Post-match: USA vs Panama friendly 10/12 (R)

A minor improvement after what has been the worst stretch of games for this group.

We did not establish a clear difference with Panama. Most stats were about even. Typically this group established difference through pressure but Panama had a very high 85% pass accuracy which matches the impression of lackluster pressure from what I saw.

Building patterns of play was also tepid.

Seriously, not even close to what I expected to see. We won because of somewhat better finishing.

A deficient start but at least we got a win.

 

Effort was better and tempo was faster in the first 30 minutes or so but they looked more or less the same as they did under berhalter. The last 30 minutes or so were ugly and we were pretty fortunate to hold on but I do applaud Poch for making those subs, especially with this being a friendly.

ref wasn’t perfect, but she did a good job of not buying the Panamanian dives and she’s pretty hot too.

 

Amazing what a tactically flexible coach can do....

 

We could use a deep-lying playmaker if anyone has one lying around.

 

We are just weak at winning duels... basically across the board. I don't know half the players on Panama and they were routinely first to the ball and stronger on the tackle. We have the skill players to score but our strikers need to do more than put home tap-ins. Where is the frigging hold-up play? All things considered I think this was a decent showing for Poch's first game but there is still a lot of work to do.

 

I liked Aaronson and Morris. I don’t think they played particularly well, but they did a good job of setting the tone.
The team was really sloppy with the ball, but I expected as much. I mostly liked how they were committed to the cause.

 

How bad is the camera work from TNT?

 

Wright wasn't even playing forward guys. He subbed in for Puli and got an assist as well.

Sargent missed a sitter making the game harder than it needed to be. Pepi takes his spot on the rung even with the lack of playing time.

Busio and Morris look like they are more than depth.

Musah looks indecisive at times but he got a good goal.

Turner can't pass and the team actively plays away from that weakness when it can. Fine adjustment.

Richards and Mckenzie is looking like the first team pairing. They should be at least average.

 

Better energy, but got tired and almost crumbled at the end. Subs were not effective until they finally were in that late sequence. Glad to see Poch start his campaign with a win and a shutout.

Ratings:
Turner - 7. Good saves. Bad distribution.

Scally - 6 locked down his side defensively. Didn’t offer much offensively.

McKenzie - 8 my MOTM. Strong. Confident. Best center back performance we’ve had from anyone in a while.

Ream - 6. He was okay. Not as good as McKenzie. His distribution is starting to fade.

Jedi - 7. He’s just a boss.

Morris - 6.5. I thought he did his job well. Tidy. Aggressive.

Busio - 7.5 Very skillful performance. Better defensively than what we’re used to.

Musah - 7. Mediocre performance for him but the goal bumps him up a point.

Aaronson - 6.5 He presses so well. But he offers next to nothing offensively.

Pulisic - 7. Beautiful assist. Glad he didn’t play the whole game.

Sargent - 5. Eh. Not bad. But not good enough either.

Lund - 5. He’s not Jedi. But no major mistakes.

Tessmann - 4. Got ran over in the midfield. And we lost control of the game when he came on.

Malik - 6.5 Had some good moments. Better game for him. But don’t anoint him yet either.

Zendejas - 4. Clumsy and not effective.

Pepi - 7. Great to see him score. Offered nothing else.

Haji - 6.5 Beautiful pass for the assist. Nothing else.

 

I thought they were going to set up shop in Panama’s half after about thirty, but then they started to fatigue and Panama got a toe hold.
The US is gonna leave the Panamas of the world in the dust about six months from now.

 

Same amount of shots on target conceded as in the Copa match.
Only 2 more shots off-target conceded in Copa.
1 fewer big chance conceded in the Copa, fortunately they missed both today.
Pretty sure xG against was lower in the Copa match.

Meh. Lots of work to do. And as always, the side is going to go as far as the players take it. No further.

 

You’re going to need to expand on that. The result was unimpressive, and we largely looked like crap after Musah’s goal. Berhalter was regularly ripped for results/performances just like this.

 

I would argue we are currently missing 6 or 7 of 11 starters so that's part of the story.
No Balo
No Reyna
No McKennie (held out)
No Adams
No Weah
No Dest
No Richards (maybe he shouldn't be starting)

It's also worthy of note that essentially almost all of the goal dangerous balls that get delivered come from Reyna, and to a lesser extent, Weah, Jedi, and Pulisic. So if you take out Weah and Reyna, that's killing half the attack, and I haven't even mentioned Dest yet.

I have other thoughts but I'm grading papers so I'll just read your thoughts. I just want to underline for people: this lineup was what, 4 of our first choice 11 (Pulisic, Jedi, Turner, and Ream, who probably wasn't very many people's preferred starter at this point or last March)?

So when you're shredding them, just remember, only 2 or 3 of the field players are go to starters if everyone is healthy (I'd argue, just two).

 

Wasn't a good performance. But some of the counter pressing looked familiar, I like that. In time that might be a great asset for this side.

Looking forward to Mexico.

 

Turner is fine. Imo, he had simply choked under the bright lights of the Prem. Some want it too badly to the extent the pressure just eats them up. He'd do well in another Top-5 league.

Sargent in a US jersey comes across as selfish. In highlights of his club play, he seems much more selfless. Blew an excellent chance with his left foot.

Aaronson. Doesn't bring enough to the 10 position. There's more to football than pressing.

Musah got the goal, but rm is not really a natural fit for him. Perhaps fullback.

Poch with no Reyna or Acosta would've been better off going with his other preference of 4123.

 

Considering the pool of players that we had available and it being Poch's first game I can't be too critical. Six months from now I'll expect a lot more. It was obvious with Poch's hand gestures that they weren't doing some of the things he discussed. It takes time. I'm happy that despite allowing Panama time and space they managed a victory. Let's build from here.

 

Also worthy of note. Tillman won the header (in an amusing manner) and sent the ball to Wright that resulted in Pepi's goal, so baby steps forward for Tillman.

 

I’ll take it as a first game to build on. Not quite the new coach bump I was expecting, though. The score line flattered a bit, Panama offered another tough performance against the U.S. A draw wouldn’t have felt unfair had Panama scored that really great late chance and Pepi didn’t Pepi.

 

Tessman made a great line breaking pass where Wright was a shade offside.

 

What's the deal with Wes?

 

Yeah, that pass was almost as good as the one that got behind McKenzie, great balls both.

 

Man, there were like 5 ir 6 starters missing. People here are tough. I liked the intensity. The outcome was acceptable.

 

They said he’s resting because he plays so much for Juventus. I’m like, huh, what about Pulisic? Whatever, Busio had a good match I thought so it’s fine. I’m sure McK will start v Mexico.

 

Yeah, I want to plead for patience but fans aren’t wired like that. I’ll just shake my head over here out of sight.