Post Mortem

NETHERLANDS

In their pre-match press conferences, the Oranje players were all saying that they had a good plan on how to attack us.  I figured that was just bluster and that United States Manager Gregg Berhalter (GGG) would have a decent gameplan of his own.  Well, I was wrong.  GGG was flat out coached by Louis van Gaal. 

Holland knew that our strength was the MMA Midfield so they man-marked all of them, not letting us play through the middle.  They also put pressure on our fullbacks which didn’t let us play out wide.  The only option remaining was our center backs, who had all the time in the world, picking out passes from the back.  The Dutch even fine-tuned it to where they kept leaving Walker Zimmerman as the guy having to distribute, which is not his strength.

If you remember from my preview this was the known script on how to beat us.  However, van Gaal added a twist.  Once we had the ball in the attacking third, they basically let us have it as long as we wanted.  Their gamble was that we could be dangerous and create chances but wouldn’t be able to finish.  They were right again.

Then when we lost the ball, the Oranje quickly attacked down our flanks catching Jedi Robinson and Sergiño Dest out of position.  This put our center backs at a numbers disadvantage and had our midfield scrambling to get back.  Think of it as the soccer version of a rope-a-dope.  It certainly would have been nice if GGG realized this and adjusted his tactics.

Our defense was rock solid during the group stage, but Holland carved us open on the counterattack like no other side was able to.  They did so at speed too.  Moving the ball from one end to the other and side-to-side with quick one-touch passes that kept our transition defense scrambling to find runners.

That is how all three goals happened.  On the first Tyler Adams, who had been great for us, didn’t track Memphis Depay’s run.  Adams was even with him at midfield but for some reason jogged from there and Depay’s finish was clinical.  On the second Dest switched off for an instant giving Daley Blind enough space for another clinical finish.  The third was more of the same only this time Jedi flat didn’t mark the man at the back post leaving Denzel Dumfries WIDE OPEN to put us out of our misery.

Beyond the defense being exposed tactically, our players looked fatigued, both mentally and physically.  Christian Pulisic was clearly not 100%.  Weston McKennie, Tim Weah, Dest and Jedi all didn’t seem fully fit either.  Not having Josh Sargent available was a HUGE loss since Jesús Ferreira proved to be useless.  As a group they also seemed a bit nervous, lacking confidence and not entirely prepared for the high-stakes moment. 

There will always be “what ifs” attached to this match.  What if Pulisic converts his early chance to make it 1-0 in the 3^rd minute?  What if Dest could have stayed locked in for another 30 seconds before halftime?  What if Pulisic hits a better pass to Haji Wright when it was 2-1?  Regardless, the Dutch were the better side on the day and were a deserved winner.  The final score line might have flattered them a bit, but they taught us some valuable lessons that we needed to learn.

ROSTER

The biggest shortcoming of our roster was a clear lack of depth.  We had to ride our main guys so hard in the group stage that they had nothing left for the knockout round.  Beyond bringing different players, GGG could have avoided some of this by using Gio Reyna more.  He also didn’t play Luca de la Torre and Joe Sally at all.  Basically, our only reliable sub over the four matches was Brenden Aaronson and possibly Haji depending on how generous you are feeling.

For US Soccer (USSF) the next 3.5 years are all about identifying and then integrating new young talent to complement our established core players.  In that vein, these are the ten spots that are open.  Assuming roster sizes stay at 26 there could be up to four more, but these ten are undoubtedly up for grabs.

Tim Ream (38 at the 2026 World Cup) – Acquitted himself very well for going from the wilderness to a locked in starter.  There are just too many younger prospects in the pipeline for him to remain a viable candidate.

Sean Johnson (37) – I don’t see our third keeper being a veteran at the next WC.

Zimm (33) – Has to move to Europe and work on his ball skills to stay in the mix ahead of the younger generation coming up behind him.

Aaron Long (33) – Didn’t feature at all and should not have even been on this roster.

DeAndre Yedlin (33) – The need for his WC experience is over.

Kelly Acosta (31) – Made two appearances but never at the position he was brought in for.  Not that Adams’ backup is ever going to play much, but we should be able to find a younger player for when Tyler needs a rest.

Christian Roldan (31) – I’m sure everyone now sees that this was a wasted roster spot.

Jordan Morris (31) – Played 18 minutes total over two matches and had no impact.

Shaq Moore (29) – Technically young enough to still be in the mix, but we already had a better player than him on this roster.

Ferreira (25) – In fairness, he’s not a striker and was out of his depth at the international level.  To give himself a chance in 2026 he’ll need to go to Europe and find out what his real position actually is.

FUTURE

The biggest decision facing USSF President Cindy Parlow Cone, Sporting Director Earnie Stewart and Men’s General Manager Brian McBride this cycle is who the next manager will be?  Berhalter’s contract is up at the end of 2022 and USSF doesn’t have a great track record with two cycle managers.

