I have 2 Cat 1 tickets to USA vs Netherlands. But they’re in section 903.
Anyone willing to swap with me so I could get closer to the pitch? Would pay to move up + the 2 CAT 1’s I have right now If the ticket swap warrants some money on top. Thanks!
Also looking for two tickets to Portugal vs South Korea
Not sure about game management from Greg. Making defensive subs without the match being killed off just ain’t it. Low block and parking the bus almost (should have) cost us this game. Go up 2-0, then go defensive and protect the clean sheet. Almost went through an entire bottle of Tums watching that second half. Hope we wise up - won’t get away with that against Netherlands.
I was in a negative mood yesterday til I stepped back and thought “2 years ago we were struggling to get results against Concacaf teams like Trinidad and Tobago & El Salvador….we tied England and we’re in the round of 16 with a VERY young team. I’ll take it
GGG deserves some credit. This team is playing very hard for him like US teams of the past. That was gone after Klinnsman, but I’m glad to see that toughness return.
I agree though. I don’t understand Shaq Moore and why Gio gets no minutes. Plus I never would have subbed in Haji when you are killing time off.
If the midfield continues their strong play, we can absolutely give Netherlands some trouble. We need Pulisic though, he is dialed in, a real threat. Some of our players are doing really well, but are often let down by bad or heavy touches, like Weah and Jedi. Dest was fantastic. Don’t wait too long to sub out MacKennie when he tires. And I hope Sargent is ok, he looked very good in that game, and if he keeps it up, I do see more goals coming, and I think even Sarge might score. We can score 2 goals against Netherlands.
Holy 💩 we looked subpar after all the subs came in. Such a huge drop off of talent and skill. I lost two years off my life watching them try to defend for the last 20 minutes.
What a twat.
“dis•grace: loss of reputation or respect as the result of a dishonorable action.”
Sooooooo our head coach leads a team to not only qualify for the WC, guides this team out of the group and on to the next round?
You are the epitome of a keyboard cuck. You know nothing about not only the English language and how to use it appropriately, but the sport of soccer as well.
Kindly go fuck yourself.
LFG!!!!! USAvNED
Can we please be more optimistic? WE ARE IN THE ROUND OF 16!!!! This is 8 years in the making so let’s be excited and just try to make the most of every moment.
First off I’m really excited for the team and the US fans!
But…Berhalter has to figure this offense out. While the defense has been amazing, I don’t think it’s sustainable to expect a clean sheet every game! Sargent was solid, but Weah was below average and Wright was terrible. I must be missing what others see in him, because I haven’t seen anything impressive or even helpful from Haji Wright. Are we saving Reyna as some kind of secret weapon? How about Ferreira? Please play someone other than Haji Wright moving forward!
The *only* thing Weah did wrong in that match, and really in all three, was not putting a couple shots on frame. That happens to every forward, even the best in the world. If he goes another half dozen shots with no goals, that becomes a problem. But at this point, his performances are *this close* to making him a golden boot contender.
I’ll take that I’m being overly critical. Weah scored our first goal and finished well in that goal. He also played well that game. I want to see him finish and create. The ball he clumsily knocked over the end line late in the game and not putting shots on target from inside the goal box need to improve if we want to advance.
Dude Weah had a good game today. His goal probably should have stood (didn’t look offside in the replay). I agree that I would like to see Ferreira instead of weight, not sure what that’s about.
Unfortunately (?) we now have robots with senses better than any human making the offsides calls. I can't really argue with any of the calls themselves.
That said, there's no way that linesman could have accurately made that call. He was guessing, at best, when he raised that flag. Maybe they've been instructed to flag everything that *might* be offsides and then let the robots figure it out. But without the tech, would that guy have had the confidence to raise the flag? I'm thinking almost definitely not. The camera angles alone without the virtual stimulation wouldn't even have caught it.
Yeah, at least 5 shots this tournament that should have gone in. Two or three rushed and off-balance putting them in the stands, and another couple just inches at most from turning inside the frame instead of bouncing out.
It's almost like they're closer to a LOT of goals than I would typically say counts as a "lack of finishing." More like the shots taken just need the *slightest* bit of better technique. If we had another three matches at this level, I'd expect more than half of those chances to start falling into the net.
I understand why CCV made today’s 11, but his absolute lack of imagination and ability to distribute from the back is hard to overlook. I don’t suspect we’ll see him Saturday.
He did admirably. And the announcers made a great point about him listening and communicating to the other defenders and quickly adjusting for the better. I'll definitely give the man props for being a selfless team player and putting aside any ego to step into the Plan with full commitment.
Great points. I’m sure Berhalter gave him a single job, and he went after it. Was just really surprised with how he behaved with the ball. But, hell, dropping Hollywood long balls wasn’t the mission.
Pros: Pulisic and Adams!
Cons: Berhalter didn’t get the subs right.
Going forward Berhalter should start Aaronson as striker b/c Wright is useless and Sargent can’t create though he hustles.
Robinson is a weak spot on the left side. Bad touch. Iran was burning him and causing him to cough up the ball.
Weah needs bit better decision making in final third.
Sargent created at least one chance for Weah who had a clear shot on goal and skied it over. I'm thinking there were other instances too.
