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US Men's National Team (16 Viewers)

Tonight’s USMNT Starting XI vs. Curaçao: 1-Zack Steffen, 2-Nick Lima, 4-Michael Bradley, 5-Walker Zimmerman, 7-Paul Arriola, 8-Weston McKennie, 9-Gyasi Zardes, 10-Christian Pulisic (capt.), 13-Tim Ream, 21-Tyler Boyd, 23-Aaron Long

Substitutes: 12-Sean Johnson, 22-Tyler Miller, 3-Omar Gonzalez, 6-Wil Trapp, 11-Jordan Morris, 14-Reggie Cannon, 15-Cristian Roldan, 16-Daniel Lovitz, 17-Jozy Altidore, 18-Jonathan Lewis, 19-Matt Miazga, 20-Djordje Mihailovic 

Starting XI Cap Numbers (including this match): Michael Bradley (148), Gyasi Zardes (49), Tim Ream (33), Christian Pulisic (29), Paul Arriola (26), Zack Steffen (13), Weston McKennie (12), Walker Zimmerman (10), Aaron Long (9), Nick Lima (7), Tyler Boyd (5)

Today’s Starting XI has an average age of 25 years, 296 days and 31 caps.  

USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter utilizes the same starting XI that began the first two group stage matches – a 4-0 win vs. Guyana (June 18 in St. Paul) and 6-0 win vs. Trinidad & Tobago (June 22 in Cleveland). 

Starting XI Gold Cup Cap Numbers (including this match): Bradley (23), Zardes (14), Arriola (8), Ream (7), Pulisic (4), Boyd, Lima, Long, McKennie, Steffen and Zimmerman (3 each).

Twenty-year-old midfielder Christian Pulisic captains the USMNT for the second time tonight, having previously worn the armband in the team’s 1-0 defeat to Italy on Nov. 20, 2018. Pulisic is the ninth different player to captain the side in the USA’s 10 matches this year.

Steffen and the back line of Lima, Long, Zimmerman and Ream have yet to concede a goal in 180 minutes on the field together during the Gold Cup.

Long and Zimmerman partner in central defense for the fifth time in 2019. The pairing has also yet to concede a goal, contributing to four clean sheets in a 3-0 win vs. Panama (Jan. 27 in Glendale, Ariz.), 2-0 win vs. Costa Rica (Feb. 2 in San Jose, Calif.), 4-0 win against Guyana (June 18 in St. Paul, Minn.) and 6-0 win against Trinidad & Tobago (June 22 in Cleveland). 

Michael Bradley makes his 23rd Gold Cup appearance, tying Kasey Keller for third on the USMNT’s all-time tournament caps list. 

With four goals on the year, Gyasi Zardes leads the USMNT in scoring in 2019, with his three goals also pacing the team at the Gold Cup. 

Eight players in the starting XI have contributed either a goal or assist in the tournament so far: Zardes (3 goals), Arriola (2 goals, 1 assist), Pulisic (1 goal, 2 assists), Boyd (2 goals), Long (2 goals), Bradley, Lima and McKennie (1 assist each).

Arriola and Zardes also make their team-leading ninth appearances of 2019. 

Pennsylvania natives Christian Pulisic (Hershey) and Zack Steffen (Downingtown) both start in their home state tonight. 

CAUTION WATCH: Should Weston McKennie receive a yellow card tonight, he would miss the team’s potential semifinal match. 

Substitutes Jozy Altidore (May 29, 2010 vs. Turkey) and Omar Gonzalez (July 19, 2017 vs. El Salvador) have previously scored at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field. 

The USMNT is 1-0-1 all-time against Curaçao. The two previous matches came in 1984, as part of qualification for the 1986 FIFA World Cup. 

The USMNT is 9-0-1 all-time in Gold Cup Quarterfinal matches and 24-7-5 in Knockout Round games at the tournament. 

This is the USA’s third appearance at Lincoln Financial Field in a Gold Cup Quarterfinal. The MNT defeated Panama 2-1 in extra time during the 2009 edition and downed El Salvador 2-0 at this stage in the 2017 tournament.

The winner of USA-Curaçao will face the winner of tonight’s earlier match between Jamaica and Panama in the semifinal on Wednesday, July 3 at Nissan Stadium in Nashville. 

 
i don't follow soccer like the rest of you but when i read these threads the one idea that comes up the most is that Bradley sucks

aside from "because he sucks" what's the genesis of this hate?

he seems to be out there in every major game. he must have a ton of caps. he keeps playing through coaching changes & the lineup changing around him game to game. why the dislike?

 
mr. furley said:
i don't follow soccer like the rest of you but when i read these threads the one idea that comes up the most is that Bradley sucks

aside from "because he sucks" what's the genesis of this hate?

he seems to be out there in every major game. he must have a ton of caps. he keeps playing through coaching changes & the lineup changing around him game to game. why the dislike?
Click to expand...
I don't think he sucks. But his skills have clearly diminished and he needs to step (or be pushed) aside before next WCQ round.

 
mr. furley said:
i don't follow soccer like the rest of you but when i read these threads the one idea that comes up the most is that Bradley sucks

aside from "because he sucks" what's the genesis of this hate?

