Generally speaking, yes. But the first Dutch goal was completely his fault, as he was jogging back and did not pick up Memphis.
True, I have seen a lot of “I’d rather lose 3-1 than…” posts over the years. I guess today’s the day.
No, we need a true Number 9 and some good defensive players. We're not bunkering much anymore now that we got some good midfielders, so we can play better there. He can only do with what he's given.
The boys played well all tournament and should be proud. There were some things I felt we could've done better, but ultimately this is about who we are as a team right now. And that's ok.
Well done USA. I thought we had a punchers chance in this game, but we whiffed on our haymaker and they landed one right on the chin that staggered us. We got up off the mat, but we were wobbly the rest of the game. The PK on Zim is probably the dagger that did us in. Without the PK we win that game and don't have a win or go home game in the third. The energy expended in the third game, did us in. I think fatigue was the biggest reason we had the uncharacteristic mental errors that got us beat. I don't think there is much sense in presenting counterfactuals over subs and player usages. It became a matter of advance at all costs. Sarge getting hurt was devastating, he doesn't score a lot, but he is a key piece of how we want to play, and neither Haji or Jesus are up to this level. We have a lot of the right pieces, get a couple of ball playing CBs, a couple more in-form and healthy midfielders, and a forward in 2026 and things look bright, even if GB is still the coach. I think he will be, even if I am not particularly enamored of his philosophy. The bottom line is that the players really do buy into the "vision" of how we want to play. I do not think a second term for national team coaches is a good idea unless you have a del Bosque or a van Gaal, which we don't.
couple of things: -The most criminal part of our game was our complete lack of set piece threat. Its very pronounced. Beyond coaching, beyond admitting Pulisic might not be the primary set piece guy.. Create something. -I was honestly left wanting to see more of Aaronson and a few others.. in a WC setting some players rise while others shrink… Seeing Ream do a good account of himself made me want to see the same of others.. Like Beckerman putting his “F’ you world! t-shirt” in ‘14 -We were not played off the field we competed, we are better still than this showed.
God, that CP chance looks worse and worse each time I see it... he almost had enough time to take a 2nd touch and still get a shot off. I think he really didn't realize he was on-side and was maybe waiting for the flag to come up... just lacking that killer instinct that better offensive players like Deuce and McBride had...
I think we need to give credit to the Dutch… They played a pretty flawless game. They capitalized on their opportunities. We struggle with finishing. Over the course of the tournament, I’d love to see a compilation of our failed breakaways and attempted shots that didn’t threaten. If you can’t score, you can’t win.
I tend to agree. I think Greg should get some credit in that I do think he really got this team playing well together - they definitely looked like a team/not a group of all-stars. He should also get credit for identifying the MMA midfield early, and making that the spine of the team. Also his pre-game plans were generally good. However, I think it could be argued that in some ways we were lucky to advance out of the group. As much as we dominated England, we were lucky to hand on against Wales and Iran. Who knows what Greg's exact instructions were in the 2nd half of those 2 games; but, it sure seemed like he wanted to bunker, and we nearly paid for that. Not getting 3 points against Wales, in particular, really could have cost us. Add that to Greg's 'curious' roster construction, and seeming inability to make tactical adjustments during the game/at halftime and make impactful subs, and I'm not sure Greg's the guy. Also, as a rule of thumb, I think it's generally bad to stick with a coach for 2 consecutive world cup cycles. Too easy to stick with 'your guys' who have helped in the past. Much easier for a new coach to evaluate who may no longer be in form, or too old, etc.
Haji Wright is going to join Julian Green in the hall of "USMNT players who have scored in a World Cup and never gotten another World Cup call-up"
Haji might not get called up for future camps… we will see. But I think in this next cycle we need to look elsewhere.
Since 1990, the song has been the same. "We met a more experienced team and they scored their opportunities, and we didn't." I guess Donovan, Deuce and Lexi see that as progress. Please stop blowing sunshine up our butts. We aren't missing a piece or two from beating the #8 team in the world in a big match, we're missing several, and more importantly, we are lacking the attitude that the great teams have.
I agree that I think he thought he was offside. Which shows the difference between true killers like Ronaldo. Sometimes he'll be soooo far and blatantly offside, but he'll finish the goal because that is how you have to think. You have to play like you are always onside.