Gabriel Jesus and Premier League-leading Arsenal host archrival Tottenham in the North London Derby (Photo by Randy Litzinger/Icon Sportswire via Gerry Images)
VALENCIA, Spain — We are still in Spain, folks, and the views here on the coast are a lot prettier than the last two USMNT games were. Feel free below to ask your probing, thoughtful and/or amusing questions about any soccer topic, including the USMNT, the USWNT (which meets England next week) and the big soccer weekend ahead that includes Arsenal-Spurs, Man City-Man United, 14 MLS and 6 NWSL stretch-run games, Leeds-Aston Villa, Inter-Roma, Tigres-Monterrey W and the Copa Sudamericana final (Sao Paulo-Independiente del Valle). I’ll answer the best ones in tomorrow’s Friday Newsletter. Thank you!
There’s tons of talk about Berhalter’s system, but I’ve never seen a good explanation of what the system actually is, and why certain players (like Pefok) don’t fit in it. Can you give us some insights into this? Thanks!
I really enjoyed the interview with Casey Stoney, which brought to mind this question: What happens next with the growth and evolution of women's professional soccer? There are great opportunities but also some problematic components to NWSL, WSL and the others, so I'm curious where this all goes. Thanks for all of your great work covering this sport.
Wracking my brain for USMNT hope, trying to figure out how to understand the way the MNT performed through qualifying and over the last break. They have almost never played to the sum of their parts, IMO. I've listed below the things I see as the most likely explanations (in descending order of relevance). I'd love to know how much you see each contributing, and whether there are others that might be influencing the team's performance. How likely do you think it is that this will change in five weeks?!
--Form/confidence (or the lack thereof)
--Injuries (including to some who are key contributors; also results in lack of continuity)
--Berhalter isn't doing a good enough job (inflexible; focused on the floor, not the ceiling)
--Mindset (lack of fire/grit/togetherness that helped prior MNT teams punch above their weight)
--Youth (lack of stability, understanding of how to bring the right mindset to meaningful games)
--The players just aren't as good as we think they are
Juergen did something well, some things not so well- what I loved is he scheduled games in hostile territories against top quality competition or at home with hostile crowds (those supporting their home country rather than USMNT) - I know the landscape is different with intercontinental completions (nations league), but would have it been more productive to have USMNT face Argentina in Miami or NY/NJ and face another Latin American team like Brazil during this window so USMNT can get used to large crowds and World Cup quality of play, or do you believe Greg and the offices that run US soccer were trying to avoid bad defeats?
I know it is still a ways off, but could USA vs England in the World Cup be the most watched soccer game in US history? It’s on Black Friday when most people are off work. There is little other competition for viewers that day. It’s a big name opponent, and the time slot is good.
Something doesn't add up. The easy thing to do is blame Gregg for the USMNT's woes - and, in the end, that may be justified. However, between the poor performances, not calling up Pefok, making bewildering substitutions, I have to wonder if something else is going on. Blaming Gregg's "sYsTeM" on all these types of decisions feels like a cop out. Grant - have you gotten even a whiff of some other internal team dynamics or delicate situation (read: drama) that no one is acknowledging publicly?
How unusual would it be for Berhalter to include a player in the final World Cup roster (e.g., Pefok) who was not included on the roster for the final friendlies, barring other factors such as injuries? I see folks clamoring for Pefok, and I'm anxious to see him included as well, but I don't have a sense of how unusual that would be. This question is separate from whether Berhalter rates Pefok or whether we think he *will* include him - it's more a question about history and how countries generally approach final roster construction. Would a Pefok inclusion at this point be so unusual or unprecedented that folks are wasting their energy wishing for it?
I'll stay away from the USMNT (to quote Bill Belichick, 'we are onto Wales') and shift to MLS, what do we make of 2022 for the Seattle Sounders. They finally broke the MLS hex in CCL, but then had a really rough MLS campaign (they could still finish 12th in the West)? Do you stick with what got you there (Vermes unsurprisingly turned around the SKC season to the point they may finish ahead of the Sounders), or do some changes need to happen in the Emerald City?
