US Men's National Team (17 Viewers)

[El Floppo]

let's go Jamaica, clap, clap, clap, clap.

 

[Rustoleum]

It didn't quote. What was d baggy by miazga? I missed it.

The saved pks were just bad. You don't go low. Ever.

I think he stonewalled the next kicker on his way back to midfield after nailing his.

and btw... Miazga as the #5 PK taker? lol

I know, but obviously he was one better than Roldan.

 

[El Floppo]

lol... oops blood clothe

 

[SpurrierisisGod]

let's go Jamaica, clap, clap, clap, clap.

Did not age well. 1:30 in....

 

[El Floppo]

it was a good adjustment at the half- as Poke mentioned. US shape immediately improved on both sides of the ball, and even if they lacked the class to make it pay dividends, at least they weren't 2nd best.

took me a while to figure out who Tolkin was without his usual rock and roll haircut. loved the swagger he brought on the ball and that he was moving it quicker than the other guys had all game.

 

[El Floppo]

let's go Jamaica, clap, clap, clap, clap.

Did not age well. 1:30 in....

lol... literally the second I finised the last "clap" and pressed "post", Mex scored.

 

[The Z Machine]

Ferreira earned those cramps. Dude has run his nuts off.

Yup. And shinned in his 7th gold cup goal.

second post about this... it was a genuinely solid volley- for a goal. but I guess if it's important to you to obsess about what part of his foot it went in off of... cool.

Look, they all count, but it wasn't as pretty on the replay as I thought. It looked magical in real time, but it wasn't pure class.

 

[The Z Machine]

We are who we thought they were

 

[NewlyRetired]

I thought it was a fair result.

Panama clearly better in first half. US clearly better in second and then it was kind of even in ET and then PK's came down to a sudden death.

About as even as they could get, with out looking at the raw stats.

I don't see any way the US could have competed in the final though. They would have been walking corpses IMO.

 

[NewlyRetired]

I know Strong has to create narratives but does any one else here think "Mihailovic has had a break out Gold Cup".

I mean he almost did nothing over 200 minutes in the two knock out stage games. As much as we like to malign Jesus for only playing well against the Minnows, he showed well in multiple positions these last 2 games, in grave contrast to Mihailovic.

 

[El Floppo]

already 12 mins in and I don't think I"ve heard the puto birds yet.

 

[ChiefD]

I thought it was a fair result.

Panama clearly better in first half. US clearly better in second and then it was kind of even in ET and then PK's came down to a sudden death.

About as even as they could get, with out looking at the raw stats.

I don't see any way the US could have competed in the final though. They would have been walking corpses IMO.

Yeah. You lose this game and its forgotten. You lose to Mexico in the final and the highlights live forever.

 

[ChiefD]

I know Strong has to create narratives but does any one else here think "Mihailovic has had a break out Gold Cup".

I mean he almost did nothing over 200 minutes in the two knock out stage games. As much as we like to malign Jesus for only playing well against the Minnows, he showed well in multiple positions these last 2 games, in grave contrast to Mihailovic.

Agree 100%. He did not do himself any favors in these last two games when it mattered.

 

[NewlyRetired]

We are who we thought they were

pretty much. I don't think anyone had great aspirations for this squad.

I am slightly disappointed that there was no one obvious (non Turner and Robinson) guy we can point to and say "oh yeah, he needs to be on the full 23". A couple of guys certainly should be monitored though to see where this season takes them.

 

[ChiefD]

We are who we thought they were

pretty much. I don't think anyone had great aspirations for this squad.

I am slightly disappointed that there was no one obvious (non Turner and Robinson) guy we can point to and say "oh yeah, he needs to be on the full 23". A couple of guys certainly should be monitored though to see where this season takes them.

Maybe Sands.

 

[NewlyRetired]

We are who we thought they were

pretty much. I don't think anyone had great aspirations for this squad.

I am slightly disappointed that there was no one obvious (non Turner and Robinson) guy we can point to and say "oh yeah, he needs to be on the full 23". A couple of guys certainly should be monitored though to see where this season takes them.

Maybe Sands.

One good thing about Sands is that his played picked up in the knock out stages. That was encouraging.

But the gap in talent between him and Adams is cavernous still IMO.

 

[El Floppo]

I know Strong has to create narratives but does any one else here think "Mihailovic has had a break out Gold Cup".

