OT: USMNT vs. Panama
A huge game for the USMNT team today at we face Panama at 7pm in Orlando. If we win and Costa Rica ties or loses in their game at El Salvador at 5pm, then we've officially qualified for the World Cup. And even if Costa Rica wins, a USMNT win against Panama makes it extremely likely that we'll qualify, because we hold a commanding lead in goal differential.
Berhalter rolled the dice and played an 'A' squad against Mexico on Thursday and the gamble mostly paid off. Some interesting line-up questions for the Panama game, including:
- Can he really play Pefok at the 9 after that comical miss in Azteca? Pepi hasn't scored for months and Ferreira isn't the kind of aerial threat you want against a bunkered Panama side.
- Does he continue to roll with Robinson and Zimmeran at CB? If so, it's pretty much an endorsement of those two as the 'A' pairing.
- Does he finally slot Reyna into an attacking midfield (8) role, especially given that McKennie is out injured?
- Can inexperienced guys like Shaq Moore and Luca de la Torre be counted on to step up on this big of a stage?
Could be the biggest win in a long time...
LET'S DO THIS! BEAT PANAMA!
Pistons popping, ain't no stopping now...
Nice CB, I saw Van Halen at the Joe Louis Arena in 1984 for the 1984 album tour, great concert, I sat 2 rows from the stage on the left side.
Tigers winning the WS and VH launching a great album! Great time for me living in Milford, MI and being in 3rd grade.
And all these years I thought they were singing "ENEMA!"
a man
a plan
a canal
berhalter
I seemingly never tire of watching a Reyna play for team USA.
To answer your questions:
1) Ferreira will start this game. He's got the best chance of helping break down their defense. Plus they won't be that bunkered because a draw does nothing for them.
2) Most likely, yes those are the starting CB. And if both are fully fit after the Azteca, they should be.
3) Normally I'd love to see Reyna at central midfield (btw, 8 is central mid. Attacking mid is considered a 10) but given the dearth of options at winger in this game (no Weah) he's gotta be the other winger opposite Pulisic. Especially considering you've got LDLT and Busio healthy and ready to fill in at central mid.
4) I think LDLT could have a big game, but I'm worried about Shaq Moore. I've never been impressed with him.
Shaq Moore was great in the Gold Cup against this level of competition, and against Mexico which was really a higher level of competition. He's gonna be absolutely fine against Panama at home.
"great" is a strong word. He was adequate. He was far less adequate against Panama more recently in the wcq in October. And he's barely been getting time with a Spanish 2nd division team. Normally I think you can pretty easily hide one player but we ask a LOT from our fullbacks, both in defense and in building the attack. All of that is going to need to come from Reyna by himself (assuming he's on the right) or completely on the left, from a tired Pulisic and Robinson.
To be clear I think we'll win, I just think the path to us losing or drawing probably goes through Moore getting exposed.
I have nothing against Ferreira but I've always wondered why if Berhalter is going to experiment with a false 9, why not go with Pulisic there? (And I realize he's not going to do that against Panama, but just bigger picture).
I've always liked Busio and would be fine with him starting this game but can't we see Reyna in the middle of the field at least once? Did Berhalter see that run against Mexico on Thursday? The kid is magic with the ball at his feet in the middle of the park.
I don't think Pulisic is good *at all* as a false 9. He never looks comfortable there for Chelsea. I think Ferreira does a lot of good stuff as a 9, esp considering how the US wants to play. He'll drop deep and get the ball and link up with the wingers. He's pretty opportunistic in front of goal. He's not a target forward but no one we have is. And analytics people like what he does more than Pepi. I think we need to give him a bit of run to see what he can do.
Re: Reyna, like I said, if this is closer to a full strength roster, I'd LOVE to see him as a central mid. But the drop from him to whoever would replace him at winger right now is way more than whoever we can put in central mid. For example, I'd much rather have Reyna at right wing with LDLT in the middle than Reyna in the middle and either Arriola or Morris on the wing.
Is this GoJ’s burner account? LDLT is a give away.
I’ve been so disappointed in Pepi the last 2 games. He seems completely lost.
For those who may not follow the US all that closely, "Some interesting line-up questions for the X game" is actually what the 3rd G in Gregg stands for. Gregg's lineups and callups continue to baffle and amaze (not exactly in a good way) throughout this entire qualifying Octagonal.
