The USMNT 26-man roster for World Cup 2022 announced p80 #1991

Here is an analysis of Vazquez that argues that he may be benefiting from a creative 10 and striker partner at Cincinnati, which won’t be there for the national team. Given whose analysis this is, there’s probably a pretty good chance that it won’t be addressed on the merits here by Vazquez defenders. But I thought it was a relevant point. It will be interesting to see how he does in the Gregg system. I certainly like his game in MLS, but we do leave strikers alone on an island on the national team.

 

You think that Lucho is the one feeding Vasquez those passes? Most of his goals, have come off crosses from the wings. He'll be playing with Pulisic, Weah, Musah and one of Reyna/Brenden/Luca.

 

Did you listen?

 

Listen to what?

 

are you being serious? Never mind then.

 

There's no link.

 

hahaha

 

Is the link to the youtube file in my original post not showing up for everyone as it is for me?

 

The YouTube file I referenced and linked in my post.

 

Not sure why it doesn’t show up for others as it does for me. I will try again.



Can you see it now?

 

I listened to this already. People should stop listening, after Pete says that he's only seen 1 of his games.

 

Called it

 

What?

 

Ad hominem response that doesn’t address the underlying points about the differences in the striker roles (club v Nats) being made in the vid

 

I'm not sure if Tact has seen more than 1 of Cinci's games but Pete is not qualified, to really say anything about Vasquez.

I listened to the whole thing, before this video came out. Our 9, is a position that we desperately need to fill. Give Vasquez a call up, then we can talk about whether or not he's good enough.

 

The level of passive-aggressive shit you put out there is ridiculous. Are there even "Vazquez Defenders"? It seems to be a bunch of people who would like to see him.

As for their "analysis," there's some elements that are valid, but there are some elements that are severely flawed:

• He says Vazquez hasn't done this before and is just on a hot streak. This has been repeatedly debunked -- it's obvious Pete is saying that simply because he hasn't watched him
• He mentions a poor touch; Vazquez' touch isn't some strong point, but it's not poor. Their analysis of Vazquez game was off point.
  
• I don't think the argument over cohesion versus keep trying new not clearly better option is poor, but IIRC these folks were big Haji Wright fans
  
• Brenden Aaronson is 50/50 to hold up the ball -- what are you smoking? Just stop. Brenden Aaronson as a 9 is a weird, weird, weird ask. Reyna I get. But Aaronson? Can someone put together a more compelling argument here?

Vazquez does have Lucho Acosta behind him, but Brenner's emergence came after Vazquez was even good -- I think it is far more likely Brenner is playing off Vazquez than vice versa.

And I agree, I'm not a fan of playing the hot hand.

And yes, it's MLS. So it's absolutely a question of whether his skills elevate. But that's why you bring someone in.

Vazquez profile is better than Wright's when he was called in, IMO. It's not a slam dunk, but there's something there, IMO.

 

Pete & Tact: We don't have anyone that can score against teams that are better than Granada but that doesn't mean that NOW is the time to experiment with another in-form striker.

 

We're going to the World Cup, with a False 9 that plays in MLS. It's not going to be pretty.

 

I'm actually pretty sympathetic to the idea that Vazquez is probably no better than the mob, and that we should just be looking to optimize our current strikers or possibly look at Morris/Weah or Reyna.

But their analysis of Vazquez' game was off base, and most of the reasons felt weirdly manufactured. I think Tactical Manager was by far more sane; I don't really get the idea that Brenden Aaronson is a more likely hold up guy than Brandon Vazquez.

If I want a poacher who doesn't fit well otherwise, I've got Pefok. What intrigues me about Vazquez is that he actually has a pretty well rounded game -- as Pete notes, Berhalter asks a lot of his striker, but he misses the mark by painting Vazquez as a lumbering, lucky oaf.

It's worth it to see if his level is high enough, IMO. Everyone seems to forget that you can bring him to camp and then go from there.

 

It's not the strength of our team, but Jesus Ferreira is a young, rapidly improving MVP candidate in a rapidly improving MLS.

He's got weaknesses, notably size and strength, but I think people are overly dismissive of his abilities because he's not a traditional striker.

Also, the dude is 2 years young than Vazquez and close to 3 years younger than Wright. He's only three months older than Hoppe who people still seem to expect to explode.

Of course you look for other options, and of course our strength is elsewhere, but I think Ferreira may end up surprising some people.

 

I am looking forward to seeing if Vasquez can inject a little life into that position. We have to keep trying to find someone who can, or chaange the formation somehow. Otherwise it seems like a bad choice to put Reyna or Brenden or Weah on the bench for someone who is out there just to press.

P.S. And I apologize for my poor linking skills and snarkyness.

 

Ferreira made the right decision to stay in MLS for the 2022 season in order to make a push for Qatar. He did have European interest according to Dallas insiders.

When it comes to Vasquez, its simple. Call him up and find out if he's good enough.

Right now the status quo probably remains from the last qualifying window. Ferreira, Pepi, Pefok until somebody knocks one of them out.

 

All we're trying do is get Vazquez on the plane to Europe for September. And then it's a question of whether his game translates or not.