Friendlies at home against teams like this becomes a can’t win for USA. They win 3-0 everyone says “hey that’s what you’re supposed to do”, or if they lost everyone would yell “how can you lose to a second tier cup team at home?” For my money- they showed up, played hard, beat a legitimate team, good teams win the games they’re supposed to win. I’m not sure they’re good enough to have any “expected” wins when we get to Iran, England, Ukraine/Wales. The idea in these games is to build confidence and learn to play together. They did that tonight. I’m happy, all US fans ought to be.
"Remember 1998, when Steve Sampson’s 3-6-1 worked well in a friendly win at Austria and caused Sampson to believe he had found the perfect system for the World Cup?" No I don't remember that. It was a friendly 24 years ago.
Solid take, Grant. They did well. A little loose in transition at times, but a solid 7.5 / 10.
Aaronson ... well, he sure makes himself tough to drop. What a motor on that guy.
Musah in what I will call the “Kovacic role” looks very impressive, and occasionally (like Kovacic) needs to get rid of it a little quicker. But he is silky.
I sure hope Haji works out. We could use someone of his profile - a bit of a reference point.
Musah out there looking like an experienced vetern today. He displayed composure on the ball as well as excellent situational awareness and positioning. I'm excited to see more out of his growth.
I think it was a good day. The move of Aaronson to the mid field worked well. This is a lot to “ ask” but I wish Tim Weah could develop a bit more field awareness before his shots. On one of his early shots, he had wide open guys in the box who had far better conversion likelihoods. I thought both Number nine candidates earned additional “ looks.” But it would be nice to see a goal. Westin looked really slow and tentative ( no surprise). I thought Musah had a pretty impactful game…. A bit more so than usual. I want more of Scally. It was a bit hard ( for me) to get a read in his game. Goalie proved he is excellent at preventing goals. He has to be “ beaten” to get beaten. And more if the new USMNT member. Please.
Since I haven’t seen it mentioned in the thread below or up top, I loved Weah’s aggressiveness tonight and thought that he brought an attacking mentality that really helped us keep the pressure on Morocco. He can be a difference maker in Qatar.
Building off of my rely below, I was impressed with the lineup but thinking about needing to find a place for Gio and Weston is really puzzling. I don’t know who sits but our depth should be an asset for us. In my mind, Gio and Aaronson are our change of pace weapons that come off the bench.
Would love other takes on who are the odds ones out once they are both back and healthy. @Grant?
Precisely. It’s a friendly against a decent team. It’s a win, and they played well. Let’s not get carried away. Fortunately Morocco forgot their shooting boots, because they should’ve scored one or two (hit the bar on a bad-call penalty). But as a first time get-together since qualifying, it was pretty solid.
The US showed something I don’t think I’ve ever seen before: actual DEPTH. We’re past “making the 23”. Someone who truly deserves to *start* in Qatar simply won’t. In a 4-3-3, there are only 3 spots in midfield and up top. Assuming Gregg starts a striker, who’s on the bench? Aaronson showed tonight he can be an attacking mid, but assuming health, how do you break up MMA? Where does Gio fit in? And since when has the US ever had options in the back? What a problem to have!
I think we’ll know a lot more if Uruguay brings their A-team and A-game on Sunday.
I watched every minute of the US v Morroco game. Mortician could/should have scored two of gored goals before UD got on scoreboard. We need to hear the total story here not just. US highlights.
Agree for the most part. I would have liked to have seen CCV and Zimmerman because I think the pair would complement each other well. I do think ultimately this is the pair that comes out of this camp.
Wright looked so, so smooth. He offers something very different in part because he’s physically different than every other forward option AND he is oozing confidence from his 15 in Turkey.
Tillman looked very good out there but I don’t think there is anyone who he replaces. He’ll be a bubble guy come November.
In general, a good match. Curious to see what GGG does next.
