The U.S. men’s national team needed a second-half comeback to tie CONMEBOL opponents Ecuador on Friday night in Austin, Texas.
Folarin Balogun’s second-half equalizer helped Mauricio Pochettino’s side fight back to tie Ecuador 1-1 at Q2 Stadium. Enner Valencia’s first-half finish propelled La Tri in front before halftime, but an improved performance from the hosts led to a shared result for both teams.
The USMNT had the first positive offensive look in the eighth minute with Balogun testing Ecuador goalkeeper Hernan Galindez.
Ecuador’s talisman Valencia broke the deadlock in the 24th minute, netting his 48th international goal. John Yeboah played Valencia upfield with a pass before the Pachuca forward edged past Chris Richards and scored.
Richards almost made amends two minutes after the restart, redirecting Malik Tillman’s cross towards the bottom-right corner. However, Galindez dove to his left and pushed Richards’ shot off the post.
A fiesty second half saw the USMNT begin to up their pressure, which eventually led to the equalizing goal. Tanner Tessmann’s through ball pass to Tillman inside the Ecuador box led to Tillman hitting Balogun in stride for a one-time finish off of the right post.
It marked Balogun’s seventh international goal and his second-consecutive goalscoring performance.
Christian Pulisic, Haji Wright, and Cristian Roldan all entered the match with the USMNT fighting for a winning goal, but Ecuador’s stubborn backline held firm to hang on for a draw.
The USMNT will close their two-match October window on Tuesday against Australia.
I used the incident as one example, not of Wright himself, but as a too often occurrence with US attackers. I apologize to Wright for any misunderstanding.
This is not supposed to be here. Don’t know what happened.
Rather than judge a lot of the individual players, I just want to say that sometimes when we are in and around the opponent’s box, sometimes our players are too unselfish. A good example is Haji Wright was at the top of the box, moving from right to left and had about a second where he had a clear shot on goal and instead he passed off. Hey, you’re an attacker, you need to shoot. I see that too often where our players will overpass trying to set up a plays so that the goal is just a tap in. I’ve complained about this before, but if you have an opening from anything like the top of the box or closer in, they need to shoot. Those are the kinds of shots that can win games, because you will never know what can happen. I once saw a Fulham game where Deuce shot from a little outside of the box toward the far corner and Bobby Zamora came running across just as the shot was off, it hit off Zamora’s butt and was deflected into the opposite corner and Zamora got credited for the goal. Besides deflections, sometimes goalies screw up. If you have a clear shot, shoot the damn ball. When I was in the service in Japan I was on the base team and we were playing a Japanese team from the area. The 2 teams were maybe at the level of very good high school teams are now, or a little better. Anyway, I was back on defense when the attacker faked me left from about 25 yards out on the left side of the box, got maybe a half yard on me to the right and curled a shot into the upper 90 like Messi. He probably never did that again and I was totally deflated. That was more than 50 years ago and it’s still fresh in my mind. You never know what will happen. You know the worst part? Because he was Japanese, he just turned around and jogged back to the center circle as if it was something he did every game.
I agree that the team seems to take the ball from a dangerous place when they have numbers and push it put to the corner a lot which is a much less dangerous place and gives the other team the opportunity to set their defense. You mentioned Haji specifically but he seems to me to be the guy that tries the most to get shots and take advantage of the defense not being set. He probably did what you said, i dont doubt it, but I think he was able to get at least 3 shots in the short time he was on the field.
I used the incident as one example, not of Wright himself, but as a too often occurrence with US attackers. I apologize to Wright for any misunderstanding.
Bac,
Malik will always look like he needs to be more intense. USMNT fans have long mistaken intense ” looking”with actual intensity. That’s why Paul Ariolla had a USMNT career.
Mailk patterns his style after Paul Pogba the king of the “I don’t give a fuck ” look.
As far as I can tell he now has the role that would have been Gio’s had Gio been able to make the team. I don’t remember Gio being particularly intense looking.
Vac I don’t mean the look of intensity in his eyes.
I mean that if you look at his progression from playing with us he’s gone to another level this year compared to the past, not everyone who is good for their club turns it up a notch in international play but he has.. and to me he looks like he could take it up another small notch more consistently and he becomes a must start on the team sheet. Just my observation
Bac,
He’s getting better.