he seems to be out there in every major game. he must have a ton of caps. he keeps playing through coaching changes & the lineup changing around him game to game. why the dislike?
Click to expand...
Because he's slow so he's a liability on defense. The older he gets the more unforced turnovers he commits. But he can still unlock a defense with a beauitiful, well-timed/placed pass though. We really don't have anyone else who can do that. That's why he's playing.

 
mr. furley said:
i don't follow soccer like the rest of you but when i read these threads the one idea that comes up the most is that Bradley sucks

aside from "because he sucks" what's the genesis of this hate?

he seems to be out there in every major game. he must have a ton of caps. he keeps playing through coaching changes & the lineup changing around him game to game. why the dislike?
Click to expand...
He also has a habit of "floating" too far forward out of his position and then his lack of speed causes trouble when he can't get back - combine that with his turnovers and he's becoming more a liability vs asset.

 
Motor has declined. Completes a ton of backward passes. Seems to go for the home run ball a lot going forward and never connects.

 
mr. furley said:
ok, so he's old. that seems obvious. guys get old but the hate for the guy is years old. has he always been a defensive liability?
Click to expand...
No, he actually used to read the game well and could cover fine. But then, at one point, something clicked the wrong way and he started making major mistakes. Add on more time and losing a step, and it's become a constant issue. Unfortunately now he needs to be paired with someone to cover for him. A lot of us don't think he offers enough positives to outweigh the negatives. 

No, there isn't anyone else right now that can do what he's capable of. But I think that's ok and I'd rather someone else out there that doesn't screw up like Bradley can. Bad turnovers in a bad part of the pitch can singlehandedly cost us a match. And has.

 
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This game and the upcoming game against Jamaica are going to be the worst prep for Mexico. If Mexico attacks and plays with the speed they used last night the US is going to be caught flat footed.

 
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Bradley will forever have the stink of being the leader of the team that missed the cup. 

Others that know better covered the technical aspects. He's too slow, gives it away more and more and goes backwards too much. Plus, we all see the potential stud 20 year old replacement (Tyler Adams) being stuck out of position (when he's healthy, which he's not right now) which drives us nuts 

 
Bradley has simply lost the important step. Fin.

when he plays, he needs cover- either with a second central MF or this bs false RB. 

Jfc

Curacao makes it so easy to come right down the us gut. And that's bradley...and swag not giving him any help tonight.

And really...it shouldn't be on anybody else to have to help him. But he offers a lot on offense and even defense (positionally) but needs the cover.

 
ffldrew said:
This game and the upcoming game against Jamaica are going to be the worst prep for Mexico. If Mexico attacks and plays with the speed they used last night the US is going to be caught flat footed.
Click to expand...
Mexico will rip the US D open like a can of Pillsbury biscuits.

 
My take on Bradley.  When he was 24-25 he was incredible.  Timely passing, high motor, plenty of speed to make up for errors, and an uncanny ability to win second balls.  He was the second biggest reason(outside of Howard) that we had such an incredible run in the 2014 WC.  

Going into the 2018WC qualifying, we all expected him to be that same guy, along with being the team leader to get us back to the WC.  However, he wasn't.  He wasn't bad, he just wasn't incredible.  He lost a step, made uncharacteristic mistakes, and didn't have nearly the work rate.  He still was better than anyone else we had then at the position, but it wasn't what we had seen from him before.

Now, he's lost another half step.  He takes chances that he shouldn't and never used to.  Doesn't win any second balls(probably from lack of pace) and doesn't break open the defense as well as he used to.  He's still the second best choice we have at CDM, but Berhalter for some reason won't play Adams there and he isn't healthy right now anyway.  Most of the complaining is due to his drop off from near world class ability to being JAG.  He's still a good player and will continue to get minutes with this team, unless Berhalter finally cedes his spot to Adams going forward.

 
El Floppo said:
Bradley has simply lost the important step. Fin.

when he plays, he needs cover- either with a second central MF or this bs false RB. 

Jfc

Curacao makes it so easy to come right down the us gut. And that's bradley...and swag not giving him any help tonight.

And really...it shouldn't be on anybody else to have to help him. But he offers a lot on offense and even defense (positionally) but needs the cover.
Click to expand...
I think he used to see the field much better as well. That consistent ability to pick out the right pass is gone. Passes back way too much. 

At one point, he could still recover when he made those mistakes. Now, it's a double whammy. 

I think the only disagreement for those that want him out there vs those that don't is whether he does enough offensively. I just don't think he does. I don't remember the last time I've watched him play and said to myself "man it's a good thing Bradley was out there". I used to say that. He was consistently a MOTM. It's just a shame we still don't have a replacement for him yet.

 
:thumbup:  everybody

i didn't grow up playing or watching soccer. didn't see any national team games until i was 18 ('94 WC) and only really watch the international matches so most of this is a mystery to me. still love watching but i feel like my kids watching football "wow, dad, look at how far he threw that ball! that was awesome!" (when it's 3 rows deep in the stands on 3rd and 3 at a critical moment in the game)

 
The announcers darn near going down on Mckennie but the guy has given away a lot of balls. He scored because of Pulisic.

 
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