Can you speak to why the broadcast from Fox always looks much worse than the other networks that carry USMNT games? Tuesday’s game looked like it was being broadcast in standard definition with a blurry camera. The broadcast on TUDN looked much clearer. This is a pattern I’ve noticed for all Fox games, can we be sure that the World Cup games won’t look like this?
We've seen too many instances where the USMNT's speed of thought is just too slow and the team seems to lack directions and ideas. Is Berhalter just better suited to being a club coach, where he has more time with his players and more control over the roster to bring players that suit his style? Even though he's had the team become somewhat more direct, it still doesn't feel like he's adapting well enough to the talent on hand.
I feel like expectations are too high for this team. I think Berhalter is still a big problem, but let's remember we're still the youngest team at the World Cup and right now nearly all our players (including all our attacking pieces) haven't come close to reaching their full potential. Many of these guys are not performing well with their clubs, so why would we expect it to be any different with the national team?
Should we expect this team to get out of the group stage or are we still building towards the 2026 World Cup? Are we expecting too much from a bunch of kids who are still trying to figure out how to be consistent professional soccer players?
The best USMNT news out of this window is that England and Wales were relegated in Nations League. Is this a sufficient sign that they, too, are struggling, and maybe we have hope? Or did they just not take Nations League super-seriously, and they're going to stomp us in November?
Any insight into whether or not Gregg Berhalter speaks with any of Arena, Bradley or Klinsmann on their experiences managing at the World Cup, or, just maybe, with World Cup roster selection?
Do you think it was a huge mistake--when all of the USA strikers were struggling--to not test Pulisic or one of the wingers at #9? Seemed a great idea. And then every striker but Pepi got hot.
Asked too late for last weeks mailbag so repeating - Is MLS really going to do almost all remote commentary on matches on Apple TV out of a site in Florida? When MLS teams call off monitors for road games it always sounds tentative at best because they can’t always see the offsides flags, off the ball movement, etc.
Secondarily, the annual $250 million fee seems nice but I really worry some teams will completely disappear in the local market with games only on streaming
It’s utterly perplexing as to why Pefok was not called into this camp so time for some conspiracy lol ... In June of 21’ (6/9) we played Costa Rica and Gio Reyna won a penalty . Subsequently , Gio and Pefok argued about who would take it. Berhalter’s closeness with the Reyna family is well documented , any chance this is a factor as to why Pefok remains on the outs ?
Did Berhalter have any design input or final say on the WC Kits? In an interview he was acting like he designed them..something about how much players were going to enjoy playing in them.
4 things that became clearer to me from this USMNT window:
1) Turner is clearly the #1 goalkeeper going into Qatar.
2) There is a noticeable drop-off when key players are not on the field, and Gregg needs to do better to understand what the backups can/cannot provide and adjust his system/tactics accordingly. This is probably the most important takeaway from this window as we are surely to be without a key player or two come Qatar.
3) If the World Cup started tomorrow, Tim Ream and Jordan Pefok should absolutely be on the roster. Both of them are playing regular, meaningful minutes for their respective clubs in top leagues, they are both in good form and they both have loads of confidence at the moment.
4) The USMNT home kits actually look pretty decent with names and numbers on them :) I still think the away kits are awful, though.
Many people around MLS rated the signings made by Georg Heitz for Chicago Fire FC highly? Who do you feel is to blame for another season with no playoffs yet one of the most expensive squads in the league?
