USMNT 2022

[ztejas 43546]

Their goalie has had some insane saves.

And Big Moose equalizes!

[TXSG8R 3362]

Lol, of course

[Captain Ron 12931]

No, he shouldn’t be.  Not after Grenada 

[Napoleon 8700]

ALL HAIL THE MOOSE!!

Jordan Fucking Moose!

Being tall matters in a game like this!

(who said that at the start of the game?)

[InkaUtexas 26172]

Fuck Yes! Get on the bus and leave El Salvador. Don't change clothes. 

[The Dog 44160]

GOAL BITCHES

[Captain Ron 12931]

Just now, ztejas said:

Their goalie has had some insane saves.

And Big Moose equalizes!

I was about to just say this after he saved that last one. Then the goal. 

[shnsajax 3592]

Much like many of the women in Seattle, he shall now be known as Moose!

[Braff Zacklin 13665]

Let's get another one.

Even before the equalizer, I was pleased with what we've seen. Awful conditions, full-on CONCACAF shithousery, yet there were dashes of brilliance and creativity, plus an uncalled obvious hand ball in the box. All that was missing was the customary lack of finishing.

Given the situation, a point is acceptable, but getting the full three after all this shit would be wunderbar.

[kingkoopa6 8378]

Luca

[hayden_horn 11365]

a møøse once bit my sister

[Chico_SA 521]

Yeah. Luca


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[Captain Ron 12931]

Jesus Horvath!!

[Braff Zacklin 13665]

Just now, kingkoopa6 said:

Luca

He lives upstairs from you. Yes, I think you've seen him before.

[Captain Ron 12931]

Well. Ok I guess. 

[UDontKnow 10450]

I'll take an ugly tie over an ugly loss every time. 

[TXSG8R 3362]

CONCACAF playbook, foul so much that the ref won’t card them all because he doesn’t want to kill the game completely. So fucking stupid that teams can get away with this shit.  

[Braff Zacklin 13665]

That was entertaining. Frustrating, but very, very entertaining.

Love the fire that McKennie brought in the second half. Adams was taking no shit, too.

Musah was man of the match, but holy shit, he is definitely not one you can count on to put the ball in the net.

[The Dog 44160]

I'm calling it now (as someone who doesn't follow this nearly as much as the rest of y'all) - Slonina will start in goal in Qatar.

[The Dog 44160]

1 minute ago, Braff Zacklin said:

Musah was man of the match, but holy shit, he is definitely not one you can count on to put the ball in the net.

the ES goalie did make some good saves though.

[shnsajax 3592]

Don’t even care about the result, Musah might be my new favorite player.

[Braff Zacklin 13665]

Just now, The Dog said:

the ES goalie did make some good saves though.

And I don't think ES's opener goes in if Turner is minding the net.

And that segues to your Slonina comment--job is Turner's to lose, imo.

[shnsajax 3592]

I'm calling it now (as someone who doesn't follow this nearly as much as the rest of y'all) - Slonina will start in goal in Qatar.

If he’s starting for Chelsea in August I will agree.

[The Dog 44160]

Just now, shnsajax said:

If he’s starting for Chelsea in August I will agree.

if he's playing regular first team minutes then I don't care where he's playing.

[shnsajax 3592]

That was entertaining. Frustrating, but very, very entertaining.
Love the fire that McKennie brought in the second half. Adams was taking no shit, too.
Musah was man of the match, but holy shit, he is definitely not one you can count on to put the ball in the net.

He’s still in his teens, give him time and also the next PK we get as a team. Dude deserves it.

[ztejas 43546]

Slonina is a cycle away. It will be Turner unless something crazy happens. 

[Zepol87 9195]

Definitely should be Turner 

[Bottlecap 1523]

LDLT is the fuckin dude. Also Musah.

[RamjetFDO 10578]

So. Next 2 matches in this tournament are....

March.

2023.

[Braff Zacklin 13665]

1 minute ago, shnsajax said:

He’s still in his teens, give him time and also the next PK we get as a team. Dude deserves it.

For real. I love the dude, but as I mentioned the other day, I think he's a natural 6 and will push Adams out by 2026. He's definitely the future. Cross your fingers that we get him for three full cycles.

[TXSG8R 3362]

 

[Ted Lange 16144]

Morris is only serviceable on the right.  Which is why he sucked so bad last match.  Same with Nipple.  Gregg has to pick one. 

[shnsajax 3592]

For real. I love the dude, but as I mentioned the other day, I think he's a natural 6 and will push Adams out by 2026. He's definitely the future. Cross your fingers that we get him for three full cycles.

I think he can be an 8 or a 10 depending on Gio in a 4-3-2-1. He’s got one more year at Valencia before he gets a bigger move at 20. He’s probably the most interesting US player to watch over the next two years based on development and transfer.

[Ted Lange 16144]

I don’t think Musah a 6 in GGG system but I could see him growing into it.  He has exponentially better now than he was to start WCQ.  Also, how about that DIME LDLT dropped on Morris’ gigantic head?

[Napoleon 8700]

4 minutes ago, Ted Lange said:

I don’t think Musah a 6 in GGG system but I could see him growing into it.  He has exponentially better now than he was to start WCQ.  Also, how about that DIME LDLT dropped on Morris’ gigantic head?

In fairness, Morris only has an average sized moose head, you just think that it’s gigantic because antlers tend to distract from the actual size of most moose heads. 

[UDontKnow 10450]

21 minutes ago, Ted Lange said:

I don’t think Musah a 6 in GGG system but I could see him growing into it.  He has exponentially better now than he was to start WCQ.  Also, how about that DIME LDLT dropped on Morris’ gigantic head?

