Official Team USA Soccer Thread

[Super Selby]

Torres is only good vs scrub Caribbean island teams. Can't defend anyone and needs to completely dominate the ball to have any impact in the game. Vs the better teams where US doesn't have 70% possession, Torres has almost no impact

[KF10]

Congrats on the win US!

To be honest though, I thought the US had a poor game today. Actually, they had a horrid game imo. A lot of bad touches, give aways and didn't did anything special with the ball when they had it. Played "Bunker Ball" today, they had 10 men behind the ball, eventually, the US capitalized on a mistake and burned Mexico today.

Their mid field was totally non-existent with the exception of Beckerman (although, he had a couple of bad moments in the game i.e. gave up a terrible corner where he simply missed kick the ball out line). Torres was completely invisible (that's because Mexico kept the ball 60%-70% of the time).

Brek Shea is starting to make himself known as the "Mexico-killer". Dude has been huge the last two games against Mexico. Cameron was really solid and Howard was simply in the zone throughout the game, particularly the last 10 minutes of the game.

Mexico had their chances when they were out possessing the US by a huge margin all game long but did not do anything with it other than than the last 10 minutes of the game where they were sending all of their men across the half line and starting to create a couple of offensive opportunities.

It was bound to happen where Mexico fall in Azteca against the US. Once again, congrats USA!

[MeCarlos24]

Great win for the U.S. This should bring the non rational Mexican fans back to reality after the Olympics. Notice I said non rational, not all of the Mexican fans. Just the homeristic ones

Nothing can bring the crazy Mexico fans back down to earth.

[LittleOzzy]

Congrats on the win guys!

[PANDEMONEUM]

GS Warriors 1

agreed on Beitashour over Orozco
i though Orozco played himself OFF the team
but, him, Castillo, Gomez, Corona, Beasley will probably all get time
because they play in leagues in Mexico

imo, thats NOT a good reason to bring them for this match

i want their to b continuity for this team
if our A guys cant make it
the B guys are next and make the starts and get the playing time
if some of those guys cant make it
we need to bring the young guy in

not beasley, not gordon
and not guys who played their way OFF the team (castillo, fizcal)

yea. so.
Fizcal scores the goal
Castillo gets picked on all game, but actually didnt mess up
Jones SUCKED
Torres SUCKED
Danny Williams disappointed
Brek Shea. That is what we want to see ALL THE TIME
Edu and Cameron combination, did waaaaaaaaaaaay better than i expected

ESPN3.COM HAS THE REPLAY
and a bunch of others, germany v argentina, had a very interesting 1st half

[fatlever]

hard to argue with those that say we looked pretty much horrible most of the game. jones, torres, landon, williams were non-factors. 2nd half was much much better once torres and landon came off. backline was solid (amazingly). i love fabian. dude is great. sad to agree with those who say torres really can only help vs teams were we will have more possession. and he doesnt need to be that high up the pitch. freddy would be better in that role vs teams like mexico that dominate possession. freddy can keep the ball at his feet better and hold it up to wait for help or draw fouls. alas, he never gets called because he underwhelms in club. mexico deserves this for playing this game in azteca for a money grab. sucks for them that their olympics high only lasts 4 days before its ruined this loss.

[PANDEMONEUM]

fatlever

i agree with EVERY point u just made

i was hoping Torres was going to b a needed and a mainstay as a starter
when he gets the ball, i feel like he makes good decisions
and is one of the few players we have that is creative
but, he was non-existent this game

now, i feel hes just another piece, and will b used based on matchups

[PANDEMONEUM]

id like to see something like this, in the future
we couldnt possess the ball with the lineup we had yesterday
so this wont b worse than that
i think this could b our best scoring lineup
at least, a high pressure formation

gomez - boyd
dempsey
shea - bradley - donovan
johnson - bocanegra - cameron - cherundulo

[and1GS]

USA USA USA!

What a win! The Mexican national team is my least favorite team in any sport. Pumped we could grab our first win in Mexico.

