Olympic Failure and Northern Ireland 3/28/21

> When people wonder how I can watch so much soccer but never any MLS outside of the Timbers, this is why.  When we send rosters made up of mostly MLS players to big time games or tournaments we lose.  Nights like yesterday, Couva, 2012 and 2016 Olympic Qualifying are going to continue to happen.  It's just facts, a trend or whatever you want to call it right now.  I looked back at the rosters and did a little breakdown.

Couva - Non-MLS guys that played

Christian Pulisic - Dortmund

DeAndre Yedlin - Newcastle

Bobby Wood - Hamburg

Omar Gonzalez - Pachuca

Bruce Arena - Coach

Finished fifth in a group of six.  I maintain that had CP not been injected into this group that we would have been eliminated well before Couva.  Remember that he had a hand in 12 out of our 17 goals in that Hex by scoring, assisting or winning a free kick which led to a goal.

2012 - Olympic Qualifying USMNT caps

Mix Diskerud - 38 

Brek Shea - 34  

Juan Agudelo - 28  

Joe Corona - 23  

Jorge Villafaña - 21  

Freddy Adu - 17  

Terrence Boyd - 13  

Sean Johnson - 9  

Bill Hamid - 8

Perry Kitchen - 5  

Teal Bunbury - 4  

Joe Gyau - 3  

Ike Opara - 1

Caleb Porter - Coach

Finished third in their group behind El Salvador and Canada.  Of this bunch Mix, Brek and Juan occasionally contributed.  The rest were complete non-factors.  This is supposedly the "lost generation" that led to no new talent in the pipeline which eventually sunk us in Couva 5 years later.

2016 - Olympic Qualifying USMNT caps

Jordan Morris - 39

Zack Steffen - 21

Matt Miazga - 21

Will Trapp - 20

Cameron Carter-Vickers - 8

Ethan Horvath - 4

Emerson Hyndman - 2

Luis Gil - 2

Jerome Kiesewetter - 2

Matt Polster - 1

Andi Herzog - Coach

Won their group, lost to Honduras in the Semis 0-2 and lost to Columbia 2-3 in a two-legged playoff.  Obviously Morris and Steffen are big-time contributors from this group.  Miazga might possibly be too, but the jury is still out on him.  The rest not so much.  So that makes two full Olympic cycles that basically produced only two full time players.

2008 - Olympic Qualifying USMNT caps

Jozy Altidore - 115

Sacha Kljestan - 52

Maurice Edu - 46

Johnathan Spector - 36

Stuart Holden - 25

Charlie Davies - 17

Freddy Adu - 17

Robbie Findley - 11

Dax McCarty - 13

Eddie Gaven - 8

Marvell Wynne - 5

Kamani Hill - 2

Sal Zizzo - 1

Chad Barrett - 1

Peter Nowak - Coach

Won their group, beat Canada in the Semis 3-0 and lost to Honduras in the Final 0-1 after extra time.  Altidore, Kljestan Edu and Spector all played big roles for the Senior USMNT at some point.  Holden and Davies were on that path as well prior to suffering serious injuries.  All of those six also played in Europe and had decent careers over there (except Jozy).  My point being, look at the difference in quality compared to the other lists.

2020 - Olympic Qualifying USMNT caps

Jackson Yueill - 9

Johnathan Lewis - 7

Djordje Mihailovic - 6

Sam Vines - 3

Johnny Cardoso - 2

Jesus Ferreira - 2

Sebastian Soto - 2

Julian Araujo - 1

Aaron Herrera - 1

Tanner Tessman - 1

Andrés Perea - 1

Jason Kreis - Coach

Finished second in their group and lost to Honduras in the Semis 1-2.  Let's be honest here, if David Ochoa doesn't stand on his head in the first match against Costa Rica we likely don't make it out of our group at all.  It seemed like Ochoa had to pay the karma piper too since that second goal is squarely on him.  Much like with Soto's gaffe against Mexico, you can't make mistakes like that on the big stage.  On the first goal Herrera switched off and lost his mark giving him a free header and then Justin Glad was a step behind his man who tapped it in.  