World Cup Live on Fox for this morning had a sequence detailing Sergeant's contributions to the win, and I think they made a very accurate point with it.
I think he is solid and isn’t mistake prone but he doesn’t add much other than that. I saw Dempsey saying they should move Weah to No 9 with Aaronson on the right.
Zimmerman is good in the air and scores often on headers with Nashville. Acosta was a solid sub as well but Wright and Moore were bad options. Thought Robinson should have been subbed out as well.
Berhalter went too defensive and they couldn’t maintain possession of the ball. All Iran needed was one lucky goal and we were out.
I was nervous about Jedi finishing that match too, but he pulled through and wasn't a liability. I wonder if he had something on his mind because his face looked pained and exhausted from the first half on and he reportedly broke down in tears in the locker room.
I'm not sure it really worked, Berhalter just got lucky. Iran had way too many crosses allowed into the box. US should have maintained more possession of the ball in those final ten minutes.
De la Torre is sitting on the bench and could come on at midfield to make an impact. That dude is underrated.
De la torre also doesn’t have the same defensive ability as Acosta. Pushing up and keeping more possession with LDLT could have led a lot better chances than the spamming crosses in the box
I’m a big LDLT fan, but he’s more of a creative passer than a defensive midfielder, so not his ideal scenario. He also has 49 minutes total in LaLiga this year for a relegation battling team.
I don't mind seeing Dest subbed out when he has been. He's been phenomenal, but we've got great depth at FB and having those positions fresh is deadly to opposition who are tiring.
Sargent cant create? You sure we watched the same game. Dude was dribbling and passing the ball around a lot. He even set weah with that open shot but weah fumbled trying to pass it back to him. Sargent is fucking good bruh idgaf what anyone says.
Oh right! That was the second chance he created for Weah.
In their defense though, that was a sick defensive sequence for that one Iranian defender who intercepted TWO passes to put out that fire. He literally saved two easy shots on goal in less than three seconds.
I lost it when at one point he had the ball in the corner and could have easily passed the ball, but instead took a heavy touch trying to get around a defender and it went out for a goal kick!!!
Moore needs to stay on the bench. Adams has been giving me Busquets vibes locking counter attacks down yet pressing forward. He seems to be everywhere.
Adams the best CDM we've had. He may even become world class on a top club in the coming years. Confidence and leadership oozes from the guy and that's exactly what you need for the player to free up both the defense and attack.
Agree he played well but would like to see Aaronson in that spot as think he could create more.
Then in second half put Sargent on and drop Aaronson into midfield to replace McKennie as he can’t go a full 90.
I wouldn't substitute Aaronson *for* Sergeant. They bring different, and complementary, skills. I think those two linking up would create more chances than either of them would without the other on the pitch.
Agree. He was good today. Won’t ever score so his upside is good hold up play but he got that right today.
I do agree though that a false 9 type who can press like a madman would compliment our absolute DAWGS in midfield in the 2nd half though
I've been pretty pessimistic throughout this group stage but now that we're through, I'm actually relieved. I feel like we "met the standard" so to speak. No one expects us to beat the Netherlands, so there's less pressure I guess. Given some of the results we've seen in this world cup (and also, it's sports, sports are weird sometimes), literally anything can happen. We could very well go far!!
I keep thinking that the Netherlands has looked less dangerous than expected so far, but I haven't had time to go back and review their performances.
My thought yesterday was that I'd rather us match up with a team that has an aging and spotty roster vs a team with possibly the world's best goalkeeper. We always seem to stress heavily when a keeper frustrates our chances with great saves. It's been a thing in US Soccer since the 90s.
Re-watching the Iran match this morning though, I'm maybe feeling differently. Our defense, including the fullback play, was so good that Senegal's speed and flurries of attacking runs probably wouldn't pan out as well against us as it has their group opponents.
All moot though. We know what we're getting, and Wales was certainly no help getting us a different option, lol
Yeah I think Netherlands will still be the favorite because they’re the Netherlands, but it’s certainly not an *incredible* team and the US has proven they can play with anyone, even England, so I think we can definitely win.
Yeah, it's lining up pretty perfectly.
Until someone convinces me otherwise though, I'm still gonna be ranting against the 48-team format. It not only neuters the challenge of qualifying, but it completely changes the dynamic of the Finals themselves, and much to the worse I think.
Speaking of which, my dad's a huge Italy fan (being from Italy) and I'm really hoping Italy A: qualifies and B: plays a match in the northeast of the US.
He's going to be 78 and hasn't seen his country's team play in person since 94.
It will also be my nephew's graduation year and I'm hoping me and my sister (and her ex husband if he wants to come, he's from Brazil) can pool together some money to get at least him and my nephew to the game, if not myself or my sister and my ex brother in law. I know it's going to be expensive as fuck, but I know it would mean a lot to my dad and be a lifelong memory for my nephew. I'm not gonna have any kids of my own, so I gotta embrace being the uncle 😂
Yes, the USA has only scored two goals, and yes, they frittered away chances in each game. But how about we change that thinking and recognize the USA as the defensive juggernauts they are?
- In 3 games, the USA gave up 1 total goal. And it was from the penalty spot. So that means the team hasn’t given up a single goal from the run of play.
