Let us jist say as a hater, I voted along with everyone else to start Zardes on Sunday in tutul’s poll
I don't think this has been noted but I'm watching the replay and Gyasi was creating the pressure on the CB who made the bad pass which we intercepted which directly led to the goal.
The excuse given today by Gregg Berhalter that Gyasi is in pre-season form isn't acceptable. I know that Gyasi Zardes is one of Berhalter's guys and I have a high opinion of the player, but after today's performance against Canada, it's clear that he doesn't have what's necessary to thrive at the international level. It's time for Gyasi to hand over the #9 jersey to Ricardo Pepí.
My problem with GB is with the way he allocated opportunities to potential CFs in the player pool. It’s not Zardes’ fault that he gets so many more opportunities than others, or that the only other player to get a similar number of looks is banished for playing at a similar levels of medicority.
gyais doesnt fit in a small pitch with tight control and no space AT ALL this was the worst possible game for him how ggg looked at it as picking the striker who fit each game and came up with gyasi on a mini pitch boggles my mind woulda made more sense to play jesus vs canada and gyasi vs el salvador
I said this early on in the game thread, but this was a World Cup level match and it presented the kind of test we needed to observe Zardes in to see if he truly brings the value worth bringing to a World Cup. What exactly did he do today that successfully fulfilled Gregg's vision for the position?
Is there any level of suckitude that would keep Gregg from taking his boy Gyasi Zardes to the World Cup? If you're a Gregg defender and actually think Zardes isn't making his World Cup roster, speak now...
On the decision to start Zardes, "That was an easy one."— Kyle Bonagura (@BonaguraESPN) January 30, 2022
Zardes: 1 shot (blocked), 0.05 xG, 0.01 xA, 0 chances created in 69 minutes CANADA 2, #USMNT 0* Good: The US was super active in midfield* Bad: only 0.94 xG* Horrible: only 0.17 xG for shots on target* Zardes: 1 shot (blocked), 0.05 xG, 0.01 xA, 0 chances created in 69 minutes pic.twitter.com/RJpbBgnmg5— Bill Connelly (@ESPN_BillC) January 31, 2022
Scary but this is actually better than I remember… would have guessed aerials were below 50% 🇺🇸 Gyasi Zardes v. Canada• 0 shots• 0 key passes• 0 chances created• 1 successful dribble• 3/6 aerial duels won pic.twitter.com/LNNHIltY48— Matchday365 (@Matchday365) January 30, 2022
Assuming we qualify, I don’t think Zardes will make the final roster. I’ve been supportive of Gregg, so I guess that makes me your target audience.
noe of this is zardes's fault he shouldnt be on the roster and I wouldn't expect a player to turn down a callup like nagbe
Bet Pepi gets the start against Hondo. If Puli gets rested we may have finally a trident up front that clicks.
I'm convinced of the fact that Zardes is not put in the lineup to score goals. He is put into the lineup to make off-ball runs, to occupy defenders, to be physical, to win some aerial duels, and to link up with other attackers. The problem is that his technical limitations can kind of get in the way of linking up with other attackers. He is not fully suited for the role Berhalter has him in when he wants us to play a possession-dominating style. The issue is we have a No.9 problem in the pool—no one is head and shoulders above anyone else's pedestrian ability right now.
This is true. Zardes in good form is a better option than the other forwards if they are in poor form or in pre-season. There is a sort of form-neutral pecking order, however. And imo Zardes should be below Pepi and Sargent on that list. He should be roughly equal with Pefok, Ferreira and Dike. And some of the others who should have been given looks at center forward but for whatever reason haven't (Weah, Hoppe, Morris). And of course, the obvious bears repeating. Zardes is not in good form at the moment. He is in pre-season form. And given that should not be starting a WC qualifier. Imo Pepi and Sargent (indifferent though their current form may be) should be getting the starts this window.
Zardes- Good form? His best scoring is when a ball inadvertently bounces off his dome and goes into goal. He is without a doubt one of the most technically deficient CF's I've ever seen. Sure, he will work hard for 90+ minutes if you ask him to and he has decent pace, but he's got bricks for feet. His first touch has always been god awful and that's never changed. One of the main differences between Zardes and all the other forwards you've mentioned is they haven't had the innumerable opportunities that Zardes has had and used to prove he has no business on this team. If you can't see that by now, I don't know how to help you!
I don’t see how Zardes is in better form in his offseason than any of the alternatives. Certainly if we want goals from that spot Pefok and Dike (up to the injury) were in better form. I don’t think that if you count all the non-scoring aspects of okaying CF he is in better form than Sarge. And if not playing isn’t a bar to a call up I would still like to see what Hoppe can do at CF, since that has never been tried.
If they changed the rules that teams qualify and win games at the world cup dominating possession rather than scoring goals, I'm fully on board with this. If we don't have any strikers better than the others, I'd prefer to select the ones in season.