I really don't think Pulisic is very good at free kicks. As I have mentioned before, I think he's ok, but the main reason he takes them is because hes not good being on the receiving end of them. He's too short.
Yep, the "too short" excuse doesn't cut it. Cristian Roldan is not as tall as Pulisic, yet he had 3 "flick-on" assists off corner kicks last year, and he also headed home a corner against RSL last weekend (despite not having superior jumping capability).
The point is, there are other roles if Pulisic isn't a suitable primary target on corner kicks. He could be a decoy, or he could play further back to defend against opposition counterattacks. That type of planning is more attractive than anointing Pulisic as the corner/free kick taker just because he's the "least worst" option. Better to get a more surgical set piece guy out there.
Sebastian Berhalter is hands down the best free kick taker we've got. He's started this season in the same form he was in last season. The guy is gunning for a WC spot, and I think he'll get it. I have no idea what sort of playing time he might get, given the very stiff competition for midfield minutes in the squad. Nonetheless, the dude drops dime after dime after dime, and not just on free kicks. I compare him to Beckham for England--many people said he was not the best field player available for the position, but that his free kicks outweighed the negatives. I don't know if Poch will agree, but I suspect he values Berhalter's set pieces more than many on BS seem to.
Goals are gold and if the coaches think he gives a better chance of the team scoring them while not giving up more when he's on the field he's got a chance.
If that's the really the case, then Berhalter will definitely make the WC roster. Because I feel certain that we'll score off of his work at some point in the tournament, and probably more than once.
Yes, quite likely. I just hate the idea of having to defend with him for long stretches, and I don't like putting him in the high or peripheral spots that should belong to the likes of McKennie/Tillman/Weah.
Robinson's in-swinging corner yesterday was excellent, and I can't recall him ever taking them for Fulham. (His right footed strike from distance wasn't half bad either!) If you need knuckle maybe its Weah or Robinson. But if its a straight up classic shooting chance among the starters, I think its Dest, hands down. Berhalter and Aaronson both with a shout, in that order, if they are on the field.
For me, there were four noteworthy set pieces over this window. The first was Malik Tillman's right-footed in-swinging corner against Belgium that bounced to Weston McKennie, who chest-trapped it and then forced a save. It appeared to be aimed toward Tessmann toward the near post, but either Malik missed the target, or Tessmann was merely a decoy to redirect a header toward the far post. I think Poch in his post-match interview was referring to this chance as one of those that should've been a goal. That's a harsh opinion IMO, unless you think McKennie could've taken the shot first-time with a header. The second was Antonee Robinson's lefty in-swinger that McKennie ghosted around a defender for a nice tap-in. For whatever reason, Weston always seemed to be able to get open on these corner kicks. The third set piece was Sebastian Berhalter's in-swinging righty corner in the Portugal game. McKennie had a free header that went wide at the far post. This one IMO should've gone into the back of the net and changed the story of the game, as I think it was still scoreless at this point. Seb gets a lot of criticism on the NT boards, but he'd probably be seen in a better light if the guys on the other end of his crosses would convert. (In the South Korea loss, he sent in a free kick that figuratively *and* literally landed in Chris Richards's lap. If Richards puts that one in, maybe the team actually rallies and pulls out a result from that game.) The last one was a free kick near the goal line after McKennie got fouled. Berhalter and Robinson were standing over the ball, but instead of sending in a short cross, Berhalter (I think) sent a low pass back to Christian Pulisic, who first-timed the ball wide of the near post. The force-feeding of Pulisic against Portugal was over-the-top, and I really hope we don't have to see that again in the final two pre-WC friendlies.