The U.S. men’s national team came into Thursday’s Copa America showdown with Panama hoping to avoid adding any unnecessary pressure into Monday’s group stage finale vs. Uruguay, however, a 2-1 defeat to their CONCACAF rivals ended those hopes and now puts the USMNT under major worry.
Gregg Berhalter’s squad watched a first-half lead slip away in an eventual loss at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, putting the Americans’ knockout stage dreams in doubt. Tim Weah’s ejection in the 19th minute paired with two defensive errors led to the USMNT suffering their second head-to-head loss to Panama in the past two years.
Uruguay sealed its knockout stage berth later on Thursday night following a 5-0 hammering of Bolivia. The USMNT meanwhile now prepares to face the Uruguayans in Kansas City on Monday, knowing anything less than a victory could end their Copa America run after just three matches.
“We have to go, and we have to represent our country with passion, pride,” USMNT captain and star attacking Christian Pulisic said. “We have to go and play the best game of our lives, and that’s it. We want to go, we want to win, and we want to continue in this competition.”
“Obviously, Uruguay is a very good team,” midfielder Tyler Adams said. “We know we’re going to need to be at our best, but at the end of the day we can compete when we have 11 players on the field. It’s going to be a completely different game.”
Folarin Balogun’s fourth-career USMNT goal boosted the Americans in front after 22 minutes, however Panama would tie the match four minutes later through Cesar Blackman’s equalizer that deflected in off of Chris Richards’ leg.
Panama owned majority of the possession against the 10-men Americans but didn’t truly trouble Matt Turner (who left the match at halftime with an apparent injury) or Ethan Horvath outside of the two goals scored. Halftime substitute Cameron Carter-Vickers was slow in reacting to Abdiel Ayarza’s cross in the 83rd minute, watching fellow substitute Jose Fajardo volley home the eventual winning goal.
Weah’s poor judgement certainly put the USMNT in a major hole for the remainder of the match, but they also looked uncomfortable dealing with Panama’s overall strategy.
“It’s down to one moment,” Berhalter said. “When you look at the stats, you look at the chances that we gave up, it was really only that one moment. The guy gets an open look, and we didn’t deal with the first ball very well, we didn’t deal with the second ball very well, and then [there’s] too much space between our center-backs on the cross.
“But besides that, we’re talking about very, very little production from Panama and really a tremendous effort by the guys that did get in there, work for each other, keep our shape, and keep moving,” he added.
The USMNT now knows that an improved performance is needed to stay alive in the competition. Panama will face Bolivia on Monday, kicking off in the early match at 6 p.m. ET, providing the Americans with a glimpse of the type of result they need to stave off elimination.
Regardless, the USMNT needs to be ready for anything, especially since a group stage exit could lead to major changes heading into the fall schedule.
“Meanwhile in other news: Jesse Marsch, The Reds make history and advance to Copa América knockout stage, where they will most likely meet Venezuala. Marsch’s title is the MLS and Canada Men’s National Team head coach. USSoccer snubbed Jesse as the Canada head coach revealed that he “wasn’t treated very well” by U.S. Soccer in the hiring process for the USMNT job. Now his Team have got through the group stage in a more difficult group away from home than the one US is in”……..Shots fired, shots fired, Haha
Lets see what Marsch is working with:
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GK – Maxime Crépeau | USA / Portland Timbers
GK – Thomas McGill | ENG / Brighton & Hove Albion FC
GK – Dayne St. Clair | USA / Minnesota United
FB – Alphonso Davies | GER / Bayern Munich
FB – Alistair Johnston | SCO / Celtic FC
FB – Richie Laryea | CAN / Toronto FC
CB – Moïse Bombito | USA / Colorado Rapids
CB – Derek Cornelius | SWE / Malmö FF
CB – Luc de Fougerolles | ENG / Fulham FC
CB – Kyle Hiebert | USA / St. Louis City SC
CB – Kamal Miller | USA / Portland Timbers
CM – Mathieu Choinière | CAN / CF Montréal
CM – Stephen Eustáquio | POR / FC Porto
CM – Ismaël Koné | ENG / Watford FC
CM – Jonathan Osorio | CAN / Toronto FC
CM – Samuel Piette | CAN / CF Montréal
W – Tajon Buchanan | ITA / Inter Milan
W – Junior Hoilett | SCO / Aberdeen FC
W – Ali Ahmed | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps
W – Liam Millar | SWI / FC Basel
W – Jacob Shaffelburg | USA / Nashville SC
F – Theo Bair | SCO / Motherwell
F – Jacen Russell-Rowe | USA / Columbus Crew
F – Jonathan David | FRA / LOSC Lille
F – Cyle Larin | SPA / RCD Mallorca
F – Tani Oluwaseyi | USA / Minnesota United
–
Netherlands 4-0
France 0-0
Argentina 2-0
Peru 0-1
Chile 0-0
THE 3 MLS TEAM OWNERS IN CANADA pitched money together to get Marsch, lol. CONCACAF rivalry just got better, lol
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVFkrVjvP-c
Credit to Jesse and Canada for showing grit and determination, but you’re kidding yourself if you thought Canada has played well, and more importantly.theyve played 2 Conmebol teams that are long in the tooth and just not who they once were, so this idea that Marsch has shown something that leads you to believe USSoccer should have hired him instead is a silly one.
