Yeah, it's kind of the whispered part when we talk about how good Horvath was. He had to play great because he was under fire.
***Official USMNT Thread***
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Yeah, it's kind of the whispered part when we talk about how good Horvath was. He had to play great because he was under fire.
Lainez was a problem. They looked so much more dangerous when he entered.
I totally agree. I'm faaaaar from a soccer expert but it was easy to see our backline really struggled to keep the opposition in front of them. The Lainez guy went anywhere he wanted with the ball. The byproduct of that is the bulk of our talent seems to be in the midfield and attacking, but they had to stay back to chip in on defense. So many times even when we'd get back in possession we wouldn't have the numbers forward to do anything with it because everyone had to drop back and help.
Are any of these new up-and-comers defenders? Seems like we've got plenty up front and in the midfield.
I think it's going to be rebroadcast on CBS Sports Net Friday at 9am.
LOl ... you are not wrong. We've had a back line problem, well, forever. A few good backs through the years but there's always been someone that gets exploited. Then we have keepers that go on and play in the EPL or some other top leagues.
No you’re right with the back line. Brooks is a very solid center back and I think by the time we have World Cup qualifying we’ll have a look at Chris Richards paired with him. Richards is at arguably the best team in the world in Bayern Munich and was loaned out to fellow German team Hoffenheim and started for them and did very well. One of the outside back positions is solidified with Dest who is a great guy on the ball but not really a great defender yet. And I like Antonee Robinson, fast and a pretty good defender, not great on the ball but puts in decent crosses. I don’t think we should see any more of Tim ream as this game showed he literally can’t mark anybody one on one.
We definitely need some center backs to come good. Brooks is a very solid defender, but his major limitation is he’s not very quick with his feet when he gets isolated. If we can pair him with another CB who’s more athletic, rangy you can help him minimize his limitations. That’s usually where you’d see Aaron Long as the RCB, but he’s going to be out for months with an Achilles injury.
Chris Richards is another option who had a fantastic loan stretch with Hoffenheim this year. He was just voted to their fan team of the season and he didn’t even join the club until February. I don’t know what Bayern plans to do with Richards, but I think him making that move to Hoffenheim permanent might be the best move for his career.
I think McKenzie is pretty solid defensively. He obviously made some poor decisions with his passing against the press, but in terms of his actual defending I think he’s got potential to develop for us. Don’t forget that Richards is 21 and McKenzie is 22. These guys are babies in terms of CB development. They’ve got plenty of room to grow.
As a Fulham fan, I have more respect for Ream than probably 99% of the US fan base, but I don’t think you can play him at the same time as Brooks. That’s 2 central defenders that struggle with quickness and pace and it leaves us way too exposed against teams with attacking talent like Mexico. Ream might have a role as the left-footed backup for Brooks where he can eat up some minutes against lesser opposition where the US expects to have most of the ball, but I hope Berhalter abandons any thought of playing Brooks and Ream together after last night.
There’s some CONCACAF World Cup qualifying action tonight for the nations trying to get into the final 8 teams. St. Kitts and Nevis won their group eliminating Trinidad and Tobago so they have advanced. They are waiting for the winners of the 5 other groups and then those 6 teams will pair off and play for the final 3 spots in the Octagonal.
El Salvador and Antigua play and both are tied on 7 points in their group. Antigua would need a bunch of goals to overcome GD in the event of a tie so they pretty much need a win to advance.
Canada and Suriname play with both tied at 9 points. Suriname is in a bad position with GD so Canada advances with a win or draw.
Curaçao and Guatemala are also tied on 9 pts and have an identical goal differential so that one could get interesting.
Panama and the Dominican Republic play with Panama on 9 pts and DR on 7.
Finally, Haiti plays Nicaragua ahead by 3 points and 4 goals in GD so Nicaragua would need a massive win to advance.
El Salvador and Antigua play and both are tied on 7 points in their group. Antigua would need a bunch of goals to overcome GD in the event of a tie so they pretty much need a win to advance.
Canada and Suriname play with both tied at 9 points. Suriname is in a bad position with GD so Canada advances with a win or draw.
Curaçao and Guatemala are also tied on 9 pts and have an identical goal differential so that one could get interesting.
Panama and the Dominican Republic play with Panama on 9 pts and DR on 7.
Finally, Haiti plays Nicaragua ahead by 3 points and 4 goals in GD so Nicaragua would need a massive win to advance.
Biggest hurdle overcome for the US with Trinidad and Tobago knocked out
I think it will be a mostly MLS based roster. I will be most interested to see Dike get a run of games at forward as well as Miles Robinson at CB.
Also, don’t forget, they have one more friendly against Costa Rica tomorrow night with the Nations League squad plus some others. There’s a chance we see Dike tomorrow, but I have a feeling that GB might give Pefok a start at forward since he hasn’t seen a ton of minutes. I’d also like to see Weah and Aaronson get some solid minutes.
St. Kitts vs. El Salvador
Haiti vs. Canada
Panama vs. Curacao
Those matchups will play home and away ties over the next week and the winners advance to the Octagonal where they will join the US, Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Jamaica.
Haiti vs. Canada
Panama vs. Curacao
Those matchups will play home and away ties over the next week and the winners advance to the Octagonal where they will join the US, Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Jamaica.
If you want to see some of our younger attacking options, then you’ll be excited about tonight’s lineup against Costa Rica.
Weah-Dike-Aaronson
Musah-Adams-Lletget
Robinson-Ream-McKenzie-Cannon
Horvath
Weah-Dike-Aaronson
Musah-Adams-Lletget
Robinson-Ream-McKenzie-Cannon
Horvath
Aaronson and Dike with first half goals. I’m catching up on DVR, but so far so good. Musah has looked good in midfield again. He’s got some Darlington Nagbe in him, he can advance the ball on the dribble and you’re not going to get the ball off him. But he’s got more bite in his game. He’s going to go in and win those 50/50 balls in midfield or at least make sure you’re not coming out of the challenge with an advantage.
I’ve posted about Justin Che before, but Bayern Munich are still pursuing a deal with FC Dallas to sign him permanently.
www.mlssoccer.com
Latest on Bayern Munich's chase of FC Dallas defender Justin Che | MLSSoccer.com
Bayern Munich's pursuit of FC Dallas defender Justin Che continues to heat up. As previously reported in May, Dallas and Bayern remain in discussions over the US youth international as Bayern hope to sign Che on a permanent deal. Bayern do not have a purchase clause as part of his
www.mlssoccer.com
"Alright guys, new strategy. There are bound to be a couple players on their team with ADD or that are possibly susceptible to seizures..."
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If you are going to go with a weird, designy, non-traditional top, I actually kinda like this. It’s miles better than the blue-on-navy blob uniform they’ve been wearing.