The flaws of this bunch are many.  No creativity in the midfield, a lack of quality on the wing, questionable production up top and a shaky back line.  In the Semis this was check, check, check and check.  For this being the biggest match that most of these guys will ever play in they certainly didn't give a do-or-die type of effort to my eyes.  They looked terrified out there.  No swagger, no confidence, no getting stuck in on challenges.  Nothing.

I wasn't a fan of Kreis coming into this tournament and I really wish I was wrong about him.  His roster choices just weren't good from the pool he had.  So I don't want to hear excuses about this guy or that guy not being there.  As I've said a million times already he could have had Jeremy Ebobisse and Eryk Williamson (and others) if he wanted.  These were "his" guys, so just like Caleb Porter, Jason can carry this mark on his resume forever.

As for the players, I'm tempted to say that none of these losers ever play a big role for the Senior USMNT, but looking at history that won't be the case.  Yueill acquitted himself well and seems to be a favorite of Gregg Berhalter (GGG) to back up Tyler Adams as our #6.  I'm already on record saying that Vines will get more chances at LB and might have a part to play in World Cup Qualifying (WCQ).  As for the rest of these clowns?  Maybe a few are able to feature regularly with the big boys, but history also says that is unlikely.  The rest of this group is Gold Cup material and that's about it.

So over three full Olympic cycles we are looking at two contributing players (Morris & Steffen) and three maybes (Miazga, Yueill & Vines).  I know the tide is turning now with a bunch of young guys heading to Europe, but five domestic guys produced over 12 years just won't get it done.  After the World Cup the Olympics is the next biggest tournament to gain high-pressure experience, and if we don't qualify for 2024 in Paris it will be a full two decades of missing out on the second biggest stage.  That's because the streak will end in 2028 no matter what since we qualify automatically.

> As for the group that has the next opportunity to play in high-pressure matches come WCQ in September, they looked pretty good.  GGG did indeed deploy a new formation, a 3-4-3 with three central defenders, two wing backs and two holding midfielders.  It wasn't a smashing success or an unmitigated disaster.  It was just another option for teams scouting us to study and something we could use in the right situation.  However, I highly doubt GGG uses anything outside of his preferred 4-3-3 when the games really matter.

This was not the Northern Ireland "A-Team" since they played a WCQ against Italy 3 days prior and have another WCQ versus Bulgaria 3 days after.  Even taking into consideration a heavily rotated Green and White Army, the USMNT bossed the game to the tune of a 61-39% possession advantage.  The two goals we scored probably should have been more as well.  At the end of the day this was our first win against a European team on European soil since 2015, so I'll take it any way we can get it.

Steffen - He made a few nice saves but as I see it he needs to stop that goalazo from Niall McGinn late on.  Zack has let in a few late goals recently when he plays for City too.  Hopefully this isn't a developing trend.

Sergiño Dest - Put in a good 45 minute shift.  It goes without saying that his name is in ink on the team sheet.  Left or right back is the only question.

Aaron Long - I was really surprised he started again since he is in preseason form at the moment.  He certainly deserves to be in the mix to play alongside John Brooks still, but he isn't up to snuff distributing with the ball at his feet.

Miazga - Played in the middle of the back three.  I thought he was decent, nothing spectacular but also no howlers.  He is in the mix to partner with Brooks as well.

Tim Ream - I have no idea why he was even on this roster to begin with?  The fact that he took minutes from younger players at the age of 33 is maddening.  Tim has only appeared in 5 of Fulham's 30 fixtures this season and is heavily rumored to be heading back to MLS this summer.  He should not be in the plans for Nations League or WCQ.  Meanwhile, Erik Palmer-Brown is 23, has appeared in 19 of Austria Vienna's 22 matches and only has 2 caps.  Wouldn't it make more sense to give him a look over Ream?  GGG drives me crazy with these kinds of choices.

Antonee Robinson - He got to play in his preferred left wing back role and looked pretty good doing it.  Jedi gets himself into so many dangerous positions in the final third, but alas his first touch or cross is rarely good enough.  I'm not done with him yet, but I'm slowly starting to lean toward Dest playing on the left.

Kellyn Acosta - For all the good he did against Jamaica he gave it all right back against Northern Ireland.  He was easily our worst player on the day and probably played himself onto the Gold Cup roster with this stinker.

