It wasn’t the prettiest performance in U.S. Men’s National Team history, but there were plenty of positive moments on Tuesday night in what ended up as a USMNT win.
Bobby Wood scored a penalty kick just before the halftime whistle in what ended up as a 1-0 win for the USMNT in North Carolina. The performance was a complete one from the U.S., who controlled possession and tempo throughout against a veteran Paraguay side.
After a rocky first half, Wood put an exclamation point on what was an overall solid 45 from the USMNT. On the end of a pass from Marky Delgado, Tyler Adams’ broke loose on a long-distance run that left him one-on-one with Paraguay goalkeeper Gatito Fernandez. Adams’ attempt to round Fernandez saw the midfielder chopped down for a penalty kick, and Wood stepped up to score a confidence-boosting goal from the spot to give the USMNT the lead heading into the half.
Throughout the first half, the U.S. was the more effective of the two sides, keeping possession for long spells. The left side duo of Kenny Saief and Jorge Villafana was certainly the most active, combining a number of times to lead attacks down the wing. Saeif was particularly active, and saw a 16th minute shot blocked and cleared off the line on one of the USMNT’s better chances.
Paraguay, meanwhile, was held relatively quiet by the USMNT’s midfield trio. Adams, Wil Trapp and Marky Delgado kept Atlanta United playmaker Miguel Almiron in check, while Cameron Carter-Vickers and Matt Miazga combined to handle a number of nervy moments in the attack.
The second half was a physical affair with a total of three yellow cards handed out, two of which went to Paraguay. In terms of play, though, the U.S. retained a bulk of the possession and control of the match.
Eventually, Rubio Rubin joined the fray while Andrija Novakovich followed soon after. In the game’s waning moments, Tim Weah also earned his UMSNT debut. Weah, Novakovich and Delgado all earned their first USMNT caps in the victory.
Next up for the USMNT is a May 28 match with Bolivia before June visits to Ireland and France.
Will Trap,23,marky Delgado 21,and tiler Adams 19 .soon wil be playing in europe,i don know what club,but they are fast,look like they have an engine.
Marky Delgado who is only american as he said, is a young veteran played at 16 whit Chivas Usa,and others clubs now whit Toronto FC,and Tyler Adams,looks like Michael Bradley,when this player was 24 years old,fast and very inteligent,Bradley always scored
to México about three times,here is the trio Trapp,Delgado and the prospect Tyler Adams
now more fans will go to see this new USAMNT,because is better than many countries that
will go Rusia
I was happy to see what is likely to become a stable back line. Of course, near the end that group was exposed a bit and a better opponent may well have scored from those chances. It is nice that the US got the victory, but I do not really think these guys are really ready for stronger opponents yet.
I hope they will improve and when Pulisic and Weston join the group, it will be stronger. Brooks needs to stop being injured and the US still needs to find a more permanent answer at left back, I don’t think Vilafana is athletic enough to handle quality international forwards consistently, his skill and smarts help him, but that is not enough when someone can simply beat you to the ball.
No goals from the run of play is troubling; hopefully Pulisic and someone else will help with that. Unlike others here, I remain skeptical that any of the young forwards are ready to replace Altidore as a clearly better option. Of course, like Brooks, Altidore needs to remain injury free.
Goal or not goal Bobby Wood still sucks. If his name was John Smith playing in mls he would never be even considered for the national team. He makes Altidore look like Drogba.
LOL…..OH MY GOODNESS ROB YOU ARE KILLING ME MAN!!!! 😀 😀 😀 😀
It was a friendly. It served its purpose to get young guys international minutes. A win is always nice but games like this are for development more than anything else. I saw some flashes of good play, I saw times when the flow was not there. I am not hitting any panic buttons nor am I euphoric.
Somebody still needs to explain to me what is the logic of calling in any player who had anything to do with the last cycle? I don’t get it. Not saying never bring them back but now isn’t the time.
because you don’t integrate young players into the senior team by just calling in the young players. There has to be a process, and that is by mixing veterans with the younger options so the “kids” don’t get too overwhelmed and lose confidence from jump street! It was said the Weah came in and was super nervous, which was to be expected, but all the same this is the reason you don’t play 11 young players on the field at one time!
Because players can only do their own job they cannot play for everyone else. Do you want to stop calling Pulisic he played in every game during the hex should we throw him out?