Friendlies at home against teams like this becomes a can’t win for USA. They win 3-0 everyone says “hey that’s what you’re supposed to do”, or if they lost everyone would yell “how can you lose to a second tier cup team at home?” For my money- they showed up, played hard, beat a legitimate team, good teams win the games they’re supposed to win. I’m not sure they’re good enough to have any “expected” wins when we get to Iran, England, Ukraine/Wales. The idea in these games is to build confidence and learn to play together. They did that tonight. I’m happy, all US fans ought to be.
Loved Pulisic’s play, leadership and fire. Post game, he called out the lack of passionate support. Good. We should be able to sell out MLS venues!
"Remember 1998, when Steve Sampson’s 3-6-1 worked well in a friendly win at Austria and caused Sampson to believe he had found the perfect system for the World Cup?" No I don't remember that. It was a friendly 24 years ago.
Solid take, Grant. They did well. A little loose in transition at times, but a solid 7.5 / 10.
Aaronson ... well, he sure makes himself tough to drop. What a motor on that guy.
Musah in what I will call the “Kovacic role” looks very impressive, and occasionally (like Kovacic) needs to get rid of it a little quicker. But he is silky.
I sure hope Haji works out. We could use someone of his profile - a bit of a reference point.
Musah out there looking like an experienced vetern today. He displayed composure on the ball as well as excellent situational awareness and positioning. I'm excited to see more out of his growth.
In the pursuit of finding "our 9", is giving half game auditions undermining the process? Especially with friendlies?
I think it was a good day. The move of Aaronson to the mid field worked well. This is a lot to “ ask” but I wish Tim Weah could develop a bit more field awareness before his shots. On one of his early shots, he had wide open guys in the box who had far better conversion likelihoods. I thought both Number nine candidates earned additional “ looks.” But it would be nice to see a goal. Westin looked really slow and tentative ( no surprise). I thought Musah had a pretty impactful game…. A bit more so than usual. I want more of Scally. It was a bit hard ( for me) to get a read in his game. Goalie proved he is excellent at preventing goals. He has to be “ beaten” to get beaten. And more if the new USMNT member. Please.
Since I haven’t seen it mentioned in the thread below or up top, I loved Weah’s aggressiveness tonight and thought that he brought an attacking mentality that really helped us keep the pressure on Morocco. He can be a difference maker in Qatar.
Building off of my rely below, I was impressed with the lineup but thinking about needing to find a place for Gio and Weston is really puzzling. I don’t know who sits but our depth should be an asset for us. In my mind, Gio and Aaronson are our change of pace weapons that come off the bench.
Would love other takes on who are the odds ones out once they are both back and healthy. @Grant?
Precisely. It’s a friendly against a decent team. It’s a win, and they played well. Let’s not get carried away. Fortunately Morocco forgot their shooting boots, because they should’ve scored one or two (hit the bar on a bad-call penalty). But as a first time get-together since qualifying, it was pretty solid.
The US showed something I don’t think I’ve ever seen before: actual DEPTH. We’re past “making the 23”. Someone who truly deserves to *start* in Qatar simply won’t. In a 4-3-3, there are only 3 spots in midfield and up top. Assuming Gregg starts a striker, who’s on the bench? Aaronson showed tonight he can be an attacking mid, but assuming health, how do you break up MMA? Where does Gio fit in? And since when has the US ever had options in the back? What a problem to have!
I think we’ll know a lot more if Uruguay brings their A-team and A-game on Sunday.
I watched every minute of the US v Morroco game. Mortician could/should have scored two of gored goals before UD got on scoreboard. We need to hear the total story here not just. US highlights.
Agree for the most part. I would have liked to have seen CCV and Zimmerman because I think the pair would complement each other well. I do think ultimately this is the pair that comes out of this camp.
Wright looked so, so smooth. He offers something very different in part because he’s physically different than every other forward option AND he is oozing confidence from his 15 in Turkey.
Tillman looked very good out there but I don’t think there is anyone who he replaces. He’ll be a bubble guy come November.
In general, a good match. Curious to see what GGG does next.