VAR is coming next season to the NWSL and we have lots of questions and concerns. First off, the level of refereeing is wildly inconsistent with some shockingly strange calls and inconsistent decisions on penalties, so who is going to be in the VAR booth? And why should we trust their judgment more? Also, there are limited numbers of cameras that are in use at several venues for television coverage, is there a plan to upgrade the number of cameras and quality of the camera work? Right now, the level of injustice is something most soccer fans are used to processing, but once we have VAR I plan on being even more outraged because I expect the same number of injurious mistakes with the added insult that there are more safety measures in place. However, generally I think MLS does a good job with VAR, so maybe things will be fine.
After this abysmal window, any chance the USMNT schedules another friendly before Qatar? World Cup qualifiers Argentina, Belgium, Cameroon, Canada, Costa Rica, Croatia, Germany, Ghana, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland, and Tunisia all have scheduled games before the World Cup, many in Middle Eastern countries days before the tournament begins.
During WCQ, Landon Donovan mentioned his experience as a manager opened his eyes to how internal dynamics can necessitate changes to the 18 and starting 11 that don’t make sense to the supporters. At times Berhalter has left us bewildered with his starting XI, substitutions, and exclusions (Pefok, Brooks, etc) from the team. Frustrated as I am, should we as USMNT supporters give Berhalter more trust based on information he has that we don’t?
Do you think the American soccer media generally is too easy on Gregg and US Soccer? I feel like fans are banging out heads against our keyboard about how poor the USMNT has looked and how out of depth Gregg appears to be. Meanwhile, Fox Soccer's Twitter account is posing Gregg's bounce passes for LOLs.
Do you think we've been viewing this team the wrong way and they've never been any good? Sure we have players now playing for glitzy clubs in Europe but on the field they really haven't done much. We made it out of CONCACAF on goal differential after tying for 4th on points with Costa Rica. A soccer team can be better or worse than the individual collection of parts and this one seems to be worse. Fortunately, the parts have improved from 2018 so we made it to the World Cup.
The unrest in Iran made me wonder what would happen if they suddenly somehow fail to field a team. Is there any precedent in the world cup for a team dropping out very close to the start of the tournament?
Do you think the USMNT's struggles this weekend could have come from players trying too hard to make the Berhalter game model? I wondered if they were trying to make the WC roster and thought they had to prove they could pass out of the back or else?
I think I counted fewer than 5 touches for Pulisic in the 2nd half of the SA game before he was subbed off. It seems most of the offense was running through Yedlin and Arriola on the right side. Do you think that was deliberate or just a product of the game flow? I’m now sure how we can make a splash in Qatar unless we can consistently get our supposed best player involved.
Could it be that like preseasons in other sports the design of the attack and set pieces were vanilla? The only exception was the interplay between Christian, Weston and Sergino on the left in the first half of the Saudi Arabia game (and Christian’s comment that the halftime adjustment was not necessary). That the successful sequences in CONCACAF qualifying would be the focus in pre-World. Cup training?
How alarming is it for the U.S. to enter the World Cup with no center backs who play in the top leagues in Europe (assuming that Tim Ream is not added to the roster)?
Was going to ask how worried we should be about the US heading into the world cup, but since you included a wonderful picture of Gabriel Jesus I will instead ask you for your prediction for the NLD. I'm an Arsenal fan but very worried, Tottenham seems a more complete team. My guess is 3-1.
The timing of this USWNT friendly with England puts the players on NWSL playoff teams in conflict. A friendly is a friendly, but with England coming off their performance in the Euros and in front of what's sure to be a really big crowd, you know the USWNT wants to win decisively. Playoff teams also have worked all year for this opportunity. Have you heard anything from some of the players and what they think?
There have been a lot of issues with seat assignments, accomodations and refunds for fans traveling to Qatar World Cup. Definitely adds to Qatar's inadequacies as a world cup host.
Is there any chance Matt Turner starts if Zack Steffen is healthy? I feel like Steffen is the Jonathan Bornstein of this cycle, who's a coach's favorite regardless of form (which might be unfair to Jonathan, because Bradley really didn't have other great options at LB) .
