Most of the "B" team will still be in MLS so will have less travel to Central America and as I thought it out more, we need to get the three points at home as much as possible.
Sort of false, I think, if the goal is to qualify, that we want to take the "six pointers" from teams who will rival us for the qualifying spots. A loss to el Salvador, for example, a team that has very little chance of qualifying, is not nearly as damaging as a loss to say Canada or Jamaica, a team that can threaten the top 3 or 4.
I think the Gold Cup squad is better than El Salvador and I would expect them to win. That Gold Cup squad isn't going to give up much as we saw. I'd trust them to come out with a 1-0 or 0-0 most times.
I agree. I think splitting the squads would give us the best chance. What's the chance that anybody else in the September window is bringing in a relatively rested team for all three games? We saw how the fitness advantage let us win late in the KOs of the Gold Cup. Imagine being poor Honduras when a fully rested team shows up and your guys are heavy legged.
I just find the decision making here (not just yours, just across the board) really fascinating. I imagine you'd need to take into account club schedules as well. But are you playing to protect at home / tie away? Can you afford to drop points against El Salvador at all? Do you play your best players in the hardest games or punt them strategically? What even is the hardest game in this window -- Canada @ home or @ Honduras? Are there players who play better together or are better matchups for our opponents? What will our opponents do? Will Canada run out a B team against us given that they have Honduras and El Salvador at home -- seemingly far more "Must Wins"? I think the two different teams thing is interesting for travel ... but it's a challenge for the coaching staff (are they splitting up?) and having in game flexibility. I think there's a lot of value that if you sit McKennie or Pulisic for a game, and things go a bit wrong, you can put them on for a 30 minute push without much negative effects. Personally, the way the windows are built, I'm inclined to play for 9 points and do something closer to hybrid squads. But I think there's a lot of options.
Berhalter needs to make clear to the team for World Cup qualifying, that the US needs to put teams away early and qualify as early as possible. As last cycle proved, do not leave qualification until the last match day.
This first window is one of the most important, for sure. Two road games, an early chance for 7-9 points to pace the group with a home match "in hand..."
Which is why I really struggle with punting any points in the first window. I get that @Honduras is hard and that Canada is not a creampuff ... but a 9 point window sets a major tone and seems doable.
While it may be the policy for no player to start only 2 of the three matches, I don't think the manager will make 11 changes from game 1 to game 2 and then again from 2 to 3. More like rotating out.3, 4 and then 3 players in matches 1-3. It won't be 10 players rotating in, either. Probably more like 5 or 6. That probably means a 25-26 man squad is more than sufficient for a window.
For me the key in the first window (with two games in very hot Central American conditions) is "which games to you want to plan to run Tyler Adams for 90 minutes, and for which games do you plan to run Kellyn Acosta for 90 minutes," because to me that's the key role that has the most limited pool of players who can be relied upon to shut down all three teams. Sands is depth there, but he's not a starter there. Adams is better, of course, but we just saw that you can feel confident starting Acosta.
I think in terms of wingers, we do run 2 deep, if not ideally one for one. But Pulisic, Reyna, Aaronson, Weah, Hoppe ... there's not a ton of experience, but there's real talent there even if Weah is more a complementary player. If Adams and Acosta are both healthy, that helps. But the 8s actually leave a bit to be desired if you are breaking into A and B teams. I wonder if Berhalter will be more willing to bring in less acclimated guys to create more depth here, especially if Musah is still hurt. Pomykal, De La Torre, Green, etc. We aren't perfect otherwise, but after both tourneys, it seems like we have acceptable depth. And while the team without some of the attacking talent will likely have to win more like the GC team, I think adding guys like Aaronson helps with creativity without hurting the effort level and press.
This is why Lletget is still definitely in the gameday 23 no matter how many posters want to bury him under 8 theoretical upgrades. But LDLT is almost definitely in my thinking for the 23 as well. Green might be. So might Williamson. In theory we could use Pomykal, but given that he hasn't had a minute and a bunch of other guys have, I think we probably look elsewhere.
Let me bump a previous question I had in this thread (make it two questions) regarding WCQ: 1) Are there 5 subs? 2) Is there VAR?
As to the first, I'm almost certain there will be 5 subs, as FIFA has extended the 5 sub role through the Qatar World Cup next year "for all top-level competitions." https://www.firstpost.com/sports/te...at-fifa-world-cup-2022-says-ofab-9665461.html My searches have not turned up any word as to whether or not there will be VAR in the qualifiers. Everything I've found regarding CONCACAF and VAR pertains to the Nations League, the Gold Cup, and the CONCACAF Champions League. I haven't heard anything about VAR in qualifiers at all.
As I said, I think my plan is the 9 points plan in that I'm going for continuity and rest. Don't you think our Gold Cup team is better than Honduras? I didn't think we can put out too much better a defensive backline than what started the Gold Cup. Edit: I don't think Honduras has much of a chance beating that Gold Cup team coming off a week of rest. All the defenders know Quioto and Elis.
I think playing at Honduras is a lot tougher than playing Honduras in the US and so I'm not so sure of that. Perhaps I am being too cautious, but I want some more offensive talent. But maybe some select players there change that
I think Hoppe as a 9 along with a sharper Arriola and Paxton will give us the little bit of extra offense.
Playing in San Pedro Sula is very difficult, and crow's entry will be allowed. An injured Honduras vs Canada or El Salvador, can be tricky vs USA. Romell Quioto, one of its best players will have between 2-4 weeks to recover from an injury. This would be an advantage for the USA.
Can you se d any information on the crowd? I’ve seen nothing on if they’ll be allowed anywhere near a sellout or not.
I'm beginning to think how the grass is cut is a bigger player than I ever thought. Honduras left it very high and the ball stalled on passes. Seems trivial but just like field size if it's different it takes at least half a game to get used to the difference. So DCU would hopefully still be in charge of the field itself so the only big advantage would be they would have way more fans than we would. Weather, fan shenanigans at hotels, field would all be better here than there.