I (respectfully) disagree, though I think your assessment of LDLT is mostly right -- he wasn't a incisive #10 as much as a #8 who helped us transition to from defense to offense and kept the ball moving in our final third. But -- and here's where his contributions stood out the most to me -- he actually gave us a presence in the middle, in the final-third, even when Honduras was compact. Even if all he did was receive the ball and distribute it back out wide, it created a little movement and diversity in the attack that we sorely, sorely lacked the previous two games. Relatively small stuff, I know, but the difference was conspicuous. Cannon, meanwhile, did do some good things with his movement. But I thought his passes and final ball were so consistently poor it erased all the good work. Not just when he hit a cross, either, even while trying to keep possession. I want to like the guy, and I did back when he first broke through to the USMNT (he was real good against Mexico in the '19 GC Final). But I don't see the same composure or skill on the ball now that I did back then. Maybe it'll come back -- I hope so!
I find it amusing guys are lauding DLT but downplaying Acosta's good game because of who the opposition was. DLT was nice but Honduras gave us space in the middle of the field. Like many have pointed out, he disappeared in the final third. DLT can be added to the mix of pool midfielders but he's not the next Xavi. I think Acosta is good at what he does; being a backup 6, dead balls, and on field leadership and trash talking . He's not better then Adams and no one else has his combined skills or positional flexibility. I think we will need a backup 6 and Busio and DLT do not fill that role. They're competing with MM and maybe Reyna for those other midfield spots.
To be fair, it's a position that can have a high learning curve that few young people have mastered. His performance was a real team building breath of fresh air when many of our better players are not helping us become more than the the sum of our parts. Reminded me a little of Reyna vs. Germany in the World Cup. Hard to say what it means about the player given the opponent, but if he can continue to improve as he enters his prime and get more consistent, he really could be an important player for us. It's funny that I keep seeing people saying "no one was complaining about Acosta" when someone literally was telling me he would have called Tessman in ahead of him in the pre-game thread as an example of Berhalter incompetence. Acosta has been one of the many examples of why Berhalter is terrible by folks who can't name a better backup 6.
I think you are in the minority with that view, although his highlight reel seems way less impressive than the reviews.
Probably not a real question, but he plays for a team pushing for promotion which is worth waaay more than his value as a sale. He's also been more consistent of late, not sure teams were beating down his door half a season ago. If he wants to be a top half PL player, he does need to improve his crossing.
I have yet to see any undesirable outcome from selecting this venue even though the temperature was much lower than the expected. Yet people are still acting like it was insanity. I'm not saying there can't be disagreement but y'all should definitely get off the high horse on that topic. In contrast, the Tim Horton turf field caused us a lot of damage. So maybe, getting a playable field is the most important thing?
Silly LDLT prioritizing a career that had stabilized for the first time ever over a coach notorious for playing favorites (like most. See El Tri fans complaining about Lainez and Araujo on the bench last night). I do sense Lletgets performance in Panama was either a deal breaker and he’s gone the way of the Lovitz’s, Bairds, Bradley’s and Trapp’s or simply Berhalter doesn’t trust him for now in terms of firm and such immense stakes matches, or LDLT simply looked better in camp. No idea but I definitely think Lletget is behind the 8 ball in terms of Qatar if we qualify unless there’s an avalanche of injuries. At minimum it looks like MMA and Busio are ahead, maybe LDLT, and it’s worth noting that Musah, McKennie, LDLT, Busio, Tessmann etc are getting minutes in Europe and aren’t even in their prime while Lletget is exiting his prime in MLS. My only concern for any of the young guys is a bad summer transfer that leaves them starved for minutes. Other that that or injuries, Lletgetseems a stress ch at this point. Thankfully LDLt took his chance last night. Wild that for once one of the more wtf?? Berhalter opinions helped a kiddo w/o many caps, but it is here as I definitely thought Acosta was man of the match, otoh, if I really want to be a jerk and I do, praising LDLT as the man of the match was the ultimate humble brag. See the system works! I was just playing the wrong guy as the shuttler!
I did say in this thread or another that the result will dictate how I felt about the venue change. We won, no injuries, it worked out for me. Just don't know how the players felt about it at the time, it must have been miserable. Just less miserable than how the Hondurans felt.
