World Cup Qualifiers

Friday night was fun. If only the team could play like that consistently. Like Joe says though, no time to relish the sweetness of the most recent dos a cero. Jamaica are starting to find their stride with Antonio up top and he is going to wreak havoc on the center backs.

I don’t see any real reason to switch up the team sheet, aside from replacing M Robinson and McKennie. Will Pulisic start though? I would guess (here comes the Berhalter pessimism) that he’ll stick another defensive midfielder (Acosta) in for McKennie because he tends to fear foreign soil and plays overly cautious.

Last qualification cycle, I subscribed to fuboTV. But there were a lot more sports options on that service. Even still, I got rid of it soon after. I subscribe to so much these days I can’t justify an entirely different one just for a handful of matches (that are months apart). I really don’t understand why a large, more standard network can’t at least pay the federation and other countries for a video feed. It makes no sense to me.

 

The bottom line: our kids aren’t tough enough yet.

 

And, oh, by the way, the Canadians are good this time. Very good. It’s a three horse race.

 

Random thoughts on this round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying…

Our neighbors to the north are gonna have a huge say in who goes to Qatar next winter. Even if they somehow manage to blow it and not qualify themselves, they’re capable of beating everybody else good enough to finish in the top three. But I wouldn’t bet against them being one of those three. The atmosphere and performance last night in Edmonton was special. Their national soccer psyche is No. 1 with a bullet. They very well may have turned a corner towards soccer relevance in the hearts and minds of their countrymen. The top of CONCACAF is evolving into a Big Three. The objective evidence strongly suggests it’s not a cyclical fad, but the new reality.

Tim Weah should be on the pitch for the USMNT every second of every remaining WCQ match until we clinch a spot in Qatar.

Zack Steffen should not be our starting keeper until he becomes the #1 for his club and starts every match for them. His odds of supplanting the 28 year old Brazilian Ederson at Man City at the moment? Not impossible, but not very likely either. And one of the latest transfer rumors has City swapping Raheem Sterling for Barca keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen. Highly suspect if you ask me, but if it happened, where does that leave Steffen in City’s plans?

We need to recall some guys with significant CONCACAF road experience in January. The problem? I don’t know who that should be, outside of John Brooks, but it needs to happen. Our talented kiddie korps hasn’t figured out how to get three points in places where we have to get them: El Salvador, Honduras and, at least this cycle, Costa Rica. It gets more difficult all the time, but 3 points at the conference bottom feeders has to be almost automatic. We beat Honduras 4-1 in San Pedro Sula Sept. 8th. That’s been it. Not good enough. Do something.

 

Only watched highlights of our match. Nothing to do but tip your cap at their goal. We got lucky BDR missed a glorious chance, but then again the Boyz were lucky that the tackle on Adams at the end of the first half wasn’t a straight red, because the ref blew that call. 4 away matches and 1 W 1 L 2 D (and w/the toughest 3 away matches left) will get you right where we are; precarious at best.

I did watch the entire 90 of the Canada-El Tri game. Halfway to the North Pole, 15 degrees, Canadian football astroturf field from 1985, only the US-Costa Rica blizzard game was worse conditions. The big CB hammered Chucky (and escaped a card) in first couple minutes. Ochoa gifted them the first goal, and the only other chance Canada had all night was Larkin getting on the end of the free kick. At around the 80th minute Mexico looked like they finally adapted, scored once and frankly blew a chance from 5 yards out to steal a point (guy bungled a bundled shot).

@jumpkutz I agree w/most of what you said, except it’s a 4 horse race. Panama cannot be taken lightly. They did qualify last time and are proving again that they are the best organized team in Concacaf. I totally agree about Canada rising, because of Pulisic’s health Id say Davies is the best player in the confederation, and they got some other talented players.

Concacaf has been the Big 3, but Canada looks to have replaced Costa Rica at least temporarily. The Ticos went one cycle too far w/their current group of veterans, but fully expect them to rebound, they have the resources to compete w/the other 3.