It's criminal that it's taken this long for LDLT to start getting regular run with the USMNT.

[Napoleon 8700]

29 minutes ago, UDontKnow said:

It's criminal that it's taken this long for LDLT to start getting regular run with the USMNT.

He was invited to the Nations League / Gold Cup gathering last year and he told Berhalter that he felt that it was more important for him to stay with his club for the summer and nail down an unquestioned starting role. 

Perhaps you should have a talk with Luca about not turning down invites.

[UDontKnow 10450]

1 minute ago, Napoleon said:

He was invited to the Nations League / Gold Cup gathering last year and he told Berhalter that he felt that it was more important for him to stay with his club for the summer and nail down an unquestioned starting role. 

Perhaps you should have a talk with Luca about not turning down invites.

I recall that being reported, however, I don't completely believe it as I think there is more to that story. I have my doubts if Berhalter would have played LDLT last summer had he accepted the invitation (kinda like how Musah got no time in the Nations League).

[TXSG8R 3362]

7 hours ago, Ted Lange said:

Morris is only serviceable on the right.  Which is why he sucked so bad last match.  Same with Nipple.  Gregg has to pick one. 

I think the conditions helped Morris here.  He’s just not explosive post injury. No one was explosive on that field last night. For all of Nipples faults, dude definitely has a higher motor than Morris and is more dangerous on the ball. Morris is a big body attached to a decent soccer IQ at this point. 

[TXSG8R 3362]

I want to add that McKinnie is the heart of this team. Pulisic is our figurehead, and I’m not dismissing his heart or fire for the team, but you could see the energy change once WM got on the field. Musah fed off that and went into boss mode. You could almost see him go “oh, this is how we get to play?” Finishing aside, the ceiling for Musah is so high. I’m totally cool with him being more of an American Xavi and just bossing the middle and playing guys into scoring chances 95% of the time. 
 

[horn4life 3783]

I fucking loved that game.  Mainly because I LOVED playing games like that in my youth.  3/4 inch metal studs on washers on the heels and half inch studs in the front.  Knowing you are going to get completely soaked and it will truly be survival of the fittest.

The thing I hated about "mudders" is when there it is pouring and there are puddles the ball will often catch in the water making passing consistency extremely difficult.  Honestly El Salvador played better early than the US.  They were using longer balls hoping for the inconsistency of the pitch to help create opportunities. The same puddle that can stop a pass, can also cause a powerfully driven long ball to skip off that same puddle and past you. We were lucky early honestly that the early opportunities they created did not result in an early goal, IMHO.

Ref let the game get a bit out of control as he allowed the constant slight fouls by El Salvador slide (pun intended) and predictably the fouls increased in intensity.  I can see how the Arriola red card was given (see my 3/4 studs above) but given some of the non-yellow for prior fouls I would have expected a yellow with a harsh warning that next foul and you are gone.  But it's fair to argue that his cleats were up, and that alone was enough for the red.  The clear prevention by foul of scoring opportunity, when we finally used a bit more long ball, was a clear red for El Salvador.  The game did remind me so much of my youth with the incessant whining, and protests of every call, while you are constantly fouling the opposition. 

I was totally with Alexi Lalas, that the US should not whine about field conditions, weather or fucking anything related to the playing conditions.  I think his words were, "suck it up buttercup" and "oh... your uniforms got dirty."  Playing in shit weather is all part of soccer.  Learning to play on shitty pitches is just part of the process.  You need to revel in the shitty conditions. If you don't want to make 12 foot long sliding tackles to keep your uniform clean, or keep mud out of your face, pick another fucking sport!

Overall nice comeback effort, and a tip of the hat to the El Salvador keeper, he was amazing, and nearly, nearly gave his team victory.  

 

[Captain Ron 12931]

The goal in Spanish was solid, this should be cued up.
 

 

[Captain Ron 12931]

I will say this about Jordan with his goal last night - great on him making the most of an appearance he doesn't necessarily deserve. He might be on the fringes of the Qatar roster, but he has to still earn that spot.

Despite the stupid red last night, and a CONCACAF special one at that, Nipple is ahead of him in my depth chart. ALSO on the fringe, but ahead. And frankly at best you can only take one of those guys because you don't want to waste roster spots.

[The Dog 44160]

 

[MidTexHorn 822]

Musah and Weston have that attitude that this team was lacking in its failed qualification run for the last World Cup. That shit is contagious. The US has to play with a chip on its shoulder. Always.

[Speedtrucker 2082]

Slonina is a cycle away. It will be Turner unless something crazy happens. 

Yeah my worry go Gaga is that while it’s nice that Real Madrid is interested in Slonina, he’s gotta start for Castilla or else he’ll languish on the Madrid bench.

I’d like him to go to a la liga lower table team so he can really work his game and learn to play from the back at a high pace.

[Captain Ron 12931]

1 hour ago, MidTexHorn said:

Musah and Weston have that attitude that this team was lacking in its failed qualification run for the last World Cup. That shit is contagious. The US has to play with a chip on its shoulder. Always.

 

[Captain Ron 12931]

 

 

[ztejas 43546]

24 minutes ago, Captain Ron said:

 

TA has this energy too. Pulisic is also intense but he's a smaller guy that plays a more finesse position so it doesn't always translate to the pitch. Kind of like Argentina with Messi. Obviously he's their best player but in 2014 Mascherano was just as much the engine of that team and did a lot of the dirty work. It takes a village. 

[Captain Ron 12931]

No disagreement from me on this in terms of these guys being locks. There might be others that are locks, but these are locked in for sure.

 

 

LDLT might move on to the lock page. I move Roldan to the outside looking in.