It’s really simple, we’ve continued to cripple ourselves with physical and mental mistakes…..Canada hasn’t
“so this idea that Marsch has shown something that leads you to believe USSoccer should have hired him instead is a silly one”
–
Canada tied a fully stacked French team, went toe-to-toe with Argentina and tied with Chile and are made it out a group that is more difficult than the group the US was in, with Jesse Marsch at the Helm for just 5 games all within a month???? Game management is just as important as goals, saves .etc. Its too early to call but you can’t deny that the CANMNT look organized, motivated and are currently heading in the right direction, while we are still chasing our tail after 6+ years with GB
Ronnie, that is what makes tournaments fun to me. It is pretty unlikely Canada will ever get to play two tournament games again for 70 minutes each at 11 v 10 but it happened this tournament and they did what they needed to het out of a pretty tough group so hats off to them.
1 goal in 5 matches, including over 90 minutes up a man. Credit to Canada you can only play the match that’s in front of you, but certainly some concerns when you have Davies, David, and Larin and you only have scored once. With a quarterfinal match with Venezuela, Mexico, or Ecuador advancement to the semis is fairly attainable.
“1 goal in 5 matches, including over 90 minutes up a man”
hmmmm……but they are in the Quarter Finals for the first time while we are struggling with all our quality. I bet you GB would love to be in that position right now lol
For sure, sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good and Canada has been lucky against Chile and Peru. Sometimes you make you’re own luck like punching a guy in the face 17 minutes in.
psyops, mess with fed and team minds, he coaches the enemy right now, has to be seen and received like he’s messing with us even if a kernel is in there
but we deserve to have this mess head-shrunk
Goal.com just put out an article that USSF is not considering a change at the head coach position even if we don’t advance out of the group stage.
(Like I said earlier, I’m sure they are preparing a contract extension)
According to Wynalda. Who in his Twitter posts seems to be towing the party line. Which is odd for him????
Odd…. Unless he somehow thought he had a shot and this is his way of trolling
Kind of just seemed from his tweets that he was just going to control what he could control and cheer for the team.
That’s also what you’d say to anyone outside of Crocker, Cone, and Batson during the middle of a tournament. Tuesday morning may be a different discussion.
I hate to agree with Alexi Lalas on anything, but one thing he gets right is that defenders have to play the full 90+ with total concentration and effort. I single slip-up and the other team can score. I would extend thought to include defensive Mids as well as all backs. Back in the 90s. when Bob Bradley was asked what he looked for in a defender he said the ability to concentrate for 90 minutes as his most important trait.
I think the US was let down by not just Weah’s stupid reaction but by lapses in defensive concentration as well. It is something that was missing in Ream’s game when he played in MLS, but has now improved (at least he doesn’t make howlers as frequently). CCV and Richards, I thought were always suspect in their ability to concentrate the full game. It showed at the end of the game. In fairness, that required 90-minute concentration becomes harder as you are tire. Your offensive’s inability to maintain possession serves to tire your defenders.
It was probably only required for 85 minutes but your point is well taken. That wasn’t a 45 minute 2nd half. Doh!!
Adams, Reyna, McKennie, and Pulisic were all within distance to at least bother Blackman on the first goal but just had no urgency to get involved.
Agreed, and it pissed me off! But, it’s the same thing we saw versus the Netherlands in the round of 16 in Qatar, players not stepping to the ball, ball watching and out of position.
I expect to see the MMA midfield against Uruguay with Gio as a half space merchant RAM. Only problem is can Scally make a few runs forward to push Uruguays left side back a little? And to be honest this might turn out to be a blessing in disguise for this team with Weah getting a red card. When Dest returns next year I forsee Reyna or even Tillman to be utilized on the right more. As much as I do like Weahs relentless running as a more traditional winger, Dest and Tillman work great together at PSV with Dest overlapping and Tillman being a half space LAM. And we don’t know how Weah is going to be used at Juve with the new coach.
