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US Men's National Team (18 Viewers)

NewlyRetired said:
The poor US Soccer twitter guy. 

He has literally tweeted a thousand different times that US Soccer has no control over the away games broadcasts and people continue to pound them for it.  That has to be frustrating...
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I mean, when you major in Sports Management with a minor in Social Media marketing, it kinda comes with the territory.

 
Wrong thread and all but since its Pulisic's team mate, I will post here since this will be the most active thread today.

Did you guys see that the Moroccan coach basically kicked his best player, Ziyech, off the team?  He claimed that Ziyech faked an injury last time he was in camp and has a terrible attitude.

I don't know how my nerves would handle GGG kicking out Weston or Pulisic....

 
NewlyRetired said:
I think the way Hugo has ELS playing I think that we are not going to see any delay tactics unless ELS is winning.   I think they know they have to get 3 points at home in most games to have a shot at qualifying so I can't see them wasting time if the game is level (unless it is late and they are on the back foot).

If they get a lead, I do expect a master class in time wasting though and I am not looking forward to it.   I honestly think the small Central American countries work the clock better than any other country in the world.
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agree.

that said, we should still expect them to play full concacafy throughout, time-wasting not withstanding. expect histrionics, embellishments, profound hacking and "giving him the business". they will do everything to get under the US skin...hopefully the refs, without VAR, are up to it.

and not to take away from this being a very good squad. if you haven't watched them play, don't let the player in whatever league info fool you- they're solid top to bottom, and play incredibly cohesively. imo they outplayed Qatar and Mexico at the GC. and their fans out yelled the El TRI fans.

 
El Floppo said:
and not to take away from this being a very good squad. if you haven't watched them play, don't let the player in whatever league info fool you- they're solid top to bottom, and play incredibly cohesively. imo they outplayed Qatar and Mexico at the GC. and their fans out yelled the El TRI fans.
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At least in the Gold Cup, this was a classic case of the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.   Hugo should feel really proud of getting that relatively no name team to perform.

 
I do a very poor job guessing at a GGG lineup since I tend to think what is best today, where as GGG has likely planned out all 3 games already.

But in leu of knowing there are 2 other games in short order, it does feel like the lineup should pick itself tonight.

.................................................Turner

Dest.................Robinson(M).........................Brooks.................Robinson(A)

.....................................................Adams

..............................Weston..............................LLetget

Gio.....................................Sargent...............................Aaronson

===================

I know fans would love to see Gio or Aaronson in place of Lletget, but with Pulisic and Weah missing tonight, that would surprise me, since the only other wingers we have are Konrad (no experience) and Roldan (not really a winger).

 
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NewlyRetired said:
I do a very poor job guessing at a GGG lineup since I tend to think what is best today, where as GGG has likely planned out all 3 games already.

But in leu of knowing there is 2 other games in short order, it does feel like the lineup should pick itself tonight.

.................................................Turner

Dest.................Robinson(M).........................Brooks.................Robinson(A)

.....................................................Adams

..............................Weston..............................LLetget

Gio.....................................Sargent...............................Aaronson

===================

I know fans would love to see Gio or Aaronson in place of Lletget, but with Pulisic and Weah missing tonight, that would surprise me, since the only other wingers we have are Konrad (no experience) and Roldan (not really a winger).
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probably right.

might see Acosta or even Roldan instead of Lletget. and maybe Lletget instead of Aaronson (GGG's preference for veteran leadership.)

 
NewlyRetired said:
At least in the Gold Cup, this was a classic case of the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.   Hugo should feel really proud of getting that relatively no name team to perform.
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absolutely.

and I think some of those guys- especially the attacking players- are good enough to cause problems for the US. I would have thought the defense should be not so great- but they were solid, I think because as you say they playe 9s093o2kl,

 
El Floppo said:
probably right.

might see Acosta or even Roldan instead of Lletget. and maybe Lletget instead of Aaronson (GGG's preference for veteran leadership.)
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I could definitely see Acosta in for Lletget.

I could not see Lletget in for Aaronson based on GGG's comments yesterday about how he is worried about verticality.  Lletget has almost zero verticality in his game as his style is more calm, possession, play it backwards type of player.

But GGG clearly loves Lletget so I guess I should not be surprised if GGG finds a spot some where for him in the starting lineup.

 
With GGG fretting about “verticality” out of his wingers, I do wonder ( and I’ve seen some other guys on Twitter musing about it too), whether we might see a back three tonight. 
 

Robinson and Dest could give you verticality in wide spaces, and Sands, Robinson, Brooks, and Adams can theoretically cover a lot.  Something like. 
 

                             Turner

      Robinson       Sands       Brooks

Dest.                     Adams.                  Jedi

          McKennie        Gio.          Aaronson

                                 Sargent

 
El Floppo said:
absolutely.

and I think some of those guys- especially the attacking players- are good enough to cause problems for the US. I would have thought the defense should be not so great- but they were solid, I think because as you say they playe 9s093o2kl,
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The one area of the game we should dominate in is set pieces.  We need to create as many corners and free kicks as possible.  ELS does not have any one that can handle Weston, Miles and Brooks in the air.

