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Trinidad & Tobago 2, USMNT 1: The SBI Breakdown

 

Doomsday.

Tuesday night was the worst night in U.S. Men’s National Team history. There are no two ways about it. The USMNT failed in every way on Tuesday night in Trinidad & Tobago, and the program has been set back because of it.

It’s not just the World Cup, but also the missed opportunity. When next summer rolls around and the game captivates audiences all throughout the world, the U.S. won’t be there. That’s a failure from top to bottom.

That failure didn’t begin on Tuesday, but it certainly did end on Tuesday as the U.S. botched a chance at Russia.

Here’s a closer look at the big takeaways from Tuesday’s match:

 

LINEUP CHOICES DOOM USMNT

Bruce Arena wanted continuity with his USMNT lineup. It wasn’t the right choice.

After playing a tough 90 minutes against Panama on Friday, the U.S. lineup was unchanged heading just days later against T&T. It was a decision that was one of the big mistakes on the day as the U.S. looked slow from the onset.

It wasn’t just the tired legs, though. In a match the USMNT needed a draw, the team emerged with no midfield cover for Michael Bradley. Look at the spacing on the second goal. That doesn’t happen with bodies in the middle.

That all falls on Arena, whose tactics were damning on Tuesday.

PULISIC LONE BRIGHT SPOT

The USMNT’s youngest star was the only one who showed up on Tuesday.

Say what you want about the rest of the team, but Christian Pulisic came to play. He provided energy and he provided the goal that brought the USMNT one step closer. Was he as good as he was against Panama? No, but he was one of the only USMNT players that provided much of anything.

In a match loaded with USMNT veterans, Pulisic was the brightest spot. Clint Dempsey had a few moments, sure, but if there was ever going to be a magic moment, it was going to come from Pulisic. Jozy Altidore and Bobby Wood were invisible. Darlington Nagbe was awful. Paul Arriola was invisible.

Pulisic will get another chance at this. He’s just 19. The rest of the team should look in the mirror and realize their chance may just be over.

USMNT DEFENSE FAILS

Omar Gonzalez and Matt Besler have played in many big games. They simply didn’t get it done on Tuesday.

Gonzalez’s own goal was the nightmare start and one of several brutal moments from the Pachuca defender scattered throughout the qualifying cycle. He could have conceded a penalty just moments later and he looked several steps slow for all 90 minutes.

Besler wasn’t as bad, but he certainly wasn’t as good. Tim Howard was routinely left out to dry after making saves as no one in the U.S. defense even bothered hustling back to make clearances. That’s on Besler, Gonzalez, DeAndre Yedlin and Jorge Villafana, and that’s inexcusable.

Would Geoff Cameron have made a difference? Was it tired minds, tired legs or just a lack of effort? Who knows, but it wasn’t good enough for T&T, let alone a World Cup.

CREDIT TO T&T

T&T had nothing on the line on Tuesday. They were in a small stadium with few fans, a wet field and zero hope of World Cup qualification.

They played like their lives depended on it.

Alvin Jones didn’t play like a player with nothing on the line. Neither did Shahdon Winchester. Adrian Foncette’s four saves were made as if T&T needed a win more than anything in the world.

For as bad as the USMNT was, you have to give credit to a T&T team that did something special on Tuesday. At the end of the day, T&T played like they cared, and that’s more than you can say for the USMNT.

NOW WHAT?

That’s the big question, right?

A lot will be said and written in the coming days. It’s inevitable. Criticism is coming, and changes are likely to come with it.

Bruce Arena is finished as USMNT manager. U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati may very well join him come election time. Several players on the field may never dress for the U.S., and maybe they shouldn’t. Expect at least some sort of overhaul. It’s time.

Over the next few days, months and years, changes will come to American soccer, for better or worse. Tuesday night was the knockout punch, but there have been plenty of blows over the past few years.

Now what?

Comments

  1. MLS is 100% behind the CONCACAF talent resurgence. The rest of the region is benefiting more than the US is right now. Does limiting foreigners help? Maybe – it looks like it’s worked for Mexico.

