Post-match: USA vs. Morocco - June 1, 2022 [R] - International Friendly

Discussion in 'USA Men: News & Analysis' started by schrutebuck, Jun 1, 2022.

  1. LuckofLichaj2

    LuckofLichaj2 Member

    Oct 14, 2021
    McKennie is absolutely making that run. It’s pretty much the primary reason he cashes Juve checks.

    The difference is that he’s giving the ball away a few times on those same dribbles that Aaronson solved the problem with.
     
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  2. felloveranddidanadu

    Plymouth Argyle FC
    Dec 12, 2009
    Club:
    San Jose Frogs
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    We're gonna score one for every fan in the building tonight!
     
  3. TrueCrew

    TrueCrew Member+

    Dec 22, 2003
    Columbus, OH
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    A last word on the asymmetrical thing with Cannon as 3rd CB, Jedi & Weah wide, Musah further back wiith Adams, and Aaronson & Pulisic in the pockets supporting the striker:

    I think it is a good tactic to have in the bag, but we are not going to use it if Dest + Jedi are starting. Now, if one is missing, and Cannon, Yedlin, Moore, Bello, Scally, or Vines are playing? Sure.

    And it needs Aaronson (or Reyna or Djordje) to make it work up top as the 8/10.
     
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  4. gogorath

    gogorath Member+

    None
    United States
    May 12, 2019
    I'll piggyback off this a bit.

    Some of this was tactical trade-off. The offense was better in part because we had Brenden playing forward, attacking, etc. There were other things going on, but while he got stuck in, etc., he's neither the defender McKennie is nor does he play far enough back to have coverage or control.

    Was this intentional? I dunno. This is how Brenden plays. I don't know that he can actually play differently. The offense was better. The defense was worse despite Brenden being a good defensive player individually.

    It's not a shock that when we go from three defensive monsters in the midfield to two defensive monsters in the midfield and a try hard, 105 lb player who basically plays 15 yards further upfield ... that's it's easier to attack.

    There are other things going on. In the post-game presser, Berhalter mentioned that the back three were not playing high enough. We were playing offensively in a really weird 3-2-2-3 that was very effective but it was this:

    Jedi --- CF ---- Weah
    --------------Aaronson
    ---Puli--------------
    -----Musah--------
    -----------Adams-----
    Long --- Zim/CCV -- Cannon

    I've exaggerated the midfield for effect, but when transition happened, you can see two things:

    1. Hakimi was shut down in part because Jedi, Long and Musah were all there on the left side.
    2. The right side has a gaping hole between Cannon and Aaronson/Weah.

    Like I said, Berhalter thought the back line was playing too low of a line, which exacerbated the gap. Cannon stayed back to protect Aaronson, but I do wonder if you need to go straight 3 ATB if you don't have Hakimi over there .... though this could be a Wales/England preview.

    Either way, I think the poor defense was a combination of three things:

    1. Playing Brenden Aaronson/someone far attacking in the midfield
    2. Less familiarity on defense
    3. Some tactical/execution holes created
    4. Opponent -- Morocco comes to play; they are open and creative

    But I do think that it's important to note a big part of this is trade-off. Our defense is better with a MMA midfield yesterday. But Aaronson's offense wouldn't have been on the field.
     
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  5. gogorath

    gogorath Member+

    None
    United States
    May 12, 2019
    The shots weren't bad at all. I'd like more power but honestly, if the keeper has his miss on a Ferreira shot rather than the Weah shot -- which was harder but honestly very saveable -- then we're having a different convo.
     
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  6. grandinquisitor28

    Feb 11, 2002
    Nevada
    I both agree and disagree with you. I actually think Steffen was at least solid with club and often good circa '15-'18 as a U20 and eventual club starter.

    I don't think Steffen has EVER been consistently good for the USMNT period. I think he's had moments, good games here and there, but especially for Berhalter, he's been god awful most of the time, (most of '19, parts of '21 and '22).
     