I mean he almost did nothing over 200 minutes in the two knock out stage games. As much as we like to malign Jesus for only playing well against the Minnows, he showed well in multiple positions these last 2 games, in grave contrast to Mihailovic.

yeah... agree.

for me- Jones, Sands, Neal, Jesus (despite not looking great today outside of the goal and insane workrate)... those are the guys who's stock rose.

Reynolds and Miha started the GC very strong, but then both sank into bleh.

Just not sure what to make of Vazquez, who has stepped up big a couple times but otherwise shrunk.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Just not sure what to make of Vazquez, who has stepped up big a couple times but otherwise shrunk.

So here is the interesting thing about Vazquez.

3 goals as a sub, all very late. Then pretty much sucked as a starter tonight.

But there is no way any one is looking at Vazquez as a starter so he really needs to be looked at in how he can help in minimal minutes off the bench. In a weird way, maybe this Gold Cup helped him for that specific role....

I don't know......GGG probably does not have a lot of tough decisions to make come September's friendlies, but as this generation has continually shown, multiple starting players are going to get hurt so who knows....

 

[NewlyRetired]

By the way, I am a big fan of Robinson and think he belongs on the full 23.

I do not think he should be a starter though if every one is healthy. Maybe as was mentioned earlier if he was paired with Ream, things would look different since the need to make vertical mid range passes would be reduced.

Personally I just hope Richards takes the next step this season as I think while not as athletic as Robinson is, he is a more complete CB for the modern game.

Robinson would have been golden pre 1990 as a player.

 

[DJackson10]

Milan apparently want to gift Florian Balguon to Pioli but the operation could be complicated with it being close to 4Om

 

[NewlyRetired]

Milan apparently want to gift Florian Balguon to Pioli but the operation could be complicated with it being close to 4Om

The only way I see Milan being able to make the numbers work is if they give Arsenal 20-25% of the sell on fee.

If they spend 40 on Balogun, they would have already burned through the great money they got for Tonelli, after we factor in the RLC and Pulisic deals.

Do they have any other big sales coming up?

 

[prefontaine]

We are who we thought they were

pretty much. I don't think anyone had great aspirations for this squad.

I am slightly disappointed that there was no one obvious (non Turner and Robinson) guy we can point to and say "oh yeah, he needs to be on the full 23". A couple of guys certainly should be monitored though to see where this season takes them.

Maybe Sands.

I don't really get the love for Sands. He doesn't make awful mistakes which I get appeals to people but a lot of our inability to build up is because of his limitations. And his lack of range drives me crazy. I don't think he's a viable option.

I honestly think his best (and only NT viable) position is centerback but he doesn't want to play there.

 

[The Z Machine]

We are who we thought they were

pretty much. I don't think anyone had great aspirations for this squad.

I am slightly disappointed that there was no one obvious (non Turner and Robinson) guy we can point to and say "oh yeah, he needs to be on the full 23". A couple of guys certainly should be monitored though to see where this season takes them.

Maybe Sands.

I don't really get the love for Sands. He doesn't make awful mistakes which I get appeals to people but a lot of our inability to build up is because of his limitations. And his lack of range drives me crazy. I don't think he's a viable option.

I honestly think his best (and only NT viable) position is centerback but he doesn't want to play there.

I think he could be a serviceable 6 in a pinch. Would need talent around him to generate offense, but he's not a traffic cone on D. Doesn't do a great job shutting down passing lanes and needs to work a bit more to be strong in the tackle, but I did see some things that make me think he'll be in the mix for a backup 6.

 

[TripleThreat]

The Miles Robinson I remember in the WC runup pre achilles was better than this most recent Gold Cup version. Anyone else feel the same?

 

[CletiusMaximus]

The Miles Robinson I remember in the WC runup pre achilles was better than this most recent Gold Cup version. Anyone else feel the same?

Decent overall play marred by a few massive errors in the last two games, two of which directly allowed opponents goals. I don’t think you’re alone here. Last night was maybe a fatigue/fitness issue losing track of his line in a key moment. Still plenty of time for him to come good before it really matters.

 

[Poke_4_Life]

I realized late in the second half last night, we could have used a nice spark from the bench. Like a Vazquez. But we couldn't bring him in because he started. I agree with him starting, as he had earned the chance. But given our lack of possession and poor shape in the first half, it would have been nice to bring in Vazquez at around 60' and see what he could have done the rest of the game.

Oh well. Our guys were getting so tired I was starting to worry about real injuries if they had to play another game.

