It's not good right now. Worst part is there are a bunch of guys who probably should be getting call ups and not as Poch continues to tinker with lineups and trying to find depth. Berhalter, he works hard, but he doesn't possess the technical skill to play at this level. The only thing he's good for is an attacking free kick because his service is definitely world class. There's only 2-3 more international windows before the World Cup next summer so Poch needs to figure something out soon. The next 3 windows need to be dedicated to the 23-26 players you anticipate being on the squad barring injuries. The group needs chemistry and cohesion.Butt Fugly! We'll get pulverized by Japan on Tuesday.
My takeaways from the effort:Much better effort tonight and two beautiful strikes. I’m happy that Zendejas and Balogun got the goals as the have underperformed in the past with their finishing. Hopefully these goals are a preview of things to come.
All 11 of those who started vs US last night were replacements from the starters vs Mex. Thus my joy with the win is tempered by this. Today, Pochettino has already listed 4 MLS guys who will be called up for the WC. Freeman, Arfsten, Roldan & Zendejas. Uh Oh! I imagine there will be other MLS guys in this call-up. The win was great for confidence but .................? If there are 11 MLS guys or more called up next month with 5 or more these starting, I give up Poch....who appears no better than Beer?halter.My takeaways from the effort:
1) Balogun is going to be the starting striker for the US come the World Cup next summer. His speed and technical skill and obvious chemistry with Pulisic makes them absolutely lethal.
2) Poch loves Freeman on the outside. And it looks like he's really going to use a backline of 3 to get more attack up the wings because the one place where the US is heavy with extraordinary talent is in the wings whether they're classified as fullbacks or true MF wings. And it looks like Dest may be used more in an outside forward role instead of where we're used to seeing him play in the back right.
3) Freese looked good last night. The US didn't ask much of him in terms of playing out of the back and actively looked like they were trying to avoid playing through the GK which explains the double pivot inverted triangle in the midfield. But it was more amorphous as Pulisic frequently came back to be an option to trigger the attack. Pulisic seemed to be playing the 10 last night and in the way he was used and the game plan, I really liked it. His speed and technical skill and vision on the ball gives teams fits because he pushed the ball past the opposing MF and forces a center back to step up to him leaving loads of space on the outside and even in the little gaps between defenders. This is where Balogun's runs are key as he has a feel and instinct of going to the right place...Ferreira, Wright, and Sargent don't really give you that.
4) I think Poch knows the top 15 he's taking to the WC next summer. The last 5 spots are the ones that we keep seeing crazy names in the mix for. IMO, we won't likely see Zendejas or Luna on that squad. Sure they play fine in these nothing matches but I don't think they're good fits in pressure situations. Hell, Luna had a couple awful turnovers in his 20 minutes last night.
My guess is Arfsten gets a couple more call ins to see about being one of those guys. Here's my group:
D: Richards, Ream, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Miles Robinson, Antonee Robinson, Freeman, Blackmon, Scally
MF: Pulisic, Adams, Cardoso, De La Torre, McKennie, Musah, B Aaronson
F: Balogun, Wright, Weah,
GKs: Turner, Freese, and then who knows.
US lists some of the players in positions outside of what they played last night....for instance, Zendejas is listed as a defender on the uSMNT page...he's not playing in the back. Arfsten is also listed as a defender...he definitely played in a forward role last night and I liked him in that role. Poch's not afraid to challenge players and playing roles outside of their normal customary assigned "positions". I don't care where they play as long as they understand their defensive responsibilities and relationship with other players on the field. The movement all over the pitch definitely created holes in Japan's defending.
Caveat: Japan was playing with an inexperienced squad to start. I think they said 9 out of the 11 had fewer than 10 CAPS each.
I'll be the first to admit I am a Cristian Roldan fan but he did not play well last night (IMO). He has always been consistent in his defending and possession in previous appearances for the USMNT. I don't think the double pivot role suits him, but he's better off at the 8. He is not spectacular and he's not the type of player who can make things happen. I like him as an option off the bench when the US has a lead because he is seemingly committed to playing defense from that spot.All 11 of those who started vs US last night were replacements from the starters vs Mex. Thus my joy with the win is tempered by this. Today, Pochettino has already listed 4 MLS guys who will be called up for the WC. Freeman, Arfsten, Roldan & Zendejas. Uh Oh! I imagine there will be other MLS guys in this call-up. The win was great for confidence but .................? If there are 11 MLS guys or more called up next month with 5 or more these starting, I give up Poch....who appears no better than Beer?halter.
Assist and goal for Christian. Well done.