Since I haven’t seen anyone mention it, it is worth noting that Paraguay should have had at least 1 re4d card and maybe 2. When the GK took out Adams, as the last man, that’s a textbook definition of a red card. Refs understandably don’t like to give out reds for friendlies since the point of the game is to give the teams practice. Also, the guy who made the studs up tackle for Paraguay might have gotten a red card in a meaningful game. You could tell the US frustrated Paraguay and that is a good thing.
I give credit to Dave Sarachan for the job he is doing under no-win circumstances with a massive cloud hanging over him. To a man, the guys were up for it AND managed to play with some semblance of organization. He has given opportunities to many emerging guys and they look like they really want to be there. Whoever takes over as the proper head coach can’t complain about the job he has done to leave a pulse on the cadaver of the USMNT.
Usmnt has a friendly and we can’t sell out Cary, NC stadium.
Mexico pretty much sells out AT&T stadium.
Understand the difference of importance of games, but still.
If Cary had a dome it probably would have sold the extra 1,000 tickets.
Overall a nice performance considering the top 2 youngsters were not available. Clearly, Sarachen was playing for the win so the uncapped guys didn’t get many minutes and none of the defensive bench players were subbed in. Weah looks like he’s made huge strides since the U17 WC, Novakovich was a little timid, but you saw that burst that almost got him a late goal. Trapp and Adams did well. CCV, Miazga, and Steffen seem very comfortable together.
USMNT – (BRADLEY + ALTIDORE + DEMPSEY + HOWARD) = good soccer
Don’t know the last time the USMNT played:
and I wasn’t worried about a counterattack
and there was “speed” all around, ESPECIALLY in MF
and every player chased down the opponent / won the ball in 1 v 1
nice
#FEARLESS!!!!!
Did you notice that the midfield that was instrumental to dominating the game was all MLS players? Meanwhile, the player that struggled the most plays in the Bundesliga. So much for your theory that any play in Bundesliga (or even 2 Bundesliga) is better than his MLS counterpart… Or do you think that a Morales/Williams tandem would have been better than Adams/Trapp/Delgado in the middle?
This was a totally meaningless friendly against another non qualifier who didn’t bring all their best. One should be cautious about reaching any conclusions based on a game like this.
Don Lamb
think of it this way…..age, pace and tenacity were the factors
So, if Adams/Trapp/Delgado played this good and organized (with Wood up top), imagine what Weah/McKinnie/keaton/Pulisic midfield with Julian green up top would have done.
Look how good Miazga and CCV were (Higher level of soccer IQ). They totally blocked out and neutralized Miguel Almirón.
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Young players don’t mind running, chasing and breaking up plays. Older players in top clubs are all about positioning, spacing, knowing your responsibilities and being where you are suppose to be
Example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfN3Nmiea7I
(older players in MLS do the same WITHOUT THE QUALITY 😀 and just jog all game). Mix that with young players that are still learning their positions and you’ll have a disaster.
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Example, the advice Kljestan had for Adams (HIS MENTOR at the time) resist the urge to run to the ball…sometimes the further away you are the more space you create and the better it is
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If you look at these young players there is no EGO. If they lose the ball or a teammate loses the ball, they all track back HARD. And Adams/Trapp/Delgado without a doubt showed they have what it takes to leave MLS and play in better leagues, hands down
To your question – do I think that a Morales/Williams tandem would have been better than Adams/Trapp/Delgado in the middle? Honestly I don’t think so, but Bundesliga II and Championship leagues are hands down better than MLS.
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MLS is catching up with Liga MX, fast and some MLS teams knocked out some of the best Liga MX teams, but Liga MX is CURRENTLY a better league as a whole than MLS.
@bizzy – Yes, Carleton and Adams are clearly better players than Weah. How much have you even watched of any of these players? You are making sweeping generalizations about players based on the league that they play in, which is stupid.
Putting Weah in the group of players who should be contributing right now is going WAY over the top and exposes your flawed logic. Despite his token appearances for PSG in meaningless games and time in Europe, he is nowhere near the level of, say, Adams or even Carleton (at this point in his career). Face it — MLS is starting to produce some young players. MLS can be a great place for young players to develop.
“Despite his token appearances for PSG in meaningless games and time in Europe, he is nowhere near the level of, say, Adams or even Carleton”
hahahahahahah…..ok this is were I know you know nothing about soccer…..hahahahahahaha good luck buddy
@bizzy – Did you follow the last U17 cycle? If you have actually watched Carleton and Weah play, there is no way you could say that Weah is the better player. Of course, if you just look at the teams that they play on, you could come up with all sorts of ignorant assumptions…
Don Lamb
are you seriously that clueless?