Yunus Musah - He put in another good shift in his 45 minutes.  Another guy whose name is in ink on the team sheet.  The only thing left is to see him play more with Adams and Weston McKennie in the "MMA" midfield.

Gio Reyna - He seemed to have more freedom of movement in the 3-4-3 formation.  He was popping up all over the field; left, right and central.  His goal took a kind deflection, but was also well struck.  I continue to think Gio versus Tim Weah is our biggest positional battle we have going forward.  Weah wasn't at this camp, so it looks like Reyna is the guy for now.

Pulisic - Man of the Match.  He was dangerous every time he touched the ball.  Much like Gio, CP looked to enjoy the freedom the different formation gave him as he switched sides at will.  His PK was deserved, even if the shot itself wasn't the best.  He also had a few gorgeous passes that should have been goals.  He's looking more and more like himself.  Hopefully Thomas Tuchel agrees and Pulisic is back to being a regular starter with Chelsea in the near future.

Jordan Siebatcheu - Outside of some decent hold up touches he didn't offer much for me.  He's very stiff looking, always upright and never dynamic or fast.  He should still be in the mix at backup striker, but I think there are better options coming for that role.

Sebastian Lletget - Came on at halftime and didn't do much either way.  Lots of people aren't fans of his because he plays in MLS.  As I've said before, there is a place for him on the bench and as a rotational starter.  It will be interesting to see if he plays in both Nations League and the Gold Cup.

Bryan Reynolds - My man!  It was my first time seeing him play and I came away impressed.  I think he deserves a look next time GGG decides to play Dest on left.  Having Yedlin, Reggie Cannon and Reynolds at RB behind Sergiño is a nice problem to have.

Daryl Dike - The big man showed what he can do, both good and bad.  He made all the right moves in the build up, but his finishing was not there.  That's the knock on Daryl right now, a complete physical specimen but lacking a bit of technical quality.  For example, he just has to put that pass from CP in the back of the net.  From what I saw yesterday I'd lean Dike over Pefok right now.

Brenden Aaronson - He seems like more of a midfielder to me than a winger, but there's no denying that right now he is our super-sub winger.  He's just got this craftiness about him that leads to danger.  With CP, Gio, Weah and BA we are in good shape for WCQ on the left and right wing.

Chris Richards - He is my preferred choice to partner with Brooks, and he should have started over Ream.  Especially when you consider that he plays left center back in a back three at Hoffenheim.  Yet GGG decided to play an out of form 33-year old over the up and coming 21-year old at Richards' club position.  Ummm, ok?  He looked good to me, but with only 3 caps to his name he's still a little green.  The only way to change that is PLAY HIM!!!

Luca de la Torre - He came on at 74 and still managed to make an impact.  His vision and touch are superb and since he's a #8 in this system it's nice that he has some bite to his game as well.  Luca played Dike in with a lovely through ball which Daryl missed.  I'd say de la Torre is in the same mix as Lletget for backup/rotational midfielder.

Our next match is 5/30 against Switzerland in St. Gallen.  Then we have Honduras (remember them?) on 6/3 in the CONCACAF Nations League Semis.  Win or lose we will play either Mexico or Costa Rica on 6/6 in the Final or Third Place match.  Then our first choice guys go on summer vacation.  The next time we see them will be in September for WCQ.  Shit is about to get very real for the USMNT.

I think this depth chart is very realistic right now and I wouldn't change much about it other than Reynolds over Cannon and Ethan Horvath over Ochoa.

Jamaica 3/25/21

Doubleheader Sunday!  Senior team at 9:00 on Fox and U23s at 3:00 on FS1!!!

I thought the match was more of a challenge than the recent spate of Trinidad and Tobago, El Salvador and Panama.  Jamaica was more organized with obviously professional players.  (Sidebar: Their pursuit of all these English dual-nationals is going to make them dangerous for WCQ when their regulars come back from their strike.)  That said, after settling in our boys looked really good taking control and dictating play.

