We should play aggressively against Canada -- and not because we want to "avoid Mexico before the final" or any such nonsense -- but because as Herm Edwards once said, "You PLAY to WIN the GAME!!!!" If we end up meeting up with Mexico in the semis for some reason, who the hell cares. But there are some tough choices for GGG now, because some players tonight showed that they offer up some good attributes moving forward.
I’ll give Greg his props. He was spot on with the lineup and subs. The US soccer community is less toxic when we are all on the same page lol
So everything here is in the context of Martinique being our easiest opponent. We were much more active and purposeful in attack, created more chances, looked more dangerous, etc. We defended well enough in the first half, mainly due to the midfield. We had less control in the 2nd half and that put the defense under more pressure. The defense also struggled a bit in playing out of the back in the 2nd half, contributing to what was overall a more raggedy game in the 2nd 45 (like a pickup game I see at the YMCA when I drive home from work). Individually I saw three very good and one great performance from our players. Busio was very good, showing for the ball consistently and playing quality short and long passes to help transition to attack. Mostly good set pieces as well. He has to be one of the starting three midfielders in the bigger matches here. Dike bullied his away around the forward third and showed some decent touches on the goals as well. Strong play from him overall, although his timing was a bit off at times. Hoppe I thought I added a lot to the attack. Along with his cross for the first goal, he showed some real creativity in the forward third and I think should have gotten a couple of goals but his teammates either got in his way or failed to pick him out. He looked to me like he was carrying a knock from the very beginning, or does he just run in an awkward-looking manner. But the player I thought was an absolute standout was James Sands. He was so good at winning the ball, clearing his lines and hitting purposeful passes out of the back. I thought he was a giant for this team tonight, and what a warrior. All those center back depth charts I’ve seen floating around haven’t included him, but maybe they should. Oh, and he’s not going to be playing in MLS very much longer. There were some other decent performances. Gioacchini was very lively and I thought deserved a goal on the night. Zardes made a lot of good runs and scored a nice goal. Roldan looked pretty energetic in midfield but lacked a great final ball. Bello added an attacking option on the left and Zimmerman was solid again in the back. Turner did well when called upon. Nobody was poor but Williamson had a difficult game I thought. Shaq Moore was pretty quiet on the evening compared to the first game. Bring on Canada.
Im not sure if the Man United scouts where here to watch Dike specifically but man, he definitely was worth the trip to the game
martinique is really bad. sands, hoppe dike, williamson looked good to me. busio played within himslef in the second half and was a lot better. the rush of everything got his head, i think, in the first half. his set pieces were pretty bad...i hope he doesnt take them all next time. williamson is what this team needs in midfield. wasnt perfect, but the way he drives the ball forward is what this team needs. i would start a mid of williamson, acosta and lletget vs canada. busio and bello are going to be good. still a bit young for this stage, imo. but theyre both gonna be good! zardes is servicable but his first touch is just so rough sometimes. i like his approach and mentality though....just wish he had a bit more refined technique.
Yeah, I liked Sands too. Just looks so composed and elegant out there. Never overmatched or in a hurry. But the opponent was Martinique. Looking forward to seeing how Sands, Busio and Hoppe do against a better team.
