26 Comments

Regarding defending corner kicks — it’s not a matter of either zonal or man marking, good corner kick defending is both. Our failure against Panama resulted from, in my opinion, the near post zone defender getting beaten by the cross and the lack of a man defender against a good header of the ball.

Teams need to take away dangerous areas, particularly the near post area, with a good header whose job is to attack the ball entering into that space. At the same time, defenders need to recognize who are the dangerous headers on the opponent. Almost every team has one, and some of 2 or 3 outstanding headers. These must be marked, their preferred attacking runs studied, and defenders assigned to make it hard for them to make their runs.

At the same time, let’s recognize that Panama did an exceptional job of delivering the corner, crowding the 6 yard box, and denying Turner a route to the ball.

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As a follow-up to my above comment, I think, having noted that Panama’s earlier corners where being driven hard into the near post area, I might have placed Zimmerman in the area to attack the ball.

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A cohesive team playing a game that cements the foundation for future success is then gutted by removing 7 players, including their best number 9 .

And now it's no longer the same team, duh.

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Gregg Berhalter is constantly proving out of his depth.

We need to stop the bleeding now. Bring back Bob Bradley or back up the Brinks truck for Joachim Low

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Nearly every change in the lineup from previous game was a net loss. Played sluggish first half like the humidity was weighing them down and then panicked the final 15-20 with no organization. Should’ve subbed Pepi and Aronson on at half and left Musah instead of Acosta.

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It’s unclear to me how berhalter can go into this game with a 4-3-3, no Adams, in a CONCACAF away match, and expect it to somehow just work. If anything, he needs to equip these guys with something that can give them a chance in generally dire away matches. 2.5/3 away matches have been truly poor, and there’s no attempt to use a system that could be effective with the guys on the pitch

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That was the most painful USMNT game I’ve ever watched. An own goal by a guy that had no business being in the pitch in the first place which turned into a massive game of kick ball in the second half. An utter s h i t s h o w.

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These "after the fact" manager crack me up. Big question Grant. What happens to the team pennants the Captains exchange before the match?

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#Bouncepassboy has menos than a clue. Wrong starting players (again), wrong formation/s (again), and wrong subs, (again) = replace him immediately.

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Bring Dyke for his physical presence. Maybe Joe Scally for LB. Zardes and Bello were MIA. Saludos

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It all started with our three midfielders being very, very poor. The fullbacks, McKenzie, and the front three weren't great either, but the failure of the midfield to be able to do anything positive was what set the tone. How Lletget and Acosta made it through the entire game without being taken off was a real head scratcher to me.

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Grant: We can all lament about who Berhalter sat and whom he played, but the question I would like you and others who cover the USMNST to ask if where was Hoppe and why didn't Gregg play him? This is the most head-scratching move. I understand the reasoning behind all the other moves, but why not play Hoppe?

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Hoppe has edge. He has talent and skills and is the most Dempsey like player in this generation. The failure to play him is a comment on the coaches mindset and augers poorly for the side going forward

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It’s obvious 3G had not just one, but BOTH eyes on the Costa Rica game. Zardes? McKenzie? Bello? Seriously?

It was clear early that Shaq Moore was overmatched. Yet, nothing changed until he was subbed out for….Yedlin?

This puts enormous pressure on the third game. And it didn’t need to be. The worst part isn’t the lack of attack in this game. A 0-0 draw would’ve been fine. But to gift Panama a W with a bad goal off a corner created by out-of-position scrambling at the back? Guess they WANT to do this the hard way, because the workrate and intensity of Jamaica just weren’t there. I thought they’d learned that lesson.

I thought Musah was pretty decent. He didn’t get much help. Acosta’s free kicks were dreadful. Least effective I’ve ever seen him in a US shirt. Was Lletgett actually on the pitch?

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So, Grant, is this the right manager for this team, not only in qualifying, but if they get to the World Cup, that stage?

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How in the hell does he start paul over hoppe. Hoppe was the only one that did anything on the gc team. He had an attitude that says fck with me and I will kill you. Him and weah should have been on the wing. Musah, Acosta and de la torre should have been in the midfield in a 4-2-3-1. Richard's should have started over Mckenzie, and Sally should be on this roster over bello

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Scally

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Fortunately not too many people in the US watched this poor performance. I’m not here to defend GB but I think we also have to call out the players on the pitch. Four years to the date of the most embarrassing loss by the USMNT and we don’t even put a shot on goal tonight. I thought we would never take an opponent in a WC qualifier for granted again, but I stand corrected. When you put on the uniform of the Stars and Stripes you need to play with 100% passion. In these 5 games so far we have 1 and 1/2 game of passionate soccer, everything else has been uninspiring. That is on the coaching staff and players.

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Enough of the 'blame the players' nonsense. The MLS guys are bang average. I blame GGG for putting them on the field. You don't blame someone for performing to their resume.

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I think you can blame both? Like it was def mostly Gregg's fault, but some players just played poor

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Yes, but that's because Greg put his least technical players on the pitch. Was anyone surprise Acosta was poor, or Llteget?

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Well at least GB looked pretty good in his out fit. I’m beginning to think he has no real clue how to coach. Granted it’s hard to coach a bunch of teenagers and kids who are not even old enough to buy drinks. Still no excuse for his line up selection.

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