Gary,
“Certainly the quality of the individual players is better.”
This is not a beauty contest. This is not a “my guys on paper are superior to your guys on paper” so I should win contest.
This is a real game where 11+5 play 11+ 5 and the best TEAM wins.
We win the beauty contest and lose that real game.
Is that good enough ?
Did a rewatch. We only played a 4-4-1 for about 10 minutes. Gio slid into the RWB space after they overloaded Jedi’s side and had a blocked shot then a cross that Jedi had to put out for a corner around 30th minute. Once Panama had the ball in the final third the lines are as clear as day 5-3-1. When we had goal kicks Joe would push up to have another option just like Gio had done in the first half. If you felt our offense looked better in the first half we were just little bit more precise with our passing maybe somewhat fresher legs and less nerves. Gio did a pretty good job, just lost Davis once but it didn’t lead to a goal. Maybe you put Wes at RWB then you could leave Gio on the field to improve your chances of hold the ball a bit more, but staying in a 4-4-1 would have been disaster. They had 5 shots between the 25th minute and the 30th. They had 7 shots in the last 60 minutes.
———————
Gregg needs to be done, the team and he have gotten as far as they can get together win or lose Monday, but staying in the 4-4-1 would have been disaster like 5-1 scoreline disaster. Go back and watch from Balo’s goal until the Pepi sub Scally is in the exact spots Gio was in from 30 min to 45 min, it’s all right there on tape.
JR, if Gio lost his guy once, that is about 5 times less than every other player. I agree whole-heartedly with your analysis and they would have lost by a much larger margin had they not changed formation. Every is entitled to their opinion and that is what this site is about and none of us will ever really know what would have happened. I still think taking Gio off was the worst tactical decision. If the US somehow lucks out and advances, history says Gregg won’t be fired. They didn’t fire Bruce after the 2002 WC, they didn’t fire Bob after the 2009 Conf Cup. The USSF has a history of considering luck when evaluating coaches.
i am bored with the pro-coach anti-roster rubbish. i have thought of the perfect riposte. we are a better team than panama. we beat them 5-1 with qualification on the line.
but i think panama has the better coach — what he did to us in gold cup was just chess — and so the interesting thing is they extract similar results from even less roster than you want to cry you think we have. they have now beat us three times in recent years. they tied saudi we tied. they tied serbia we lost to. beat and tied qatar. tied mexico. whooped jamaica. beat CR including at their place.
this shouldn’t be happening in your little fanboy roster value world. i mean, you go down panama’s roster and they have 1 guy in england at championship norwich, a single guy in france, a bunch of guys in random european destinations, and more MLS than us.
and yet.
so the games are clearly not decided by stacks of CVs at 10 paces.
QED.
try again. coaching matters. quit wasting our time with our “we weren’t handed france’s roster so it’s over” self-loathing nonsense. croatia and morocco weren’t exactly handed big 5 league all star teams either.
and yet.
belgium and germany kind of were.
and yet.
spare me your fundamental misunderstanding of how it plays out when team x and team y meet.
utter fanboy rubbish.
Panama won, so right now they are a better team. They won almost every lost ball and their players on the whole made much better decisions than the US players. In soccer, the players make every decision on the field, the coach makes none. I’m sure your right and Gregg tips Arob to clear the ball on the ground right to a guy 20 yards away on Panama’s second goal, but if Arob was a better player he would have ignored that. I guess when ypu played, the coach made all the decisions for ypu on the field which is pretty impressive. Decision making on the field is a big part of being a good player. You think Richards, CCV, Arob, Adams, were making good decisions.
i think it’s horrifying that this crap coach has the players thinking they need to play the game of their lives to do anything. you should believe you are going to win them all. at no level did i think i had to play out of my mind to win something. what nonsense. now, it doesn’t hurt to play hard or to expect a game from an opponent. that’s sincere effort and good sense. but you should have tactics and a roster and belief and think if you and the next guy and the next do your job, we’re as good as anyone. if we don’t believe that the coach has done a number on their heads and no wonder we can’t win tough ones.
this isn’t freaking france or argentina yet. it’s uruguay. we tied uruguay in summer 2022. just like we smashed bolivia in 2018 and dealt panama some serious thrashings during covid.
also, anyone who’s checked the weather report knows it’ll be 85F with 60% humidity and partly cloudy in KC and uruguay right now is in winter. back in the day we’d call that some home cooking but i guess with everyone now in europe we’re pouting about that too.
