photo by Soobum Im/USA Today Sports
By FRANCO PANIZO
The U.S. Men’s National Team has gone undefeated against Mexico during Jurgen Klinsmann’s tenure, and the Americans remained so on Wednesday via an all too familiar scoreline.
The U.S. picked up its latest 2-0 triumph over its southern rivals at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas on Wednesday night, using a pair of second-half goals to improve to 3-0-3 against El Tri under Klinsmann’s watch.
Jordan Morris, the sophomore Stanford forward who earned his first U.S. start in the friendly, netted the winner four minutes after halftime. Juan Agudelo then put the game out of reach after replacing Morris, firing home a shot in the 72nd minute of his first international appearance in more than a year.
Mexico had looks of its own to find the back of the net in a match played in front of a sold-out crowd of more than 64,000, but a U.S. defense led by Omar Gonzalez and Ventura Alvarado held firm en route to record the Americans’ second shutout of the year.
The one real negative for the U.S. came in the 63rd minute, as midfielder Kyle Beckerman had to be substituted after suffering a left thigh contusion without any contact.
Playing in a 4-4-2 diamond formation, Klinsmann’s side dictated the tempo for much of the match despite playing on a bumpy field. It was Mexico, however, that looked most threatening in the final third late in the first half.
Eduardo Herrera came close to opening the scoring in the 40th minute, smashing a shot into the sidenetting following a strong low cross from Gerardo Flores on the right flank.
The U.S. regrouped after the intermission, and found pay dirt in the 49th minute when Michael Bradley avoided pressure deep in Mexico’s half and clipped in a ball to Gyasi Zardes.
The LA Galaxy forward’s ensuing pass bounced off a Mexico defender and fortuitously into the path of Morris, who took a positive first touch forward into the penalty area before calmly slotting a shot past El Tri goalkeeper Cirilo Saucedo.
Erick ‘El Cubo’ Torres, the Houston Dynamo forward on loan to Chivas de Guadalajara, tried to muster up a response nine minutes later for Miguel Herrera’s men. His shot was, however, too tame and right at substitute U.S. goalkeeper William Yarbrough.
After coming on for Morris in the 65th minute, Agudelo gave the U.S. that familiar “Dos a Cero” lead in the 72nd minute. Agudelo acrobatically latched onto a wonderful ball played over the top by Bradley and dribbled horizontally before unleashing a shot that Saucedo let slip under him.
Luis Montes nearly pulled one back for Mexico a minute later, but saw his low line drive curl just wide of the left post.
Bradley nearly added a third for the U.S. in the 78th, firing a corner kick directly to the back post before seeing it cleared off the goal line.
The Americans, who are still preparing for their CONCACAF Gold Cup title defense in July, will return to the field in June. They travel to Europe to take on the Netherlands on June 5 and then battle Germany five days later.
What do you think of the USMNT’s 2-0 win over Mexico? How impressed were you by Morris? Who else do you think showed well for the Americans?
Share your thoughts below.
I am still fied up aboutte win last night. The World seems to be a better place when we beat Mexico.
I don’t mind a sloppy field sometimes. I see it as part of the game, and similar to weather conditions. Everything doesn’t have to be perfect all the time. It’s just another aspect of the game I find intriguing. I don’t find it disrespectful to the players or the teams; they need to adjust and be prepared. And this holds especially true in the CONCACAF region where field conditions vary. The USA and Mexico teams did not change tactics after halftime. Both teams tried to control the ball and pass through midfield throughout the entire game, and all subs were like-for-like.
I agree, that sometimes fields will be sloppy and muddy, or sometimes it’ll be dirt with patches of grass, but even then, it’s easy to predict how the ball will move and it’s easier to adjust. The ball movement last night seemed almost unnatural. It was almost like they were playing with the Jabunlani ball out there.
Long time lurker, first time poster. As a Mexico fan I want to first give props to the people that post comments on this site. Except for a few bad apples, comments are well thought out and actually see the game objectively instead of being completely biased. So thanks for that.
What I actually wanted to say, and I know this has already been touched on, was how ugly this game was. It looked like we were watching 2 high school teams play out there. And this had nothing to do with the players and all to do with the pitch. It was atrocious!
