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Zardes sees results of hard work with two-goal performance for USMNT

Photo by Trevor Ruszkowski/USA TODAY Sports
Photo by Trevor Ruszkowski/USA TODAY Sports

Gyasi Zardes hears the outside criticism and understands that his game remains far from perfect, but the U.S. Men’s National Team forward provided the perfect closing performance ahead of the upcoming Copa America.

Played as part of a three-man attack alongside Bobby Wood and Clint Dempsey, Zardes netted a pair of goals on Saturday night to help lead the USMNT to a 4-0 win over Bolivia. It was likely the forward’s best match in a USMNT jersey, as the 24-year-old scored his fourth and fifth international goals in what turned out to be a resounding win.

Zardes’ efforts come just six days before he embarks on the biggest tournament of his young career. The LA Galaxy star remains in contention to start when the USMNT takes on Colombia, and performances like Saturday’s were enough to build a new level of confidence for a forward still looking to improve his performances with the national team.

“I feel ready for this tournament,” Zardes said following Saturday’s match. “This week I have, before we step on the field against Colombia, I’m going to use it to my best ability. I’m trying to grow in confidence. Tonight helps a ton, but at the same time, I can never be satisfied. I can’t be satisfied. You always have to keep working.”

Zardes’ best features were on full display on Saturday night. Supremely athletic, Zardes repeatedly gave the Bolivia backline fits, but it was perhaps his understanding of the game that proved his biggest asset.

On the first goal, it was his decision-making, as Zardes poked a shot first time rather than trying to best the goalkeeper rushing at him. On his second, it was the positioning on a finish that proved little more than a tap-in.

However, Zardes understands he’s far from a finished product. The forward’s first touch remains an often-discussed weak point, one that he continues to refine while with the Galaxy and USMNT. However, according to Jurgen Klinsmann, his work ethic remains a strength that continues to push the forward into the head coach’s plans for the Copa America.

“Gyasi is an amazing character. He’s very, very hungry to learn. He’s a great listener,” Kinsmann said. “He knows that certain things are not perfect yet, but ‘I’m gonna work on it and I’m going to improve’. Sometimes it’s perfect, and the next day maybe it’s not so good. It’s totally fine, because every player has his strength and weaknesses, so as long as they keep on working on their weaknesses and getting them better and better, then it’s totally fine.”

“To be honest, me personally, I think I have a good first touch. It’s just sometimes I’m unlucky during games,” Zardes added. “That’s the beauty of soccer, but you can’t dwell on that, and I don’t dwell on what people say because growing up where I grew up in Hawthorne, a lot of people try to criticize you but yet they’re not the ones who are playing.”

Zardes is the first to admit that he faces stiff competition heading into the Copa America. Clint Dempsey remains an integral part of the USMNT, while Bobby Wood’s strong season in Germany and recent USMNT efforts have seen him rocket up the depth chart. Christian Pulisic and Alejandro Bedoya join as competition on the wings, as the USMNT attack looks as crowded as it has been in quite some time.

With several talented players around him, Zardes expects to compete with an attack that features versatile options both young and old. The forward hopes to see his game sharpened by that competition, as those players continue to push him to continue to contribute with performances like Saturday night’s effort.

“It feels amazing to get the start, but not only that, just to bag in two goals and get on the scoreboard,” Zardes said. “As a forward it’s nice just to get an assist or a goal, but more importantly, as a team player, it’s nice to get a win.”

“He’s very straight in his thought processes,” Klinsmann added. “In front of the goal, he knows exactly what he wants to do, which is, for a striker, very important, because you have to follow your first thought because that’s crucial. If you start to have two thoughts, then you’re going to get messed up. He was very calm putting two goals in there and the whole game was involved. It’s coming along.”

Comments

  1. Let’s be realistic, Bolivia’s defense has always been abysmal. Until he performs well against a team in the top 20, don’t buy into the hype. Historically speaking, his performance has always been subpar against true competition, as he struggles in tight spaces in a high pressure environment.

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  2. +1, which is also why I refrain from getting too angry at out player pool and their technical talent. It’s relatively getting better over the past two decades. And I refuse to blame current players for things they can’t help. I support our youth development and acknowledge that it will be a work in progress for at least another 10 years. So in 2026 when Pulisic is 27 and two years away from possibly his third World Cup, then we should have more technical players. There’s some 10 year old kid that just saw Pulisic score and is now inspired to bring his soccer ball to school everyday, dribbling thru the halls to home his touch. And that kid will help further the U.S. Development. He will be the young wunderkind by 2026.

    So again, it’s all a work in progress and I hope we can all support. We should view the national team as our children, hoping for the best but understanding the effort given when we lose. They are not hired mercenaries. They are humans like us that want to represent our country

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  3. Habitual knock on Zardes is that his first touch is heavy. Compare with Bobby Wood – Wood sometimes has it, sometimes not, and also is a bit brick footed with his first touch, but had some really fine first touches v. Bolivia settling in long balls from Bradley or Jones.
    Some chalk it up (heavy first touches) to stiff thighs after hard training with the Nat team – everyone a bit sore and tight from the extra conditioning put in during Nat team camp – but it is also a general problem with US players. Touch and dribbling skill has gradually gotten better, overall, as we have had more and more players coming up through the youth ranks of good European and Mexican club teams where they are getting schooled in positional playing, tactics, indivduual skill play, bodying people off the ball, (the judo of 1 on 1 ball scrapping, dribbling, winning and protecting the sphere, etc.), and learning to settle the ball with sure, confident, feather touches. In Spanish, “matando el esferico.” Baila con ella. Duerme la. Pasea la.

