Copa Oro: It's Not Pretty, But It's Ours

P.D.X. · Post by **P.D.X.** » Thu Jul 29, 2021 5:28 pm

I don't know who you give it to in that lineup shrug

tennbengal · Post by **tennbengal** » Thu Jul 29, 2021 5:43 pm

Pick a guy who can complete a pass going forward.

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Thu Jul 29, 2021 6:46 pm

Qatar has speed andd you can see the numbers coming forward. Also if the US is going to press, the midfield can't let them out so easily. Qatar is also very quick.

rass · Post by **rass** » Thu Jul 29, 2021 6:54 pm

Turner…

tennbengal · Post by **tennbengal** » Thu Jul 29, 2021 7:08 pm

rass wrote: ↑Thu Jul 29, 2021 6:54 pmTurner…

Magician

rass · Post by **rass** » Thu Jul 29, 2021 8:19 pm

Greggg shitting on the poor fourth official after the goal was funny.

tennbengal · Post by **tennbengal** » Thu Jul 29, 2021 8:31 pm

Our B team has done well to get to the final.

Rex · Post by **Rex** » Thu Jul 29, 2021 8:36 pm

GGG masterclass. Zardes MOTM. On to the next opponent.

Post by **brian** » Thu Jul 29, 2021 8:46 pm

Watching a US-Mexico final in Mexico is gonna be lit.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Thu Jul 29, 2021 8:51 pm

Rex wrote: ↑Thu Jul 29, 2021 8:36 pm Zardes MOTM.

Turner?

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Thu Jul 29, 2021 8:54 pm

brian wrote: ↑Thu Jul 29, 2021 8:46 pm Watching a US-Mexico final in Mexico is gonna be lit.

Stay safe!

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Thu Jul 29, 2021 8:57 pm

Did not realize that Gioacchini was a Bethesda Soccer club kid (well that and 4 other good clubs in the DC area)

Post by **brian** » Thu Jul 29, 2021 8:58 pm

degenerasian wrote: ↑Thu Jul 29, 2021 8:54 pm
brian wrote: ↑Thu Jul 29, 2021 8:46 pm Watching a US-Mexico final in Mexico is gonna be lit.
Stay safe!

I don’t care enough about the outcome to make myself a target. This is less a big deal than the two WCQs against Mexico to come.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Thu Jul 29, 2021 8:59 pm

brian wrote: ↑Thu Jul 29, 2021 8:46 pm Watching a US-Mexico final in Mexico is gonna be lit.

Throw a bag of piss at yourself to show you’re a good sport?

Post by **brian** » Thu Jul 29, 2021 9:02 pm

mister d wrote: ↑Thu Jul 29, 2021 8:59 pm
brian wrote: ↑Thu Jul 29, 2021 8:46 pm Watching a US-Mexico final in Mexico is gonna be lit.
Throw a bag of piss at yourself to show you’re a good sport?

That and homophobic slurs and I’ll be one of the guys.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Thu Jul 29, 2021 9:39 pm

Better drink your own piss.

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Thu Jul 29, 2021 9:44 pm

Thought Triple G did a really OK job with subs, except:

* Dike was clearly hurt and should've come off in the 50th.

* Subbing Roldan for Busio, when Arriola was clearly done was... One of the worst subs I've seen in a long time.

* Other subs were spot on.

I'll have other stuff tomorrow, but... That was a very good Qatar team, but they have ZERO depth and were absolutely gassed by about minute 75.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Thu Jul 29, 2021 10:55 pm

Love to see a Canadian team go for it, not sitting back.

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Fri Jul 30, 2021 7:39 am

That CAN-MEX game was absolutely bonkers. Full credit to CAN, they really gave MEX all they could handle and more. Huge tournament for them in terms of confidence.

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Fri Jul 30, 2021 8:16 am

* US came out of the gate in the second half on fire. Felt like a team that had been given good instruction and a game plan and put Qatar back on their heels. As much as I give Berhalter shit, that's a very good sign for a manager.

* Robinson, yet again, had an almost perfect game. On the flip, obvious point, but Sands took some tough hits tonight. I still like his game, but, man... He's going to need to tighten up for Sunday, or we're fucked.

* Now, to give Triple G some shit, I was watching with my coach friend, and we were going crazy about transition. Qatar is NOT a flanking team. They transition with their centerbacks right up the gut. We should've pulled guys inside to crowd the middle and actually force them outside. Drove me nuts how often their backs were allowed to get to about 35 yards from goal totally uncontested.

* Game pretty easily could've been 3-0 at HT. Full credit to Turner for two amazing stops, but... See the previous bullet. We got VERY lucky to win this game. Berhalter's lack of execution and slowness to react has become a glaring issue and doesn't bode well for September WCQs.

* Feel like it's time to swap Cannon in for Moore. Shaq has hit a wall, IMO... Cannon looked sharp and brought more creativity going forward.

* Did NOT like pulling Hoppe off. See my post from last night about Arriola staying on way past his ability to be effective both ways. At the end of his minutes, he wasn't even trying to get back on D, which almost burned on at least one transition.

* Don't always want to be negative, so I'll say that's the best game from Llegett this tournament. That said, when you brought on the subs, especially Williamson and Gioachini, you saw what a creative and technical player can bring to the game.

