Qatar 2022 World Cup Discussion

[DG_ThenNowForever]

Gregg won a couple of domestic trophies and qualified for the World Cup. Why are people so energized to get rid of him?

[Rockstar Matt]

Pulisic to Weah!!!! LETS EFFING GO

[TrueYankee26]

Get in there.  

[Berlin Wall]

Imagine Musiala would've decided himself for the Three Lions. They would've been unstoppable for some years.

[Digby]

Nice first half for the USMNT. Have always thought Weah is kinda lowkey underrated as one of the team's winger options, I'm happy to see him start and score.

 

Very solid first half... good pressure, kept possession, making something of the chances was (not shockingly) more of a struggle than it needed to be but it's good that they stuck to the process til it worked.

 

Ref's all over the place though.

[Rockstar Matt]

One of the best halves I’ve seen the US play in the Berhalter era. The US so far has looked crisp, confident and they’re showing they have vastly more quality than Wales. 
 

Go get another goal in the 2nd half and grab those 3 points. No let up. 

[TrueYankee26]

What a save by Matt Turner

 

Update: That was a dumb challenge by Zimmerman and Bale ties the game for Wales

Edited November 21, 2022 by TrueYankee26

[Digby]

Feels like a blown opportunity for the USA. Lost too much energy in that 2nd half, and an awful challenge from Zimmerman made the difference. Shame that this team can't convert good attacking play to more quality chances on goal, but that's been nothing new this entire cycle.

[TrueYankee26]

The game against England gets even bigger now.

[Rockstar Matt]

Shouldn’t have lost this game. Makes the Iran match a must win unless the US somehow beats England. Massive missed opportunity. Second half the team was not nearly as clinical or clean as they needed to be. Berhalter’s subs were atrocious aside from McKinnie for Aaronson which should have happened 10 minutes earlier. Adams and Musah were outstanding, especially Adams. 
 

I can’t believe Jordan freakin’ Morris was subbed on instead of Gio Reyna too. What in the world. Gregg might be the only manager in the world who would think to bring on Morris instead of Reyna when needing a goal. 

[Digby]

Morris makes sense to me as a late stoppage time sub as the most likely option to have his head be in a favorable position for a goal during late desperation heaves into the box. Now, should that sub have been made earlier and been Reyna at that earlier point? Probably. Assume Reyna picked up a knock, because of course he did. (I'd also prefer the US to just start three of the wingers and have them rotate as necessary into the forward spot with this player pool.)

[Digby]

23 minutes ago, TrueYankee26 said:

The game against England gets even bigger now.

 

 

[MJWalker45]

2 hours ago, DG_ThenNowForever said:

Gregg won a couple of domestic trophies and qualified for the World Cup. Why are people so energized to get rid of him?

Because they see the hire as nepotism, since his brother was on the US Soccer board at the time. And they feel he leans on the MLS players more and doesn't want the national team players to play in Europe. At least not leading up to this tournament. 

34 minutes ago, Digby said:

Morris makes sense to me as a late stoppage time sub as the most likely option to have his head be in a favorable position for a goal during late desperation heaves into the box. Now, should that sub have been made earlier and been Reyna at that earlier point? Probably. Assume Reyna picked up a knock, because of course he did. (I'd also prefer the US to just start three of the wingers and have them rotate as necessary into the forward spot with this player pool.)

I wonder if Reyna just wasn't ready, or Gregg wants to see how long he can go vs England where you may need his skills more than you would against Wales. 

52 minutes ago, TrueYankee26 said:

The game against England gets even bigger now.

I think it isn't any bigger than it was before today, unless Wales copies England's result today. Game should have been 2-0 today, but it wasn't. And 1 point is still better than none. 

[Rockstar Matt]

27 minutes ago, MJWalker45 said:

Because they see the hire as nepotism, since his brother was on the US Soccer board at the time. And they feel he leans on the MLS players more and doesn't want the national team players to play in Europe. At least not leading up to this tournament. 

Correct on the criticism that Berhalter leans too much on MLS players but I feel as though you’ve missed the major reasons why people, and myself, do not like Berhalter as the USMNT manager. 
 