Go ahead, say "it's just Martinique." But given how much we've struggled with weaker Concacaf teams in the GC group stage, this rout was damned impressive. Hell, we just struggled with Haiti a few nights back. Did anyone not have a good game? Some bad crosses from Bello at the end there, but that may just be recency bias. The whole team looked sharp and effective, and was fun to watch. Dike is clearly the player everyone's going to be focused on--with reason, he looked great--but Hoppe was good too, and Zardes had a good game as a sub. Gioacchini wasn't great passing but could have had three goals if the Martiniquais goalkeeper hadn't decided to become good all of a sudden (from 1 save on 5 SOG v Canada to god knows how many tonight). Which kind of reminds me: Martinique played hard the whole goddamned way. I've seen teams give up against us when they're down a ton of goals, but even in stoppage time they were still pushing for possession. That and their goalie playing really well plus several outstanding saving tackles, and they looked in the same range as Haiti to me. Of course, we fell that one goal short of the magic number that would have eclipsed Canada on GD/GS (thanks for the inane penalty, Acosta), so now we'll just have to beat the Canucks Sunday--which is of course the best outcome. But perhaps the best thing about this game is that it left me with confidence that we can beat them. So bring it on. Oh and finally, props to Gagg for playing the youngsters. I wonder if that wasn't the plan all along, see how one lineup went against Haiti and then give the kids a shot against Martinique, then use that to figure out the optimal lineup v Canada. And we don't need to rest starters in the Canada game because there's a week before the quarters, so barring anyone picking up a second yellow there's no reason to worry about guys not being fresh for the quarters. Finally, the Yueille sub confused me but here's my theory: Gagg and the coaching staff told him how much he sucked v Haiti and what he needed to do better, and with the game in hand gave him 20min or so to see if he could show that he could implement those suggestions. He was better--more direct and forward looking--but still doesn't strike me as meriting a start against decent opposition (or anyone).
After last game I said I’d fire Berhalter. This game I would consider rehiring him . This emotional response is what you all came for. All jokes aside, this was a lineup I could get behind and it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. It just made sense and to an extent the real dedicated fans were vindicated here. I really enjoyed watching these players: Williamson, Hoppe, Dike, Sands, Busio - The CMs were the big story outside of an electric Dike performance. They faded at the end of the first half. I think Berhalter likes Williamson A LOT. Sands was absolutely fantastic with his passing in transition. Wouldn’t surprise me to see him picked up by a Euro club. I need to see more of these players: Zimmerman, Turner, Bello, Roldan, Moore - I didn’t see enough here to know where they would fit. Bello maybe by default but definitely not above A. Robinson The odd man out is: Robinson - Yes, he scored a goal. BUT there were some seriously bad moments throughout this match for him and I’m not nearly convinced he’s got a shot at the 23 man roster. I’m not a fan of hospital balls.
I agree that Busio looks way better in the second half. He was playing out of control in the first half, much more composed and in rhythm in the second. Hoppe was good but he looks to me like he isn't match fit. He certainly wasn't moving as well as he did during the season at Schalke. Sands impressed the hell out of me. I need to see him against better competition.
Decent performance and we were unlucky not to score more. Shocking lack of awareness by the players in not pushing for the additional goal at the end. Not sure why that wouldn't have been communicated to them before they ever stepped on the field. I've been posting for some time that Gregg's preferred style of play and the lineups he chooses to execute it adds risk to our games. Starting Yueill against Haiti, the type of player he consistently overvalues, contributed to our underperformance in that game and now we have to beat Canada to avoid Mexico in the quarterfinals. That's the definition of a bad coaching decision negatively affecting our chances of winning this tournament and it's completely avoidable if he would just be a little more practical and a little less stubborn.
Dike, by virtue of his physicality, is probably my #1 (unless he's awful in practice) at the moment. Scoring is just icing on top. Busio, Sands, and Williamson were intriguing too. Other than that, I dunno man it's Martinique.
Overall, the front line was great, as were the two central defenders. Roldan had a terrific second half. Everyone else was pretty mediocre....the midfield passing was horrendous, nobody was effective winning the ball back once possession was lost, and Martinique had was too much possession on the counter-attack. Busio's corner kicks were laughably bad, with most being overhit or underhit, and rarely finding a US attacker. Here are my player ratings: Turner: 5/10 - one big save, but looked shaky on a few other plays Sands: 7/10 - excellent Zimmerman: 7/10 - excellent Robinson: 5/10 - nice goal, but struggled defensively and was poor passing out of the back Bello: 4/10 - passing and tackling both below average Moore: 5/10 - not much impact on the game Busio: 4/10 - tackling and ball-winning in midfield was non-existent, service on corners & free kicks was horrendous.....a 3/10 until the late assist. Williamson: 4/10 - like Busio, tackling and ball-winning was poor, and passing wasn't great either Roldan: 7/10 - two assists, several shots on goal, and got into a lot of dangerous spots running the inside right channel that earned the US corners Hoppe: 7/10 - showed his inventiveness and unpredictability Dike: 8/10 - the new Jozy Altidore....physical in the box, and finished his chances SUBS: Acosta: 3/10 - gave away a PK unnecessarily Gioacchini: 7/10 - scored and had several other dangerous chances Zardes: 7/10 - scored and had several other dangerous chances Yueill: 5/10 - why was he on the field when we needed goals? Pines: 4/10 - poor defensively in his limited minutes
Nice to see a comfortable win. Martinique was not good, so we are very likely over estimating the players, but they looked good against the opponent they had to play. It’s great to be able to say that. Canada will be a stern test.
