Gotta say...so far, I'm really unimpressed with the new USMNT coach. And his quotes after the game about "working hard" gave me some bad Jurgen flashbacks. xG was 0.68. That's not about working hard. Really disappointed about tonight. We need competitive games, and there goes another one. 2026 is gonna be bad at this rate.
So many things wrong with the USA program. A Thursday 4PM game in Inglewood, tickets were a doubleheader with the Mexico game, and they were expensive, who is paying a few hundred to watch this group? Should have been in the Rose Bowl with $30 seats available, get some support behind this team. It's been this way for far too long. As for the players and coach, I don't even know where to start anymore. But maybe if the place was sold out they would feel a little more pressure/pride...
I think this team is over-hyped and just not that good. IMO, the 2009 and 2010 teams were substantially better. You could tell by their inability to score in the first half, that they were setting themselves up for an upset loss.
Haven't really followed the team since the Landon days. When was the last time the team played greater than the sum of their parts?
Probably vs England in the last World Cup. Their best game of that tournament by far, even though they didn't score they had control over most of that match. Followed it up with a professional performance vs Iran but the lack of squad rotation and injuries caught up to them vs Holland.
This USMNT has no heart and they play without conviction. Forget about 2026 it's gonna be 3 and out at this rate.
Somewhere along the way, we lost that never quit attitude. While the talent has gone up, that gritty attitude has gone down, and I’m not quite sure how that can come back. Im not giving up on this team yet. I think we’ll see a much different team a year from now. Poch is a good coach. He has to figure something out.
This has been my feeling with the team after Landon's group and after Jurgen. Just very vanilla identity and don't stand for anything. Just all kind of NPCs on the field.
I think that is actually debatable. At some point the results are a true indicator of quality. We may just need to face the fact that this group is just not all that good, Pulisic aside..
And to be honest I’m still waiting for his performances in the red, white and blue. Great for his club side, tries to do way too much for the USMNT. He’s not a creator for the national team which drives me nuts.
Just watched the “highlights” from today’s third place game…the defending was bad. Couldn’t even win this third place game. And the guy contributing most to the attack….Diego Luna. SIGH. I am worried.
I’m so sick of hearing how “talented” this group of players is and all the amazing clubs they play for. If you aren’t going to show up and actually give a s!%* about playing for your national team, decline the invite. Talent is great, pride is better.— Landon Donovan (@landondonovan) March 24, 2025 Disastrous window. Absolutely no positives from it. No identity forming within the team. Not getting best out of Pulisic No creativity and 2 losses against sides your simply have to beat. Awful— keith costigan (@KeithCostigan) March 23, 2025 Thankfully there are 48 teams and automatic qualification for the 2026 World Cup because I’m not sure this @usmnt would qualify in the old format. How many of the players HAVE to play well to further their career both in earnings and club stature?! Do they HAVE to play well for…— Taylor Twellman (@TaylorTwellman) March 24, 2025 ^Normally don’t like Taylor, but he raises a good point. Don’t know if the USMNT would qualify with the old format. Rock bottom post World Cup. Sobering reality https://t.co/wlPtcaTHmY— Stu Holden (@stuholden) March 24, 2025
Have you seen Landon’s tweet? He basically says the same thing— he cares more about pride than talent, and yeah, he’s right.
It's a shame, because this is a group of prime aged players who have had plenty of time to gel. Berhalter got good results from them, except for the bad Copa America. Back to the drawing board for Pochetino - I hope he has some ideas. Maybe form an MLS group and practice them in the January/February window, because this group of Europeans doesn't currently have it. PS - I am speaking from no knowledge. Didn't watch these games. I hardly have missed any US games in years. Sigh.
Maybe the recently named squad will do better because it’s guys who actually want to be there. Pretty disappointed with some of our “famous” European players right now. hoping the ones that play in the Gold Cup demonstrate the pride and heart of the team that has eroded.
I think the problem is not enough gluten in their diet. All these gluten-free meals have robbed them of their killer instinct! Well, that and microplastics.
I'm not a fan of the whole "the players are soft" critique in general, but I'm pretty amazing Pulisic is skipping the last competitive games before we host the World Cup. This has been such a weird cycle.
Impossible to judge from outside, depending on the state of his injuries or wear and tear. Reminds me of when Claudio Reyna skipped qualifying, then when he tried to come back for the world cup it was pretty much a disaster, IIRC.
It's not ideal, but it wasn't that long ago that he seemed be constantly injured, so being cautious might be the wise, if unpopular, thing to do. Also, gives other players the opportunity to step up. Super nervous about the WC nevertheless....
I agree, I blamed Reyna at the time, but he also had to manage a demanding European career and an aging body. I don't blame Pulisic and hope it all works out, but we are not setting up well for this World Cup at all. It's a shame but nothing unusual in the world of international soccer.
Congrats to Harbor Miller and Ruben Ramos Jr who were both called up to the U19 team for this FIFA international window.
This ESPN article about depth includes both Nelson and Cerillo... https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_...art-ranking-top-15-position-gold-cup-analysis