 

[TLEF316]

Yeah, hard to get too upset about this. We sent a poor team (in terms of talent and roster construction) and eventually we played a team that actually had a few professional players.....and they beat us.

At the end of the day, we dont know who was unavailable for selection and who (if anyone) said no. But this roster (in terms of the ability to win the tournament) could have been improved with a few different selections (McKenzie for example).....or we could have gotten more value from the tournament by bringing more younger guys.

The bottom line is we were really limited in terms of potential creative players....and the ones that they brought (Zendejas, Djordje, Sonora) either under-performed or flat out stunk.

Neal established himself firmly in the "guys we should maybe be excited about" camp. A little more MLS seasoning and then a move to Europe and we'll see what we have in 2-3 years. Turner played fine. Jones showed that he can maybe be a better depth LB than the other guys we've seen. Reynolds showed flashes early but was bad late. Needs a lot more development before he could be trusted. Not enough of a sample size to judge Tolkein.

IMO, Busio showed that he isn't quite dead yet. Obviously needs a total reset at club level and LOTS of good performances before he's even considered as a fringe A team guy...but there's some talent there. Cade continued to show big time flashes of skill (along with his obvious physical tools) but the decision making is obviously very inconsistent. Time to step up in class and see what he has beyond MLS. Djordje was a major disappointment. This was his opportunity to stake his claim and he failed. Sands.....meh. I just dont think he's quite good enough.

Jesus has some attacking skills. He's not a #9 for the A team (especially in the "Greg system where we just end up lumping on crosses) but there's a spot for him on the fringe if you put him in the right position. Vasquez is in the mix as the # 3 striker with guys like Pefok, Sarge and the unicorn that is a healthy Dike.

Hard to understate how horrible Zendejas was. So bad that there's just no way I could ever trust him with the A team in a game that matters. Made the wrong decision every time. And a nightmare 2 games for Miles. He was supposed to be the rock and he was horrendous. And we know what we have with Morris, Gressell, Roldan (he was NEVER gonna make that PK), Sean Johnson and Yedlin.

Would have loved to see this group with just a few different younger pieces. IMO, there are 4--6 guys from the U20 roster that could have brought more dynamism in the attack. It would have been helpful and a useful exercise. Instead, we called in Jackson Yuell as our one replacement pieces and left the team short handed. Just dumb.

 

[El Floppo]

The Miles Robinson I remember in the WC runup pre achilles was better than this most recent Gold Cup version. Anyone else feel the same?

Decent overall play marred by a few massive errors in the last two games, two of which directly allowed opponents goals. I don’t think you’re alone here. Last night was maybe a fatigue/fitness issue losing track of his line in a key moment. Still plenty of time for him to come good before it really matters.

I mentioned it at halftime, but PAN was routinely putting the ball over the top to open runners. If not for just slightly mishit balls that turner got to, it would have been a bloodbath. Neither of the CBs did themselves any favors there... And ultimately they got punished. I guess I'm saying it wasn't one or two errors... But hard to nail down without focused rewatch as to whether it was a shape thing or just bad play by the CBS.

 

[El Floppo]

We are who we thought they were

pretty much. I don't think anyone had great aspirations for this squad.

I am slightly disappointed that there was no one obvious (non Turner and Robinson) guy we can point to and say "oh yeah, he needs to be on the full 23". A couple of guys certainly should be monitored though to see where this season takes them.

Maybe Sands.

I don't really get the love for Sands. He doesn't make awful mistakes which I get appeals to people but a lot of our inability to build up is because of his limitations. And his lack of range drives me crazy. I don't think he's a viable option.

I honestly think his best (and only NT viable) position is centerback but he doesn't want to play there.

For me, it's not love.

I listed guys who's stock had risen in my estimation... He was one of them. Consistent, good sense of that defensive passing-lane space, decent vision and skills on the ball, and decent at ball progression. Sometimes decent and consistent are what you need from your 6, even if you hope for more.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Everyone who was "close" is now official. No idea who will be next to move from "rumor" to "close".

Great moves though for the 5 official guys imo. All either significantly improved teams, competitions and or playing environment. Lets hope it works out for them.