 
Ramsay Hunt Experience said:
With GGG fretting about “verticality” out of his wingers, I do wonder ( and I’ve seen some other guys on Twitter musing about it too), whether we might see a back three tonight. 
 

Robinson and Dest could give you verticality in wide spaces, and Sands, Robinson, Brooks, and Adams can theoretically cover a lot.  Something like. 
 

                             Turner

      Robinson       Sands       Brooks

Dest.                     Adams.                  Jedi

          McKennie        Gio.          Aaronson

                                 Sargent
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I agree.  The first name I am looking for on the starting lineup sheet is Sands as his name will immediately tell us what formation we are playing.

 
Ramsay Hunt Experience said:
With GGG fretting about “verticality” out of his wingers, I do wonder ( and I’ve seen some other guys on Twitter musing about it too), whether we might see a back three tonight. 
 

Robinson and Dest could give you verticality in wide spaces, and Sands, Robinson, Brooks, and Adams can theoretically cover a lot.  Something like. 
 

                             Turner

      Robinson       Sands       Brooks

Dest.                     Adams.                  Jedi

          McKennie        Gio.          Aaronson

                                 Sargent
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The problem with this is Sands > than Acosta or Llegett? I'd say no at this point, but we're effectively trying to decide who the 11th non-RB/LB best player is on the roster (which sort of shows how quickly our depth drops off because I do agree those 3 are 11-13, in some order, when filling out the roster tonight)

 
Sammy3469 said:
The problem with this is Sands > than Acosta or Llegett? I'd say no at this point, but we're effectively trying to decide who the 11th non-RB/LB best player is on the roster (which sort of shows how quickly our depth drops off because I do agree those 3 are 11-13, in some order, when filling out the roster tonight)
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A.  It depends on what GGG wants to do.  Acosta and Lletget (or Roldan) don't really solve the problem of verticality if they're playing on the wings.  All those guys are going to pinch in and keep possession (which is what Gio would do as well).  That's a viable option, but it's a tradeoff that GGG seems to have some reluctance to make.  Similarly, even in the 3-3-3-1 that I'm looking at, I'm not sure I wouldn't put Acosta in for Aaronson if I wanted to maximize ball winning and the press.  But that's a big creativity trade-off.  I look at the depth issue another way.  I trust Sands (in the right circumstances) and I trust Acosta and Lletget as well (assuming we have someone else on set pieces).  Of the 11 I posted and the ones you've brought up, I'd say that I'm most iffy on Jedi, but I think we're in a situation where I'm pretty comfortable with most of the roster starting most of the qualifiers.  There's not a Bornstein.

B.  All of these guys are going to play and probably start at least one of the games (except maybe not Sands if we stay 4-3-3 for all three games).

I'm as guilty as anyone of daydreaming what our "Best XI" is, but in reality that stuff is all contextual.  There is no Best XI.  Even if we were able to assume perfect health, a lack of fatigue, and the top form for each player, matchups would still dictate what a best XI would look like.  We might play a back three only against Canada, for instance, because we want our wingbacks to push back their wingbacks instead of letting Davies and Buchanon sit high with an invitation to run at our fullbacks.  

Now, I think there's a limit to that.  I don't think you can just chop together formations and tactics completely out of the blue to match an opponent.  But it makes sense to have at least two "systems," even if one of them (the back three) is more situational.  And that's what GGG seems to have.  

 
Ramsay Hunt Experience said:
A.  It depends on what GGG wants to do.  Acosta and Lletget (or Roldan) don't really solve the problem of verticality if they're playing on the wings.  All those guys are going to pinch in and keep possession (which is what Gio would do as well).  That's a viable option, but it's a tradeoff that GGG seems to have some reluctance to make.  Similarly, even in the 3-3-3-1 that I'm looking at, I'm not sure I wouldn't put Acosta in for Aaronson if I wanted to maximize ball winning and the press.  But that's a big creativity trade-off.  I look at the depth issue another way.  I trust Sands (in the right circumstances) and I trust Acosta and Lletget as well (assuming we have someone else on set pieces).  Of the 11 I posted and the ones you've brought up, I'd say that I'm most iffy on Jedi, but I think we're in a situation where I'm pretty comfortable with most of the roster starting most of the qualifiers.  There's not a Bornstein.

B.  All of these guys are going to play and probably start at least one of the games (except maybe not Sands if we stay 4-3-3 for all three games).

I'm as guilty as anyone of daydreaming what our "Best XI" is, but in reality that stuff is all contextual.  There is no Best XI.  Even if we were able to assume perfect health, a lack of fatigue, and the top form for each player, matchups would still dictate what a best XI would look like.  We might play a back three only against Canada, for instance, because we want our wingbacks to push back their wingbacks instead of letting Davies and Buchanon sit high with an invitation to run at our fullbacks.  

