Soccer Post: USMNT vs. El Salvador

[Maroon Eagle]

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The USMNT versus El Salvador - Columbus, Ohio

As of a few minutes ago:

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Yep. Seven degrees.

Three matches in this window for the US: At Columbus versus El Salvador tonight, At Hamilton versus Canada on Sunday, and At St. Paul versus Honduras on Tuesday Wednesday.

Current standings:

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Needless to say, less than 6 points earned in these three matches will be disappointing.

So this is a must-win.

Other matches tonight:

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And if you’re wondering why Columbus & St. Paul?

Well…

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

Upper 20s tonight around gametime. In Hamilton next week, mid 30s with rain/snow.

 

[patdog]

Anything less than 7 points will be a disappointment. I'm hoping for 9. The talent is there. It's time to start seeing results.

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

Did Yedlin ever show up? He didn’t report the other day.

 

[patdog]

Don't know. A quick Google shows his contract with Galatassary was terminated "by mutual consent" the other day. He's been a huge waste of talent, but we could sure use him in 1 or both of the home games.

 

[af102]

This window is set up for us to take over first place and be on cruise control for the last 3 games. We play the 2 bottom teams at home (Honduras and El Salvador) and at Canada (who will be missing their best player this whole set of games). Anything less than 7 points will be a failure.

Another thing we have going for us is teams 3-6 all play each other exclusively this window, so the middle of the pack will either get very tight (but below spots 1/2 by 3-5 points), or spots 1-4 will stay tight and teams 5-8 will essentially be eliminated. Mexico is struggling with some injuries/suspensions/covid right now and will be missing 2 of their front 3 starters, at least one CB and maybe both starters, and a few other players. They could be in for a tough game in Jamaica tonight, but will have some guys back for their home game against Costa Rica on Sunday.

The US's presumed #1 keeper in Zach Steffan is missing the first game due to some back tightness, but I don't think there is a ton of difference in he and Matt Turner at this point. Both are very good. The only real injury loss right now is Gio Reyna, but I feel good about Pulisic, Weah, and Aaronson in those positions.

My lineup predictions for tonight:
GK- Matt Turner
LB- Antonee Robinson
CB- Walker Zimmerman
CB- Miles Robinson
RB- Sergino Dest
MF- Tyler Adams
MF- Yunus Musah
MF- Weston McKinnie
LW- Christian Pulisic
CF- Ricardo Pepi
RW- Tim Weah

 

[af102]

Yeah, he finally was able to fly to Columbus yesterday. There was a huge ice storm Istanbul that kept flights on the ground for a couple of days.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

I would love at least 7 points here but I never expect it.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

Richards and Ferreira starting.

Pepi and Miles Robinson are not.

View attachment 23715

 

[harrybollocks]

We just don't play well on the road, but one of those places is USA North, so who knows. I suspect 5 and we barely make the WC.

 

[harrybollocks]

They'll start the next two games. Need more consistency from Richards. Ferreira is talented but he hasn't played much.

 

[harrybollocks]

It wouldn't suprise me if half of El Salvador's players lived in the U.S.

 

[harrybollocks]

Amazing soccer powerhouse El Salvador, with players on all of Europe's top clubs, keeps it scoreless at halftime.

 

[MS-halfstep]

A few wasted opportunities, but pretty sloppy overall

 

[MS-halfstep]

1-0 good guys
Robinson 52' minute

 

[harrybollocks]

Finally

 

[harrybollocks]

Ferrera needs to score and stop dropping deep like he's Pirlo.

 

[Irondawg]

So why isn’t Pepi playing - I just started watching

 

[MS-halfstep]

Saving him for the big match on Sunday

 

[MS-halfstep]

3 pts is 3 pts but pretty underwhelming performance all things considered

 

[FlotownDawg]

We were pretty crap both times we played El Salvador. A drab 0-0 draw down there and then a sloppy 1-0 win tonight. Our final pass and finishing was crap tonight. Need to get that right if we want to even draw Canada.

 

[harrybollocks]

Our coach seems to prefer an anemic offense to one that's aggressive and scores goals.

 

[Bill Shankly]

I hate international soccer. Mane and Salah BOTH gone from Liverpool for a dang month for the African Cup of Nations. Hopefully they will both return healthy. We got a scare with Mane. He obviously had a concussion and they let him play on for a while. At least Keita is back and healthy.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

Come on, Ticos! They score in the 65th minute to make it 1-0 against Panama.

Ruiz with the goal.

 

[patdog]

That’s what you get when you hire a .500 coach from the #14 ranked soccer league. I’m sure it was just a coincidence that his brother was a top US Soccer executive when he was hired.

 

[patdog]

Yeah. International soccer is ********. And especially the African League of Nations.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

But but but Equitorial Guinea advanced to the AFCON quarterfinals…

 

[Maroon Eagle]

Ticos beat Panama 1-0.

 

[patdog]

It’s embarrassing we even care about that game. But good result for us. Even Berhalter shouldn’t keep this team from qualifying.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

After tonight’s matches…

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Next matches are Sunday:

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Let’s get points in Canada and root for Mexico & Jamaica to win…

 

[Maroon Eagle]

Bill Connelly with the CONCACAF analytics this morning…

[FONT="]CANADA 2, HONDURAS 0MEXICO 2, JAMAICA 1COSTA RICA 1, PANAMA 0!!* Costa Rica parked the bus, and it worked* Jamaica parked the bus, and it ALMOST worked* Canada gave Honduras no good shots whatsoever (and didn’t take many either) pic.twitter.com/4Fgp8qKi3u— Bill Connelly (@ESPN_BillC) January 28, 2022 [/FONT]

 

[harrybollocks]

Canada has been the best team so far. It's not gonna be easy on Sunday even with their star out. They play well and with confidence. Reminds me of a couple of former US teams. Ticos win helps bigtime.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

Yeah, I was at the Nashville match in September and was very impressed with Canada.

I've long been afraid that the Ticos were too old to compete for World Cup qualification this year-- and they may still be but their win helped create some separation between the top three and fourth place.

 

[MS-halfstep]

But but but Equitorial Guinea advanced to the AFCON quarterfinals…

Tell me more of this enchanted land you speak

 

[GhostOfJackie]

Yeah. International soccer is ********. And especially the African League of Nations.

I actually prefer international soccer over club soccer because it brings out the style of soccer that each country plays. For some reason that's incredibly interesting to me. How culture drives soccer identity, etc. The United States doesn't really have an identity so it's frustrating to watch, but most other countries do.

I'm strange though. Club soccer is still great and I love all soccer, but international soccer is my favorite.

 

[patdog]

There’s a place for international soccer. But 4 international windows during the season is at least 2X too many. Qualification process is too long & these League of Nations competitions are meaningless duplication. It just needs to be pared back.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

AFCON being every two years is normally a pain but COVID postponing the event is a bigger headache than normal. All confederation championships should be every four years and two years away from the World Cup if possible.

 

[patdog]

And they should all be held in the OFF-SEASON. The Euro tournament is great. Maybe even better than the World Cup. A combined CINCACAF & CONMEBOL every 4 years would be good too. But the endless Gold Cups & League of Nations matches are boring.