If we beat Holland, we're likely playing Argentina in the QF's.....having Adams & Acosta probably won't make all that much difference.....
No....we should have put in Jordan Morris.....we needed a big target man to try to get some possession when we cleared our lines....Wright just did a crappy job of it.
finally someone gets it. theres a chance we see a totally different lineup/strategy vs the Dutch...I actually expect that. I expect ferreira to start, definitely going to see gio and likely ldlt and scally as well. greegggg needs to be careful this time....his lineups to end games have been horrid....and if the team needs a late goal...he simply cannot use his prevent defense lineup to generate anything whatsoever
I'd fancy Ream taking a penalty.....he seems very calm and collected.....just the mindset you want in a penalty shootout.
can they put together a full 90 minutes and score some goals??? cant use the subbing patterns that they did in the group game if they want to.
You've got to start the guys who are injury risks (i.e. Reyna, McKennie, Sargent, and Pulisic), since you can't risk them coming in as subs and not being able to finish the match (especially if it goes into extra time). So I'd start Gio and have Weah come in for him once he runs out of gas.....saving Weah and using him against tired Dutch legs late in the 2nd half or in extra time could be a really good move.
Going into this game, I want to see the team play with NO FEAR. The monkey is off the back. You’re playing with house money now. Everything now is just gravy. Seize the moment and take it to the Netherlands. Granted, still be disciplined. But be less afraid to take risks. Go for it. Show the Netherlands how hungry we are. And how we have something to prove and to show the world that the US has arrived on the scene. Louis Van Gaal is an incredibly experienced manager. But we all know that he’s arrogant and stubborn as a damn mule. There’s no way that he’s not looking at this as an easy win for them. I guarantee you that he’s already checking out how to beat Argentina. I don’t want to be overconfident. I know that the Netherlands is the better team on paper. I know that the US needs to feed off of this underdog role where they’re going to have to outwork their opponent on every single play of the game in order to have a chance. But I could see, and I hope it will be, this could be a Portugal 2002 match all over again. I truly hope so. But we’re going to have to work and play our asses off again. Let’s go, USA!
You start your best guys who can play. Period. You don't rest your best guys for fear of extra time. The dropoff in CM is just too steep. If a guy is dead legged or has a knock, then sit them. I fully expect Dest, Ream, Jedi, Adams, Musah, McKennie, and Weah to start. Pulisic & Sargent if they can go. I'd take Zimmerman over CCV for set pieces (van Dijk).
Looking at this Dutch team, I’m not trying to sound overconfident, but I think we can go toe to toe with them. Yes, they’ve got Virgil Van Dijk, Frenkie de Jong, and Memphis Depay. Yes, this Cody Gakpo is having a breakout tournament. Yes, they’re well organized, well coached. And yes, we still struggle with offense and we have a major concern with Pulisic and Sargent being potentially out. That said, I don’t see where the talent difference is so significant that if they have an off day and we have a good day, we don’t come up with the win. I think it helps that I’m betting on the Netherlands looking past us. But look at this way. De Ligt seems off this tournament. They’re starting a scrub goalkeeper. De Jong is one man. Depay has been hit or miss. And Daley Blind might be the slowest man on earth. Davy Klaasen is a good player. But to tell the truth, would you take him over any of McKennie, Musah, or Adams? I don’t know if I would. And yes, I know he’s a good player. Simply put, if we could play the way that we played against England for 90 minutes, combined with some improved offensive output. I can’t say that we’ll win. But I think we’ll be the toughest challenge that they have faced in this tournament yet. And that might catch them off guard. Come on, USA. You can do this. Just give it everything you’ve got. And have no fear! Go for it!
We're playing with House money, they're playing with pressure to beat a minnow. The trick is to remember that and not get sucked in by all the pressure. Remember what happened to Wondo.
Certainly possible they get beat by the Australians, but not probable. Call it an educated guess. If we play the Socceroos, you're more than welcome to come back here and tell me "I told you so."
Yeah, Argentina’s team looks to have gelled and are coking into their own. The way they used Messi 5 yards off the top of the box to pull defenders and then release the left winger/LCM. Like 8-10 times and it worked like a dream. You can’t not cover him and that means someone will be left open. They are gonna be a tough cookie.
Answer this question honestly-do you think if the game lasted another five minutes we would have held Iran?
We've tried pretty much every other permutation beyond Ferreira now and none of those work. If we were scoring 2 goals/match there wouldn't be this uproar for Reyna. The goal against Wales had nothing to do with our designed offense. At least the Pulisic goal was in flow of offense.
We shouldn't bring in Acosta. I understand his defensive play and his "dark arts" understanding, but we lose all possession and attacking when he's in. He can't hold the ball at his feet and can't make a positive pass most of the time. For me, he's an 86th minute sub when trying to see out a 1 goal lead and nothing else.