At Bayern, when he was loaned out to Rangers, it took a little while but then he did well.
When he got loaned to PSV, same thing, it took a litle while and then he became a big deal eventually resutling in him being bought.
Leverkusen looked like a risk but in 5 games he’s got 2 goals and is looking pretty good.
By the time the WC starts he might be on the verge of having a break out tournament which would be very good for the fans who think our euros suck.
Vac, oh I agree 100%, and it wasn’t meant as a criticism if it sounded that way, more of an observation that another 5% out of him would pay a lot more in dividends to our attack .. like u even said, what we were hoping and expecting Gio to become
Balogun solidified his spot as the starting num 9. Pulisic and Tillman on each side would be nice. I wished Mckennie and Morris had of switched positions. Mckennie would have been better as a CM next to Tessman.
I think given the limited minutes for Pulisic and Zendajas being out it made sense. Morris gambled on the interception that led to the goal, but Wes also gambled on the pass that got picked and led to the goal. But other than those two mistakes both had decent nights against a very very stingy defense. I think Poch is trying to find where Weston fits in the 3-4-3, so maybe we saw him for 60 at AM this one and we see him 60 minutes at CM against Australia?
Johnny, I am counting on Poch hopefully starting Mckennie at CAM or CM against Australia. I would not mind seeing him at CM next to Sands or Tessman that would be a cool match up against Australia. I know Sands is more of a CDM CB vs a CAM, but I could see him slotting in as a CM next to Mckennie. Can’t wait for Tuesday! I am very confident we will beat the Aussies!
Striker, I’ve given up trying to predict what Poch is going to do. Wes probably sits the entire match against Australia just to keep us guessing.
I think JR has a point, plus we don’t know if Pulisic and or Zendejas will be fit
Bac: they sent Zendajas back to Mexico City to begin his rehab. They way Pulisic was hobbling around after the match I don’t think he’ll start.
Gotcha, didn’t knowthat about Zendejas… And I’m guessing CP doesn’t even dress.
Well if he stays with the 3-4-2-1 to start, I could see any of the following, Luna starts and Weston starts at one of the mid spots, Weah starts further up and Freeman starts, or who the hell knows…
The game last night was interesting. Ecuador’s athleticism and aggressive style put most of the play in the first half within 10 yards of either side of the midfield line. Both teams – for the most part – were trying to pass their way through a very crowded and – using the term again – aggressive midfield.
The USMNT – even without Pulisic and Adams – were insistent on trying to control the ball and pass through the close marking. And, for the most part, did a good job. But, any real efforts to break through the midfield lines were individual and mainly on the part of Balo who played a very good game.
Ecuador’s organized press also put a lot of pressure on our defenders and Freeze when we tried to build out of the back. There were a couple close calls in the first half, one in particular when Freeze kept his composure and did a quick toe poke to the right to get out of trouble.
That style of game puts the burden on individual play to break through the midfield press. Balo did well for the US and was by far our best player in the first half. I thought Ecuador’s goal was just a good, solid, individual play by old-man Enner Valencia. Robinson could have done better – and I think he showed his frustration with himself – but it was a good move and a good shot that gave Freeze no chance to save.
The individual players of the US met the challenge from a pretty good South American team. I think this was – for the most part – the line up that most USMNT fans thought was the best US team. Adams, Jedi & Pulisic are considered a step up, but I thought this game showed some depth at a high level so that if those fragile 3 (or others) can’t play 90 each game, maybe we aren’t in a panic in a knock-out game next summer.
That was Richards on the cover not Robinson. If that was Robinson instead of Richards that goal doesn’t happen. Why I say that is because Robinson has better closing speed then Richards does. Robinsons speed would have pushed Valencia more wide.
If you are talking Jedi Robinson, then he would be higher up on the field. If not, I don’t think Robinson is as fast as before his injury a couple of years ago.
apologies – we have many R-name defenders. But thank you all for immediately pointing out and mocking my error.