Bob Bradley lasted one year after 2010 before he was replaced by Jürgen Klinsmann.  Jürgen lasted two years after 2014 before being replaced by Bruce Arena.  After his quarterfinal run in 2002 Arena did make it to 2006.  However, he hung on to too many aging veterans and we finished last in our group.

There is also a school of thought that says never let anyone stay around for two cycles.  The reason is that national team rosters don’t really fluctuate like club rosters do.  The good players from your country stay that way until they age out or get injured.  So, a manager’s message can get stale in addition to relaying on “favorite” players past their primes.

The best analogy that I’ve heard came from ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura comparing the USMNT to the Golden State Warriors.  Mark Jackson was named coach of the Warriors when they were terrible.  He built them up to a respectable playoff team but couldn’t get them to the next level.  He was fired, replaced by Steve Kerr and the rest is history.

That’s where the USMNT are right now.  GGG did his job of restoring the program after the disaster of missing the 2018 WC.  We are a solid, young and exciting team.  We work hard and play good defense but our offensive ideas are sorely lacking.  However, we have reached the ceiling of what we are capable of under his leadership.

I have many problems with Berhalter, but overall, he did a good job this cycle.  That doesn’t mean I want him back, and both things can be true.  Beyond needing a new voice and a fresh perspective, we need a manager that is proven at the international level.  Someone who has managed a talented side with high expectations deep into the knockout rounds.  I’m not going to go into potential candidates, but I am very nervous about USSF royally screwing this decision up.

The next issue facing USSF is the lack of “big” matches until we, along with Canada and Mexico, host in 2026.   You don’t have to go through the qualification gauntlet when you host the WC.  That eliminates all the highest pressure matches right off the bat.  All that leaves for our European nucleus would be CONCACAF Nations League and friendlies on FIFA fixture dates.  The Gold Cup will still be around but that happens during the European offseason when our main guys need to rest their minds and bodies. 

There have been some recent reports saying that since Ecuador has resigned as host of the 2024 Copa America, that the USA will step in to host as a “test run” of sorts for 2026.  Canada, Mexico and three other CONCACAF nations would join all of CONMEBOL (South America) making 16 total teams.  This tournament would run concurrently with the 2024 Euro being held in Germany.  Getting to play against the likes of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Columbia while Europe battles it out would be MASSIVE for our team’s development.

Not only do all our core players ply their trade in Europe, but now they also have WC experience.  The next wave of young players in Europe should become our missing depth pieces over the next 3.5 years.  With our starters AND bench firmly in their early-to-mid-20s primes, while hosting the WC, a run to the semifinals should be our goal.  We can settle for the quarterfinals but anything less than that will be a failure.  

Time to raise our expectations people!

Iran & Netherlands

IRAN

It’s starting to sound like a broken record, but United States Manager Gregg Berhalter (GGG) got his lineup and tactics spot-on again in the first half.  Unfortunately, he got his substitutions wrong once more and almost let the match slip away late with a misguided formation change.

Iran played slightly more aggressive than most thought very early coming out in a mid-block.  Eventually though they settled into their normal low-block and looked to hit us on the counterattack.  Regardless of Team Melli’s shape, the USMNT was dominating possession and creating quality chances galore.  It culminated with Christian Pulisic slotting home a headed cross from Sergiño Dest in the 38^th minute.

GGG was forced to make three substitutes.  Pulisic (45) and Josh Sargent (77) got hurt and Weston McKennie (65) was gassed.  Replacing them with Brenden Aaronson, Haji Wright and Kellyn Acosta was understandable given the circumstances.  Being up 1-0 Aaronson and Acosta are quality defensive subs.

Where Berhalter went off the rails was shifting to back five at 82 by inserting Shaq Moore and Walker Zimmerman for Dest and Tim Weah.  Don’t get me wrong, Serg and Timo were tired, but moving from our normal 4-3-3 formation to a 5-4-1 that we barely ever use put us at unnecessary risk.  For the final 18 minutes Iran had chance after chance and we were extremely lucky to get out of there with necessary three points.

PLAYERS

Matt Turner – Didn’t have much to do once again.  His distribution has been a revelation thus far in the World Cup (WC).  He started the 11-pass sequence that led to the goal.  Will need to have zero mental lapses and be 100% sharp on Saturday.

Jedi Robinson – Worked hard as usual.  However, his first touch was plain jackhammer-like in this one.  His crossing wasn’t much better.

Tim Ream – Another rock-solid performance.  I shudder to think where we’d be without him.

Cameron Carter-Vickers – One of two changes GGG made to the starting XI and a huge gamble.  It paid off as CCV put in a strong performance until the late formation change jumbled responsibilities at the back.

Dest – Maybe our best players on the day.  Besides the assist he consistently created danger down the right flank.  His defensive awareness was there as well.  Saturday will have some extra meaning for him playing against his birth country.

McKennie – Was not as clean on the ball or as active as he was against England.  He did have the “hockey assist” on the goal though.  We are going to need the best version of him against Holland.