I feel bad for those players that were there on a “tryout”. Hopefully, they get another fair shot. Even those players that looked good, Morris for example, still looked really sloppy. I know he’s young and probably lacks the understanding of when to slow down, but I would have loved to see what he could do on a good pitch.
Anyways, I’m just venting my frustration. I came home from a long day of work and was looking forward to seeing some young players play their hearts for a chance to be a regular callup, but instead I got to see 22 players slipping, misskicking a ball that bounced too high at the last second, or didn’t bounce at all. It seemed like the pitch was dictating the game- an odd bounce here or a slip there was going to be the difference between a golazo or someone breaking a leg. What a mess. I actually changed the channel at half time. Were the teams able to adjust better in the second half? Based on the score it seemed like the US did. Anyways, I’m super exciting for the gold cup!
PS: Ives, there are some serious technical issues with the site. This is the only site I frequent that makes me think I still use a 56K dialup connection.
Welcome! Both Mexico and the US got better in the second half. As I posted on Facebook, my first hope was that no one got hurt, from either side. That field was terrible. On the plus side, both groups of players are now ready for pitches in Central America.
I don’t think anyone from either side played so poorly that they won’t be called up again.
Did anyone else have trouble telling which team was Mexico and which team was the US? 😉
Of course not, because obviously the US team was the one winning.
Haha, well said Jim Bowie
That f’ng field… I don’t often agree with Lalas, but he was on point during the broadcast last night. The players deserved better, the fans in the Alamodome deserved better, and the people watching on tv deserved better. USSF should be ashamed. I know there’s a third party that sets these up for them and they just collect the checks, but there are literally hundreds of other permanent natural grass options to choose from. I’m sure the folks at the Alamodome gave them a great deal, but you know what they say about getting what you pay for…
– I actually thought Mix was MOTM. One of the few (Bradley was another) who was able to maintain his touch and passing despite the field conditions. Mix was all over the field, popped up in great spots and put in some really nice passes. Combined well with Yedlin on the right as well. That said, probably the best part of his night was his defense. Made a bunch of really good tackles.
– Bradley was on a different level than everyone else, which was to be expected. He should have been the best player on the field, and he was.
– Speaking of Mix and Bradley, with Mix’s improving defense and Bradley back to being Bradley, I want even more to see a 3 man midfield of Mix and Bradley next to each other with Lee Nguyen in front of them. Defensive bite, possession, creativity. Please let this happen at some point.
– Alvarado and Omar paired really well together. Omar looked as good as I’ve seen him look in awhile. He absolutely dominated in the air, and Alvarado was there to clean up and put out fires all night.
– Morris is fast. Not sure what else you can say about him prior to the goal, but the goal was a huge moment. Showed good composure and buried it. All you can ask of him.
– Zardes put in a ton of work, but he’s still got a lot to improve on. The field conditions probably hurt him more than anyone.
– Agudelo’s touch on that goal… good Lord. So much talent. And you could just see it on his face after he scored how much it meant to him. Great moment.
hear hear.
So far best Post-World Cup game.
The midfield was powerful with Mix and Bradley.
Zardes and Ventura improve, have better understanding of the team. Zardes just needs improve his shooting at this level.
Mexico was right- that field was an absolute disgrace. It’s no excuse for the result, but that was like playing on rutted ice.
The field was a disgrace but it is no worse than some of those cricket grounds that both teams will have to play on during the pre-hexagonal qualifiers. Might as well get in some practice playing on scheidt.
Cool. I’m going to call USSF and offer my back yard as a practice field. I’ll even throw water balloons to simulate the more inhospitable sites.
It was pretty cool to see Gonzalez and Alvarado work so well together. A friendly like this would have been a great time to troll Mexico with a complete squad of Mexican-Americans. I’d pay to see that.
Considering Klinsmann just beat them over the head with Gonzalez, Alvarado, Corona, Yarbrough, Rimando, and Garza, I would say he just came very close to doing exactly that.
You know this one stung. If I was Mexican I probably would have been particularly stung by the fact that the Mexican side – which badly lacks size and athleticism – somehow lost a big, athletic CB pairing to a country that already has plenty of size and athleticism. How on Earth did they let that happen? Do they really want to still be playing Rafa Marquez at CB until he’s 40?
Yes play Rafa until he is 40. I used to hate his guts but he sort of grows on you like Darth Vader or a good Bond villain.
