HalfSpaces Player Grades
That was downright relaxing. After the tension/anger of the Honduras match and then the sheer agony/ecstasy of the Mexico game this was kinda nice. Like dropping into your favorite chair after a long day at work. The team played some attractive soccer, scored an early goal, and looked like they were relaxed and enjoying themselves too.
It’s tough to take anything that happened out there too seriously, but I think we can draw a couple general conclusions. And, as usual, there were players that played better or worse than others, so we can take a look at how that came out in the scores.
Two general takeaways that I think we can draw from this game are:
1) Tyler Adams is our most important midfielder and possibly player
2) Yunus Musah looked better than Lletget
And now to the grades:
Grading Beverage: Land Grant Belgian Ale w/ Pomegranate – tbh I’m not a huge beer guy, but it was hanging around waiting to be consumed. Who am I to prevent that?
If you haven’t read one of these USMNT (+/-) Player Grades articles before click here for an explanation of the system.
HalfSpaces Player Grades
MOTM – Yunus Musah (+9)
Even though Musah and Aaronson had the same grade Musah wins the tie breaker since his +/- per 90 is better. That’s just how the rules work. Sorry, Brenden. 😂 Something smells a little weird about Musah’s lack of playing time in the last two games. This is the only explanation I’ve seen so far:
Maybe a clue, or at least a tea leaf or 2 to read, in Berhalter’s remarks about Musah postgame tonight: pic.twitter.com/WLj8uNTbbu
— Charles Boehm (@cboehm) June 10, 2021
I’ve read that over several times and I’m still not sure what it means. If we are just going on what he can do on the field then I don’t think there’s much question. He’s the most ball secure player on the team and isn’t a shabby passer either.
Sometimes he trusts himself too much and actually does lose it because he waited too long, but the kid is talented. He’s got an engine, he’s fast, and it looks like he might have goals in him as well. If he had just wrapped his left foot around it a little more in the 2nd half he’d have scored a great goal in this match. I hope whatever it is get figured out because the MMA midfield has some serious potential (and it’s a sweet acronym).
Other Positive Performances
Brenden Aaronson (+9)
I know everyone is hyped over him dribbling thru half the Costa Rica side in almost the best USMNT assist you’ve ever seen (move your dang foot, Daryl), but he did a couple other good things in this match too. I wrote a scouting report on him last April and one of the things I noticed was his anticipation. Look at this clip from that article:
Nothing comes of that one, but you can see him sprinting to where he thinks the ball is going to end up. Guess who was in the right spot to score off a deflected ball last night? He’s also a great/willing presser and can run all day. I’m feeling real good about the team’s top four wing options these days.
Tyler Adams (+5)
This isn’t a great score tbh. It’s fine. I want to talk about Adams though. He came out like a house on fire in this match. He won or almost won the ball three times in the first 49 seconds of the match. Things (and he) calmed down after that, but I think he keeps that fire going for a much larger percentage of a competitive match. He was a little sloppy with his passing a couple times, which is why his score isn’t higher, but the defensive work he does cannot be replicated by anyone else we’ve seen attempt that position. Maybe James Sands or Leon Flach can do a decent impression in the Gold Cup, but if Tyler is healthy this team is much more dangerous.
Room to Improve
Antonee Robinson (0)
I’ve seen Robinson play really well for Fulham. I have not seen Robinson play well for the national team. I’ve seen him be fine, but never what I would call good. I think it could be a style thing. He looks comfortable sending in crosses and the USMNT does very little of that. I’ve got no complaints with his defense, but playing in a positional system doesn’t really seem to be his jam (thinking those Man City rumors might be suspect😂). His passing is sloppy and lead to turnovers several times in this game. I hope I’m wrong and he comes good for the NT, but his fit under Berhalter feels like a square peg-round hole situation so me.
HalfSpaces Player Grades
On to the Gold Cup
The preliminary roster for the Gold Cup is supposed to drop June 14th with the final roster coming a few days after that. There’s almost no configuration of players to be called up that won’t make for an interesting roster. Scuffed does the second #6 and the fourth #8 thing, but the wingers for that tournament are going to be pretty intriguing. Personally, I’m hoping to see Clark, Cowell, and Llanez among the names at those spots, but Arriola and Mueller feel pretty close to locks.
Thanks for reading a whole bunch of these things in a short period of time. I probably won’t do a roster piece for the Gold Cup (no one reads roster articles), but I may chime in with something between now and July 11 when the USMNT kicks off. Happy Summer y’all. Enjoy the Euros.
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