Pre-match: US hosts Canada -- 9/5/21 WCQ

And they were lucky not to lose as Honduras hit the post in like the 82nd minute or something.

 

I think we're going to look completely different (in a good way) on Sunday, mostly because I'm going to be there. But, in all seriousness, we're going to look different playing at home. It's going to be interesting to see how Canada approaches this game since they blew 2 points at home.

 

I think people overate Canada, but they will be desperate for points after tying Honduras at home. We are going to need to show up. For me, the biggest changes needed would be Dest to right back, bring in Robinson on the left and play Brooks for christ sake. Reyna for Aaronson in midfield. Or if he stays wide, Acosta or Lletget instead of Aaronson. I'd prefer Lletget of the two because we have enough grinders in midfield already, we need someone who can hold the ball in traffic and pass it. I'd prefer Reyna and play Pulisic/Konrad on the wings. I'd be super tempted to throw Pepi out there since neither striker showed much. I also hope Steffan is back in goal because that distribution by Turner was ugly. Still too many questions remain about this team after that opening performance.

 

It all seems pretty straight forward to me. The only thing in here i might disagree with is the choice between Acosta and Lletget. If they would commit to all out pressing, I think Acosta would be the choice and a way of playing that might get us some goals and the confidence that would go with it.

I am somewhat surprised that more people aren't concerned Turners play with his feet. He has had one very bad mis-trapped ball in each of the last two games. It is eventually going to cost us and appears to have impacted the teams confidence in being able to p lay it back to him.

 

I'm going to say to say this again. This is the best Canada team in 30+ years (if ever in the modern era), with some very good players. But, I still think a lot of people on here are overrating them. Here are their results since Herdman took over in 2018:

1-0 New Zealand (Friendly)
8-0 Virgin Islands (Nations League)
5-0 Dominica (Nations League)
1-0 St. Kitts (Nations League)
4-1 French Guiana (Nations League)
4-0 Martinique (2019 Gold Cup)
1-3 Mexico (Gold Cup)
7-0 Cuba (Gold Cup)
2-3 Haiti (Gold Cup)
6-0 Cuba (Nations League)
1-0 Cuba (Nations League)
2-0 US (Nations League)
1-4 US (Nations League)
4-1 Barbados
4-1 Barbados
0-1 Iceland (Friendly)
5-1 Bermuda (WCQ)
11-0 Cayman Islands (WCQ)
7-0 Aruba (WCQ)
4-0 Suriname (WCQ)
1-0 Haiti (WCQ)
3-0 Haiti (WCQ)
4-1 Martinique (2021 Gold Cup)
4-1 Haiti (Gold Cup)
0-1 US (Gold Cup)
2-0 Costa Rica (Gold Cup)
1-2 Mexico (Gold Cup)
1-1 Honduras (WCQ)

They've compiled a nice record and piled up a lot of goals against mostly garbage competition.

 

We have to see what strategy Herdman will use. Sometimes it surprises, sometimes it disappoints. Will they park the bus to get the tie? or will they seek to win?

 

They'll come from aggressive pressing, IMO.

 

Trigger-pullers are still needed on press-oriented teams.

start Pepi
start Pulisic
swap Aaronson and Reyna
start Jedi
move Dest to rb
consider starting Roldan in Aaronson's rw place.

or change the formation

 

Credible foes here are New Zealand, Iceland, US, CR, Mexico and Honduras. Against those teams they are 3W-4L-1D--not bad but not that great either. This run of results seems good but when you filter out the weaker Concacaf foes it's a lot less impressive.

That said, what I saw from Canada in the CNL and GC was damn impressive, and this is not going to be an easy game. They have speed, talent, and a real chip on their shoulder when they play the US. I hope a well rested Pulisic can provide the offensive spark that was so absent v El Salvador.

Also in terms of the proposed lineups, let's keep in mind that this team will have to travel down to Honduras for another brutal game in a roiling Central American stadium four days after Sunday's contest v Canada. So while Sunday is a must-win, some degree of player rotation is going to be necessary so we don't have an exhausted squad in Tegucigalpa.