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

OFFICIAL
Weah - official to Juventus
Pepi - official to PSV
Aaronson - official to Union Berlin (on loan)
Pulisic - official to Milan
Jedi - re-signed to 2028


CLOSE


RUMOR
Musah - West Ham and Fulham interest, Milan maybe coming back to the table
Dest - Crystal Palace and Fulham rumors (Fulham would be fascinating as we could have 3 of our starters in the same club teams defense)
Weston - Aston Villa rumors
Adams - Nothing recent
Balogun - some mentions of Serie A, new mention of RBL in Germany, new mention of Milan specifically.
Tillman - Nothing since the loan was cancelled by Bayern
Reyna - Vague rumors at best, new mention that Dortmund is not looking to move him. He may be removed from list
Booth - I have seen the Man United rumor a couple of times but that is it
Vasquez - Gladbach is interested, Cincy is not
Jesus - Mention of possible PSV interest

 

[CletiusMaximus]

The Miles Robinson I remember in the WC runup pre achilles was better than this most recent Gold Cup version. Anyone else feel the same?

Decent overall play marred by a few massive errors in the last two games, two of which directly allowed opponents goals. I don’t think you’re alone here. Last night was maybe a fatigue/fitness issue losing track of his line in a key moment. Still plenty of time for him to come good before it really matters.

I mentioned it at halftime, but PAN was routinely putting the ball over the top to open runners. If not for just slightly mishit balls that turner got to, it would have been a bloodbath. Neither of the CBs did themselves any favors there... And ultimately they got punished. I guess I'm saying it wasn't one or two errors... But hard to nail down without focused rewatch as to whether it was a shape thing or just bad play by the CBS.

I've never played the game, but I imagine its not easy for guys who hardly know each other to come together and get things like offside lines right every time across multiple games in a tournament. Its probably something the Panama guys saw and decided to exploit.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

In any event the good news is that the Berhalter era version 2.0 is upon us. Strap in boys!!

 

[Sammy3469]

Fwiw, I don’t know if they portrayed this on tv, but it was damn hot there yesterday. Someone alluded to it above, but they should have held back one of Cade or Vazquez to run at tired legs.

Busio is also a liability….he’s just too small and has no center of gravity.

 

[gianmarco]

Yeah, hard to get too upset about this. We sent a poor team (in terms of talent and roster construction) and eventually we played a team that actually had a few professional players.....and they beat us.

At the end of the day, we dont know who was unavailable for selection and who (if anyone) said no. But this roster (in terms of the ability to win the tournament) could have been improved with a few different selections (McKenzie for example).....or we could have gotten more value from the tournament by bringing more younger guys.

The bottom line is we were really limited in terms of potential creative players....and the ones that they brought (Zendejas, Djordje, Sonora) either under-performed or flat out stunk.

Neal established himself firmly in the "guys we should maybe be excited about" camp. A little more MLS seasoning and then a move to Europe and we'll see what we have in 2-3 years. Turner played fine. Jones showed that he can maybe be a better depth LB than the other guys we've seen. Reynolds showed flashes early but was bad late. Needs a lot more development before he could be trusted. Not enough of a sample size to judge Tolkein.

IMO, Busio showed that he isn't quite dead yet. Obviously needs a total reset at club level and LOTS of good performances before he's even considered as a fringe A team guy...but there's some talent there. Cade continued to show big time flashes of skill (along with his obvious physical tools) but the decision making is obviously very inconsistent. Time to step up in class and see what he has beyond MLS. Djordje was a major disappointment. This was his opportunity to stake his claim and he failed. Sands.....meh. I just dont think he's quite good enough.

Jesus has some attacking skills. He's not a #9 for the A team (especially in the "Greg system where we just end up lumping on crosses) but there's a spot for him on the fringe if you put him in the right position. Vasquez is in the mix as the # 3 striker with guys like Pefok, Sarge and the unicorn that is a healthy Dike.

Hard to understate how horrible Zendejas was. So bad that there's just no way I could ever trust him with the A team in a game that matters. Made the wrong decision every time. And a nightmare 2 games for Miles. He was supposed to be the rock and he was horrendous. And we know what we have with Morris, Gressell, Roldan (he was NEVER gonna make that PK), Sean Johnson and Yedlin.

Would have loved to see this group with just a few different younger pieces. IMO, there are 4--6 guys from the U20 roster that could have brought more dynamism in the attack. It would have been helpful and a useful exercise. Instead, we called in Jackson Yuell as our one replacement pieces and left the team short handed. Just dumb.

Interestingly enough, I almost always agree with your takes in this thread. This one is a big exception on multiple levels.

