The Official US Soccer thread

[Lorenzo]

aaronson is going to Leeds. definitely an interesting move for him. he seems to be one of the more underrated US internationals, but there is no test greater than playing in the PL, especially for a team that barely survived relegation. There are also some rumors that McKennie could join Spurs, but I don't know the chances of that actually happening. Most of it could be hot air merely because of his prior relationship with Conte. I think it would be a good move for him, but he would certainly find competition to get into the preferred lineup. there's a lot of talk of Pulisic leaving Chelsea as well.

 

[gmabel830]

Another American joining Aaronson in the Premier League as Nottingham Forest going up. Ethan Horvath is the 2nd choice at goalie.

 

[MigratingOsprey]

Another player with Forest and someone who came through the England youth program is committing to the US as well

Solid performance tonight.

Nice to see McKennie get some minutes.

I liked what Musuh brought to central midfield. Adams was really quiet, but could be the way the game developed.

Long & Carter-Vickers both scare me if they get major minutes

Liked that Weah was decisive to get shots.

Pulisic had some really great moments and still some where he tried to be on the ball too much

Aaronson was frustrated to start as the ball wasn't moving and he wasn't on the same page

He made a number of really good runs and had good ideas going. Nice companion run on his goal, strong shot before the pulisic penalty and really nice passes to both strikers to get them a free look at goal - he's much more effective when the ball and team are in motion

That will be the interesting part - getting these players on the field together to start to build some continuity and knowledge of each other

 

[MigratingOsprey]

Also interesting to hear pulisic be a little frustrated by the amount of Moroccan support in the stadium

 

[Stout]

Well, it seems we can score goals now. Morocco has been keeping clean sheets left and right. Turner should be our man between the sticks, period. Defensively? We have problems.

 

[cardpa]

Well, it seems we can score goals now. Morocco has been keeping clean sheets left and right. Turner should be our man between the sticks, period. Defensively? We have problems.

The defense looked out of sorts for sure. Missing Robinson is apparently a bigger deal than ever. I knew that was going to hurt the defense but I didn't think to the extent that showed in the game. Long is certainly not the answer. Berhalter needs to get that figured out. Aaronson needs to stay in the mid field.

 

[Lorenzo]

The defense looked out of sorts for sure. Missing Robinson is apparently a bigger deal than ever. I knew that was going to hurt the defense but I didn't think to the extent that showed in the game. Long is certainly not the answer. Berhalter needs to get that figured out. Aaronson needs to stay in the mid field.

I missed the game, but saw the extended highlights. Impressive attacking by the USA, but I also agree with the USA were vulnerable and lucky to keep a clean sheet.

 

[cardpa]

I missed the game, but saw the extended highlights. Impressive attacking by the USA, but I also agree with the USA were vulnerable and lucky to keep a clean sheet.

If Berhalter can't find a better inside defender he going to need to change his alignment. The 4-3-3 is not going to work defensively. He could go to a 4-5-1 which I used fairly frequently in which the outside back on the ball side rotated up to the outside mid position and the two outside mids rotate up to wing positions with one of the inside mids filling the other outside mid spot. The back three would then slide to the ball side to maintain defensive strength leaving the off ball side open. This created a 3-4-3 attacking setup whenever we possessed the ball. It also allowed for immediate pressure on the ball if we lost possession in the attacking third.

The other thing he could do is require the two outside forwards to drop deeper on defense when not in possession of the ball. In essence have them become outside mids and the two outside mids drop more central to help out inside essentially making it a 4-5-1 when not in possession of the ball.

I will now step off of my coaching box. Sometimes I can't help it, having coached soccer for 25 years it sometimes is hard not to take the view of a coach. I never stopped learning over those 25 years either. There was always something I could take from watching other games/coaches that I felt I could use or implement to make myself better.

 

[Stout]

Decent draw against Uruguay. They are actual real WC level competition. Scally was a disaster. We desperately need a striker and a #9. I mean, when your biggest holes are at GK, CB, and Striker, you have serious problems. Still, we played very well for large stretches and should have scored. Should have conceded, too, especially at the death.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Some things I have learned from the last two games.

1. GK isn't as big of a concern for me as it is everyone else.
2. Might as well write down our midfield 3 for the WC barring injury. Adams is our most important player. No one else on the team can do what he does at a high level consistently. McKinnie and Musah are the other two that will start.
3. Antonee Robinson is so important on this team. Was never a fan of Zimmerman, but he is our best CB that we have right now and it isn't close.
4. How long have we been saying that this team needs a #9? Ever since Dempsey left I guess... Ferreira isn't it. Pepe isn't either. Hopefully Haji Wright is the guy.
5. The Arronson enigma. Deserves to be on this squad, but who gets bumped? I think Weah should be in the starting 11 and of course Pulisic isn't going anywhere either. Then you have players like Reyna when healthy. Since this team doesn't have a #9 that they can count on. I would start Pulisic, Arronsen, and Weah up top.

 

[cardpa]

Some things I have learned from the last two games.