- We held England and Iran scoreless. Those teams combined for 13 goals in their other four games. Think about that.
- The USA hasn’t lost a game in this World Cup. And while it’s possible this will happen in Group F, right now, the USA stands to be the only undefeated, second-place team in the tournament.
Everyone’s worried that our team can’t score. Good luck getting a goal against us. A penalty win after a 0-0 draw is still a win. Let’s go.
So proud of our young squad. They played with heart. I’m not going to get into the details. I’m just happy we’re in elite company. I hope the Dutch underestimate us.
First half: iran plays defensively and hopes for a counterattack.
Second half: iran must need a goal to get through and gregg (controversially) decides we need to play defensively.
It's not the prettiest win, but its the game plan.
And it almost backfired. I just am not sure this is gonna be good enough now. And if the goal was just to get out of the group stage, great. You did it.
Almost but the guys were up to the task and at the end of the day, all attacks were foiled and we kept a clean sheet. It’s not pretty but did we get stretched out and allow a counter attack goal on two touches?? Nope!!
Oh I'm sorry I thought you were suffering from little dick syndrome I was trying to help. Maybe if we knew all your tactics we would put something together really really special we can all punch one out over it.
And took off our offensive relief players in Tim Weah, Serginho Dest and Josh sargeant(even if due to injury we could have brought on Reyna to relieve the pressure).
Approach for both teams changes. Iran was playing to not lose so they played more defensively in the first but after the goal switched to a more aggressive approach while the US played more defensively
Gotta give them props. They came through in the clutch. Before the match, I honestly didn’t give them much of a chance. No way we could score a goal against a disciplined Iran team defending in a deep low block looking for a draw. Quite happy to be proven wrong on this occasion. Well done USMNT!
Never really seen him play before this WC gotta say he really shined, I'm sure he really made his dad proud who was one of the greatest African players but never got to play in a WC. Pretty special
Jedi ran his ass off all thru the group stage and covered a ton of ground. I think his legs were just heavy and dudes legit worn out… his touch and finesse aren’t his strengths to start with and then, on top of that he’s carried a lot of load and not really out a foot wrong defensively…
He was getting burned on the left side and should have been subbed off but guess don’t have the depth to replace him…obvious weak spot that Iran was attacking
Jedi's touch was all time bad. I felt as thought Iran have him space specifically because he was giving the ball away, especially after Pulisic came off.
On the other hand with Dest they tried to shut him down in as early as possible.
It definitely wasn't just you. I noticed that the entire game. Really off putting, and a better team would have taken advantage of that for brutal counterattacks.
Highlights from the group stage: Pulisic, Adams, Musah, McKennie, Dest, Robinson, and others
Disappointments: Haji Wright
Should be left in Qatar: Greg Berhalter
Berhalter has been better than I feared though. He made up a TON of ground by putting Ream on the roster and playing him every single minute so far.
Dest, and arguably Adams have been even a notch above the others on your top line. The way they've played these three matches they'd be starting and contributing heavily for a few of the Cup contenders if those teams had access to them.
Ah, if this were the gold cup, we could send Shaq home and bring in Arriola for the knockout round. God would I have loved to see him in there the last 30 minutes, definitely wouldn’t have been jogging around like Wright
The first half was all USA. The second half was all Iran. USA was sloppy with the ball in the second half. If they play like this with Netherlands, USA will lose
Well, tbf, Iran seemed to be intentionally sitting back in the first half and playing for quick counter attacks, but after the late goal in the first half they were forced to readjust
I know a lot of people say Puli gets babied, but I have to say I’m so thrilled every time he proves the haterz (read: biased Chelsea fans) wrong. Even during the England game it was obvious.
Haters say what you want, ask all of the questions you want, but at the end of the day the US conceded once in 3 matches and got the results needed to make it out of the group. Soccer is a defensive sport by nature and the ability to defend and find a timely goal is important. This will be the key to getting a result Saturday and this team is built to do so.
>Soccer is a defensive sport by nature and the ability to defend and find a timely goal is important. This will be the key to getting a result Saturday and this team is built to do so.
My biggest worry is that the dropoff in quality in our subs is immense (MLS level) and once we starting making subs against The Netherlands we'll get ripped apart. Hell, Iran was dominating the game against our subs.
When FOX showed the replay video of the analysts watching the final moments of the match - the English girl on the broadcast was buttoning her pants and pulling up her zipper.
Aaronson up top instead of Haji. Set him loose on the press. Gio on the wing, he can handle the pressure and control the ball. Haji was a stupid choice. Moore was even worse.
Would have rather seen Ferrieira than another useless Wright appearance.
I would honestly say most of the subs were good outside of that and Moore for Dest. Didn’t end up costing us but Moore had some pretty poor passes and decision making
Acosta was fine, Aaronson looked great and Zimmerman defended the long ball exceptionally
You could see him go full panic when he got the ball. I’ve been that way in basketball games before. I must pass the ball now just get it out of my fucking hands!
Why do we keep seeing Shaq Moore over Yedin?? Moore just isn’t that good I understand you gotta make a sub when Dest is tired but it has to be yedlin instead
GGG would be foolish to come out and attack Holland. Our midfield is good enough to mitigate the Dutch attack and help us hold on. Weah, Pulisic and Aaronson can then release on a turnover near midfield and do their best against Ake and VVD. Robinson our Dest, whichever side isn’t where Dumfries is, will be our outlet valve. That’s our best option as I see it.