Neal -- Wasn't impressed at all. I don't see him sniffing the A team anytime soon. I'll pay attention to his development, though.
Reynolds -- I think he was completely gassed. He does not have Jedi's engine (yet). But he has the look of a solid player, for me, and I'm interested to see how he develops. I could see him starting at RB during group stages to give others a rest.
Busio -- Just doesn't have it. His step is slow. Anytime he gets it in any advanced position, he's not quick enough and will get knocked off the ball way too easily. Rest of the time he's just a negative passer without any forward movement. Give him space and time and he can look good. He's a rich man's Jackson Yueill, IMO.
Cade -- Agreed. He's inconsistent but shows some flashes. I don't know if he'll ever figure it out, but he's got a lot of time still. Love the potential.
Sands -- As someone else mentioned, he plays the DM in a solid manner. Not a lot of mistakes. Had some key tackles. Makes some good passes. He's not Adams, but he can be serviceable for sure and still plenty of time to see how he develops.
Mihailovic -- I seem to be in the minority here on him, but I'm not nearly as down on him as others seem to be. I think he has good ball skills and did some good things out there. I don't watch him enough to know if maybe he was being played out of his normal position or not because he seemed to be in lots of different spots on the field, but out of all of the MFers that played in the Gold Cup, he was the most creative (which isn't saying much). I just don't think he had a lot to work with around him and seems like a guy that would benefit from being around better players.

Agree with Jesus and Zendejas.

Of course, I'm likely way off on these, but just my impressions from watching.

I think tired legs affected almost the entire team yesterday and rightfully so. Just hard to take much from it. And the original formation did no one any favors. That they improved in the 2nd half is a testament to their desire to pull something out and they almost did.

 

[B Maverick]

And we know what we have with Morris, Gressell, Roldan (he was NEVER gonna make that PK), Sean Johnson and Yedlin.

Did I hear correctly that Gressell is 29 years old and has less then 10 caps? What is the reason he is there?
And if I never have to see Morris, Roldan and Yedlin play for the NT again, I will be happy.

I've never played the game, but I imagine its not easy for guys who hardly know each other to come together and get things like offside lines right every time across multiple games in a tournament. Its probably something the Panama guys saw and decided to exploit.

It can be difficult for sure. Someone's speed, where they like to receive the ball, the runs they make... It takes time to get comfortable with who's around you and confident a teammate is going to be where you think they should be. Defensively, if you have a vocal leader in the back line you should be able to hold lines and spacing properly. But at this level you should be able to work it out over a game or two and get to that comfort level.

 

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

If you give decent midfielders all day on the ball and tons of space it's pretty easy to pick a run and play a pass over the top. We had zero pressure on the ball for long stretches of the game -- especially in the first half.

The Robinson handballs are just bad luck IMO.

I agree you can't play two of him -- he has to be paired with a ball-playing partner -- but I think Robinson's still our best 1v1 CB and as he gets further from his injury I bet his full athleticism returns. He's the least of our worries on the team we just watched IMO.

Overall...

Turner, Robinson and Ferreira (he presses well, he makes good runs, he links up, he's a good passer) were already in the top-26 IMO.

Sands and Jones helped themselves, and I wouldn't be surprised if Sands is in the 25-30 range now. Reynolds ran out of gas and was spottier than those two, but he's probably in the mix at RB now too.

Vasquez... not so sure. Looked a lot like Pefok and Wright to me. Uni-dimensional player who doesn't do much if he's not scoring. 100% chance I'm taking Sargent or Ferreira over him (based on his minutes in this tournament).

Busio had some moments, but he doesn't have enough of a field presence/throw weight to be an 8 or a 6 and there's really nowhere else for him to go.

Cowell had some moments too and is still a teen. Let's see how he develops. Maybe not a great fit for the squad, but I'm a fan of Raging Bull center forwards.

Tolkin, came on last night like he was prime Conor McGregor. Full of swag and confidence, like he owned things. I know he wasn't good earlier in the tournament, but I'd like to see more based on last night.

I think Yedlin is still hovering in that top-30 range.

I know Mihailovic is a favorite around these parts, but I don't get it. He's a pure 10 IMO, and not nearly creative enough to get on the field at that position for the Nats.

Neal is young, so the up and down tournament make some sense. Let's see how he develops over the next few years. But he's not ready today, given the competition at that spot.

Miazga, Long, J Morris -- thank you for your service. Here's your gold watch.

Sonora, especially Zendejas -- just looked off the pace, even in the context of our C team.

 

[NewlyRetired]

In any event the good news is that the Berhalter era version 2.0 is upon us. Strap in boys!!