Before I get to my player breakdowns I have to mention that Daryl Dike wasn't in the 23 because he was hurt.  There's also been a lot of chatter on Twitter about Gregg Berhalter (GGG) going with a 3-5-2 or 3-4-3 against Northern Ireland.  I can see why people are saying that since Sergiño Dest and Antonee Robinson can both play wing-back.  However, so much of what GGG preaches is his "system."  The U23s are even playing it now too.  So while I think that formation is worth exploring some time, I'm really not sure Sunday is the best time.  If GGG was going to do that an experimental Jamaica side makes more sense than N. Ireland does.  But in the bigger picture, we have so few games left before things start counting that we need to iron out the kinks in our 4-3-3 first before trying new things.

Zack Steffen - Took a bad angle on the goal and misplayed an early back pass out of bounds with a poor touch.  Other than that he was solid and made 2 very nice reaction saves late in the match to keep the Reggae Boyz to 1 goal.

Dest - Man of the Match.  So smooth and creative on the ball, just scary talented.  I'm usually one to want guys playing in their natural and most comfortable position.  But when I saw the chemistry Christian Pulisic and Serge were developing as the match went along my mind started changing.  I mean if our left side is Dest, Weston McKennie and CP....DAMN that's going to be dangerous.

Reggie Cannon - Easily the worst player of the day for me.  He was just bad all over.  After yesterday I'm fine with Dest at LB, but not for Reggie anymore.  I think it's time to bring DeAndre Yedlin in one more time and see how he looks.  If you remember my roster predictions I had Yedlin on the team over him.  There's also Bryan Reynolds too.

John Brooks - Not his best outing at all.  He was my third worst player as his distribution was WAY off for most of the match.  His positioning was also bad more than a few times.  This is just who he is for the USMNT.  Occasionally brilliant, mostly solid yet sometimes his head or heart just isn't into it and he looks like this.  If you need a reminder just think back to the Costa Rica match that got Jügen Klinsmann fired.  John wasn't that bad yesterday, but he certainly has it in him.  

Aaron Long - He didn't really do anything too bad, but he also didn't stand out in any way.  I'm perplexed as to why he got 45 minutes still?.  If GGG wanted to do that Sunday is the day.  Not when you only have Brooks for one match and NEED to see how the Brooks-Chris Richards partnership looks for the first time.  I'm fine with Aaron being in the mix, he just isn't starting material anymore.  He's a nice bench piece.

Sebastian Lletget - This is going to be where my take differs from most people.  Before he scored his first goal I had him as the second worst player on the day.  His set piece delivery was crap all game long and he was where our attack went to die.  He doesn't offer much defensively either.  My final take on him is that he had a "Rapinoe Game."  Mostly bad throughout then he popped up in the box with 2 nice finishes out of nowhere.  Then everyone forgets about the rest of the game and focuses only on the 2 goals.  I mean I blame the goal we conceded partly on him because the corner kick was so awful.  He also almost had an own goal too (nice save Zack!) that I see no one mentioning.  I'm not anti-Sebastian or anything.  I like him off the pine but much like Long he's not a starter.

Kellyn Acosta - With how Johnny, Andrés Perea and Jackson Yueill are playing in Olympic Qualifying I'd say the backup #6 behind Tyler Adams is wide open.  When you look at Kellyn's performance through that lens he put himself right back in the mix.  He is only 25 after all so he fits in with this group very nicely.  He put in a very nice shift ending Jamaican chances before they could happen.  Nice to see him back.  

Yunus Musah - He was good, very good.  His ball control in tight spaces is great and the way he glides through the midfield is something to see.  He is such a great connector between the backline and forwards.  Like an extremely wealthy man's version of Darlington Nagbe.  I was impressed how he still showed out with Adams and McKennie not by his side.  I'd say if all 3 are healthy the MMA midfield is here to stay for quite a while.  One question I had though is does Valencia watch how he plays as a #8?  For all his quality the final third isn't in his bag yet.  So I wonder why Valencia continues to try and make him a winger?

Gio Reyna - He had a lot of good ideas that didn't come off.  He was obviously pressing and frustrated too.  I've said before that I don't like his ball-hogging tendencies and bad body language toward teammates.  Both were on display yesterday unfortunately.  He's so good already that sometimes I forget he's only 18.  With the way Yunus played I don't think we are ever seeing Gio in that dual-8 role.  The biggest positional battle we have going forward is Reyna versus Timothy Weah at RW.  

