US vs. Mexico 11/12/2021: the pre-pre-pre-match thread

I also think when he's played for the US he's been the target of opposing defenses and that means others are open for looks. I'd have to go back the games he has played in too to see if he played many minnows. Still I think he's the focal point of defenses. Not so in the EPL and eventually not so for the US as our weaponry is starting to show it's young self.

 

He gets ton of attention in the EPL. But the refs are savvy to the tactics of fouling to slow a dangerous player down.

 

So far, compared to Donovan, Pulisic has been the more tactically limited player. For example, a criticism of how CP has been used with the US is that he receives ball too far away from goal. Well, Donovan handled those situations with aplomb. He had the passing range, pace, and lungs.

CP just needs to get the ball closer to goal. Move him into a two-man line with Weah. Or maybe the new blood in central midfield will help.

 

LD and CP are different players.

CP is a pure attacking winger with the kind of ball skills we all wished LD had.

LD was a versatile attacking player who was comfortable in multiple positions who was explosive over long distances and was both a good passer and finisher.

If we could combine the two, we would have Messi.

I think that CP is best as a winger, but you have to unbalance the defense to where they don’t stack guys on him and just hack him to death. That’s why I think its important that Dest is on the other side because they both play similar roles and the more Dest is effective in the attack, the more it will give Pulisic some room.

 

I’m not one of those guys who likes to motivate people with criticism, but if anyone on the team deserves criticism, its Pulisic.

Here’s an EPL star who does not produce for the national team….he doesn’t transcend any other players and he disappears for long swaths of games.

We have “fire Berhalter” threads all over the place, but its hard to find people who are willing to take a look at Pulisic and ask why he can’t produce in the games he actually plays. Pulisic was in Couva. He needs to show that he wants to make a World Cup. He needs to start producing goals and assists…thats what he’s out there for.

If we need a guy to occupy space, put Arriola out there because he’ll at least do it intelligently and shut down his counterparts.

 

Pulisic needs to show up and produce against Mexico, period.

its the elephant in the room, IMO.

 

I know the guy bleeds for country, maybe he's trying too hard and maybe he's not on the same page with who's out there with him. But I can't attack the guy because Lletget scores more and plays more.

 

Frankly, Id love to see Hoppe tried out at the 9. Hes got the size, hes got the confidence, and hes got the swagger

 

My god.

 

Lleget plays more because he’s available more.

Pulisic is an automatic starter. I love the guy and think he’s off the charts destructive to opponents when he has the ball. However, the dude needs to start taking over games.

Dest just scored another golazo. He didn’t need a PK to do it.

When is the last time Pulisic scored a golazo for the national team?

 

That was an illustrative point not meant to be taken literally.

 

Hes 23 and a month old. He has 16 goals in his first 40 caps. Landon had 10. Overwhelming failure? I suggest we wait for these guys to mature and see how 2022 goes before we start labeling anyone failures.

 

In 40 USMNT games, Pulisic has 16 G and 9 A. 41 points. More than a point per game.

Donovan, in 157 games, had 57 goals and 58 assists. 172 points. A little (more) than a point per game.

Of course, Donovan got Gold Cups and more games vs Barbados. On the flip side, those are Donovan's career numbers. Puli gonna have to pick it up & keep it up to catch him.

Yes, Pulisic has been disappointing from time to time. But he has been productive.

 

Ooohhhhhh I see the new hawt take is Pulisic not producing for the US!

Don't get how some want to look at such recent past to cast blame, but for some players a couple friendly goals or running hard is plenty to lead the team in minutes.

Settle down hawt take artists!

 

That’s a great point.

However, if you look at the context, Donovan comes away looking pretty impressive with goals against Mexico (including the infamous dos-a-cero goal in the round of 16 in South Korea), Poland, S. Korea, etc.

Donovan impacted games right away (so did Beasley).

Impacting games is a criticism that Pulisic has gotten with Chelsea also. From Lampard: "There's still more development to come. Christian is taking responsibility to change games."

 

Pulisic blasted onto the scene like no one we’ve ever seen before... but his collapse has been about as drastic as his rise. Can he turn it around? Of course. But we should all acknowledge that 2019, 2020, and 2021 have been very unkind to him. Oh, and if I recall correctly, he barely played in 2018 too.

Truly, he hasn’t done much of squat in the past four years. That’s a problem.

 

Jermaine Jones had an interesting take during the pre-game for Jamaica. He said that obviously that Pulisic is not Messi but there is a similar dynamic as with Messi and Argentina as Pulisic often feels the burden of trying to carry the team and will sometimes try to do too much (and the team will similarly rely too much on him to make things happen).

I think Pulisic more than anyone else feels the burden of Couva, cares a ton, and very much wants to do everything in his power to make sure it never happens again. Sometimes that translates to him trying to do much and not just playing his game. But he’s our best and most talented player. There’s way too much hand wringing when it comes to him and I’m sure if healthy he’s going to have a massive impact on this team.

 

collapse? Come on man. Drop off maybe?

 

In road WCQers, Pulisic has 0 goals and 2 assists.
During the '18 cyle, he had no WCQing goals against the top two teams, Costa Rica and Mexico.
In competitive matches, he has 1 goal and 0 assists against Mexico.
In competitive matches this cycle, he has 0 goals and 0 assists against Canada, the likely CR replacement.

He's a great player, but greater care needs to be taken in how he is used.

 

He's experienced enough to have a big say in that too, including telling the players behind him where and when he wants the ball played.

(Stan Mortensen told Stanley Matthews that he wanted crosses delivered with the laces on the ball facing away from him, and Matthews used to oblige).

In 28 competitive appearances Pulisic has 12 goals and 10 assists.

 

I think this game gets the Costa Rica lineup with Pulisic for Arriola and perhaps Zimmerman or Brooks for Richards, so there's a decision that needs to be made. Reyna will be a tricky call and honestly no way to know without being closer to it. It will depend on health and fitness and to some degree sharpness. I'd be tempted to have him as an option off the bench, but it would really be a last minute decisions based on his physical condition, figuring it out with the medical staff and all that. He could take Weah's spot if he's ready to go. Then, pick either Steffan or Turner if they are both available and you're good to go. t this point, I really can't imagine many more changes unless injuries take someone out.

 

Just let me know when he actually is fit to play soccer again.

 

The oponent matters if the discussion is about the level and influence of the player.

 

Pulisic does have something that great US players like Dempsey never had - a winning goal against Mexico in a competitive match. And it was a competitive final too.

But we are starting to reach the point where Pulisic's production under Arena was an outlier - 6 goals and 4 assists in 9 matches. Berhalter has never quite been able to inspire that level of production out of him.

 

Well he’s definitely scored at least once in a road qualifier as he was the goal scorer in Couva.