What did we learn:

1) As much as we all like Torres, he's not cutting it.
2) As much as we don't like Jones, he's not cutting it without Bradley.
3) As much as we all like having Brek and Boyd on the bench...wait what? Brek should have started the match, odd that he sat but I think Jurgen is trying to humble him since he's been quite a hot head for 10 months now. Boyd was very good as well, I thought he should have started ahead of Gomez.
4) Boyd called America "the greatest country in the world" and said he was proud to play for us
5) I want to root for Castillo...but he's too frail to start for us. If he had overwhelming pace (which he doesn't) it'd be a different story.
6) Brek lit the game up in 10 minutes of action. Dispossessing people, taking risks, finishing in the final third, taking on defender, he was phenomenal. He reminds me of a young Dempsey; flashy, loses composure in the final third at times, dominates at the MLS level, good size and is willing to take risks

With the lineup above me I think you need another holding mid, since Brek doesn't really track back. But it is imperative Brek plays, we have very little creativity on the wing and he's willing to constantly take risks because he's kinda an eccentric dude, it's just his personality to take risks. The more I think about it the more the Dempsey comparison seems spot on, they were the exact same player at this age save Brek's temper of course.

[PANDEMONEUM]

Next Match

U.S.A vs. Jamaica
Sep. 7, 2012
9:30 p.m. ET
National Stadium, Kingston, Jamaica

IDK what TV will carry the game
*

some questions on the availability of Dempsey, Bocanegra, Edu, Cameron

imo, @jamaica we should use a defensive formation
4-1-2-2-1

cherundolo - edu - cameron - johnson
--------------beckerman--------------
-----------bradley - jones-----------
donovan --------------------- torres
--------------gomez--------------

for subs, i can see 1 of Altidore or Boyd, Dempsey, Shea, Williams
for torres, if he disappears again
jones, if he gets another yellow
beckerman, if wer changing the formation/tactics, late in the match

[kdawg32086]

I'm interested to see what happens at goalkeeper. I would like to see Guzan getting some consistent action because he's the only reliable keeper we have behind Howard right now. Would also like to see Troy Perkins get into the mix and trade call-ups with Rimando. Perkins IMO is the best American keeper in MLS (but you wouldn't know that based on how terrible the Timbers back line was).

[and1GS]

Why is Brek still benched? He should be starting ahead of either Torres or Donovan,or Gomez should hit the pine and have Donovan play up top.

[PANDEMONEUM]

I'm interested to see what happens at goalkeeper. I would like to see Guzan getting some consistent action because he's the only reliable keeper we have behind Howard right now. Would also like to see Troy Perkins get into the mix and trade call-ups with Rimando. Perkins IMO is the best American keeper in MLS (but you wouldn't know that based on how terrible the Timbers back line was).

whoever is the 2nd keeper for the national team
should only get time in the Friendly Matches
not important ones

i believe our next friendly is vs Russia in November

but now is the right time to start grooming Howards replacement
it looks like Howard will b the starter through the 2014 World Cup in Brazil
after that,
we can move to the next choice

[PANDEMONEUM]

Why is Brek still benched? He should be starting ahead of either Torres or Donovan,or Gomez should hit the pine and have Donovan play up top.

Brek is having a down year at Dallas
last season he was more of a winger there
and had 2 guys that he worked well with
this season, hes moved more to the middle of the field
and those 2 guys r gone
hes gotten a few cards this year
seems to have had a bad attitude

hes my favorite player right now
but hes taken a step back instead of a step forward this year

Gomez has been excellent for the usa team
i cant see him losing his starting spot or playing time right now

Torres is the one that is on shaky ground right now

Also
JK, has been going with a defensive or possession minded midfield
especially when he uses Edu, Jones, Bradley
with 4 on the D line and those 3, we only have 3 spots left on the field for attacking
Dempsey and Donovan are used for the important matches
and Altidore, Gomez, Boyd, battle it out for the Forward/Striker spot

the change, away from a Defensive lineup, can only happen by NOT starting Edu
we can go with an attacking Mid or another Forward

Jones, wants to be a 2 way Center Mid, instead of a Defensive Mid (destroyer)
and it looks like JK also wants this
i think that this is also holding back our attack

cherundolo - cameron (or edu) bocanegra - johnson
jones
dempey - bradley - donovan
herc - altidore

this changes our Defensive / Holding mindset, and opens up the attack more
Shea can now b used as a super sub for either Forward or Winger
and can move Dempsey or Donovan to the Forward spot