Interesting that you use the word strap because many US fans feel they are about to be ****ed

 

[NewlyRetired]

I hope BJ lands somewhere, these interim gigs blow.

If he was a proxy for GGG, as I expect he was, I assume GGG just gets him back on staff.

 

[gianmarco]

If you give decent midfielders all day on the ball and tons of space it's pretty easy to pick a run and play a pass over the top. We had zero pressure on the ball for long stretches of the game -- especially in the first half.

The Robinson handballs are just bad luck IMO.

I agree you can't play two of him -- he has to be paired with a ball-playing partner -- but I think he's still our best 1v1 CB and as he gets further from his injury I bet his speed returns. He's the least of our worries on the team we just watched IMO.

100% agree.

You can't play 2 of him same as you can't play 2 of Ream. He needs to be paired with a Ream or a Zimm. That's where he shines.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Roger Gonzalez

@RGonzalezCBS


Hearing USMNT defender George Bello is signing with LASK of the Austrian first division today

 

[NewlyRetired]

If you give decent midfielders all day on the ball and tons of space it's pretty easy to pick a run and play a pass over the top. We had zero pressure on the ball for long stretches of the game -- especially in the first half.

The Robinson handballs are just bad luck IMO.

I agree you can't play two of him -- he has to be paired with a ball-playing partner -- but I think he's still our best 1v1 CB and as he gets further from his injury I bet his speed returns. He's the least of our worries on the team we just watched IMO.

100% agree.

You can't play 2 of him same as you can't play 2 of Ream. He needs to be paired with a Ream or a Zimm. That's where he shines.

Zimm is not really a ball playing CB either. He hits decent long balls but his mid range passing (which is the hradest for a CB due to traffic) is the weakest part of his game.

Ream stands alone as the best passer, followed by CCV and Richards. Everyone else (Zimm, Robinson, McKenzie, EPB) are in the next tier imo)

 

[Poke_4_Life]

Did I hear correctly that Gressell is 29 years old and has less then 10 caps? What is the reason he is there?

He is from Germany. Played college ball in the states. Been in MLS since and just got his US citizenship last Fall. I can't answer the last question. He's purely depth and at 29 we could have brought in someone younger.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Update as Bello goes from not even a rumor, to close

======

OFFICIAL
Weah - official to Juventus
Pepi - official to PSV
Aaronson - official to Union Berlin (on loan)
Pulisic - official to Milan
Jedi - re-signed to 2028


CLOSE
Bello - Expected to sign with LASK in Austrian First Division

RUMOR
Musah - West Ham and Fulham interest, Milan maybe coming back to the table
Dest - Crystal Palace and Fulham rumors (Fulham would be fascinating as we could have 3 of our starters in the same club teams defense)
Weston - Aston Villa rumors
Adams - Nothing recent
Balogun - some mentions of Serie A, new mention of RBL in Germany, new mention of Milan specifically.
Tillman - Nothing since the loan was cancelled by Bayern
Reyna - Vague rumors at best, new mention that Dortmund is not looking to move him. He may be removed from list
Booth - I have seen the Man United rumor a couple of times but that is it
Vasquez - Gladbach is interested, Cincy is not
Jesus - Mention of possible PSV interest

 

[Poke_4_Life]

Ugh, in reading all these comments I forgot we brough in Yuell, who never played a minute. We needed some spark and fresh legs these last two games and yet we brought in someone that never left the bench. Dumb, Dumb, Dumb.

 

[TLEF316]

Yeah, hard to get too upset about this. We sent a poor team (in terms of talent and roster construction) and eventually we played a team that actually had a few professional players.....and they beat us.

At the end of the day, we dont know who was unavailable for selection and who (if anyone) said no. But this roster (in terms of the ability to win the tournament) could have been improved with a few different selections (McKenzie for example).....or we could have gotten more value from the tournament by bringing more younger guys.

The bottom line is we were really limited in terms of potential creative players....and the ones that they brought (Zendejas, Djordje, Sonora) either under-performed or flat out stunk.

Neal established himself firmly in the "guys we should maybe be excited about" camp. A little more MLS seasoning and then a move to Europe and we'll see what we have in 2-3 years. Turner played fine. Jones showed that he can maybe be a better depth LB than the other guys we've seen. Reynolds showed flashes early but was bad late. Needs a lot more development before he could be trusted. Not enough of a sample size to judge Tolkein.