Do you serious want to argue that
1. MLS is a better league than Bundesliga II and Championship league
2. That Adams and Carleton are playing at a higher level than Weah BECAUSE OF U-17?
Hahahahahahaha…..your logic and views are comical. So, according to your logic, Freddy Adu is a better player than Altidore because of how they played coming up the youth ranks? hahahahahahaha……listen to yourself!!!!
What you can do in FIFA18 is different from what the players are actually capable of doing in real life. So put down the controller and research a little (meaning read 🙂 ), I can’t water it down for you any further
“if you just look at the teams that they play on, you could come up with all sorts of ignorant assumptions…”
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMeDp0bE2nI
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Don Lamb
one more thing, like you a lot of people like you or with your ignorant mindset were comparing Adu to Messi…..hahahahaha, but Messi plays in Barcelona FC and Adu plays off the bench for Las Vegas Lights FC for a reason.
(sorry Freddy)
@bizzy – Yes, Carleton and Adams are clearly better players than Weah. How much have you even watched of any of these players? You are making sweeping generalizations about players based on the league that they play in, which is stupid.
@Don Lamb
Carleton and Adams are clearly better?? How? Lol, What have they done or where have they played? and please don’t say U-17 or U-20 or I will throw freddy adu at you again (which hurts me to do so). If they were that good they would have been playing in Europe, them would have been scooped up by a top youth academy or they would have been sort after by top clubs and I agree they need games like this for exposure but they had the whole tournament to showcase their talent…..and yet Weah has played for the first team of PSG while Carleton and Adams are in MLS (maybe not for long but still in MLS). So I think the stupidity is at your door step cal
“Carleton and Adams are clearly better?? How?” If you would watch them play, it’s actually very obvious…
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“freddy adu…” whatever dude
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“If they were that good they would have been playing in Europe” This is a huge flaw in your logic.
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“Weah has played for the first team of PSG while Carleton and Adams are in MLS” I’m not even sure you can call the minutes that Weah has gotten first team minutes. He is a LONG way from playing meaningful minutes at PSG. Adams, meanwhile, is quickly becoming the centerpiece of a good NYRB team. Carleton has more to prove but when he and Weah were on the same team over the last two years, Carleton was the star (maybe even more so than Sargent), while Weah was mostly not even a starter.
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You cannot simply go by waht league players are in to determine who’s who…
@Don Lamb
“You cannot simply go by what league players are in to determine who’s who…”
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hahahahahahaha……so Altidore is better than Lukaku, or Bradley is better than Fabregas or Xavi, or maybe Dempsey and courtinho? hahahahahaha….YES IT DOES GENIUS 😀 (not 100% of the time but 98% – 99% of the time)
That is the entitled mentality that kept us out of the world cup in the first place….thinking that you are better than you really are
The depth of your conlcusions is extremely shallow. Are you saying that when Altidore was playing in the Prem that he was better than any player playing in North America, but then when he came to MLS he became worse than every player in Europe? Or that Brek Shea, for a brief moment in time, was better than any player in North America? That Carlos Vela, Giovinco, Lodeiro, Villa, etc. have all of a sudden lost their quality now that they are playing in MLS? That young South American prospects that are coming to MLS are actually no good, but then if they are signed to a team in a Euro league that they will all of a sudden be great? The logic simply makes no sense. You have to watch players to see how good they are, and you clearly have not watched much.
@Don Lamb
“Altidore was playing in the EPL that he was better than any player playing in North America, but then when he came to MLS he became worse than every player in Europe?” first of all Altidore sucked from the jump hahahahahaha 😀 and the club you play for matters
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It shows your lack of soccer IQ but I have ideal time, you can’t isolate individual players, because you have to collectively analyze the talent level. Think about it once the player out grows a league like MLS why does he go to the next level of development in Europe. Then if that same player can’t maintain that level they ride pine or comeback to MLS…hmmm .
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You are ignorant to bring up a conversation that ALL PLAYERS in Europe are better than ALL PLAYERS in MLS….hahahahahaha. To match that stupidity is like saying ALL PH. D students are smarter than ALL Bachelor students. Anyone with a little logic would understand that although a PH. D is a higher level than a Bachelor’s degree that is still not ALWAYS the case. (e.g Sebastian Giovinco!!!!!!!)
