TripleThreat |
12-03-2022 11:50 AM |
My takes from the game:
1. We had a ton of missed opportunities, more than we had in the 3 games throughout the group stage which was promising but at the end of the day it was the same story, we aren't finishing these stories leading to the belief and rightfully so that we are missing a true #9.
2. Giovanni Reyna - He had a slow start, but you could tell with the ball at his feet, chances are coming. This is something Pulisic needs. With the USA having 3 goals and Pulisic being a part of all 3 with 2 assists and 1 goal, we clearly need another player who can provide another threat on the attacking third of the field. Shuffling from Aarrnson, to Seargant, to Wright, and then finally coming to Reyna is mind boggling.
3. Defense - We were exposed tonight. We were all shocked with the play of Tim Ream, but it goes to show how exposed we are on the back line. Dest/Robinson are great, and play their roles accordingly. Great speed, great runs, etc. Zimmerman/Ream were awful and their replacements especially for game 3 weren't much better. Very VERY basic. We won't see Tim Ream in 2026, and TBH, I don't want to see Zimmerman either. He doesn't seem ready to play against these other top players at all. It's almost like playing damage control. Our midfielders and outside backs are making up for our centerbacks and the Netherlands exposed that today. Scully when?
4. Midfield - Obviously this is our strong point and the bread and butter of our team as all of our top talent is centered around this part of the field. I don't have any concerns issues with how our midfield played throughout the entire tournament including tonight. The Netherlands did NOT allow us the midfield we simply took it from them. You could see the Netherlands pushing into Ream and Zimmerman but the moment the ball got to one of our midfielders, we were pressing immediately.
5. Forwards/3rd - Clearly we are missing a true #9, there's no way around this. Reyna played nice up top but that isn't his true role and we need to find a way to allow him to take the role of a Messi. Pulisic and Reyna need a true #9. Think for a moment, Reyna and Pulisic behind Alitdore & donovan in their primes. The moment you think of that type of formation you probably start touching yourself. Mbappe took over at the age of 19 in France, you either have it or you don't. We need to go back to the pool of strikers and start looking at some other players to bring in for 2026.
6. Head Coach/Greg - I don't know what's going on with this man... The substitutions all tournament long were suspect. Wright coming in for this game was luducrious. Did he score the goal? I guess you could call it that, it was a one in a million flick. His next 2 chances showed why he's slow. People mistake him for not being a hard worker but that's really not the case - when he's on the field with other top talent, his speed is exposed. Greg needs to dig deep and find a place for Reyna and Scully.
7. Replacements for 2026 - Zimmerman & Ream are obvious candidates for who need's to be replaced. We also need to find a #9....... Turner,Dest,Robinson,Adams,Mckenne,Pulisic,Weah, Reyna, Musah should be our 9/11 of our starting players for 2026. That leaves 2 positions open while needing to replace 3 positions #9 and 2 CBs. If we need to change our formation so be it however this roster will all be around the age of 26 for the year 2026 which is promising.
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