You are correct – it was Richards. I can see the big hair and moustache pounding the field after allowing valencia score.
imo the US dominated proceedings, and the stats reflect that. We were unlucky to give up the goal, and I don’t know what Richards was doing on that play. But, credit to the boys for fighting back to get the draw, anything less would have been cruel
There is a reason Inter Milan were heavily weighing up an offer for Tessman, and now we are seeing why. Won’t be surprised to see him move to a bigger team in the summer.
good second half, unlucky not to get the win. the first half selections again disappointed imo, looked like a disjointed group and some of the players were noticeably frustrated, like Tillman, who Poch has chosen to be the 10. McKennie played creatively in a new role for him on this team, Weah looked like a player looking over his shoulder afraid to make a mistake. MRob was in some really weird spots for him up the field and all over, not to good effect. If you’ve watched Ecuador, they play a counterattacking style with Enner, same as it ever was, they like you to have the ball and cede possession on purpose.
The fight back was fun to watch, the subs did their job, and the play became more consistent as the game wore on and the US took control. Luna is imperfect in there but he stirs the pot and is playing with a ton of confidence right now. Balo scored but go back and watch the second half, until his goal almost invisible but he did very well on the goal obviously and he’s the #1 until he cools.
Freese saved the game and will need to be that guy, he was my MOTM hands down, because I just don’t see us scoring multiple goals consistently but 1-0 and 1-1 and 0-0 and all those scores seem more real.
Beach,
On first watch my thought on Balo was in the first half Ecuador played higher leaving space in behind. The Balo led attack earned 7 corners in the first half as we consistently got the ball behind the defense and they had to play it out or deflect it over the line. 2nd half they sat back much more instead of playing that higher point of confrontation they were content to defend in the final third as a group. This didn’t give Balo the space he had in the first half to use his speed.
yes, and even in the 1st half they backed off some I thought, not right after scoring. JR, when teams do that, Balo tends to not be as effective overall, agree? shows his quality on the goal to still be able in the moment, why so important
Beach,
I think when teams “bunker” Balo still has quality in his movement but his teammates don’t often play him in because the margins are so much smaller. By the time the guy with ball notices it’s too late and window has closed. I thought Haji was good to in his limit minutes too.
Haji looked good, could have scored, better against the bunker too imo
JR, beachbum,
Both Haji and Flo seem perfectly capable regardless of where the defense sets the line. Fans seem to forget that Ecuador is currently one of the best defensive teams in the world.
Yet the USMNT went after it from the start, did not let falling behind discourage them and even after equalizing, still went after the win.
Over the years I’ve seen this kind of “focus, commitment, sheer will…” only a handful of times and not for some time.
It’s pretty fashionable to hate on Pochettino but it seems to me they are unlikely to fire him now. If this were Gregg you wouldn’t had Miles Robinson here, you would have had Aaron Long.
But you never know.
hay Vac, I don’t forget that about Ecuador, lol, I mentioned it already, but thanks.
And I’m not hating on Poch, at all.
two strikes man, watch out for the slider out of the zone next 😉
oh, and on Balo, he’s better in space, which is fine; yes he can do it against a packed D, he scored! but when Ecuador gambled more giving space, he was really good like that. how’s that? it’s what I said before, paraphrased, kind of like a cut fastball
beachbum,
Flo is mostly gas right up the middle but he’s also developing his off speed stuff. Think changeup.
I thought Weah looked okay, not just a one trick pony blazing down the wing, but after watching a few post games I guess I’m in the minority.
And the feedback on Weston is literally all over the place
yep, I say trust your own eyes Bac, you have good ones over the years. Wes created the opportunities in the first half, sprang Balo, tracked back well, new role. Folks talking shit probably don’t even know that part, lol. I liked Weah’s game, I like him overall and always have, he just seemed different in his demeanor than usual to me, idk, but he’s usually out there looking to impose his will big time, which I love, saw it maybe once last night? maybe twice, can’t remember, but more conservative just to put it in a word, maybe that’s what Poch asked for, idk, with Arfsten out there basically playing as a winger
Watching Deuce on MIB is always good, he tries not to badmouth anyone but he’s easy to understand if you read between the lines.
Seemed to me he wanted to see Weston imposing his will more, but acknowledged he was in a different position. The CBS guys with Charlie Davies were pretty positive but all over the place with their ratings compared to others. Same thing with reading the player ratings online. Luna seemed more comfortable in that spot for about 15 minutes, better movement off the ball.