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  2. This is like the death penalty in other sports where you are shut down for several years. I keep thinking I am going to wake up

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  3. Last nights results have completely ruined my day. I can’t imagine how bad the players must feel. I know they wanted to win, but wow did they come out flat last night. And then lacked leadership to push for more urgency. That part is still hard to understand. What a tough way for the core players to go out, I do feel for them. And Arena, who took US Soccer to another level in his first stint. But I agree with most that it’s time to start over. I am not a reactionist, but it’s clearly time to change management, spend some time finding the right head coach, then begin rebuilding around Pulisic, Yedlin, and the youth players.

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  4. The only way to save US Soccer is for MLS limiting foreign players to 4 per team and 3 on the field. We are not England, we are not Germany. Instead we are developing, strengthening and polishing in our own league the players who later beat us in CONCACAF.

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  5. Critiques seem pointless. The results speak for themselves. Everyone involved in management should be out and anyone older than 24 shouldn’t be a regular player anymore. US actually has a chance now to build a young team together. Results are meaningless for years. If they get it right, 2022 might be special. If they get it wrong, it will be another decade of futility.

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  6. Some if the overseas players or players who had a chance to go overseas after the WC didn’t help themselves playing in the MLS. The attitude and commitment shows. 0 fight for your position each week. Great for the league terrible for US.

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  7. I never want to see Bradley or Howard in any games again, not even in some send off. Still, watch, American soccer writing for the apologetics surrounding Bradley and Howard and it as close to mass idiocy as one can get.

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    • Can’t understand the lack of criticism for Howard. As good as he’s been, one of his biggest weakness is he panics when something unexpected happens. He absolutely could’ve saved the own goal, but he froze in place and then jumped way too early. He was on his way down when the ball passed his hand. I don’t think he was blameless on the second goal either. His vision wasn’t blocked on the shot at all, and yet it took him forever to move.

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  8. I agree that Arena made very bad choice selections during his stint. How the heck does the US beat Honduras 6-0 and then ties them 1-1, barely? Then they blast Panama just to lose to T&T. One can see the talent when the team is playing well; it is perplexing how lethargic their play can be at times, especially on the road. Arena was just horrible in his selections, leaving inform European based players off the roster. I said from the start that Gonzalez was a horrible choice to start then here comes the own goal. Then we see Howard frozen on the second goal. How the heck does any goalkeeper let that get in? Johnson or Hamid would have stopped that. Let’s see if Cropper can develop or someone else in the next 5 years. He would be 29 by 2020. I still think if the US would have qualified that there would have been time to get it right but not with Arena, there. He was the wrong guy to replace JK. Now, we will have to wait around 5 years. What a pity.

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  9. Gulati is #1 to blame. Lack proper preparation, not programming enough friendlies for both Senior & Youth, focus too worry much on females & mexico friendlies.

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  10. Several players played very poorly tonight, but Altidore is consistently horrible. He lost so many 50/50 challenges, never fought hard for the ball, never won headers, had no presence of mind in the box, and worst of all played with zero heart. Please say ALTIDORE IS DONE.

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  11. Nagbe had the ball at his feet in space after having taken 2 touches, Pulisic made a run and wa so pen to be in on goal, nagbe took 2 more touches and wasted the run instead of passin to Pulisic. Nagbe does stuff like tag constantly.

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  12. Let’s all admit now that Arena was a terrible choice and he does deserve a lot of the blame. His lineup choice for T&T was terrible and adjustments didn’t work. Red flags should have been not even calling into camp Bundesliga starters. Benching an EPL starter in favor of “his guy” OG. Ignoring JJ despite his experience. Contradicting himself with how he made roster call-ups
    As far as players go…
    Jozy: is a truly limited player- should not be a key piece going forward. I would be happy to not see him again, but given our limited striker pool, I doubt that.
    MB90: Can we all admit that he is just an average MLS center mid? At one point he seemed to have a higher ceiling when yonuger in Italy, but now he is just not that good. So what he has is his “leadership” which helped us how? Nagbe is also a limited player like Jozy (but in different way) and let’s accept that he is not going to be the answer, but can do some things well in the right situation. Howard, Dempsey- time to retire from international play.

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  13. I think the big question is around guys like Nagbe. He is 27 will be 32 the next WC. Probably not going to Europe at this point. Do you keep building around a piece like this? I understand you can’t completely clean house but , I don’t know.

