Tyler Adams was world class. Weston struggled. Musah doesn't have 90 minutes in him. That late foul he committed was a tired player's foul.
The MMA midfield is awesome. It has speed, it has strength, it has smarts, it has self-control. Lightning in a bottle, those three understand each other so well. PS: Tyler Adams is the smartest player we've had since Donovan.
The US has half a dozen very good players. Adams, McKennie, Pulisic, Dest, and Musah have been superb. Weah has his own strengths too. Upfront the US team is limited and its CBs are also a class below, but by being able to pass the ball around so accurately, they deny the opponent the opportunity to test its defense.
MMA was magnificent. Best version of McKennie, same old Tyler and Musah just getting better and better. Acosta coming in scares me. We lose a lot when McKennie goes out and he comes in.
We'd be so toast without Adams. Musah worked really hard and did well. McKennie a little off the pace but he made the key pass of the game. Acosta mostly invisible.
We lost the plot at the end but were great for 45 and good for 60. Aaronson good as a sub. Musah was hanging on by a thread at the end. Adams is amazing. Acosta not so much.
The MMA are what they thought they were. And that's a very very good thing. McKennie seemed to be taking it a bit easy out there. He's clearly not 100%. Perfect pass on the goal. That was a dime. Musah is gassed. Absolutely gassed. Rest up young warrior, game in 3 days and you are going 90. You know who isn't gassed. Tyler Adams. This guy. Oh, Captain my Captain. How about that pass on the play Weah & Sargent F'd up? If he does that more, he won't be a Leeds for much longer. Acosta is like a surrender. In this case with Mckennie not fit, you kind of had to do it. But blech, hate just giving the dealer your chips.
Our midfield has absolutely strangled 3 teams in a row including 2 European teams. The same thing will happen on Saturday as you will see Frankie De Jong disappear like a fart in the wind.
Our midfield combined with our backline structure makes it difficult to generate chances on us. Your team created about as much as England and Wales did. I don't know how far this midfield can take us but I suspect we will run out gas in a game or two.
Kicked ass, took names. For the 2nd game in a row. For all they sometimes lack in playmaking, Weston's chip to Dest was sublime. Musah is so much a better player at 20 than he was at 19.....
FIFA's technical report on USA-Iran says Tyler Adams ran 12.943 kilometers tonight, which is more than 8 miles and as you might guess, a team high. https://t.co/QmWn1bpukp— Charles Boehm (@cboehm) November 30, 2022
I was going to say this was Adams' best game todate. The running he did was invaluable. Oddly enough, I thought Musah's game was less than his previous ones but fotmob rated him highest of all USA players so he was certainly active which fotmob tends to reward. Berhalter had McKennie play more withdrawn and Musah more advanced which is the opposite of previous outings. Mckennie was his usual easy mark to dribble by and lost the ball a lot but had the hockey assist on the long diagonal pass. Looks like that is becoming his best weapon as something similar provided him with his only assist to the striker at Juve this season. The only other guy who does that well is Arriola. He gets that opportunity at Juve because they play him wide and use Locatelli and Rabiot centrally.
The US did very well executing some very fine plays, including on the goal and disallowed goal. But you have to be blind to imagine that was against a low block. Just look where Iran's defensive line is set in that video! While Iranian fans and some pundits are lambasting Queiroz for the "defensive posture" we took in the first half, the truth is we didn't. Iran was simply outplayed and outclassed in the first half. Similarly, it wasn't the US that ceded possession to Iran in the 2nd half; it was Iran that won that possession by winning individual duels and making fewer errand passes. It was only after the Zimmerman substitution that the US pulled back and used a low block. Even then, the US press was still not low. Page 4 below (Phases of Play) shows the tactical posture of the two teams relating to pressing and blocking. https://www.fifatrainingcentre.com/media/native/world-cup-2022/report_133028.pdf
This midfield reminds me of the Denver Broncos’ No Fly Zone defense that swamped the Carolina Panthers in the Super Bowl. They just take all of the space and eat everything up. It’s a slog to get through the midfield with the ball, and when they have the ball they are physical, skilled, and direct. I don’t recall seeing a midfield similar to this. It’s a very American style of play similar to what we value in our other major team sports: physical dominance, skill, athleticism, and offensive prowess. Everyone’s watching, and they see something they like and identify with. Kudos to Berhalther, who when he started out said he wanted to build a style of play that was American, and I think that the core of that is with MMA.
It's like the early 2000s Miami Hurricanes linebacking corp with DJ Williams and Johnathon Vilma. Just everywhere.