Barstool’s Official Not-Unsanctioned USMNT vs Ecuador Preview
Sam’s Soccer Safe Space for Stoolies
Hi haters,
Quick reminder of what has happened lately with Gregggggg Berhalter’s USMNT:
– Berhalter called in MLS-heavy group for January camp
– We beat a weak Panama team 3-0
– We beat a young Costa Rica squad 2-0
– Some guys stood out (eg, Nick Lima, Jonathan Lewis, Paul Arriola, Sebastian Lletget and Djordje Mihailovic)
– Others not so much (eg, Gyasi Zardes)
Now we are all up to speed on the Berhalter era. Good, great, GRAND – which brings us to the roster for this week’s friends and in a word:
THE GANG IS AL[MOST AL]L HERE!
Yeah, yeah, there are a few guys missing with the likes of Timothy Weah and Josh Sargent (among others) being called away to U23 camp in preparation for Olympic qualifying, but if this picture of the future of the American midfield*** doesn’t send a rush of blood to your special parts then there is something wrong with you.
***more on the asterisk in a minute
Anyway, there is a lot of basketball on so gotta keep it brief, but let’s take a quick look at what to watch for tonight and over the next week or so…
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ROSTER THOTS
Full roster for March camp and friendlies against Ecuador (tonight) and Chile (3/26):
This was (word for word) my immediate reaction when the list came out on March 12:
I was just starting to pop a sportsboner this morning [ahead of Champions League gloriousness] when the USMNT revealed their latest 24-man roster for upcoming March friendlies against Ecuador and Chile and let’s just say it took the wind out of my sails. Tim Ream??? OMAR GONZALEZ??????????
Including those 30+ year old defenders and leaving guys like Walker Zimmerman at home is just plain stupid. I’m also disappointed by the absences of guys like Andrija Novakovich and Bobby Wood given some of the other “strikers” that were called in. Don’t get me wrong, there is plenty of talent in the roster to put out some solid XIs but this is precisely the type of “conservative” bullshit decision making that cost us a trip to WC18 so to say I was “disappointed” is an understatement.
Needless to say, my feelings on this have not changed. Ream played well against Liverpool a few days later, so shouts to the big fella for that, but there is no need to be calling in 30+ year-olds into the squad right now – especially guys who aren’t anywhere near being the best players at their position.
I get the argument that you need to have some “experienced” guys who have been there before to help guide younger players. But that only goes so far. There is only so much that veterans from previous USMNT squads can tell guys like Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie – who have scored game-winning goals in Champions League – that they don’t already know or haven’t already experienced playing in front of tens of thousands of rapid fans.
As for guys who aren’t in the roster that could or should be, Walker Zimmerman (25yo) would make a lot more sense than Gonzo and/or Ream, and I’m disappointed not to see some young attacking talent like Andrija Novakovich (22yo) and Romain Gall (24yo).
But the roster is what it is at this point, so let’s look at how things are shaping up for today’s game…
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USMNT vs Ecuador
Opposition scouting report:
Ecuador is a clear step up relative to Costa Rica and especially Panama. They’ve got guys who you have heard of and who can do some damage like the Valencia’s (United’s Antonio and former West Ham/current Tigres striker Enner). A lot of people will also recognize Minn Utd’s Romario Ibarra, a speedy winger who is especially worth watching because of who he will be going up against for the US – more on that in a second.
This team is a classic example of an experienced South American team that doesn’t have the high end talent of a Brazil or Argentina but has been forged in the fires of top-level competition. They have been there, done that – and may not have won but they always give everybody a tough game. That makes them an IDEAL test for a young(er) squad like what we are putting out there this week.
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USMNT’s starting XI (going with a 4-5-1 structure given the lack of striker options available):
GK (1): Ethan Horvath – with Steffen out injury, Horvath has played very well in Belgium lately and deserves the gloves
Defense (4): John Brooks as one CB is a lock. His partner SHOULD either be Aaron Long or Matt Miazga. I’d be okay with either of them. If Berhalter starts Gonzo or Ream then I’m going to begin to get extremely annoyed. You wanna bring some old guys to lend experience on the practice field? Okay fine, not what I would do but not the end of the world. There is ZERO need for either of the 30+ defenders to see live bullets, especially as part of a starting XI. LB is a big fat question mark but Daniel Lovitz is likely to start because he is the only LB on the team. That brings us to the…
BIGGEST TALKING POINT: the most controversial tactical decision to emerge lately is Berhalter’s (reported) decision to start Tyler Adams at some sort of RB/DM hybrid. This obviously brings back horrible memories of Jurgen Klinsmann’s fetish with playing guys out of position and using random formations. However, it is way too soon to start dumping on Berhalter for this so let’s all take a deep breath. Yes, this sort of “experimentation” should have taken place last year… but he wasn’t yet hired so it is what it is. It is clear GB is no dummy and he puts serious thought into his moves. My issue with this “decision” is not that Adams can’t play RB – he absolutely can. I don’t even have a huge issue with the fact it means DeAndre Yedlin has to play right wing. He has the speed and willingness to go at guys to perhaps make it work, plus it takes some defensive responsibility off his shoulders. Rather, my issues with this are two-fold. (1) Berhalter is moving a guy who has the potential to have box-to-box impact into a somewhat minimized role – a lot of people want to argue otherwise but I simply don’t agree; and (2) the move seems designed to open a spot for a less impactful and/or older player (most likely 31yo Michael Bradley or Wil Trapp) to slide into the more dedicated DM position. I’m not a fan of this because I don’t think Trapp is on a path to really be an impact player against WC-level talent and MB is going to be damn near 35 in 2022 when it actually matters.
Midfield (5): So my dream midfield is kinda sorta getting broken up by Berhalter because reasons. Sad! Very unfair! However, that still leaves Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie as locks in the midfield, and Yedlin on the right. Again, not ideal, but also not terrible. I’d prefer to have Pulisic on the wing but given the players available I guess the play is to slide him inside and put Sebastian Lletget in on a wing for now… but it could easily be Paul Arriola or even Jonathan Lewis. All three of those guys have shown enough to earn some minutes tonight, and the others can be ready to come off the bench. (Another option would be CP on left and Roldan in middle but I was not impressed by the latter in recent friendlies.)
Striker (1): As mentioned our best options are not on the roster but we are done bitching and moaning about it for the time being. US Soccer listed six guys in the striker category but I have no idea what that person was smoking. There are really three options here (in order from best to worst): Jordan Morris, Christian Ramirez and Gyasi Zardes. Would it surprise me if Berhalter went with Zardes? No, no it would not.
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PREDICTION
Ecuador is a solid opponent and our need to play Lovitz at LB and Berhalter’s desire to play Adams at RB doesn’t feel like an ideal setup for my liking. But we have some difference makers going forward so I’ll split the baby and say 2-2 draw.
Reminder: SOME BIG INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES would be waaaaaaaaay more important than an ugly win.
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So there we have it. Do yourself a favor and take a little break from basketball to watch our beautiful babies (or at least put it on TV2). GO AMERICA!
Holler,
Samuel Army