Can we talk about Weah? I loved his movement and explosiveness when he came on in the 2nd half. Would love to see somebody with his off the ball smarts to be on the field with our more creative players.
It costs $500K to install VAR. FIFA made $6 BILLION from the last World Cup alone. The fact that we can’t use the existing VAR in our stadiums because FIFA won’t pay for poorer nations to have a set is simply inexcusable.
Thanks for the great reporting as always. I thought one of the more subtle storylines was some incisive passing by LDLT in the final 15 mins. I’d be interested in seeing more from him against a suspect Costa Rica. His final ball was nicely weighted and he seems to move the ball from midfield into the final third with conviction.
My one-year-old old heard me say Pepi scored and started yelling his name. Or maybe it was "Puppy! Puppy!" Either way, everyone from the daycare crowd on up came away from this game impressed.
A solid performance, with points earned. But let’s be honest - it was against possibly the worst team in the octo. Panama will reveal more. The atmosphere last night sounded electric, but the atmosphere in Panama will be *hostile*.
The US has actual DEPTH. Tim Weah was terrific. He replaced Aaronson, who was terrific. Who only started because Pulisic isn’t fit. Is it possible that the US can actually withstand injuries to core players now? Except for Zardes, who should’ve scored at least twice, there wasn’t a big drop-off in performance with ANY sub.
I really thought the US was going to get concacafed last night by awful referee decisions. And yes, that’s an actual verb.
Loved this column! If Pepi is truly a reliable finisher at center forward (please let it be so) then an attack with him, Pulisic, Reyna, McKennie, Adams can threaten many teams even outside of Concacaf.
On the whole I'm really happy about this game. Nothing wrong with some direct play once in a while, (Real Madrid enjoys lots of success there.) All the subs looked good, Weah needs more minutes- he was wonderful to watch. De La Torre too. Anthony Robinson is extremely frustrating to watch- he makes great runs with confidence, carving open space, and finishes 90% of them with a poor pass. That one in the 1st half, putting the ball well behind Aaronson made me scream! But I feel 180 degrees different from my feelings following the September games.
And CONCACAF refereeing is abysmal. I just watched the tail end of Mexico vs Canada, (love that result!!) where a Canadian forward was clearly straight arm-pushed in the penalty area by a Mexican defender, with the ref 5 feet away waving to play on... But, a great night for American soccer! I will sleep well tonight.
Hey now…speaking of Man City, I just saw a Futurinhas video on Gabriel Jesus, and they went through his stats. He has a better goal rate than Agüero and in less minutes. Just his Premier League rate now is something like: 204 Games, 85 goals. They said Juve & Barcelona would love to have him.
What is it going to take for CONCACAF to crack down on officiating incompetence? Will it require a severe injury to a star player? Or will FIFA have to crack down on the situation? While we’re at it, is there any hope that a standard for pitch conditions will be implemented across the region? Maybe it will have to be done through a player boycott and the loss of TV revenue from missed games.
Grant. Was the Austin experience positive enough to get some future games. There was talk beforehand about the late arriving crowd to USWNT earlier this year.
I was at the Panama match in DC when he scored his substitution hat trick and was convinced we had finally struck gold (and then again on Charlie Davies a few years later) so I'm going to be hopeful on Pepi but not hold my breath on us finally getting someone that plays the 9 with some killer instinct.
I started following at age 10 in 2006, so I don't have such a deep perspective, but I remember growing up thinking Davies and Holden and Green could be the next big hope, all under the backdrop of wondering what happened to Adu. I think one of the most exciting things about this Golden Generation is just that - it's a generation this time. Any one of these young guys could disappoint or get hurt and we'd still have 15 others this time - we're now in a position where we will never not have players starting in Europe that have to be cut, which is amazing.
The honest answer is that I don't know what to think. Johnson did well, but obviously never became the next Pele. I have no idea where Pepi's ceiling is. Hopefully he has people close to him that can help him stay focused and manage his ego and the money that is about to come his way. It will be fun to watch his rise.
Yunus Musah played with so much confidence in the second half. His attacking style was so nice to see in the midfield. Also, outside of Pepi (of course), I was very impressed with Timothy Weah's energy when he came on and Brendan Aaronson's ball control throughout.
Wish we saw more from Weston, and I'm still trying to figure out what's missing in Sergio Dest's fit with this team. Small complaints, but they are so talented it's hard not to expect more.
Can we talk about Weah? I loved his movement and explosiveness when he came on in the 2nd half. Would love to see somebody with his off the ball smarts to be on the field with our more creative players.
It costs $500K to install VAR. FIFA made $6 BILLION from the last World Cup alone. The fact that we can’t use the existing VAR in our stadiums because FIFA won’t pay for poorer nations to have a set is simply inexcusable.