At least it’s at 8:00. It was in low 90s when Canada kicked off Tuesday at 5:00 in KC. A linesman passed out from the heat in the first half of that one. No hydration break was taken apparently either. On the fan side at least Children’s Mercy Park has covered seating on three sides, Arrowhead is all open, but sun should be down in the second half at least. Thunderstorms predicted for late afternoon as well.
IV,
Are you saying our Euro based team will deal better with high heat and humidity than Uruguay’s Euro based team?
I see equal disadvantage for both sides.
People need to stop acting as if a better coach will suddenly mean Pepi finishes his chances, Reyna contributes something or players stop getting stupid red cards.
It’s not going to happen. The talent level won’t magically increase regardless of coaching.
This is as good as this group gets and it’s not that good.
Having a limp noodle as coach doesn’t help. Respect entails a certain amount of fear. Recall treatment Sir Alex used to dish out. GGG does not inspire. He doesn’t seem to be a guy that players want to march into battle with. A good coach can win you games. A limp noodle can loose you games.
Well the players have said otherwise, they literally said they run through a brick wall for him lol
Ronniet
Talk is cheap.
Agreed Rob. I’ve backed GGG since the beginning. I think he has done a great job over all. But this tournment was his time to show what he and the team can do. He needs a semi final finish or better for me to keep him around. This was an easy group to get out of. Hopefully Uraguay rests its players and we make it out. Then he has to oppurtunity to defeat Brasil. If he does that he regains confidence with the players etc. If not he has to go
Beating Uruguay doesn’t necessarily mean the US will advance. Panama is pretty likely to beat Bolivia by more than 1. I think goal differential is the first tie breaker and then goals scored second. Right now Panama and US each have 3 goals. It is pretty unlikely that the US will score more against Uruguay than Panama will against Bolivia if Panama wins, but stranger things have happened. The most likely scenario I see for US advancing is both US and Panama lose and US wins goal differential tie breaker against both Panama and Bolivia.
let’s ignore this bunch tied france and portugal under sarachan, and the best it’s looked was briefly under callaghan.
setting aside you have the unit underestimated, you are indulging in the fanboy “world class” fallacy. germany, belgium, and even our “sainted” upcoming opponent uruguay all have pretty good rosters and all went out in the last world cup group stage.
you know who made semis? croatia and morocco.
world soccer is not a talent rating or roster transfer value. that fanboy notion of soccer shouldn’t sit right with anyone who’s ever won games they “weren’t supposed to.” there is so much malarkey going around. club form theories. ideas of how we have to play. ideas of picking rosters based on reputations or home sides.
IV,
“there is so much malarkey going around. club form theories. ideas of how we have to play. ideas of picking rosters based on reputations or home sides.”
You’re right . It’s malarkey that you have been spreading around. Stop doing that.
V: i am responding in this very line of comments to someone acting like it’s not coaching, it’s the roster. spare me.
my point is it’s a fanboy fetish to compare a US roster to an english or french one — 2 teams we have recently tied btw, roster or not — and then by some sort of transitive property use it to explain losing to panama who has 1 guy at norwich and 1 guy at OM.
what they’re selling doesn’t compute to explain the TnT or panama type losses, and even if you believe it does explain our grander standing, wouldn’t explain anything more than england or france results — which ironically in reality don’t even track what the theory says.
and that’s setting aside my belief some special NT manage to be more than the sum of their parts (morocco, japan, croatia, etc.) at the same time that every so often germany or belgium suck. which underlines it’s not some vague CV stacking competition. it’s age of the players. it’s selection. it’s coaching.
our coaching makes us probably worse than the talent level, not better or even just the sum of itself.
IV,
“this bunch tied france and portugal under sarachan, and the best it’s looked was briefly under callaghan.”
Your malarkey.
You have a very flexible definition of “THIS BUNCH”.
How many of “this bunch” are relevant today?
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
2017 under DAVE.
U.S. MNT Starting XI vs. France:
12-Zack Steffen; 18-Shaq Moore, 5-Cameron Carter-Vickers,
3-Matt Miazga, 21-Tim Parker, 17-Antonee Robinson; 4-Tyler Adams, 20-Wil Trapp ©, 6-Weston McKennie;
16-Julian Green, 7-Bobby Wood
Substitutes: 1-Bill Hamid, 2-DeAndre Yedlin, 8-Joe Corona, 11-Tim Weah, 13-Josh Sargent, 14-Erik Palmer-Brown, 15-Eric Lichaj, 19-Jorge Villafaña, 23-Rubio Rubin
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
U.S. MNT Starting XI vs. Portugal:
1-Ethan Horvath (12-Bill Hamid, 46); 2-DeAndre Yedlin, 3-Matt Miazga, 6-John Brooks (16-Cameron Carter-Vickers, 46), 15-Eric Lichaj (21-Jorge Villafaña, 59); 19-Danny Williams (capt.); 4-Tyler Adams, 8-Weston McKennie (11-Alejandro Bedoya, 84), 23-Kellyn Acosta, 17-Juan Agudelo (20-Lynden Gooch, 59); 18-CJ Sapong (14-Dom Dwyer, 77)
Subs not used: 22-Jesse Gonzalez, 5-Tim Ream, 7-Kelyn Rowe
Head coach: Dave Sarachan
“this bunch tied france and portugal under sarachan, and the best it’s looked was briefly under callaghan.”
