One thing I thought was interesting, and a bit encouraging, I guess, from this game. Haiti sticking to that very flat 4, medium high, esp middle of the 2nd half, and we started running plays clearly trying to exploit the hole behind the 4. And we just kept looking for ways over. And it finally worked. I would have liked to see it varied up - and having someone confident and able to dribble from deep and pull the line out of sync a bit would have helped - either a Dest or Jedi on the touch or CP or Musah in tighter - but there was a clear understanding that dropping the ball in that space with the right timing was a winning play and we just kept at it till the timing worked - a few nice touches on those balls too, esp tillman's but Ageymangs as well.
Who’s worse, McGlynn or Sullivan? Quinn has no reason to be on this team. Should have brought Zendejas or Yow.
Yeah, that shot in particular was a cringe, esp after he read the space well to get in good position. Was hoping for more out of him.
It’s not new. It’s been many years that ANY hand/arm contact is an offense if the ball goes directly into the goal or if the player immediately scores.
Should've but if those are the options for the WC we are cooked. It's not like Zendejas hasn't played for USMNT before and Yow don't really expect anything much from him either. I know him playing in Europe is what is impressing most fans but honestly don't see him doing any better. Aside from the usual 1st teamers, in many positions the drop off to the back ups are big.
FWIW, I thought Sullivan did just fine. Otger than Tillman, he was our best attacker for huge chunks of the match, and was the only player willing to take people on. Got in some good crosses. Livelier than McGlynn wide.
Nah, after Sullivan settled in from it being his 1st competitive game, he was arguably our best player (#2 in metrics overall). Drove the game fw, an outlet over the top, created a lot of chances. He shouldn't be on the team? This is his 2nd yr excelling in MLS, he played well w/ youth teams, and fills a need. Other than Weah & Paredes, he's the only viable stretch wing option. Not that Brian White should be here, but the continued free pass for Sargent is the head scratcher. When should a player be expected to deliver? His nat'l team record's a joke. In his case he needs to play well in a better league to indicate something's possibly changed confidence-wise.
There really is a weird anti-Agyemang pro-Sargent cult on Twitter/X and Youtube. Is the point of the games to have good touch or to score goals?
The point of these games, to that kind of fan, is to feel good about themselves as AMERICAN soccer fans. It’s about aesthetics not results because they’re afraid a random TikTok of bad Agyemang touches will embarrass them on social media.
woop dee doo we barely beat a tiny country with a per capita GDP of $1,219 vs USA per capita GDP of $89,000 only thing to take away is that we still can't play out of the back
wtf is this metric? By that logic we should schedule a fiendly against Luxembourg and claim World Cup victory
Turner and Cardoso were done. Sargent and Musah don't even know where they are going to end up yet. I'm just trying to work out a rationale, not make excuses.
LDLT seems only capable of being a mid-field shuttler. That’s about it. His game feels very one dimensional. And he’s never goal dangerous. Missing that shot today is the sort of thing that will lead to him being dropped from future rosters.
We are the richest, most powerful country in the world. We have the 3rd highest population. We are 4th in land area in the world. We have the highest GDP. We have the strongest military. Probably we spend the most on soccer. We spend the most on sports overall. We win the most Olympic medals. We generate the most revenue in sports. Yet we struggle to beat Haiti. Why is this?