Post-match: USA v. Japan - September 9, 2025 - International Friendly

Agree. We clearly didn't beat the top Japanese team, but it's not a bad team. And we convincingly won. It wasn't all that close.

Given our prior performances, we shouldn't need to whup a Top 10 team to be happy with progress.

 

Japan puts in there best players in the 57th minute and it seemed the game didn’t change to the US’ credit and all anyone wants to talk about is how the Japanese didn’t play their A team against a team where said posters were frustrated we called in most of the C team.

 

Their best chance came off of Richards' turnover.

But they had some joy. We had tons more and could easily have had 1,2, or 3 more.

 

We may look Shakey without him, but it may be because we are replacing him with the wrong partner for Richards.

 

You had me until "The coach isn't crazy at all"

 

I think Freeman has more of an upside than Scally. And Poch has it for Scally after the gulf cart incident.

 

Freese was excellent yesterday. I'm not sure he put a foot wrong, but I'd have to watch again to know. Either way, he had several really good saves, passed well enough, and has been quick to get out to balls he needs to get to. Very positive game from him.

 

Agree we were missing key players as well (though you never know with Poch). But Japan was missing far more. They rotated their entire squad from the Mexico match, which looked much closer to their setup in competitive matches.

 

Amen. We looked superior after they brought on their A teamers as well.

 

Scally cannot play WB or provide attacking threat from FB. Though he could be a good RCB option.

Freeman is a true FB or wingback.

And someone mentioned McKenzie for Ream upthread. Not sure I trust his passing out of the back. 3 atb needs 1 guy to essentially function as a MF or FB at times. Ream can do that. Not sure McKenzie can. Now, if there is someone on the other side who can perform that function, it could work. McKenzie being the more stay at home outside CB with the other side being more adventuresome and/or helping to possess more. Beyond Scally, I cannot think of one.

 

Ecuador started qualifying with -3 points as a penalty for using a player who did not have his passport yet in the last cycle of qualifying. Plus, they coasted the last few matches after qualifying. They had a pretty amazing qualifying campaign.

 

It's too bad that the Ohio Stadium couldn't be brought up to FIFA standards. It probably would've been a better venue in a lot of ways than, say, Kansas City (except that KC is almost dead-center in the middle of the continent, which is somewhat advantageous).

 

do you know off the top of your head where columbus' stadium doesnt meet fifa standards? seating capacity? pitch dimensions? just an idle questions...

this reminder of very possibly our only true home field advantage in the midst of such a dreadful streak (in stark comparison to the crowd vs sko) has me thinking.about things no one can do anything about about at this point.

i was agnostic at the time we were searching for a nat training center, though i get the intl flight stuff (not that i really care) and the fat check from blank. there was also a lot of talk about a national stadium around that time, but i dont remember if that was a real issue or not, but i also didnt care all that much either way.

but considering the trajectory of the program i think ive fully come around to the idea of a national stadium. in hindsight (and not even reality-based-sight) i would fully endorse that- with or without the national training center/ussf offices etc, not sure if that has to be a package deal or not.

but yeah, a national stadium in columbus with one of the two matches every window played there. i get the cash grabs that ensure a hostile crowd, and i agree in principle that games should be available to as many areas as possible (which are still usually a very slim "home crowd" margin if that). i get that none of that is remotely possible, you know, actually considering support for our team rather than funding the fed as a whole.

i realize this is dangerously close to poch whining about support (though in fairness him hes talking about more support in general), but its just a thought. we dont give ourselves the opportunity for more support from existing/casual fans. and i get the xenophobic undertones involved...

ugh, matches in columbus are just so refreshing. but to finish where i started i just wasnt aware lower.com field (gag) didnt meet fifa standards.

 

The Horseshoe is too narrow. Field dimension issue.

Where they played last night meets FIFA,,of course. But the capacity of 20k is too low. They want to sell more tickets.

 

You think Freeman is better in attack than our other FB options? Is that what I’m reading or did I not articulate it well?