IV,
You’re trying to counter bullshit by using your own line of bullshit. What Dave did had little if anything to do with what is going on now.
Stop spreading your malarkey around.
U.S. MNT Starting XI vs. France:
12-Zack Steffen; 18-Shaq Moore, 5-Cameron Carter-Vickers,
3-Matt Miazga, 21-Tim Parker, 17-Antonee Robinson; 4-Tyler Adams, 20-Wil Trapp ©, 6-Weston McKennie;
16-Julian Green, 7-Bobby Wood
Substitutes: 1-Bill Hamid, 2-DeAndre Yedlin, 8-Joe Corona, 11-Tim Weah, 13-Josh Sargent, 14-Erik Palmer-Brown, 15-Eric Lichaj, 19-Jorge Villafaña, 23-Rubio Rubin
U.S. MNT Starting XI vs. Portugal:
1-Ethan Horvath (12-Bill Hamid, 46); 2-DeAndre Yedlin, 3-Matt Miazga, 6-John Brooks (16-Cameron Carter-Vickers, 46), 15-Eric Lichaj (21-Jorge Villafaña, 59); 19-Danny Williams (capt.); 4-Tyler Adams, 8-Weston McKennie (11-Alejandro Bedoya, 84), 23-Kellyn Acosta, 17-Juan Agudelo (20-Lynden Gooch, 59); 18-CJ Sapong (14-Dom Dwyer, 77)
Subs not used: 22-Jesse Gonzalez, 5-Tim Ream, 7-Kelyn Rowe
Head coach: Dave Sarachan
IV,
“V: i am responding in this very line of comments to someone acting like it’s not coaching, it’s the roster. spare me.”
You are responding to a line of comments with you own line of bullshit about the “roster”.
The “roster” Dave used bears little resemblance to who is lining up at Copa America. A few names are the same, Antonee, Weston, Tyler, but they were not the players then that they are today. And soccer is a game were changing a few players, let alone 8 or 9 changes everything.
Your idea that Dave’s games can be used to reference anything this Copa America roster is an overt lie.
You keep equating friendly game performance with competitive game performance and that is is just ignorant.
You’re comparing soft core porno with hard core porno.
It’s a stupid comparison and makes your argument a fuckwit one.
You keep trying to separate the players from the coach when that is not possible.
I disagree Rob, I think we have a good group of players who have yet to consistently perform as a team… There’s a difference.
I think the only thing the coach has done well is land a number of dual nationals to play for the U.S.
We finished 3rd in qualifying in 22.
His selection process was baffling. For example:
Zimmerman was brought in as a late addition after someone withdrew with an injury.
Ream wasnt even involved in qualifying yet played every minute.
Wright? Totally overlooked then selected.
Pepi? Excluded and so confused and angry he hung up on the coach.
Ferreira included even though everyone knew that he was not a #9, but he scored against minnows.
Brooks excluded after one bad performance in a 3 man backline that we’d never played (and he wasn’t the only one who stunk the first half that game, but he was excommunicated)
He brought 5 right backs to the WC.
Reyna… Well fill in the blanks. (Yet he’s been the oddity of playing well in the U.S. Shirt vs. his club situation)
Zack Steffen – wouldn’t have made a difference but confusing nonetheless.
Scally? Couldn’t get a sniff of a call up despite his play at MG, as the coach kept saying he wanted to ease him into the process.
With the covid rules in place he called in less players than every other concacrap team (wouldn’t that he a way to ease him Then the process?)
I’m quite sure I’m forgetting something…
Then there’s his in game management and substitution patterns.
Or lack thereof…. ibid your honor…
How about formation and tactics? No matter how many professional pundits, podcasters, and even SBI contributors would talk of a perception of a 4231 or any other potential formation either before or after games, the reality is it’s his version of the 433 with an occasional wrinkle… Whatever one wants to call it, it’s been as predictable as the sun rising in the East and setting in the West.
Anyone think we’re easy to scout? Ask Mr Van Gaal.
