Pre-match: USA vs. Argentina - Copa Semi - 6/21/16

A Perry branded Kitchen sink?

 

I went for the softball and you swung for the fences!

 

Ditto the 4-5-1 w/Besler LB, Nagbe-Zusi-Bradley center triangle, no other changes from what's been "first choice."

 

wait, what? Examples?

 

Au contraire. We have them right where we want them.

 

Go read the contextless crazy shit he retweets for examples.

 

It's not about my getting hung up on it. It's about him being a repulsive figure at the forefront of our game and soccer culture.

 

It's hard not to respect Beckerman. He's not my first choice, but I won't be crushed to see him in the 11.

 

What about Wando...will Wando crush you?

 

In my dreams (and when I play FIFA ) : Pulisic.

 

I agree. If the supporting cast doesn't perform, then Johnson sometimes becomes a peripheral figure at fullback. My inclination would be to risk Besler and Yedlin at fullback, with Johnson ahead of Besler to provide support.

Yep. Even missing two stars in the World Cup, there was just enough quality in the remaining US stars that the supporting cast had the support to step up and produce.

I think it's time to see if Johnson (as a midfielder) and Nagbe can do the same.

 

Yes, our keeper is harmonizing perfectly with our 2 CB's. We'd better change that!

 

Argentina NT and Messi beats top teams and top talent midfielders in the world, but they've never deal with line-up like this. JK 'd played O. Gonzales at DCM against Portugal in WC14 and I'd not be surprised to see this lineup from JK and if we grind it out and win the game, LOL the world will praise JK as a genius.

XI;
.............................Dempsey
..............................................Zardes
Johnson..............Besler...............Birnbaum......................Yedlin
Castillo...............Brooks................Cameron.....................Orozco
............................................Guzan

Subs at 70'
...................................Zardes.....
..............................................Dempsey
Pulisic..............Bradley ...............Nagbe.....................Johnson
Castillo...............Brooks................Cameron.....................Yedlin
............................................Guzan

 

Thanks a lot for the nice words. I really appreciate it.

And you are right about Nicolás Gaítan. Thanks for pointing that out. I didn't realize it. Gaítan will miss the U.S. match because of yellow card accumulation.

In a preview of the match on mlssoccer.com between Russ Thaler and Simon Borg, Borg said that that Erik Lamela is likely to replace Gaítan in Argentina's starting line-up. In the Copa American Centenario, Lamela, who plays for Tottenham Hotspur, scored the fourth goal for Argentina against Venezuela. Here is a link to Thaler and Borg's preview of the match:

http://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2016/06/20/usa-vs-argentina-copa-america-centenario-semifinal-preview

For me, the segment was slow in loading.

 

hack too close to goal will kill us tho. Brad can be beat with a FK if its too close.

 

I'm not even touching that.

 

Oh -- I didn't realize DiMaria was out injured.

Whatever that ends up meaning....

 

I would submit the converse (my bolds)--- Messi can beat anyone from a free kick anywhere near the box.

 

According to a post by Burr earlier in this thread, a reporter who covers the Argentine national team has tweeted that Angel Di Maria will be on the substitute's bench available to come in. Here is the tweet:

#AngelDiMaria iría al banco de suplentes frente a #EstadosUnidos por la #semifinal de la #CopaAmerica @as

— Veronica Brunati (@verobrunati) June 19, 2016

If Di Maria comes in, he is someone who the U.S. should watch closely. He is a great player and terrific dribbler and crosser.

Here is a link to Burr's post:

http://forums.bigsoccer.com/threads/usa-vs-argentina-copa-semi-6-21-16.2032860/page-3#post-34194996

 

He'll be on the bench. Whether he actually comes in is another story.

 

Well does that mean they are missing two of their best wing midfielders? Gaitan and DiMaria? Not that they don't have an array of other weapons, it does mean something. Argentina has had 9 different scorers during the Centenario. I guess that is a wide array of weapons! Only 1 of their 14 goals came from Gaitan or DiMaria.

 

I personally don't rate Gaitan, so I don't think Argentina will miss him much. His highlight reel is mostly a bunch of blown opportunities this tournament. Lamela can provide the same level of play.

 

In my head lies an alternate universe where Bob Bradley decided Beckerman was more worthy of a role than Clark in 2010.

/For all his whiny bravado about MLS, recognizing the talent of an MLS lifer like Beckerman may be the thing I give Klinsmann the most credit for during his tenure.