Why is Jordan Morris wasting his time at Stanford playing crap soccer, he should be in Holland developing
Europe didn’t help Agudelo much. Similar story to lots of young Americans. I’m not sold on the idea the Europe is the place for the best young American talent to start their careers. The Sounders found and developed him. I hope he plays in MLS for a 2-4 years before heading overseas… if ever.
The main thing is to play. Maybe all that energy spent on fighting to be at the top in a Euro squad is better spent preparing for games you know you will play in.
I would liked to have seen Juan continue on at Utrecht after the loan. I’m guessing the Stoke buy-out terms made sitting on the beach too lucrative to pass up.
bandeeto and Boston Red,
Every player is different.
Playing time by itself will maintain your level but if that level is average, then you’ll stay average. I think of guys like Tony Franklin or Marvell Wynne.
If you want to get better at a faster rate you have to test yourself with and against better players and coaches. That works with playing the guitar and it works in sports.
Even if you “fail” you will at least learn where you need to improve, unless you are completely dense.
For example, based on what I saw last night Yedlin clearly has become a more disciplined all around player training at Spurs.
Juan may not have “succeeded” in Europe but he came back humbled and hungry something that has been questioned about him in the past.
Maybe he learned that he needs to be more focused than he has been in the past. Maybe he learned what he needs to do to be a more consistent success. Maybe the process matured him. Juan has always had the skills and the talent. Why do you think Hughes wanted to sign him?
It did all those same things for the late great EJ who came back from Europe, a MUCH better player even though he “failed”.
Same thing with Jozy who was spectacularly bad in Sunderland but had learned a great deal in Holland..
Certainly, not an education, right?
One of the brightest players in MLS this year was Porter who developed in college and looked to be on a great trajectory at Montreal until he tore his ACL. (Porter is also a player who uses speed and skill rather than brute force, but he is also bigger.)
It is not true that players cannot or do not improve by playing college soccer (and many who would not have been noticed by a professional team in the US get a chance to improve, a few of those to very impressive levels.) (Morris and Porter are 2 examples.)
Of course, if a player looks to have the talent, playing and practicing more than is allowed by NCAA rules will certainly lead to faster development as a player, but not everyone wants to try to live on an MLS minimum salary with no promise of a future. A chance to enjoy the social aspects of college and earn a degree that will have some lasting valueis a very sensible alternative.
Let’s not go crazy. Porter looked good for a few games. It is true that college soccer is a much much lower level of play than the professional game. Each year, out of the thousands of players in college, only 15-20 even have a hope of making it in MLS.
It’s fine for the 99% of college soccer players who will never play professionally to “enjoy the social aspects of college and earn a degree” but for the top guys who want to make a living playing the game, 4 years of college soccer is a complete waste.
If we take a hypothetical American 18 year old and a foreign 18 year old who are at similar levels and then assume the American pays NCAA ball for four years while the foreign player plays professionally. At the end of the four years, the foreign player will be miles ahead.
Maybe cause it’s the Ivy League of the west and he likes, um, learning stuff? Maybe it’s because he wants options if the professional athlete thing doesn’t work out. Or, even if it did work out, when he is 35 years old he may want a career other than coaching 12 year olds. Maybe soccer is a huge part of his life, but not his life. Maybe cause if I got into Stanford and they wanted me for my curling skills, I would totally curl my heart out to get $200,000 worth of diploma. Just guessing.
Where are all the posters that were screaming about how lame it was to call in Morris?
Eat crow!
Yeah, I half expected Klinsmann to start yelling: “suck it, fanboys!” after Morris scored. That cat-that-ate-the-canary smile kinda said it all.
I would say Klinsmann won that argument…for this week, anyhow. The next time Morris plays and has a rough game – probably against Germany or Brazil – the dumpers will of course be back out in full force, questioning why Klinsmann left one of any other 25 all-world forwards at home that any manager with a brain would have called up.
I admit he played a lot better than I expected. I still think if he’s serious about his career he needs to play professionally though. These are key development years and college soccer is not a high level of play so to reach his potential he needs to play somewhere else.
To reach is potential he should play in Europe. It’s definitely a higher level.