*
when JK first got to the USA National team
he wanted to play a very open style and very attacking, with lots of goals scored
he quickly found out, that we are NOT a good goal scoring team
we just dont have the personnel for it

so, it looks like he analyzed the team and saw that our player pool strength is at Defensive Mid
hes changed to a more Defensive and Possession oriented mindset
that has to b what happened, cause that explains why he uses all 3 of our DMids
i bet if he could figure out how to put Beckerman out there with the other 3 he would
the Main thing that i like
is that our possession has increased
we can actually string passes together and control games
i also enjoy it when those 3 DMids come and disrupt the opponents attack

i think we have improved on D and Possession
weather or not that will produce More Wins and Success than wev had in the past
we'll find out, in the future

[PANDEMONEUM]

lots of issues

Donovan injured, will miss the game
Bradley injured, will miss the game
Dempsey, not practicing with his team, has not moved to a new team. probably not in starters, game shape
Bocanegra, is playing with the Rangers in the 3rd division, vs super weak opponents

might have to play the game without those 4
now, i really hope we call in Lichaj and Klejstan

imo
id like to see a xmas tree formation
4-3-2-1
its very defensive
i just dont know is the possession will be there with this group

lichaj - edu - cameron - cherundolo
beckerman - jones - klejstan
johnson - shea
gomez

[PANDEMONEUM]

ROSTER for the 2 games vs Jamaica

GOALKEEPERS (4) :
Brad Guzan (Aston Villa),
Tim Howard (Everton),
Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire),
Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)

DEFENDERS (9) :
Carlos Bocanegra (Racing Santander),
Geoff Cameron (Stoke City),
Steve Cherundolo (Hannover),
Maurice Edu (Stoke City),
Clarence Goodson (Brondby),
Fabian Johnson (Hoffenheim),
Michael Orozco Fiscal (San Luis),
Michael Parkhurst (Nordsjaelland),
Jonathan Spector (Birmingham City)

MIDFIELDERS (7) :
Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake),
Joe Corona (Club Tijuana),
Jermaine Jones (Schalke 04),
Brek Shea (FC Dallas),
Jose Torres (Pachuca),
Danny Williams (Hoffenheim),
Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)

FORWARDS (4) :
Jozy Altidore (AZ Alkmaar),
Terrence Boyd (Rapid Vienna),
Clint Dempsey (Tottenham Hotspur),
Herculez Gomez (Santos)

[PANDEMONEUM]

NO donovan, bradley, lichaj, klejstan

look for a Defensive formation at jamaica (4-3-2-1)
dolo - edu - cam - joh
beck - jones - will
torres - shea
gom

id like to see 4-1-3-2
cherundolo - edu - cameron - johnson
beckerman
williams - jones - shea
gomez - altidore

id use all 3 subs
dempsey for williams, zusi for altidore , boyd for gomez
formation change, depending on winning, tied, losing

[jerrod]

blah, just blah

[BUCKnation]

Goal! Finally.

[fatlever]

two huge games coming up in october, obviously. who would everyone like to see get called for that round? here's my preferred roster

in to the team> lichaj, klejstan, gatt and adu
out of the team> beckerman, parkhurst, orozco and sean johnson

more attackers, less defensive mids, no 4th keeper.

starter (backup)
formation 4-1-3-2

----------------dempsey (jozy)----------gomez(boyd/adu)-------------------

donovan(shea/gatt)--------bradley(torres/corona)--------zusi(klejstan)

-------------------------------------williams(jones)--------------------------

johnson(lichaj)--boca(edu)--cameron(goodson)--dolo(lichaj)

---------------------------howard(guzan/rimando)----------------------------



or

4-3-3
------------------------------gomez(jozy)-------------------------------------
dempsey(shea/gatt)--------------------------------------donovan(adu)

-------------torres(klejstan)-----------------bradley(zusi/corona)-----
-----------------------------------williams(jones)---------------------------

johnson(lichaj)--boca(edu)--cameron(goodson)--dolo(lichaj)

--------------------------------howard(guzan/rimando)---------------