    My Mexican cousins, upon watching some young el Tri prospect gallop up the field on the dribble would elbow me and say things like, “…’ira, no l’estorba el esferico al correr!” (….see, the ball doesn’t bother him when he runs!) We (the USMNT) have many more players now who can gallop and trot without the ball getting tangled up in ther feet but we still have a ways to go before we show up in the World Cup final four.

    I think Klinsman, Herzog, Vogt and Co. have the ship pointed in the right direction now. Good things are coming.

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    • Being old, 10 years ago doesn’t seem like a long time. Anyway, I can remember a time when US players couldn’t seem to control a hard pass to save their lives. As a result, a lot of times players would make soft passes that would give opponents time to run up and make interceptions. Maybe that was about a decade ago, not sure. I also remember about 6 or 7 years ago when Dempsey was playing for Fulham on the right wing and a long high pass was seemingly destined for out of bounds and he got his foot up, cradled the ball, and brought it down inside the field of play and the match commentator said “he looks practically Brazilian.” And that was a big deal because hardly any US player had that capability then. The improvement among US players in this area is one of the biggest improvements among US players of all the aspects of the game. In the game vs. Bolivia the US was especially good and a lot of passes that would have been turnovers in the past were controlled and possession kept.

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  4. At this moment in this team there are certain players that must play every game if fit for USMNT. In order Bradley, Jermaine, Johnson, Dempsey (60-70 min), Bedoya, Cameron and Brooks; I would also say Bobby Wood should be our striker number one. I don’t care where the German plays them, but these players must be on the field. The rest fill in as needed. Some I would say, should not even be on this team, but it is the German’s show, not mine. I sometimes don’t understand how some USMNT fans don’t see that the soul of this team is Michael Bradley, even in his not so great games, which his critics would allude to as horrible performances..

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  5. I don’t think Zardes is good enough to be on the Nats but he does work hard. Bolivia was weak and Zardes work rate paid off. Columbia is another story I fear and his game won’t translate well against them. That being said, I would take Zardes over Altidore and Wood over both of them.

    Wondo’s game at this level was clearly shown on Sat night. I dont think he touched the ball and if he did…nothing came of it. JK needs to lose his number and also reconsider the pecking order. Jozy should no longer be #1. He’s not good enough any more

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    • As a matter of fact I tried tonight but when I turned on the Galaxy/Impact match tonight I didn’t even see Zardes on the bench. I mean, really? The guy can’t even make the bench?

      The guy must be horrible. Confirmed.

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      • Old School,
        I think he is nursing an injury or something. Normally, he is at least in the 18 for the Galaxy. Either that or his playing with Germany for the Euros. Not sure which.

        Bryan,
        As a Galaxy fan, I can say I’ve seen him quite a bit. He tends to play quite well and normally has a pretty good first touch. Problem is, his poor touches tend to come when playing for the USMNT, which is why there is so much commentary about it. I think we tend to villainize him a bit more than we should, but we also haven’t seen him consistently play like he did today for the nats. As for the Galaxy, he tends to play more like he did today against Bolivia and it is far more consistent. Why this is, I don’t know, but hopefully he will continue to work on his first touch and also play more consistently with the nats like he did tonight.

      • I think most reasonable people can agree Zardes is a overall a pretty decent player. He has some things he does very well, but also has some big holes in his game. this description is true of 90% of our players. It’s all about what strengths your coach wants to see and the weaknesses he can live with.

        Klinsmann very clearly wants athleticism in the wide forward position. Also a player who can move in centrally to score goals. We did this with Eddie Johnson for quite a while last cycle before injuries and I think arguments over salary took him out of the selection. Zardes absolutely fits that mould. He isn’t everyone’s favorite player,but there is clearly a plan that has been in place for this type of player in Klinsmann’s 11.
        Grit and toughness in the center of the park ( Bradley, Jones, Bedoya) with pace on the outside (Zardes, yedlin, Wood, Johnson) seems to be the formula this summer.

        Pulisic and Nagbe look like first off the bench for attacking subs. Beckerman and Zusi if we are more comfortable.

    • I have seen at least 90% of his games for the Galaxy and almost all for the Nats. His first year he took an enormous number of shots and maybe had one in ten on goal, but you could see his athleticism. The next year his improvement was tremendous and he ended up with something like 14 goals, which, as i recall, was the second most for Americans in MLS. Halfway through that season I predicted he would be going to Russia. He is also very team oriented and always willing to come back and play defense, not something you see from a lot of attackers (Keane and Dos Santos, for example). By accounts from the Galaxy staff via the LA Times he has a tremendous work ethic and a great attitude, things which Klinsmann has seconded. I really would like to see him play in Europe since I think he could improve considerably more in that environment.

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