Pre-match: USA v Australia Game 2 6/19 3 pm ET

Normally, this could be a match to start Berhalter to have another shooter from outside the box but since they played so well against Paraguay I think you start the same eleven.
As reward, for continuity, to continue to build chemistry.

 

Yes the Aussies are very well organized.
Yes the Aussies can counter very effectively.

Now go back and read the Paraguay pre match thread. You can take my two comments above and just use Aussies and Paraguayans interchangeably.

Prematch everybody was talking about how difficult it would be to score against Paraguay. The only allowed 6 goals in 10 qualifying matches.

So I will say the same thing about this match as I did for last week.

Yes to not underestimate Australia. But we should have confidence going into this match and proved we have a very very good attack. Can Australia weather that for 90 minutes AND while finding a counter goal or two? I doubt it.

 

Australia didn’t go into the full, super deep bunker until after they scored.
US scores first, they will open up a bit, just like Paraguay. If Aussie get the first, the US is going to hate life trying to bust the deepest bunker there is.

 

Paraguay lacks the pace of Australia. Quickly shifting to the transition and quickly getting up field. are not one and the same.

Big Pat is a good shout for who could've been useful against the Roos.

Perhaps Poch will try mirroring the back-3 formation of Australia as he had against South Korea(2nd half) and Japan.

 

Australia plays not one, but three of the most violent team sports ever created: Rugby League, Rugby Union, and Aussie Rules Football.

If Australia's MNT in Soccer has even half of the physicality of their athletes in the above sports, that alone is a ferocious team.

 

Ahh...nice. Totally forgot.

 

Paraguay didn’t open up so much as get split open repeatedly

 

They didn’t bunker to the degree Australia did, probably because they didn’t score first.
I did say open up ‘a bit’, that just means a little. I would’ve been more clear had I said they couldn’t afford to bunker so deep because they needed to score at some point.

 

The Worldwide Opponent Watch thread is going to have spoilers, it’s the nature of the thread, but I do think we should keep spoilers out of the other threads.
If there’s only one thread to avoid, that’s reasonable I think.

 

I remember being very glad that Irankunda guy had not started in the friendly last year. He was a menace that game after he came on.

 

Agree although to be safe spoilers for the other group D games specifically are probably gonna happen in all threads in this section.

 

Looked to me very bunkery all match long, but I could be wrong.

 

Are you saying that in the pre-match threads we shouldn't talk about how our upcoming opponent has done?

Seems like most of what a pre-match thread is about how we match up, and that's hard to talk about without talking about what theopponent has done.

I'll abide by the consensus, and if consensus is that in the pre-match for Turkiye and thereafter we can't talk about the opponent except in the most generic terms, I'll abide by that. But, my preference would be if you don't want to find out how our opponent has done, don't read the thread about how we might or should play against them. But, I'm cool, either way ...

 

I'm not too worried about us figuring out their bunker. This past game was one of the first where while recerculating the ball we were looking for a weak spot or their shape getting pulled apart and taking advantage of it. We weren't just knocking the ball around or passing it lateral or back, we were constantly trying to go forward. And we finally have a lot of players who can play like that. Freeman might be the revelation of the tournament for us. He's like a basketball point-forward. He's got the size of a back but the footwork and vision of an attacker.

 

I'm pretty nervous about this one. You take Irankunda and hit hard on a quick counter, targeting old man Ream. Yikes.

 

Nobody knows what is going to happen in this match. My guess is that Poch has a special lineup and maybe a special formation and maybe a special game plan for the Aussies. She'll be right, mate.

 

Given that Alex Freeman's father is Antonio Freeman who played for the Green Bay Packers (NFL) as a wide receiver, size and speed will not be an issue for Alex.

 

It seems everyone bought into Poch's game plan so it will make it that much easier for him to get them to buy into whatever he wants them to do in this game. Also, they're going to come in with a ton of confidence, and they'll have 60,000 nutso fans at their back. Will be fun.

 

Pretty sure the Thunderdome was also in Australia.

 

I think if they sit back, try to absorb the play, and then hope for a rare counter it could easily be like Gio's goal where we had 26 straight passes till he found space and got that shot off.
(I had initially typed "Claudio" and thought, "wait, that doesn't look right." )