And this has all happened while Mexico has become a shell of it’s former self.. Imho falsely raising our own self perception.
As I said previously, I think we have a very good group of players with a decent amount of depth at some spots… But a successful team? Jury is out
For me personally he’s about as inspirational as a doorknob and usually looks almost as confused on the sideline as a debate candidate last night.
And we can’t forget the rather contrived re-hiring process as if the fans were idiotic sheep who should have been down on a thankful knee as he parted the red sea upon his glorious return.
Other than getting Dest, Jedi, Musah, then Balo, and a few others that aren’t yet contributing or never will I can’t think of one thing that shows me he should be the coach of the USA.
No matter what he may or may not know as a coach or tactician or leader of whatever…. Translating that to the end product on the field is different.
The guy sucks, has sucked, and probably always will suck.
I’m sure ussf is preparing his contract extension as we speak
Totally agree with this, and have been saying it for a while. People think that because we players in big leagues playing for some big teams that we should automatically be running through teams, it’s a falsehood, I’m literally watching England lose to Slovakia atm.
That people have blamed Greg for Weah and Dest getting red cards is just stupid, willful ignorance. They say Berhalter is soft on players, but yet forget that he punished McKennie for leaving the hotel for some ass and had the nerve to say that it was harsh to punish him for it…..which one is it?
Ronnie, 4 red cards in about 18 months is pretty bad. All 4 away from the ball or during stoppages in play. That is a sign of a team that lacks discipline and I do think that comes back to the coach. The first time, okay get it fixed, a third time is getting pretty bad, but a 4th time is a sign that something is wrong. I don’t doubt Gregg tried to fix it but whatever he did didn’t work.
“Golden Generation?” Meh.
Looking at the starting 11 (as well as Dest), how many players have come through the US system to become world class players? Pulisic. McKennie, and Adams. Add Gio and Weah who both had world class parents. After that, there’s a drop-off to Scally, pre-2022 Ream, Sargent and the rest. Jedi, Balo, and Dest all learned how to play outside of the US.
GGG is not the man for the job, but it’s time to admit to ourselves that the talent isn’t there. We used to have amazing goalkeepers: Keller, Friedel, and Timmy. Now, not so much. Central defense was our backbone. The current crop is unreliable. CCV nearly gave away two penalties last night. I was hoping for big things in 2026, but am starting to adjust my expectations.
The reality is finally starting to sink in for USMNT. The US are Switzerland, Turkey, Norway, Austria. Even on paper. A few players playing on big teams and a support cast. Anyone who has ever thought this team can win the WC has been delusional. Even if Ancelotti or Pep was the coach.
Btw…being at the level of the above teams could be fun. Just as long as the expectations are adjusted accordingly.
Sure…switch the coach. Not much will change except the chemistry may take a nose dive. But why not try it. Maybe it means an extra game at the WC…
MotO,
Switzerland, Turkey, Norway, Austria are probably better than the USMNT.
You can switch the coach. If the chemistry nose dives, that’s probably a good thing. Gregg is their buddy who plays them regularly when their clubs won’t. Why do you think they all wanted him back?
This cozy, good old boy “CHEMISTRY” doesn’t seem to be good for these adult level serious games like Copa America.
Our boys could use a little growing up and it does not seem like this “CHEMISTRY” is the ticket for adult behavior..
Or you can switch the players. At least most of them. One thing most don’t seem to get about the USMNT is the player pool is the player pool. It’s not a club team. You can’t buy new players. We’re pretty much stuck with these guys. Weah is our right winger because he’s the only guy in the pool who has proven capable so far of playing there. and being worth a fuck.
Or you can do what is probably going to happen, which is nothing.
They have already invested nearly 5.5 years and two major tournaments in this thing,
What’s a few more years and one more major tournament?
There’s always another World Cup in 2030, assuming we qualify.
Stranger things have happened than the US somehow making it out of their group. Think back to the 2009 Confederations Cup or 2002 WC. It’s pretty unlikely and if they don’t make it out of the group I think k Gregg will be gone but of his four leaf clover magics the US to next round all will be forgotten by the USSF.
chemistry? what chemistry?
as i said on another comment, i haven’t helped but notice that we have had 3 guys total moan about the coach from the whole pool, which is just weird. far be it from to suggest they have been cult-ified/ poisoned against the other parent should there be a divorce.
daddy is far from perfect or are we sending down the amnesia hole not just the meh play or mediocre results, but also his half of the “reyna affair,” eg spilling backroom tea in public.
i am sorry but when a team is this disappointing and oddly quiet about it all, if i as coach police show up, it’s like blink twice if you’re in danger and the bad man is there right now. because deploying the impressionable young players against anyone seeking a lousy coach getting fired is some manipulative stuff.
chemistry? how about what results. this is gross.
