US Men's National Team Discussion

WeePat

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Probably had a bet Pulisic to score first.

 

Hansi Fick

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Don't want to sound too negative and.. err.. angsty, but before you get too high expectations for the coming tournaments - having half a squad of decent talents and a couple of top players is nice for a change, it's still not a very big pool of players compared to other nations.
The other footballing nations can fill a few squads up with top players. You're depth and amount of quality is still nowhere near the, let's say, top 10 nations.
 

Flytan

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Don't want to sound too negative and.. err.. angsty, but before you get too high expectations for the coming tournaments - having half a squad of decent talents and a couple of top players is nice for a change, it's still not a very big pool of players compared to other nations.
The other footballing nations can fill a few squads up with top players. You're depth and amount of quality is still nowhere near the, let's say, top 10 nations.
I just want to qualify personally. I'm sure football is popular here among a lot of fan groups but it's still nowhere near the level of engagement if would have to be for us to become anything near one of the top nations.
 

WI_Red

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Hope you enjoyed yourself pal :lol:
I did! First time I can remember ever watching a US/Mexico game and not really ever worrying about losing. The Robinson red card was a joke, as was the yellow that Weston got, but other than it was a fantastic night to be a US fan.
 

greatscott9930

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Don't want to sound too negative and.. err.. angsty, but before you get too high expectations for the coming tournaments - having half a squad of decent talents and a couple of top players is nice for a change, it's still not a very big pool of players compared to other nations.
The other footballing nations can fill a few squads up with top players. You're depth and amount of quality is still nowhere near the, let's say, top 10 nations.
The US is currently ranked 13th in the world by FIFA, and we just dominated Mexico, who is ranked 9th. I don't believe any of us think we will win the World Cup, nor do we think that we have a squad that compares with the top top nations. However, we have reason to believe the team can compete at a high level, and on any given day, we can get a result. We know we are underdogs, but that is what makes it fun for us.

I will say that our sloppiness in possession could be a big problem against a top side.
 

Charrockero

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I am Mexican and have lots of South Ametican friends living in Mexico City.

It pisses me off whenever they try to diminish CONCACAF because we play Curazao or Trinidad once in a while. It's true that CONCACAF qualifiers are crap, but the level has increased so much within the best teams that I think if we placed USA or Mexico in Conmebol they could make it 4 or 5 place, or even surprise.

Sadly for me, I think Mexico is depressing. No young players development, no leadership from the vets, no tactics... the 2nd half was a mess although I don't put all the blame in Martino. The players looked like they were already defeated in the 2nd half. USA are the best team in the region and after not qualifying for last WC they dismissed several people and put an effort into their scouting and development... Its a disgrace we didn't even make an effort to get Pepi.

I am being negative, but aside from maybe winning the USA in Mexico nest year or qualifying to the WC, I don't expect much. We dont have the depth nor the capability to surprise and excel as the USA has and that's what Mexico should aim for.
 
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steffyr2

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The US has moved into that phase where ALL the players are doing tricky little backheels and side passes as a matter of course. Really nice to watch. They 'just' need to add scoring to the things they do as a matter of course. I think they'll get there.

They looked so much more organized and structured than Utd. There was always an outlet to receive any pass. They're a national team who plays together a few weeks every 3 months. What does Utd do at practice?
 

WI_Red

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One of my favorite moments of the night. How does Valencia’s coach not play him centrally?

 

WI_Red

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Don't want to sound too negative and.. err.. angsty, but before you get too high expectations for the coming tournaments - having half a squad of decent talents and a couple of top players is nice for a change, it's still not a very big pool of players compared to other nations.
The other footballing nations can fill a few squads up with top players. You're depth and amount of quality is still nowhere near the, let's say, top 10 nations.
I don’t think any reasonable US fan thinks we are going to win the WC, even in 26 when it is here. For me the best case scenario is making it to a semifinal.

In regards to your depth comment, is that really the case? I took a look at Germany's 2014 WC winning team:

- 18 players appeared in the WC
- Of those 18 players 16 played in qualifying
- 25 players were used in qualifying and of those only 17 played more than 180 total minutes in the 10 qualifying games.

The US has played only 7 games so far in qualifying and already 16 players have 180 minutes played. I am not saying that this US team is close to the level of that German team, only that extreme depth did not seem to be a requirement for that team. But even if you could convince me that Germany needed a pool of 30 quality players (and did not play half of them) to win a WC I think we are improving there as well. We are finally at a stage where being without 2 of our 3 best players, and have the best player on a minute restriction, is not a huge issue. We finally have quality depth to step in when needed and there are a bunch of exciting youngsters (which is hard to type when the starting lineup had multiple teenagers already) coming up so nothing suggest we will not continue to add quality to the depth pool.

Basically, it is fun to be a USMNT fan right now and I am happy enough that I will even say that GB did a good job last night.
 

bosskeano

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Don't want to sound too negative and.. err.. angsty, but before you get too high expectations for the coming tournaments - having half a squad of decent talents and a couple of top players is nice for a change, it's still not a very big pool of players compared to other nations.
The other footballing nations can fill a few squads up with top players. You're depth and amount of quality is still nowhere near the, let's say, top 10 nations.
I disagree a little bit on this one as i think the depth is there for our next World Cup as i see at least 20 guys that you could play and still be quite effective then 4-5 guys that are still learning and Under 20 yrs old.