I think what’s overlooked in even many of the positive comments about de la Torre is the incredible value of chewing up yards in the middle of the field. He reminded me of what Nagbe has done and what Williamson does for Portland. There were a few times when he drove the ball forward with his feet and drew Honduras’s shape apart. No one really does that on this team. It’s a nice complement to the quick passing game. I was very impressed
This makes me a bit unreasonably nervous. If I’m remembering correctly, weren’t there like 8 different scenarios that could have played out on the final match day last qualifying cycle, and the only possible combination of events saw us not get at least 4th place? I’m still confident we’ll qualify, but there are a few somewhat reasonable combinations of score lines that could put us in 4th place.
reggie cannon may be happy about the victory, but his ears are not. Hope this doesn’t cause him any issues. Chris Richards took this video of Reggie Cannon after the USMNT win against Honduras ...🥴🥴🥴 pic.twitter.com/PXAtjWV48g— USMNT Only (@usmntonly) February 3, 2022
I'd say the current state of the ocho should make any us fan reasonably nervous, esp after the 2017 fiasco.
ignore the fanboy buzz and focus on what soccer did you see last night. he was getting bowled in physical challenges which are part of elite soccer. if you balance that off on offense, what offense. his forays forward tended to fizzle out into either back passes, releasing the ball too early and letting someone else create, or a turnover. in terms of actual danger, i wouldn't rate him higher than lletget, busio, green, or holmes. some of them can shoot from distance, which he cannot, and have assists, which i don't foresee much of. DLT to me is going to be, if anything, the pass leading to the pass leading to the pass leading to the pass to the goal. my lifelong feeling is players like that don't add much. to me it's a type that usually fizzles at the junior-senior boundary. the game becomes faster and more physical, and the spaces to make cute passes close down. you either have the high skill level to create at that level or not. he doesn't. i do think he's better than yeuill or sands but he's a tiny little thing that cannot possibly play 6 with his lack of physicality, which to me is the spot where you can hide someone whose passes are sideways and uneventful. to me this is the sort of choice that adds no offense in a real game while definitely risking he gets bowled over and starts a goalscoring counter. i do think he's a perfect fit for a sideways passing offense but that's not an applause line. like i said, all this talent and we have fewer goals than 2018 cycle. i really don't want to encourage GB down this road further. what he needs to find is a more direct "gas pedal." players who can hit a 30 yard shot top of the D. players who can combine into the box. no more take it the flag people. people who create danger or lay a ball exactly where they mean to.
He progresses the ball. It’s awesome. I think Musah does the same for the record. Same w/Busio but w/less pace and better passing accuracy.
The difference is that we should not be nervous about dropping to fourth place. It'll be disappointing but we won't be disqualified.
No kidding. People were acting like it was some huge tactical error putting the game in the cold because it would ugly up the game, and it would diminish our advantage. So what happens? We go out and win 3-0, and the same people refuse to acknowledge that it didn't work out the way they predicted, and look for other reasons to shred Berhalter and Co. No one will ever admit it, but the reason why a lot of people are upset at the fact that these games were played in the cold is because they picked Ohio and Minnesota. If we had gotten similar temperatures in New Jersey or Chicago (which isn't ridiculous this time of year), and that's where the games had been played, everyone would be calling Gregg a genius.
Putting a game in Chicago in early February is only slightly less ridiculous than putting one in St. Paul. There was nothing wrong with Columbus as a venue choice other than repeating a host.
Was the AC on? I do not think he's consistent at all. Just because he has hit some good ones doesn't mean he consistently does. From far away he's pretty good. Anything closer ends up in the 3rd row. So do we really bring someone who's only specialty is free kicks from 35+ yards out? Maybe...
The Panama game is essentially a must win game. If we lose to Mexico and Costa Rica away and draw Panama at home, there are a few scenarios that could put us in 5th place.
He delivered great dead balls, and he can do that against any competition. The problem is trying to gauge his abilities as a holding midfielder when Honduras really couldn't mount anything. I think I read that Turner NEVER used his hands.
Lletget is going to be depending on the roster limit to get in probably. If the roster is 25 or 27 instead of the usual 23... but for the most part Adams, McKennie, Musah, Acosta, Busio, DLT (Reyna if you play him there) seem to be ahead of him now. I hope Pomykal has a big resurgence in MLS this season too. Tessmann could really emerge. Eryk Williamson could play a role too, but he might not be back long enough before the WC.
The thing is if we draw against Mexico and beat Panama the best Costa Rica can do is tie us. And they aren't making up how far behind they are on goal difference.