He coaches this team like a club team, forcing the players to fit his system rather than tailoring a system to fit his best players. He has horrendous in-game management, doesn’t know how to make proper adjustments against quality teams and makes horrific substitutions. Those are the main reasons why most of us do not rate him as a manager. It has nothing to do with how he was hired or any other reason. 
 

It was clear as day as soon as Dest, Musah and Weah were subbed off for their MLS counterparts the quality of play for the US dropped considerably. They seemed nervous, timid and clearly looked outmatched. Hell, Zimmerman, who is easily the best MLS-based USMNT player committed one of the dumbest fouls I’ve seen in a WC. 
 

What was the reason of bringing Joe Scally to Qatar (arguably the team’s best RB or at least the clear 2nd best RB in the NT) only to play Yedlin who hasn’t been good in years? 
 

And I’m sorry, but playing Jordan Morris for even a single second in the World Cup is an atrocious decision. Morris has no technical ability whatsoever and ever since his ACL tear, lost the only thing he had on the international stage which was his speed/acceleration. If Weah needed a sub, bring on Reyna (who isn’t hurt, this is confirmed by both Berhalter and Reyna himself) or LDLT and move Aaronson to the RW. Anyone but Morris. 
 

There is a clear USMNT talent drop off from their European based players to their MLS guys. It’s obvious to everyone, except MLS homers. Until the MLS quality of play increases to that of top European, no USMNT roster should have more than 2-3 MLS guys. 

[MJWalker45]

2 minutes ago, Rockstar Matt said:

And I’m sorry, but playing Jordan Morris for even a single second in the World Cup is an atrocious decision. Morris has no technical ability whatsoever and ever since his ACL tear, lost the only thing he had on the international stage which was his speed/acceleration. If Weah needed a sub, bring on Reyna or LDLT and move Aaronson to the RW. Anyone but Morris. 

The only reason you bring in Morris is every other option is injured, or he's going directly in front of the goalkeeper for a last minute corner kick. 

[Digby]

It is funny to me that each team started an MLS guy. Shame ours made the crucial mistake but, OTOH, theirs scored the equalizer. A meta draw on top of the real draw.

[FiddySicks]

Not going to link the article because it probably brushes too close to our politics rules, but this whole Grant Wahl thing is yet another reason why I won’t be watching this tournament. 
 

Edit: @DG_ThenNowForever why are you thumbs downing me on this? You’ve been bitching for the last three pages about how morally reprehensible all of this is. God dude, you’re such a miserable hater. Maybe Admiral was right. 

[pmoehrin]

I thought the US played pretty well for the most part. If not for that one foul in the penalty box, they would have won 1-0.

 

I'll be the first to admit I'm not a soccer expert, but they strike me as a team learning how to play together and win. I don't expect much out of them this time around. I'd take getting out of the group stage as a win. But I think they'll be a force to be reckoned with in four years when the World Cup comes to North America.

I did get a kick out of Gregg Berhalter's working-from-home attire. Just swap out the khakis for a pair of basketball shorts, and you basically have the same outfit I wear almost every day.

[GriffinM6]

Another issue people have with Berhalter is his record away from the US (road or neutral site) is atrocious. 0-4-4 in the last 8 games outside of the US.

 

The worst part about the second half is that they basically played not to lose, and it ultimately bit them in the ass. Goal differential is huge after England's 6-2 win earlier today and the USMNT looked very passive in the second half rather than try to pile on the goals. 

[Digby]

2 hours ago, pmoehrin said:

I'll be the first to admit I'm not a soccer expert, but they strike me as a team learning how to play together and win. I don't expect much out of them this time around. I'd take getting out of the group stage as a win. But I think they'll be a force to be reckoned with in four years when the World Cup comes to North America.

 

Yeah, I think this is mostly it... in that second half they played like the nerves caught up, the fatigue caught up, the smart strategic play gave way to overwhelmed and nervous play. Not sure how to manage out of that part of it, even if the lack of adjustments and subs didn't help.