Tonight’s USMNT Starting XI vs. Ecuador: 24-Matt Freese, 3-Chris Richards, 4-Tanner Tessmann, 8-Weston McKennie, 12-Miles Robinson, 13-Tim Ream (Capt.), 17-Malik Tillman, 18-Max Arfsten, 20-Folarin Balogun, 21-Tim Weah, 23-Aidan Morris
Substitutes: 1-Matt Turner, 25-Chris Brady, 26-Patrick Schulte, 2-Cameron Carter-Vickers, 6-Cristian Roldan, 7-Diego Luna, 9-Patrick Agyemang, 10-Christian Pulisic, 11-Brenden Aaronson, 15-James Sands, 16-Alex Freeman, 19-Haji Wright, 22-Mark McKenzie
I felt very differently about him as a traditional left fullback but he has been very good as a wingback.I like the potential of Arfsten. I also like the 3-5-2 positioning.
So I can, with 100% certainty, tell you that when a coach says they're playing a 3-5-2 (or 1-1 stack) that the outside players now labeled as "midfielders" feel much freer and confident that they're supposed to go forward and join the attack. When you play a more traditional 4 in the back and those players get labeled as "defenders", the mindset becomes defending first. The defensive responsibilities of those players only changes very slightly but the mindset changes and I think knows this. But you can tell while Poch wants that mindset to change and players to feel free jumping into the attack, he hasn't lost the defense in all of this. Those outside wings know they have to play goal-line to goal-line. He also seems to be playing more of double pivot with a 6 and pseudo 6 rather than the traditional 6-8-10 central MF set up. and the front attackers are not in set spots. I've mentioned before that those forward attackers are interchanging spaces on the field whenever we have the ball...it almost looks like a Harlem Globetrotters weave drill and all that movement is really confusing defenders. Heck Weah and Balogun and one other forward had such a nice moment that ended up in a SOG for Weah (that really should have been a better shot) and all the Ecuadorian defenders seemed lost and confused. There were a couple of more moments that put Ecuador on their heels.I felt very differently about him as a traditional left fullback but he has been very good as a wingback.
Yes but I think the extra defender helps guys like Arfsten and Dest who really play better in the attack. Their weaknesses are a bit less tragic.So I can, with 100% certainty, tell you that when a coach says they're playing a 3-5-2 (or 1-1 stack) that the outside players now labeled as "midfielders" feel much freer and confident that they're supposed to go forward and join the attack. When you play a more traditional 4 in the back and those players get labeled as "defenders", the mindset becomes defending first. The defensive responsibilities of those players only changes very slightly but the mindset changes and I think knows this. But you can tell while Poch wants that mindset to change and players to feel free jumping into the attack, he hasn't lost the defense in all of this. Those outside wings know they have to play goal-line to goal-line. He also seems to be playing more of double pivot with a 6 and pseudo 6 rather than the traditional 6-8-10 central MF set up. and the front attackers are not in set spots. I've mentioned before that those forward attackers are interchanging spaces on the field whenever we have the ball...it almost looks like a Harlem Globetrotters weave drill and all that movement is really confusing defenders. Heck Weah and Balogun and one other forward had such a nice moment that ended up in a SOG for Weah (that really should have been a better shot) and all the Ecuadorian defenders seemed lost and confused. There were a couple of more moments that put Ecuador on their heels.
I am feeling better about at least making the knockouts next year provided we stay healthy and Poch doesn't lose his mind and decide to leave Adams and Dest out for bigger players.
Exactly. Meanwhile, Sargent is high on the goal scoring list in the championship all the while his Norwich City team is floundering in a relegation spot (still relatively early in the season). Sargent needs to get out of Norwich. Heck, would love to see him come to MLS although he'd be one of the best strikers in the league. StL City FC could use him, he'd be playing at home...not that they need help selling tickets there. Wonder if they'd run a 2-striker system with him and Klaus.Haji Wright is 3rd in the EFL in scoring for Coventry with 8. Interestingly, a teammate of his is 1st in scoring with 10. Frankie Lampard has Coventry in 1st place in the English 2nd Division. If they keep it up, Wright will likely be playing in the Prem next season.
They played 4 at the back this time out with Dest more of a true winger than a wing back.USMNT goes 2-0 vs quality South American sides in the November window. 2-1 vs Paraguay in a game that the US pretty much dominated. And the US “B” side just demolished the Uruguayan “B” side 5-1. Best thing to come out of this window is Gio Reyna scoring a goal and an assist vs Paraguay, and then coming off the bench for a 20 minute stint and immediately getting an assist vs Uruguay. The assist vs Uruguay was a perfect in swinging ball that found the head of Taylor Tessman.
Since switching to the 3-5-2, the US has found a rhythm no matter who they’re running out there. And in this window the US did it without Pulisic, McKennie, Weah, Jedi or Tyler Adams.