Touching briefly on the questions. I don't think any one miss on a finish is really how a center forward/9 is or should be evaluated. You miss. You miss way more than you make. Comedic or not, you miss. The question has to be first and foremost, were you in a position to score? If the swim lane says yes, then the first big hurdle is achieved and you can move on to finishes. HOWEVER, if the misses keep stacking up, that is something that should be considered. But even then, we're talking about a luxury situation where a team has options. JP has been in position, but his true negative last match was some of the other things he was doing on the field, especially in that last late charge by Mexico when we should have been able to catch them at least once on a counter. Pepi looked lost for most of that match. He did have one part to setup one of our three positive chances, but there were times it felt like the US was playing 10 v 11 in that first half. Pepi hasn't scored a goal for the US or Club since October. Jesus Ferreira hasn't looked the part in his few opportunities he had this winter. The question here is why wasn't Sarge called in? He's scoring in Norwich. We're struggling to find someone. He's had good form for the US at times. But that's Gregg. Expect Ferreira to start tonight.
Robinson / Zimmerman at CB and a confirmation of them as the A pairing - Well, if you're looking for much more confirmation, I'm not sure that you're going to get it on these three matches. Miles and Walker have logged more time together than any other unit. The only real person competing for time right now is Chris Richards and he's not even on the team due to injury. John Brooks, who was considered a lock for probably the last 3 years, and going into 2021 as probably our strongest CB, can't even get called into the team. (More Gregg) While guys like James Sands and EPB? do get the call. I think we may see Long, but I don't think its any kind of statement on Robinson and Zimm as the easy front runners for CB.
Reyna's playing time is also going to be weighed against the fact that he's been injured since September. Appearing in 2 club games in the leadup over the past week, as his first time since September. And honestly, at 30 minutes against Mexico, probably played as much as he was allowed. He's on a "pitch count." This was basically confirmed by Berhalter and Marco Rose (Dortmund Manager) having a pre-call conversation about Reyna's time and what his club would feel "ideal" usage. This, however, was made more difficult by Timmy Weah picking up a second yellow and suspension for Panama. If Reyna starts tonight, I don't expect him to be out there after the 60th minute.
Can Shaq Moore step up? Well, he's gonna have to. The single most BAFFLING decision by Gregg's call in's for this final three was at RB. Dest was hoped to have been here, but he got a ding in Barca's Europa match. Them's the breaks. Somehow Gregg thought he could roll with just Reggie Cannon (largely unproven and coming off of an extended injury), and DeAndre Yedlin (I love this man, but his last two clubs in the last calendar year have both let him go midseason on free transfers.) as the two options. Cannon pulls up with COVID, Shaq Moore gets a call in to camp. But how Joe Scally never got a solid look, I have no clue. There was a time when Scally had more logged European playing minutes than any other American this fall. At 18 years old, playing for a mid-top Bundesliga squad. So, Yedlin picks up a suspension against Mexico in a game where he looked old/out of place, and now we're one Shaq Moore (a completely unproven commodity on this stage) bump from .. literally we have no clue who would go back there next.
As a fan, I started this Octagonal with a lot of hope and really defending Berhalter against what I thought were some unfair and unreasonable criticisms. Over the past 9 months now, we've seen weird lineups where he insists on calling in a few MLS guys who clearly have no business being on the field. We've seen his teams consistently come out flat. He's run out peculiar lineups many times that he then has to "fix" with subs when the experiments don't work. There are, however, positives. Chief among them has been his ability to "recruit" elite option players to play for the United States, at a remarkable rate in fact. These kids want to play for the US, and seemingly they want to play for Berhalter. Which can't be ignored.
All of that to say, I think it's a simple fact that he's not truly confident in his position. He's trying to manage the unmanagable. Crazy lineups. Weird call ins. On field experiments. His obsession with undertalented MLS "projects." It's the only thing that makes sense to me. Berhalter needs to get out of his own way, get out of these player's way, and let them do what they're here to do. Beat Panama. Get into the World Cup. And then let's see these boys cook on a world stage.
At just 24 years and 100 or so days, the average age of this qualifying team is RECORD BREAKINGLY young. And there's so much talent. I'm excited to see the start of this golden generation, I just kinda wish it didn't come with all the other nonsense.
You hit the nail on the head. The US hasn’t had a true #9 in forever. We’ve had world class players at almost every position but a #9. We just can’t seem to develop a cold blooded killer in front of the goal. Sigh.
I didn't really understand all the Ferreira time in the last block. Pepi is so young, you want to help guide him through confidence issues on dry stretches like these. Especially at such a young age. I was really hoping young kid, Mexico ties, huge stage in Azteca, that he would rise to the spotlight. But he kinda faded instead. With it all to do over, Pepi should have been getting more time in the last block, maybe worked through a few of these things and then be primed for this huge stage. It's not like Jesus did anything last block.
