USMNT Talk

These weekly writeups by Brian Sciaretta at American Soccer Now are worth making regular reading. He summarizes the performances of Americans in Europe. Most interesting news from this week involves details on how much Tyler Adams is killing it at Leipzig and the interesting tidbit that Aron Johannsson was in the 18 for Weder Bremen.

http://americansoccernow.com/articl...-adams-wooten-saves-miazga-amp-holmes-impress
Not sure if many people saw this, but he had a hell of a game this past weekend vs. Hertha Berlin. I tuned in to some of this game and got to watch Adams and RBL destroy Berlin. Video of his filthy assist is beneath the article;
https://www.starsandstripesfc.com/2...-make-you-wonder-why-hed-ever-play-right-back
 
Not sure if many people saw this, but he had a hell of a game this past weekend vs. Hertha Berlin. I tuned in to some of this game and got to watch Adams and RBL destroy Berlin. Video of his filthy assist is beneath the article;
https://www.starsandstripesfc.com/2...-make-you-wonder-why-hed-ever-play-right-back
He’s a midfield destroyer with deft touch and a never ending battery. The one flaw with Berhalter so far is trying to play Adams as a RB. I understand why he wants him there, defend the flank/attack the middle as inverted fullback, but I think he’s better suited to read the entire match from the middle which always has him in place when transition occurs. If we’re gonna play a double-pivot, Adams/McKinnie is a lock-down/real estate covering duo.
 
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He’s a midfield destroyer with deft touch and a never ending battery. The one flaw with Berhalter so far is trying to play Adams as a RB. I understand why he wants him there, defend the flank/attack the middle as inverted fullback, but I think he’s better suited to read the entire match from the middle which always has him in place when transition occurs. If we’re gonna play a double-pivot, Adams/McKinnie is a lock-down/real estate covering duo.
I'm going to be honest, I haven't fully been following the US too much as of late. I did catch a few minutes of the Chile friendly, but not too much. Why doesn't Berhalter include Adams and Mckinnie with Bradley in a midfield 3? I know we all have strong feelings about Bradley, but it seems he's going to be included for the near future. Bradley's usual gaffes can be easily covered by the two young guns, and make a half decent midfield 3.

Does Berhalter not want 3 in midfield? Does it not fit in with whatever formation he's trying to create or setup?
 
I'm going to be honest, I haven't fully been following the US too much as of late. I did catch a few minutes of the Chile friendly, but not too much. Why doesn't Berhalter include Adams and Mckinnie with Bradley in a midfield 3? I know we all have strong feelings about Bradley, but it seems he's going to be included for the near future. Bradley's usual gaffes can be easily covered by the two young guns, and make a half decent midfield 3.

Does Berhalter not want 3 in midfield? Does it not fit in with whatever formation he's trying to create or setup?
He uses two defensive and one attacking in the MF. Those three are all defensive.
 
I'm going to be honest, I haven't fully been following the US too much as of late. I did catch a few minutes of the Chile friendly, but not too much. Why doesn't Berhalter include Adams and Mckinnie with Bradley in a midfield 3? I know we all have strong feelings about Bradley, but it seems he's going to be included for the near future. Bradley's usual gaffes can be easily covered by the two young guns, and make a half decent midfield 3.

Does Berhalter not want 3 in midfield? Does it not fit in with whatever formation he's trying to create or setup?
Berhalter is creating a special position for Adams that gives him freedom to roam about the pitch. It's a hybrid RB/CDM position. On offense, he goes forward into midfield and we shift into a back 3. On defense, he plays right back. It remains to be seen whether this will be effective in the long run, but I do think early returns are encouraging. Either way, the notion that this leaves him on the back line and out of the flow of play are simply wrong. As the article I linked above notes, he had over 100 touches in the one game he played, and Nick Lima was also huge in the January game where he played that position.
 
By the way, all this just underscores the dissonance about the Red Bulls in preseason. Everyone was concerned about NYC losing Villa to Japan - how would we ever replace him?

Meanwhile, the Red Bulls lost a guy to a top Bundesliga team, and he is killing it there against top competition. But the consensus is that the Red Bulls would somehow be fine. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to determine that New Jersey lost the more important player.
 
Concacaf Nations League Schedule:

https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/20...ns-inaugural-concacaf-nations-league-schedule

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What the heck is this tourny?
It's our regional version of what UEFA is doing with its league of nations. It's kind of like a Champions League for the countries in our region.

It stinks that it's come to this, as it means fewer games with countries from other regions. That is hardly a stretch of games that is going to challenge our squad.
 
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It's our regional version of what UEFA is doing with its league of nations. It's kind of like a Champions League for the countries in our region.

It stinks that it's come to this, as it means fewer games with countries from other regions. That is hardly a stretch of games that is going to challenge our squad.

It’s good for the middling teams who get to compete for a place in the Gold Cup. It’s terrible for the top teams who would automatically qualify and need meaningful matches vs quality competition the Cubas and Canadas of the world can’t provide. More reason to push for a combined Concacaf & Conmebol, forced on us by UEFA’s hand.
 
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That half was about as bad as I've ever seen a US team play. And I'm an old man, so that's saying something.

It is just mystifying and mind-boggling that a nation as large and rich as ours can't beat countries like Trinidad and Venezuela. Is Venezuela even a country anymore?
 
That half was about as bad as I've ever seen a US team play. And I'm an old man, so that's saying something.

It is just mystifying and mind-boggling that a nation as large and rich as ours can't beat countries like Trinidad and Venezuela. Is Venezuela even a country anymore?
I only watched a bit, so maybe these players played better when I wasn’t watching, but we’re using some questionable guys that I’m just not sure if so many so-so guys should be on the field at the same time:

Trap (teacher’s pet)
Lima
Roldan (I’m not as convinced as others)
Ream
Zardes (he’s definitely not NT caliber)

Boyd is a newbie, so why baptize him with subpar players around him?

Arriola is a role player who needs stars to draw the focus.
 
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They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

Well someone should tell that to US Soccer.

Hiring an MLS coach who favors MLS players is exactly the same thing Bruce Arena did.

Meanwhile Tata Martino took over at Mexico...

Also, I never agreed with the USWNT asking for equal pay as the men, as I believed it should be based on revenue generated.

I'm wrong, the women should get way more the mens team.
 
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