Overall I’ll say one thing, I agree with how Poch said we played like were trying to play.
Only thing I’m unsure of is how to rate Tessman and Morris, and I’m curious what that setup looks like with Adams and a soon to be player to be named later…
@Bac, good stuff, thanks for the recap, I do not watch or read that stuff
impose your will in your first callup in 7 months in a new role?? I mean, ok but maybe that expectation was a little high, lol? even so, he delivered imo, he’s a unique playmaker in our midfield
on Tessman and Morris, what’s not to like, hard workers, good passers, tough and down for the cause, not flashy but that’s not the role. I think they could have done better on some of Ecuador’s breakouts but they did well on many of them, and they’re tough to play against in those situations
who is this player to be named man?? I’m guessing you mean Musah? or Johnny?
My first guess would be Weston, my next pick would still be Musah, Poch may not give him another shot or may think he fits elsewhere but I still think hes a potential starter.
Im guessing in that 3-4-2-1 look the frontline will be Pulisic, Balogan, Tillman (or Weah) so Weston starts in the midfield or doesn’t start. I haven’t seen Jonny play since the last time Haileys Comet came so I can’t say….
I guess there’s the possibility that with everyone healthy Weah starts up top and Tillman gets moved inside?? Could work if they played as a triangle instead of double 6s… Who knows. I guess one could say the advantage here is we’ve got depth
Based on all the ratings/feedback it seems that Tessman rated the higher of the 2.
what about Hale Bopp? Tessman and Morris matched up well, I too hope Yunus gets another shot. Weston played pretty well, he gets a bad wrap imo, part of his game is lulling you to sleep then capitalizing, seen him do it since he started showing
Was Hale Bop the one that crazy group thought was hiding a secret spaceship or something??? Bwaah…
Considering the context of the game…best coached and played game of the Pochettino era.
No Pulisic, no Jedi, no Dest, no Adams. A team that kept Argentina off the scoreboard while only giving up 5 goals in all of South American qualifying.
Well done. They played fast, hard and with purpose. Passing was on point, there were interesting rotations that the players seemed to be on the same page with. They made the keeper work.
After all the fuming I’ve done…this game has shown me something to be excited about again. The team has depth and options – who will in the midfield? Who cares, the back ups will be close as good! Who will back up Dest and Jedi? There are very serviceable options behind them.
The worry remains who is playing with Richards and is Freese good enough for WC
Not too shabby, I didn’t know until pregame how solid Ecuadors defense was throughout qualifying.
Balogan was a handful, and loved his workmates.
Wears experience playing a different position with his clubs has helped his game, his touch in tight spaces has improved.
HOPE Miles keeps getting back to form from a few years ago
Tillman can really look dangerous at times, I think he needs to amp up the intensity just a tad with more consistency and he’d be a difference maker
Really liked Lunas movement off the ball,
I don’t know what to think of the 2 cmids, curious about the thoughts here.
And lastly a positive for Poch
Will be real interesting with Jedi, Dest, and even Musah in this formation
Tessman was really good. His composure on the ball and his movement and passing is top notch.
Morris is a poor man’s Adams.
Tessmann’s always been good on the ball and really good at distribution. What I was watching last night was his defensive solidity and how well he and Morris were syncing up and I did see a couple of mistakes but it was much cleaner than it’s been in the past. Tessman’s definitely showing a lot of confidence.
Morris showed really well too. I actually think we could see them both in the Prem or B1 in the next year or so; they’re definitely getting to that level.
I’m game! who will be omitted in your opinion, which hierarchy folks? Adams, Weah, McKennie, Scalley (doesn’t really count, he’s never been penciled in), Dest, just throwing some names out there. Gio doesn’t count because barring some miracle, he’s already out. So who you got at this point man?
I think Morris is still down the list, but no one has really claimed a spot outside of maybe Adams. Let’s say five CM on a 26 man roster.