My ONLY concern, and it has been there all along. With guys like Zardes and Acosta having good tournaments, I fear they'll be elevated to being put into the mix for Qualifiers. I hope Berhalter is smarter than that.

tennbengal · Post by **tennbengal** » Fri Jul 30, 2021 8:34 am

Nonlinear FC wrote: ↑Fri Jul 30, 2021 7:39 am That CAN-MEX game was absolutely bonkers. Full credit to CAN, they really gave MEX all they could handle and more. Huge tournament for them in terms of confidence.

I was super impressed with Canada in every respect. Especially since they were missing their two best players. So happy to see another team give Mexico shit in the region.

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Fri Jul 30, 2021 9:17 am

Nonlinear FC wrote: ↑Fri Jul 30, 2021 8:16 am
My ONLY concern, and it has been there all along. With guys like Zardes and Acosta having good tournaments, I fear they'll be elevated to being put into the mix for Qualifiers. I hope Berhalter is smarter than that.

He's not. I get annoyed when Lleget and Zardes score or have a good game against shit teams, because Berhalter always seems to call them into camp with the big boys. I think all his years coaching in the MLS, he sees the MLS guy as being much better than they are. I know he coached Zardes at the club level, and I believe Zardes played really well and scored a lot, so that has to weigh on Berhalter's decision making. We have a generational talent at the very start of what has the potential to be a world class national team for the next 8 years. It's a shame we don't have a coach with the knowledge, experience or skill to develop them as a unit. Hopefully their talent and seeming desire to come together as a unit will make it happen in spite of the coaching an general incompetence of the USSF as a whole.

P.D.X. · Post by **P.D.X.** » Fri Jul 30, 2021 9:21 am

Has he had the opportunity to 'develop them as a unit' since he became coach?

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Fri Jul 30, 2021 9:35 am

The one thing I want to point out, that I really wasn't aware of about the player pool:

Instead of having to pick a roster of 23 for the entire tournament, for Qatar, you pick a pool of 30 and then have to announce your roster of 23 a day in advance of each game.

That's a HUGE change, obviously, and it makes some of the issues around bringing a guy like Zardes, Acosta and Llegget less of a problem.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Fri Jul 30, 2021 9:37 am

Or a bigger problem because it increases the chances they'll be in Qatar to be selected?

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Fri Jul 30, 2021 10:02 am

P.D.X. wrote: ↑Fri Jul 30, 2021 9:21 am Has he had the opportunity to 'develop them as a unit' since he became coach?

Not yet, most of the guys I'm referring too like Musah, Reyna, Weah... are too young and new to the team. I think the WCQ and 2022 WC are where the development will happen. I'm cautiously optimistic it'll go well regardless of who is in charge, as these kids are peak professionals and don't seem to have egos and really seem to like each other and I think will put the team first.

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Fri Jul 30, 2021 10:09 am

mister d wrote: ↑Fri Jul 30, 2021 9:37 am Or a bigger problem because it increases the chances they'll be in Qatar to be selected?

It just takes the impact down a bunch of notches. If we'd had Landon as option in Brazil, there's a pretty good chance you put him on the game day roster in knockouts, knowing what he would've brought to the table. But they had to make a tough choice on youth and a couple of other factors and so he stayed home.

Having 7 extra slots just dramatically decreases the impact of having a couple of MLS pluggers, who Berhalter is bringing no matter how much ppl shit on those choices.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Fri Jul 30, 2021 12:46 pm

Ah, I guess I was assuming those guys wouldn't make the 23 but if they're inside the 30, they'd get picked on days when he feels the need for his guys who "know the system".

tennbengal · Post by **tennbengal** » Fri Jul 30, 2021 8:19 pm

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Sat Jul 31, 2021 12:51 pm

Yeah, seemed relatively inevitable that he'd go somewhere after this tournament.

tennbengal · Post by **tennbengal** » Sat Jul 31, 2021 1:03 pm

Sure - but that’s quite a leap from Schalke - i am not sure best spots for his development if it goes down like that

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Sat Jul 31, 2021 1:29 pm

tennbengal wrote: ↑Sat Jul 31, 2021 1:03 pm Sure - but that’s quite a leap from Schalke - i am not sure best spots for his development if it goes down like that

Oh. Yeah. That... Totally agree. I don't think he's that level yet.

Rex · Post by **Rex** » Sat Jul 31, 2021 2:47 pm

A transfer to a solvent big club, who loans him out to a team in the Championship or MLS or something equivalent would be best for him.

govmentchedda · Post by **govmentchedda** » Sat Jul 31, 2021 7:45 pm

Getting away from Schalke should be priority #1 for anyone you care about.

Post by **brian** » Sun Aug 01, 2021 5:57 pm

Between not having cable, a car and the insane heat getting into Old Town for something like this is quite the production and I accidentally left an hour early thinking the game was at 6:30. Oh well more drinking time.

Post by **brian** » Sun Aug 01, 2021 7:36 pm

Also let’s just say “Copa Oro” is a lot cooler than “Gold Cup”. I’ve literally not seen a single reference to Gold Cup and don’t miss it. It should be “Copa Oro” in the States and Canada as well.

tennbengal · Post by **tennbengal** » Sun Aug 01, 2021 7:43 pm

lol - Lalas put ranked the top 6 strikers in the US pool - he had zardes #1 heading to qualifying...

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Sun Aug 01, 2021 8:11 pm

Turner is starting the first World Cup match.

(Also I fucking hate Mexico. Good rivalry.)

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Sun Aug 01, 2021 8:26 pm

Wondiola.

tennbengal · Post by **tennbengal** » Sun Aug 01, 2021 8:51 pm

All in all, not a bad half.