Vaqui – read what I wrote again. I’m advocating for a change
“Vaqui – read what I wrote again. I’m advocating for a change”
That’s what you say.
“Anyone who has ever thought this team can win the WC has been delusional. Even if Ancelotti or Pep was the coach.”
You’re exaggerating. Even before Copa, I don’t know of any sane person who thought that this team was likely to win the World Cup.
To be clear they can win the World Cup but it’s very unlikely.
Possible is one thing.
Probable is another thing.
The USMNT, even today, remains exactly what it has always been, IV’s rantings notwithstanding.
That is, they are a second tier team. On any given day, with a bit of luck and if everything goes well for them they have enough to beat anyone, even one of the adult teams. This edition also is quite capable of losing to anyone.
Does that mean I think they will beat Uruguay? They can and they might but I think it is highly unlikely, even if it is not impossible. This team has not been taught how to win yet. How do I know that? Because teams that upset better teams, they can do that because they know how to win; they know how to take advantage of the crazy opportunities that come to them. Look at Panama, they just got a good lesson in learning how to take advantage.
Losing to Panama is not what bothers me. I’ve long maintained that nothing Uncle Gregg’s team does, positive or negative, surprises me.
Because above all else they are an inconsistent team.
Consistent teams are usually the product of good coaching.
What bothers me is that it is very clear that this is not a well-coached, well organized team. The USSF is paying Gregg a couple of million to do the kind of job that apparently anyone from the pages of SBI could do.
When bad times hit, well coached players and teams revert to their basics.
With these guys, you can see that there is a lot of “frantic” there. It’s the old Mike Tyson quote, “everyone has a plan until you smash them in the mouth”.
With this team, smash them in the mouth and you get a lot of headless chicken stuff.
“ Sure…switch the coach. Not much will change except the chemistry may take a nose dive. But why not try it. Maybe it means an extra game at the WC…”
That small amount could be very significant. The USMNT has been trying and failing to get that “extra game at the WC” for 22 years since the 2002 World Cup.
Tele57
“Stranger things have happened than the US somehow making it out of their group. Think back to the 2009 Confederations Cup or 2002 WC”
That is true but 2009 and 2002 were much better teams than the current edition.
We may or may not advance. There is no drama here because either way Gregg is most likely safe, unless the loss to Uruguay is really bad. and embarrassing.
My prediction is Uruguay go down to 10 men around the 15th minute. We take a 1-0 lead but wind up losing 2-1.
So the USMNT still has a game Monday and will be down a starter. Really cannot dwell on the Panama match and let it beat you before you even play Uruguay. Focus on the task at hand and prepare for what you are up against. I am assuming Aaronson will slot into Weah’s spot. Thinking multiple goals will be needed to scored but have to start with the first one. The US has gotten off to great starts in this tournament and set pieces have been a strength. Continue the great preparation and execute. Make Uruguay have to stop what you are good at, which as been set pieces and getting the ball to Pulisic and hope Balo is on roll.
What is concerning is if Horvath starts and Richards lackadaisical decisions and poorly weighted passes. Really a great time for Reyna to take a next step in midfield and be a catalyst to beating the press with smart line breaking passes and dribbles. I would almost consider starting Musah in Adams stop just for breaking pressure with his dribble.
Got to move on, still in the tournament, and still have a lot to prove!
Aaronson is a pest and he will no doubt put Uruguay under pressure and create turnovers; however, I’d rather see two strikers and start Sargent, or add Wright on the wing (who can also play striker) who is a bigger threat to score goals and adds more height for set pieces than Aaronson.
Even Brian McBride got to the point last night in their postgame that he said if we don’t get out of the group it’s time for a change. Charlie Davies said why did we bring in a foreigner to make hard decisions without personal history if he’s not going to make a decision.
