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

Yeah, he's the guy who looked completely different to me and my friends vs what y'all saw watching, which is one of the reasons I made a point of talking about him. But honestly, I'd go the other way and assume you guys could see a lot more than we could. I have no confidence in my soccer acumen

A few other random observations:

1. The Panamian fans were wonderful. They were enthusiastic but very polite and good sports.
2. Zendejas is teeny teeny tiny. No way he's even 5'6" as listed. The top of his head didn't even reach Haji's shoulders
3. Musah continues to be the most one-footed player I've ever seen.

 

It was an underwhelming performance. We had a lot of the same problems - TO's in the middle of the park, bad pressures, allowing chances in transition, creation in the final 3rd, etc.

I think a lot of the problems go away if we stop deploying Ream. In a vacuum I even think he was pretty good. And maybe there's a decent NT where he still doesn't create this dysfunction. But for us, playing a lower line makes it so more can go wrong on the way to the opposing box, when we re-press the opponent has time to react, & it forces us to make more complex d reads instead of using speed/reaction time. It plays to our weaknesses instead of strengths.

We need to stick to CB's that can justify keeping us parked in the opponent's half most of the game, even if they're a little worse right now. They'll likely be better in a yr & a half anyway.

 

I tend to trust what I see in person more than on TV. Sometimes different people just see different things too.

 

With regard to moving the ball slowly around the back, I kept thinking we were inviting their press and then would have some killer line breaking pass or ball over the top when we sucked them forward. But then we didn't...we just kept puttering around on the ball.

 

It was at times shaky but some promising things is our midfield was plying quick and trying to go forward when possible instead of always sideways and backwards. Busio looked great (at least on TV, Morris had a few shaky moments but seems to be getting good enough to challenge for starts and Tessmann added some long range passing to his one touch short pings. Sargent blew a quick , close shot but did unleash a left footed blast later that made the keeper make a good save. Aaronson is a Jack Russell Terrier out there but being small gets knocked around a lot (Pulisic too). The initial lineup had too many small players. Adding Tessmann, Tillman and Wright had the Canaleros bouncing off bodies instead off knocking down bowling pins. A better mix is needed. Richards for Ream would add a lot of height on set pieces. McKenzie looked good enough that we may be close to having 3/4's of our old U20 defenders as starters when Dest returns. Pepi has a weird vibe or arrogance where he just seems to know he will score and usually does. Turner looked like his old self - which is pretty much what our keepers used to look like as none of them were aces with passing either. A coach just needs to game plan around the average at best passing.

 

It's both. You can see a lot not shown on TV but plays not near you can be shielded.

 

Interesting, I would have said that the two best players for us were Jedi and Busio. I was actually surprised as to how I felt Busio was holding up from a physicality standpoint, and he looked good the ball to me. Particularly in the first half. He had a couple of very crisp long diagonal switches to ARob that impressed me. I don't doubt the idea that he may have appeared different live however. Watching soccer in person is a totally different experience relative to watching it through the lens of a camera.

Thx Dervos, I always value reports from people that were actually at the game.

 

Player thoughts:

*Sargent - tragic for the NT, it's probably mental, he needs to get over for top 4 leagues & here
*Pulisic - in spite of some claims the opposite's true, we never get the level of player clubs do when he's at his best because he tries to do too much, but positives still come out of that
*Aaronson - similar too Pulisic, he tries to be very forward-thinking, & that yields some returns in progression, creation, & the press; but he's sloppier in his execution
*Musah - if not for the goal he'd have been pretty woeful, it's in part the position because he has no vision in the final 3rd & little killer instinct, but he got 1 today & that cures most ills!
*Busio - pretty invisible, I think the love comes from not making mistakes but he also didn't do much
*Morris - he was the one being noticed much more, but it was usually for the wrong reasons - late pressures & flippant passes - looked the part at times, needs to clean up & have a better partner
*ARob - 80% of the time he plays for us he's a beast (surrounding has some real stinkers), & this was one of those games, even got a bonus creation squaring up his man to start the 1st goal
*Scally - pretty typical game for him of being solid defensively and unable to create much going fw, but it was more tolerable than recently cuz of how much Panama attacked effectively
*Ream - defended his area & didn't make mistakes on the ball in this game, but an albatross for forcing us to push our line back
*McKenzie - this was his best game in the shirt, he progressed the ball effectively, & defensively only made a couple moderate errors
*Turner - that looked like the player of old, but we get no benefit from his caps on account we need him to just prove he's in form in 2026, while in the interim find alternatives
*Bench - it's easier to impact a game against tired legs but Wright & Pepi took advantage, Rico shouldn't be limited to this role cuz he's good at it too, like he was as starter last cycle

 

I thought it was a good start, and about as much as could have hoped for(outside of scoring that 2nd much earlier) considering the situation. I dont know if people expected we would beat Panama 4-0, but this is team we have lost to 3 of the last 4, and with clearly an experimental lineup in. First match, completely different tactics, new player pool, 2-0 vs the team you usually lose to is a nice way to start. It pulls pressure off before the Mexico match where undoubtedly fans will overreact, and still lets you do the necessary ugly foundation work.

There is no pretty, easy, flowing way to just move-on from Greggs tactics, this WILL be a transition. We brough Poch in for 2026, not for 2024.

 

Man tough crowd lol. I actually came away from the game fairly encouraged. Not perfect by any means but building blocks are there.

I thought the attack looked much more direct. It didn't feel like we were waiting for Pulisic to pull magic out of thin air, and honestly thought we created a few very dangerous looks that admittedly should have done better.