 

I don't disagree.

 

I don't think he's "near the bottom" in attack. Aside from our starters, our fullback pool is not particularly strong.

 

This is the problem with most college football stadiums unfortunately. Why Michigan Stadium dropped out of the World Cup bidding pretty early (as they would have had to make some fairly drastic changes to meet the field size requirements).

 

Nobody honestly believes attack isn't an (major) advantage for Freeman over Scally. Scally's a back pass machine, putting pressure on his teammates, and leading to the keeper lumping a lot of balls forward. Freeman is actually relatively press-resistant w/ his dribbling and square balls. Scally can't pick out balls well in the final 3rd either & doesn't get us or himself there much period.

The argument for Scally is defense. But there's a bigger gap between their offense than defense. Freeman's OK on defense. He recovers, physically boxes out his man, & has adequate awareness. Freeman assuredly should be ahead of Scally at wing-back & probably RB. Scally likely has the advantage at RCB, and nothing else at this point. His nat'l team history has been underwhelming. Freeman's probably been better already, and at a higher trajectory as a rook.

 

Oh, I think they honestly believe. There's simply a crew that starts with Bundesliga Player > MLS Player at everything and then there's a whole lot justification dredged up, but they start with the answer and work back from there.

There's also a group that seems to be only interested in what a player does when they release the ball or how smooth they look; this ignores like 80% of game time but it's a pretty common thing.

I feel like I was the original Freeman bandwagoner, because, despite some really bad mental mistakes in his first game, you could see "it." And those mental mistakes are easily cleaned up.

But I can see how this goes: Freeman will get sold to a Top 4 league at some point in the next year. I hope it's a good move, and not before the WC. But he will, and if it's not some top team (avoid that! You're not good enough for that!), he'll play.

And suddenly, I will look like I'm down on the dude for pointing out his deficiencies because suddenly he's Euro blessed. The whiplash will be strong.

I literally did this same thing on Malik Tillman because he mishandled a ball on his first touch in a US uniform.

Anywho, I do think where Freeman needs to lock down to get a spot is that defense. I love what he brings to a team that is lacking at times with any kind of explosion or size. But you can't make mistakes and win at the WC. You are 100% right that physically, he's going to be a fine defender, much like Dest is actually a good 1:1 defender against guys who are speedy (size is a different story).

But it's the team defense that will make or break Freeman for THIS World Cup. Of course, Scally hasn't exactly been perfect there, either -- it's a lot easier to be locked into a defensive system when you practice it everyday. Being able to be relatively mistake free in an international context is harder.

 

Lol, if you're the first, I was making sure not to get hit while getting in when you closed the door behind you. However, at first, it wasn't any genius scouting (even if I could do that, which I'm skeptical of), it was more embarrassingly because I was drafting Antonio Freeman on fantasy teams as I first started playing fantasy in the late nineties, indeed I think he was on my first ever team in '98. So I was familiar with him and the second I heard "son of Antonio Freeman," my head darted up and swung around like a Golden Doodle that just heard me open a Kraft American Cheese Slice that I'd taken from the fridge. Just instant attention, like the rabbit on the grass outside that hears you close a door. So I paid attention from appearance #1, and while I probably couldn't pick out everything you did, it was pretty obvious that he was/is a weapon, big, fast, a threat in the box, a guy who makes more diminutive wings and fullbacks instantly nervous because 6-2 and a thick 6-2 at that.....

