Pre-match: Nations League: Grenada & El Salvador - 3/24 + 3/27

I will say too that part of it is our players' fault. If you know that's how it's going to go, play more quickly through that area of the field and get the ball off your feet. I think of Pulisic as the biggest culprit, but other guys do it too. If you receive the ball near midfield and take off dribbling, or even just take 3-4 touches looking for a pass, they will hack you down, because, like you said, there is no downside. If we played quicker in transition through the middle third and got the ball into the final third more quickly, then they have to think twice about hacking someone dribbling, because those free kicks can be dangerous (in theory...if we have someone who can hit a good cross on a free kick).

 

Good thing we don't have a victim mentality, if we did we'd be whining about the weather too.

 

Oh crap, is the weather supposed to be bad?

 

Nope.

https://www.wunderground.com/hourly/gd/st.-george's/date/2023-3-24

Low 80's, no rain

 

We don't?

 

Too warm, too dry - advantage, Grenada.

 

The weather conditions in El Salvador for the first game of Nations League were pretty relevant. Just like they were for Canada in the game they lost at Honduras in Nations League.

Weather conditions affect sporting events all the time so I’m not sure what the point you are trying to make is.

 

Road games no matter the federation are tough.
You can pick any smaller nation you want in Europe.
Look thru the last three years and they'll have caused a problem for a much bigger nation.

I'll pick one. Faroe Islands.

2022-2023 Nations League: Faroe Islands 2 Turkey 1

Grenada has a team of professional players. They won't be a pushover. They've already proven this against El Salvador. Should we expect to win? Sure. But we shouldn't expect it to be easy.
Road games aren't easy. That's why you want to play them, particularly with a young group.

 

Funny. Take them out to some local youth soccer fields which should be run down and bumpy.

 

Former USMNTer Owen Otasowie was even more insane than Dike.
The physique on that guy was utterly ridiculous. Too bad he fell off the face of the planet.

 

Dike isn’t just in shape and cut…dude is built like a 100-year burled oak. POWER.

 

Well, I think Owen Otasowie probably spent more time in the gym (and looking in the mirror) than on a soccer field training. Dike's is usable power.

 

Grenada's manager being named "Anthony Modeste" is kinda funny. When I saw his name on the US Soccer pre-match post about the game I did a double take... "I swear I JUST watched him in The Revierderby... when did he have time to get his coaching license? And why Grenada??"

 

grenada are "the spice boys"- theres a lot of funny in this matchup.

 

I'd split the matches with the intention of starting 3-5 players in both matches. Since the do or die El Salvador match is second but still can be impacted by the first match, Anthony Hudson cannot simply split the squad into two groups of 11.

Grenada:

--Pulisic-------Dike-------Reyna--
--LDLT----Cardoso---McKennie--
---ARob--Ream--MRob--Dest---
---------------Horvath---------------

El Salvador:

--Pulisic------Pepi------Booth--
--Aaronson--Musah--McKennie--
---ARob---Ream---McKenzie--Dest
---------------Turner---------------

1. I'm making some Earnie Stewart era assumptions on lineup (perpetual 4-3-3); if Hudson changes things around, then I would expect 4-2-3-1.
2. Since bygones are bygones, it's best to ease Reyna back in with the away match IMO. Perfectly fine to use him as a second half sub in the home match if necessary.
3. Turner doesn't need both matches, so I'd save him for the pivotal one.
4. Horvath is in a tricky position. I'd give him another go, but a second error like the El Salvador away match may be devastating for his US prospects.
5. I'd split the striker starts as well. I'm also open to the opposite order, as Dike should likely bully El Salvador.
6. Unless Scally flat-out looks better than a rusty Dest in training, I expect Antonee Robinson and Dest to start both matches.
7. Ream starts both but gets early substitutions if the US is significantly ahead. Same with Pulisic and the other first XI contenders, particularly against Grenada.
8. If Booth is healthy, then I expect him to start a match. Luca de la Torre has definitely earned a start as well.
9. Besides the 3rd goalkeeper, I don't expect the following players to start - Trusty, Scally, Reynolds, Sonora, Mihailovic, and Zendejas
10. With this squad of 24, I'm curious to see how Hudson handles the central midfield situation. Which player will fill a more defensive role? Johnny Cardoso likely gets the opportunity in at least 1 match.