1. GK isn't as big of a concern for me as it is everyone else.
2. Might as well write down our midfield 3 for the WC barring injury. Adams is our most important player. No one else on the team can do what he does at a high level consistently. McKinnie and Musah are the other two that will start.
3. Antonee Robinson is so important on this team. Was never a fan of Zimmerman, but he is our best CB that we have right now and it isn't close.
4. How long have we been saying that this team needs a #9? Ever since Dempsey left I guess... Ferreira isn't it. Pepe isn't either. Hopefully Haji Wright is the guy.
5. The Arronson enigma. Deserves to be on this squad, but who gets bumped? I think Weah should be in the starting 11 and of course Pulisic isn't going anywhere either. Then you have players like Reyna when healthy. Since this team doesn't have a #9 that they can count on. I would start Pulisic, Arronsen, and Weah up top.

1. I actually like Aaronson in the mid. He certainly needs to be on the field.
2. Long and Palmer-Brown shouldn't even be on the roster.
3. Ferreira does a lot of good things on the field such as create space, off ball movement but he needs to finish his chances.
4. Zimerman is our strongest defender and has pretty decent distribution skills.
5. Scally was a disaster out there yesterday.
6. Johnson looked okay in net. He needs more playing time and his confidence level isn't where it needs to be. His distribution for the most part was fine.

The defense is the Achilles heel of this team right now and Berhalter needs to figure that out sooner than later. In my opinion Berhalter is slow to make moves and worse seems to get attached to players even when they are proving to be inadequate to the task.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

1. I actually like Aaronson in the mid. He certainly needs to be on the field.

Then who comes out? The only logical choice is Musah. McKinnie isn't going anywhere, neither is Adams.

I'd prefer both Musah/Aaronson to be on the field at the same time. The only way that happens is if Aaronson plays up top.

 

[MigratingOsprey]

I've been happy with Zimmerman.

Finishing chances is still an issue

Really all the issues and all the good were on display.

I think the system isn't helping the defenders at this point.

They want to press, the want to win the ball at midfield and they are losing shape.

If they don't win the ball they are very vulnerable to counters, switching the field, etc.

There is a lot of space and too many players are really show to rotate and fill in.

As much as I like Musuh on the ball, he needs to really get the experience and improve at that part of the game. Adams does this well.

Also, the US is slow to process what is available. They hold the ball waiting for something to develop. They take extra touches to make sure what they see happening is or simply try to force a dribble when there is no viable path.

Contrast to Uruguay where players were laying off and moving with speed and efficiency to create and exploit space - which was even more noticeable given the lack of organization

My only concern about Scally is premature judgement. I've seen a lot of him in Germany. He's young, he'll make errors but typically learns and improves in game.

In Germany he's a very confident, almost brash, player.

He seemed shook yesterday and really looked like he was processing and thinking too much.

With Musuh and Long in, whoever they put left will need to be more careful with pressing and offensive engagement as neither are great at filling in. Adams and Zimmerman are better and the spacing type issues went away when going to the right. By that time I think he was rattled though, passes were poor and couldn't win the ball back.

I continue to like how Weah is playing.

Will be interesting to see how the team takes shape. Finding goals will be difficult and will likely come from the midfield.

With Weah, McKennie, Pulisic, Reyna and Aaronson all having ability around the net much greater than any striker on the team they may just need to false 9 this thing and move on

I like Wright, but he seems to have the same problem all the other strikers have - can do really nice things, but frequently can't string it into a goal.

Maybe Ferrería gets aquatinted with the speed and quality of international play and starts finishing a bit..... But I'm not hopeful.

Really kind of disappointed that Dike has really slowed since his injury and Hoppe picked up an injury and became a ghost in Mallorca

 

[ASUCHRIS]

I'm not feeling all too confident about this bunch heading into the fall. There doesn't seem to be any cohesion, and sense of a plan or style.

Hopefully that changes with more time together, but I fear a group stage wipeout.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

I'm not feeling all too confident about this bunch heading into the fall. There doesn't seem to be any cohesion, and sense of a plan or style.

Hopefully that changes with more time together, but I fear a group stage wipeout.

What's funny? I could see this team finishing anywhere in the group from 1st - 4th.

 

[cardpa]

I player I like who I think should be seeing minutes is Luca de la Torre. I don't understand why he's buried on the bench.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

I player I like who I think should be seeing minutes is Luca de la Torre. I don't understand why he's buried on the bench.

Because he is lower on the depth chart?? Should he get minutes over Adams, Musah, McKennie? No chance.

 

[cardpa]

Because he is lower on the depth chart?? Should he get minutes over Adams, Musah, McKennie? No chance.

Personally I think Torre is a better passer than Musah and sees the field better.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Personally I think Torre is a better passer than Musah and sees the field better.

Better passer, maybe. Definitely can't break through the lines as well as he does. Only Pulisic can do it better.

