Yeah that's the one good thing(?) from this half was almost every problem has been due to individual errors. Some may say that's from the pressure of playing out of the back, but to me it seems they didn't drink enough coffee today.
Is this bad? 54 is the most times the #USMNT has lost possession in the defensive half in any first half under Berhalter. https://t.co/gnr3xE9bIw— Paul Carr (@PaulCarr) September 23, 2022
I'd say that's true for everyone but Aaronson. Dude getting crushed all over the field and he was still flying all over the place.
I said that this would be fun pregame. I was very wrong. There was nothing fun about this. We looked disjointed, slow to react, even incompetent at times. The first 45 minutes were about the worst I can recall. Only positive I took from it is that Turner looks sharp.
Just watched this turd on DVD. Man, does anyone besides Brendan Aaronson have any sense of urgency? Drive? Very lazy performance from everyone not wearing #11 (who got the crap knocked out of him multiple times). Fifty-four 1st half giveaways on our defensive half?!? Jesus Hirohito Christ! That’s gotta be fixed. I half expected some giveaways from Aaron Long, but Zimmerman was guilty of some himself. McKennie was plain terrible. TURRIBLE! And four shots, with zero on goal for the whole game?!? Turner was IMO US MOTM. Stood on his head to cover for everyone else’s blunders in front of him. Deserves to start at the WC. (And he’s been given the nod to be between the pipes for the Gunners in their remaining five Europa League Group A matches, so regular playing time.) We all know Ggggg’s affinity for Zak Steffen (who apparently has a knee injury), but Gggg has to see that Turner’s the man right now. Hopefully Chris Richards will be healthy enough to start at CB, as I don’t think neither Long nor McKenzie are the guy. Sargent and Morris didn’t show well. I agree with Twattmann (gasp!!) that, given club form, Pefok has to be on the final roster. Also, can’t Dest play both RB and LB? If Antonee Robinson isn’t healthy by WC time, wouldn’t it make more sense to start Dest on the left and Cannon on the right? Cannon showed and has shown better at RB than Vines has at LB. To be fair, Japan seemed technically skilled and worked as a cohesive unit. We weren’t and didn’t. Last USMNT match on ESPN, as the next friendly and WC are on Fox networks and with the new TV deals. Ta ta for now, Tay Tay. You may be an MLS shill, but you’re a good analyst of the USMNT and are willing to ask tough questions of the team, coach, and players. Oh, and the new jerseys looked meh. Not great but not as bad as they seemed upon release. This year the US is 1-3-2 vs. WC qualified teams this year. Not great, Bob. So, get your $#!t together against Saudi Arabia and figure things out before Nov 21st!!
That of course has traditionally been the hallmark of the Japanese program, both men and women; they know they can't beat you with superior skills or speed and athleticism, but they sure as hell can out work you. GGG's Boyz either weren't ready for that or just didn't care. The ludicrous 54 turnovers was mostly the result of Japan jumping lazy passing. They hustle their asses off and concede nothing. So what's the US going to do when they play a team with that kind of work rate AND has great skill players besides?
Biggest concern is how poorly the results have been on the road and the lack of goal scoring. The 26 WC is our best chance at a deep run. would be nice if we could win our group and at least one knock out gm to build towards the future. The record and stats away from home show a lack of quality. Vrs Japan i think the players wanted to stay healthy and they were mostly going through the motions