Just curious, how many teams make it to any Finals without any sort of luck and 1 or 2 players putting the team on their back? That seems to pretty much be the formula for every team that has ever won some kind of championship. Jordan, Lebron, Brady, etc (Zidane pretty much single handedly beat Brazil in the WC finals back in 98!)
Actually, part of the criticism is that Berhalter put together a collection of players that we are told shouldn't be expected to perform well. Here's the deal: The USMNT coach is responsible for the performance of the USMNT and if he assembles a squad that hobbles and wins but unconvincingly, then that's not a great performance from the coach. Reaching the final really is the minimum acceptable performance for any USMNT coach, and he has cleared that with his selected players
You do realize that the next stoppage after the potential PK was the goal?—did you really want them to take back the goal to give the US a PK??? (Yes, they can stop play for a review, but there really wasn’t relaxed play.)
It is if we cant score two, or at least one and get lucky in PKs, which seemingly we nearly can’t. Which is kind of the point
I was explaining what I heard/read about why Berhalter got in the 4th ref's face after the goal. He was pissed at the lack of a call and basically taunted the ref that we scored.
for those complaining about his selections, please be specific. I get Lewis; he’s not even a standout in MLS. Pines too; yes, he’s young. Selecting a young center back to see if he can hack it at the next level is a good idea. Was Pines the best choice? The squad in this Gold Cup was always going to be a b or c team, because the a team is in Europe, Whenever a poster lists everything that goes our way as luck while ignoring everything that doesn’t go our way, or vice versa, they’re trying to win an argument, not discuss an issue.
For me, it was Lewis, Yueill, and having such a thin pool of wingers. I get Yueill now-Berhalter was taking one last chance to see if he could make it work at this level. However, the other two items left us in a tough spot offensively. Berhalter should have recognized the issue with roster construction from the Olympics (and let’s be clear, he had a big hand in that process despite Kreis coaching the team) and corrected that for the Gold Cup. It is fair to give Berhalter credit for what he’s doing well while still expecting improvement in other areas. I’ll continue to want more variety and creativity on attack, as I still contend that all USMNT teams have not been as effective as the sum of the talent. Get that right, and we have something really good cooking here.
We all know when a team wins because they've created numerous chances and more than the opposition and when a team is out played, out shot, but still wins because their one half chance goes in. The US-Qatar match was textbook smash and grab. The US was outshot 17-6 and the xG was hugely lopsided. Qatar missed a PK, which is a low probability event and got two absurd saves to keep Qatar from being up 3-0 by the 60' minute. After a lot of ineffectual passing, the U.S. snatched a goal on a half chance. There's no way to describe taht as anything but luck. Kind of similarly against Canada, where the U.S. scored early and created nearly nothing from the next 85 minutes while Canada repeatedly came close on decent chances. Jamaica was better, but still extremely unconvincing going forward. The fact of the matter is that the U.S, both at the "A team" level and this team, to create real chances going forward. There is a LOT of pretty meaningless possession but the attack is frequently quite toothless against solid opposition. As for the selection, USSF made a choice not to call up European players. If they lose doing that, then that's a loss and a poor reflection on the federation. yes, the timing is screwy. if England or Italy decided to send their C team to the Euros, that coach would be roasted alive by the fans. But in the US?
Depends on how much pressure is brought to bear, frankly. We're not discussing whether he will be fired, but whether he should be. Berhalter is a pretty bad manager. We have a solid generation of talent, and it is being hamstrung by an inept manager hired because of nepotism rather than ability. That's simply the reality of it.
I am reserving my judgment until the Ocho. If this team plays well then there is no way I can agree with you on your depiction of reality.
Italy and England can’t run out a B team at the Euro and still be a virtual lock to make the final. Add in the fact that the Gold Cup is every two years and there’s just no way to make U.S. fans care as much. Heck, even without COVID schedule concerns many U.S. fans say they’d rather see young unproven players at the Gold Cup while the A team focuses on more “important” things.
Oh, agreed. Now ask yourself, how much confidence do you have they will play well based on what you have seen in the last two years i would be thrilled to be proven wrong and see Berhalter produce the great soccer we know this generation can produce.
We have some good young players. The way the schedule sets up is not bad either. I would say my confidence level is at a 7 outta 10.
The point isnt to make the final. The point is to WIN the final. But I guess US fans have internalized their inherently being second to Mexico. Kind of a trash attitude if you ask me.
Getting El Salvador and Honduras on the road Early when they are still going through some COVID craziness helps me in my confidence. Good to get them out of the way early in front of what will not be full capacity stadiums.
I haven't been watching GB as long as some others here, but the trend I notice is that he seems to evolve in the right directions slowly. Overall, his game plans seem better adapted to the talent he has, and to the opponent, than they used to be. He septillion makes fewer in game tactical adjustments than a lot of others would like, but he doesn’t seem as rigid about people and formations as he used to be. Beyond the first 15, player selection is still a problem, and players that could help us much more than the ones he calls up don’t get looks. That is still frustrating. Hopefully WCQ will speed and improve the winnowing process before 2022.
I tend to agree we should always be at the Gold Cup to win but you can’t just make others care. See the 2017 win over Jamaica. Probably the least celebrated trophy win you’ll ever see when it comes to the U.S. Many fans even seem to look back on that tournament with anger given what happened soon after in qualifying.
I've said this on a few other occasions before, but I'd MUCH rather see a summer international cycle look like this. I don't like the Gold Cup being every other year, but CONCACAF's gonna CONCACAF. There's just too much money for them. Year 0 - World Cup Year 1 - Some sort of friendly invitational tournament like the SheBelieves Cup for the women. There could be multiple events like this around the world, kind of like how there are a number of Thanksgiving college basketball tournaments that have a team from each conference playing (NIT, Maui, Las Vegas, Atlantis, Disney World, etc.). Year 2 - Continental event - Euros, Copa America, Gold Cup Year 3 - World Cup qualifiers Year 4 - Next World Cup The "Year 1" event should be exclusively for looking at the next generation of talent and to try out different tactics, etc.
Some older fans may remember this but there was an invitational Cup called the U.S. Cup for the Men. I used to love watching the games on ABC. Would be fun if they brought it back in some form.