100% NED play boring almost catenaccio 1-0 type football recently and their midfield is very mid in terms of top class midfields. It's going to be a grind unless we find our striking boots. We have a shot but ultimately i see 1-0 NED after LVG outcoaches GGG after the half.
I think Pulisic will be fine. He was able to contribute after his injury in the first half. As long as it’s not like a seriously bad testicular injury. Even so, he would do anything for this team.
That's not what he said at all. He was asked about Pulisic putting his body on the line for the goal and McKinney said, 'The thing is, there are 25 other guys on this team that would do the same and I truly believe that'.
Pulisic coming off made things tricky tactically - maybe we see Gio come on if Pulisic was still in the game to keep pressure on. As it was, Gregg went defensive, but it seems we just don't have the bench to do that effectively. I'm curious if someone who follows USMNT more closely has a feeling on what subs would have made more sense to them.
Acosta was a good sub. Otherwise Moore and Haji make me so nervous. Scaly over Moore and Ferreira or even Jordan Morris shithousing for 15 minutes would be a better option than Haji, I just don’t know what GGG sees in these two guys. Zimmerman coming on was scary. Man just got replaced in the starting 11 and you’re asking him to close out a win or die game? His head was not in the space I’d like it to be.
Doubt it. Gregg can say there's no rift between him and Gio all he wants, but the lack of minutes for one of our best players says otherwise. He should've come on for Weah early in the second half regardless of Pulisic being injured.
I have 2 Cat 1 tickets to USA vs Netherlands. But they’re in section 903. Anyone willing to swap with me so I could get closer to the pitch? Would pay to move up + the 2 CAT 1’s I have right now If the ticket swap warrants some money on top. Thanks! Also looking for two tickets to Portugal vs South Korea
Not sure about game management from Greg. Making defensive subs without the match being killed off just ain’t it. Low block and parking the bus almost (should have) cost us this game. Go up 2-0, then go defensive and protect the clean sheet. Almost went through an entire bottle of Tums watching that second half. Hope we wise up - won’t get away with that against Netherlands.
I was in a negative mood yesterday til I stepped back and thought “2 years ago we were struggling to get results against Concacaf teams like Trinidad and Tobago & El Salvador….we tied England and we’re in the round of 16 with a VERY young team. I’ll take it
GGG deserves some credit. This team is playing very hard for him like US teams of the past. That was gone after Klinnsman, but I’m glad to see that toughness return. I agree though. I don’t understand Shaq Moore and why Gio gets no minutes. Plus I never would have subbed in Haji when you are killing time off. If the midfield continues their strong play, we can absolutely give Netherlands some trouble. We need Pulisic though, he is dialed in, a real threat. Some of our players are doing really well, but are often let down by bad or heavy touches, like Weah and Jedi. Dest was fantastic. Don’t wait too long to sub out MacKennie when he tires. And I hope Sargent is ok, he looked very good in that game, and if he keeps it up, I do see more goals coming, and I think even Sarge might score. We can score 2 goals against Netherlands.
USA!!!!!!!!!!!
USA BITCH
Holy 💩 we looked subpar after all the subs came in. Such a huge drop off of talent and skill. I lost two years off my life watching them try to defend for the last 20 minutes.
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What a twat. “dis•grace: loss of reputation or respect as the result of a dishonorable action.” Sooooooo our head coach leads a team to not only qualify for the WC, guides this team out of the group and on to the next round? You are the epitome of a keyboard cuck. You know nothing about not only the English language and how to use it appropriately, but the sport of soccer as well. Kindly go fuck yourself. LFG!!!!! USAvNED
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Wow what is with the negativity?
Can we please be more optimistic? WE ARE IN THE ROUND OF 16!!!! This is 8 years in the making so let’s be excited and just try to make the most of every moment.
First off I’m really excited for the team and the US fans! But…Berhalter has to figure this offense out. While the defense has been amazing, I don’t think it’s sustainable to expect a clean sheet every game! Sargent was solid, but Weah was below average and Wright was terrible. I must be missing what others see in him, because I haven’t seen anything impressive or even helpful from Haji Wright. Are we saving Reyna as some kind of secret weapon? How about Ferreira? Please play someone other than Haji Wright moving forward!
The *only* thing Weah did wrong in that match, and really in all three, was not putting a couple shots on frame. That happens to every forward, even the best in the world. If he goes another half dozen shots with no goals, that becomes a problem. But at this point, his performances are *this close* to making him a golden boot contender.
I’ll take that I’m being overly critical. Weah scored our first goal and finished well in that goal. He also played well that game. I want to see him finish and create. The ball he clumsily knocked over the end line late in the game and not putting shots on target from inside the goal box need to improve if we want to advance.
Dude Weah had a good game today. His goal probably should have stood (didn’t look offside in the replay). I agree that I would like to see Ferreira instead of weight, not sure what that’s about.