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    • It’s not about building a team. The players can play. They develop on their club team. This is not a franchise, it’s the national team. Play the best players or combination thereof. Do not keep guys around because you want the team to revolve around them. Guys get hurt. Some guys breakout like Pulisic. You play your best. STOP TALKING ABOUT WHO TO BUILD THE TEAM AROUND.

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    • No, i hate to say it for Nagbe, but this was his chance. It’s gone, goodbye. Basically Pusilic and Yedlin, maybe Arriola, and no one else should survive this debacle going forward but of course, we will have to be subject to the same stupid idea from the writers about who deserves what

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      • Ben, I agree with you that Pulisic, Yedlin and Arriola are about the only players that should be moving forward from this debacle, but I would also put Wood in there. I think he deserves a chance to see what he could do without being chained to Jozy. Wood can operate very effectively if he has space, but instead of surrounding him with guys that can create space for him, he has always had to figure out how to coexist with a guy who takes space away from him.

  14. Howard was a clear weakness but so was Bradley, for almost anyone with eyes, yet still the soccer writers of the USA will praise Bradley for running, not that it did anything; they will praise him for passing; even though many passes ended up on the feet of other teams

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  15. Johnnyrazor – I agree about his father’s son, but that demeanor is not what we need as a captain. Sometimes you have to get pissed, get in someone’s face, and call out bad attitudes in ways that makes it clear what he expects from his team. As for on the pitch, he did not have help. Acosta and Bedoya would have been better choices, I am not a fan of Nagbe’s game at this level. I am not saying it is all on MB, but I hold the captain responsible when the team is this flat and uninspired.

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  16. Goalkeeping has been a clear weakness for this team over the past 2 years, starting with Guzan’s shaky 2015 Gold Cup and continuing this year with the MLS version of Tim Howard. Horvath is starting in Champions League games, yet he’s considered not ready for even a call up because he’s 22 years old? Funny, Peru is still alive in the World Cup with a 19 year old keeper.

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    • Great goal keeping is something the US just took for granted after decades of succession in Meola, Freidal, Keller, and then Howard. You take that away and maybe this is who we are.

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    • Regarding goalkeepers, Yarbrough is playing every week in Mexico and he’s still young, but has experience. He should get another look. Atlanta FC coach Martino looks like a good choice to replace Arena, who had one job and failed it miserably. Get a good new coach in the next couple of months so that he can begin rebuilding this team right away.

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  17. Who cares about Bradley? Not even worth the breathe at this point. His time is over. He was the Villán, he wasn’t supported. Just doesn’t matter. Time to move on.

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    • I was going to say the same. Bradley is 30 and will be 35 at the next World Cup. It is what it is at this point, of coarse the team is moving on. Not sure if people understand the next World Cup is so far away now.

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  18. It’s past time to stop making excuses for Michael Bradley. He doesn’t like the coach… he’s not really a #10… he’s not really a #8… he can’t be effective with Jermaine Jones next to him… he’s not really a #6, give him some help…

    I admired Bradley’s play back in 2013 but it’s time for everyone to admit that he has not been anywhere close to good over the past 3 years. This was his era to lead on and off the field and he failed dramatically and repeatedly on both counts.

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    • honestly, i don’t ‘blame’ bradley, but its clear he can’t keep up with moderate speed, and speed is everything in Concacaf, so the whole idea of letting Bradley do anything needs to stop

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  19. I agree with N-Whit, not enough blame right now is going to MB. His relaxed attitude before, during, and after games has been a huge detriment to this team. The “leaders” of this team took everything for granted, no matter how well rehearsed their post game comments were about respecting the other team and the passion to play for the USA, I did not see anywhere near enough of the real thing out there! So sad to see, I miss the old days where the players were not as good but the team was much, much better!

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    • Reply to Jonathan Gilbert
      Bradley is his father’s son, from his demeanor on the field to his interviews. As far as on the field tonight he was set up to fail. TNT watched film and learned from Panama’s mistakes. The US ignored their own mistakes. Although not an all out bunker job TnT kept numbers back to stop the quick US transition game. While attacking the US weakness the vast space between Pulisic and Bradley. On Friday the US adjusted moving Nagbe more inside and subbing on McCarty. Tonight Bradley got no help Nage and Arriola were absent and Bradley simply could not cover the huge section of pitch he was expected to no one on the US extended roster could have.

