After that truly great performance all over the field, what do we expect in the future? Much of this same group of players that thrilled us last night also gave us the embarrasment of the Haiti and Confed Cup matches. We were able to realize our potential last night, but how often will we play that well in the future? And how many of us really expected that performance? Will we be able to replay this style vs Brazil, Holland, etc? or will Mexico get their act together and push us deep into our end of the field like they have done up until now. Or will things fall somewhere in between? Our top notch performances (eg. this game, Germany 02) are too few and too far between. But we are headed in the right direction. Thoughts?
This game was more than anything a display of capitalizing on the advantages instead of p.i.ssing them away. The Mexicans were on their heals and we were able to hold possesion, sting passes together and generally attack at will. We still need that finishing touch but this is really the first time I've seen that when the oppenent gives us the space we don't shoot ourselves in the foot. It will definitley give us confidence.
It may have been many of the same players, but there were at least a couple significant differences. 1) Formation / strategy -- we played a different formation / strategy and players put in different positions and were given different instructions by Arena than in the previous situations. Last nights strategy / formation seemed to fit these players strengths much better than the previous formation / strategy. 2) The players are now in their seasons (unlike Haiti) and are much sharper.
I agree with both points here. Also, I think we need to understand that Bruce is going to enjoy a benefit in this cycle that he didn't have last time- 4 more years of seeing many of these players. I believe that our player pool is deeper and more skilled than ever in our history, and Bruce's experimentation over the last 6 years is a big factor in that. As for the formation, I am extremely excited to see that we have a squad, for perhaps the first time ever, that can go into each game with a different formation/strategy, and have the players to put on the field to accomplish the mission. Seriously folks, look at the players who will be on our bench in 2006. We are developing into a serious national team in terms of depth and competition among players for minutes. All good stuff, and if we get too caught up in one formation or strategy ( I have been guilty of pushing the 3-5-2) we'll be disappointed. That's all I've got for now.....