There’s tons of talk about Berhalter’s system, but I’ve never seen a good explanation of what the system actually is, and why certain players (like Pefok) don’t fit in it. Can you give us some insights into this? Thanks!
I really enjoyed the interview with Casey Stoney, which brought to mind this question: What happens next with the growth and evolution of women's professional soccer? There are great opportunities but also some problematic components to NWSL, WSL and the others, so I'm curious where this all goes. Thanks for all of your great work covering this sport.
Wracking my brain for USMNT hope, trying to figure out how to understand the way the MNT performed through qualifying and over the last break. They have almost never played to the sum of their parts, IMO. I've listed below the things I see as the most likely explanations (in descending order of relevance). I'd love to know how much you see each contributing, and whether there are others that might be influencing the team's performance. How likely do you think it is that this will change in five weeks?!
--Form/confidence (or the lack thereof)
--Injuries (including to some who are key contributors; also results in lack of continuity)
--Berhalter isn't doing a good enough job (inflexible; focused on the floor, not the ceiling)
--Mindset (lack of fire/grit/togetherness that helped prior MNT teams punch above their weight)
--Youth (lack of stability, understanding of how to bring the right mindset to meaningful games)
--The players just aren't as good as we think they are
Juergen did something well, some things not so well- what I loved is he scheduled games in hostile territories against top quality competition or at home with hostile crowds (those supporting their home country rather than USMNT) - I know the landscape is different with intercontinental completions (nations league), but would have it been more productive to have USMNT face Argentina in Miami or NY/NJ and face another Latin American team like Brazil during this window so USMNT can get used to large crowds and World Cup quality of play, or do you believe Greg and the offices that run US soccer were trying to avoid bad defeats?
I know it is still a ways off, but could USA vs England in the World Cup be the most watched soccer game in US history? It’s on Black Friday when most people are off work. There is little other competition for viewers that day. It’s a big name opponent, and the time slot is good.
After these 2 games, has Berhalter lost the team? They had no answers for either Japan or Saudi Arabia and I sense a bit of dissension in the ranks.
Something doesn't add up. The easy thing to do is blame Gregg for the USMNT's woes - and, in the end, that may be justified. However, between the poor performances, not calling up Pefok, making bewildering substitutions, I have to wonder if something else is going on. Blaming Gregg's "sYsTeM" on all these types of decisions feels like a cop out. Grant - have you gotten even a whiff of some other internal team dynamics or delicate situation (read: drama) that no one is acknowledging publicly?
How unusual would it be for Berhalter to include a player in the final World Cup roster (e.g., Pefok) who was not included on the roster for the final friendlies, barring other factors such as injuries? I see folks clamoring for Pefok, and I'm anxious to see him included as well, but I don't have a sense of how unusual that would be. This question is separate from whether Berhalter rates Pefok or whether we think he *will* include him - it's more a question about history and how countries generally approach final roster construction. Would a Pefok inclusion at this point be so unusual or unprecedented that folks are wasting their energy wishing for it?
With the next WC in the US, will the coach for the next cycle have to be more of a “spokesperson for the game” given more mainstream media interest?
I'll stay away from the USMNT (to quote Bill Belichick, 'we are onto Wales') and shift to MLS, what do we make of 2022 for the Seattle Sounders. They finally broke the MLS hex in CCL, but then had a really rough MLS campaign (they could still finish 12th in the West)? Do you stick with what got you there (Vermes unsurprisingly turned around the SKC season to the point they may finish ahead of the Sounders), or do some changes need to happen in the Emerald City?
Who is more responsible for the Revs' collapse this season, Bruce Arena the coach or Bruce Arena the GM?
Can you speak to why the broadcast from Fox always looks much worse than the other networks that carry USMNT games? Tuesday’s game looked like it was being broadcast in standard definition with a blurry camera. The broadcast on TUDN looked much clearer. This is a pattern I’ve noticed for all Fox games, can we be sure that the World Cup games won’t look like this?
