I thought Gio had a good game but playing him so deep is nuts IMO. It was an interesting gimmick for like maybe one game against Mexico but it's getting old. Gregg has effectively removed most of Gio's ability to directly impact the attack. I'm sure that there are valid reasons as to why he is doing this in his mind, but personally I don't think he has that luxury with this team.
I think this due to formation. 4-3-3 means you have to get Reyna in a non-attacking central role or push him up to the wings. The two way 8’s have a lot of competition and it’s taken Gio a minute to bring himself up to find consistency on defense. I agree. As above, I’d say it’s mostly due to the chosen formation here and GB’s reluctance to deviate. We would basically need to deploy Reyna on the wing, but unfortunately the guy hasn’t played that far up in some time. Reyna still had two dangerous through balls that didn’t count for his xG because Balogun’s runs were not timed well. However, that’s all we can help for because his scoring ability is even more limited being that deep.
I think the game was mostly fine. At no point did I think we were in any danger. Defensively we were sound. Robinson and Pulisic on the left were a wicked combo that most teams are going to struggle with. Weah had moments on the right. Its just one of those things. We need a #9. If there's an American version of Lewandowski, we'd have won that game 5 or 6-0. We don't have it. NO matter who Berhalter rotates thru there, we don't have it. We don't have the tip of the spear. Particularly in the second half. Pepi could have had 3 goals. Keeper made some good stops; other chances were just missed. A good team is going to do everything it can to stop Pulisic, and make somebody else beat them. Against good teams we can't afford to miss the chances that the forwards miss in these games.
Yeah Gregg sees his 8's as two way players and defensively biased if anything. He probably doesn't feel that Gio has the stamina to play two ways so he has him playing deeper. He wants Wes in the more advanced role probably with the assumption that he will be able to get back. Against a toothless team like Bolivia though, come on. Gregg is a system and process guy though. At times Gio actually looks like the 6 to me. I thought he played well, did a good job playing defense and shoring up possession in a critical area, and linking the defense to Pulisic. I think that Gregg ideally sees Gio directly facilitating from that deep position but I'm not sure that really is Gio's game. I don't think he going to be Pirlo for you. So what the attack will probably again come down to against better teams is Jedi bombing down the wings and crossing the ball in, Pulisic cutting in hoping for his moments of brilliance, and Weah trying to get around the corner. Not having Dest is problematic.
Just no. And then no some more. Berhalter’s subs were not the problem in Qatar… Not even remotely close. The fact that not one game was ever decided before 90 minutes was a bigger contributor than his subs, but just no. He subbed out the entire midfield and 2 of three attackers. In a game where the defense wasn’t having to work hard and in like the 89th minute Jedi had enough in the tank to make a full field run taking on multiple defenders… I would have taken Pulisic off, but it just didn’t matter and I would have pushed for the third goal too. Typically center backs go entire tournaments without being subbed…
I mean a 34 year old Otamendi played every single minute of Argentina's World Cup run. Also factor in two of those games went 120 minutes and that was a midseason World Cup where he played every single minute for his club that season (outside of one match for yellow card suspension and it was 3 months earlier). Ream should be coming into this tournament plenty rested. The guy is not in my personal starting XI, but I'm not particularly worried about his number of minutes from a fatigue standpoint. Also there's a pretty clear pathway to him getting rest if we handle Panama and clinch a spot in the quarterfinals that'll take place 9 days later
Neither McKennie nor Adams are connectors. In part, I think Reyna plays further back to link the back to the front. This will be more important when playing teams that can put more pressure on the back. (ie Uruguay.) So if that's the idea, it makes sense to go ahead and play it now. I don't know that this is the ideal solution. It can pull Reyna away from the attack as you say, but I do think midfield balance is a difficult problem to solve.
But does this tournament not have "Goals scored" as the next tie breaker? On that we are behind 2-3. I have not looked but "goals scored" is often a tiebreaker that comes before the coin toss. Of course head to head is another tiebreaker that could come into play if either the USA or Uruguay manage to lose to or tie one of the remaining teams in the group. But, if the tiebreaker gets past goal differential I always consider the result a coin toss as once you get that deep into tiebreakers you often have a situation that is more governed by luck and timing than by any true result that teams played for. Shoot, I do not even like tiebreakers at all but what I would prefer, a match played just to break the tie, so complicates scheduling that it will, probably, never happen again. I also would prefer replays to overtime but that too is impractical.
bruh, you mentioned the only two good things he did all night. The ONE goal was nice though. We have attentive and intuitive wives. Lucky dawgs!
Unless the US had an absolute true world class striker, I don't think it matters. Gregg's style doesn't play to a true #9 IMO. Not at Columbus, nor with the US. It's why I keep wishing they'd put Balo at left wing and let Pepi or Sargent be at the #9. I just wonder how that combination would be. As much as I like Weah, I think he's mostly speed and aggressiveness, but he gets taken off the ball and isn't the best 1 on 1 with the ball at his feet.