IMO, Busio showed that he isn't quite dead yet. Obviously needs a total reset at club level and LOTS of good performances before he's even considered as a fringe A team guy...but there's some talent there. Cade continued to show big time flashes of skill (along with his obvious physical tools) but the decision making is obviously very inconsistent. Time to step up in class and see what he has beyond MLS. Djordje was a major disappointment. This was his opportunity to stake his claim and he failed. Sands.....meh. I just dont think he's quite good enough.

Jesus has some attacking skills. He's not a #9 for the A team (especially in the "Greg system where we just end up lumping on crosses) but there's a spot for him on the fringe if you put him in the right position. Vasquez is in the mix as the # 3 striker with guys like Pefok, Sarge and the unicorn that is a healthy Dike.

Hard to understate how horrible Zendejas was. So bad that there's just no way I could ever trust him with the A team in a game that matters. Made the wrong decision every time. And a nightmare 2 games for Miles. He was supposed to be the rock and he was horrendous. And we know what we have with Morris, Gressell, Roldan (he was NEVER gonna make that PK), Sean Johnson and Yedlin.

Would have loved to see this group with just a few different younger pieces. IMO, there are 4--6 guys from the U20 roster that could have brought more dynamism in the attack. It would have been helpful and a useful exercise. Instead, we called in Jackson Yuell as our one replacement pieces and left the team short handed. Just dumb.

Interestingly enough, I almost always agree with your takes in this thread. This one is a big exception on multiple levels.

Neal -- Wasn't impressed at all. I don't see him sniffing the A team anytime soon. I'll pay attention to his development, though.
Reynolds -- I think he was completely gassed. He does not have Jedi's engine (yet). But he has the look of a solid player, for me, and I'm interested to see how he develops. I could see him starting at RB during group stages to give others a rest.
Busio -- Just doesn't have it. His step is slow. Anytime he gets it in any advanced position, he's not quick enough and will get knocked off the ball way too easily. Rest of the time he's just a negative passer without any forward movement. Give him space and time and he can look good. He's a rich man's Jackson Yueill, IMO.
Cade -- Agreed. He's inconsistent but shows some flashes. I don't know if he'll ever figure it out, but he's got a lot of time still. Love the potential.
Sands -- As someone else mentioned, he plays the DM in a solid manner. Not a lot of mistakes. Had some key tackles. Makes some good passes. He's not Adams, but he can be serviceable for sure and still plenty of time to see how he develops.
Mihailovic -- I seem to be in the minority here on him, but I'm not nearly as down on him as others seem to be. I think he has good ball skills and did some good things out there. I don't watch him enough to know if maybe he was being played out of his normal position or not because he seemed to be in lots of different spots on the field, but out of all of the MFers that played in the Gold Cup, he was the most creative (which isn't saying much). I just don't think he had a lot to work with around him and seems like a guy that would benefit from being around better players.

Agree with Jesus and Zendejas.

Of course, I'm likely way off on these, but just my impressions from watching.

I think tired legs affected almost the entire team yesterday and rightfully so. Just hard to take much from it. And the original formation did no one any favors. That they improved in the 2nd half is a testament to their desire to pull something out and they almost did.

Yeah, I'm far from an expert (especially among this crew) so no worries.

With Neal, I saw a very young player without a ton of experience who showed a clear ability to make line-breaking passes. That's an extremely valuable skill that raises the ceiling of our player pool. And when he wasn't in there, and Miles was forced to try and be that guy (since Long sure as hell wasn't going to), it just didn't work. Panama realized that and it allowed to them just back off and crowd the MF. Not saying Neal is even close to the A team 23 (he's too young and there's enough good players in front of them that they dont need to rush him) but I'm excited to see him and hopefully Craig team up at the olympics next summer. And then we'll see how it goes.

You may be right about Reynolds being tired. He was good against Jamaica (I think) and maybe his legs were just gone. I think he's firmly in the mix for the #3 RB spot and I hope he ends up in a good spot this season.

I wouldn't say I'm high on Busio by any stretch. But considering he was sort of in the Serie B wilderness this year (and not even starting most of the time) I think he slightly out performed expectations.

I just dont think Sands does anything particularly well. Ok but not great athlete. Ok but not great passer. Not especially strong in the tackle. I just dont see any great tools there. I could be wrong though.

My expectations were higher for Djordje. He was supposed to be the main creator and the team looked pretty toothless in all 3 games against pros.

 

[AAABatteries]

The Miles Robinson I remember in the WC runup pre achilles was better than this most recent Gold Cup version. Anyone else feel the same?