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In Europe, like Rob Moore so eloquently put it, soccer is played at a higher level both technically and tactically. Observation, Orientation, decision making and actions has to be quick, fluent, in sync and trained to be a reflect action. The faster these traits are the better the athlete or player. In Europe, the environment is built to compete and you have to prove your ability day in day out and maintain that sharpness to be on team let a lot the starting 11. There is marginal room for error, not like in MLS. That’s why If you can make it, you prosper, if you cannot, you end up with the retirees back in MLS.
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Step it up a little Cal. This should be a discussion to gain knowledge not a place to lose brain cells hahahahahahaha 😀
Did Altidore suck when he was absolutely tearing up the Dutch league for two seasons? According you, Jozy’s progression as a player started with him sucking really bad (NYRB), then becoming really good (Villareal), then becoming decent (Xeres), then really really good (Hull), back to decent (Bursaspor), then becoming pretty good again (AZ), then being great (Sunderland), and then back to sucking again (TFC). Reality would suggest that he mostly grew as a player over this time even though he had some peaks and valleys, not that his value and ability as a player jumped drastically every time he switched leagues.
@Don Lamb
Oh one more thing, that’s why players like Diego Valeri (Argentina), Sebastian Giovinco (Italy), David Villa (Spain), Bradley Wright Phillips (England) etc can DOMINATE MLS but are not even considered or even in the conversation for the national team of their respective countries. According to your logic did Villa just lose his tenacity or Giovinco lose his abilities? Did they just forget to play soccer? hahahahahaha…nope, they joined MLS 😀
@Don Lamb
Ok, lets dwell on Altidore. He sucked at Villarreal (hhhmmm….I wonder why La Liga), he sucked at Xerez, he sucked at Hull City (Hmm…I wonder why an EPL team maybe), he sucked at Bursaspor (loan), he tore it up in AZ which is a lower level that the EPL so it makes sense, went back to the EPL and SUCKED BIG TIME IN Sunderland (did he just lose his ability to play? hahahahahahahah 😀 ), then came back to MLS are started doing well again.
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So from the data above Don what does that tell you about level of play and a player’s ability hahahahahahahahahaha
The players that you mentioned were all already at best fringe national team members when they came to MLS, so it makes no sense for you to imply that they dropped off the radar when they came stateside. Hell, Villa actually played himself back on the Spain squad! And Giovinco clearly should have been called for Italy at least a couple of times over his span in the league.
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Re Jozy: So, based on your logic, the case of Jozy Altidore proves that MLS must be at least as good of a league as the Eredivise?
@Don Lamb
“The players that you mentioned were all already at best fringe national team members when they came to MLS,”…exactly if MLS was that good of a league why did they just fall off? Why did Villa have to play his way back? did he lose his ability?
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“Villa dominated MLS since his arrival in 2014, and he’s been awarded with a quite the honor. The New York City FC man was called up by the Spanish national team on Friday for upcoming World Cup qualifiers after a three-year absence.”…three year absence? Why? If its not about the league you play why did they stop calling him up?
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Giovinco was left out of Giampiero Ventura’s Italy squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers and the coach was clear about his reasons. “I have done everything to help him but the reality is that he plays in a league that doesn’t matter much,” Ventura said. ….hahahaha My case and point 😀
@Don Lamb
“Ventura’s philosophy is a continuation of that of his predecessor, Antonio Conte. The now Chelsea manager said he would not consider picking Giovinco or Andrea Pirlo for Euro 2016 because they played in MLS. “We evaluated [Pirlo] and Giovinco,” Conte said in May. “It’s normal that if you choose to go and play there then you can pay the consequences in footballing terms.”…..that’s from two world class coaches hahahahahahaha 😀
You originated this conversation with a post about how excited you were about the performance of a young team that is heavily influenced by MLS, including a midfield trio that dominated the game. Now, you are going out of your way to trash the league. You have also mentioned that the league is growing rapidly and that it could overtake Liga MX soon. But then you make an argument that all players in MLS are horrible. The circles you talk in are dizzying.
