OT: USMNT/Brazil

[RU848789]

Such an exciting game. Great goal by Pulisic on the free kick and too bad he didn't get that one late, although it was a fantastic save by Allison. Lots of good high quality end-to-end action. We'll get out of the group if we play like this and will be a threat to go further than that, depending on who we draw and how we play.

 

[WhichReligionIsRight]

Such an exciting game. Great goal by Pulisic on the free kick and too bad he didn't get that one late, although it was a fantastic save by Allison. Lots of good high quality end-to-end action. We'll get out of the group if we play like this and will be a threat to go further than that, depending on who we draw and how we play.

We will likely draw either Brazil or Colombia in the Quarterfinals. The winners of Groups C and D play the C/D 2nd place teams.

 

[kupuna133]

Much better executed game. GB had a game plan and they played to win. Need to eliminate the self inflicted mistakes and play to their capabilities. We will see how good of a team they can be and are in 2 weeks, when it starts to matter.

 

[JayDogSmooth]

This is what this team is capable of, which makes the result this past Saturday against Columbia so frustrating

Yes, there are massive questions on defense, but the overall talent level on the team is extremely high

I have not been this excited for men’s soccer since Landy and Jozy, and prior to that Kobe and Alexi and of course, all the Jersey guys from Kearney

Hoping GB has his boys focus for Copa, we could make some serious noise if we play together as one, limit the mistakes and play a win like we did yesterday with the same intensity and focus

 

[tico brown]

Really wish we could have good announcers/commentators for USMNT and WNT games. A bonus would be to find some people with Irish and Scottish accents.

The British announcers made watching MLB on ESPN watchable.

 

[mildone_rivals]

This is what this team is capable of, which makes the result this past Saturday against Columbia so frustrating

Yes, there are massive questions on defense, but the overall talent level on the team is extremely high

I have not been this excited for men’s soccer since Landy and Jozy, and prior to that Kobe and Alexi and of course, all the Jersey guys from Kearney

Hoping GB has his boys focus for Copa, we could make some serious noise if we play together as one, limit the mistakes and play a win like we did yesterday with the same intensity and focus

While it’s impossible to say for sure without being in the locker room and talking to the coach, I’m pretty sure GB was tinkering and trying things out in both the Colombia and Brazil games. Not just in terms of who he played, but also some tactical stuff.

People got all upset that we lost and by such a big score. But they were meaningless games and a good coach uses such games to balance the need to bolster team confidence with the need to continually improve and the need to give deserving players a chance to earn a starting spot.

The result was a failure, from a score standpoint. But failure is part of continuous improvement, as long as lessons are learned and the failures are addressed.

Our D gave up two quick goals at the start of the Colombia game, due to player mistakes and also, on that second goal, a spectacular shot by the Colombian player. After that, GB stuck to his plan and continued to tinker with the lineup, rather than wasting the opportunity and prioritizing winning over development in a game where a win meant nothing.

GB seems to be looking at preparing for the tournament and used these friendlies wisely, IMO. Fans totally overreacted to the loss, as if it wasn’t a totally meaningless game.

One very good sign is that A Rob had a very strong and mostly mistake-free game on D. We cannot win much without him being on his A game.

 

[JayDogSmooth]

While it’s impossible to say for sure without being in the locker room and talking to the coach, I’m pretty sure GB was tinkering and trying things out in both the Colombia and Brazil games. Not just in terms of who he played, but also some tactical stuff.

People got all upset that we lost and by such a big score. But they were meaningless games and a good coach uses such games to balance the need to bolster team confidence with the need to continually improve and the need to give deserving players a chance to earn a starting spot.

The result was a failure, from a score standpoint. But failure is part of continuous improvement, as long as lessons are learned and the failures are addressed.

Our D gave up two quick goals at the start of the Colombia game, due to player mistakes and also, on that second goal, a spectacular shot by the Colombian player. After that, GB stuck to his plan and continued to tinker with the lineup, rather than wasting the opportunity and prioritizing winning over development in a game where a win meant nothing.

GB seems to be looking at preparing for the tournament and used these friendlies wisely, IMO. Fans totally overreacted to the loss, as if it wasn’t a totally meaningless game.