I thought Busio and Morris did well. Some errant passes here and there and the occasional lackadaisical moments in possession but I felt their movement and willingness to pass progress the ball by passing forward helped spread the ball a bit and create space.

Speaking of which, Mark McKenzie being comfortable on the ball and being willing to make passes himself also made a difference. was nice to see a game where a CB didn't just kick the ball to Ream and wait for him to make a play. Also thought he and Ream had a good understanding and there were less breakdowns due to a lack of communication.

Thought Brendan's pressing was very underrated and felt his movement off ball was good. Needs to be more decisive with the ball, but I thought he looked comfortable.

Glad Musah got his goal, but thought he was poor aside from that. He just looks so unsure of himself when he has to do anything other than dribble forward.

Sargent has to do better when he gets a chance but thought he was busy.

The team does still need to do better when they're in dangerous positions, they have to be a bit more adventurous in attack, and the team is still too sloppy passing overall, but I felt this was a good first step for Poch

 

I watched USA/Panama game last night on Telemundo last night with the sound down. Not realizing it was also on TNT. Somebody mentioned this morning that the TNT broadcast had sound only from a mic in the stadium - crowd noise, the ref whistle, and that was it. The Austin stadium management screwed up somehow with something pretty elemental.

 

One game in charge and Poch has performed a minor miracle and gotten Musah to score. First goal in 42 caps. Moving him out right paid immediate dividends.

 

The overall production of national team games is just awful.

 

Seems like the positional switch was partly intended as a confidence boosting measure.

https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/41763351/usmnt-panama-mauricio-pochettino-debut-coach

"He's not playing a lot. The last few games that played, I think he didn't feel comfortable in that situation," Pochettino said. "When he arrived, we were talking and ... tried to build his confidence maybe from starting in a different position than he was starting in the past. I think that was a good decision."

 

Here are a few more quotes on that from the Athletic post-game summary: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5839634/2024/10/13/mauricio-pochettino-usmnt-confidence

In that position, Pochettino felt Musah would have more freedom to push forward on the ball, one of his strengths, without the pressures of being a focal part of the build-up at a time when he isn’t playing regularly for his club and thus wasn’t in his best form.

. . .

“It’s always worth trying to build his confidence and to (make him) feel again (that he is) a player that can perform on the pitch,” Pochettino said. “It was an important moment for him, to (show) trust in him, but maybe not to give him too much responsibility in the build-up. It’s only to be in a position that can help the team, and then he arrived there and scored.

“Fantastic for him, fantastic for the team. And now maybe he’ll start to perform and behave in a different way, full of confidence. That is the important (factor) in our decision, is trying to help. We are here to help the player to find their best.”

 

Honestly it’s the first game, I wasn’t expecting a dramatic change quite yet. It’s a process that only needs to peak summer 2026. Thinks of Naglesmann with Germany. They looked good at the Euros but they took a bit to get going.

 

Look, when you've already had your mind made up about things years before, it's really hard to do anything but watch through that lens.

 

Watched the first half again. If you watch it without the baggage of recent games and previous coaches, we played a lot better than I thought originally. We really dominated.

 

Not on defense. Panama had such a strong finish in large part because the Pepi-Wright-Tillman lineup simply fell apart on any structure or pressure. They kept the ball and they most of their best chances and their only sustained pressure.

It worked out because they absolutely executed beautifully on offense. Ironic that it was almost identical to the first goal -- a nice through ball by the CAM (Aaronson/Tillman), a nice cross by the LW (CP / Wright) and a good run and finish by the striker.

But I can guarantee you that Pochettino saw how the lack of defensive intensity and focus -- by a group that should have been fresh! -- had the opposite effect he probably wanted.

 

Put me on the Busio was NOT good side. Tons of time just standing around hoping to receive. Dude, you've got to move to a spot that would make sense for someone to pass to. 5 seconds later, Morris has to come back to get the ball. Happened a bunch.

 

I think dominated is strong, but I think the negativity of this thread is unwarranted. Aside from a few executional errors offensively in the first half and then the second half defensive lapses later in the game, we controlled the whole thing.

Of course, those count, too.

 

We got that long look at Turner in the pregame making a "double save". And then it happened in the match! That was a fantastic moment by Turner.

 

I’m not seeing the strong press game that others see from Sargent. I’ll have to watch closer, but I may not get that chance.

 

I was actually a bit disappointed in how little we went through the middle. The attack plan was almost exclusively on the edges of the box, interplay between the winger/CAM and the wider player, trying to get the shorter cross (and that was both goals).

We didn't do a lot of Hail Mary deep crosses, which was good, and the Man City cut, so to speak, is an effective way to score. But very little focus on Zone 14 or getting into the box centrally.

 

I think Sargent did a couple of really great things in the press last night. For one, we very clearly did not want to press all the time, and even the counterpresses were selective. With the exception of maybe once, I think he did a fantastic job of knowing when to trigger the press. He didn't get the ball, but his pressure forced a ton of weak long balls that we recovered. He's clearly the smartest of our strikers on knowing WHEN to press. And since it's pretty clear that he's the trigger and everyone follows, that's important.

Two, watch him play the passing lanes compared to say, Wright or Pepi. Pepi has the energy, but he's not nearly as good as staying between the player and his passing options, or forcing the player into bad spots.

He's just a really smart presser.

Now, does that make up the complete flub on the goal that should have been? Probably not, but just like Pepi can learn more pressing ... Sargent can make those.