Grandpa Brad, Grandpa Michael, and the youngsters. The midfield seems awfully thin (experience-wise), but then I can't think of many middle-aged players (perhaps because all we field these days is the U23 squad). https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/20...koff-series-colombia-peru-tampa-east-hartford
Russell Canouse has been outstanding for DC United since his return from injury and he deserves a shot, and at 23, he's almost an elder statements on this squad.
Hmm. Thought Josmer was hurt. Doesn't appear to be in this recent highlight. I'm puzzled. We certainly could use him against Colombia and Peru....couldn't we?
It seems that Sarachan doesn't rate Altidore going forward. Fresh off two goals in two matches (UCL and Bundesliga), McKennie has pulled up lame and will also miss out on this camp. Another bummer. Now 3 of the 4 midfielders of the future are sitting out - Adams, Pulisic, and McKennie. Looks like Fafa Picault and Marky Delgado have been called in. Still no Hyndman or de la Torre though. Sigh.
Caught the first 25 minutes and the 2 goals to start the second half only, but with James & Falcao out there the final score was not a total surprise: I dare say HD’s favorite player, Julian Green was the best US player from the limited minutes I saw. Weah’s through ball to Woods was exquisite.
A little bit of upside in what could easily have been a rout. I told HatterMom at the half that I smelled 0-6. Nice to see Bobby Wood score. I tire of my fellow Terrapans constantly looking for someone to take his striker position away. Aside from a couple of seconds, I thought that Miazga and Brooks did fine. We WERE after all playing Falcao and James. It's well to remember that this is the finest Colombian side ever in history and they've made sides more powerful than us look useless. Let's see what we do against Peru. I rather enjoyed the match. Here's a thing that made me smile. When HatterMom watched Acosta split the center halves at the dead run and then score our first, she said "Clint Dempsey!" That was nice -- and pretty accurate.
http://www.espn.com/soccer/club/uni...-andrija-novakovich-solve-the-usmnts-problems Hope he sees the pitch tonight:
US vs. Peru Three players I left excited about: 1. Tim Weah - Best player for the US in the last two matches. 2. Josh Sargent - Not sure he's the answer tomorrow but I like his soccer brain. 3. Kellyn Acosta - Love his work rate and mettle. Think he brings a presence to the midfield. Honorable mention: Jonathan Amon - Flashes of good and bad. Want to see more. Three players I was neutral about: 1. Brad Guzan - Neutral is not negative but he did what I expected. Between Guzan and Steffen I feed good about the US keeper situation. 2. Marky Delgado - Nothing wrong with his central midfield performance but I don't think he will factor much after Adams, Acosta, Mckinnie, Trapp and Darlington Nagbe 3. Will Trapp- A little to invisible on the night. Honorable mention: Reggie Cannon - good debut performance. Liked some of his passing. Three players I thought were poor (all the subs but Wood): 1. Julian Green - even more the Yedlin. I don't like him in the middle of the park because too many players have to carry him defensively. If he makes anything other than a pathetic attempt to stop the ball Peru doesn't even get a cross in. 2. Michael Bradley - Acosta goes out and Bradley comes in and suddenly the US is immediately soft in the middle. He and Trapp are a really poor pairing. 3. Yedlin - Gotta be better than that. Delgado may be partly to blame for the goal but Yedlin needed to know he didn't have a right midfielder in front of him. Honorable mention: Ben Sweat (trying to keep in mind it was his first start)
I thought Acosta looked very good over the two games. Amon reminded me a bit of Josh Gatt. Super fast, maybe not the most skilled player with the ball at his feet who gets by with his speed in a Scandinavian league and is all over the place when playing at the international level. We never got to see if Gatt would pan out and I have my doubts about Amon, but he has flashes that excite you.