 

• I'd be fine with camp dictating a lot of these assignment.
• Unless Reyna is rusty or still a little dinged up -- and he seems not to be the latter from the press conferences -- I'd treat him like any other player. I think that's important -- if he's killing it in camp, play him. There's no value to extended punishment here.
  
• I think Dike and Pepi are going to sub for each other anyway. We rarely play a striker 90.
  
• I think Scally should get a start at RB. If that's Grenada, that's fine. But I'd like to see him in a spot where he gets forward. It was his strength as a youth player, but he's cautious for BM and for the US. Let's get him out there where we can see what he's got.
• I'm interested to see where Hudson plays Booth. I suspect a backup stint at winger. Same with Djordje.
  
• With Adams out and against less talented competition, it's the ideal game to see a double pivot and 10.
  
• I want to see Sonora and Zendejas with some of the starters. Both highly skilled players -- does playing with better guys elevate them?

 

We lack lethal attackers, the record of our attacking players in Europe is meh, being honest. So whoever we play that is significantly weaker is going to bunker.

Latin teams know well who is dangerous in isolation. There's a lot of focus on dribbling and individual technique, so I expect El Salvador to try to erase Pulisic from the game. Christian is a very dangerous player for them, he could dribble his way into the net --El Salvador doesn't have great defenders, all the contrary: on their right side (likely the one facing Pulisic) they have Bryan Tamacas, a guy who is decent positionally but not agile. Peru destroyed that side with their dribbling and short-passing.

Their RCB is Eriq Zavaleta, who was another weak spot in the Peru game and scored an own goal, so he's not there this time and they're likely going to pair Cabalceta as the RCB with Ronald Rodriguez as the LCB. Cabalceta is slow, so that side is going to give them a lot of trouble.

We should have more than enough to defeat Grenada, and if Puli is having a good day, and gets played on the left, I don't see us having much trouble against El Salvador. Since I expect them to bunker, we may end the first half 0-0, but once the dam opens, it's going to be fine.

 

Interesting nugget from my chat today with USMNT striker Ricardo Pepi. Asked for a difference between Hudson & Berhalter: “In the attacking third, Anthony has told us that we have more freedom. If you feel & have the capacity to improvise something, he’s going to let you do it” pic.twitter.com/YnuEzcH0wZ

— Michele Giannone (@MicheleG3) March 22, 2023

 

Tactful reply. The soccer media in the US is going to become like the tabloids in England soon: "if you were on a boat in the middle of the Pacific stranded with Hudson and Berhalter, and you had to pick one of them to kill and eat, which one would you pick and why?"

 

Perhaps someone mentioned it already, but apparently Folarin Balogun is in Orlando.

 

Notably Tim Ream is a subscriber of MLS Season Pass on Apple

https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/miles-robinson-is-back-atlanta-united-defender-s-long-return-to-usmnt

Sitting next to the Boston-area native on Tuesday was Tim Ream, a fellow center back who years ago walked the path some expect Robinson to follow at the end of this season: moving from MLS to one of Europe’s biggest stages, in his case, the English Premier League with Fulham FC.

Turns out Ream’s been putting his MLS Season Pass subscription to good use, keeping tabs on the league’s USMNT contingent, with Robinson already turning heads with the apparent speed at which he’s found top form, or something close to it, in the 2023 campaign’s opening weeks.

“I've caught a few games – the perks of having Apple TV, now being able to watch him play and others play. And he looks back to the Miles that we all know, which is not always guaranteed after what he's gone through and the injury that he had,” said Ream.

 

I would prefer to keep the number of guys that I need to start both matches to about 3. You always want to leave a substitution or two in your pocket to manage the game, not burn them all to manage minutes.

Nevertheless, I think your thought process point-for-point is pretty sound. Well done.

 

It's all over Twitter, bet everybody knows by now.

Folarin Balogun is in Orlando, also the place where the USA National Team is these days 👀 pic.twitter.com/QvRnxLIEnw

— Arsenal Harmony ⚡ (@ArsenalHarmoni) March 22, 2023