 

Asked my buddy, a El Tri fan if in his lifetime could he ever imagine a Mexico manager losing to the US 3 straight times, then at Canada (even if played in a frozen meat locker) and still not being fired..His one word reply ‘Nope’.

 

Been thinking this for a while but I’m convinced Canada has the best attack in CONCACAF.

 

Look what popped up in my fb feed. Except it’s already 5 days old. T-minus just under one year to kickoff at Al-Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, 30 miles north of Doha. The host Qataris will face an as yet undetermined opponent on 11/21/2022. The final is 28 days later, a VERY tight schedule, so don’t blink.

 

Big news from the northern lands...

https://soccer.nbcsports.com/2022/0...o-davies-miss-weeks-heart-inflammation-usmnt/

This massively outweighs the US potential to be without Reyna and Weah.

 

High of 32, low of 20 in Columbus tomorrow night. Gonna be cold this whole window, so hope the team embraces it. Obviously nothing but 3 points acceptable, and the other 3 teams on the road (Canada @ Honduras, Mexico @ Jamaica, Panama @ Costa Rica), fingers crossed we can pick up points on a team or three.

Key: Man management. Tuchel didn’t play Pulisic over weekend (he starts or plays every match he’s available). We caught a break that Chelsea was up 2-0 early in 2nd half and Pulisic wasn’t needed. Berhalter has to know Pulisic in the middle game is vital. Hope we can jump on El Salvador and GB is smart enough to pull him early because he might have to go 90 at Canada.

 

I agree with Joe. Player management is huge. El Salvador tonight is the easiest match on paper - though Honduras next week is not far behind. We’ll need all hands on deck Sunday. So how do you rotate? I would probably put out my best 11 for the first two matches and adjust on the fly for subs and the final match.

 

Well…it’s 3 points…with frankly a pretty dreary performance.

 

HD, the first 45 was poor, slow, and uninspiring.

Why would GB play any MLS guys this time of year? Really worried about Westin limping at the end noticeably.

El Tri scored twice in final 10 minutes against 10
man Jamaica to save Tara’s bacon 2-1.

Canada keeps rolling 0-2 at Honduras.

Old man Bryan Ruiz scored, Panama hit the bar, but the Ticos held on 1-0.

 

It’s three points and Robinson had a good match but I’m finding Pulisic to be pretty consistently uninspiring.

McKinnie, Weah and Robinson had good matches in the offensive end and Musah had a nice second half. On the defensive end I thought Zimmerman was effective in advancing the ball out of the back.

 

I was only able to watch the last five minutes of the first half and most of the second half after AR's goal. Uninspiring is a pretty accurate word to use gentlemen. And just plain uninspired. Instead of jumping on them after scoring, we kinda parked the bus. Or at least it appeared we tried to park the bus. We were too disjointed to mount many more genuine threats. The subs were ineffective at prosecuting the higher tempo we needed to squash them, and the Salvadorans spent too much time in our end of the pitch for comfort. I kept waiting for the unthinkable to happen, a lucky bounce or two, a howler by Turner or one of the defenders and, oops, they equalize and we're in deep doodoo. We won. That's it. But we're going to have to play a whole lot better in Hamilton and St. Paul to get the points we need this round. McKennie's fitness may be the key. I do hope he's OK, and able to play against the Canadians and Hondurans.

 

Weah not available for Canada. He had one shot, then got Covid and wasn’t allowed to take a 2nd shot. In France, a shot + Covid means you’re okay to play, not up north. Arronson needs to see the pitch for more then 25 minutes anyways, but this doesn’t help.

 

Ultimatum on GB today. We’ve been donkey do do on the road (except for 1 half in Honduras). We have a talented squad that has a terrible mindset away from home. Does GB have the stones to get in Pulisic’s face and challenge him? Christian has to prove he’s the best player in the pitch today. I want Berhalter to make me eat crow, but I think the best we can hope for is 1-1.

Panama should win at home vs Jamaica. The Ticos travel to Azteca having clawed themselves back in. Not sure what the best result would be (maybe a draw?)

EDIT: Zardes pics of GB naked w/a goat have proven fruitful again. He starts, Pepi on the bench..SMFH!!!!

 

Starting lineup