I think that may be true starting yesterday. But had he gone pro the day before yesterday his contract terms would be far less than if he goes pro tomorrow. Remember that from the perspective of the athlete “professional development” really means making the most money possible. Having a potential Stanford degree also helps your bargaining position because it tells your suitors that you have yet another option.
slowleftarm,
Did you seriously think Morris was planning to stay in Stanford the whole four years?
It is probable that one reason, not the only one, that JK has been calling in Morris is that he has been showcasing him for the scouts.
Last night’s game was a much better showcase and easier to follow than Stanford vs. Sam Houston Institute of Technology of Philadelphia Textile.
As someone else pointed out after last night his bargaining position just got a whole lot stronger.
In general most of the athletes I’ve seen come out of Stanford ( Woods, Luck, Sherman, Mike Mussina, etc., etc. ) are not as stupid as you seem to think Morris is.
Hmm why fly green all the way to sit on the bench?
Has to be part of last year’s negotiation.
World Cup plus auto call up’s (Only to the full national team, no U20’s or U23’s evidently). Have to see how long the auto call up’s last.
This makes zero sense. Why would anybody want an “auto call up”, to use your language. Is it somehow good for Green’s CV to fly 5,000 miles and sit on the bench for an unsanctioned friendly?
Lol…can’t agree more.
Obviously, I was being partially sarcastic. But it is difficult to find reasoning for Green’s auto call ups at this point. Especially when he continually gets called in, yet can’t impress enough to earn time on the pitch even though he flew 5,000 miles to be there.
Frequent flyer miles!!!!!!!! Gotta keep your status.
That was a fun game to watch because the US was more carefree for many reasons. Gotta give props to Kyle B. He was a destroyer, frustrating Mexicans left and right. I hope his leg is ok.
Perry Kitchen did well filling in for Beckerman too. Another ‘Dos a Cero’ chant please.
Really enjoyed Alvarado’s and Mix Diskerud’s tackling tonight.
This was about the most listless Mexico team I’ve ever seen us play. They shouldn’t go home.
I know it was a weak team but Alvarado looked like the best partner I’ve seen for Gonzo in some time.
It seems like Gonzo felt free to roam up front knowing Alvarado and others would cover for him.A very assured performance by Gonzo.
+1 Seeing a lot of (very deserved) praise for Alverado on here but not enough props for Gonzo. He was rock solid, as well, with a couple of nice forays forward.
Gonzo has always been physically impressive for the USMNT and is able to win balls in the air. What he brought to this game was a much better sense of how to stay organized and avoid lapses that the opponents cold take advantage of.
He and Yedlin, who have played together before stayed on the same page, something that saved Yedlin a couple times (and Yedlin got back to back up Gonzo when Gonzo had to cover for him after one of Yedlin’s forward runs.)
Beckermann and later Kitchen did a good job of disrupting the central attack from Mexico, something that gave Alverado and Gonzo some time to keep the central defending mostly sorted out. Still there were at least two times when both of them marked the obvious central attacker and let a late runner come in uncovered. Those are the kinds of moments that a better team would have punished and we would be wondering about the ability of the US central defenders.
In back, I thought Shea did better than Garza at preventing service from the wings (I am not a Shea fan, but he did pretty well in this one.)
While it is always good to beat Mexico, especially 2-0, I’m more concerned about how well they played. Obviously you have to mention Morris and when he had his chance he buried it. What I like is that he wasn’t cowed by the situation and he looked/played like he belonged. While he wasn’t outstanding, he was certainly good enough to play in CONCACAF and that’s not bad for a college sophomore. Omar showed why he can be so valuable in the back. He cut out so many balls in the air I think that Mexico just stopped trying to play them anywhere near him. Alvarado was also solid; Besler may have to worry. I also liked that the US kept pressing all over the field, right up to the final minute. Another good feature was that when the US got the ball on a turn over, even way in the back, they played out of trouble instead of just booming it out, with a few exceptions, of course. Zardes also showed why he belongs on the field even if he doesn’t score. He is a real pest for the opponent and he made some excellent passes. One time he seemed to be pinned in at the sideline, was able to spin away enough to deliver a perfect cross field and forward pass to start another attack. And it was his inch perfect pass, beautifully controlled by Aguedelo, which set up the second goal. I think maybe the best feature is that enough players have played now for the national team and gotten exposure to the style JK wants, that he can plug somebody in and they are like another cog in the machine. Whoever is on the field, they are beginning to play like a team, not just a collection of players.
