Hello again. Anyone remember the last window? I meant to grade the loss to Canada in the week or two after the last match, but…I just didn’t feel like it to be honest. However, with the next set of games almost upon us, I did want to get it scored before this last set of matches hit.
Writing about the worst match from the previous window is a morbid way to preview this round final trilogy of World Cup qualifying, but here we are.
Watching this match over so long after it was played made it less emotional, but it still wasn’t much fun to re-live. The US was impotent and never looked likely to break through Canada’s defense. I’m curious to see how the team looks tomorrow when they get some chances (presumably) to hit Mexico on the break instead of being expected to unlock a low block. Anyhow, lets take a look at the massively procrastinated grades.
Grading Beverage: Buffalo Trace Bourbon – the best bourbon you can get for $25-30. Really difficult to find these days though (at least where I live – I hear it’s easily accessible in other locales).
If you haven’t read one of these USMNT (+/-) Player Grades articles before click here for an explanation of the system.
Grades
MOTM – Weston McKennie (+13)
We’re really gonna miss Wes over the next seven days. He was about the only guy causing any sort of problem for Canada. He was all over the field and looked to be a level above anyone else playing for the US on the night. As usual, he had more events than everyone else and had the only real scoring opportunity of the evening (43′ header). McKennie was MOTM (by my reckoning) for all three matches in this window.
If you look at the breakdown of the points he collected by game phase, you’ll see that I scored him +11.5 “In Possession.” The next highest score there was Pulisic with +3.5 and he’s the set piece taker. Check out a couple moments you may have forgotten:
Whoever replaces McKennie isn’t going to be able to fill his boots. Whether it’s de la Torre, Reyna, Busio, Acosta, or whoever they aren’t going to give the team what Weston does. Let’s hope Pulisic’s return to form and Reyna’s return to the team is enough to create a goal or two because I don’t foresee any cutting edge coming from the midfield.
Other Positive Performances
Nobody worth writing about, sadly. Pulisic, Adams, Aaronson, and Richards were all either +5 or +6, but that isn’t usually a high enough score to bother with.
Maybe Chris Richards is worth mentioning though. Canada didn’t attack often and a +5 without a lot to do is a pretty decent score from a CB. (How’s this for stream of consciousness writing? lol) He made a couple tackles like the one below and wasn’t at fault for either goal.
Having Richards available for Mexico would certainly be handy. Of the CBs that Berhalter called in, there is only one that’s in form and has played for the USMNT recently (Zimmerman). Richardson-Zimmerman would make me feel safer than Robinson or Long paired with Zim. Fingers crossed, I suppose.
Room to Improve
Matt Turner (0)
The goal was mostly Turner’s fault and he didn’t do much of anything the rest of the match. He did make a pretty good save in the 70th minute, but he gave up a bad rebound on the shot that forced him to make a second point blank save. Cleaned up his own mess. Turner is my favorite of the current USMNT goal keeping options, but this wasn’t his finest hour.
Musah (+1)
People seem to get mad when Musah gets criticized, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Yunus is an excellent young player and he’s a lock starter for the US, but he made a couple errors in this game. His touch let him down, he hit a couple bad passes, and turned the ball over a time or two as well. When you add it all up he barely peeks past even.
To the Azteca
Everyone ready to root for Canada tomorrow night? Canada plays in Costa Rica tomorrow and if they beat the Ticos the US can get 1 point this window and finish no worse than 4th. We wouldn’t exactly be dancing in the streets over that outcome, but at least it’s not missing the World Cup. And by the way…Canada plays at Panama on the last match day of qualifying. So I think I speak for everyone here:
And the Mexico match? I have no idea. I just want to beat Panama on Sunday night. Please, just beat Panama guys. 🙏
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