So, is the USMNT back?
We’re back baby. Our “depth” team just beat a mostly full squad Mexico. I think we are going to see a very competitive battle for roster spots this WC qualification.
Striker seems like the most confusing spot still. Lots of candidates (Sargeant, Dike, Zardes, Hoppe, Morris, Pefok, maybe more) but I’m not sold on any of them yet.
Great game! Was expecting a 2-0 or 3-1 loss. Although I think we ceded too much of the ball to Mexico, the kids did not come out afraid at all.
Acosta played the game of his life. He was all over the field. This tournament has made me think he is a perfect Concacaf player. I don’t think he’s a WC level player, but he does enough “stuff” (both physical and mental) to help in WCQ.
Take away the goal and Robinson still played a damn good game. He will get some starts in WCQ.
Need to ask our resident rules expert DTNF why that wasn’t a straight red on Herrera for kicking Williamson in the back of the head?
I think that I have seen enough from Arriola.
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Exactly one month from today WCQ kicks off.
9/2 @ El Salvador
9/5 vs Canada (Nashville)
9/8 @ Honduras
10/7 vs Jamaica (Austin)
10/10 @ Panama
10/13 vs Costa Rica (Columbus)
11/12 vs Mexico (Cincinnati)
11/16 @ Jamaica
1/27 vs El Salvador
1/30 @ Canada (this has to be indoors, eh?)
2/2 vs Honduras
3/24 @ Mexico
3/27 vs Panama
3/30 @ Costa Rica
Let’s hope like hell we have a spot clinched before the last 3 games in March. Needing points at Mexico and at Costa Rica is not a good situation to be in.
I’ll have to look at it again.
As the “best player” in the Gold Cup, he gets liberties. /s
Should have been a straight red. No reason his foot should be that high.
Young ref, Final Match. All shitty excuses.
I’m surprised the match didn’t get super ugly after that.
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Robinson had a great Gold Cup. Agree he earned some time in WCQ.
He didn’t get much of a look during the Tata era with ATL. He got zero MLS minutes in 2017, just a half in US Open Cup, and a handful of USL starts on loan. He was pretty sparingly used in 2018 with ATL as well with only 3 starts. He’s been starting for ATL since Tata left and has proven he’s a solid CB. I’m happy for him that he’s back on the USMNT radar.
This video explains my love for Hoppe. He will just annoy the shit out of opponents. He’s basically a Duke basketball guard who slaps the floor and takes floppy charges.
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To imply they are back, wouldn’t they have to have been there in the first place?
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When you write “confusing” do you mean we do not have a guy that consistently finishes opportunities by putting the ball in the net. No guys above finish. I am not sure what we do up there.
Meanwhile the old, dusty USWNT loses. Time for some ne blood, but is there anyway to dislodge the geezers?
Hoping these particular B-squad players (besides Hoppe) give the A-team a run for their starting spots. That’s what makes a team better, the competition. Meanwhile, perhaps these players (besides Hoppe) get noticed by some top league teams, I mean, higher than the 18th-ranked one.
hmm not a fan of Hoppe I suspect
The complete opposite. He’s an A-team player imo, which means I don’t include him as someone who shouldn’t have to compete for a spot (though, again, competition is healthy), though he should be playing in a better league than Bunde 2.
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It will be interesting to see how the USWMT retools. Granted, we have to recognize that the rest of the world has stepped its game up and it’s no longer us and Germany (and China, depending on the year) and then two steps down to everyone else, but we’re lacking in certain spots. The midfield is top-notch, we have more players than we can use there, but who’s going to be our striker? 3 years from now at WC2023, we’re looking at Morgan (who will be 35), Press (35), Rapinoe (39), Lloyd (42 and probably still getting called down from the stands to play 10 minutes and cherry-pick for a goal) and Heath (35). At the moment, after those 5 the striker with the most goals for us is 23-year old Mallory Pugh with 18. Do we move a midfielder up? Do we finally put Crystal Dunn, who’s been used as a defender because of her speed, back at her natural position?
The good news is we have 3 years to figure all of that out. The bad news is that we could easily spend 2 of those 3 still rolling out the old guard while never settling on who’s going to play the midfield, and we go into WC2023 a jumbled mess but getting by for a little while on sheer talent.
Interesting article on Gold Cup and future:
I think they discount Steffen way too much. He’ll still be practicing against some of the best players in the world. He’ll still be the League Cup and FA Cup starter.
About the Women:
But more than anything, this USWNT just looked utterly devoid of chemistry. The players weren’t clicking. They weren’t aggressive. They weren’t having fun. They weren’t what the USWNT has been for pretty much the team’s history.
Good article. I’m really excited for the Octagonal, the US should be the favorites at this point but every team will show up playing hard. I’ve always viewed El Salvador as a pushover/afterthought but they impressed in the Gold Cup. Winning on the road will be difficult as always.