I was reading the other night about the unbeaten Arsenal team and, for those who remember I think that is how JK wants the US to play. For me, the biggest hing about that Arsenal team was how well they all played together. While they had some great players, the whole was greater than the sum of the parts. BTW, JK played for Wenger when Wenger was manager at Monaco and I think that is where JK got a lot of his coaching ideas/philosophy. A few months ago I was reading about when Wenger first arrived at Arsenal and the EPL still had mostly English managers and he was pretty unknown both to players and press. The first thing he did was to emphasize fitness and healthy eating. His players thought, what’s this crazy bloke doing telling me what to eat? Several rebelled at the beginning. Sound familiar?
I think you hit the nail on the head regarding Klinsmann’s system. I like what he is trying to do, and I think with a team of top class players, we’d see exactly what he’s doing. He wants players to be familiar with each other everywhere, slot in any time, and adjust on the fly. He’s trying to make a free-flowing machine that can improvise whenever, whether it’s formations, or switching players around. Unfortunately, we just don’t have the players to execute.
I think we’ve seen some atrocious soccer under Klinsmann, and some of the best soccer the US has ever played. We’ve seen periods of play that are very, very good. People seem to have short memories of 2013. Like it or not, he has delivered results when it matters, WC included (though we could have done better). Friendlies are only important if you look at what a team/coach GAINS and LEARNS from them.
Ooops, my bad. I see now that that long pass to Agudelo was from Bradley, not Zardes. I thought MB didn’t look that good in the first 45, but he certainly redeemed himself in the second half, especially with that pass.
Gary Page,
Gary Page,
I don’t know if you did but following JK as a player helped me understand quite a bit about his approach.
If you are interested , this old 2004 article might give you some insight and pertains to your comments.
http://www.theguardian.com/football/2004/mar/07/newsstory.sport9
Thanks, I had seen some of that information before, but not that particular article and it added some things that were new to me. Another thing that I think you need to consider when trying to understand Klinsmann is the German national character. You see a lot of stereotypes of Germans in JK’s behavior. Germans are known for their work ethic, their dedication to their task, and taking things very seriously. To Klinsmann, it is practically unthinkable that a professional soccer player doesn’t devote everything to his craft and to improving himself as much as possible. He combines that with the very American attitude of trying new approaches, being very pragmatic about how to get the job done and having a can do spirit.
I have been giving this matter some thought and at the risk of boring some people, will expound on it in the future. In short, a lot of great coaches don’t really focus on tactics, so that things like formations aren’t really important. Instead fundamentals, including conditioning, are where they put their emphasis. I think successful sports management can provide a good template for good management in general.
I don’t agree with you. Great coaches come n different molds. Whether tacticians (Guardiola) or man managers/motivators (Sir Alex).
I think what you will find is great coaches adapt to their environment or if they have the power, create it. When you are younger and less established you have to do a lot of it yourself but as you get more established that evolves.
You mentioned SAF. In his later years he was more of a CEO , the NFL model of offensive and defensive coordinators and the like where you delegate to a really great staff of assistants and set the environment for them to do their thing and help you succeed.
However, it is my understating that SAF had the final say on every detail. That is not true for everyone .
Increasingly guys like SAF and Wenger are becoming less common. JK has set himself up to be that kind of manager with the USMNT. That’s why he drove such a hard bargain with the USSF. Nice work if you can get it.
I thought Mix was fantastic tonight. He came in hard and fair a lot and was a calming influence. Was very impressed!!
He has improved a lot. Same skill on the ball but with added “nastiness.”
Agreed, he dealt with pressure better than he did a couple years ago.
Not sure how effective the Mexicans’ pressure was though since Bradley, who is not the best dribbler in tight spaces, also dealt with the pressure well, not just by passing, but by turning and dribbling. I guess we will see in June if the Netherlands and Germany use first team players and choose to pressure the midfield.
I think this was the quickest team we’ve had in a long time. The forwards constantly put pressures on the defense, Bradley and Mix were fantastic in the middle and the defense played solid for a change. Two B teams playing against each other ,a bad pitch, regardless. We won 2-0 in the game we needed to win. Well done fellas.
For some reason, Mexican fans post-game have downgraded themselves to a D team.