As I've mentioned before I watch every game he plays (that matters) - here are my thoughts for what they are worth (nothing):

• Was obviously a pretty serious injury and he's not exactly young in footballing terms
• He's made a strong comeback with the club and has performed well in a formation he's comfortable with and one he's not asked to do much beyond defend
• He's played too many minutes! I cringed these last two games and I think it's a huge concern about re-injury. I've complained about Paneda playing him too much and then he goes and plays a ton of minutes in this tournament
• I'm sure Miles wanted to do this after missing out on the WC so I don't blame him but the coaches need to be smarter
• He's never been the best passer but he's sufficient, IMO, when paired with Ream or someone with passing skills.
• He's having to play with the B/C squad - makes it difficult to cover up mistakes in that situation
• He definitely had some bad moments and should be scrutinized for it.
• I don't see him as a definite starter in '26 but unless other CBs step up he should be in the side for sure.
• If he continues to improve though I feel completely comfortable with him starting for us

 

[Sammy3469]

If you give decent midfielders all day on the ball and tons of space it's pretty easy to pick a run and play a pass over the top. We had zero pressure on the ball for long stretches of the game -- especially in the first half.

The Robinson handballs are just bad luck IMO.

I agree you can't play two of him -- he has to be paired with a ball-playing partner -- but I think Robinson's still our best 1v1 CB and as he gets further from his injury I bet his full athleticism returns. He's the least of our worries on the team we just watched IMO.

Overall...

Turner, Robinson and Ferreira (he presses well, he makes good runs, he links up, he's a good passer) were already in the top-26 IMO.

Sands and Jones helped themselves, and I wouldn't be surprised if Sands is in the 25-30 range now. Reynolds ran out of gas and was spottier than those two, but he's probably in the mix at RB now too.

Vasquez... not so sure. Looked a lot like Pefok and Wright to me. Uni-dimensional player who doesn't do much if he's not scoring. 100% chance I'm taking Sargent or Ferreira over him (based on his minutes in this tournament).

Busio had some moments, but he doesn't have enough of a field presence/throw weight to be an 8 or a 6 and there's really nowhere else for him to go.

Cowell had some moments too and is still a teen. Let's see how he develops. Maybe not a great fit for the squad, but I'm a fan of Raging Bull center forwards.

Tolkin, came on last night like he was prime Conor McGregor. Full of swag and confidence, like he owned things. I know he wasn't good earlier in the tournament, but I'd like to see more based on last night.

I think Yedlin is still hovering in that top-30 range.

I know Mihailovic is a favorite around these parts, but I don't get it. He's a pure 10 IMO, and not nearly creative enough to get on the field at that position for the Nats.

Neal is young, so the up and down tournament make some sense. Let's see how he develops over the next few years. But he's not ready today, given the competition at that spot.

Miazga, Long, J Morris -- thank you for your service. Here's your gold watch.

Sonora, especially Zendejas -- just looked off the pace, even in the context of our C team.

Fwiw, I thought Vazquez played better up top in his minutes than Jesus did yesterday. Vazquez is a true CF in both size and ability to be an outlet. I thought he did a lot of very nice things and was very close with some of his interplays. He also occupies well and makes smart runs in the box.

Out of everyone yesterday I thought the two best players on the field for us were him and Sands. Thorne looked lost out wide. Busio can’t take any contact. Cade is well Cade. Jesus lack of physicality holds him back as competition improves. The backline is just meh and Robinson recovers well (and looks good in 1v1), but he doesn’t anticipate play well before the defensive third.

Out of anything the one thing that really stood out live was how physicality really holds back the slighter guys.

 

[gianmarco]

I was watching these highlights, and if you only saw them, you'd think we probably deserved the win just as much. We had a couple really good chances, especially earlier on.

 

[NewlyRetired]

I was watching these highlights, and if you only saw them, you'd think we probably deserved the win just as much. We had a couple really good chances, especially earlier on.

Panama had a very slight edge in the raw stats but I have not seen an xG yet. I think the US may have had a higher xG

 

[El Floppo]

Vazquez played better up top in his minutes than Jesus did yesterday. Vazquez is a true CF in both size and ability to be an outlet. I thought he did a lot of very nice things and was very close with some of his interplays. He also occupies well and makes smart runs in the box.

I loved his runs and connections. But couldn't hold the ball at all once he got it. I don't know his play at all, but I thought that was part of it.. so it was really disappointing to see panama defenders routinely boss him off the ball after he had received it in good spots.