I don’t think Haji was lackadaisical. I think is not very good at winning long balls, and he made a bad decision on the late break.
Moore and Wright were both terrible. By the time Sargent went down I wasn't so sure it should be Ferreira that should have come on for him, but when I saw Haji enter I thought it was a mistake. Either Ferreira or go with a different position entirely. And, for as well as Musah played, the guy was completely gassed at 80. By the time 90 rolled around he could do no more than stretch to grab guys with his hand. The US were desperate to defend the game the rest of the way, and I was screaming for Roldan to come on to see out the game (and I'm not a big Roldan fan, but f*ck, that's exactly the time to get him in for his 10 minutes).
Iran dived a few times at the end but overall the sportsmanship on both sides was excellent and lovely to see. What I’m saying is, bite me Klinsi.
Completely disagree. I’m very happy that we left the group stage but extremely concerned by Berhalter’s performance. The choices, strategy, and tactics have not been fatal, but close followers will always be looking ahead. We cannot pull that stunt from today against any team of legit quality. We will lose. So it’s a mixed feeling. Some good, some bad. Ready for next round.
I suspect he is Jedi's backup and focused on playing LB. Not saying I agree with the choice but it's the only thing that makes sense.
I believe our players did their best but in the 2nd half we needed Azmoun, who was subbed out because he wasn't fully fit for more minutes than he played. With a healthy Azmoun, we might have been able to get something at the end.
Gritty, gritty "road" win. Was skeptical we'd be able to break through the bunker. Great play from the Champions Leaguers. Sargeant had by far the most involved #9 performance of the tourney. Nitpicks: Sooo many loose touches on the wings by Jedi and Weah, who have both been generally excellent. Enough with the late-game unnecessary fouls Yunus! Aaronson has hustle and craft, but lacks the explosiveness to break down a defense. McKinnie is not 90-minutes fit and it sucks. England outscoring Wales and Iran 9-2 shows we have a long way to go.
Right, Gregg did what was necessary. We can disagree with the choice of players but I think the tactic itself was what was needed. sometimes you gotta suffer in this sport
Great win. We're going to be forced to make changes now assuming that Puli and Sargent are out. Time for Weah at forward and Gio and Aaronson on the wings in front of MMA. (A lineup we can win with).
That plus he offers nothing on crosses/long balls which Iran was starting to resort to. Shaq theoretically helps with that. Scally would as well while also being able to pass, so I have to agree with the posters saying he is just there to backup Jedi.
To those who just blame Berhalter for the second half (both Wales and Iran) maybe a little lesson in reality. Both of these teams have some quality players and have played together for years. Give them some credit for getting after us when we began to tire. No team goes 90 minutes in complete control of a match. Not even freaking Brazil.
McKennie was done. I'm not sure how people couldn't see it, but the first chances Iran got were because McKennie was a step slow to everything. He needed a sub -- everyone in my text chain saw it about 3-4 minutes before the sub came. I expect Acosta is our only real option there -- de la Torre is not a great defender and has not played for about six month. The clamoring for Reyna is just tired at this point -- we made the next subs for defensive reasons. Dest has routinely been subbed because of tiredness and getting sloppy. I might have kept him on but Moore is there for his defense. The passes to no one are a problem, but that's why. Zimmerman came in instead of Reyna to go five at the back. It's definitely prevent defense, and I know fans hate it, but maybe, just maybe, realize there isn't a coach in the world who puts in an offensively minded replacement there. It worked. I would have put Ferreira in for Wright -- better presser and more energy. Wright was pretty terrible on offense but I will admit he had a few hold up plays of value and one defensive header so I suspect that was the reasoning. Musah was also pretty done by the end, but we didn't really have options. He rallied on a few plays, but him and McKennie getting tired and sloppy was one of the big reasons we couldn't grab or get possession before we went full 352 and basically conceded.
He looked less tired than others. I wonder if it had to do with the defensive formation Berhalter wanted for the final five years I mean 20 minutes of the game. That said, few people worked harder than he did and he might have just been done.
Gregg thinks Moore is a really good 1v1 defender. And Dest is probably ramping up his endurance and was on a yellow (from Wales). Not saying I agree.
Yeah, Wes is good for 55 minutes or so. I was skeptical of him given his recent form, but he's been good and things start to slip when he comes out.
Congrats to the team. They looked like the better team overall, mainly in the first half, then made it much, much harder than it needed to be due to lack of finishing and the extreme defensive tactics starting around minute 70. Which effectively meant defending for 30 minutes, which should be expected with how extra time is being added (and which I think is a good thing). Hopefully Pulisic and Sargent aren’t seriously injured, but regardless many of our key players will be pretty beat up for Saturday. My contacts at US Soccer say Berhalter is working on a gameplan for the Netherlands that involves a 9-man wall on the goal line, with Haji Wright up top alone to “work his magic.”
Bullet point style... * Congrats to the whole squad and staff for getting through the group. It's a little odd that the difference between "abject failure" and "great success" can be decided by a goalmouth scramble in the 97th minute, but I suppose that's what it sometimes comes down to. We're through. Tough game on tap against the Netherlands, but we're into nothing to lose territory now. * Three World Cup games and only one goal surrendered, that on a penalty. You can call it boring, but the axiom "defense wins championships" - or at least "defense gets you out of the group stage" - will always apply in sportball. * Tyler Adams... what a performance over three games. And Tim Ream? It's hilarious that he was out in the wilderness two months ago. Credit to Berhalter for recognizing his mistake and bringing Ream back into the fold * Great hustle and bravery by Pulisic. I hope he's ok, but I have serious doubts he's playing on Saturday. * In the pre-match thread, there I was saying that I don't get as nervous about these things anymore as I approach 50. But there I am, when Zimmermann and Moore are about to come on, pausing the TV, setting a timer with Alexa for 23 minutes, playing a stupid video game, taking a leak, and then when the timer goes off, asking Alexa for the result.... at which time I watch the remainder of the game after the substitution with a very relaxed demeanor. Hell, while I was playing that stupid video game, my heart was pounding. I'm really too old for this crap. * Love to all. Let it rip on Saturday.