Unfortunately (?) we now have robots with senses better than any human making the offsides calls. I can't really argue with any of the calls themselves. That said, there's no way that linesman could have accurately made that call. He was guessing, at best, when he raised that flag. Maybe they've been instructed to flag everything that *might* be offsides and then let the robots figure it out. But without the tech, would that guy have had the confidence to raise the flag? I'm thinking almost definitely not. The camera angles alone without the virtual stimulation wouldn't even have caught it.
The linesmen have all been instructed to flag USA offside at all times.
Fully agree! Have not seen a single positive from Wright this cup
Clean sheet! Who would have thought that our defense would really shine this tournament!?
USA needs to learn how to finish….
Yeah, at least 5 shots this tournament that should have gone in. Two or three rushed and off-balance putting them in the stands, and another couple just inches at most from turning inside the frame instead of bouncing out. It's almost like they're closer to a LOT of goals than I would typically say counts as a "lack of finishing." More like the shots taken just need the *slightest* bit of better technique. If we had another three matches at this level, I'd expect more than half of those chances to start falling into the net.
USA played their best today compared to few years (or-more) ago…even taking into consideration that thei roster was a revolving door…
WE WANT REYNA!!
I understand why CCV made today’s 11, but his absolute lack of imagination and ability to distribute from the back is hard to overlook. I don’t suspect we’ll see him Saturday.
He did admirably. And the announcers made a great point about him listening and communicating to the other defenders and quickly adjusting for the better. I'll definitely give the man props for being a selfless team player and putting aside any ego to step into the Plan with full commitment.
Great points. I’m sure Berhalter gave him a single job, and he went after it. Was just really surprised with how he behaved with the ball. But, hell, dropping Hollywood long balls wasn’t the mission.
Subs were terrible. Where's Reyna?
Can GGG please play Joe Scally over Shaq Moore going forward
I don't understand why Moore keeps going in. I don't understand.
I feel like Shaq Moore almost cost us both the England and Iran games. His turnovers and fouls were hard to watch.
Pros: Pulisic and Adams! Cons: Berhalter didn’t get the subs right. Going forward Berhalter should start Aaronson as striker b/c Wright is useless and Sargent can’t create though he hustles. Robinson is a weak spot on the left side. Bad touch. Iran was burning him and causing him to cough up the ball. Weah needs bit better decision making in final third.
Sargent created at least one chance for Weah who had a clear shot on goal and skied it over. I'm thinking there were other instances too. World Cup Live on Fox for this morning had a sequence detailing Sergeant's contributions to the win, and I think they made a very accurate point with it.
I think he is solid and isn’t mistake prone but he doesn’t add much other than that. I saw Dempsey saying they should move Weah to No 9 with Aaronson on the right.
He got Zimmerman right. He was massive in the air to close out the game.
Zimmerman is good in the air and scores often on headers with Nashville. Acosta was a solid sub as well but Wright and Moore were bad options. Thought Robinson should have been subbed out as well. Berhalter went too defensive and they couldn’t maintain possession of the ball. All Iran needed was one lucky goal and we were out.
I was nervous about Jedi finishing that match too, but he pulled through and wasn't a liability. I wonder if he had something on his mind because his face looked pained and exhausted from the first half on and he reportedly broke down in tears in the locker room.
Hard to say the subs didn’t work when we won though right?
I'm not sure it really worked, Berhalter just got lucky. Iran had way too many crosses allowed into the box. US should have maintained more possession of the ball in those final ten minutes. De la Torre is sitting on the bench and could come on at midfield to make an impact. That dude is underrated.
De la torre also doesn’t have the same defensive ability as Acosta. Pushing up and keeping more possession with LDLT could have led a lot better chances than the spamming crosses in the box
Only saw Torre a few times during qualifying matches and he looked good. Must be a reason he plays in La Liga.
I’m a big LDLT fan, but he’s more of a creative passer than a defensive midfielder, so not his ideal scenario. He also has 49 minutes total in LaLiga this year for a relegation battling team.
Dest needs to be in your Pros, he played a phenomenal game. I also thought Seargent played a solid game and appeared dangerous at times.
But he looks like Pete Davidson running around the pitch
Dest seems to be getting better each game but Berhalter keeps subbing him out. Really thought Robinson should be subbed out. He was a weak spot.
I don't mind seeing Dest subbed out when he has been. He's been phenomenal, but we've got great depth at FB and having those positions fresh is deadly to opposition who are tiring.
Sargent cant create? You sure we watched the same game. Dude was dribbling and passing the ball around a lot. He even set weah with that open shot but weah fumbled trying to pass it back to him. Sargent is fucking good bruh idgaf what anyone says.
Oh right! That was the second chance he created for Weah. In their defense though, that was a sick defensive sequence for that one Iranian defender who intercepted TWO passes to put out that fire. He literally saved two easy shots on goal in less than three seconds.
I think the issue with Sargent is he’s next to useless in front of the goal for the USMNT. No one is saying he’s bad or doesn’t contribute.
He's solid but would like to see Aaronson start in the striker position just to see if that would give the US more chances.
Weah needs to shoot with cool confidence. He either launches it into the bleachers or he misses his chance entirely and passes into the defense.
I lost it when at one point he had the ball in the corner and could have easily passed the ball, but instead took a heavy touch trying to get around a defender and it went out for a goal kick!!!