 

[Lorenzo]

I pretty much agree with all of your posts. I too am worried about the Group because you have England which should make a deep run into the finals, then you have 3 teams that can all beat one another or even get a result against England. I really feel that England will have overwhelming pressure on them to win the group and that could bite them. For the USA it's kind of ironic that they most likely have their most talented grouping of players that they have ever had, yet they could still fail to qualify for the knockout stages. I do feel they will finish second in the group, and for some reason I sense England may not be a top 2 team in the group.

I was impressed with the match against Uruguay, but I also feel in the second half when Uruguay brought on their top players the pitch tilted their way and they should have won. Of corse the USA had several quality chances to score and did create chances even in the second half when they were getting worked a bit.

For me the players that stood out were Weah, he was brilliant in the first half. Musah was really good in midfield. Don't know how he fits into this squad, but Yedlin actually had a decent game and provided a cross that almost went into the net. Adams was brilliant of corse, he is probably our most consistent player.

I too am not worried about GK either, we have multiple that can do the job. and they are all pretty good with distribution, the latest GK really impressed me in that regard. Yedlin ruined a great ball IIRC.

We need to get a CB pairing, for me Berhalter needs to make a decision and give 2 guys a chance to form chemistry. I also agree with the system that Berhalter employs opens them up to counter attacks, but I'd rather see that type of play than what we saw in the last 15 mins at Azteca where we started sitting back and inviting pressure. We need 2 CB's that are confident on the ball and can play out of the back. I know it's not a popular choice on here, but Brooks fits that mold.

#9, it's' a legit problem. Every #9 candidate that we have seems to have ability to create chances, but no one can score goals. I felt like Dike was a legit up and coming player, but yet he can't even get into the squad. The bonus is we have multiple attacking players that can all move around, even guys like McKennie in the central MF that can get forward and score in the middle of the box. Pulisic, Reyna, Weah, and Aaronson are guys that I hope to see out there and of corse one of those will be a spark off the bench.

 

[cardpa]

I pretty much agree with all of your posts. I too am worried about the Group because you have England which should make a deep run into the finals, then you have 3 teams that can all beat one another or even get a result against England. I really feel that England will have overwhelming pressure on them to win the group and that could bite them. For the USA it's kind of ironic that they most likely have their most talented grouping of players that they have ever had, yet they could still fail to qualify for the knockout stages. I do feel they will finish second in the group, and for some reason I sense England may not be a top 2 team in the group.

I was impressed with the match against Uruguay, but I also feel in the second half when Uruguay brought on their top players the pitch tilted their way and they should have won. Of corse the USA had several quality chances to score and did create chances even in the second half when they were getting worked a bit.

For me the players that stood out were Weah, he was brilliant in the first half. Musah was really good in midfield. Don't know how he fits into this squad, but Yedlin actually had a decent game and provided a cross that almost went into the net. Adams was brilliant of corse, he is probably our most consistent player.

I too am not worried about GK either, we have multiple that can do the job. and they are all pretty good with distribution, the latest GK really impressed me in that regard. Yedlin ruined a great ball IIRC.

We need to get a CB pairing, for me Berhalter needs to make a decision and give 2 guys a chance to form chemistry. I also agree with the system that Berhalter employs opens them up to counter attacks, but I'd rather see that type of play than what we saw in the last 15 mins at Azteca where we started sitting back and inviting pressure. We need 2 CB's that are confident on the ball and can play out of the back. I know it's not a popular choice on here, but Brooks fits that mold.

#9, it's' a legit problem. Every #9 candidate that we have seems to have ability to create chances, but no one can score goals. I felt like Dike was a legit up and coming player, but yet he can't even get into the squad. The bonus is we have multiple attacking players that can all move around, even guys like McKennie in the central MF that can get forward and score in the middle of the box. Pulisic, Reyna, Weah, and Aaronson are guys that I hope to see out there and of corse one of those will be a spark off the bench.

Actually Brooks may take one of the inside spots be default because no one else has stepped up to the task.

 

[cardpa]

It appears that we have a hot commodity GK here in the US. Presently plays for the Chicago Fire.

USMNT goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina chased by Chelsea, Real Madrid​

According to Fabrizio Romano, a potential deal for USMNT goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina, 18, is entering ‘important hours’ as Chelsea and Real Madrid are the frontrunners to sign him. The Chicago Fire goalkeeper has been a Chelsea target for many months and now they have their ownership situation figured out, they can start trying to sign players once again.


Should Slonina sign for Real or Chelsea? He’s not going to play for either team regularly but it would allow him to develop next to some of the best goalkeepers in the world and also go out on loan in Europe to gain valuable experience. (JPW)

 

[gmabel830]

Ugly game in ugly weather on an ugly pitch.. but showed some grit vs El Salvador

 

[ASUCHRIS]

We always show grit - competence, not so much. Barely tying El Salvador is hardly encouraging. I guess at least we didn't lose to Hungary?

 

[cardpa]

I didn't see the game as I was working the polls yesterday here in SC. By the time I got home I was flat out tired. Fourteen hours on your feet makes for a long day. From the highlights, it looked like a swamp.