  7. thedukeofsoccer

    thedukeofsoccer Member+

    Jul 11, 2004
    Wussconsin
    Club:
    AFC Ajax
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I mean, c'mon. If Steffen hadn't become unavailable last second, you figure he starts the game. Then the guy who got the opportunity out of circumstance makes a difference, as keepers have usually historically done for the US. So it damn well is pertinent.

    As far as a prospect conning scouts, it only happens EVERY DAY, especially when nat'l team manager's elevate their status. It just happened with Gioacchini. After being a sub at the b-team GC, he got an opportunity at a Ligue 1 club, even though he was bad for a Ligue 2 outfit. Slonina's having a tough season, but it's not stopping Real Madrid & Chelsea from pursuing him. If he wouldn't turn it around, they'd still need to do something w/ him. Maybe he'd be their #2-3 as well.
     
  8. gogorath

    gogorath Member+

    None
    United States
    May 12, 2019
    Yes. Put it in another post, but some of this was tactical trade-off and pick your poison, some of it was executional.
     
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  9. deejay

    deejay Member+

    Feb 14, 2000
    Tarpon Springs, FL
    Club:
    Jorge Wilstermann
    Nat'l Team:
    Bolivia
    I do, but I recognize that the trend is towards Turner especially if he improves with his feet as much as he believes he will in Arsenal. He was quoted as saying that he believes he is good with his feet but he never gets to train or use that much at the Revs. I still believe in Zack's potential. I think he has all the tools but he's been injured way too often and often not at top shape.
     
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  10. Casper

    Casper Member+

    Mar 30, 2001
    New York
    Some of it was players not particularly familiar with one another executing a tactic they have never used together before. And it showed, in ways that ultimately made the shutout surprising.
     
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  11. thedukeofsoccer

    thedukeofsoccer Member+

    Jul 11, 2004
    Wussconsin
    Club:
    AFC Ajax
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I don't actually remember his performances as a youth, though I know he was hyped. It's irrelevant anyway to his evaluation as a senior player.

    His initial rep as a pro came from a combo of youth hype, a niche skill of penalty saves, & a good game or two at the right time. This doesn't a good player make.

    Then, I think we were sold on a trajectory from experience/age combo. That expected level was never near reached, as you partially acknowledge. At this point it's speculative/confirmation bias that he'll still get there.
     
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  12. matabala

    matabala Member+

    Sep 25, 2002
    We just caught them on a bad day.
     
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  13. SUDano

    SUDano Member+

    Jan 18, 2003
    Rochester, NY
    I know about Long. Why is everyone ignoring he got turned again for the second game in a row and had to pull down an average forward for another yellow early in the game (28min). That alone in my mind disqualifies him as being a WC defender. That just can't happen at this level. He was late to a few tackles, wasn't a great passer and was standing next to Zim on a few plays. One open chance their forward was standing alone on his side of goal, Adams sprinted back and he muffed shot and Adams pointed to Long like hey this is your job not mine. I miss Robinson and Richards.
     
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  14. diablodelsol

    diablodelsol Member+

    Jan 10, 2001
    New Jersey
    Minneapolis is an is a 10 to 12 hour drive from most places in Ohio. Your point still stands….but Minneapolis certainly wasn’t a factor.
     
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  15. dspence2311

    dspence2311 Member+

    Oct 14, 2007
    Ohio will be less of a soccer fan state with each passing year.
     
  16. matabala

    matabala Member+

    Sep 25, 2002
    They do that all the time against star strikers in African WC qualifiers. :)
     
  17. Calling BS

    Calling BS Member+

    Orlando City
    United States
    Jan 25, 2020
    Do you think it was that or the formation? With 3 CBs sitting back, we were pressing minus one player than usual.
     
  18. diablodelsol

    diablodelsol Member+

    Jan 10, 2001
    New Jersey
    Personally I think too many people are making too big of a deal about Twellman’s three in the back Cannon comment. When an outside back becomes involved in the attack up field…you defend with three in the back….or get smoked a hell of a lot more than we did when you cough up the ball. The third is usually the other outside back…or your 6. This wasn’t some grand strategy…just the outcome of Cannon not really adding anything to the attack on his side.
     