Adams, McKennie (will he be a CM in this formation), Tessman, Johnny (but he’s not done it for Nats and has been hurt in a ton of windows), then ??????????? I’ll guess Berhalter for his free kicks. The problem in predicting is does Poch consider guys like Wes and McGlynn as CMs? What about the Aaronson brothers? Cremanschi has been very dangerous for the U20s and if he can put together good minutes in Parma? Roldan and Luca will likely have 3 weeks in January that everyone in Europe won’t have to earn that last spot.
2tone,
Morris is an effective destroyer in his third of the field,
But until last night I did not realize how slow he was. Last night he somehow found himself in the other half with a clear path to the goal and chose to wait for someone to come relieve him of the ball.
@Vac, great point, saw that too, and his speed also got him beat on the dribble more than once, but he can destroy like you said, and in that matchup he did pretty well but not really a ball advancer although he gets it side to side pretty good. Considering Tyler’s health generally speaking, the more the merrier at that spot, no way he can play all minutes all games, at least I don’t think so without breaking down
good stuff JR, this is going be interesting
beachbum,
I was impressed overall with Morris. Very reliable. But it’s been a very long time since I saw that from an uninjured ( as far as I know) player so I was shocked.
I thought Tillman created space pretty well.
Overall good performance.
Keep that consistency going against Australia.
thought he grew as the game wore on as early the physicality and speed had him out of sorts seemed to me and his defensive presence we had seen last window wasn’t really there. Poch stuck with him, thought that paid dividends, and Malikmgot clocked right at the edge of the area, no call, I was watching Andres and the Spanish channel and they all clearly had it as a foul. he was also in the middle of Weah’s lone foray into dangerous territory. Consistency throughout the game the next step up for him imho, like reading what they’re doing to you quicker to counter better, but he did do it too
Dunseth had it as a clear foul too. Originally said it was a penalty but on review said probably outside the box. I thought the Canadian ref was favoring Ecuador all night. Giving them warning after warning but giving US immediate cards. Stopping play immediately when they’d go down but playing on when Tessmann went down. Their goal came off a turnover when he stopped a US advance because Ecuador player didn’t get up. So he stopped play and brought the ball back to our half. The guy clearly rolled his ankle why are you stopping play. Dujic is a decent enough ref he just doesn’t have much international experience. Problem is he’ll always be the “however” guy to hardcore fans from his VAR explanation in MLS. When I saw he was the ref, I was confused because I always thought he was American.
@JR, agreed. idk, but sometimes I just think the emotional reality of things internationally can, how can I say this, influence one to see things another way whether intentionally or not, just saying it seems to be a fact
You know the old saying that a tie is like kissing your sister. This tie was like kissing a very sexy cousin. Still not great, but close.
LOL. That’s pretty apt.
You can still see the progress. The main thing I’ve been noticing about what Poch has been doing is, he’s been obliterating the hierarchy. Nobody feels comfortable, and they’re all aware that if they don’t earn their spot, stay hungry, and perform, Poch will shrug and go another direction. And not only has he turned up a pile of new guys who can help us, all of a sudden the “stars” are showing some fight and urgency again because they are now very aware of the guys in their rear-view mirror. Actually some of the old guard are even chasing at the moment. There’s going to be some surprising omissions from the World Cup roster; you can see that coming a mile away.
It appears our depth may have passed 23 guys who can contribute at this level. That’d be different.
Hahaha…step cousin maybe?
Where I live, I can marry my cousin…I think…so I was pretty happy with the tie!
Despite missing a few key players, you have to appreciate the quality of play by the US against a strong opponent in Ecuador. The US by most any measure were the better team in this game. The passing and tactics were sharp, even compared to the game against Japan. In addition, a few players made the roster competition more interesting.
– Balogen has solidified his position at the top of the striker depth chart. He put in a lot of work as a single striker, and was very effective.
– Morris and Tessman both showed well, and have made the competition for MF more interesting.
– M Robinson gets the start over McKenzie and CCV in a back 3, and also acquitted himself well.
– Tillman to me is more effective as AM in a 5-4-1. He cannot create space as effectively as Reyna might, but appears to be linking well with another MF like McKennie or Pulisic.
MRobinson did ok as a LCB, but Freeman did much better as a hybrid LCB. Freeman has much better forward game than Milles. I wouldn’t be surprised if Freeman ends up taking his place as a starting LCB.