Grenada. A ref from Grenada was on the match...a WCQ match. Ridiculous
Excited for this team. Looked terrific tonight.
Thanks for the great reporting as always. I thought one of the more subtle storylines was some incisive passing by LDLT in the final 15 mins. I’d be interested in seeing more from him against a suspect Costa Rica. His final ball was nicely weighted and he seems to move the ball from midfield into the final third with conviction.
It's such a pleasure seeing this team play with this much confidence.
My one-year-old old heard me say Pepi scored and started yelling his name. Or maybe it was "Puppy! Puppy!" Either way, everyone from the daycare crowd on up came away from this game impressed.
Took me a minute to figure out DOGSO…
A solid performance, with points earned. But let’s be honest - it was against possibly the worst team in the octo. Panama will reveal more. The atmosphere last night sounded electric, but the atmosphere in Panama will be *hostile*.
The US has actual DEPTH. Tim Weah was terrific. He replaced Aaronson, who was terrific. Who only started because Pulisic isn’t fit. Is it possible that the US can actually withstand injuries to core players now? Except for Zardes, who should’ve scored at least twice, there wasn’t a big drop-off in performance with ANY sub.
I really thought the US was going to get concacafed last night by awful referee decisions. And yes, that’s an actual verb.
Spot on Grant! At what point does the US look at other options in other confederations? CONCACAF doesn't provide a lot of benefit to the US.
Loved this column! If Pepi is truly a reliable finisher at center forward (please let it be so) then an attack with him, Pulisic, Reyna, McKennie, Adams can threaten many teams even outside of Concacaf.
On the whole I'm really happy about this game. Nothing wrong with some direct play once in a while, (Real Madrid enjoys lots of success there.) All the subs looked good, Weah needs more minutes- he was wonderful to watch. De La Torre too. Anthony Robinson is extremely frustrating to watch- he makes great runs with confidence, carving open space, and finishes 90% of them with a poor pass. That one in the 1st half, putting the ball well behind Aaronson made me scream! But I feel 180 degrees different from my feelings following the September games.
And CONCACAF refereeing is abysmal. I just watched the tail end of Mexico vs Canada, (love that result!!) where a Canadian forward was clearly straight arm-pushed in the penalty area by a Mexican defender, with the ref 5 feet away waving to play on... But, a great night for American soccer! I will sleep well tonight.
Hey now…speaking of Man City, I just saw a Futurinhas video on Gabriel Jesus, and they went through his stats. He has a better goal rate than Agüero and in less minutes. Just his Premier League rate now is something like: 204 Games, 85 goals. They said Juve & Barcelona would love to have him.
Barcelona would love to have anyone these days.
What is it going to take for CONCACAF to crack down on officiating incompetence? Will it require a severe injury to a star player? Or will FIFA have to crack down on the situation? While we’re at it, is there any hope that a standard for pitch conditions will be implemented across the region? Maybe it will have to be done through a player boycott and the loss of TV revenue from missed games.
Grant. Was the Austin experience positive enough to get some future games. There was talk beforehand about the late arriving crowd to USWNT earlier this year.
I remember when I thought Eddie Johnson was going to be the guy in October of 2004.
I was at the Panama match in DC when he scored his substitution hat trick and was convinced we had finally struck gold (and then again on Charlie Davies a few years later) so I'm going to be hopeful on Pepi but not hold my breath on us finally getting someone that plays the 9 with some killer instinct.
I started following at age 10 in 2006, so I don't have such a deep perspective, but I remember growing up thinking Davies and Holden and Green could be the next big hope, all under the backdrop of wondering what happened to Adu. I think one of the most exciting things about this Golden Generation is just that - it's a generation this time. Any one of these young guys could disappoint or get hurt and we'd still have 15 others this time - we're now in a position where we will never not have players starting in Europe that have to be cut, which is amazing.
Having seen/felt that then, does it make you worry we’re overhyping Pepi, or did Johnson just disappoint?
The honest answer is that I don't know what to think. Johnson did well, but obviously never became the next Pele. I have no idea where Pepi's ceiling is. Hopefully he has people close to him that can help him stay focused and manage his ego and the money that is about to come his way. It will be fun to watch his rise.
Good stuff, Grant. They looked much more relaxed tonight than the first three games.
Yunus Musah played with so much confidence in the second half. His attacking style was so nice to see in the midfield. Also, outside of Pepi (of course), I was very impressed with Timothy Weah's energy when he came on and Brendan Aaronson's ball control throughout.
Wish we saw more from Weston, and I'm still trying to figure out what's missing in Sergio Dest's fit with this team. Small complaints, but they are so talented it's hard not to expect more.