@Don Lamb
Still clueless I see. Being excited about players is different from being naive that MLS is better than Bundesliga II or Championship league. That’s false entitlement mentality, thinking you are something, or at a certain level you are not, which is everything wrong with US Soccer
@Don Lamb
“But then you make an argument that all players in MLS are horrible.”
hahahahahaha……Ok, now you are just reaching. “All” is not a word a logical person will use in an argument, because it means there are no alternate possibilities…..either all true or all false. Therefore only someone that lacks a rich soccer IQ would use that word…..for example someone like yourself
@Gary – Who cares if this was a meaningless friendly? That is the time to judge individual performances. I’m not making any proclamations based on the result, just pointing out the simple fact that the MLS players were the best players on the field.
I don’t see how you can say matter of factly that MLS is lower than Bundesliga 2 and the Championship. PLayers that have played in both seem to feel they are on the same level, so i’m more inclined to go with their opinions! I watch the Bundesliga 2 and it is not all that, but again that’s just me. The problem, it seems, is that you are making these judgments based on the leagues being in europe, which is not a good way to judge anything, especially if you don’t know the league! Lastly, i don’t know how you say that players who aren’t even playing ANY minutes with their top club team is better than established veterans for the National Team. They may work harder and run around more, but that doesn’t equate to better, and we shouldn’t call in players just because they show promise but are stuck in reserve or U-teams!
@Ronniet
Rob Moore – “The man responsible for bringing Christian Pulisic to Borussia Dortmund has urged America’s top soccer prospects to travel to Europe if they hope to develop into the world-class players of tomorrow.”
Now Ronniet look for key words “…travel to Europe if they hope to develop into the world-class players of tomorrow.” not travel to Europe ONLY if you can play in the EPL, Serie A or Bundesliga but in other words to develop to your maximum potential don’t stay in MLS (if you want to be world class)
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“Rob Moore, founder of the London-based football consultancy On Target, argues that the best way for US soccer to recover from the disappointment of not reaching the 2018 FIFA World Cup is to encourage the country’s most talented young players to take the plunge and move across the pond”…..hmmm
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http://www.bundesliga.com/en/news/Bundesliga/becoming-the-next-christian-pulisic-borussia-dortmund-usmnt-mckennie-475347.jsp
i’m pretty sure he meant the top 5 leagues of europe, not second division clubs in those leagues.
I’m going to agree with both of you at least to a point. From the limited sample that we’ve seen in the last month Weah does look at least equal if not better than Carleton. Yes, 6 months ago in the U17 WC Carleton was better and throughout the cycle, however, then Carleton went on break while Weah continued playing. By July Carleton may pass Tim back as Weah has time off and AC continues to play. Bizzy, Don saying 6 months ago AC was better is no where the same as saying Adu is better than Altidore years later (Adu was better for the next year or two). Also, just making blanket statements that because a player plays in a stronger league means they are a better player is untrue. The difference in where Tim Weah and Andrew Carleton are playing is a passport. If Tim Weah did not have a European passport he would be in MLS. The same with Pulisic if he didn’t have a Croatian passport he’d have played in MLS until this year. There are many factors that play into where a player plays not just ability. Ricardo Clark was in the Bundesliga in 2010 was he a better player than Landon Donovan playing in MLS.
@Johnnyrazor
You too? lol,
“Yes, Carleton and Adams are clearly better players than Weah. How much have you even watched of any of these players?” So, no johnny Don is speaking about the present and that is not definitely not factual
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“Also, just making blanket statements that because a player plays in a stronger league means they are a better player is untrue” …..again, anytime the majority on a large scale hold true the outcome is true (96% – 98%). for example even though EPL and Bundesliga are better leagues than MLS, not all players in these leagues are better than Giovinco or Valeri or Piatti. Championship teams on their own upset EPL teams in FA CUP, Yet you have to combine all of MLS (MLS Allstars) for it to be fair
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Former USA youth coach Hugo Perez echoed that sentiment: “If our best players want to leave, I think they should because whether we like it or not, Europe is where the top football is being played right now.”
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“The difference in where Tim Weah and Andrew Carleton are playing is a passport” not true. If you are offering what a team wants you will be picked up, so Carleton could be in Europe too regardless. e.g like Josh Sargent etc
johnny – Weah and Carleton have played had the same number of first team appearances over the past few months. If you agree that Carleton was clearly ahead of Weah for a two year stretch when we were able to actually watch them play, what makes you think that a relatively short span of time where neither has played much could change the scenario so drastically? It couldn’t simply be PSG vs ATL because that difference has been the case for several years now. Carleton is the better player, and I would bet you PSG would much rather have Carleton in their prospect pool than Weah.