 

if he thinks he has to park a mini cooper to keep us off the board then hes a pretty terrible manager.

 

Oh, I know.

 

I agree. But when they weren't garbage, they had it together, albeit without the shooting boots.

 

That's not his style. The return CNL game in the US is when he should have parked it and it was a tactical disaster.

Expect the 4-4-2 / 4-2-2-2 and trying to claim the midfield

 

To me if Yedlin starts over Dest at RB again Beerholder should be walked out in handcuffs, because he’s betting on Canada and is sabotaging the team

 

Brooks will start this one. Egg was wise in not playing him away in Central America and saving him for this game: he'll give us a very valuable outlet against Canada.

Acosta-Adams as the central pivot sounds reasonable, with McKennie in the Bradley-under-JK role. We don't have the personnel to neutralize the Canadian left side with Davies/Davis, so expect a lopsided formation with Dest in his correct RB position and Arob* on the LB.

Will a triangle of Dest, Miles and Adams will be able to stop the Canadian left side? No, so we need Wes to be a disruptor like in Juve and cut lanes passing to that area.

Scoring will be up to Pulisic and Reyna. Or Lletget, in the second half.

----
* I have a feeling Egg doesn't rate Arob at all, so don't be too surprised if it's Bello starting in his place.

 

They'll try to attack and that will be their undoing.

 

A concern going forward is the blueprint ES used against us. For years most of C'CAF other than Mex bunkered against us. End of last cycle we saw less of that.

But ES after a bumpy initial 15 mins pressed higher and swarmed in and around Adams. That completely neutered our midfield. What compounds that is Egg Head's tactical inability to adjust and provide options.

So if I'm Canada or anyone else in the Ocho right now facing us, I am consolidating pressure around Adams/McKennie which cuts off the supply to Pulisic and Reyna.

And that's why Pulisic is so key. Even in this tactical mess he has the ability to get on the ball, dribble thru 3-4 players and make something out of nothing in the box.

Of course my other concern is against pressure in the midfield any turnover can quickly turn costly as we're primed to get ripped up the gut. And Canada will be better than ES at capitalizing off a turnover.

I say Pulisic and Brooks are the two most important players in this match. One is our X factor in the attack, the other is our safety valve in defense.

 

Your wife seems like an awesome lady!

 

I suspect Dest will start at RB against Canada and be on the bench in Honduras where Yedlin will again get the start.

 

I think A. Robinson might actually start this one. Bello for Honduras.

 

I can see Canada playing for a draw here. I didn't watch their game last night, but that lineup seemed very attacking-oriented. They didn't start Piette, Kaye, or Osorio. I figure against the US, they could start 1 or 2 of those guys in place of 1 or 2 of their more attacking players, aim to really clog the midfield with their energy, and hit the US on the counter. And then if they win their 3rd game against ES, 5 points in this window isn't too bad for them.

 

Does Pulisic really have this ability? He has very rarely shown it for the USMNT. He's often attempted the same hero-ball dribbling that we saw (very ineffectively, to be polite) yesterday. Berhalter has to get the guys to do something other than that, because it hasn't worked.

 

There has been a bit of harping on Dest after this match, particularly with his defending. I think his presence is the key towards a potential formation shift. I think he'll start 1 of the next 2 matches, and whichever one he starts will be the one where the US goes with a 3-man backline.

My guess would be that the US does it against Canada, so I would expect to see something like this:

----Pulisic---Sargent---Reyna----
-ARob---Adams---McKennie---Dest
--MRob------Brooks------McKenzie--
------------------Steffen------------------

I'd expect to see some significant squad rotation for Honduras - players like Brooks, McKennie, and Pulisic mixed in with Zimmerman, Acosta, Lletget, Pefok, etc.

I mean... this was the entire 2018 cycle, except substitute Bradley for Adams.

 

Starting to think we will go 3-5-2, with Pefok and Sargent the forwards.

 

That would be interesting. Who do we have in the back line with speed?