I know a lot of people won't agree with me putting Gio on the bench, but I prefer Weah at this moment.  Timo just offers more defensively and does the little things better than Reyna at this time.  I wish GGG would play a system with a true #10 but that obviously ain't happening on his watch.  Our four best attackers are CP, Josh Sargent, Timo and Gio.  I guess having three guys that can defend in the midfield is more important than having four attack minded players.  But another tactical option if we ever want to add the 4-2-3-1 to our bag.

CP - He fell into his own trap where he's just trying and pushing so hard that he botches easy plays.  One I can think of where the ball fell to him and the net was wide open and he missed it wide.  That said, as he settled into the match and found some understanding with Dest he was super-dangerous to my eyes.  There wasn't a Jamaican defender that could stay in front him.  He just needs to get out of his own head and find his zen.  Like Magneto it can't be all rage or all happiness.  He has to find the balance between.  Once he is able to calm his mind like that there will be no stopping him.  Or our left side of Dest-Wes-CP!!!  

Sargent - I don't blame anyone for not watching Bremen.  But if you do watch Bremen Josh did all the things he does week in and week out there.  Hold up play, linking with teammates and defensive work rate.  The assist to Brenden Aaronson was a thing of beauty.  I know he missed all of his 3-4 half-chances and that is really frustrating (especially when he doesn't recognize the run into space until it's too late).  But I see the tide turning and more and more people coming around to my point of view on him.  He's still only 21.  The goals will come, and in bunches once they do.

Aaronson - As I said pregame I wanted him in the dual-8 role rather than Lletget. But I never thought of him as a winger. Maybe he is? Anyway, he came on at halftime for CP and made an immediate impact with a crazy-good through ball that Gio botched. His finish of Josh's assist was nothing fancy, but he still megged the keeper. It's hard to see him pushing into the MMA midfield or on the wing over CP, Weah or Gio. But when WCQ comes around and we are playing 3 matches in a window built for 2, we are going to need depth like this. I mean we can't start the same XI in all 3 matches when the time comes. A good problem to have.

Richards - Still mystified as to why he didn't start? Things like that are always going to bug me about GGG. I thought he was generally good and much better with the ball at his feet than Long. That said, there was a Jamaican set piece where the ball went all the way through the box with no one touching it. The soccer analysts I trust all say Chris should have cleared that. So there was his main negative. He also played a part in Jamaica's counterattack goal, but so did half the team.

Nicholas Gioacchini - At first I wondered why GGG called him in, but it makes sense now. We kind of lack wingers and Nico proved he can play there. He looked very lively, made several good passes and popped up in good shooting spots. His assist to Lletget was something I didn't think he had in his bag. I will admit to never watching Caen. After my experience with Sebastian Soto and the Dutch second division I'm off all second divisions except the Championship. Holland, France, Germany, whatever. If you are in a second division in Europe you are better off in MLS (yes, I really just said that). That's the next move for him, to a better league or club. Otherwise he's going to get passed by other players in the pipeline.

Robinson - I liked that when he came on that he only had eyes for Josh. I think his first 2 touches (maybe) where to fire crosses right at Sargent. The Jamaican goal was such a mess I have no idea who to really blame. After the match Taylor Twellman said in that situation you need to take a professional foul, get a yellow and stop the attack. I agree, and when watching the replay Jedi has not 1 but 2 chances to take a yellow. I'd still like to give him more shots at LB, but the more mistakes he makes the more likely we'll have Dest on the left.

Luca de la Torre - Where have you been my man! To me he's the player that most made his case to get more looks. On Lletget's second goal peep the control, patience and vision he displays. Beyond that moment of brilliance he was good all around. Making good runs into space and smart passes too. He kind of seems like more of a winger to me because I'm not sure has the bite for the dual-8 role. Obviously I'm intrigued and need to see more of him Sunday.

Jordan Siebatcheu - First things first, his Mom's maiden name is Pefok.  So that explains the jersey.  He had a very short stint but he still managed to get a soft header on goal.  I don't see him ever overtaking Josh, but I could see him as a late game sub for his prowess in the air on set pieces.  The issue for him will be can he beat out Dike for that job?  Because Jordan and Daryl are the same player, and Dike is 4 years younger too (20-24).  I'm glad he was able to get his first cap though, an interesting player for sure.