All this these narratives are fiction and very much new boss same as the old boss scenarios. Same players, same player pool regardless who is the coach. US needs to maintain some poise and focus on one match, a total 90 minutes, and not get caught up in all the b.s. they cannot control. Do not try to be what you are not and get caught up in the negative emotion. Play the match and win!
we didn’t bring in a foreigner to make hard decisions. i thought it was the opposite. we brought in a guy who we thought was already oriented to the existing mission. we didn’t consider if the existing mission is crocked. and when you hire a happy missionary to join the mission, they will be slow to reconsider the mission’s premise.
kind of pre-olsen houston. they went through about 3 managers before olsen trying to force some sort of style where we basically played no defense and weren’t spending much on offense. they would finish last or near-it, fire the old coach, then hire the next one not for his change ideas but instead for dedication to the existing premise. next year, same result.
so change the premises. i never understood hiring a GM who got relegated anyway. wow, whatever ideas he had must be great. what was the virtue? that he had experience enforcing whatever crud saints were trying? i tend to want to xerox something that actually wins…..
and to be crystal clear considering our “year long hiring process,” we skip the bs and just send a desired coach’s agent a number. none of this needing to hire a new GM, the GM’s assistant, the kid who gets the GM’s assistant her coffee, and then the intern who assists the kid who gets the coffee……before we hire the coach. it’s a waste in general — we keep hiring crud after months of pretend HR — and we really haven’t the time.
as i pointedly said on lessons from this tournament, we have finite time and by spending it perseverating we have not tried other people and concepts. it would not be helpful to spend another year or half year under a caretaker with the same dumb ideas.
clear house, hire a name coach, and instead of having suits tell coaches how to play soccer, defer that to the man being hired to coach.
and no more system hires. hire someone who can select a roster and game manage to save their life.
The USSF had a great chance to bring in a new coach before they rehired Berhalter and they punted. What makes people think they will hire a new man, a foreigner no less, now? I can remember before Berhalter was rehired and a lot of the posters here were bitching and moaning and saying no good coach would want to take the job here anyway. Now those same people are saying we need a new coach, a foreigner. Consistency is not exactly common here. At least we have 2 more years until the WC, but who is available now among top coaches?
IV???
Here’s what is going to happen. Panama 3-0 no cards; US 3-2 with 2 yellow cards – Panama advances on less cards. Then we can blame the ref because Panama should have had about 3-5 more yellow cards.
One more game to prove that this USMNT is in fact better than past versions.
If you believe the current team is not better, then you have to believe that MLS players plus a few players in various European leagues, not among the top 5, are better than players playing in top 5 European leagues. Current starters not in a top 5 league–0. Pulisic–AC Milan, Balogun-Monaco, Weah-Juventus, Mckennie-Juventus, Adams -Bournemouth, Musah-Milan, Reyna-Forest or “Dortmund, Robinson-Fulham, Ream-Fulham, Richards-Crystal Palace, Scally-Moenchengladbach, Turner-Not. Forest. 5 of them will be in Champions League next year. Certainly the quality of the individual players is better.
Gary,
“Certainly the quality of the individual players is better.”
This is not a beauty contest. This is not a “my guys on paper are superior to your guys on paper” so I should win contest.
This is a real game where 11+5 play 11+ 5 and the best TEAM wins.
We win the beauty contest and lose that real game.
Is that good enough ?
The 2002 team had much better players. Compare the starting lineup from Portugal 2002 to Bolivia this tournament and then compare the bench players. 3 of the four fullback and goalie were significantly better than what they have now. Opportunities for Americans to play in Europe is totally different now than it was then and their is huge finacial incentive for teams to have Americans now.
So Berhater seems happy with the performance. So lame and typical.
Panama is a not a good team. There was no need to go ultra defensive and let them control play for the whole second half. We were one man down not 5. And we are PLAYING AT HOMe. With an arguably inferior squad we tied Italy in a WC down a man because we showed guts and resolve. All I see now is a bunch of entitled crybabies who falter at the first sign of adversity. We should be able to beat Panama even with one player less based on the quality of out players we have and how they perform in their clubs.
Honestly if we’re as good as we think we are, we shouldn’t be so worried about beating what will probably be Uruguay’s b team.
Now it’s put up or shut up for Gregg and his team. Enough of the bs. It’s semifinals or better or that should be the end for Berhalter.
His team is always Jekyll and Hyde even though he’s been the head coach forever. We should be a well oiled machine at this point. It’s the sign of weak coaching skills not to mention his recurrent in game blunders.
So let’s see if this team is a bunch of whiny sissies who keep believing they’re better than they are or if they have any pride and are able to make a statement with a deep Copa run.
IIRC against Italy in 2006 the US had two red cards and still tied the champs in group game #2.
Everybody’s down on the players and to some degree I am too, but I honestly think until you find a new coach you’ll never know how good they might be. I just don’t think Greg system and who he is as a coach is able to unlock or allow them to be what is their best version. I’ll always root for this team, but part of me wants them to lose on Monday so we can ensure that Greg is removed as coach at this point. BJ Callaghan will be named caretaker until a new coach can be found from the slim pickings that exist. I won’t even get into names at this point. I just would like to see a change maybe just let the players play without conforming to the damn 433 and build up from the back.