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  19. IndividualEleven

    Mar 16, 2006
    #219 IndividualEleven, Jun 2, 2022
    Last edited: Jun 2, 2022
    If this is the actual formation(as opposed to the tactical formation) going forward, then perhaps an amid, like Reyna could be played in Ferreira's spot. It's a pity both he Mihailovic

     
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  20. Maximum Optimal

    Maximum Optimal Member+

    Jul 10, 2001
    Some of it was the asymmetric formation. Berhalter played mad scientist and some of it worked and some didn't.

    I think we missed McKennie's ball winning. Aaronson's work rate is second to none, but he doesn't have McKennie's ability to win the 50-50s.
     
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  21. QuakeAttack

    QuakeAttack Member+

    Apr 10, 2002
    California - Bay Area
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    One of the best performances by a US Team in the past four years. The score line was favorable to the US (GK gift and a PK), but the US deserved the result and was the better team. Offense was dynamic and created a lot of opportunities. Aaronson (MOTM) and Pulisic were on fire and Weah caused a lot of problems.

    It was nice to see Scally, Wright, and Tillman, and Carter-Vickers get some opportunities. None of them played poorly (Carter-Vickers probably was the best), but on the flip side, none of them screamed inclusion in the WC roster. I would have liked to see more of Scally, but that is primarily because I haven't seen him before. Tillman intrigued me the most with his ability in tight spaced and confidence on the ball.

    So, yes, I left the game with a better feeling about our chances in the WC (Morocco is tough side to play against). However, there are couple items which temper the enthusiasm:
    • Game was at home.
    • Our defense was exposed and against better attacking teams would have given up goals.
    • We are still five months away for WC.
    • Morocco didn't play physical against Pulisic.
    For Uruguay, I want to see better alignment across the back four. Too many times, the back four were not handing off their players or dropping too far off. Good goal keeping and poor finishing helped them.
     
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  22. gogorath

    gogorath Member+

    None
    United States
    May 12, 2019
    I'm not sure where we get that Ferreira's finishing is subpar. Both shots were actually pretty good, just saved. His level of accuracy is pretty strong; he could probably have more power.

    But this is small sample size theater here, and outcome based theater. His finishes were stronger than Haji's; his finishing is not problematic in MLS.

    Ferreira's weakness is that in crowded boxes. He's neither tall, nor strong, so that poaching against a built in defense isn't very good. Which is why he would work to draw out the CBs by coming back in that situation.

    But his shots were not bad.
     
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  23. RossD

    RossD Member+

    Aug 17, 2013
    Club:
    Colorado Rapids
    I think we are making too much out of putting Aaronson in the midfield. He adds to the offense but the defense will be poorer. It's called tactics and gameplanning. There are positives and negatives to everything. It's trying to get more out of the positives then you get from the negatives. Playing Reyna or Brendan in the midfield means you're taking out either McKinney or Musah and what they bring. It's a starting 11, not 12. Someone, and their abilities, has to sit.
     
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  24. JUnionFan

    JUnionFan Member+

    Philadelphia Union
    United States
    Sep 30, 2020
    I think this is something where Aaronson is constantly improving and perhaps the perception has not caught up to reality yet.

    Fotmob has Aaronson at 2/4 tackles won, 9/13 in ground duels and 4 recoveries. Against a legitimate WC team. Not some CCF minnow.

    I'm not saying he is McKennie, but he has only grown in the past year and will be playing centrally for a EPL team. He's far from the scrawny, weak kid he was when he was first getting call ups.

    Though I think the real defensive weakness was in positioning and working with Zimmerman and Cannon on the right side; but that could be familiarity more than anything.
     
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  25. IndividualEleven

    Mar 16, 2006
    McKennie would just as likely replace Musah, rather than Aaronson, in the lineup.
     
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