Post-match: USA v Germany WC tune up

They both are also really slow, the slowest among all our DM and CM candidates. It's questionable whether they can play in Poch system period.

 

I'm not entirely sure it is speed so much as activity level or work rate, but the end result ended up being the same at times.

 

Halos tend to exist for a reason.

 

Could be why Poch switched up the system so Belgium didn't get a look at what we may have to throw at them.

So who decides how many in a wall?

 

I don't care that much about xG. For me the question is whether Pulisic had an opportunity to pass as he should have had. Unforunately answer is: no. I understand how good German defenders were, but still. Balogun is a better player than Pepi, but Pulisc + Pepi might be more dangerous than Pulisic + Balogun. I wish Pepi got on the field at halftime to see him with Pulisic against that defense.

 

A keeper.

 

Yeah I think Turner has been outplaying him in MLS and he should have done better on the first goal. But I think Freese is going to be the guy.

 

We had like 11 corners to their 2? Something like that? More than a few of those were deflected shots.

Even outside of xG, a lot of the play was in their end. Especially 1st half after the goal.

 

Yes. In the second half Germany had a free kick from almost the exact same spot and Sane went for goal but it was well over the crossbar so not like a bit of a wall is out of the question. It wasn’t like a shot was out of the question on the goal they scored but probably Freese should have reacted differently once he realized Sane’s run up to the ball was a decoy leaving Kimmich with the cross. I o

 

They also had three players in front of the wall and not in the penalty box in the second half: that was a shot. And yes, after Sane left, right footed player wasn't shooting.

 

Good point

 

Can anyone explain to me what I am missing with McKenzie? I see countless posts on this board of people who are clamoring for him to start.

I will admit that I have watched very little of his play for Club, but I can definitively say I’ve seen enough of him for Country to say that I do not want him on the field in the World Cup.

About the only thing I can say positive is that he is calm on the ball. I don’t think he’s a particularly good passer and he is careless with possession. He acts so nonchalant as though he is some kind of physically imposing player, but he’s not. He appears to have good strength but he is undersized, and by no means is he fast. I literally hold my breath every time he gets the ball as he is good for at least one terrible giveaway per game.

 

What were the terrible giveaways McKenzie had in the last 2 matches? How did those compare to the giveaways by our other CBs?

 

We're picking the least bad option. If Richards is healthy it's him and Ream. Now Ream may live up to everyone who fears him playing but other than the backing up when maybe he should have stepped forward in the first game he's been pretty good. I mean Germany should have skinned him if he's done but he was fine.

 

Tyler making 10 tackles in the match helped out by Tillman's 4 shielded our CBs from many confrontations.

 

im in your camp. Turner is more aggressive, getting off his line instinctively. Freeze froze, for lack of another term.

 

The team needs to understand how Freese plays. He’s conservative. Unless he’s absolutely certain he’ll get the ball, he stays on his line.
I do think this is an instance where Turner comes out and makes a play on that service. What we won’t see is Freese coming for a ball and missing, leaving the goal wide open.
There’s good and bad to both approaches. Ideally, we’d have a keeper who can get it right 95% of the time, but we don’t have that.
In the meantime, the defense has to assume the keeper isn’t coming unless he yells them off and they need to see the play all the way through.

 

What Arena, who pointed out that he was a former keeper, was that not was obviously not going to be a shot so Freese should have started three steps past the goal line and then he'd have been able to punch it. Keeping is something I hesitate to judge as I just don't know enough about it.

 

I had the same thought immediately after he did it. "Unnecessary" is the key word here. And we don't (and can't) know if it could have contributed in some way to his leg problem later on that day. I mean, go ahead and risk your body AFTER the World Cup, but not a week before. We're not that deep at the postition!

 

Why not? It was pretty damn close to the goal line.

 

I respectfully disagree. In his last game that he came in as a sub, our midfield was getting beat up. He came in and laid the wood on them. Tess can get physical with no problem. I believe he even played CB a couple of games for club.

 

I'm afraid Freese and Turner are kind of a wash - level-wise. While they are very different keeper and have different strengths and weaknesses over a long season they tend to be close to the same level. it will be up to Poch and his staff to game out who is a bit better in the metrics that will be most important in these three games.