OT: 2022 World Cup Thread
- Thread starter cshelley
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Dest has been one of our best players in my opinion and a gorgeous header for the assist
He’s played great but needed to pass on that first run and his corners have NOT been good. I’d actually let someone else take them they’ve been that bad. Massive goal today! Hope he’s Ok!
I li
l'm happy Ream has played well but because of age it'll probably be his one and only works cup. My biggest concern for the next WC cycle is CB, we need to develop the position. Hopefully Richards will start getting playing time at Palace moving forward
Pulisic's set piece taking has been truly awful. It needs to get better, especially since we depend on set pieces for so many of our goals.
Sure we have a shot but don't see how we score on them unless we start to change some things up. Ake-VVD-de Ligt going to be tough. VVD might kill us on any set pieces as well. Gapko has been on fire for them in the tourney. Midfield play is going to be super important in this one. We'll have some opportunities as long as we don't get too sloppy. Conditioning has me a little nervy as well so maybe they try more of a possession type game where they pick and choose some spots to get behind that strong backline of Holland.
Being a Bound Brooker, I always root for Costa Rica, but wow, they did not show up for their first game. Oddly, if they somehow can beat Germany, they're through either way, most likely with a hugely negative goal differential. I know it's one of the longest shots in the tournament, but it would be interesting.
Wright, to me, isn't nearly as bad as Moore. Not following soccer as closely as many in this thread, I have to ask...how did he even make this team? He looks completely outmatched.
VVD can be had in transition, as evidenced this season at Liverpool. De Ligt didn't even play the last 2 games, so tbd whether he's playing on Saturday. But your point is noted...if we're going to depend on late crosses into the box, we're going to struggle to score.
Lol. Every (nearly) team thinks they should have scored more goals. Outside Pulisic we don't have the finishers we need to be a top shelf team.
But I think we definitely have a legit chance against Netherlands.
What a goal by Khazri eh? They deserve the lead, as the French look disinterested. What a kick in the head it would be, though, if Tunisia beats France, but doesn't go through because Australia upsets Denmark (they're up 1-0 right now).
Did they ? I'm far from knowledgeable about soccer, but i really don't understand the offsides rule or why it even exists.
VAR reversed that goal - awesome win for Tunisia, but as I said above, a kick in the head for them to beat France, but not go through due to the Aussie win.
Yup I should have waited to post that.
Weah pretty calmly finished on both occasions where he was 1v1 w/the keeper. One was disallowed due to the offsides call, but his composure and timing in both cases was perfect.
He missed way high on another shot taken from just outside the box, IIRC. But that was just a case of poor technique in the moment versus a lack of killer instinct or skill. The shot had pace and was straight, he just failed to get over the ball so he lifted it. I'm pretty sure he knew his technical mistake and how to correct it the moment he struck the ball.
But to your point, I don't really view anybody on this iteration of the USMNT, not even Puli, as a pure striker type. A bunch of them can shoot and score, Weah makes really good pressuring runs, Reyna can dribble penetrate, but none appear to have that special striker thing where, if you give them six inches of space from anywhere near the box, nine times out of ten, they'll place a hard bending shot in or near the far upper 90 using either foot.
That, and more depth on D would be good things to add. But the flip side is this is a team that seems to play better and better together over time. And with that building chemistry will probably come more shots off combination play in and around the box. Although they didn't finish well, they created a bunch of good opportunities in the first half of the Iran game. Which is an improvement over what I saw in qualifying, for the most part.
You know, if Saudi Arabia beats Mexico and Poland-Argentina tie, Saudi Arabia would play Australia, and the winner of that would play the winner of US-Netherlands, meaning we'd have a golden opportunity to make it to the semis if we beat the Dutch. Even Poland winning that group makes for an easier quarterfinal opponent than Argentina, based on FIFA rankings (Poland at 26, Australia at 38 and the Saudis at 51 vs. Argentina at 3; the US is at 16), which I know are far from perfect, but it's fun to speculate.
it's not even ability to finish. finishers need to WANT to finish. in the Iran game, that sequence where Sargent got loose and tried to play Weah in, and Weah tried to send a return ball back to Sargent...that was awful. Give that to Harry Kane and Marcus Rashford, Messi and Lautaro, Richarlison and Neymar, CR7 and bernardo silva...they're not thinking about playing the other in, they are taking that shot. We don't have anyone like that. Strikers need to be on the selfish side...not entirely, but want to call their own number first.
I disagree with both the want thing and that Weah's attempted wall or one-two pass back was a poor decision. But it's an interesting point to consider.
Regarding the want thing, every soccer player on the field wants to score. Some simply have a mindset where they'll literally step on their own teammates head to get a shot off and score. I'm not disagreeing with the central theme of what you're saying about it so much as quibbling with the exact terminology you used. "Want" strikes me as the wrong word. Maybe it'd be better to say that pure strikers are very single-minded (which can be desirable in a pure striker with that rare magical scoring ability, but actually undesirable at most other times with all the play leading up to a quality shot attempt).
Regarding Weah's decision-making, I am totally fine with it. I also would've been totally fine with his taking the shot. To me, either decision was a good one in that exact scenario with those exact players. The shot and the pass were both on and I actually think that the odds of scoring were a little higher with the pass and shot than with the shot alone. IMO, it was the execution of the pass was the problem, not the decision. And I'd make that point in film review later on.
People tend to look and judge a decision based on the result. But there's no proving that the result of a shot there would've been any better. Weah's touch on what was an incredibly easy pass was very poor so there's just as good a chance his touch on the shot would've been equally poor, or worse.
Having said that, I've run sessions on finishing in the box 100+ times. And for sure, younger, less-skilled players are always encouraged to take that shot every time. You hammer the concept of how getting the shot off quickly is more important than any prettiness and that an extra pass is an opportunity for a mistake, etc.
But with players at the international level, with their immense skill and with the immense skill of the keepers you face, the decision-making has to be more refined than that which is taught to younger or lesser skilled players. Pretty much every player on the USMNT can make that pass at least 9 out of 10 times (or more, really). The gap was large, the second attacker's run was perfect, the timing was perfect, all that was needed was a very easy to perform light pass.
There was plenty of margin for error with the pass too. Had it been anywhere from six inches deeper to several feet deeper, with the exact same pace, it would've gotten through and the odds of the second attacker scoring would be very near 100%. Conversely, I'd call it maybe 50% chance of beating the keeper if Weah just took the shot, given the keeper's positioning and skill and the distances involved.
It's totally arguable of course. But that's my position. How I'd coach it would be very different in HS or college, but with a pro or international team, I'd be fine with it and tell Weah to make a better pass next time.
i wouldn't call it stepping on other's toes...and single minded might not be appropriate either. as a spurs fan, watching the interplay with Kane and Son...they will defer to each other if the pass would result in a much better chance on goal...but, if it's not fully clear, they're going and taking that shot themselves. they're betting on themselves to take that opportunity by the balls and capitalizing, vs trying to essentially pass the ball into the net
I’m guessing that’s the Brazilian Ronaldo, but have never heard of him referred to as that. I can’t think of any other player with initials and number reference but I don’t watch soccer much.
