Tim Melia needs to be one of our 3 goalkeepers for penalty shootouts alone. He is an absolute killer between the pipes. Wondo didnt sound like a man who was done. He will be back next year I think
well there certainly hasnt been many stinkers in the playoffs so far. Dallas-Portland game is a fun one too
Ricardo Pepi answers the bell. Pretty clutch performance for 17, and a clear step forward in professional growth. Congrats young man, you had a day to remember.
Correct. They weren’t overly nervous making all kinds of poor touches and being too cautious. Instead I think they may have been overly amped leading to them trying too much instead of just doing what they have done all season. Philly will be tough without Ruan or Mouthino.
Tough break for Portland. Blanco, Niezgoda, and Asprilla were out. At least Ebobisse made the bench. He'd missed the previous 6 weeks with a concussion. Williamson left the game with an injury. Farfan should be available.
Pepi looked fantastic last night. All over the place, scoring the tying goal, almost scoring a go ahead and burying his penalty.
Williamson was the most impressive of all the US eligible CMs that I saw the last 3 days. If GB is smart enough to continue to play the type of 4-3-3 that we saw in our last 2 friendlies then Williamson is the only player i saw with the attributes to backup and compliment the Weston, Adams, and Musah trio. Aaronson would be the other choice but he plays tomorrow!
Parks, Dotson, Williamson, Amaya, and Aaronson are solid candidates for the 8 roles. In terms of goals and assists, however, Williamson is the best 8 in the league. In terms of overall play he has been one of the best. Bassett and Busio could be there in another year.
Williamson seems to be ready right now and could be the backup at all three midfield spots. I hope he isn't seriously hurt. Somebody needs to explain how he exploded on the scene. It's not like the teens who grow into their frames or something.
So we'll be able to have any of the Union players we want. They were dominated by NE tonight. Looked really bad, IMO. Good news for the MNT vs El Salvador I guess.
Maybe DeJuan Jones makes a run at LB for Olympic Qualifying. He's right-footed but has been getting plenty of experience on the left.
I watched the Nashville/Toronto game pretty closely and had Philly/NE on in the background as I was doing work, and my impression was that the best US-eligible player on these four teams was Zimmerman. He totally nullified Altidore and then Akinola when he subbed in. Since the first game went to extra time, I didn't switch over to Philly/NE until it was already almost halftime. From what I saw, Philly as a whole was sluggish and never very dangerous. Aaronson was subbed relatively early and didn't do much in the ~20 minutes I saw of him.
No I don't have IE on ignore Not much of a half from the youngster. Is it me, or does Morris looks quicker than usual?
He looks a little more cheeky/deft than usual, using subtle fakes, and chipped balls to get out of traps. Morris is more crafty w/ the ball than given credit for. But yea, he's extra sharp tonight, as he typically is in the biggest games for club & country. Edit: Hasn't been the same in the 2nd half, & just missed a golden opportunity.
Morris with the dagger. Bounced back nicely after that semi-sitter miss. Jordan Morris makes it 3-1! #sounders #lafc ##MLSCupPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/Nom57PQhHh— Stateside Soccer Show (@StatesideShow) November 25, 2020 Goal & assist. Should have had another goal. Teammate should have finished for a 2nd assist.
This raises an interesting question going forward. One thing I've been considering is whether for tournaments Berhalter should pick the best 23 or if there should be situational players and specialists. In the deeper past this hasn't been an issue, because there was too much risk of getting exposed. But Klinsmann did at least a little of this (Brad Davis as a dead ball specialist). It leads to a lot of interesting ideas. I've long wondered if Tyler Adams might not end up as a surprise omission because he and McKennie are somewhat similar players and the bench would need too many specialists to have such duplication. (For other reasons that I won't go into here, I don't think that anymore. ). A goalkeeper for PKs was not one I had considered and might be a good idea. Although isn't Steffen excellent at PKs?