US vs Mexico Gold Cup Final
The US/Mexico rivalry heats up again tonight from Solider Field in Chicago.
Will we see the US team that started to look like a real soccer team in that first 16 minutes against Jamaica, or does Mexico put us in our place, leaving more questions then answers.
Bring home two trophies today! USA! USA! USA!
Both teams staring with a 4-3-3.
Interesting that Morris and Altidore are getting the starts over Zardes and Boyd. I was loving the way Boyd was playing, and personally prefer Zardes over Altidore.
If the wings play like they did the other night, we will be really enjoying the night.
My goal for tonight... no Bradley bashing.
I think it’s more valuable to have Zardes off the bench tonight. He still has cinder blocks for feet and isn’t as good of a finisher as Altidore. Zardes can be a change of pace late in the game and he is obviously familiar with our coach's system
Comment didn’t age well.
Zardes wouldn’t have even had the opportunity for the shot on goal. He would have knocked it OOB on first touch
since i'm largely ignorant about futbol strategy, is a) opponent lineup or b) your own personnel generally the bigger factor in what formation you roll out?
It’s really more about your team and how your players fit a system. Today’s version of soccer is so fluid that the starting formations are just that, a starting place. 4-3-3 is more of an attacking formation then maybe a 4-4-2.
But, when playing good soccer, it’s much more position-less (to a point), and guys are filling spaces and overlapping when they see the opportunity.
Thanks!
Really need this. If we win, we go to the Confed Cup in 2021. A lot of young players missed the chance to experience a World Cup last summer. Confed Cup would be incredible for them. Still sore we are not in Copa America 2020.
FYI: the Confederations Cup is no longer a thing. FIFA announced that this spring.
Well, never mind then. Not surprised as the tournament isn’t valuable to teams in UEFA or CONMEBOL. Only to the hosts and lower ranked nations
I kind of hate that they got rid of it though. The Gold Cup has no consequences anymore, what's the point of even having it (except bragging rights)? I'll miss the confed cup but for UEFA is probably a decent tradeoff because of the nations league.
What's the point of fielding a team if you can't get excited about winning a CONCACAF tournament and getting a trophy? Winning the world cup has no consequences other than bragging rights and raising a trophy. Should we not play in it anymore?
Winning the big ten in football has no guaranteed consequences anymore. Is there no point in having the league anymore?
Altidore!!! You have to finish there!!
Jozy’s gotta finish that.
Jozy.... damn. Those are the chances that we cannot afford to miss
Yikes! Went to that game maybe 8 years ago. Horrible experience even though we (US) won. I was harassed the entire time.
I can’t say it enough how I love seeing the US with a high pressure system. You gotta have the guys to put pressure on the opponents and make them making mistakes, instead of allowing the other team to take their time and keep coming at you.
I mean, how often do we see the US pushing the other team around and the others team captain complaining about the physical play. LOVE IT!
I like the Berhalter hire. Just wish we would have hired him much earlier. Not like he wasn’t available. We’d be in a much better spot as a national team if we did
Does a Gold Cup championship guarantee a World Cup berth?
Old article... deleted
The confederations cup is no more.
Whoever loses pays for the wall
Lolol
Things getting chippy.
The speed the US has with McKinnie, Pulisic, and Arriola is something we’ve never had before.
Love the way Arriola is a beast getting back on defense (covered for slow Bradley), but still gets up in attack, and almost slow rolled that one in as he worked to the other side of the field!
For those that don’t watch much soccer, if you see a guy all over the field, that means (usually) he’s a baller and working his ass off.
Arriola is the type of player past coaches would have had no idea how to properly utilize. They’d just have him running himself to death for no reason.
They are almost playing 5 attackers off of goal kicks or the opponents passing out of the back with Arriola and Morris playing the wide 5th on either side and Pulisic and McKinnie playing the inside 5ths and Altidore the center.
Interesting seeing how far back the wide guys get on D and then watching them push up so fast.
0-0 at half.
That miss by Jozy in the first 15 is gonna come back to haunt us.
Morris has been a negative in the first half, doing nothing out wide. We gotta get Boyd in the game.
I was just about to post "get morris out of the game"
the altidore miss...man
got to try and get pulisic the ball more
Bradley is a liability. He’s giving Mexico’s midfielders freedom to roam undefended because he’s too slow, and his passing is always sideways and indecisive. I respect him but we need to develop someone else, it’s time.
Unfortunately, the MF behind him on this roster are not improvements. Wish Adams was here
The lack of a midfield is what is holding the US back. Once this makes the same upgrade that we see in Pulisic, we're going places.
McKinnie for Captain for forever.
All in favor?
Damn!
Damn! Great header, better defensive header.
And fucking Bradley giving up all that damn space. If people are still in his corner after that, I don’t know what it will take.
No VAR? Those hand balls on bang bang plays are where they’re useful. Turns out no handball, but still.
Lots of green (Mexican) jerseys in the crowd. If I didn’t know better, I’d think the game was being played in Los Angeles.
Interesting that first sub is for Morris, it’s not Boyd coming in.
Roldan comes on instead.
Zardes getting ready to come on too, most likely for Altidore.
US looking slow right now. Sloppy play.
Was Boyd hurt? Him not playing was a shock.
Mexico looking much more likely to score this half. Outside of the first few minutes, we’ve been pretty bad in the second half
Bradley is flat out awful. Every time the ball gets near him it is either an awful turnover or him getting flat beat 1-1.
Well that’s probably the game.
Fucking Bradley. We might as well be playing a man down with him guarding nothing but air and can’t get back.
Bring in literally anyone that will run out there and this would be better then him.
1-0 Mex
Bradley has been a liability dating back to the last qualification effort (or lack thereof). How on earth have we not found a suitable replacement in two plus years?
I don't know enough about the alternatives, but Bradley started looking toasty before that.
Our subs have made no difference at all.
I just don’t get how we have arguably our most talented player ever and we are only getting him 10 touches in our most important game since WCQ
Roldan just had a pretty good 5+ minutes, but your point stands.
Its a dead horse, but it is too much to ask to have the outside guys doing so much of the work then asking him to do more. Really just need to put in someone for Bradley and just tell that guy to run. Hell, Rodan with his possession might be the guy and Boyd out wide.
USMNT is not good ......
This is a bad take. Chances tonight have been equal, and can be argued that US has been better.
Now you can be upset with the result, but if they had been playing like this when qualifying for the World Cup last time, then there would not have been a doubt if they would have qualified.