We've seen too many instances where the USMNT's speed of thought is just too slow and the team seems to lack directions and ideas. Is Berhalter just better suited to being a club coach, where he has more time with his players and more control over the roster to bring players that suit his style? Even though he's had the team become somewhat more direct, it still doesn't feel like he's adapting well enough to the talent on hand.
I feel like expectations are too high for this team. I think Berhalter is still a big problem, but let's remember we're still the youngest team at the World Cup and right now nearly all our players (including all our attacking pieces) haven't come close to reaching their full potential. Many of these guys are not performing well with their clubs, so why would we expect it to be any different with the national team?
Should we expect this team to get out of the group stage or are we still building towards the 2026 World Cup? Are we expecting too much from a bunch of kids who are still trying to figure out how to be consistent professional soccer players?
The best USMNT news out of this window is that England and Wales were relegated in Nations League. Is this a sufficient sign that they, too, are struggling, and maybe we have hope? Or did they just not take Nations League super-seriously, and they're going to stomp us in November?
What do you expect to happen to the USWNT game vs Spain? Will Spain field it's best team? Will the players back down? Will the Federation soften?
Hi Grant,
Any insight into whether or not Gregg Berhalter speaks with any of Arena, Bradley or Klinsmann on their experiences managing at the World Cup, or, just maybe, with World Cup roster selection?
Do you think it was a huge mistake--when all of the USA strikers were struggling--to not test Pulisic or one of the wingers at #9? Seemed a great idea. And then every striker but Pepi got hot.
Asked too late for last weeks mailbag so repeating - Is MLS really going to do almost all remote commentary on matches on Apple TV out of a site in Florida? When MLS teams call off monitors for road games it always sounds tentative at best because they can’t always see the offsides flags, off the ball movement, etc.
Secondarily, the annual $250 million fee seems nice but I really worry some teams will completely disappear in the local market with games only on streaming
It’s utterly perplexing as to why Pefok was not called into this camp so time for some conspiracy lol ... In June of 21’ (6/9) we played Costa Rica and Gio Reyna won a penalty . Subsequently , Gio and Pefok argued about who would take it. Berhalter’s closeness with the Reyna family is well documented , any chance this is a factor as to why Pefok remains on the outs ?
Did Berhalter have any design input or final say on the WC Kits? In an interview he was acting like he designed them..something about how much players were going to enjoy playing in them.
4 things that became clearer to me from this USMNT window:
1) Turner is clearly the #1 goalkeeper going into Qatar.
2) There is a noticeable drop-off when key players are not on the field, and Gregg needs to do better to understand what the backups can/cannot provide and adjust his system/tactics accordingly. This is probably the most important takeaway from this window as we are surely to be without a key player or two come Qatar.
3) If the World Cup started tomorrow, Tim Ream and Jordan Pefok should absolutely be on the roster. Both of them are playing regular, meaningful minutes for their respective clubs in top leagues, they are both in good form and they both have loads of confidence at the moment.
4) The USMNT home kits actually look pretty decent with names and numbers on them :) I still think the away kits are awful, though.
Many people around MLS rated the signings made by Georg Heitz for Chicago Fire FC highly? Who do you feel is to blame for another season with no playoffs yet one of the most expensive squads in the league?
VAR is coming next season to the NWSL and we have lots of questions and concerns. First off, the level of refereeing is wildly inconsistent with some shockingly strange calls and inconsistent decisions on penalties, so who is going to be in the VAR booth? And why should we trust their judgment more? Also, there are limited numbers of cameras that are in use at several venues for television coverage, is there a plan to upgrade the number of cameras and quality of the camera work? Right now, the level of injustice is something most soccer fans are used to processing, but once we have VAR I plan on being even more outraged because I expect the same number of injurious mistakes with the added insult that there are more safety measures in place. However, generally I think MLS does a good job with VAR, so maybe things will be fine.
