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SBI USMNT Man of the Match: Dom Dwyer

Dom Dwyer entered U.S. Men’s National Team camp with plenty of expectations, and he certainly lived up to them in his first game in red, white and blue.

The Sporting Kansas City  forward, who was born in England and gained citizenship this year, scored in the first half of his USMNT career.

Dwyer opened his American account in the 19th minute as he struck a beautiful close-range volley into the back of the net to hand his team a one-goal advantage.

Throughout his time on the field, Dwyer impressed with his physical hold-up play and scoring prowess as he created quite a few more opportunities for Bruce Arena’s men.

Dwyer wasn’t the only player who stood out on Saturday. Kellyn Acosta scored a tremendous free kick goal, Joe Corona was a workhorse in midfield and Graham Zusi put in a solid shift on the right side of the field.

What did you think of Dwyer’s performance? Which player stood out to you on Saturday?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. I give it to Jordan Morris’s left foot because that cross was something I don’t even think he thought he could do. I’m scared if I delete the game I will never see it again.

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  2. Thought he had a good game, but felt that MOM should have gone to Acosta. He scored, and created a number of nice openings with well weighted passes.

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    • I agree with this….don’t get me wrong, Dwyer showed well, did everything we’ve seen him do to this point in his career, but for me Acosta was more impactful throughout the whole of the game. Balls over the top, switching play over the top, his through balls were on point and last but not least the goal speaks for itself. Kellyn also showed bite in tackles and to win the ball back. You see a very confident player out there and that bodes well for the team going forward because he has talent in bunches.

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    • I’ll buy, he was awesome. his free kicks, goal and all, can be better too and he’s shown with club he can do that

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    • I agree, Acosta did so much more than Dyer. He was very careful with the ball, made multiple runs to help defend and made a couple nice through balls (that came to nothing, but they were good threats).
      The other player I thought showed very well was Rowe. Zusi did well. Villafana had some bad moments, but was a threat going up the left; I thought his good out-weighed the bad despite the penalty call.

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  3. Dwyer can probably fulfill the Wondo hassling striker role well and had a nice finish, but he also missed a pile of chances. Don’t know if all things considered that performance would elevate him above Jozy/Dempsey/etc. but he’ll have a Gold Cup to show his wares.

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    • On the other hand, would either play have been in those positions to begin with that Dwyer created out of sheer effort and willpower?

      I’m consistently an Altidore supporter at the international level, but there was several opporuntities Dwyer created out of nothing and I think there’s some real debate as to whether Altidore would have done the same.

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      • Hustling play in a world cup goes from being a big deal to meh. Everyone is running their tails off and playing their first team. Is he clinical enough if he gets just one of those chances will he finish it. Because otherwise you’re headed for Wondo’s late game sub slot with similar downside. Gotta knock em in and he missed one breakaway before the goal and a few chances after.

      • That point I agree on. However, let’s see him have the opportunity to build an international resume.

        Altidore’s goal scoring record speaks for itself, but I didn’t respond to that portion of your post. I’m responding to the observation of Dwyer not finishing every single opportunity, and questioning whether or not Altidore would have even been in those situations to begin with.

        I ardently defend Altidore on SBI, but if we’re denying he has an effort/energy deficiency we’re not discussing anything seriously.

      • Witness Altidore/Davies 4.0

        Love the idea, because Altidore seems incredibly comfortable with being paired with another striker (particularly one that is a nuisance).

        My only question is where does Pulisic go in this suggestion? Presumably out wide, correct? If we ran a 4-4-2, I wouldn’t mind seeing Acosta paired with Bradley centrally since Bradley appears to be written in ink. I’d certainly be interested to see the following formation play together, and see what comes out of it:

        ———–Altidore–Dwyer
        Pulisic———————–Johnson
        ———Bradley–Acosta

        I submitted that with reservation, however, because the obvious absence is our heart and soul: Clint Dempsey.

    • He constantly is in that “spot” bt CB’s where he is not my responsibility, but not quite yours. Problem is, he is not a high percentage guy on his chances created. Only time will tell if that translates to success or frustration at the international level.

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