Moore needs to stay on the bench. Adams has been giving me Busquets vibes locking counter attacks down yet pressing forward. He seems to be everywhere.
Adams the best CDM we've had. He may even become world class on a top club in the coming years. Confidence and leadership oozes from the guy and that's exactly what you need for the player to free up both the defense and attack.
Agreed. He's looking like someone who's going to be a lynchpin for a world-class club very soon.
Sargent played hella good and created a ton of good chances for the team.
Agree he played well but would like to see Aaronson in that spot as think he could create more. Then in second half put Sargent on and drop Aaronson into midfield to replace McKennie as he can’t go a full 90.
I wouldn't substitute Aaronson *for* Sergeant. They bring different, and complementary, skills. I think those two linking up would create more chances than either of them would without the other on the pitch.
Pulisic, Aaronson, and Weah seems pretty good to me
Agree. He was good today. Won’t ever score so his upside is good hold up play but he got that right today. I do agree though that a false 9 type who can press like a madman would compliment our absolute DAWGS in midfield in the 2nd half though
I've been pretty pessimistic throughout this group stage but now that we're through, I'm actually relieved. I feel like we "met the standard" so to speak. No one expects us to beat the Netherlands, so there's less pressure I guess. Given some of the results we've seen in this world cup (and also, it's sports, sports are weird sometimes), literally anything can happen. We could very well go far!!
I keep thinking that the Netherlands has looked less dangerous than expected so far, but I haven't had time to go back and review their performances. My thought yesterday was that I'd rather us match up with a team that has an aging and spotty roster vs a team with possibly the world's best goalkeeper. We always seem to stress heavily when a keeper frustrates our chances with great saves. It's been a thing in US Soccer since the 90s. Re-watching the Iran match this morning though, I'm maybe feeling differently. Our defense, including the fullback play, was so good that Senegal's speed and flurries of attacking runs probably wouldn't pan out as well against us as it has their group opponents. All moot though. We know what we're getting, and Wales was certainly no help getting us a different option, lol
Yeah I think Netherlands will still be the favorite because they’re the Netherlands, but it’s certainly not an *incredible* team and the US has proven they can play with anyone, even England, so I think we can definitely win.
2026….just wait til 2026
Yeah, it's lining up pretty perfectly. Until someone convinces me otherwise though, I'm still gonna be ranting against the 48-team format. It not only neuters the challenge of qualifying, but it completely changes the dynamic of the Finals themselves, and much to the worse I think.
Speaking of which, my dad's a huge Italy fan (being from Italy) and I'm really hoping Italy A: qualifies and B: plays a match in the northeast of the US. He's going to be 78 and hasn't seen his country's team play in person since 94. It will also be my nephew's graduation year and I'm hoping me and my sister (and her ex husband if he wants to come, he's from Brazil) can pool together some money to get at least him and my nephew to the game, if not myself or my sister and my ex brother in law. I know it's going to be expensive as fuck, but I know it would mean a lot to my dad and be a lifelong memory for my nephew. I'm not gonna have any kids of my own, so I gotta embrace being the uncle 😂
oh man. '94 for was....rough, for Italy.
My dad's still a little prickly about penalty shots deciding games 😂
That was excruciating...but we gotta super likeable team this year!
LETSSS GOOOOO!!!! Still amped after the match lol. Looking forward to Saturday. And yes, I hope the Dutch underestimate us.
Dub!
Yes, the USA has only scored two goals, and yes, they frittered away chances in each game. But how about we change that thinking and recognize the USA as the defensive juggernauts they are? - In 3 games, the USA gave up 1 total goal. And it was from the penalty spot. So that means the team hasn’t given up a single goal from the run of play. - We held England and Iran scoreless. Those teams combined for 13 goals in their other four games. Think about that. - The USA hasn’t lost a game in this World Cup. And while it’s possible this will happen in Group F, right now, the USA stands to be the only undefeated, second-place team in the tournament. Everyone’s worried that our team can’t score. Good luck getting a goal against us. A penalty win after a 0-0 draw is still a win. Let’s go.
I mean we are up against the 2-1-0 Netherlands. I don't see our chances of winning very high on that front.
Just wait till the Dutch see Shaq Moore and Acosta. Really gonna be scared of us
Looked much improved today attacking as well. Very nearly had two and could have easily had 3 or 4. Though we did sputter after Pulisic came off.
So proud of our young squad. They played with heart. I’m not going to get into the details. I’m just happy we’re in elite company. I hope the Dutch underestimate us.
I just don’t get why they play so well in the first half and then can’t even manage a pass in the second.
First half: iran plays defensively and hopes for a counterattack. Second half: iran must need a goal to get through and gregg (controversially) decides we need to play defensively. It's not the prettiest win, but its the game plan.
Musah and McKennie were exhausted in the second half and Iran began pressing forward.
And it almost backfired. I just am not sure this is gonna be good enough now. And if the goal was just to get out of the group stage, great. You did it.
Almost but the guys were up to the task and at the end of the day, all attacks were foiled and we kept a clean sheet. It’s not pretty but did we get stretched out and allow a counter attack goal on two touches?? Nope!!
I’ll give them that. I just want to see these guys perform to the level they are capable of.
