What??? You’re comparing central midfielders to 2 forwards and a defender??? The lack of Scally time was the decision I’d most like to shoot up GGG with truth serum for and ask why. It’s one thing to use Yedlin to protect a result. It’s understandable. If it’s a good or bad decision, it’s marginal either way. Using him rather than Scally to chase a result is bonkers.
I think Greg would say he trusted Yedlin more than Scally. You can disagree with that; I would have liked to see Scally play. But coaches always make these decisions. That's their job.
Could add Acosta in there. You can move guys around a bit, and there's a choice of how many defenders you want to play. I'd have personally played a lot more in this tournament with no striker, and played Weston on the wing. Some teams play with 3 at the back (the Dutch), & we had 5 at the back vs. Iran. Aaronson/McKennie/Reyna are pretty versatile. But, its really the Reyna omission that was painful. Everything else was 2nd order mistakes about subs.
Most fans would have started Reyna. So, you think Ferreira deserved a start? And he played well, even in retrospect?
In the end it's about personal decisions based on personal logic. If one of us were the manager, the rest of BigSoccer would hate each decision we make too. I had to congratulate Klinsmann for getting out of group in Brazil, same here: both did better than expected, all things considered.
I've seen this a few places and I do not think it's a badge of honor or indicates the US has 'advanced' as a soccer nation... It is exactly how the Dutch treated Senegal/Ecaudor. It is exactly what their game plan has been: they do not have the top end talent to go blow for blow with the Spain, France, Brazil, Argentina. LvG has a strategy of playing slow, absorbing as a tactic to win the whole thing. He's coaching for the tournament as a whole-- Not to beat the US. This was painfully obvious before the match. The US would be the aggressor and the Dutch would use their inexperience against them. The fact that Berhalter didn't make any adjustments and thought with the same exhausted XI we could beat them is total arrogance. THIS is my issue with Gregg and the game yesterday. He played in that '02 R16 match! I was hoping he woulda taken a page out of Bruce's book.
How do you know i haven't met him? Hating a coach doesn't make somebody unhinged. I have never met fans like you guys. Most fans get upset when a coach makes poor player selections.
I think the "run players into the ground" was the only real option. If our group order would have been Wales/Iran/England instead of W/E/I perhaps we could have rested guys in the third match. There is a lot to be said for depth, but there is nothing better than being able to rest guys for a match. Can't really blame Egg for this. I still think he made enough mistakes and showed a general naivety to be evidence as to why we need someone else. I doubt the Fed sides with me on that. Watching France today shows why that game off that the stronger sides can give their players is massive. Hell, France is missing the Ballon d'Or and look like they are going right back to the final. We simply don't have that depth.
Thanks! The over usage of MLS players isnt just on Berhalter, but the federation as a whole. They are killing off fans. Four years and Berhalter couldn't find one MLS player to have a good WC.
Total recency bias, but Louis van Gaal after seeing his game-plan dismantle us in the last game. I'm not normally someone who spends a ton of time dissecting tactics, but even I quickly started to see how he'd instructed the Dutch team to play. His read of our strengths and weaknesses was incisive and precise. It was like a quick thrust of a knife to a primary artery in a street fight. We could use that level of tactical ability between now and 2026.
Wait, you honestly believe that Berhalter gives any thought whatsoever as to what his roster decisions might do for a given player’s ability to sign a better contract? Because, if so, you’re nuts.
Running MMA into the ground was absolutely our best strategy to get out of the group. If we had played otherwise, odds are we lose, possibly in a big and embarrassing way, to England. We might not have squeezed past Iran and Wales either. The idea that we have some deep bench that would play other teams off the field just goes to show that fan expectations are WAY ahead of reality. Our depth is perhaps better than it's been in the past, but we are several decades/generations off from the big teams of the world. Fan expectations are so out of whack. No doubt it is related to the internet and our obsession with immediate gratification.
The overinflated expectations of a certain subset of the USMNT fan base is puzzling. They live in some alternate reality where, if the coach refused to bring any MLS players to the big dance, he’d be able to find higher quality replacements easily. Sure, reasonable people can disagree around the edges, like maybe there’s some guy playing in Denmark that should have come versus some dude playing for Dallas, or whatever. But, the player pool is what it is, and there aren’t enough under appreciated Americans playing abroad that would be an improvement over the MLS players on the roster. And fans need to internalize that the US is a team that can only expect to go beyond the round of 16 if a lot of things align our way.
he tried sooooooooo hard too..... it's honestly pathetic. and to think most on this forum cant even see it for what it is.....
I don't agree at all with the fact we got dismantled, embarrassed, etc. We lost, that's it. They were more clinical in their finishing. Pulisic had a golden opportunity and Ream missed from basically the goal line. Their 3rd goal was a bad mistake by a very tired Jedi and their 2nd goal was in the last minute of the first half. They were the better team. It's ok to say that without any unnecessary hyperbole. If you want to use words like dismantled or whatever show some data that backs it up. I just don't see it.
Dismantled was a wrong choice of words. We didn't get embarrassed by any stretch of the imagination. My intent was simply to say that we faced a coach who, from the sidelines, was able to effectively see who we are and put together a game plan that would amplify our weaknesses and negate our strengths. That's good coaching.
And, btw, I've made the point to my wife that if Pulisic's first shot went in, the complexion of the game might have changed and the Dutch might not have adhered to their game plan as well. In my bones, I feel if we'd scored first we would have won the game. I suspect our guys would have been flying so high they would have attacked the Dutch goal with a vengeance to get a second. It is a game of inches.
There are plenty of good teams, who I think might have beaten us, who didn't make it to the round of 16. For example, Cameroon. From what I saw, that was a technical and athletic strong team. I was a little surprised they didn't make it out of the group.
I have no idea why they prioritized MLS players all cycle. I think it is a horrible look for the league. MLS fans will shout at you about how much the league has improved, but Americans in the league shouldn't be playing international soccer. If you think they should, you're nuts!
Yes. And LVG shows how important experience is, for the coach and player. He is one of the all time greats and there's no shame is being out coached by him, hundreds of managers have been. He's coached Ajax, ManU, Barcelona, etc. How many managers can match his resume? But for those saying he should coach us next, 1) look at where he's coached, it's all been massively talented teams. Can he adjust to our player pool? 2) As the Dutch coach he hasn't had to travel far to scout, all the players play close to each other. Like it or not, a large contingent of our players will be playing in MLS and Europe. And these concerns are for any big European coach. Pep is great but he's always coached amazing talent. That doesn't guarantee he can make the US better.
As has been pointed out upthread, Berhalter brought fewer MLS players than past coaches. There’s no real evidence that he places priority on MLS players. MLS is home to dozens of American soccer players. A coach would need to be a moron to completely ignore that playerbase. Whatever coach replaces Berhalter in the future will continue to bring MLS players to the WC.
I'd be ok getting rid of all those MLS players, but there could be smaller roles for some of them. We could have had a much more talented roster. Here is a quick list of players who might have been upgrades. Before you dismiss any of them remember that Long and Roldan were on the bench. Steffen, Brooks, EPB, Mckenzie, Ledezma, Holmes, Mendez, Tillman, Tillman, Pepi, Pefok,