I have other thoughts but my primary one is it’s good to see Mike’s Robinson back and looking like his old self. I thought he played really well and he’s a good partner for Ream given how much ground he can cover. Long term Richards and Robinson seem like our pairing with the highest potential, but I don’t know if they are there quite yet.
Weird game. I watched it recorded. And it was totally different than what I expected from online. I didn't think we played that badly in the first half. I actually thought we played well. Then we hit the gas at halftime and had a strong second half. That being said, the old problems are sticking around. A 1-0 final score. Too much reliance on crosses. Not enough ideas.
Miles Robinson and Pepi the big winners, Reyna the third one in the MOTM conversation... Guys like LDLT Booth (aside from all the bad crosses over both games) Zendejas and Johnny showed we have some depth now... Was Alan Sonora the only field player who didn't play? This after not looking so great in the January camp games, and his reported move to Montreal falling apart and ending up in Juarez with his brother. Dike needs to hit the gym LESS... carrying around all that hurts his speed and maneuverability
Lots of bad touches from unexpected areas, but otherwise a solid performance. Particularly played well building out of the back in the second half, putting pressure on their defense (but not closing the deal, except for Pepi). Strong pressing forced ES to just boot it over our midfield, too little benefit. Solid if not inspiring performance.
Yeah that's where I thought Reyna gives that other dimension the others can't. You can see he does give and go or tries to split defense. It's just something he does to create that extra space. The trust to give him the ball more often is still not there yet.
Aidan Morris didn't look great in January camp but has started off the MLS season well. Do we not think Johnny Cardoso has the speed or range? Wonder if Noel Buck could do the job... US Soccer has had no contact with Amir Richardson
Wes was better than what many are saying. He was involved all over the pitch, so of course he had some things not come off. Top were Miles, Pepi, Wes, Gio and Dest for me.
Pepi San Pepi vs El Salvador[Thanks to alter ego @USMNTComps] pic.twitter.com/ugWg48aDHE— Kranks (@dis_possessed) March 28, 2023
He was completely dominant defensively. He’s able to mark and pressure so closely on the edge because he’s too strong and fast to get turned that balls played to his man often end the possession for the opposition. He’s become one of the best defensive LBs in the world. He’s generally poor on the ball. But better than Yedlin. I can live with that. If he holds up physically I still think he’s 60% to retain the starting gig in 26.
I didn't see the game, so can't comment on the performance of players. ...............but almost all of El Salvador's matches are tight affairs. 1-0 win over El Salvador? I'll take it. Survive and advance.
Pepi now has swag. He’s genuinely composed in front of goal. He’s reading the game and things have slowed down for him. His touch is where it needs to be. It’s amazing what scoring goals can do for a striker’s confidence, isn’t it?
I may be crazier than you - I’ve been thinking Richards. We don’t have another Adams, and we won’t in three years, so we’ll have to make someone a conversion project.
Whether by design or not, Jedi was often a focal point in the offense last cycle, at times to the degree where it seemed like the entire attack was built around him. Personally, I feel this was a problem. If he is going to be the starter again this cycle, the next coach is going to need to find a way to integrate him in a way that maximizes his strengths and limits those liabilities on the ball IMO.
He does look pretty confident at the moment. Young strikers seem to ebb and flow so we will see if he sustains it but you gotta feel happy for the kid.
Random thoughts: --Pepi is now the starting forward. The goals have been welcome, obviously, but I also thought he did reasonably well in the build-up and showed good movement in the final third even when he didn't score (he could have had two more last night). --I really want to like Dike, but he just hasn't made a difference for the US outside of that Costa Rica friendly and GC game against Martinique. I've seen him play well against teams at the top of the Championship, so I don't think El Salvador is just beyond his level or anything. I'm not sure what explains his ineffectiveness with the Nats, though his teammates didn't exactly provide good service in the first half last night. --Reyna was pretty good. In the first half, he seemed to be about the only one who had a good touch, played at a quicker tempo, and was making good decisions with the ball. --I still worry about defensive shape and aptitude with that central midfield. Maybe something like Adams-McKennie-Reyna when Adams is available? --I thought Booth showed promise but was over eager or jittery or something. Just pressing a little too hard and not looking calm on the ball. I think he can be good if he settles in a bit at this level. --Against CONCACAF teams other than Mexico and Canada, the US depth makes it really hard for teams to hang with them. Bringing on a fresh Pepi and Aaronson and then De la Torre and Booth tilted the game irreversibly in the US's favor with their skill and work rate. Even if El Salvador can keep things pretty even for 50-60 minutes, they're almost bound to cave once the starters begin to flag and subs start coming on..