Just how the game flow goes, they held up well
You weren't there to manage them duh.!!!!!
Oh no someone disagreed with me! I gotta take it personally!
Oh I'm sorry I thought you were suffering from little dick syndrome I was trying to help. Maybe if we knew all your tactics we would put something together really really special we can all punch one out over it.
Wtf are you even talking about haha
If it was a sincere question, probably cuz the Iranians were playing for their lives literally.
You and all the crying 😢 LDS on how every second of the match must be perfect or heads are going to roll.
Making fun of armchair coaches isn’t taking things personally.
How were they armchair coaches…
How was my original comment armchair coaching?
Ah you right, even worse. Armchair shitting on professionals lol.
you know how to read right?
We took off our technical players and put on non technical players. We begged for pressure.
And took off our offensive relief players in Tim Weah, Serginho Dest and Josh sargeant(even if due to injury we could have brought on Reyna to relieve the pressure).
Weah was useless in the second half. It was the right sub. He had a very good first half.
Approach for both teams changes. Iran was playing to not lose so they played more defensively in the first but after the goal switched to a more aggressive approach while the US played more defensively
Gotta give them props. They came through in the clutch. Before the match, I honestly didn’t give them much of a chance. No way we could score a goal against a disciplined Iran team defending in a deep low block looking for a draw. Quite happy to be proven wrong on this occasion. Well done USMNT!
Cool we don’t need your support
Timothy Weah is our Raheem Sterling.
Never really seen him play before this WC gotta say he really shined, I'm sure he really made his dad proud who was one of the greatest African players but never got to play in a WC. Pretty special
Dude is fast.
Nah bro as an England fan he’s way better than Sterling, sterling doesn’t start for me, very bad form.
As a Chelsea fan, I concur.
Sterling was invisible against the US.
I know bro, he was shit against Iran too, I know he scored, doesn’t mean you had a good performance, Foden has to replace him.
That's what happens when you don't have SEC championships under your belt
Let’s go 🔥
Let's go USA!!!!
Not sure if it’s just me but a bunch of guys had consistently poor first touches. Jedi in particular.
I noticed the pitch was poor. Guys slipping everywhere. That might have impacted touch.
Jedi ran his ass off all thru the group stage and covered a ton of ground. I think his legs were just heavy and dudes legit worn out… his touch and finesse aren’t his strengths to start with and then, on top of that he’s carried a lot of load and not really out a foot wrong defensively…
His face looked exhausted to me from about 30' on. I was worried. But he saw it through and wasn't a liability in the end. *whew*
He was getting burned on the left side and should have been subbed off but guess don’t have the depth to replace him…obvious weak spot that Iran was attacking
Jedi's touch was all time bad. I felt as thought Iran have him space specifically because he was giving the ball away, especially after Pulisic came off. On the other hand with Dest they tried to shut him down in as early as possible.
Probably as much heavy legs as it is nerves
It definitely wasn't just you. I noticed that the entire game. Really off putting, and a better team would have taken advantage of that for brutal counterattacks.
Completely agree. It’s like the ball would sail out 10 yards after the first touch
WooHoo!! CONGRATULATIONS USA!! You BEAT Iran. WELL DONE.
Highlights from the group stage: Pulisic, Adams, Musah, McKennie, Dest, Robinson, and others Disappointments: Haji Wright Should be left in Qatar: Greg Berhalter
Berhalter has been better than I feared though. He made up a TON of ground by putting Ream on the roster and playing him every single minute so far. Dest, and arguably Adams have been even a notch above the others on your top line. The way they've played these three matches they'd be starting and contributing heavily for a few of the Cup contenders if those teams had access to them.
don’t forget turner. really, everyone except for the random second-half subs who did nothing to change the games impressed me.
Ah, if this were the gold cup, we could send Shaq home and bring in Arriola for the knockout round. God would I have loved to see him in there the last 30 minutes, definitely wouldn’t have been jogging around like Wright
Aaraonson should have come in up top as a pressing false 9. Gio on wing.
Shaq Moore was biggest disappointment.
Scally over Moore is a no brainer now
Weah was disappointing as well.
Weah was very good first half, useless the second.
Weah missed at several chances and had that narrow offside goal taken away. Could have been better but he was threatening.
The first half was all USA. The second half was all Iran. USA was sloppy with the ball in the second half. If they play like this with Netherlands, USA will lose
That’s what I though as we entered the game with England. Let’s hope we can find that intensity again.
Yes. It's not about how you start the game. It's about how you finish. The game is 90 minutes not 45.
\*100 hahaha
Well, tbf, Iran seemed to be intentionally sitting back in the first half and playing for quick counter attacks, but after the late goal in the first half they were forced to readjust
I know a lot of people say Puli gets babied, but I have to say I’m so thrilled every time he proves the haterz (read: biased Chelsea fans) wrong. Even during the England game it was obvious.
Haters say what you want, ask all of the questions you want, but at the end of the day the US conceded once in 3 matches and got the results needed to make it out of the group. Soccer is a defensive sport by nature and the ability to defend and find a timely goal is important. This will be the key to getting a result Saturday and this team is built to do so.
