All of the games that the USMNT had scheduled before the World Cup have now been played, and it’s time for Gregg Berhalter to sit down and evaluate where his team is heading into the tournament. Certainly these last two games did go as planned, but if you want to look at the silver lining these two lackluster performances can help Berlhalter craft a team that is better suited to compete in Qatar.
The problem is, there aren’t any more games to play before the opener against Wales on November 21st. Despite the fact that the USMNT was able to create more chances against Saudi Arabia than it was against Japan, the performance wasn’t exactly inspiring. Pulisic, McKennie, and Dest proved that the left side is the strong side on the attack. Dest though, keeps getting caught out of position on defense, and at this point he’s the weak link in the back line. If you want to take those risks though then you’re going to have to ask Yedlin to stay behind a lot more. Is he the right type of right back to be able to hold down the fort defensively?
The Positive Takeaways From The Game
Pulisic showed that he’s got way more talent than any other player on the squad. He found the end line, and chances to put crosses in a ton of times throughout the game. So if you’re going to play that 4-3-3 Christian proved that he can be effective in the system. The team has quite an offensive left side, that’s going to be the strong side on the attack. Another positive that we can talk about is Tyler Adams’ effort. He’s been asked to be Superman, and he’s not backing down.
At some point though if he gets caught flat footed coming back on defense that could be a weak point in the team. The fact that Berhalter allowed him to play 90 minutes in both games kind of tells you he doesn’t trust anyone else in that middle of the field. Can Adams’ realistically be expected to play at a premier level over the team’s 3 games or even beyond that in the World Cup in rapid succession?
The USMNT Has More Questions Than Answers At This Point
As we previously mentioned, you’d rather get slapped in the face before the tournament starts than during the competition. That’s exactly what happened against Japan, and now against Saudi Arabia the team looked a little better, but there’s a massive concern at the striker position. Ricardo Pepi is not in rhythm the fact that he’s not been able to adapt favorably with his new team is clear for all to see. Jesus Ferreira also hasn’t proven to be the answer. At this point you’re just hoping one of them or any of the other guys on the bench get hot in the tournament. That could happen, but you’re relying on a stroke of luck more than anything else.
The Gio Reyna situation is concerning, particularly because he’s been dealing with a ton of injuries. In a weird way though the team found a bit more balance with Paul Arriola who can get back on defense a bit more, and even cut towards the middle of the field that opened up spaces for Yedlin who made interesting runs. Another concerning point is Mark McKenzie. Berhalter seems to be keen on making him his super sub. He’s providing a lot more trouble than solutions at this point. He’s sloppy with the ball on his feet, he got back today on defense to his credit, but his presence on the field proves the team is not deep at all, and that’s concerning.
