Perhaps. Or they are pumping outrage to pump clicks. I think Jedi, Adams, & McKenzie are all equally at fault, if not more. Jedi certainly with the TO and the chance to foul. Mane beats Adams and McKenzie with the run. For me, Ream also could have tried to force him wide. He has help with Jedi chasing. Just slow him down and nudge him away from goal. Easier said than done. But all of ut put together isn't close to the MRob blunder on goal #2.
I have not seen their comments, other than Herc tweeting that he thought Poch was talking about Ream on that play, so all I am commenting on is 1. Who Poch was talking about and 2. Why. In the video showing Poch’s halftime talk it appeared to me (had only watched it on a big screen TV), and others, that Poch was pointing closer to where Mark is when he says, “Never stop Centerback. ‘It’s not my problem because it’s another player’s’. No in this moment go!” Reviewing it, when I pause the halftime video, right when Poch touches the screen at 1:40, it looks like the moment right after the assist is played and Mane is overtaking Mark. Based on comparing that to the broadcast angle it looks like Poch is pointing at/touching Mark (who is caught behind Mane and is higher and wider than Tyler).
Pulisic was also pretty lame after Jedi’s turnover as far as applying some/any kind of pressure to the player who started the sequence upfield.
One more vote for the proposition that there isn’t a set starting XI that Poch knows and may reveal vs Germany. I think it’ll come down to tactics on a game by game, opponent by opponent basis. This is what Arena did so well in 2002, where we changed personnel and formations every game with success every time but one (Poland). For me the most interesting thing is going to be the defense. One, will Richards start? I am astonished that he seems to be back, I’d been very pessimistic about it but glad to be wrong. Caution would say sit him to let the injury heal, but there’s also value to getting him at least some reps with the team prior to the big dance. Second, can we limit the kinds of mistakes that we made against Senegal in defense? Because if we turn over the ball, fail to cover, etc. then Germany will punish us ruthlessly where Senegal did only the once. Third, mildly interested to see who Poch puts in goal. Smart money is on Freese to start, but will he play him all 90 and then give Turner a shot? If the former that likely means Freese will be the starting goalkeeper for the WC (and I don’t see this changing between opponents unless whoever starts really shits the bed); if the latter it means that Poch is still undecided between the two.
100% disagree that those former USMNTers were pumping outrage. Conrad asked Davis to rate Ream and Charlie let out a breath and looked up. Jimmy then said that Ream made a few poor passes and Balboa chimed in and said i will help you out I'll give him a 5 and went on to to detail his poor play... Herc was a straight up detailed tactical breakdown of the entire play pointed out something I had missed when watching live. Jedi asked for the ball to be played behind him. Ream ignored him and played the ball in front of Jedi leading him into space with nowhere to go. To me it is not about who is at fault for the goal, it is afterall a team spoty. The issue is that our starting CB has to be able to step out and effectively engage an attacker in 1v1 duels and Ream is just not able to effectively handle that responsibility.
Gift article link for a short Henry Bushnell hype story: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/73...hared_gift_article_copylink&smid=url-share-ta "On the right, Sergiño Dest interchanged and connected brilliantly with Alex Freeman. Freeman’s ability to bomb up the wing but also tuck in as a proper defender, or even invert into midfield, complemented Dest’s on-ball wizardry. Freeman’s ability to sniff space and then burst forward from that midfield position led to the second U.S. goal. Senegalese heads were spinning." "Added Senegal coach Pape Thiaw: “(The U.S.) really put us in difficulty. We are a team that likes to have possession of the ball, and for a stretch there, we didn’t really have it. We couldn’t get a firm grip on the game. And that left us exposed on an individual level.”"
Freeman is playing with a lot of confidence; you can see it how much his game has been evolving in the last 9 months.
That's my though. Or at least the best coach I have worked with (a UEFA A licensed one) always said that first you need to delay. It's sort of useless if there is an unmarked runner. BTW, after further review I am retracting that Berhalter was at fault for the first goal. He was clearly given instructions to aid Ream the minute a runner challenges him and you can see it in the game. The runner should have been picked up by Adams or McKenzie.
That's supposing that these instructions are specific to help Ream. Unlikely, they are pretty standard now. Delay, cover passing lanes and then transition to press with numbers. The switch from delay to press looked off and so did the the tracking of the runner. Berhalter's press seems designed to push the winger wide. Seems reasonable.
I think you are correct. Ultimately McKenzie got beat, and that is on him. More pressure should have been applied to the ball, but honestly, I'm not sure Ream has it in him. A bridge too far. The big picture is that Mane is a world class player. 34 years old, but quality lasts.
They think Poch is yelling at Ream when it is probably McKenzie. Anyway, people are just seizing on this to try and make their Ream/Berhalter points, IMHO. When really, Jedi (the TO), and McKenzie/Adams are more at fault. But two of those guys aren't whipping boys. Could Ream have done better? Sure. But I think delay is the right play there rather than stepping out early. If you do that it is probably a yellow/professional foul. Do we want that in a friendly up 2-0? Aside from that, I was taught not to take the foul if we had numbers back. Trust your teammates, try & delay and usher the ball to a less dangerous area. We had numbers back. Delay & usher is the right choice, IMHO. More so up 2. The problem was he got beat inside and McKenzie/Adams got beat by Mane's speed on the run. Which is what Poch is yelling at.
I think a lot of guys have some fault, but in a game that matters, I agree with other posters, that is probably a yellow and a free kick. Also Freeman saw the entire field, ball and single runner and let Mane just run by him. Would have liked to see him take more imitative there.
One of the reasons it's fun to listen for little nuggests in podcasts. During covid he was on one of those orange peels type former USMNT/MLS'er podcasts, and one of his explanations of the disaster was that they had game planned for Poland's first XI, and after they got pulverized by Portugal on matchday 2, the coach basically fired the vast bulk of his starting XI, and went with a mostly brand new, highly underscouted squad that Bruce and his coaches just didn't know much about and weren't ready for. I still think the game turned on the idiotic decision of the ref to waive off a goal Landon scored, when a Polish godzilla sized CB pretended Donovan's 125 pound body soaking wet had smashed him to bits on his equalizer (we proceeded to scream at the refs as Poland countered and immediately scored to take a 2-0 lead) that play alone was a 2 goal swing in a game where we did score, and also hit the post. If that equalizer holds, I think we win or at least draw.
not only did he not do either...if you just focus on ream he looks like one of those videos where a guy in a michael myers mask is chasing someone. he looks like he is being chased. if he had just stepped up and made him at the very least run around him jedi or berhalter probably catch him.
So now ex USMNT players are trying to make a Ream/Berhalter point? How about Ream just steps out engaging the attacker, win the ball, at the very least cause the attacker to slow down enough to allow Jedi to provide help. That is what we would expect any other CB to do. Conrad also made the point that Ream is held to a very low standard. Not sure what Berhalter has to do with this?
German matchup preview. I will disagree with Charlie on Tah's pace given that Tah has been clocked at 35.8 kph a couple of years ago! Start at 25:00 for the German Lineup.
Some of this is down to a set lineup no having played together very much and lacking that kind of intuitive understanding of each other in a fluid game