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USMNT vs. Puerto Rico: Your Running Commentary

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

The U.S. Men’s National Team’s road to the Copa America begins in Puerto Rico on Sunday afternoon.

Featuring a squad comprised solely of European and Mexican-based players, the U.S. travels to Baymon to take on Puerto Rico in the first of three pre-Copa America friendlies (12 p.m., Fox Sports 1). With several regulars still with their club teams, the friendly presents Jurgen Klinsmann with a unique opportunity to get several new faces into the lineup.

One player set to make his USMNT debut is Paul Arriola, who has been named to Klinsmann’s starting XI alongside several USMNT regulars. Bobby Wood, John Brooks, Brad Guzan, Alejandro Bedoya, Perry Kitchen, Michael Orozco and DeAndre Yedlin also join the lineup after being named to Klinsmann’s Copa America squad on Saturday afternoon.

The day could also see debuts for Amando Moreno, Fabrice Picault, Caleb Stanko, and Zach Steffen, each of whom is joining the U.S. for their first senior team camp.

If you will be watching today’s soccer, please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below.

Enjoy the action.

Comments

    • I didn’t really expect to get any hot takes or deep insights from this game. Poor field, poor opponent, atypical line-up besides the back four…eh, good warm up.

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      • Green looked more dynamic to me but Paul did enough of the right things over 90 minutes to earn MOTM although as I said in the other thread that’s more about a blah match than really distinguishing himself.

      • FWIW – I prefer this discourse between you guys over the previous. Thanks for discussing the game. I learn from just about everyone on the board, you guys included. It is good to hear different views so I can decide that I think Bryan is wrong 😉

      • Green looked better, but Arriola got the results. If Arriola plays out wide he may have done better, too with more time and space. If he hits that backheel between the defenders legs a fraction softer, he’s an internet hero and screamed about why doesn’t get call ups. The internet it loves the flash.

  1. Funny, and disheartening, to see some of these guys try to take somebody one on one. We still lack the most basic of skills.

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  2. How does Puerto Rico have their own soccer team again? They fight in our military but can’t vote? This situation is so weird it pisses me off. Seems like a simple fix, make them a state or give them independence.

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  3. Is the camera guy on his phone? He seems to lose track of the ball at times, I do not even think there is footage of Ream scoring his goal.

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  4. Ah, yes. Let’s take a moment to appreciate the greatness that has been bestowed upon us again. Gather your family, gather your friends and gather thy neighbor.

    Julian Green has returned from his two year pilgrimage: For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.

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  5. Congrats to Arriola on his first senior NATS team goal. Of course has not been sharp, decisive in his first start, yet no doubt he has impacted the play. Definitely good signs.

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  6. Arrival finishes a simple play. Bedoya’s run vital, and the pass to put him behind deserves the recognition. But, no one remembers that other stuff if the ball doesn’t end up in the net. Well done.

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  7. Watching this team labor to results against competition is really just not much fun. Hopefully some of the subs can break down the defense a little bit.

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  8. Yedlin is an important attacking piece, but we shouldn’t be running every attack through him. Bedoya with a couple really bad turn overs.

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    • You cant manufacture competitive intensity. They know they’re facing an inferior opponent and they are letting off. Remember when we miraculously came back against the Dutch and the Germans a while back? Do you think they panicked after getting scored on and beaten by the lowly US?

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  9. Tim Ream is not an international fullback. Looks like a weak link on the pitch (and backline) against…Puerto Rico.

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    • Well, he isn’t an attacking LB, more if a stay at home defensive LB so if that’s what your getting at then you’re right! The 3 d mid midfield didn’t work either, again for the umpteenth time, so it’s no wonder everyone looks ragged from the start

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    • How would that not be tied to positional awareness? Your position is more than where you stand. You should know based on your position where the attack moves relative to you and where your teammates are and will be.

      As much as we make about players being out of position, it really comes down to putting players where they are comfortable. Any player can play multiple positions, but where are they BEST suited? Where do they see the most game experience?

      Klinsmann has said point blank that he likes to move players for the sole purpose of making them uncomfortable. It’s no surprise we see a common theme of players looking unsure of themselves.

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  10. Williams is sitting deep centrally. Morales on the left and kitchen on the left but they seem to be starting wide and tucking in. Also they have both been covering when the cdm moves up in the attack. It’s less of a 442 diamond and more of a flat 433 with skinny mids and overlapping fullbacks.

    Interesting few plays, ream runs into morales trying to defend. Then 2 plays later morales with a good long shot parried away where somehow ream smashes in the rebound

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  11. 3 D mids against the all mighty Puerto Rico, just the way I drew it up. We cannot have Jeremy Hall going off on us.

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    • Extra D-mids are cover for Yedlin and Ream getting forward at the same time.

      As much as people want to make the sport about finesse, it is at its tactical heart a game about numbers. If we went with the standard 1 holding midfielder and committed both fullbacks to attack for width, we leave ourselves 3 or fewer at the back on a counter. As much as we lose the ball in the middle third, this would be a disaster without a little extra defensive discipline in the midfield.

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  12. Can someone who is watching please fill me in on the midfield set-up? A couple sites are listing it as a flat 4 with Kitchen wide right and Morales wide left.

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    • Looks like a 4-5-1 to me with 3 d-mids as a base (and) as DLOA commented, a 433 when we break into attacking sequence.

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