It was already happening during the game. But yes, hilarious. B
Well no matter what they say. An unpaid amateur scored on them sooooo. B or D or C… those guys are all pros.
Unless they mean their players grades? 😉
It’s amazing to me how quick they turn on their players.
You haven’t been here very often have you?
Outside 1 player in their defense, 10 of 11 starters had cumulative total of less than 50 caps (less than 5 caps a person). US midfield had lots of experience and defense had 2 guys with experience.
So, when counting caps, does the US get to eliminate their highest cap player? I mean come on, the US played Rimando (again) that’s like literally LITERALLY 1/2 a goalie. THE US played 10 and 1/2 vs.11. And really, who cares it was dominant, C or D team was wiped off the crumbling pitch.
The fact that a Morris & Zardes were given the start in this match and that Agudelo was the striker off the bench hopefully means that the last nail has been hammered into the coffin of Wondo’s USMNT career.
With Dempsey, Jozy, Johannsson, Rubin, Zardes, Agudelo, and Morris…There is no need to call on Wondo ever again. If we need to back fill for injury there are players waiting in the wings (Nagbe, Dwyer, Boyd, or Bunbury) while we wait to see who else from the youth ranks raise their stock enough to possibly be chosen for the USMNT.
HAPPY DAY FOR MANY OF US.
+1 <—–Not enough zeroes in all of recorded history to put behind this one. Thank God, Allah, Yhwh, Xenu, FSM, and whatever Wiccans worship that Wondo will never wear a USMNT jersey again.
That being said I'm sure he's a nice guy, great father etc. etc.
Until some US player(s) shows the ability to consistently score more goals in MLS than Wondo is at the timr, he will keep being called in.
Watch MLS and cheer for your favorite player with potential, but until Zardes and Agudelo start scoring more goals per game than Wondo, don’t expect Wondo to miss the Gold Cup (though at Wondo’s age, his run is likely coming to an end).
Using your logic…Wondo has 14 goals last year and Lee Nguyen bagged 18 and he can hardly get on the field. And yes, I know Nguyen is not a forward/striker.
Also the guy’s last name is now a verb used to describe anyone who misses a sitter from 6 feet out…
The big question: Is Morris going to show up to Psychology class tomorrow morning? Education always comes first, USMNT players.
HELLLLLLLLL NO.
Sorry, professor, I couldn’t get my paper done. I was busy scoring a goal against Mexico in front of 60,000 people on national television with the US National Soccer Team. I’ll try harder next time, I promise.
He can skip school and choose any girlfriend he wants.
Jordan Morris flat dustin’ fools out there. Nice finish on the goal. Overall, I like what I saw from that squad.
– B team, C team or bad pitch, doesn’t matter……We won the game.
– We scored 2 goals in a game and none of them where set pieces.
– Jordan Morris played against Liga MX professionals players and shined
– Bradley and Mix looked top shelf
– Yedlin was a beast on the wing in both LB and LM (both him and Morris made Mexico look slow….really slow)
– Zardes was a work horse all game long
– Not the Mexican A team and the pitch was horrible but we looked disciplined, tactically good and hungry.
Agreed. Zardes worked hard, but did not look up to the task.
I think Zardes is getting favorable look-sees from JK because of his work rate, he frequently made forays deep into the midfield to help defending and to move the ball and acted more like a withdrawn forward. Unfortunately his prodigious work rate often kept him out of position to go forward at for likely scoring ops. I hope everyone noticed that GZ was involved in both goals, On Agudelo’s goal, he smartly ran laterally away from Agudelo to draw out a defender and create some space for the shot, and of course the pass to Morris (deflected) for the first goal.
I hope someone give Jordan Morris a MAN-OF-THE-MATCH Award as BUDWEISER took theirs away from him. Apparently, the MOM was to be awarded to Morris but then rescinded as he was under age (under 21). Could it be that if you cant drink our beer (legally), you can’t win our award, or is it an NCAA rule, that would prohibit it.?
Why it was against Mexico in my, I mean his, first cap …
This was Morris’ second cap.
3rd Cap…..1st Start
When is Hat Trick Rick getting capped?
He’s be the best player on the team.
Rick is a Canadian dual national and has, sadly, declared for Canada
This Morris kid looked like a certain recently retired LA Galaxy player …
Who did Donovan score his first US goal against?