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  20. It’s time to clean house:
    1) Sunil Gulati should resign. He’s been one of the largest contributors to USSF’s failures this cycle.
    2) Turn the player pool over. USMNT has ZERO competitive matches until the summer of 2019 (Gold Cup). It’s time to overhaul this team. All the pool regulars besides; Pulisic, Wood, Morris, Acosta, Yedlin, & Brooks should be held out for at least a year. Many regulars should never ware the jersey again (Howard, Rimando, Omar, Besler, Ream, Beasley, Zusi, Bedoya, Dempsey, Wondo). It’s time to push the youngsters into the team and see who can rise to the challenge.
    3) Interim/New Coach needs to be someone fresh….not a retread (Bradley, Arena, Ramos, etc…). It needs to be someone who is technical, tactical, and will bring fresh ideas. I don’t expect a new, full time, manager to be selected until after the 2018 WC ends.

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  21. I hope we still schedule November friendlies, hopefully in Europe, bring in an MLS light line-up (so we don’t affect playoffs). I think the only way around Arena continuing through next Summer is Tab as a caretaker, he knows the younger players better than anyone. If we can’t get this done for November, March should be in Europe. January for the MLSers. Get the new manager next July when a full range is available.

    GKs
    Horvath, Hamid

    Defenders
    Miazga, Yedlin, Cameron, Brooks, Lichaj, Chandler, Carter Vickers

    Midfield
    Williams, Pulisic, Hyndman, McKennie, Green, Johnson, Stanko, Gyau, Canouse, Morales, Arriola, Gooch

    Forwards
    AJ, Wright, Sargeant (why not if U17WC is over) Boyd, Gall

    —————–Wright————————
    —————-Pulisic————————-
    Green——————————Gooch–
    ———–Williams—McKennie———–
    Lichaj–Brooks—Miazga——Yedlin—

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    • Sorry johnnyrazor….Cameron, Chandler, Lichaj, Williams, Fabian, AJ, Boyd, etc…. are basically done with the USMNT. We have 4 1/2 yrs to build a squad….there is no reason to bring in anyone who’s going to be too old to contribute in 2022. Lets not repeat the same mistakes again…wasting roster spots on players already in their 30’s (or close to it).

      With the way the points system works there’s no chance in hell we’ll get a seed after missing the previous WC….so start building the team now with U24s (take some lumps) and find the best 30 (or so) players who’ll be able to contribute 2 yrs from now when we start playing competitive matches again.

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      • Reply to Lost
        I understand that but you need somebody to fill the roster with if you are playing these in November and most of MLS will be in playoffs. Also, I didn’t want to look up who would likely be knocked out after round one and available. I knew DCU would be available but didn’t really look at others.

  22. Don’t blame Arena?! He deserves as much blame anyone else. Pulisc stays. Burn the rest to the ground. From the top management on down.

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  23. To blame Arena is just dumb. The players couldn’t get up for a World Cup qualifier. Get college players out there, they will sprint for 90 mins of intense soccer. Not this team, I don’t think half the players sprinted even once.
    Closing down quickly? Too much effort.

    Then to give Pulisic credit because he wasnt as unmotivated as others?

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    • Reply to Quit Whining
      Arena deserves some blame for putting tired legs out there on three days rest in a formation that spread the midfield and thus made Bradley have to cover the middle half of the field all by himself. His haphazard adjustments showed that he had never considered that he might at some point need a goal let alone two. Plenty of blame to go around, but Arena lined them up and failed to make adjustments.

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  24. Words don’t suffice to describe range of emotions US fans are experiencing at the moment–from disappointment to anger to embarrassment. For me, the worst part about all of this is the entitled and indifferent attitude exhibited by our “leaders” throughout this round of qualifying. After each disappointing result, MB would chalk it up to CONCACAF qualifying or brush off legitimate criticism (from Alexi Lalas of all people) by curtly saying everyone has an opinion. Word to MB, you aren’t a world beater, never have been and never will be. Where was the accountability? And, I’m not just talking about accountability in post-game interviews, but on the field. The play was heartless. Twellman got it right. US soccer needs to wake up, because it has turned into one big incestual, circle-jerk where the “coach’s son” is untouchable no matter how may eggs he lays and Il Bruce is so damn smug he can’t stop sniffing his own farts. You all are a disgrace.

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