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coyoteshockeyfan

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Couple thoughts on what we’ve seen so far at the Gold Cup.

How can you not feel joy at watching Daryl **** (edit: Dee-kay lol) play soccer? Whatever sports cliche you want to use, he’s got that stuff that makes him compelling to watch. More importantly, it’s what he can bring that others in the forward pool may not. We must keep in mind for World Cup Qualifying that there’s always nights particularly on the road where the game is a complete muddled slog and nothing is working. What **** gives the US is a direct, aggressive mentality in front of the net. He’s the guy most likely to bully his way 1v1 or just get a touch of a melee header and get that ugly goal.

I wish that more of the personnel we saw in the Martinique game had instead played the Haiti game as it would have been a better data point for determining roster spots going forward (I think they were better too, even taking into account the opposition). Hoppe brought an elevated level of skill otherwise lacking, in addition to some smart freelancing around the field… hunting the game rather than being static. Busio and Williamson in particular brought an energy to the midfield vs Martinique that was lacking in the opener (indeed, the team had better flow when Busio was subbed on vs Haiti as well). Yueill has yet again mightily struggled (I’m not going to spend time bagging on him because it’s a well worn topic that can be read about pretty much anywhere and he shouldn’t be put in this position anyway), his minutes for the remainder of the tournament have to go to Busio who so far at least looks plausible as a backup defensive midfielder. Busio still has quite a bit to work on, notably he isn’t yet capable of winning balls off an opposing player’s foot (he does have more ability to recover after losing his man, something that Yueill for instance does not). Also had several dangerous opportunities where a slightly better pass would have blown the play wide open, but he was at least attempting far more positive stuff than what we’ve seen from other backup CDM candidates. He’s also reportedly set to join Venezia in Serie A, pretty strong rise for a teenager.

So this plus the end of the Haiti game gave us the longest look we’ve seen at using three CBs in the back plus two CMs (Busio and Williamson in this case) playing a double pivot when defending. It’s appealing defensively because you’ve got a very stout trapezoid shape in the center with those 3 CBs behind the 2 CMs. This look is very on trend in soccer and with Berhalter if nothing else he’s been willing to try things that are very on trend. This look makes some sense for the US because Tyler Adams is probably the only guy they can use as a lone CDM. So without him, you need a second midfielder to help out defensively (at least, against halfway good teams). So I like that in this case, they were fitting the tactics to the available players rather than the other way around (as Berhalter has been criticized for doing). Newcomer Sands along with Zimmerman looked very comfortable in this setup.

So what’s the downside? Well, there’s always the rock-paper-scissors element. By adding the 3rd CB, you’ve taken one out of the midfield. So you’re relying more on your wingbacks (Bello and Moore against Martinique) for generating offense. You are playing the ball through the flanks rather than through the more dangerous center. Generally leads to low percentage crosses, but you get a lot of them. Beyond that there were several times where the US worked the ball into a very dangerous location, only it was the wingback with the dangerous chance. Not a slight against Bello or Moore (Moore in particular has played well), just isn’t ideal for it to be the wingback’s foot on the ball in that situation. Something to watch for, are they able to get the movements right so that it’s the goalscorers in those moments against better opposition like Canada.
 

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The Gold Cup is NOT washing away my reticence in our coaching choice, not in the least. On the face of it, three straight wins and advancing, we seem great. Struggling to hold on to barely beat Haiti, and then getting kicked around as Canada's ***** for most of the game, wasn't at all encouraging. I finally got to watch a game. You know, I watch enough games where my team is complete crap and my coach can't make a single damn adjustment to slow down the opposition--I'm a Newcastle fan, after all. Berhalter's (lack of) coaching against Canada was alarming. Thank goodness the Canadians couldn't finish and that the ref wasn't going to call a penalty in that game. We came out strong, got a goal, and absolutely, positively parked the bus. That is NOT what I want--timidity and coaching scared--out of the U.S. National team. I have one Steve Bruce foisted upon me as a soccer fan, and absolutely do not want another one!
 

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Next group game for the U.S. will be Sunday at 10:00pm. This Gold Cup has been an absolute shambles. Who organized the tournament, President Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Camacho?
 

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Next group game for the U.S. will be Sunday at 10:00pm. This Gold Cup has been an absolute shambles. Who organized the tournament, President Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Camacho?
I think my view here is held up pretty well by the fact that nobody seems to be really commenting or caring about this Gold Cup lol
 
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coyoteshockeyfan

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Yeah given they’re the last few games before Qualifying starts, it’s really an exercise in finding 4 or 5 guys for that roster rather than caring too much about the result here.
 

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I think my view here is held up pretty well by the fact that nobody seems to be really commenting or caring about this Gold Cup lol

Between the fact it is a B team and the kickoff times my interest in this Gold Cup is minimal.
 
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coyoteshockeyfan

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Something that adds a bit of interest for me… Cade Cowell, one of the most dynamic prospects in MLS, has been added to the roster as an injury replacement.
 

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I stayed up to watch the first half, of course they don't score until late in the second. Glad they won but it really is sloppy to watch. Guess now we will see if our B team is good enough to beat Qatar's A team.

I have liked what I have seen from Miles Robinson and Shaq Moore. I think Hoppe has some talent too but I don't think he is mentally there yet, as a 20 yr old playing in the Bundesliga he should get there soon though.
 

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Wow, totally forgot about this game. Shows how badly this has been marketed/handled. Glad to see we advanced and we should fire Berhalter if we lose to Qatar.
 

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That game was an utter train wreck for 3/4 of the match. Berhalter coaching ass backwards and unintelligently. WTF was he thinking with the starting lineup? I mean, he finally made the right subs and, LUCKILY, they missed the penalty, but that was a sorely mismanaged game. Qatar made us look like rag bags and the best team lost.

