USMNT Talk

[GratefulDawg]

The crowd in St. Paul last night was a good one. I didn't have a problem with them playing in bitter cold conditions. We've been dealing with shithousery from the Central American teams for years. Fuck 'em.

We weren't terrific last night, but this was a dreadfully bad Honduras squad and we got the job done without too much stress. The last qualifying week should be interesting. México has been terrible of late, but they are still getting results for the most part. What's going to give in the first match, México's overall confusion or USA's shit play outside of the States?

Panamá and Costa Rica have the same problem - very little attacking threat. I see that we are playing Panamá in Orlando, so hopefully, the weather will cooperate and we won't have a bogged down pitch due to rain. Christiansen has organized Panamá really well, so it will be up to McKennie and the other midfielders to try to apply pressure and put them in bad spots. They were beaten last night on a bullshit Mexican penalty call, but they didn't offer a ton going forward against a weak Mexican side.

Costa Rica additionally offers very little going forward. Joel Campbell and Bryan Ruiz are both way past their expiration date. I am hoping that Matarrita will be playing, so we can try to exploit whatever side he is on. Otherwise, they rely on Navas and their backline to keep them in games. I can see us getting a draw or potentially a win there if we show up.

I think Canada will help us at some point with a win on the road. They are playing so much better than the remaining teams in the Ocho.

 

[CCMore]

I would really like to see Costa Rica sneak past Panama into the 4th spot but just looking at the last 3 games Both CR and PAN play Canada and the USA. But CR plays SLV which is not as easy an opponent as the 3 points machine Honduras that PAN plays. Obviously a lot can happen but I don’t like the odds.

 

[Shwafta]

Can someone remind me why we randomly decided to make it an octagonal instead of the regular hex? I know "COVID" but what was the underlying reason. More money from more games?

 

[GratefulDawg]

Can someone remind me why we randomly decided to make it an octagonal instead of the regular hex? I know "COVID" but what was the underlying reason. More money from more games?

Off the record, they changed the format to try to eliminate what happened in 2018 and almost happened in 2014 (damn you, Zusi). CONCACAF needs USA and México qualifying.

The official reason is most likely to give these teams more official games and revenue. It's certainly helped Canada and El Salvador.

 

[JayH]

De la Torre's play confirmed exactly what this club has been missing (and/or what GB has been neglecting). You have to discount somewhat against a club like Honduras, but we have been desperately requiring faster and more forward, relentless, direct play through the middle of the field. That's what dlT brings, that's what we have been missing with Gio's injury. Add those guys to WM, and you have a dynamic driven attack. Safe and plodding is just ineffective and limiting. I also hope that we will eventually have some better options up front (hopefully in better form and health) with Dike, Pefok, Sargent, Hoppe, etc. No need to waste spots with the older generation guys.

 

[SoupInNYC]

De la Torre's play confirmed exactly what this club has been missing (and/or what GB has been neglecting). You have to discount somewhat against a club like Honduras, but we have been desperately requiring faster and more forward, relentless, direct play through the middle of the field. That's what dlT brings, that's what we have been missing with Gio's injury. Add those guys to WM, and you have a dynamic driven attack. Safe and plodding is just ineffective and limiting. I also hope that we will eventually have some better options up front (hopefully in better form and health) with Dike, Pefok, Sargent, Hoppe, etc. No need to waste spots with the older generation guys.

Especially against teams that are more likely to implement a low block. DLT would have been great in the Canada match.

As you mention, have to somewhat discount the opponent, so I'm not completely certain that DLT would be best against Mexico per se (maybe, I don't know), but he definitely provides a lot against teams that we are having trouble breaking down.

 

[moogoo]

Especially against teams that are more likely to implement a low block. DLT would have been great in the Canada match.

As you mention, have to somewhat discount the opponent, so I'm not completely certain that DLT would be best against Mexico per se (maybe, I don't know), but he definitely provides a lot against teams that we are having trouble breaking down.

isn't this the type of role that everyone was excited to have Musah for? He couldn't do it vs Canada... do we think DLT could do it better? I don't care who it is, but I agree we need this type of player and we need him to execute in big games.

 

[ZYanksRule]

I thought that was a joke last night. There was no need for those kind of hijinks against Honduras. Two of their players suffered hypothermia in the first half. It's unacceptable to put players and fans in that scenario.

Also, I'm getting a little sick and tired of the tired trope that it's too hard to win qualifiers on the road. Canada has gotten results in all five road games this round. But for the feeble minnows here in the US, we basically don't even show up to compete. We are the United States. We should be doing better than we are.

