2022 International Soccer

[DG_ThenNowForever]

5 minutes ago, MJWalker45 said:

Especially when they have all that space available to use that's beyond the boards and vertically. They made sure to get it to the minimum, and they did the same for Mexico.

 

Yeah...it's park the bus style soccer, which is everyone's least favorite. I hate this.

[DEAD!]

14 minutes ago, DG_ThenNowForever said:

 

Yeah...it's park the bus style soccer, which is everyone's least favorite. I hate this.

Yeah, even I agree. This is Ivor Wynne, not Loftus Road

[DG_ThenNowForever]

Congrats Canada.

 

Next step, Concacaf can take a look at pitch requirements. Today was ridiculous.

[Rockstar Matt]

What more do you have to see, Brian McBride? Berhalter is not the answer at manager unless your plan is to get bounced in the group stage at the World Cup. The US has no plan, no thought in the final third aside from letting their players try to make a play 1v4. It’s absurd. Canada was without Davies too and you can’t manage a single goal?
 

Starting Zardes against the group’s top team on the road should be a felony. Every match the USMNT will be out coached and has been out coached, despite having the easily the most talented pool in the region. 

[DEAD!]

19 minutes ago, Rockstar Matt said:

What more do you have to see, Brian McBride? Berhalter is not the answer at manager unless your plan is to get bounced in the group stage at the World Cup. The US has no plan, no thought in the final third aside from letting their players try to make a play 1v4. It’s absurd. Canada was without Davies too and you can’t manage a single goal?
 

Starting Zardes against the group’s top team on the road should be a felony. Every match the USMNT will be out coached and has been out coached, despite having the easily the most talented pool in the region. 

 

This confounds me.  Sure, the pitch was an issue, but Canada was able to find two goals. If anything, the US should have been better prepared for this match than Canada partly because Canada just came from the heat in Honduras and they now have to fly back into the heat in El Salvador. 

Before the game, a thought came to me that said, what if Canada just simply has that one or two players that can just finish... but, who does the US have?

As it stands, Jamaica is leading Panama, If that result holds, considering Panama's next game is against Mexico,  Canada, could possibly qualify in THIS window. 

 

[Digby]

11 minutes ago, DEAD! said:

Before the game, a thought came to me that said, what if Canada just simply has that one or two players that can just finish... but, who does the US have?

 

This is really the issue for me. Thought Pepi might be the guy, so not sure what's happening there. Beyond that the USA does not have the finisher-type number 9, or for that matter a reliable playmaker who makes the perfect pass. Pulisic has not lived up to his superstar billing for club or country all season long, and nobody else is stepping up in attack. I think the midfielders have been very solid this cycle but there's nothing to connect with. I have some tactical questions and the continued refusal to play aggressive in the first half baffles me, but I don't see any brilliant obvious plan that Berhalter alone isn't figuring out, not to the degree of Klinsmann's loony formations.

 

(Also must be said that Turner did himself no favors today... it wasn't really that Canada outplayed the USA I thought, more that the USA failed to convert their chances while Canada was very ready to pounce.)

[Rockstar Matt]

4 minutes ago, DEAD! said:

 

This confounds me.  Sure, the pitch was an issue, but Canada was able to find two goals. If anything, the US should have been better prepared for this match than Canada partly because Canada just came from the heat in Honduras and they now have to fly back into the heat in El Salvador. 

Before the game, a thought came to me that said, what if Canada just simply has that one or two players that can just finish... but, who does the US have?

As it stands, Jamaica is leading Panama, If that result holds, considering Panama's next game is against Mexico,  Canada, could possibly qualify in THIS window. 

 

It’s absurd. I saw someone point out that Canada plays like team, they know what they’re trying to do and their manager gets the best out of their players whereas the US plays like they are just a bunch of players with no understanding of what they’re trying to be.
 

We have a manager who is trying to fit players into his scheme (while playing favorites…) instead of creating a scheme to best fit his players. 

 

Canada also have better strikers than we do (David is probably the best 9 in the region). Pepi is our best striker but he’s super young. 
 

But the fact that the US has so much attacking talent who plays their club ball in the Champions League and Berhalter can’t get goals out of those guys?
 

Pulisic is the USMNT’s best ever player, and Berhalter has only gotten 3 goals from him in the last two years?? Unacceptable. Pulisic only plays well on the wing when he has a good 10 to work with. With Reyna out due to injury, Pulisic has to play at the 10. He’s our most creative attacker. 

[Digby]

22 hours ago, Rockstar Matt said:

Pulisic is the USMNT’s best ever player

 

Honestly I am increasingly questioning how much of this is true, given the year he's had for both club and country. I expect better from a supposed elite attacker than his apparently inflexibility, and he needs to do better than constantly dribbling into 4 guys. But it's also true that both of his coaches are putting him in sub-ideal spots. I guess one difference is that Berhalter plays him anywhere buying into his genius attacker persona, while Tuchel plays him anywhere as a master-of-none sacrifice to the wolves. But the problems end up being the same. He seems to be the one attacking player whose position is rotation-proof for the USMNT right now...but I'd like to see him as a super-sub next game regardless.