Tyler Adams – There’s not much else I can say about him anymore, other than he’s “Our Captain.”

Yunus Musah – Was all over the place on his birthday.  Looking back on my last preview it was foolish to suggest breaking up the MMA Midfield.

Pulisic – Beyond scoring the goal he was once again our most dangerous attacker in only 45 minutes.  If he was able to play 90, we would have scored again.

Sargent – Even though he didn’t score this was still the best match he has ever played for the USMNT.  His defense was solid and his hold-up play was outstanding.  Sadly, something always seems to happen to him just when things are looking up.

Weah – I still can’t believe VAR didn’t pause the match to look at his goal right before halftime.  I suppose he was offside, but it was damn close.  He seems to run out of steam around 60-65 and needs to be subbed off sooner than he has been.

Aaronson – The defense and work-rate was there, but I feel like he should have been more dangerous in the attacking third.

Acosta – Was put in there for his defense and that is what he did.

Wright – Wasn’t very good.  Made a poor decision late on to try and attack when he should have taken the ball to the corner to waste time.

Shaq Moore – Shouldn’t even be on the roster.  So how he is suddenly the backup right back is beyond me?  This is the second straight match where his lack of skill almost cost us a result.  There is NO WAY he should see the pitch again in this tournament.

Walker Zimmerman – Only played the final 18 minutes and led the all players in the match with EIGHT clearances.  None bigger than the ball he cleared off the line after it slipped past Turner.  I won’t be surprised to see him back starting against the Dutch.

NETHERLANDS

Believe it or not, Holland (3) is currently ranked higher in ELO than England (8).  The general consensus among experts though is that the English are clearly more talented than the Dutch.  Then take into account that the Oranje were unimpressive in winning Group A.  They needed a late goal (84) to beat Senegal, were thoroughly out played (15 shots to 2) in their draw with Ecuador and coasted past Qatar.  There are also reports that the flu is currently running through their team.

Add all that up, and while we should have a healthy respect for the Dutch, by no means should we fear them.  In fact, TV ratings in Holland have been decreasing with each match because the people there don’t think their side has a chance to win it all.  Furthermore, the Dutch people and writers are expecting to lose to us.  Yes, you read that right.

I’m not willing to go as far as to call us the favorites, but we have a very good chance of winning.  I expect GGG to deploy some more of the 4-4-2 shape we saw against England to keep Holland’s possession at bay.  One wrinkle to that could be that the Oranje always play a 3-4-3 under Manager Louis van Gaal.  The USMNT hasn’t seen that formation yet in the WC so GGG might have something new up his sleeve.

Of course, the big question for us right now is injuries.  Pulisic was cleared to play, but how much or if he starts won’t be known until an hour before first kick.  I think it’s doubtful he can go 90.  Sargent is still day-to-day with ankle soreness.  He supposedly looked ok in the 15-minutes of training that was open to the media, but Berhalter sounded less confident Josh could go compared to CP.

Those are just the injuries we know about.  The Gio Reyna situation is the biggest mystery of the WC for us.  Berhalter’s latest spin is that since we’ve been ahead late Reyna hasn’t been needed to chase a goal.  I suppose if asked he would say the same about Luca de la Torre as well.  McKennie, Dest and even Weah also don’t seem 90-minutes fit either.

When sickos like me complain about the end of the roster this is why.  With Sargent questionable, Wright not looking up for it and Jesús Ferreira glued to the bench wouldn’t it be nice to have Ricardo Pepi sitting there ready to go?  Pepi has six goals in nine matches in the Dutch top-flight.  Did I mention we are playing Holland?

Djordje Mihailovic would also be a nice option to have since Aaronson and Acosta seem to be the only backup midfielders that GGG will play right now.  Then there is the case of 19-year-old Joe Scally.  He is somehow fourth on the right back depth chart despite being a locked-in starter for Borussia Mönchengladbach (8^th place in the Bundesliga).  The reason I complain so much on roster release day is these depth pieces always end up playing a role in a long tournament.  Not to mention that our roster suddenly looks very thin at important positions.

With that as the backdrop I think in an ideal world GGG would start the same lineup he did against Wales and Iran.  I’m guessing he leans Zimmerman over CCV, but that is the only spot up for debate assuming everyone’s health is intact.  As is right now I just don’t know?  We will certainly need all five substitutes and six if we go to extra time.  This is especially worrying because as unexpectedly good as Berhalter has been this WC, his subs have been consistently bad.  Both timing and personnel wise. 

     CP Josh Weah

 Wes Adams Musah

Jedi Ream Zimm Dest

            Turner

SUBS: Reyna, Wright, Aaronson, Jordan Morris, Scally, de la Torre

As you can see by the number of subs, I’m expecting this match to be tied after 90.  Never fear though, Gio is going to announce himself on the world’s biggest stage.  He’ll deliver the winner in the second half of extra time so we can avoid penalty kicks.