Stressful, but enjoyable in the end. Winning really does cure (most) everything. Say what you’d like about Olympic soccer (it’s a youth tournament, countries don’t really care about it, it’s not the best players, etc.), but it’s a chance for men’s soccer to enter the mainstream of the average American sports fan. People love an underdog and if the US ever made a medal run in the Olympics it would be a big deal. Hockey is a niche sport too, and arguably the biggest Olympic moment ever for the US, was the 1980 hockey team. I know there were Cold War layers to all of that, but still.
Not qualifying for the Olympics wouldn’t be a disaster or anything, but it would certainly be a missed opportunity. Winning this game was a big deal. Now the pressure is off until the semifinal. At which point, I will be a wreck again.
Let’s put all the caveats out there before we get started. This U23 team has had very little time together, haven’t played a game in years(?), and everyone is out of season (except Johnny). So there are reasons for poor performances on an individual and team wide level. However, *Stephen A. Smith voice* some guys still managed to play better than others.
If you haven’t read one of these USMNT (+/-) Player Grades articles before click here for an explanation of the system.
Grading Beverage: Mostly coffee this time (Dunkin Donuts) – no Bourbon/Scotch 😥
The Grades
MOTM – David Ochoa (+14)
Your keeper being the MOTM isn’t generally a great sign, but you’ve got to give David Ochoa credit. Without him coming up big several times the US loses this game. I’m not sure what’s going on with this guy that he’s not more highly rated by coaches. He had to win the starting job from Brady Scott a couple games into the 2019 U20 World Cup, hasn’t been able to get into RSL’s first team, and seemingly this tournament Marcinkowski was the expected starter up until the last couple days. But whenever I see Ochoa play, he looks like the only realistic challenger (maaaybe Turner) to Zack Steffen in the near future. Whatever the case, he came up with three big saves, was excellent in distribution, and seemed like the only guy on the field that could go toe-to-toe with Costa Rica in the dark arts department. (If you haven’t watched Watke’s shithousery breakdown yet…stop reading this and watch it. Then come back, please.)
I’m sure you’ve all seen the saves, so here’s a couple passes I was impressed with from Ochoa:
Other Positive Performances
Hassani Dotson (+10)
If I’m going to be completely honest, I was not real excited when I saw his name in the lineup. He’s a (most of the time) starter for Minnesota and plays in several different positions. I really enjoyed his performance though. He was very energetic and made positive contributions in all four game phases*. He dropped off a bit in the second half (like everyone else), but while he still had his legs he was very impressive. It sucks that these guys are all in preseason form/fitness.
In the “new” style of play the US has moved to, Dotson looks like a great fit at one of the “Pressing #8” spots. Obviously, this is one performance and he’ll have to maintain/improve his play, but I certainly won’t dread seeing his name in the lineup next time.
*Phases that I grade. I understand that you can break it up even further. I should probably go to six phases (off/def set pieces), but I hate set pieces so we’ll keep it at four*
Jesus Ferreira (+9)
A lot of people were concerned about where the offense was going to come from on this team, especially once Uly Llanez went out with injury. It looks pretty clear that Ferreira is going to have to carry that load and he did enough against Costa Rica. If the team doesn’t create scoring chances thru turning the opponent over via pressing, then Ferreira is the most creative player remaining (imo obviously). He had three really good scoring chances in this match and managed to put one of them away. No one else had any.
Jesus Ferreira puts the U-23 @USYNT up 1-0 vs. Costa Rica in the opening match of Olympic qualifying 💥
— B/R Football (@brfootball) March 18, 2021
(🎥 via @FOXSoccer)pic.twitter.com/jgHjdFU07c
The forward pool for the full national team is a mess, but I think Jesus will at least be on the roster when World Cup qualifying starts up in September.
Anyone Else?
Not really. A bunch of middling to meh performances. Not bad, but not good either. I thought Yueill was actually pretty decent in defense, but didn’t add much to the attack. Lewis/Michel were blah as attackers (Saucedo looked pretty good during his sub appearance) and Mihailovic was almost invisible. Glad had one really bad pass, but was good enough otherwise.
Room to Improve
Aaron Herrera (-6)
I really liked Herrera’s performance with the full national team against T&T back in January, but this one was not great. He got beat several times on defense, made a couple questionable decisions with the ball, and lost the ball at least four different times. He did come out +2 in the possession phase and the USMNT had the ball a lot against T&T in January so maybe he was more comfortable in that situation? I’m not sure, but I’d like to see Araujo get a crack at the position. He may not be the attacker that Herrera is, but I don’t think he’d be a liability in attack or defense.
Mauricio Pineda (-4)
If Pineda isn’t playing the US doesn’t score. I wanted to put that out there first. His ball to Sam Vines put the attacking move that ended up in Ferreira’s goal into motion. So having a player at CB that can pass the ball and open up more forward options is important. That being said, his play should have cost the US at least one goal. Ochoa came up big, but if he keeps putting the team in bad spots then it’s going to start conceding goals as a consequence.
He also needs to be more consistent with his passing. I had him at at +3 for his notably good passes, but -5 for his notably bad passes. If you’re in there for your passing you need to be a net positive. I have no idea if Henry Kessler can pass the ball, but he might need to get a look.
Next Up
I’d imagine there will be a lot of rotation for the game against the Dominican Republic. And as much as I’d like to beat Mexico, the next crucial match is the semi-final against whoever comes out of the other group. The next two games will be significant for gaining form and fitness, but that’s about it.
Also, I’m not sure I’m going to grade the game against the Dominican Republic. It shouldn’t be much of a contest and there’s a whole bunch of games coming…plus I have an actual job and family to think about. We’ll see how much sleep I feel like getting. lol
See y’all next time.
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