[Rockstar Matt]

1 hour ago, Digby said:

 

Honestly I am increasingly questioning how much of this is true, given the year he's had for both club and country. I expect better from a supposed elite attacker than his apparently inflexibility, and he needs to do better than constantly dribbling into 4 guys. But it's also true that both of his coaches are putting him in sub-ideal spots. I guess one difference is that Berhalter plays him anywhere buying into his genius attacker persona, while Tuchel plays him anywhere as a master-of-none sacrifice to the wolves. But the problems end up being the same. He seems to be the one attacking player whose position is rotation-proof for the USMNT right now...but I'd like to see him as a super-sub next game regardless.

There is no question Pulisic is in bad form right now. Not only does he look tentative and unconfident, he looks a step slow at the moment too. Don’t know how much that is just mental considering his club situation and also coming back from nagging injuries. 
 

And when you couple that with the fact that playing on the wing allows the defense to contain you better along with the understanding that every CONCACAF team we face goes out of their way to send multiple dudes at Pulisic (since he’s our most dangerous attacker, he almost never gets 1v1’s in CONCACAF play) while Berhalter does him no favors with their game plan and not punishing teams for over committing to Pulisic, it’s no wonder he’s struggling. 

 

Pulisic is at his best when he’s allowed to be direct and attack defenders. That’s when the World Class version of him comes out. This is true at Chelsea and when playing for country. 
 

Playing LW works for Pulisic when he has Havertz, Werner, Mount, Kante to work with (i.e. world class attackers and midfielders lmao), but with the USMNT lack of world class attackers and the uncreative attack plan from Berhalter, he just cannot be out there on the wing. It’s a waste of his talent. Play him centrally at the 10 and allow him to roam free and create. 
 

But lest we forget, Pulisic just won the CL as his team’s No. 10 and had a goal + assist against Real Madrid in the CL semifinals. Nearly had the game sealing goal in the Final against Man City too.
 

He’s probably going through his worst stretch of his career at the moment, but he’s still very young (just 23), already accomplished so much. He’s easily our best ever player. Don’t let a few months of poor play negate everything he’s done beforehand. 

[BrySmalls]

It was frustrating watching Canada best the US in a critical match.   The current US attacking style is barely working, if nonexistent in the final third . Berhalter can say  we dominated Canada all that he wants, but the scoreboard result is all that matters.

US need to correct the attack tomorrow against Honduras. They can't afford to drop 3 points with matches against Mexico, Panama,  and Costa Rica on the horizon in March.

[Digby]

 

 

Great night for an outdoor soccer game.

 

All this just to avoid an extra hour on your flights and letting any brown people into the stadium. 

[DG_ThenNowForever]

Not to mention you have to prepare for a winter world cup. In the desert.

 

These people are outsmarting themselves and it's leading to bad soccer in unsafe conditions.

[DEAD!]

At this point, I would consider having the match abandoned. 

2 hours ago, Digby said:

 

 

Great night for an outdoor soccer game.

 

All this just to avoid an extra hour on your flights and letting any brown people into the stadium. 

Just to be clear, it's Hispanics to be specific. 

I mean I don't know about the Arab or South Asian populations in that state, but somehow, I know there is significant Filipino population in Winnipeg.

[officeglenn]

Meanwhile, Salvadoran players have issued a statement saying they will not play their match against Canada tonight "in dissatisfaction that the Committee of the [Salvadorian Football Federation] will not comply with the prize [money] agreement." FESFUT is holding a press conference to address this soon (or has already? I think they're on Central time?).

 

 

 

[Rockstar Matt]

6 hours ago, Digby said:

 

 

Great night for an outdoor soccer game.

 

All this just to avoid an extra hour on your flights and letting any brown people into the stadium. 

Apparently this was Berhalter’s decision too. USMNT said today that basically he has final say on where they play in the US. 
 

This is actually dangerous. Anyone out there is legitimately risking bodily harm playing in this game, or even attending this game. 

[officeglenn]

20 minutes ago, officeglenn said:

Meanwhile, Salvadoran players have issued a statement saying they will not play their match against Canada tonight "in dissatisfaction that the Committee of the [Salvadorian Football Federation] will not comply with the prize [money] agreement." FESFUT is holding a press conference to address this soon (or has already? I think they're on Central time?).

 

 

 

 

Looks like everything's been resolved and the match will go on as planned:

 

 

[Digby]

Does FIFA or Concacaf not have rules on this, a la water breaks? Can the ref show up and say "this ain't happening"?

[DEAD!]

That US soccer have to do this is just...  

 

[Digby]

The ref made Matt Turner get rid of his Vikings QB-hand-pouch in the first minute though! What a sadistic lunatic, who cares!

[DG_ThenNowForever]

21 minutes ago, Digby said:

The ref made Matt Turner get rid of his Vikings QB-hand-pouch in the first minute though! What a sadistic lunatic, who cares!

 

That's :censored:ed up. Goalies just stand around!