I'm gobsmacked by what happened tonight. I've been in this thread long enough to know this is a marathon and not a sprint, but not only do the Gold Cup and Nations League Cup look like pyrrhic victories at best, but also with Mexico off to a fast start in qualifying, i.e. what REALLY matters, those cups look downright worthless and I'm about to declare that the sky is falling.
I believe this is the deepest talent pool we've had in the 10+ years I've been following this team, yet I feel like they are underperforming and/or the wrong buttons are being pushed.
I think there's a difference between 'best XI' and 'best XI for CONCACAF qualifying'. To me, it means putting out eleven guys who can grind out wins and play like their hair is on fire while doing it. To me, Aaronsen and Acosta embody that and should be automatic starters. CP is like a Jaguar; he looks the part and can perform in the right conditions, but you don't put one in the demolition derby that is CONCACAF qualifying.. I believe Swag and Adams will learn from their early mistakes and have the playing styles to thrive so they're still must-starts, and maybe even *gasp* bench Brooks for one of our 'lesser' CBs who has the extra step Brooks doesn't have, or switch to a 4-man back line with a speedier CB paired with him to provide extra cover.
I'm dejected and just buzzed enough to waste my time and some space to throw out my CONCACAF Qualifying lineup:
GK: Turner is the hot hand right now and seems to be growing albeit incrementally, so he's it until he falters in back to back games.
CB: Miles Robinson and Mark McKenzie. Yes, Brooks is our best and most experienced CB, but his Achilles Heel is his 1v1 speed, which seems to be getting exploited more in CONCACAF than anywhere else, so he sits and lets the 'lesser' but quicker CBs carry the load here.
LCB/RCB: in 2 CONCACAF games, Dest has turned in one half of a quality shift and then got hurt. Save him for the rest of the world. Give me Bello and Antonee Robinson, guys who don't think doing dirty work in beneath them.
MF: Swag, Adams, Acosta. Period.
F: Aaronsen, due to his grit and intangible ballhawking ability, is a must start. I think I would even give him a go in the middle, with Konrad on one wing because speed is always a commodity, plus Zardes when healthy. Aaronsen seems to me like he might do well triggering the attack, and I think Zardes would thrive with him drawing defenders and Konrad causing havoc with his speed. When switching to defense, Zardes spearheads he pressure and Aaronson floats out wide and provides the kind of cover he provided tonight.
Turner (while he's the hot hand)
A. Robinson M. Robinson McKenzie Bello
Swag Adams Acosta
Aaronson Konrad
Zardes
With evidence of teams going at our weak link and trying to overrun him, I propose we go with a more flexible, dare I say dynamic lineup that can cover and support each other better on both ends of the field than what we've seen these last 2 games. You know that group of MFs can boss the middle of the field as well as give extra punch on offense and extra cover of defense. They're not individually the best players we have, but for CONCACAF, I think all they would need is GGG to say 'go win this one'.