WRT other 9s, I was hoping Dike to West Brom would be a revolution. It hasn't been so far. I've never been a much of a "Big Red" guy, but he should be on this roster. I have no clue why he's not. Looking down the line, maybe Gioacchini? He's 20, there's potential there. Maybe Malik Tillman (Bayern) if they can convince him to not be German. He played 9 for Bayerns U19 side.
I honestly don't know though.
Ferreira is coming off a hattrick for Dallas last week. I expect him to get the call tonight.
We have had very few world class players at any position. How many of our guys would start for Germany or Belgium or Brazil or Argentina the last 30 years.
Germany, Brazil, Argentina - None. But they're three of the most prolific teams in the entire world and 30 years ago, we were fielding basically the Bad News Bears of international soccer teams.
I don't want the search for "Soccer Jordan" to be a goal. If some guy develops into that great, but the talent this team is collecting is a culmination of a generation of efforts, dare I say (gasp!) Jurgen's revamping of our academies, and globalization working to draw us closer to the margin. Next step to look for is more homegrown world-class managers. When that starts consistently happening, your tipping point is nigh.
As for Belgium in that first group... one of this things is not like the other... at least as far as a "last 30 years" goes. 30 years ago, Belgium was a bunch of guys who couldn't find their way onto West Germany. They didn't even qualify for 06 or 10. That said, their current side is truly a golden generation. That's the dream right there for this group of young US-sters.
Good stuff. Wouldn't shock me to see Long start tonight at CB given his history with Berhalter and the team. I think Berhalter is a mixed bag. On the one hand, guys want to play for him (as you mention) but on the other hand his system is not optimizing out two biggest talents. Neither Pulisic nor Reyna look comfortable on the wing in Berhalter's system. Then when you consider that a number 9 hasn't emerged at all for this team, it's tempered my expectations a lot for Qatar.
Pulisic has been a weird commodity to me. There's no doubting his talent. I hate what Tuchel does with his side at Chelsea, but that's Tuchel.
Part of me wishes we didn't have so many injuries, Pulisic has been best for the US lately as a "super sub". But again, that's a luxury a team with no Weston, no Aaronson, no Weah now, (and while not in the midfield no Dest from an attacking standpoint) just doesn't have.
Get through (tonight hopefully), then lets see what kind of nonsense Greg pulls when he's got to field a midfield with...
Pulisic, McKennie, Reyna, Aaronson, Weah, Musah and of course Adams backing them up. Can you even get that wrong? I guess if somehow Paul Arriola is playing, then yes, you can.
Um, Sargent isn't scoring for Norwich. He's had one good game where he scored twice, otherwise nothing. He hasn't scored for the USMNT in forever. Also he isn't playing forward for them, he's playing winger.
I don't see why Reyna couldn't go 90 tonight. He went 90 his last game with Dortmund.
Agree on Moore/Scally. Why not call both, esp once Cannon got sick?
I'll defend Berhalter a little. The attack has been disappointing, but it's not really his fault there is no viable 9 right now. But the team has given up just 7 goals in 12 qualifiers and scored 16 (both numbers are second to Canada in the Octagon). It's looked clunky at times but the results have been pretty good overall, especially considering how many injuries they've dealt with from key players.
The point about Sarge was that he's be logging regular minutes in the EPL lately, and what possibly does it hurt to not bring him in. Neither Pepi, Pefok nor Ferreira have been producing for the US. Pefok and Ferreira have for club lately. The point being, as our limited options go, I'm not sure why he's not being considered. And again, I'm not even a Sarge "fan".
And if you think I'm hung up on this, just think about how apoplectic I am about Brooks not getting calls at CB because of 1.5 (unarguably) bad matches back in September, while other guys seemingly can look like double agents at times, and still get calls, or start even.
I'd like to see Reyna go 90, I think it's Marco Rose that doesn't want him to. But we'll see. It's not like there's a ton of options there right now.
The thing is, there was rumors about Cannon/COVID two days before the announcement. Both of those guys should have been on the first thing moving out of Europe, especially with Dest down too. So weird.
I don't mind that defense. I think your "a little clunky" to me has been "downright frustrating" at times. Injuries, and suspensions, at key times, has been difficult. And honestly, it makes me wonder how snakebit some of these guys truly are. But many of the wounds I think are self-inflicted. Ultimately, I think the "potential" of the team tips the weight of expectations on the scale. That may be unfair for Berhalter, but a team this talented, shouldn't also be coming out "flat" in half their matches as well.
