MNT’s 2022 | Page 14 | The Boneyard

MNT’s 2022

Tough to make judgments based on such a crappy opponent, but I'll do it anyways ;).

Luca de la Torre was the best player on the field; McKennie looked like crap-the USMNT should not be used as a rehab program for coming back from injury; Jesus Ferreira scored 4 and should have had more, but it's good that he got the monkey off his back; Paul Arriola should probably make the roster, while Jordan Morris really shouldn't; Malik Tillman looks like a good addition for the future, but not ready yet; Acosta has his roster spot, but I wish he wasn't so casual with the ball sometimes; not much to say about the defense/GK given how little of the ball Grenada had, although they still had some shaky moments.
 
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JF should have had 8 goals. He missed three easy chances with the score 0-0. Hope this performance doesn't fool anyone. He will be a problem against good competition.

It's nice for him to have a good game. But it was meaningless.
 
Games like last night let's people fall into the Arriola & Ferrera trap. They aren't good enough when we play decent opponents.
Need any combo of Weah, Pulisic, Adams, Weston, Aaronson, De La Torre, Musah on the field at all times. There isn't room for all of them, let alone the Roldan and Arriolas
 
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No way! Did you see Gregg's behind the back bounce pass last night? Need those skills in Qatar
 
LIuconn said:
No way! Did you see Gregg's behind the back bounce pass last night? Need those skills in Qatar
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LIuconn said:
No way! Did you see Gregg's behind the back bounce pass last night? Need those skills in Qatar
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He's shaming Euro athletes who have lesser hand eye coordination as non Americans.
 
Arriola can be a valuable piece, but the wing positions are getting very crowded. He is behind Aaronson, Reyna, and Weah right now. I'd give Haji Wright the next two starts and see if he works. I'm done with the others. We are playing a man down in the final third because none of the others seem capable of linking up with the wing play. Otherwise, you have to look at playing some combination of Pulisic, Aaronson, Weah, Reyna in front of McKinnie, Musah, Adams and Acosta.

I'm not sold on any of the defenders outside of Robinson. The defense vs Morocco and Uruguay was horrendous. They were lucky not to give up 6 or 7 combined. Johnson is not an answer in goal. He just isn't. The team looks great in between the 18's, not so great close to either goal. We will need clean wins vs Wales and Iran or hope for another England stumble (they didn't look great this week either) to advance.

I said 2022 was mostly about 2026 and I stand by that. From that perspective given the recent improvement by the younger guys, things look bright. For all the GGG hate, he was right to play so many of these guys. Now if we can find/develop two centerbacks and a striker in the next four years 2026 could be a deep run.
 
Not unlike college football, there are only 5-6 teams with a legit chance to win the WC. The USA doesnt have the talent to compete with the top 10. I don't see that changing by 26 unless we have real impact players in champions league teams, and we'd have an idea of who that is/might be by now.
 
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LIuconn said:
Not unlike college football, there are only 5-6 teams with a legit chance to win the WC. The USA doesnt have the talent to compete with the top 10. I don't see that changing by 26 unless we have real impact players in champions league teams, and we'd have an idea of who that is/might be by now.
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The US was very close to making the semi's in 2002, should have actually. This up and coming squad is better than 2002. They just need a someone to step up and become a reliable goal scorer.

Having the WC at home provides a huge boost to the host side. Winning is still unlikely but advancing in the knockout is certainly doable. Making a run to a semi or final is possible if they players continue to develop. The best player rarely wins the WC. How many to Messi, Ronaldo and Rooney have?

It takes a team of really good players, playing well together, plus a bit of luck. I think there are 8 players who could fill the 1st bill by 2026. CP, both Robinsons, MMA, Reyna, and Matt Turner. If Dest can clean up his game, he is already there.
 
LIuconn said:
Not unlike college football, there are only 5-6 teams with a legit chance to win the WC. The USA doesnt have the talent to compete with the top 10. I don't see that changing by 26 unless we have real impact players in champions league teams, and we'd have an idea of who that is/might be by now.
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I think making the Semis is a realistic goal. If South Korea can do it… of course they were doped to the gills as well.
 
SubbaBub said:
The US was very close to making the semi's in 2002, should have actually. This up and coming squad is better than 2002. They just need a someone to step up and become a reliable goal scorer.

Having the WC at home provides a huge boost to the host side. Winning is still unlikely but advancing in the knockout is certainly doable. Making a run to a semi or final is possible if they players continue to develop. The best player rarely wins the WC. How many to Messi, Ronaldo and Rooney have?

It takes a team of really good players, playing well together, plus a bit of luck. I think there are 8 players who could fill the 1st bill by 2026. CP, both Robinsons, MMA, Reyna, and Matt Turner. If Dest can clean up his game, he is already there.
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Agree. We just need the right manager and leadership.
 
ZooCougar said:
Agree. We just need the right manager and leadership.
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Not gonna happpen, at least not this time around.

You do have to give GB credit for forcing the team to play out of the back. He forced them to become competent at it. In the past they were terrible at it. On the whole, he has made many head scratching moves. But he doesn't seem better or worse than his predecessors. Albeit, he did come along as our roster dramatically improved.

The other big change I've noticed is their first touches at at a much higher level then previous to GB. This may have nothing to with GB. He may have inherited the team as the skill level of individuals rose. But it is a skill that is needed if they are to compete and advance in the WC.
 
SubbaBub said:
The US was very close to making the semi's in 2002, should have actually. This up and coming squad is better than 2002. They just need a someone to step up and become a reliable goal scorer.

