much better play. Yedlin and Zardes need to figure out how to play the ball out of the back cleaner.
3-0 USA after 1 half....
- Thread starter LaJolla Lion
- Start date
For those of you who might not be on top of how this works, the goal differential is a significant tiebreaker so there will be no let up.
4-0 now!
Our guys must have been coached up to keep their shots low on the CR goalie. Almost all shots were low and in the corners.
Our guys must have been coached up to keep their shots low on the CR goalie. Almost all shots were low and in the corners.
Yeah, particularly Yedlin and Brooks. Cameron did not look good the last two games either. If it does not get sorted out we could be in major trouble against a better team.
Actually they are decent Nate. They made it to the quarterfinals in the last WC and lost on PK's to the Dutch. Not elite, but still a decent team. They drew with a Paraguay team who fell 2-1 last night to Colombia. I don't really think you know much about CR and the ticos to be honest.
bwifan
Well-Known Member
Think is was a little of both last night... Not quite as good opponent but the U.S. looked so much better in their passing and where each of them is supposed to be on the field. They looked much more fluid and organized and understood schematically where they were supposed to be.... I liked the 4/3/3 set much more than when they went to the 4/4/2.
For those that think the Ticos are a pushover team ...
In FIFA Rankings, Costa Rica is ranked 23rd. USA is ranked 31st. Not that the FIFA rankings are always that great of a way to judge things but the USA made it to the Round of 16 last WC and Costa Rica made it to the quarterfinals before being knocked out in penalties by the Netherlands. Also in this WC cycle Costa Rica is easily going to make it to the hex while USA is currently struggling to get there.
This wasn't a great team but it is a pretty good one ... but it wasn't a great win because we beat them it was because of how and by how much we beat them. We don't put away teams like that 4-0 ever. Would be nice if we could do it more often.
In FIFA Rankings, Costa Rica is ranked 23rd. USA is ranked 31st. Not that the FIFA rankings are always that great of a way to judge things but the USA made it to the Round of 16 last WC and Costa Rica made it to the quarterfinals before being knocked out in penalties by the Netherlands. Also in this WC cycle Costa Rica is easily going to make it to the hex while USA is currently struggling to get there.
This wasn't a great team but it is a pretty good one ... but it wasn't a great win because we beat them it was because of how and by how much we beat them. We don't put away teams like that 4-0 ever. Would be nice if we could do it more often.
Love the player Bobby Wood is becoming. Hurt really bad when Jozy went down in Brazil and Wood looks to give us another option and maybe at this point in their careers a better one?
The back 4 all had really good seasons in Europe, but yes when pressured by quality opponents they've been shaky. Remember though, the two goals they let up to the #3 team in the world were on a set piece and a pen. I think 3 of 4 currently out there will start in Russia, with Johnson moving up to MF and everyone in US soccer hoping someone emerges at LB (a few months ago there was a rumor Pulisic would get a look there, but in my opinion in that case start him at MF and leave Johnson back there, probably nothing to the rumor). The only way I don't see it being Brooks and Cameron is if Miazga cracks the starting lineup at Chelsea and plays well.
The back 4 all had really good seasons in Europe, but yes when pressured by quality opponents they've been shaky. Remember though, the two goals they let up to the #3 team in the world were on a set piece and a pen. I think 3 of 4 currently out there will start in Russia, with Johnson moving up to MF and everyone in US soccer hoping someone emerges at LB (a few months ago there was a rumor Pulisic would get a look there, but in my opinion in that case start him at MF and leave Johnson back there, probably nothing to the rumor). The only way I don't see it being Brooks and Cameron is if Miazga cracks the starting lineup at Chelsea and plays well.
He looked good in the friendlies and had a great year in Germany. As others pointed out Colombia is a top 5 team in the world currently. Wood has had a pretty great year to be honest and nobody really shined against Colombia.
Against Colombia, Jones also had a particularly bad day. He had problems with his spacing (probably hung back a bit much -- out of respect for Colombia's speed on transition?). Without Jones filling in a lane on offense, Torres, Zapata, and Arias were free to apply a lot of pressure on Wood whenever he had the ball.
I'm not knocking Wood for being a poor player as much as I am being disappointed in the Colombia game because I had high expectations for him (still do).
Could you imagine if Wood continues his success in top flight Bundesliga, Pulisic continues his rise there, Miazga breaks through in Chelsea, and Zelalem matches the hype at Arsenal??
Russia would look like this:
Guzan/Howard/Horvath
Yedlin-Cameron-Brooks/Miazga-Johnson
Pulisic-Bradley-Zalalem/Nagbe/Jones
Wood-Altidor/Dempsey/Morris-Zardes
Of the 10 positional players 7 could be from top flight European teams and the rest all MLS all stars. With that type of lineup you better be competitive to the semis.
Russia would look like this:
Guzan/Howard/Horvath
Yedlin-Cameron-Brooks/Miazga-Johnson
Pulisic-Bradley-Zalalem/Nagbe/Jones
Wood-Altidor/Dempsey/Morris-Zardes
Of the 10 positional players 7 could be from top flight European teams and the rest all MLS all stars. With that type of lineup you better be competitive to the semis.
Part of the issue against Columbia was the tactics. Klinsmann played a 4-3-3 with Wood playing as a wing. He is a classic number 9. When the US switched to a 4-4-1-1 with Dempsey playing underneath Wood against Costa Rica, Wood immediately looked dangerous again. Playing that formation against a team like Columbia was foolish for many reasons, not least of which was the plain fact you are not going to dictate tempo and possession against a team that good.
The US actually knocked the ball around halfway decent against Colombia at times. It's quite possible that formation chosen didn't lend itself to a better result, but I still wasn't that upset with the effort out there. I'm just hoping they keep the momentum going and get a good result on Saturday.
Problem is they put one chance in 12 on goal and they recorded only 7 tackles won in the whole game. It was possession with no real purpose or danger. The good news is there are only a handful of teams in the world who are as good as Columbia and Paraguay is nowhere close to them.
That is basic soccer 101. It is slower for a goalie to drop down for a shot. I would hope they weren't "coached up" on this at their level.
Good discussion you and La Jolla are maintaining. I'm a fan but only just about one step up from clueless so this is a valuable thread.
True and we are closing the gap ever so slowly. I remember when we beat Colombia in the 94 WC and that game was very lopsided as Colombia absolutely dominated the US, but the own goal and some luck let the US prevail. This performance was much better minus the final third, but they lost 2-0. Things tend to even out in the end I guess.
That is one of the many reasons I love the game. That 94 team had no business winning that game. If eleven 1v1 games broke out on that field simultaneously we most likely would have lost every one. Carlos Valderama should have been able to win that game himself. The pressure of being one of the favorites to win it all got to them and a little of the mysterious home field advantage combined to result in one of the greatest upsets in World Cup history. I know we are progressing slower than fans would like, but when you look at the 94 team and compare them to the quality of players on the USMNT today the progress is evident. Outside of maybe Tab Ramos and Claudia Reyna I am not sure anyone on that team would be close to cracking the starting lineup today.
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