Uh, don’t remember, but I think they were wearing green.
lol, no, he really doesn’t.
both fast, both scored against mexico on debut vs. el tri, both receding hairlines at 20. 3/3
Donovan was probably faster tan Morris, but Morris is definitely more powerful and absorbs contact well. Only one match, but he doesn’t seem to get pushed off the ball easily. Crucial to maintaining the attack.
The current crop of young attacking prospects we have now can all run. I would argue that Donovan when he first broke in to the USMNT was as fast if not faster than the current crop. His speed and quickness was off the charts as a youth.
Donovan also had and always did have a wonderful touch on the ball. Several of the current prospects (Agudelo, Green) seem to have a great touch as well, while others not quite.
It will be fun watching the current crop of attackers develop and carve out games to fill the attacking spots that will be available in the new future.
I liked he work rate from the forwards, Morris, Zardes and Agudelo. I think lazy Antigoal is not needed anymore.
+1 Can’t wait till Boyd is back as well.
Comedic hyperbole, right?
I liked the work rate too, and the positioning, but I’m with DLOA here: you lose your point by being unnecessarily aggressive. Whether sarcastic or ignorant.
precisely. i agree about liking their work rate but casting aside a 25 year old player with 80+caps and 25 goals (regardless of his EPL career) is silly. perhaps in a few years things will progress to a loaded forward group, thus spreading the minutes out a little more than now but saying a player is all of a sudden “not needed” simply because a college player scored a good goal or because Juan scored is ridiculous hyperbole.
Morris is a blaze! Worth another call up.
Agudelo probably played himself back in the mix.
Agudelo always had his moments of flash, but in the past they were followed by long, long periods of nothingness. Hopefully he’s continuing to develop. If so, then I would agree he’s back in the mix. However, from what I saw in commentaries, the mix just got more crowded. Morris who? Even before he scored, it seems he had people gushing about him. And Zardes is for real, though he too seemingly still needs to develop toward international speed of play. Add in kids from Germany and Iceland, not to mention up and coming U.S. teenagers, and I’m not sure Agudelo is going to have many opportunities outside of occasional friendlies.
Agudelo’s touch to bring down the ball for his goal was the most sublime moment of the game. That’s the type of skill he has that keeps us wanting more. He’s only 22 so let’s hope he can become more consistent.
As much as I’ve liked the efforts and flashes of Zardes, Agudelo has similar speed and a better touch (Zardes has better hopps). Their both behind Dempsey, Jozy, & Johannson on the depth chart but in the 2nd Tier w/ Rubin and I’m now adding Morris. Once Boyd, Gyau, & Wood return from injury; and Dwyer & Nagbe get their citizenship there will be considerable options to chose from.
Best of all NO MORE WONDO.
We’ll see. One game is not enough to tell.
You had me until “Dwyer & Nagbe.” Either way, I’ll give you a +1.
I think Zardes is a tad faster than Agudelo, I think Agudelo is at the same speed as Johannssen
“Zardes is a tad faster than Agudelo”
Johann Cruyff once said some thing to the effect that:
“The faster player is the one who starts running first”.
What he meant of course was that if you recognized something developing before the other guy did it could go a long way to making up for any difference in your speed.
Zardes may indeed have a better 40 time than Agudelo but Juan has always impressed me in his ability to read the game better than most. Also his ball control is far superior to Zardes so he gains a lot of time that Zardes wastes trying to get the ball under control and going where he wants it to.
Zardes is a fine player and will get better in those areas but when Juan works at it, he is a superior player to Zardes.
I WAHCED GAME AND BERK SHEA STIL TO WILD LIKE COLT
GAME TOO WAS HIGH AND OMAR LICED FONDU
Inside voices please.
Was that a 3 Ninjas reference?
+1,000,000
Dos a Cero! Great stories with Morris and Agudelo, solid D from Omar and Alverado, Bradley was the best player on the field, lots of sustained effort. Great win!
I thought Jordan had a great game. But the Fox studio crew was more interested in the “sophomore” “Adam Morris” haha. Anyone else catch those errors?
No, I missed that.
I was more curious about Fox’s report that “Miguel Ibarra, a mexican dual national declared for the US”
Wasn’t Ibarra born in NYC and isn’t he of Puerto Rican descent?
Mexican parents, but yes, born in NYC.