Post-match: USA vs. Mexico - Gold Cup Final - August 1, 2021 [R]

Amazing performance. If there were any doubts that Berhalter was the right man to take us to World Cup 2022, they should be gone now. He is the right choice. His system works.

 

Acosta clear MOTM for my money.

Robinson 2nd. Turner next. Then Zardes.

 

Say what you will about Berhalter (and heck I'm still convinced he's holding us back in some ways), but this team seems to be peaking at the right time somehow and finding an identity of gutting out big wins in pressure cooker finals. I'm just glad to see it happen and watch an entertaining team again.

 

I'm not unbiased, but that's a crappy pick.

I wonder if Acosta and Robinson split votes?

How exactly is this decided anyway?

Media vote?

CONCACAF officials vote?

Facebook poll?

Referee draws a name of a hat?

 

Yeah, that was just a massive statement win. I was skeptical before, terrified for most of the first half, then about minute 60, they just unleashed whatever that was.

Absolutely massive. So happy to be proven wrong here.

Also, has anyone ever seen a match with so many "how did that NOT go in?!?" moments?

 

Well, that was some old school USMNT underdog, keeper standing on head, defending crazily and stealing a set piece for the win, s**t that I apparently still have a soft spot for.

 

still needs to be proven outside of concacaf but yeah he should get the rest of this cycle to prove it for sure.

 

Maybe this MLS thing is good for our program.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

Well, in fairness, it might not have been him. Or it might have been sensationalist journalism. But supposedly that was the line from Martino and/or FMF bigwigs.

 

You got to give credit to GB. Sure, he hamstrung himself with the Lewis, Pines, and Yueill call. But once he settled on his player's rotation, things started to click. Props to him.

Robinson started timidly but grew some as the tournament continued. He was a rock. At 6'2 with size, he looks like a possible partner for Brooks. I think Robinson's is a righty. I like Richards a lot, but he doesn't have the tournament experience of Robinson.

GB is going to have to make some tough decisions when it comes to next month's qualifiers. That is a good problem to have.

Some Euro players that weren't on the radar are starting to florish. This has to be the deepest pool the US ever had.

 

That is USMNT soccer, and Ive missed it

 

I like watching his teams play but Tata sure has a knack for finishing second. I also think he's just a bad fit for our players anyway. Might've been another Klinsmann.

 

I have had major doubts about GGG. I do not anymore. I do not know what you need him to prove. Can he motivate? Yes. Does his system work? Yes. Has he built a winning mentality? Yes. Questions answered. Results come and go, but if you have those three questions answered, then you get to keep the job.

 

Sofascore/Fotmob Final Rankings:

1. Miles Robinson, 7.71
2. Matt Turner, 7.62
3. Sebastian Lletget, 7.46
4. Sam Vines, 7.27
5. Gianluca Busio, 7.14
6. Kellyn Acosta, 7.12
7. James Sands, 7.09
8. Shaq Moore, 6.95
9. Matthew Hoppe, 6.95
10. Paul Arriola, 6.63

N/A for the rest. Not enough sample & I excluded Dike due to the injury.

Robinson and Turner were the only stars. They are vying for starting spots on the a-team.

Lletget was a steady, solid performer throughout by their ratings. People expected him to be in line with the top 2 because of his status going in. There was a lot of confirmation bias to have distaste in him as a guy Berhalter has overly leaned on. Also some guilt by association for the sputtering offense. 4 other players were involved in that. He was arguably the least of the problem. Rotational/situational 10/8 for qualifying.

Vines was another steady eddy we can take as a backup going into qualifying.

Flattering for Busio. He's not qualification ready.

Unflattering for Acosta. He'll play a role as the #2 or #3 6. His rating was tanked by the early, less important games, one which he gave up a penalty. Whereas Busio was more buoyed by those.

Hoppe was probably a little better than that, but he had a pretty rough outing tonight which dropped his rating more. And he made a lot of mistakes. I think he gets goodwill for being a prospect and trying stuff (often too much). I guess that gets him on the next rosters as a wild card.

I also thought Moore was better than that, but still he was middling overall, cooling off after a hot start in the easier games that gained him affinity. I wouldn't say he floundered though and he gave a spirited effort off the bench tonight to contribute to the win. We're so deep at that position, I think he's a borderline roster guy/alternate.

Sands faded, and it was against better comp, but that may have been the position switch. He's almost always played as a 6 or in a 3 cb formation as a pro, and his better performances also correlated w/ that in this tourney. Versatility will allow him to play a role.

I sure hope for Arriola's sake he was hampered by the knock, but it didn't look like it. I think he's in the phase out category along w/ Yueill & Lewis.

 

10th or 11th I believe.

 

Did the US C team pass Mexico?

 

I'm going to be heretical for a second.

Imagine if our "European" guys played with the fire that these humble MLSers showed today.

I've seen something similar only a couple of times, once from McKennie, once from Pulisic.

 

And he will. Gregg is no genius, but he seems to be getting the most out of the players and is on quite a run of making the right decisions; whether it be subs or slight tactical adjustments. With the exception of a handful of players, he’s certainly letting guys know spots are up for grabs because no US coach has been able to get these types of performances from this many players. I don’t know. Maybe we have reached a point where the player pool is about to explode and Gregg is just a beneficiary of that.

 

They may do that one day before the final WC selection.

 

Someone, like, say, Dest?

 

Excellent analysis. I agree with all of this, but I think Hoppe is probably on the outside looking in for the qualifying rosters, at least initially. He will likely get some call-ins due to injuries though.

 

He hardly played Bello and took care of Tecatito. That should give something for Tata think about.

 

Oh, but there was:

Berhalter 2
Martino 0

 

Every match was 1-0 in USA's favor. That is not an accident. Great goalkeeping, disciplined defense, and patience and persistence in attack.