Narrator: We don't actually have to beat Canada to avoid Mexico in the quarterfinals. As anybody who's been paying attention knows, we can't play Mexico until the semifinals.
Not the quarterfinal, but the semifinal. But again, who cares? Why the heck are we so scared of playing Mexico in the semifinal? Whenever we play, we have to win to advance (or to outright win the tourney). I don't get the craze over avoiding Mexico, at all costs, until the final. This would be different if this was an England-type situation, in which winning put us in the half of the draw that avoided the 4 or 5 other best teams in the draw, thus allowing us to avoid 2 or 3 extra BIG challenges. With our confederation, it seems to be all about Mexico with most fans (not me), so it shouldn't matter when we play them.
It was nice to see Gioacchini finally get the score. He's such a nice player, but he always seems just a half step behind, a half step slow, a bunch of almost great plays... I bet Busio is wondering just what the heck he's got to do to get on the scoresheet, and who's been sticking pins in his voodoo doll. If I could take just one player out of this group to take and keep for the future, I think Busio's my pick. Sands was the best defender today, for me, but I was not happy with the defense at all. Way too many near-disastrous giveaways not duly punished by a weak opponent. I like Williamson, but I don't think he's shown well in this tournament yet. I DO like Hoppe. We need to a lot more of him in this tournament. Good for Dike. He needed a little breakout game, and I think this qualifies, even if the opponent is weak. Similarly, while none of us are really big admirers, Zardes earned himself a well-taken goal. A note of some small concern: the Martinique adults were sure physically manhandling our talented teens and 20 year-olds.
Hoppe and Sands were the biggest winners tonight. Hoppe has a lot to his game. That cross to Dike wasn’t pressured, but it was still excellent. He also found good spaces to get the ball and flashed some nice dribbling. Definitely justified Berhalter’s decision to play him on the wing. He needs to start against Canada. Sands was also excellent. Very good positioning, very good passing. He lacks a bit in physicality, but he seems very much ready to contribute in qualifying. Dike was also good, but he was mostly what I expected. Good runs, great physical specimen, questionable first touch. He also needs to be starting. Zimmerman also continues to look good. I have a lot of confidence in his ability to get us through qualifying if need be. Moore didn’t do a lot, but he was solid. I’m glad he got some rest because he needs to start as long as Cannon is out. Bello was okay, but not great. Solid defensively, but didn’t have the end product I hoped to see. I didn’t like Robinson’s game. He has some good qualities, but he’s too inconsistent. He’s good enough for the B team in a situation like this, but I trust sands and Zimmerman much more for qualifying. Roldan was meh. didn’t do anything bad, but also didn’t stand out. I thought Williamson and Busio were big disappoiments. Williamson started out well but had too many bad giveaways in bad spots. Busio did very little to aid the attack and his corners were not very good. He also got pushed around a lot. I’d like to see more of him at the 6 as turning and making quick passes to break pressure seem to be his biggest strengths, but he didn’t do much to justify surpassing Yueill, unfortunately. I hope he gets more chances though. Zardes is who he is. His flaws are evident but he’s a very hard worker and a smart player. I think Gregg knows the others are passing him, but I am happy to see him score. pines looked shaky. Acosta had a poor game, but I doubt it changes Berhalter’s view of him much, though. If I’m him, though, I’m worried about Sands stealing my spot as a versatile utility guy.