>Soccer is a defensive sport by nature and the ability to defend and find a timely goal is important. This will be the key to getting a result Saturday and this team is built to do so. My biggest worry is that the dropoff in quality in our subs is immense (MLS level) and once we starting making subs against The Netherlands we'll get ripped apart. Hell, Iran was dominating the game against our subs.
And they conceded from a penalty, not open play or a set piece. That's really impressive and if we keep that up, it can keep us in any match.
Amen.
lol...They did her dirty catching her buttoning and zipping her pants up.
Saw that too lol
Huh?
When FOX showed the replay video of the analysts watching the final moments of the match - the English girl on the broadcast was buttoning her pants and pulling up her zipper.
*sigh* *zips*
We won but I am fucking pissed at the last few minutes with the forwards.
Our ability to shoot is so disappointing. Several opportunities that were wasted by clumsiness in the front line.
I was thinking "Pepi is probably screaming seeing Haji show so little effort and passing that shot to the goalkeeper"
Be even more furious at GB for his poor choice of subs. Wright and Moore are not the answers.
Furious at Haji Wright
So many people rallying about bad subs, who else would you bring on using the 5 subs instead of who Gregg put in?
Aaronson up top instead of Haji. Set him loose on the press. Gio on the wing, he can handle the pressure and control the ball. Haji was a stupid choice. Moore was even worse.
Shaq Moore took 6 years off my life. Don't want to see him on the field again.
Yedlin all day over Shaq Moore. Far more experienced which is what you want in a late nail biter.
Yedlin and/or Reyna. Maybe even Ferr.
Zardes goes to the corner flag there.
Would have rather seen Ferrieira than another useless Wright appearance. I would honestly say most of the subs were good outside of that and Moore for Dest. Didn’t end up costing us but Moore had some pretty poor passes and decision making Acosta was fine, Aaronson looked great and Zimmerman defended the long ball exceptionally
Why hasn’t Scaly been given a chance? Moore is my only real problem with the subs.
It’s a good question. Would’ve loved to have gotten at look at him before the knockout round
Yedlin over Moore. Literally anyone else over Haji.
not Moore. My heart was in my throat when he was wide open and passed it directly to the Iranian fullback.
You could see him go full panic when he got the ball. I’ve been that way in basketball games before. I must pass the ball now just get it out of my fucking hands!
Gio. Yedlin. Jesus. That's the type of game you bring Morris into even
Gio lol
Habibi…
that got very lucky playing such brain dead soccer the 2nd half. they left their brains in the locker room. Greg's choices are just mind dumbing.
Can’t imagine what you would say if they lost holy shit
So it’s the players and the coaches fault for winning. Nice.
Why do we keep seeing Shaq Moore over Yedin?? Moore just isn’t that good I understand you gotta make a sub when Dest is tired but it has to be yedlin instead
#LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!
Wright at the last seconds. Wtf?
GGG would be foolish to come out and attack Holland. Our midfield is good enough to mitigate the Dutch attack and help us hold on. Weah, Pulisic and Aaronson can then release on a turnover near midfield and do their best against Ake and VVD. Robinson our Dest, whichever side isn’t where Dumfries is, will be our outlet valve. That’s our best option as I see it.
100% NED play boring almost catenaccio 1-0 type football recently and their midfield is very mid in terms of top class midfields. It's going to be a grind unless we find our striking boots. We have a shot but ultimately i see 1-0 NED after LVG outcoaches GGG after the half.
Agreed. There is lots of confidence in the players. The biggest difference is GGG vs LVG.
I think our boys can win it. I’m with you that game management will determine what happens.
I think Pulisic will be fine. He was able to contribute after his injury in the first half. As long as it’s not like a seriously bad testicular injury. Even so, he would do anything for this team.
Cut me.
Is there an offside picture for the end of the first half? It really looked close and I would love to see the automated picture.
They showed the automated picture right as the halftime show started…shoulder and knee down were offside
He seemed inside to me. Maybe his patella was off but he seemed in-line otherwise.
It was ok from us, really lacking in behind the back passes from GGG
Playing Haji over Gio and Ferriara beyond this point is blasphemy. Please can somebody get that through to Greg
I feel like Will Ferrell streaking in Old School.
[удалено]
That's not what he said at all. He was asked about Pulisic putting his body on the line for the goal and McKinney said, 'The thing is, there are 25 other guys on this team that would do the same and I truly believe that'.
Pulisic coming off made things tricky tactically - maybe we see Gio come on if Pulisic was still in the game to keep pressure on. As it was, Gregg went defensive, but it seems we just don't have the bench to do that effectively. I'm curious if someone who follows USMNT more closely has a feeling on what subs would have made more sense to them.
Acosta was a good sub. Otherwise Moore and Haji make me so nervous. Scaly over Moore and Ferreira or even Jordan Morris shithousing for 15 minutes would be a better option than Haji, I just don’t know what GGG sees in these two guys. Zimmerman coming on was scary. Man just got replaced in the starting 11 and you’re asking him to close out a win or die game? His head was not in the space I’d like it to be.
Doubt it. Gregg can say there's no rift between him and Gio all he wants, but the lack of minutes for one of our best players says otherwise. He should've come on for Weah early in the second half regardless of Pulisic being injured.
And anybody who denies this is delusional