is the incumbant and a good player but his limitations should not be overlooked just bc of his club resume.
@gogorath 84%-86% percent. i still wish there was a clear way to see if a pass was positive/negative/square... @Maximum Optimal where do you find these numbers?
Yeah, Richards went to Hoffenheim and was a starter immediately. If we had another player who went directly to Hoffenheim and started every game we'd all be super impressed. Not starting regularly for Bayern isn't a horrible failure for a 20 year old center back. He's had half a season of spot minutes for Bayern and another half starting game in game out for a team in the top flight with no problem. That's plenty of experience in relation to the rest of the US center back pool.
and man, i dont want to sidetrack things but if anyone can concisely explain tackles won, duels and the difference between the two id love to hear it.
I bet you Richards' first start is in a WCQ. That's all we pretty much have before Qatar. And there will be quite a few there that aren't Mexico-levels of intensity.
I'm super worried that we see Lleget in an important role for not just WCQ but the WC. Super worried.
The big takeaway here is that after not winning our duels against Canada, we won them against Jamaica.