He's not flying all over the pitch like he used to but he's added a nice 40-60 yard pass to his repertoire.
Actually a bit surprised how well received this performance seems to be. I was certainly hoping for more than scraping out a 1-0 win. I think we learned a few things from the game with a real mixed bag of performances. Overall, as a team, I think what stood out to me was how much better this team works when guys are willing to get the ball off their feet quicker. Those stretches where every player has to take 3-4 meaningless touches before passing it destroys the buildup, gives no sense of urgency and just generally slows the play down. That has to stop, or this team is never going to do much in the attack. Up top, Pepi is clearly a better option than Dike for this team. Dike has the advantage of being big and strong in the air, but we seldom put in high balls that he can fight for and his ability on the ball and movement is lacking. After Pulisic looking like the star he can be against Grenada he followed it up with one of his worst performances. I think the first half when everyone was looking to play through him, it was hopeless. No biggie, everyone has a bad game now and then, but this was one of his worst. Zendejas was also ineffective, so we got little from the wings through most of the first half and considering that's our primary path into attack, it hurt. Aaronson and Booth were both improvements even if neither was spectacular. Was happy to see an improved Booth after a poor first game. Midfield saw a much-improved performance from Reyna with more improvements as the game wore on. The more he finds space forward and the less he comes back and clogs up the buildup, the better. He has to trust his teammates to find him in better positions and he has to get into space so they can. When he does, we are a dangerous team. When he doesn't it falls flat. McKennie continues his mode as a big play guy who is too sloppy for stretches. But he was a physical presence out there and that pass for the goal was beautiful. Musah had a mediocre game. Not a lot of glaring mistakes but brought little positive either. Luca wasn't much better. Johnny wasn't on long enough to say much about. In back, a poor outing by Jedi. I'm honestly not sure Scalley or someone who would stay home more isn't a better option. I mean, for the guy taking players on the dribble down the left, wouldn't we prefer that to be Pulisic and keep the fullback out of the way? I'm starting to think crowding out your best dribbler for a fullback to always drive straight ahead may not be the best option for this team. Dest was better and less single minded, more able to pass and combine. Both center backs were fine with Robinson looking really sharp after such a long layoff. Him and Chris Richards are going to be in a battle for a position back there this cycle. Turner was fine and made one solid save early. Distribution was solid. Overall, a much better second half but still not a great performance. That first half was ugly and I think the whole game points out how much this team struggles whenever Pulisic is off his game. We have some depth developing but at the top end of things, Pulisic is still the star, and we need him to be dangerous. Reyna could get there and has his moments, but we need Pulisic to be dangerous or we struggle to create. That said, get him off free kicks. I don't expect perfection, but we have not been even close to good on set pieces for several years of Pulisic taking just about every one. You can't really argue with such poor results over such a long timespan. Whoever ends up the coach needs to have the nerve to tell him to leave them to others, star player or not.
Loved what Booth has been doing for Utrecht and was hoping to see some of that with the USMNT but unlike most on here I thought he was subpar this window. Looked like he was trying too hard, but his crossing (many times while being wide open on the wing) in general was terrible. Dike disappointed as well but I'll give credit to ES for their effort, they made things difficult. Aside from Miles, Pepi and Reyna (just due to his calmness on the ball) I don't think anyone looked good out there last minute. Glad we won but not seeing the positives most seem to be talking about, Hugo Perez won the night IMO.
@nobody When you say Scally might stay hoe more, do you mean Jedi is too rakish? We need a manager sooner, rather than later, and yes, someone with the nerve to tell Pulisic we're heading in a different direction on free kicks. And by extension, we need a manager who is going to take a fresh look at the pool and not (continue to) run it as something of a fraternity. Pulisic will remain as a starter and a key element, but ideally not the end-all-and-be-all. The folly this time was playing Pulisic - not truly in game shape imo - so much at Grenada. Pulling him at HT, up 1-4) was the way to go, if he 'had' to start/play in that one. Dest is not in game shape, either, but he (properly) got the night off in Grenada. Resting the entire back line paid dividends, at least in terms of energy. Echoing the comments of many, I thought we were very sloppy for much of the game, especially in the first half. Pepi brought his intensity this weekend, exactly what the team needed. Too bad he wasn't available for the World Cup.