Do i think the overall pool could use more depth, for sure, however the US squad is in SOO much better of a position than say 3 yrs ago. That really is on Greg b/c he's put so much faith in youth and bring in young guys to learn thru playing in these big matches and tournaments.
 

calodo2003

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I don’t think any reasonable US fan thinks we are going to win the WC, even in 26 when it is here. For me the best case scenario is making it to a semifinal.

In regards to your depth comment, is that really the case? I took a look at Germany's 2014 WC winning team:

- 18 players appeared in the WC
- Of those 18 players 16 played in qualifying
- 25 players were used in qualifying and of those only 17 played more than 180 total minutes in the 10 qualifying games.

The US has played only 7 games so far in qualifying and already 16 players have 180 minutes played. I am not saying that this US team is close to the level of that German team, only that extreme depth did not seem to be a requirement for that team. But even if you could convince me that Germany needed a pool of 30 quality players (and did not play half of them) to win a WC I think we are improving there as well. We are finally at a stage where being without 2 of our 3 best players, and have the best player on a minute restriction, is not a huge issue. We finally have quality depth to step in when needed and there are a bunch of exciting youngsters (which is hard to type when the starting lineup had multiple teenagers already) coming up so nothing suggest we will not continue to add quality to the depth pool.

Basically, it is fun to be a USMNT fan right now and I am happy enough that I will even say that GB did a good job last night.
Were you still tipsy this AM?
 

bosskeano

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The more US kids go overseas to play and get experience the better the US team will be over the long run. you'll get more depth, more big game experience and probably a few more kids that will choose US over Mexico
 

Zaphod2319

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I am not a fan of GB. He did a great team selection against Mexico and got the right subs on. He also gave a rather informative press conference today.

 

WI_Red

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I am not a fan of GB. He did a great team selection against Mexico and got the right subs on. He also gave a rather informative press conference today.

My issue with GB is that he always seems to be trying to show he is the smartest person in the room. He gets cute with his tactics and roster selections and that really bit him in the ass in early qualifying. Against Mexico he knocked off the cute tactics shit (he kept up the roster shithousery by not calling in Brook or LDT) and went simple with a plan that played exactly into our strengths. If he keeps that up then I have no issues with him keeping his job, although the threat of him doing what he did in the first half of Honduras will always be in the back of my mind.
 

WI_Red

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What a disappointment. Absolutely dominant until the wonder strike but after that, and specially in the second half, the US looked tired and slow. Didn't help that the pitch was a disaster and Jamaica was fouling the shit out of the US with little notice taken by the ref. No excuses though as Jamaica deserved the win (there was no foul on the second goal in my opinion). Really disappointing.
 

Zaphod2319

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This is why we can’t have nice things!! We should have dominated this match. Shocking that we got that call of Zimmerman being held down.
 

sport2793

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Meh think you guys are overreacting, the pitch was truly awful and prevented us from playing on the ground like we seem to prefer to do with this group of players. I forgot the likes of Leon Bailey were on the pitch too (a winger who has been highly rated in Europe and replaced Grealish at Aston Villa), which means the team defended alright for me. Clearly we tired out in the second half and maybe the goal should have stood but a point is a point, which is good in the grand scheme of things.
 

bosskeano

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What a disappointment. Absolutely dominant until the wonder strike but after that, and specially in the second half, the US looked tired and slow. Didn't help that the pitch was a disaster and Jamaica was fouling the shit out of the US with little notice taken by the ref. No excuses though as Jamaica deserved the win (there was no foul on the second goal in my opinion). Really disappointing.

the pitch was shocking so that was perfect for Jamaica as they were relying on set pieces and route one football to Antonio, who score a fecking wonder goal to be fair.

Don't think anyone in this region or many teams in general would go into Kingston and dominate on a bit that poor. Very difficult to pass or possess the ball.

I'm honestly surprised NO ONE is talking about the two tackles from the Jamaicans where they were given yellows. BOTH of those tackles should have been red cards. One guy comes in with both feet off the ground and the other comes in studs up right over the top of the ball. No VAR so they could get away with that type of shit.
 

Zaphod2319

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I honestly think VAR in Concacaf is going to expose the level of officiating that exists. I think most of the time they see these fouls and ignore them. I do not expect the same refs are going to overturn them with VAR.
 

WI_Red

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Interesting game tonight with some players I am intrigued to see.

Gomez is a dual national left back who is moving to Sociedad in January. He was apparently the best LB in USL this year at 18.

Cowell is a physical freak who was hot and cold for San Jose.

a couple others too
 

WI_Red

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Acosta picks up where he left and is doing what he does best: give the ball away constantly.
 

WI_Red

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15 min in and 2 thoughts:

-Acosta is horrible
-Morris looks really good. I think we have missed him as an option on the right.
 

Zaphod2319

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I am really happy to see Morris out there. We need him to really move forward.
 

Zaphod2319

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These came today. With my youngest starting Georgia State in the fall, I see quite a few trips to Mercedes Benz stadium. Psyched!
 

WI_Red

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These came today. With my youngest starting Georgia State in the fall, I see quite a few trips to Mercedes Benz stadium. Psyched!
awesome experience. I miss being able to pop over to games.

on topic: we look horrid. The sooner we see the backs of Roldon and Acosta the better. How do we have so few domestic MF options?
 

WI_Red

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Also, we have found the level of MLS: somewhere south of the Bosnian premier league.
 

Zaphod2319

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I honestly cannot imagine these guys have practiced much together. At least the defense looked good there.
 

bosskeano

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Big fan of Pepi and Ferriera up top b/c they are proper footballers with a decent soccer IQ
 

Zaphod2319

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You think our European club players will be available for Canada?