Now, I think there's a limit to that.  I don't think you can just chop together formations and tactics completely out of the blue to match an opponent.  But it makes sense to have at least two "systems," even if one of them (the back three) is more situational.  And that's what GGG seems to have.  
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I agree with all that, I just wonder if you don't want to save 3 in the back against Canada (even with the rumors they may punt the US match) to provide support against Davies (and how wild is it that that flank will be a CONCACAF matchup of the starting wingbacks for Barca and Bayern).  

 
Sammy3469 said:
I agree with all that, I just wonder if you don't want to save 3 in the back against Canada (even with the rumors they may punt the US match) to provide support against Davies (and how wild is it that that flank will be a CONCACAF matchup of the starting wingbacks for Barca and Bayern).  
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Definitely a consideration.  If we can assume Pulisic is healthy for Canada, I think we can assume that whoever Canada's RWB is (either Buchanon or Laryea) is going to be able to be pinned back.  So maybe for that game, you switch Dest to LB and play Yedlin and give him zero offensive responsibilities.  

 
Will there be any player, outside of Turner (who is the most likely given the circumstances), that will play 270 minutes this window?

I feel like Adams, Robinson(M) and Weston all could do it but I am not expecting any one will.

 
NewlyRetired said:
GGG has likely planned out all 3 games already
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I think this is the right answer.

It's even possible he's struck deals with some teams to get guys rested before Game 1 and then let them go back before Game 3 or something.  Won't be surprised if we see a much more hybrid (starters/reserves) lineup than usual either way.

 
This is going to be a weird game for me because I really want Hugo to succeed with ELS and think he was treated very shabbily by the USSF.  But I also don't want to feel stressed at any point tonight.  I mean, I want Landon Donovan putting on the shades thrown at him by the Salvadoran fans in Baltimore level vibes.  I'm very fragile.

 
Ramsay Hunt Experience said:
This is going to be a weird game for me because I really want Hugo to succeed with ELS and think he was treated very shabbily by the USSF.  But I also don't want to feel stressed at any point tonight.  I mean, I want Landon Donovan putting on the shades thrown at him by the Salvadoran fans in Baltimore level vibes.  I'm very fragile.
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no idea what you're going through.

 
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Here are my Alexi Lalas analysis predictions for after the game tonight (twitter or wherever else he is tonight)"

Imagine these in his voice:

1. If the US wins: "Not their best effort, but anytime you win on the road is a good thing. Now let's see what they do Sunday against Canada."

2. If the US ties: "Not their best effort, and they looked really rough in spots, but they got a point on the road. That's good, but not good enough for this collection of talent."

3. If the US loses: "An embarrasment. You waited 4 years to redeem yourself, and this is how you come out and play? No energy. No tactical awareness. No sense of the moment. Just an awful performance."

 
@NewlyRetired- I think made a comment about a thread for qualifying.  Thoughts from everyone about a thread for all qualifying from every region and maybe leave US talk here??? 

Hungary-England match this afternoon could be a good one - Hungary impressed in Euro 2020

 
AAABatteries said:
@NewlyRetired- I think made a comment about a thread for qualifying.  Thoughts from everyone about a thread for all qualifying from every region and maybe leave US talk here??? 

Hungary-England match this afternoon could be a good one - Hungary impressed in Euro 2020
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That would be awesome I think.  There is so much qualifying on tv too now with all the streaming services.

 
NewlyRetired said:
This is not the Nations League game but this was a similar situation that Watke made a video on for the Qatar game in Gold Cup.  Master class by Acosta indeed  :)

https://twitter.com/watke_/status/1420948122453303297?s=20
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Oh hell, this is what he said to this guy :lmao:

“I was just saying, ‘You’re going to let your country down. You’re going to miss it. I’ve seen you try to chip it before. You’re wearing No. 10 for no reason. You might as well take it off. You’re just out here. They should put a cone out there instead,’ ” Acosta remembers

 
NewlyRetired said:
Oh hell, this is what he said to this guy :lmao:

“I was just saying, ‘You’re going to let your country down. You’re going to miss it. I’ve seen you try to chip it before. You’re wearing No. 10 for no reason. You might as well take it off. You’re just out here. They should put a cone out there instead,’ ” Acosta remembers
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So good.  I feel like a proud papa.  Our boys are all grown up!

 
NewlyRetired said:
Oh hell, this is what he said to this guy :lmao:

“I was just saying, ‘You’re going to let your country down. You’re going to miss it. I’ve seen you try to chip it before. You’re wearing No. 10 for no reason. You might as well take it off. You’re just out here. They should put a cone out there instead,’ ” Acosta remembers
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Feel like a good strat would be to station a decoy near the ball while all this is going on and then once the ref looks like he's about to get control, put the actual taker on the spot.

 
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