CONCACAF Nations League

Anyone else think this is a waste of international time? Pitting the US against teams like Cuba and Canada or Mexico against Bermuda and making it somehow a meaningful match will not grow the confederation. It will lead to continued mediocrity.

I'm also growing weary of Berhalter's glorified MLS all-star squad. Are these guys really the best that America has?

I'll be on travel Friday but will follow the match vs Cuba as best I can. I expect an unsatisfying 3 or 4 to nil win where 1 to 2 goals are gifted to the US through horrendous Cuban defending or giveaways or fortuitous deflections.

Canada will be a bit tighter even though the US should dominate. I'll say a 2-1 US victory.

Sorry about the pessimism.... but it's not just me.
https://www.starsandstripesfc.com/2...he-usmnt-opening-concacaf-nations-league-play

 

I'll be honest, I look at the current USMNT player pool and I think, meh. If some of the younger players don't step up and grab big roles with their club teams soon we'll see the older guys drop off with a big drop off in talent. It will help if Tyler Adams can get healthy and Sargent can force his way into consistent minutes but the US squad really needs more.

 

Yes. Injury trap waiting to happen. The last couple of matches against Mexico leave much to be desired by the squad that's been assembled but are better options being ignored? The drop off has already arrived.

 

Sadly I think THIS is the best squad we have at the moment. The big question is who should be starting? Without Adams & Brooks (starters for sure), also Weah, Zimmerman, Jozy & Dest (3 injured and the last might be leaving us for Holland) are squad players and in the mix for starting/playing time. That leaves:

Steffen, McKenie, Pulisic, Long, Yedlin, Sargent as must starts.

A crater at left back, not sure who to start w/Long. I guess the high energy Arriola and Morris. Finally gulp....Bradley in Adams spot. Meh indeed

 

I think we may be partially arguing different points here. My thought was that regional tournaments already exist (Gold Cup, World Cup qualifying), so why create more just to make certain matches meaningful - not that we shouldn't put forth our best effort. I agree that we should field the strongest team every match, regardless of opponent. I can understand though why some coaches and players may think differently because of injury or other concerns.

 

Playing Canada in Toronto should be a very good test, with an excellent away atmosphere. Expecting Bradley playing on his home pitch. Hoping to see our youngsters start to take over and make it ‘their’ team.

 

Canada will be a better match than Cuba. Interested to see the lineup Berhalter will put out.

 

DVRed it and not sure if I have the stomach to watch. Maybe he played better tonight, but other then having pics of Berhalter w/goats why is Roldan getting minutes??

 

Interesting analysis on why the USMNT has been so terrible and why nothing is going to change under Berhalter because his system is doomed to fail because you cant run a complex system when players meet up once every 8 weeks: https://ftw.usatoday.com/2019/10/usmnt-canada-gregg-berhalter

 

Round two coming up this weekend. The US has to win both games and make up a 3 goal differential on Canada to advance to the next round. That may lead to a long night for Cuba Tuesday in the Caymen Islands.

Steffen, Pulisic, and Bradley have already been ruled out. Most of the remaining roster is consistent with Berhalter's recent selections. I'm happy to see John Brooks back and it will be interesting to see who he will partner with on the back line (I'm assuming that he'll start given he is the most talented back the US have). I'm also expecting Dest to get cap tied and hoping that Morales is allowed to be the midfield destroyer against Canada.

 

Different feelings for the 3 players ruled out;

1) Steffen, bummed out, coming into his own and clearly the No. 1

2) Pulisic, such a crucial time at his club, that I don’t mind him missing this even for something minor.

3) Bradley, he hasn’t lost 1 step, more like 4. Every time he steps on the pitch hurts his legacy. Under no circumstances should he be near the USMNT team unless he’s going into coaching.

Let’s see if Berhalter changes things up or if he’s insists on his system. The best coaches irregardless of the sport share the quality of maximizing the talent they’re given and not going square peg-wrong hole.

 

Agree on all three points for the most part Joe. Bummed to see Steffen out as well but multiple days off is the right call for tendinitis, Pulisic is a big loss but if he's injured then what can you do and I agree that Bradley has lost something and you could see it during the MLS season.

Big question for me tonight is how Berhalter manages the midfield. Canada dominated play in the middle third and that was after losing Mark Anthony Kaye. I keep hearing people say they expect for Canada to sit back and play for the draw but if I was Herdman I'd make the US prove they could get out of their own end. I wouldn't take away the part of Canada's play that they overwhelmed the US with in the last match especially with Pulisic and Jozy both absent from this roster. I know this is on US soil but in my mind Canada are the favorites and they should play like it.

Hoping for a win but right now I am fearing the worst.

 

Who's your starting XI?

I'm going 4-2-3-1 with:

Guzan
Cannon, Long, Brooks, Dest
McKinnie, Morales
Morris, Lletget, Arriola
Sargent

The toughest call for me was not Cannon over Yedlin. Cannon and Morris seem to have developed a fluid attacking partnership and Cannon has the better crossing ability between the two. Yedlin seems like he should be in the lineup but I just don't see where he fits. Believe it or not my toughest call was Sargent over Zardes. Sargent had a bit of a stinker in the last outing against Canada and I think Zardes is better in the air than Sargent and the US could be sending in a lot of crosses tonight if Canada do pack into the middle of the pitch so this choice was tougher than I thought it would be. However, I am hoping Sargent can provide some creative spark up top if he is able to get service.

 

I feel like this has been a huge problem the last few matches that Sargent has played. Yes, there are plenty of ways that a player can be a positive impact off the ball, but the US needs to score more often. And if you don't get the ball to the guys who are good at scoring....

 

I like Barry's lineup. Bring on Zardes' pace late. In each of the last do or die matches for the USMNT (T&T in '17 and Mexico this past summer), they've fallen woefully short in performance of those traditional USMNT characteristics such as organization and effort, let alone tactics and skill. It's a must win and I'm holding my breath...again...for a match against Canada. USA! USA! USA!