One very good sign is that A Rob had a very strong and mostly mistake-free game on D. We cannot win much without him being on his A game.

That’s true, but the D has been shaky for awhile now which is a big concern

 

[mildone_rivals]

That’s true, but the D has been shaky for awhile now which is a big concern

It has been kinda shaky, but it was better w/both Robinsons, Dest and Ream. For some reason, M Robinson hasn't been playing. And Dest is hurt.

Dest isn't the perfect defender sometimes, and is a liability on corners due to his height. And when he's making all those runs up into the final third (which really helps our attack), that ultimately wears him down.

But he had the pace to keep up with anybody, and the ball skills to help the team maintain possession under high pressure. It's a trade-off I'd continue to make if he was healthy.

IMO, for the US to progress, it must find higher quality depth (very fast, very tall, very skilled) in the back and at least a few must be able to make incisive long passes. We can sacrifice a bit on height, but all the other stuff is a requirement that permits the US to accomodate more risk when attacking.

That's more on US Soccer than on any particular coach.

The other missing piece, personnel-wise, is an attacking player that, given just a bit of space anywhere near the box, can put a shot on goal and out of the keeper's reach with high reliability. We are creating opportunities but squandering them with weak shots. Again, that's on US Soccer to find the right person.

And GB must, must, must get the mids and forwards to use more combination play in the attack and stop relying on a killer entry pass or other individual heroics. I know he wants to get them doing this, he's said it at least a couple times in interviews. But, for reasons that escape me, we continue to not do this very fundamental attacking soccer thing.

 

[Zak57]

McKennie going to Villa in a swap deal with Douglas Luiz to Juve.

 

[RuSnp]

The espn player rankings are pretty funny. What did Balogun do in that cameo to warrant the second highest grade, and 1 less than Puli? And Scally was a 3? I thought he held up pretty well in two games against top, top wingers. https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/40337897/pulisic-rates-6-10-brazil-draw-gets-usmnt-back-track

 

[RutgersDom]

We will likely draw either Brazil or Colombia in the Quarterfinals. The winners of Groups C and D play the C/D 2nd place teams.

How do you figure that? The countries aren't even set, no?

 

[Doctor Worm]

How do you figure that? The countries aren't even set, no?

If USA wins its Group (Group C), we will play the Group D runner-up.

If USA finishes second in Group C, we will play the Group D winner.

Brazil and Colombia are both in Group D. They are overwhelming favorites to finish 1-2, although not necessarily in that order.

So if we advance, we will almost certainly draw one of those teams.

 

[mildone_rivals]

The espn player rankings are pretty funny. What did Balogun do in that cameo to warrant the second highest grade, and 1 less than Puli? And Scally was a 3? I thought he held up pretty well in two games against top, top wingers. https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/40337897/pulisic-rates-6-10-brazil-draw-gets-usmnt-back-track

I mostly agree with the grading of the backs. The weakest group. I think they’ve taken a big step backwards since the pre-WC, pre-MRob-injury back line, with Dest. I would grade A Rob higher than ESPN though. Had a couple bad moments getting beat but so do most defenders playing Brazil.

I think Weah was equal to Puli in impact, better in some ways, but Pauli’s goal was huge. Balogun did something that made me go “hm” in a good way. But I’m having a brain fart and can’t remember the details. I think it was something creative with another player, that produced a decent scoring chance.

 

[RuSnp]

I mostly agree with the grading of the backs. The weakest group. I think they’ve taken a big step backwards since the pre-WC, pre-MRob-injury back line, with Dest. I would grade A Rob higher than ESPN though. Had a couple bad moments getting beat but so do most defenders playing Brazil.

I think Weah was equal to Puli in impact, better in some ways, but Pauli’s goal was huge. Balogun did something that made me go “hm” in a good way. But I’m having a brain fart and can’t remember the details. I think it was something creative with another player, that produced a decent scoring chance.

A 3 mild for Scally? Against Vinicius Jr? I'm sorry that's too harsh.

As far as Balogun it might have been his pace on the Turner release. All the s*<* I've given him on distribution he did well there and Balogun showed his pace (but he did nothing with the half chance).