Wil Trapp wasn’t flashy, but he sure was effective on Tuesday night.
Named captain for the second straight match, Trapp provided plenty in the heart of the USMNT midfield in Tuesday’s 1-0 win over Paraguay. The performance was key in the USMNT’s possession game, earning Trapp SBI USMNT Man of the Match honors.
Along with Marky Delgado and Tyler Adams, Trapp was tasked with suffocating the Paraguay midfield, and he did just that throughout his 90 minute performance. Trapp was key in taking Paraguay midfielder Miguel Almiron out of Tuesday’s clash while providing a standout defensive workrate. When all was said and done, Trapp ended up with two tackles and four interceptions in a steady performance.
Trapp narrowly beat out Adams and fullback standout Jorge Villafana for Tuesday’s honors.
What did you think of Trapp’s performance? Which player stood out to you on Tuesday?
Share your thoughts below.
Adams was the best player on the field, starting to make sense why NY thought they could get rid of Dax and build around Adams.
Wood just isn’t the answer.
The position is there for the taking. Morris didn’t do anything last year in between injuries and is injured for the season now.
Loved watching Trapp run this game. He might not be quite the athlete Bradley was, but I think Trapp is already ahead in terms of positioning, smarts, and technique. Adams looked like the best player on the field, especially in the first half. I’m glad Wood got the goal, because he otherwise had a pretty dreadful game, he seems like such a streaky player and clearly his mojo is off right now. I also wish we would have seen the subs earlier. Positive effort overall.
Not a Trapp fan but good game. Why is this jackass coach still not using the sub’s allowed. I’m glad they won but would have like to have seen some of the other guys.
I personally am not a fan of Trapp, but his play tonight was impressive and worthy of consideration of MOTM honors. Overall a decent performance by the US. I would have liked to have seen some of the young players sooner (Novakovic & Weah), and it would have been nice to see Moore & Robinson earn their first caps.
What was shown tonight has to help lift some fans spirits. Really looking forward to the May/June friendlies and what the squad will hopefully look like:
GK: Steffen, Hamid, TBD
D: Yedlin, Moore, Villafana, Robinson, Miazga, Brooks, CCV, EPB (Glad)
M: Adams, McKennie, Parks, Acosta, Trapp (Hyndmann)
A: Pulisic, Saief, Novakovic, Weah, Arriola, Rubin, Scott, (Wood, Green, Sargent)
They’ll have 3 games (~2 weeks) to rotate players and give everyone a bit of time & experience. Should be a great opportunity to see what we’ve got in this generation of players.
I’m glad you mentioned Hyndman. I had meant to say something about him before but forgot. He seems to have been largely forgotten by most fans, but he’s still young and did well when he had the chance with Rangers. If he can start to get minutes with Bournemouth, then he could become a fixture with the USMNT.
On that note I’m really disappointed Gooch has fallen out of favor, he was playing well the beginning of last season before his injury and hasn’t found playing time since… Really like his game- and you can’t coach speed
I find it hard to believe that either Parks or Hyndman will be called in for those friendlies, that is unless they start playing minutes(any minutes)with the first team! I would also find it hard to believe that only players under the age of 24 would be called in for friendlies against teams going to the World Cup, especially ones with only one, a few caps and no caps! I’m all for integrating younger players into the first team because it’s necessary but you don’t throw everyone on the field at one time, there is a process that helps bring along younger players and it’s by mixing veterans with the youth, or you risk hurting players confidence!
I included plenty of experienced players as part of the potential squad: Yedlin (50 caps), Wood (37 caps), Brooks (33 caps), Pulisic (20 caps), Acosta (17 caps), & Villafana (16 caps).
All players who could still be of value through the full 2022 qualification cycle. Players who can help the team now and possibly in the future.
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What other players should be called in? Do you really want to call up players like Howard, Bradley, Cameron, Fabian, Bedoya, Zusi, & Jozy? Players who will be too old to contribute in the 2022 HEX. Or do you want to call up players like Diskerud, Morales, Dax, and their type who couldn’t break into the 2018 squad?
As for playing against teams going to the WC. Only 1 of the 3 teams (France) actually made the 2018 WC. Both Ireland & Bolivia are in the same rebuilding process that the USMNT is, and should be bringing young squads. This is the perfect time to experiment with young players to gauge where they are in their development, and what they can offer going forward
A good start for this young team. It remains to be seen how good they are or will be, but things look promising. We won’t begin to get a real idea until we play the better teams in the next Gold Cup. Playing France will help, but it’s still a friendly and the intensity probably won’t match tournament play.
For me it was close between Trapp, Adams, and Miazga.
All good calls. During the first half (even before he scored the penalty) I would’ve thrown Wood in, too. Oddly, scoring seemed to have the exact opposite effect from expectation…. not sure he even touched the ball again before being subbed. Poor guy must be mired in some strange depression.
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Re Adams. Clearly a great player, but looked more like an excellent 6 than a potent 8 (and of course he was wearing 4). This guy needs to go to Europe yesterday. Too much time on the ball has done him no favors. Right now he’s excellent off the ball, and mediocre on it.
Adams is barely 19 years old. Expecting him to run the midfield like Iniesta in his prime may be a little ambitious at this time.
It obvious that over the span of a year that he has improved dramatically.
He’s a Euro-caliber player for sure and is one of those rare American players who is a stylistic fit for the Prem.
Agree 100% J. Thomas.
Trapp played well. Very mature.
Saief took guys on left and right and pulled off some ridiculous skills. The only other guy who I have seen with that kind of confidence in one v. one is Dempsey.
Miazga was rock solid and did well with the ball. He has to be a starter from here forward.
Adams was the best player on the field in the first half and drifted in the second.
Weahs excitement was fantastic. As a kid, he obviously has a lot of growing to do but you already see the makings of a real star player. He has the instincts and explosiveness. He and Pulisic as mature internationals growing together should be something else.
Novakovic…he was a little overwhelmed, but I see a real European goal scorer there. He still hasn’t filled put his frame yet, either. He’s going to be a monster.
Yedlin and Villafaña were both very good and dominated their men. Yedlin had his guy frustrated. Much of the attack developed with Villafaña first.
I think that this may be our golden generation. This group looks like it actually could be a contender for the title in Qatar. McKennie, Pulisic, Adams, Weah…there’s some REAL international talent there. Pulisic may be one of the best players in the world by then. Get ready for a lot of Pulisic/Novakovic combination goals.
whoaaaa…pull up on the reigns a bit. No one is the new Dempsey. No one “dominated.” no one “has to be the starter from here on”…we only beat Paraguay 1-0 in a meaningless friendly. Hold off on ordering the 2022 World Cup Champ shirts for now
The USAMNT is a new team,new faces,new heart to play,and desired to win
It is a lot of fun to watch a guy like Wil Trapp completely dominate a match through smart, simple passing and sound positioning.
“Out with the Old, in with the New!!!” 😀
Now watch all the people that didn’t actually watch the match trash Trapp. Really could have gone with four or five guys as a lot of guys played well but no one was head and shoulders the star. Saief also deserved consideration. Miazga also played well and shut down Almiron one on one a couple of times.
Well said. And similarly, it’s hard to identify a “worst player”. A generous sprinkling of mistakes, but spread across an overall credible team performance.