Only reason I bring up scally is that he and Dest and Jedi are all more plus attackers, than plus defenders, and having a stay at home defender is probably a good idea. I think Jedi has developed into a solid defender, and Dest can be solid, though never truly consistently solid (which is probably why Milan and Barcelona both proved less interested) so having a defense first guy again, hhas some value.....but I do think what makes him (Freeman) exciting is that he gives us a backup that adds similar threat, if not remotely in the same tier as Dest or Jedi. Dude has 40 goal contributions in a touch over 100 games in MLS and MLS Next Pro, he's definitely goal dangerous. Now is it a low floor, eventually unreachable ceiling like Reynolds who hasn't seemed to pan out (though he has been good enough to play in decent leagues, just not great ones)? Maybe...but there's a reason Big 5 league teams of consequence were sniffing around a guy who had less than 2000 minutes and 20 starts as a full time regular starter this summer, they want to get in before the big guys start bidding and they're chances to snag him and sell him on at 5x value like a Tillman for instance, or a Pulisic, are gone.

Chances are he only reaches a portion of his true potential, but the potential is crazy high, and even if he only reaches 50% or 60% of it, with his size/speed/pace, box ability, he's still going to have utility, and it could be immense utility. We'll see. I'm glad Poch has been aggressive with call ups and minutes, unlike with Arf, or seb, with Freeman, it's worth the risk, especially with so many injuries, and unavailable players the last two windows.

 

Off-topic AF, but how weird is it that I literally just read this comment while standing in line to buy a roll of duct tape

 

None of this is genius. You certainly don't need genius to see something with Freeman.

I just think people bring a lot of baggage to these discussions, whether it's skill v athleticism or MLS v Europe.

And people tend to have to be definitive on guys; between the above teams and Team This Guy or That Guy, the reality is that it's all wrong.

There's positives and negatives to any player, and a big part of figuring out if there's something positive that can be a differentiator and if the negatives are truly unfixable and at what level they are limiting.

Freeman's physical tools bring something to the table. His technical skills are okay and erratic, which tells me he's not likely to play at the very highest levels. Like, Barcelona isn't calling, but that's not the standard for contributing to the USMNT.

I don't think he's a soccer savant, but I like his aggression and willingness to attack and take risks. I have no idea what his work ethic is like, but his work rate is fine.

His big issues with the US so far have been easily fixable defensive confusion with his teammates. He's made 3 real mistakes to my memory and two were in his first game.

I am not the least bit shocked that he didn't look out of sorts at all this window. He's very young and in his first season playing with adults. The learning curve is steep.

You mention Reynolds: I do think that's a trap he has to avoid. Wherever he goes, it's got to be a place he's going to play. Going to a place where something keeps him off the field is a bad move. If his defense isn't ready ... wait. If it's a place where they won't play you due to ball skills, wait.

I don't think developing on the bench at a bigger European club is a good idea for him. Maybe on the defensive elements, but his offense is never going to smooth. It will be more effective, but never Dest-like. Understand your limits.

 

Agreed that a lot of USMNT fans are overly eager to divide into camps (I foolishly deleted that part of your post and am too lazy to restore it). Back when British hooliganism was more rampant and violent, a lot of the “supporters” didn’t care about the clubs. They just liked to have someone assign them kits and set schedules for their brawls. With the USMNT, there’s a variant of that. Some “fans” care way more about the brawl than the team. Of course, they’re keyboard warriors, not street brawlers, but the gang mentality and misplaced hostility are similarly central to their “fan” experience. That said, hooligans at least directed their hostility outward. Online troll fans of the USMNT run around picking fights in their own house.

As to Freeman, I don’t know what his floor or ceiling will be, but the USMNT talent pool is nowhere deep enough that we can afford to write off someone who might turn out to be a bigger, stronger Frankie Hejduk type. Hell, we’re still not good enough to write off prime Frankie Hejduk.

I mean, I doubt Freeman has Hejduk’s lungs or grit, but almost nobody does. But he does have some of the aggression. And he is bigger and stronger. His technical skills are probably better, and he may well turn out to be at least as tactically savvy.

Anyway, he seems like a legit prospect to me, at least as a bench player. Not sure he’ll be ready for 2026 or still in the conversation for 2030. But I haven’t seen any good reason to write him off yet.

 

It should be remembered the US lost to Korea who starting XI play in K1, Austria, J1, B1, Denmark, Serbia, B1, C'ship, K1, K1, MLS.