I'm sorry, but with Pepi or Sargent as the #9...............we're not beating top 10 teams. We can beat Bolivia and Panama-type teams. There's a reason that Sargent and Wright are in the Championship. There's a reason Pepi is a bench player outside of a top 5 league. Maybe all three have a higher ceiling than that at some point, but its a reality. Pepi had plenty of chances. I don't blame Gregg for Pepi being unable to finish from friggin' point blank range. Ricardo was set up beautifully on multiple occasions. Berhalter's gonna have to try Wright against Panama. [If Sargent isn't ready.] Its like blaming an MLB coach for a team's record when they don't have any competent pitchers. Pulisic, Weah, and Reyna all set up the #9 on multiple occasions last night. Right from the start Weah beat the left back with his pace, whipped a nice ball into the box...............and nothing.
Most have already said what I am gonna say. The game reflected the team. We are strong in CM and in wide areas and shaky at CB & up top. Hopefully things get sharper as the tournament rolls on, especially the finishing and CB passing . McKennie should just go ahead and get another yellow vs Panama if we are winning. He really did not deserve this one.
What? Gregg had Kei Kamara and Gyasi Zardes at Columbus. Two absolute, dyed in the wool, proper #9 in the box CFs. You could not be more wrong.
Let’s not forget 41 year old Pepe is still going for Portugal. It’d be great if a younger centerback would supplant him but older centerbacks aren’t unheard of and other than goalie it’s the position where players seem to have the most longevity. Ream is himself only the tenth oldest player in the whole tournament.
Sad but true. And I think as much as we fret over underperformance of this team, having weaknesses in those key spots on the field basically set you up to underperform. If you struggle in front of goal on both sides of the ball, you're going to struggle in general.
GD does not really matter here. I mean, assuming we advance, we get Colombia or Brazil. That is nasty either way. If we were Mexico, and 1st or 2nd meant Argentina or Peru, then, yes. But not really here. We get Bra/Col in the quarters and Uruguay or Col/Bra in the semis regardless. Win the first two. Then rest, rotate, and protect guys with cards vs Uruguay to be as close to full strength as possible for the QF.
Yes, but next tie breaker is Goals Scored Still not unhappy with a 2-0 win though Too bad Panama let in 2 goals after the 84th minute glad they scored one at the end though …
I'm not blaming Gregg. I am saying his "system" isn't particularly set up for a #9 to get direct service IMO.
They play after us. I'd imagine THEY BOTH would prefer the US to Uruguay. Wouldn't you? Us trying to pick who we would prefer is pointless, the choice belongs to Bra/Col, not us. And I seriously doubt Uruguay, sitting on 6 with a potential Brazil game in the window, goes all out against us. Thus: we cannot determine who we play with a win and likely cannot "prove" ourselves by beating Urugyay's starters, because THEY will rotate. This persistent line of "thinking" on here is just bonkers to me.
That was fine. It was a clear win whose dominance was not reflected in the scoreline. There was not a moment when Bolivia looked like scoring, as borne out by their .18 xG. I wish we'd gotten more goals, not so much for GD purposes (which doesn't matter given that our quarters opponent would be either Brazil or Colombia) but just because goals give a team and in particular its strikers confidence. But hey if Pepi were going to have a bad game he chose a great one to do it where failing to score was disappointing but inconsequential. And I'm not especially worried about him, he's a great instinctive goalscorer and I chalk up last night to natural variation. So we did what we needed to do: First, get three points; second, avoid injury or the need to tire out major players; and third, win clearly enough to avoid any miasma of concern going into the next game. Job done. But the next job will be a much harder one. Bolivia was pretty much toothless. Panama is a dangerous team that is on the rise. They're not an elite foe and they're one we should beat, but they're not the pushovers that Bolivia were and if we're not on our game and/or they play out of our minds it could be a tough one. On the optimistic side, though, when we've played Panama with our full team in meaningful games we've done very well recently (though it's reallly just the one game I'm thinking of--WCQ 22 in the US). OTOH, Panama knows that they need a result to stay alive in the tournament so they'll have tremendous motivation.
Well, Pepi got a lot of direct service last night. He had the accuracy of a Stormtrooper. If we had the American version of Harry Kane out there last night, he has 5 goals. Plenty of service.............................
This is still a remarkably young team. There are a few players that MIGHT make that jump in the shorter term, but their not in optimal positions for goal scoring. I think Dest could get better and contribute more offense. His crossing and decision making could improve, but he's already a really good offensive fullback. Johnny could also grow into more of a line-splitting passer as he develops in La Liga. His technique is excellent and something to build on. I actually prefer him to Adams in that regard, and could allow Reyna to play further forward. Of course Reyna is the one we all hope will reach the next level, but I think that's a matter of mentality rather than skills.