You gotta let Pefok have a go at redemption. He got in a great position and just shanked it. His confidence would probably be killed with a string of DNP/CDs.
I don’t think Panama will be “bunkered” in this one. Anything less than a win could see them virtually eliminated if Costa Rica beats El Salvador today. With a draw tonight, Panama would be eliminated from the top 3 spots (assuming Mexico doesn’t lose to Honduras) and 3 points behind Costa Rica for 4th. In the last qualifier, Panama plays Canada, while Costa Rica would be playing the US at home in a game where the US would have every reason to sit back and play for a draw.
Panama has to come out guns blazing tonight to have a chance to qualify. Failing to beat Honduras on Thursday was absolutely devastating for them.
The question for me tonight is how hard the US will press for a W. Knowing that they lock up qualifying with two draws, and the only path to 5th place lies in losing tonight, they may be the ones bunkering a bit in this one.
Honestly, I want this Panama win for more than just qualifying purposes... I want it as a big effing middle finger for four years ago.
Go out there and take it boys. It's yours to have.
I absolutely agree. I want the three points, at home, to essentially lock up qualifying and to maybe eliminate Panama altogether. I’m still pissed about missing the last World Cup.
But playing for the draw may be the best way to ensure qualification, especially if Costa Rica draws today. Then the US could go into the last game knowing that all they have to do is lose by less than 4 goals.
I don't want the USMNT having to go on the road in their final qualification game needing some type of result to get to the World Cup. Been there, seen that!
The Americans are better than Panama. They are playing at home. Win the game and let's get ready for Qatar.
Pefok's miss was bad, but it happens. His inability to hold the ball should keep him out of the game, imo. He gave the ball away after 1 touch at least 4 times in limited minutes. I'm fine with either Pepi or Jesus.
Hoping to see both De Le Torre and Reyna in the midfield. Reyna was playing as a winger on Thursday, but frequently floating into more of a 10. That would work too. Really like LDLTs game, and Reyna might already be out best player, if in form.
Not sure about Moore, Yedlin was bad against Mexico, so not sure he's going to be a downgrade. Just inexplicable we didn't bring in scally. Sure, he has almost zero USMNT experience, but it's the same with Moore
Reyna is better than Pulisic. There I said it.
Seconded
I doubt there is a single person “in the know” with the USMNT, Chelsea or BVB who would agree with that. When Christian is at the top of his game, as one PL announcer put it, the Blues are “Pulisic and 10 men.” Gio has flare and confidence but is no where near as polished or comprehensive as Pulisic, nor as experienced. But… I am glad we have both, and McKenzie, Adams, Musah and Aaronson, going to Qatar.
Looks like we'll be rolling with Moore and The Nipple on our right flank :(
https://twitter.com/BonaguraESPN/status/1508200660369481732?t=UaH1c0D_D8UNYndEVBhJ2w&s=19
On the plus side, we're starting LDLT & Jesus. Something that hasn't been discussed much - Adams was bad against Mexico and hasn't been playing much for Leipzig. I think he'll be fine against Panama, but wouldn't be against yanking him for Acosta at halftime if he continues to struggle.
Damn. Reyna isn't even starting. Better hope Pulisic and Robinson find some chemistry on the left side cause I don't see Arriola and Moore being much of a threat on the right side...
Canada just qualified for the World Cup. Of course, the weather in Qatar will be a little warmer than in Canada.
Congrats to the Canadians who have been afterthoughts in CONCACAF for decades. Hell of a qualifying campaign!
Costa Rica held on to win 2-1 putting them level on points with the US. A win essentially puts them in; a tie eliminates Panama and would secure 4th, but does require a result (tie or win) in Costa Rica to avoid the playoff; a loss puts them in serious danger of missing the whole thing.
That's a freaking penalty.
Which part? Zimmerman clearly dove. The hand ball is a legitimate call.
Did Zimmerman need to fall? Yeah. Had to get the ref's attention.
Dude put his arms up to his neck.
It's international soccer. That happens in the box every game.
Kudos for the dive and getting the call. Let's not bitch when Panama gets a call in the box later in the game.
There is a lot of jostling in every box.
But hands to the neck like that? That's not a frequent occurence.
PK All Day!
I love how the most insightful USMNT...... Pulisic!!!!
Ahem.. most insightful USMNT discussions I've found are right here on a Michigan-centric site.
LFG CP
LOL WTF. wow.
effing mayhem.