Is it worth risking a roster spot on Gio Reyna if he is just going to pull his hamstring in the 18th minute vs Wales?
After this abysmal window, any chance the USMNT schedules another friendly before Qatar? World Cup qualifiers Argentina, Belgium, Cameroon, Canada, Costa Rica, Croatia, Germany, Ghana, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland, and Tunisia all have scheduled games before the World Cup, many in Middle Eastern countries days before the tournament begins.
Speaking of the North London Derby, can either of the teams challenge Manchester City for the title?
During WCQ, Landon Donovan mentioned his experience as a manager opened his eyes to how internal dynamics can necessitate changes to the 18 and starting 11 that don’t make sense to the supporters. At times Berhalter has left us bewildered with his starting XI, substitutions, and exclusions (Pefok, Brooks, etc) from the team. Frustrated as I am, should we as USMNT supporters give Berhalter more trust based on information he has that we don’t?
Do you think the American soccer media generally is too easy on Gregg and US Soccer? I feel like fans are banging out heads against our keyboard about how poor the USMNT has looked and how out of depth Gregg appears to be. Meanwhile, Fox Soccer's Twitter account is posing Gregg's bounce passes for LOLs.
Do you think we've been viewing this team the wrong way and they've never been any good? Sure we have players now playing for glitzy clubs in Europe but on the field they really haven't done much. We made it out of CONCACAF on goal differential after tying for 4th on points with Costa Rica. A soccer team can be better or worse than the individual collection of parts and this one seems to be worse. Fortunately, the parts have improved from 2018 so we made it to the World Cup.
The unrest in Iran made me wonder what would happen if they suddenly somehow fail to field a team. Is there any precedent in the world cup for a team dropping out very close to the start of the tournament?
Do you think the USMNT's struggles this weekend could have come from players trying too hard to make the Berhalter game model? I wondered if they were trying to make the WC roster and thought they had to prove they could pass out of the back or else?
I think I counted fewer than 5 touches for Pulisic in the 2nd half of the SA game before he was subbed off. It seems most of the offense was running through Yedlin and Arriola on the right side. Do you think that was deliberate or just a product of the game flow? I’m now sure how we can make a splash in Qatar unless we can consistently get our supposed best player involved.
Could it be that like preseasons in other sports the design of the attack and set pieces were vanilla? The only exception was the interplay between Christian, Weston and Sergino on the left in the first half of the Saudi Arabia game (and Christian’s comment that the halftime adjustment was not necessary). That the successful sequences in CONCACAF qualifying would be the focus in pre-World. Cup training?
Thanks for your reporting and podcasts.
which is more important this week -- the North London or Manchester derby?
If you didn't have media obligations and weren't going to the World Cup, where in the USA would you want to be to watch it?
How alarming is it for the U.S. to enter the World Cup with no center backs who play in the top leagues in Europe (assuming that Tim Ream is not added to the roster)?
Was going to ask how worried we should be about the US heading into the world cup, but since you included a wonderful picture of Gabriel Jesus I will instead ask you for your prediction for the NLD. I'm an Arsenal fan but very worried, Tottenham seems a more complete team. My guess is 3-1.
The timing of this USWNT friendly with England puts the players on NWSL playoff teams in conflict. A friendly is a friendly, but with England coming off their performance in the Euros and in front of what's sure to be a really big crowd, you know the USWNT wants to win decisively. Playoff teams also have worked all year for this opportunity. Have you heard anything from some of the players and what they think?
There have been a lot of issues with seat assignments, accomodations and refunds for fans traveling to Qatar World Cup. Definitely adds to Qatar's inadequacies as a world cup host.
Is there any chance Matt Turner starts if Zack Steffen is healthy? I feel like Steffen is the Jonathan Bornstein of this cycle, who's a coach's favorite regardless of form (which might be unfair to Jonathan, because Bradley really didn't have other great options at LB) .