Having the WC at home provides a huge boost to the host side. Winning is still unlikely but advancing in the knockout is certainly doable. Making a run to a semi or final is possible if they players continue to develop. The best player rarely wins the WC. How many to Messi, Ronaldo and Rooney have?

It takes a team of really good players, playing well together, plus a bit of luck. I think there are 8 players who could fill the 1st bill by 2026. CP, both Robinsons, MMA, Reyna, and Matt Turner. If Dest can clean up his game, he is already there.
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Dest and Musah are the best 1v1 players we have. Gonna need Dest, especially since Jedi is pretty meh going forward across from him
 
Palatine said:
Not gonna happpen, at least not this time around.

You do have to give GB credit for forcing the team to play out of the back. He forced them to become competent at it. In the past they were terrible at it. On the whole, he has made many head scratching moves. But he doesn't seem better or worse than his predecessors. Albeit, he did come along as our roster dramatically improved.

The other big change I've noticed is their first touches at at a much higher level then previous to GB. This may have nothing to with GB. He may have inherited the team as the skill level of individuals rose. But it is a skill that is needed if they are to compete and advance in the WC.
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He’s not as good as Jurgen. Jurgen won the Hex and got out of the Group of Death.
 
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Palatine said:
Not gonna happpen, at least not this time around.

You do have to give GB credit for forcing the team to play out of the back. He forced them to become competent at it. In the past they were terrible at it. On the whole, he has made many head scratching moves. But he doesn't seem better or worse than his predecessors. Albeit, he did come along as our roster dramatically improved.

The other big change I've noticed is their first touches at at a much higher level then previous to GB. This may have nothing to with GB. He may have inherited the team as the skill level of individuals rose. But it is a skill that is needed if they are to compete and advance in the WC.
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And the first touches have to do with talent they developed elsewhere. National Team managers don’t spend enough time with players to develop skills like that.
 
CardiacAndre7 said:
Dest and Musah are the best 1v1 players we have. Gonna need Dest, especially since Jedi is pretty meh going forward across from him
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Both guys need better field awareness and sense of defensive responsibility. Being good at 1v1 does not make an inpactful player on its own.

Musah was out of position quite a bit v Uruguay. Dest gets caught out regularly, if not for his skill level with the ball, he's basically Scally. Opponents attack his side with great success.

Playing as a team is more important than skill if forced to choose.
 
SubbaBub said:
Both guys need better field awareness and sense of defensive responsibility. Being good at 1v1 does not make an inpactful player on its own.

Musah was out of position quite a bit v Uruguay. Dest gets caught out regularly, if not for his skill level with the ball, he's basically Scally. Opponents attack his side with great success.

Playing as a team is more important than skill if forced to choose.
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I’ll take the ability and have them learn the more well rounded team game as they go. They’re both quite young, not much experience. You can teach awareness, and playing as a team, skill and ability on the, if not instilled at youth level, will not come. That’s why we’ve had such low skill teams for so long.
 
CardiacAndre7 said:
I’ll take the ability and have them learn the more well rounded team game as they go. They’re both quite young, not much experience. You can teach awareness, and playing as a team, skill and ability on the, if not instilled at youth level, will not come. That’s why we’ve had such low skill teams for so long.
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So basically you're saying grit and pluck can only take you so far? I think American coaches just gotta American and overcoach.
 
ZooCougar said:
I think Pulisic and Reyna are the best 1v1 and it’s not close.
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I disagree. Puli uses his quickness/speed to get past defenders. Musah uses body feints a ton to get by guys, he is also quick but uses skill, such as heel to heel moves. Dest I think is undoubtedly the most skillful player in our pool, sometimes to a detriment. He tries everything, and sometimes they come off, sometimes they don’t. I’ll agree on Reyna to a degree, he’s similar to Musah, uses his feints and change of direction well. He’s just not as agile.
 
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Why are Pulisic, Weah, Musah and Adams playing in this game?

What is this ridiculous tournament?

Get them out of there.

Who cares?

Stupid
 
CardiacAndre7 said:
I disagree. Puli uses his quickness/speed to get past defenders. Musah uses body feints a ton to get by guys, he is also quick but uses skill, such as heel to heel moves. Dest I think is undoubtedly the most skillful player in our pool, sometimes to a detriment. He tries everything, and sometimes they come off, sometimes they don’t. I’ll agree on Reyna to a degree, he’s similar to Musah, uses his feints and change of direction well. He’s just not as agile.
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Haha. Whatever you want to believe.
 
Is Musah going to go down as one of the greatest USMNT players of all time?

This kid could be top 10 if he develops.

I'm talking about Donovan, C. Reyna, McBride, O'Brien, Dempsey, Altidore.

Pulisic is already there of the current players.

McKennie, G. Reyna, Musah are the next 3 most likely, but I might like Musah better than Reyna and McKennie.
 
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That was horrifying and exciting at the same time. The toughness this team has consistently shown is fun to watch. If we had a striker, they would be a tough out.
 
CardiacAndre7 said:
I disagree. Puli uses his quickness/speed to get past defenders. Musah uses body feints a ton to get by guys, he is also quick but uses skill, such as heel to heel moves. Dest I think is undoubtedly the most skillful player in our pool, sometimes to a detriment. He tries everything, and sometimes they come off, sometimes they don’t. I’ll agree on Reyna to a degree, he’s similar to Musah, uses his feints and change of direction well. He’s just not as agile.
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Also you need to look at how close Pulisic keeps the ball to his feet. When the Dortmund started scouting him that was one of the key things they judged. They have a way of measuring that. The fact that he keeps it that close and he is still fast should tell you something. Also look at the rate he gets fouled. That's the only way some players can defend him.
 
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