US v Iceland | The Boneyard

US v Iceland

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All in all a decent result with more positives than negatives. We got the result, controlled the play majority of game, came out of it healthy, lots of young guys got good minutes, Birmbaum made a very positive impact, Bradley looked good at times (but inconsistent), Jozy looked fit (nice touch on his goal, still needs to develop a consistent first touch
Our back line had lapses and both Iceland goals never should've happened (would have been shredded if playing a more attacking side), need to work on short thru balls into space.

Interested to see how much more improved they are Friday v Canada.
 
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Nerve-wracking 3 to 2 win that the US should have won a lot more easily; but, Iceland packed the box to negate the advantage that US has in possession and Ice capitalized very well on their few counters as the US backline fell asleep more than twice. Only good outcome is a lot of U-23 youngsters got playing time in advance of the big dual match with Colombia in march for a spot in the Olympics on the line.

Player notes...

STARTERS
K - Robles: OK, not at fault on either goals, not much else to do
D - Evans: OK, quiet day; but, did hold Iceland's left wing in check
D - Bessler: Poor, gets an assist on Iceland's first goal
D - Orozco: OK, Good positioning on his goal, got caught ref watching on Ireland's second goal
D - Acosta: So-So, good pace going forward & gave Iceland trouble on the attack; but, was slow to drop back on the counter
M - Finlay: So-So, good motor; but, not able to do much with it
M - Bradley: Good, most of the offense ran through him; but, he was too busy chatting with the ref on Iceland's second goal
M - Jones: OK, focused on defense today, did his job, not much offensively; but, that was likely the game plan with Bradley pushing forward
M - Nguyen: OK, passed well and found open space and then recovered well on counters
M - Zades: Poor, should have converted Nguyen's feed and did not do well 1v1, got frustrated
F - Altidore: So-So, played better, especially earlier on than his efforts at the end of 2015, found space and the back of the net while holding well; but, he first touch still needs a lot of work
--------------------
SUBS
D - Brinbaum: OK, Caught watching the ref with half of the team on Iceland's second goal; but, dominant in the air with an assist and a goal
M - Nagbe: Good, Worked well on various combo passes, looked like he belonged
M - Kiesewetter: Very good, drove Iceland nuts in the 15 minutes he was on the pitch, he crosses were spot on & at least one should have been put on net, can he do that for 90 minutes?
M - Tchani - OK, Had not heard of this guy before, took over Jone's role as a defensive midfield, kept things quiet, which is good; but, Iceland was sitting back at this time holding on to a lead
F - Morris: Undecided, joined the game late when Iceland was packing the box with 9 men, not much room to work
 
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Don't even care about this one. First match in months, Iceland with a totally experimental lineup. Guys like Finlay aren't NT caliber to me. Not sold on Tchani either.
 

SubbaBub

Your stupidity is ruining my country.
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Hard to get a decent read, but Robles had a horrible angle on the second Iceland goal. Gave up way too much of the long side of the net.

If he was one step over he would have reached it without coming close to giving up the short side. A keeper who doesn't understand his positioning will never be good.
 
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I thought Nagbe and Kiesewetter stood out.

I thought playing four center mids at once with Tchani, Nagbe, Bradley and Nguyen worked nicely.
 
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