The homerism on the penalty was eye rolling, too. None of them thought it was a penalty, and I'm all, "WTF replays are you looking at? That's a stone-cold penalty and a poor attempt at a tackle."

But, hey, on to the final!
 

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So I expected USA to lose to Qatar. This is not the USA squad that will be in World Cup qualifying, maybe there are 3 guys on this gold cup squad that will even make the World Cup qualifying roster and I don’t see Zardes being one of those 3. The fact that this squad is in the final is surprising.
 

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So I expected USA to lose to Qatar. This is not the USA squad that will be in World Cup qualifying, maybe there are 3 guys on this gold cup squad that will even make the World Cup qualifying roster and I don’t see Zardes being one of those 3. The fact that this squad is in the final is surprising.
Okay, that is definitely good to know. I'll ease a (little) bit of the pressure off Berhalter. My main issue then is why did he throw on two players (Zardes and Roldon) who are clearly the cream of the crop right now and clearly make the team better rather than start the fricking game with them?
 

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Okay, that is definitely good to know. I'll ease a (little) bit of the pressure off Berhalter. My main issue then is why did he throw on two players (Zardes and Roldon) who are clearly the cream of the crop right now and clearly make the team better rather than start the fricking game with them?
That I don’t know..it’s probably player management or the tactical approach with Zardes and Dike who are both vintage #9s. Dike is one of the legit up and comers who is with this team because he is going back to his MLS team(Orlando), but Dike doesn’t appear to have the same form that he had in England a few months prior. I think Dike and Acosta both are MLS players that have a future with their European based contemporaries who aren’t on this squad. Zardes has played well, and perhaps has given berhalter something to think about for the next selection of players. It would be interesting to see how Zardes would fair with the best USA players behind him. Josh Sargent among a couple of others have seemed to be preferred in the top squad, but Sargent has not been scoring goals when given the chance. from the little that I have seen, I think Zardes has had more productive minutes than Dike has. I did not watch the Qatar match, but in the highlights Dike missed a goal that should have been put away.
 

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I watched the end of the USWNT vs Netherlands, it was a thriller. I thought the USA were victims of some harsh offside decisions, but in the end won on a clinical penalty shootout performance.
 
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Okay, that is definitely good to know. I'll ease a (little) bit of the pressure off Berhalter. My main issue then is why did he throw on two players (Zardes and Roldon) who are clearly the cream of the crop right now and clearly make the team better rather than start the fricking game with them?
Nobody’s going to admit it, but I think Berhalter cares far less about winning in this tournament than he does about finding a couple guys for the Qualifying roster. So we see some players getting extended auditions over those who we know a ton about.
 

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I swear, if this idiot freaking homer US announcer says "I think the US is doing really well here" as we get our asses kicked from one end of the field to another, I'm going to puke. I'd rather listen to the hordes of freaking Mexican fans booing us on our own turf than this fool. I get that you don't want to be a negative Nancy, but homerism has its limits, dude.
 

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Awesome win.

Scrappy, disjointed, sloppy..... But a lot of desperate heart and a high compete level

Many of these players aren't going to have prominent starting futures..... But they sure look like they'll fight for whatever future they can and will push each other, hold each other accountable and grow - can definitely work with that

Love that the US is dos a cero with a trophy on the line against Mexico this summer
 

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Yeah, gotta love it. They got pushed around, didn't play well, and had to scrap and get really lucky, but they won. Give those kids all the credit in the world. I'll take the ugly W.
 

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The more I watch Miles Robinson the more impressed I am, you also have to love Hoppe's confidence--needs to mature a bit but he is only 20--has a little bit of Dempsey swagger about him. Paul Arriola put in a good tournament too and he was like the grizzled veteran at 26 yrs old.

Any win over Mexico is a good win, but considering we had maybe 2 players of 11 who have a chance to start a WCQ any time soon I'd say that was a great result.
 

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One last note, they need to get rid of those ugly red and blue kits--freaking ugly. The whites they wore last night were sharp though.
 

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Nobody’s going to admit it, but I think Berhalter cares far less about winning in this tournament than he does about finding a couple guys for the Qualifying roster. So we see some players getting extended auditions over those who we know a ton about.
Some how berhalter inspired them and put them in a position to win a final over a superior talented Mexican side. I wondered if they would even make it to the final. I was curious for the hire of Berhalter initially, but Berhalter has the ship going in the right direction. At least a handful of MLS players have worked themselves into the discussion for the WCQT…and all of these players will feel they deserve to be there.
 

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The more I watch Miles Robinson the more impressed I am, you also have to love Hoppe's confidence--needs to mature a bit but he is only 20--has a little bit of Dempsey swagger about him. Paul Arriola put in a good tournament too and he was like the grizzled veteran at 26 yrs old.

Any win over Mexico is a good win, but considering we had maybe 2 players of 11 who have a chance to start a WCQ any time soon I'd say that was a great result.
Arriola was really positive today. I thought Zardes had a good tournament as well, but missed an easy goal last night if he were onside. I think the forward position is still in play.
 

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Yeah, gotta love it. They got pushed around, didn't play well, and had to scrap and get really lucky, but they won. Give those kids all the credit in the world. I'll take the ugly W.
I missed the first half, and saw most of the second. I counted 2 goals that Mexico could have scored if they were clinical. I thought the USA in spite of not having much possession also had 2 or 3 quality scoring chances that could have been taken. I think this roster from Mexico is very talented, but they are still lacking goals, for them possession doesn’t always mean winning. When they lost Lozano in the opening match, I think it doomed their chances to win. If I’m Mexico I’m questioning why they brought so many of their top players to this tournament only to hurt them mentally and physically, especially Lozano who now may struggle to be fit for his club team. They really need Raul Jimenez back in their squad.
 

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