Pre-match: USA vs Jamaica -- Gold Cup Semi-Finals Wed 7/1

This is the first time in a long time that if the US beats Jamaica, it would be considered an upset. I feel very sad about that.

 

No. We haven't been good.

But come on. We've never (at least since the 80's ayway) been an underdog to Jamaica and we aren't now. At all..

 

So no Curaçao QF post-match thread?

The semi is going to be tough. The good side is that Puli is maturing before our own eyes and he could do things no Jamaican can stop.

 

but 10 jamaica field players have the speed that Tim Ream cannot stop

 

One way or the other, staying up to watch these clowns is something that I can no longer justify. Sure, the game will be early enough, but I like to get a good early start on days off.

Then again, it might be worth it to watch Jamaica run riot.

 

The usmnt, will probably lose, even though Jamaica struggled against the Panamanians. Simply because they're scared. I hope im wrong.

 

US will play better. They have to.

 

Would you lay any money on them playing better than that on short rest and 1 sub (except a 90+2 sub)? I can see them coming out like they did against T and T in the disaster game. Flat, uninspired, slow heavy legs. Recipe for disaster against a fast team.

Phil Schoen was asking the question this morning, who else should be there that would have made a difference. Obviously Adams, but beyond that, there is literally no one. The back line wasn't the problem, so Brooks being there wouldn't have made a difference. If anything, Zimmerman was the f'ing man of the match with his attempted passing. Yedlin could've provided a spark, but his crossing ain't any better than Lima. Altidore couldn't have done anything more with the service that Zardes got.

We were flat outplayed through the midfield all f'ing night long. We were outpossesed by Curacao. Our gameplan was to counter. We let them have the ball and then hit on the counter. That's the best we could do, and I'm not asking a question. That is the best we can do. We don't have a possession based group of guys that we can put on the field. We can pass around the back to beat the band but beyond that, we absolutely suck.

THe part that made me laugh was when they tried to play the ball into Zardes at his feet, they game-planned for his horrible first touch by designing a system where his first touch would be a 30 yard backpass to the central defender instead of trying to turn or play even laterally.

We are so far from being able to play against teams with talent that I don't even know where to start. Route 1 football would be better than trying to build out of the back, especially with Steffen's feet being involved. That guy couldn't have signed with a more incorrect club than Man Citeh if he tried. How Citeh decided to sign a keeper that struggles with his feet is beyond me.

Good luck to our boys on Wednesday, but I certainly wouldn't be planning for a final showdown vs Mexico after a game like that on a short turnaround.

 

Scared? That ain't the problem. THey all have enough experience to not be scared. As individuals, there are some good players in there, but in this game which seems to require XI players working together in some format, they really just can't do it. I honestly don't know where the blame lies, but probably somewhere amongst both the manager and the players. I just cannot believe this is where we are in 2019, from where we came from in 2002. Just appalling.

 

This is pretty much Berhalter's first real test as I see it. I'll be optimistic and go with 2-0 U.S. I expect a lot more focus and intent going into this one given the friendly loss and coming off an uninspired quarterfinal win.

 

Focus. Despite the platitudes, I don’t think we took them seriously.

 

I think we're going to lose this game.

 

Agreed. 2-0. They hit us on a counter, and then sit back and wait for us to open up and hit us on another counter in the 80th. We will struggle to break them down mightily all night long.

 

Switch Jozy for Gyasi in the line-up.

GK Steffen
RB Lima
CB Long
CB Zimmerman
LB Ream
M6 Bradley
M8 McKennie
10 Pulisic
RW Boyd
FW Jozy
LW Arriola

 

Well, Berhalter had the team cooking together, playing video games and doing crossword puzzles. What better way to promote cohesiveness?
I haven't watched any of this team's matches (don't have cable or basic TV) and have grudgingly followed highlights, BUT I expect nothing especially with a coach like Gregory.

 

well here's an expert opinion if I ever heard one...

 

I don't know how good this team is, but we're not underdogs at home to Jamaica

 

I don't think so, actually. Against Curacao, our backline seemed especially deep. During the broadcast, the microphones caught Berhalter yelling at Lima to get back, while the US had possession.

I think that'll be the same gameplan against Jamaica - playing a deep backline to prevent counters. This will allow space in the midfield, as we saw against Curacao. It'll also limit the linking play in transition, so our own attacking will be less.

There's an analysis I heard once on defensive-minded coaches - for some, when they get into the playoffs, they're inclined to play it safe, and games become low-scoring, even against weaker opponents.

I think that may be what happened yesterday. Berhalter went safe - and it worked, in that Curacao never got a huge opportunity on the break or really threatened inside the box. But they did get lots of space and time in midfield, and took plenty of shots from distance.

The second part to that analysis, however, was that when the margin of the lead gets that small, then you're more prone to random chance and bad luck swinging things in your opponents' favor. This is why some coaches seem to be prone to getting upset by lesser opposition or just "unlucky" in tournaments.

Applying that to the game last night - shooting from outside the box is a low-percentage strategy, especially when none of the players are an elite long-range shooting talent with a cannon for a leg. But all it would've taken is for one of those low-percentage shots to beat the odds, and it would've been level.

So I don't think Jamaica is gonna hit us on the counter - in fact, in respect to their speed, I think Berhalter plays his backline even more conservatively. But we'll again be relying on our attacking five to conjure up magic mostly on their own to score - and ceding possession to Jamaica in midfield.

In terms of percentages - I think this setup would favor us for a 1-0 victory. But all it takes is Jamaica beating the odds once. And I'd note that their winning goal in the friendly two weeks ago was a well-placed long-distance strike from outside the box.

 

I can't find any odds for betting for this match, but I would be surprised if you will get a good deal on putting money on Jamaica this match. This match will be a draw for the odds-makers. No way Vegas will be going out on a limb to say the US will win this game. And iffin you doubt the ability of odds-makers to predict scores, I think you might be missing the whole point of Las Vegas.

 

I see Jamaica at +568 and The US -200.

Go makes some money!

 

Can we try Morris for Arriola, Jozy for Zardes?

If Ream is going to stay at home anyway, I think we can/should upgrade our offense (Morris) sacrificing our defense (Arriola).

 

how many "first real test"s is berhalter gonna have?

 

Jamaica's Damion Lowe got a silly time wasting YC at 90 and so will miss the US match. Lowe has been their best CB on both sides of the ball. Even with Lowe (6'3") Jamaica has been poor on defensive set pieces, without him the US should have a significant advantage on corners and FKs. Zimmerman and Long could be key on set pieces.

Bailey has not shown the play expected of a top BuLi prospect. He has yet to fully mesh with his teammates. Hopefully he continues to be off-form against the US.

Jamaica completely outplayed Curacao and missed 3 sitters. If the more free-flowing Jamaica that faced Curacao shows up it could be a very tough match for the USMNT!