I'm at somewhat a disadvantage here because I don't know our competitors as well, but how do you have a post claiming we have "the best CB group of any team in CONCACAF by a fairly sizeable margin" and not list anyone from another team? This is merely a list, with clubs attached, without that. Nestor Araujo is at Celta Vigo. He may not be quite Brooks level, but I wonder if he's better defensively. Carlos Salcedo is in his prime, starting for the team that just lost 1-0 to Bayern Munich in the Club World Cup. He's a starting CB for the best team in the Americas. Cesar Montes is 23 and about to be sold to Europe; Johan Vazquez is 22 and starting in Liga MX as well. Gilberto Supelveda is 22 and starting at Chivas, I believe. I don't really see why our MLS, Belgium and Austria guys are playing in significantly better leagues than Liga MX (if at all). Are we hanging all our hats on Chris Richards becoming a star and John Brooks not making defensive errors? Plus, our talent is pretty young. That's good for future development but not necessarily so good for declaring our CB pool the best by a "sizeable margin." I don't see the margin. Araujo-Salcedo is a very good pairing, and Montes is contesting there as well. I don't know about Mexico's depth or development, but I think we get enamored with players because they are 20 or whatever, envisioning a lifetime of development. But if we're talking WCQ in September, give me some pretty established performers.
In league play, Pulisic's per 90 dribble success rate is about the same as last season's. And he has attempted more dribbles per 90. He does not have the same level of goals and assists, but is 3rd in xGChain per 90. The explosiveness is still there. Shot creation involvement is still there. He's suffered hamstring setbacks since that god of football Summer, but the opposition have also adjusted to him. He's still hurting them, but not killing them with the direct goals and assists. He'll in turn need to adapt to improve his odds of scoring and assisting. With the US, I'd still like to see him at attacking midfield or on the right. The popular convention with a right-footed attacker is to play him on the left. But without a strong supporting cast and without effective patterns of play, it's been too easy to crowd out a left-positioned Pulisic.
So much of the Pulisic is not doing well narrative is final product. Some of that is that he's still inconsistent there and the end of the last season was a good run for him, and not a permanent leap. Some of that is inconsistent performance by his teammates here as well.
Watching the Dike Champs League game ..... it's not going to happen. I like Novakovich better. Even at that level, not fast, not quick, his first touch makes you appreciate Gyasi's.
I dont think Dest was nearly as bad as many against PSG. I repeat. Dest "mostly held his own" against Mbappe. Beat once, would've been twice if #7 brings the ball down in the 2nd clip.Y'all got emotional. I know. Watching football is hard. Next time you should be silent tho.https://t.co/xB7qnisHmN— scuffed (@scuffedpod) February 18, 2021
Siebatcheu scores! his 9th goal of the season across all competitions and BSC Young Boys as a 2-0 lead on Bayer Leverkusen in the 19th minute https://t.co/jthBvN671I— Brian Sciaretta (@BrianSciaretta) February 18, 2021 Siebatchu has earned a look, hopefully we see him in march
He definitely held his own for much of the game. That level against PSG is "best in the world" level. Holding down Mbappe for 90 minutes is something nobody does. Hence why he's Mbappe. He makes the best in the world look silly at times. You can hold him down for 88 minutes, and in those other 2 minutes work his magic to win the game. Dest is only 20. He'll learn from this game and improve.
The last sentence is the most important part. Going up against guys like Mbappe makes weaknesses very obvious. Mbappe was a beast the whole game.
It'll be interesting to see what happens with him. The USMNT called him up in 2018 and he declined the callup. Count me as somebody who thinks he actually should be ahead of Gioacchini and Soto based on performance right now. If he was committed.........................
For those wanting to know more about Justin Che. My latest piece is on on Justin Che. The FC Dallas homegrown is at Bayern Munich on loan and I spoke the defender on the path to this point, his goals moving forward, and much more. Some pre-Europa reading for you. For ASN. https://t.co/ZWa0eECo5L— Brian Sciaretta (@BrianSciaretta) February 18, 2021
Nice little flick from Aaronson to meg Parejo pic.twitter.com/rhqoD8E8RR— CONCACAF NATIONS LEAGUE STAN (@JordanDunathan) February 18, 2021
TIMOTHY WEAH. FIRST TIME FINISH. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/rbALZAs8xJ— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) February 18, 2021 Tim didn’t pardon the mistake. Similar to how RBL got punished by Salah.