 

[SoupInNYC]

isn't this the type of role that everyone was excited to have Musah for? He couldn't do it vs Canada... do we think DLT could do it better? I don't care who it is, but I agree we need this type of player and we need him to execute in big games.

I don't quite see Musah in that same manner. Sure, he'll play progressive passes, but he's more of a shuttler IMO than DLT. I kind of see DLT in the Sacha Kljestan mold who is a lot more creative.

 

[NYCFC_Dan]

If we beat Panama at home in the next cycle, we're in. There are other ways to qualify, but if we beat Panama nothing else needs to matter.
If we beat Panama and do nothing else, we have 24 points, and the most points Panama can finish with would be 23.

Current
Canada 25 +14
USA 21 +9
Mexico 18 +5
Panama 17 +2

Remaining Games
CAN CR A, JAM H, PAN A
USA MEX A, PAN H, CR A
MEX USA H, HON A, SLV H
PAN HON H, USA A, CAN H

Panama is almost certain to beat Honduras, so even if the US grabs a win in Mexico, Panama will stay 4 back. That would let us qualify with a draw against Panama. Mexico would be 6 back, but with easy games to finish.
I would not assume Canada will relax in the last game. There's a good chance they have an opportunity to go undefeated, and while it matters almost not at all, I think they'd want to achieve it.

Beat Panama, at home, go to the World Cup. The US has 5 W and 1 D at home.

That will be a great atmosphere. I had early access to tickets and got 6 great seats for myself and some friends. The stadium was almost 100% sold out before general public had access. Seats 2 rows in front of mine sold for over 100% what I paid. Can’t wait.

 

[Alex Da Silva]

After watching the game last night and thinking it over, I am of the opinion that the concern about the conditions last night has been hugely overblown.

It was very cold, yes, but it's not difficult to adjust if you are going to spend 90 minutes running around and burning energy. The fans had none of that, and it was a sold out stadium where they enjoyed themselves. I don't think it affected the game at all, except perhaps to add moderately to Honduras' lethargy and indifference.

If I faced a forecast of single digit temperatures for my Sunday morning soccer game, I would have just layered up, gone out, and had a good time. Is this really any different? And I am hardly a pro athlete with modern equipment and top conditioning.

I do think there is a fair question about whether our strategy to gain an advantage from the cold was a sound one, but that's separate from whether it is appropriate to play in those conditions.

But 2 players from Honduras had to exit the game and were treated for hypothermia, I would hardly say that there was no impact!

 

[JayH]

But 2 players from Honduras had to exit the game and were treated for hypothermia, I would hardly say that there was no impact!

 

[Gotham Gator]

But 2 players from Honduras had to exit the game and were treated for hypothermia, I would hardly say that there was no impact!

I am a little suspicious of that explanation.

 

[Gotham Gator]

Oof. Multiple mistakes. CR plays:

CAN H, SLV A, USA H

So let's hope Canada gets at least a draw. If they do, CR has a max of 23 and we still qualify at 24 with a win over Panama.


I cannot find a good site to rely on for these. ESPN also isn't showing the full score history. CONCACAF itself has a mess of a website. I've checked a few others and it seems everyone is missing something or has slow updates.

Just Google CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying, and you get a live table and results.

 

[Gotham Gator]

Can someone remind me why we randomly decided to make it an octagonal instead of the regular hex? I know "COVID" but what was the underlying reason. More money from more games?

I don't think they were able to do the usual winnowing down to the Top 6 teams, so they expanded the group to 8.

 

[mgarbowski]

Just Google CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying, and you get a live table and results.

I don’t Google. DDG. There are tradoffs.

 

[Revfugee]

I thought that was a joke last night. There was no need for those kind of hijinks against Honduras. Two of their players suffered hypothermia in the first half. It's unacceptable to put players and fans in that scenario.

Nah. This. All of it.

We've been dealing with shithousery from the Central American teams for years. Fuck 'em.

 

[ZYanksRule]

Nah. This. All of it.

I get that, but those countries aren't good enough and have to do that crap to have even the slightest chance. We are the United States of America, and should be good enough to win without the shithousery.

 

[moogoo]

I get that, but those countries aren't good enough and have to do that crap to have even the slightest chance. We are the United States of America, and should be good enough to win without the shithousery.

not to mention, those countries aren't wealthy enough to have a pitch perfectly maintained. they are gonna have some rough fields and their weather is going to cover the entire nation in some cases (e.g., T&T), so you can't really complain about being in a wet field in the middle of the rainy season.. they don't exactly have another choice.

 

[mgarbowski]

Nah. This. All of it.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ussoccer/comments/sjjqqg