I’m feeling conflicted. Halfway through the Honduras match I was angry, sad, depressed…really just a mélange of negative emotions. And then Robinson scored and I felt some hope, which sort of made it worse – because it’s the hope that kills you. Pulisic going out didn’t help the mental state any, but then Ricardo Pepi rises to the rescue and I’m happy and hopeful again. The Aaronson goal takes the edge off like a good bourbon and it’s a relaxing stroll to the finish with the Lletget capper.
I’m not sure the preceding paragraph is coherent. I’m trying to convey my happiness at the result, but also the sense of frustration of the last week. Are we happy with Berhalter right now? He’s gotten several really good results in the last three months, but hasn’t exactly “changed the way the world views American soccer” along the way. We still struggle to create from open play and the lineup to start against Honduras was something straight out of the Klinsmann era. Remember the absolute futility of trying to guess the lineups Jurgen used to roll out there?
The offense is plodding and unable to create in possession against a set defense. Even in this match, all four goals were scored in the “Offensive Transition” phase by my reckoning. On the other hand, Berhalter has his players willing to run through a wall for him and the defense is as strong as I can remember it being at any point in the last 20 years. He’s also, seemingly at least, very honest and open in his communication while being a solid guy. That’s worth something. The condescending, “Americans don’t understand soccer” responses from Klinsmann (and sometimes Arena – although he was more a tactics don’t matter guy, I guess) were always infuriating.
So where do we stand? No idea, I’m afraid. I’m glad we won and I think I’d like Berhalter to hire an adviser/offensive coordinator-type to help him with the attack. I know that isn’t really a thing in soccer, but why not? We’re American – we invent new stuff all the time. To the grades.
Grading Beverage: Elijah Craig bourbon – another solid, $30/bottle drink. If someone wants to know what “bourbon” tastes like, this might be my choice.
If you haven’t read one of these USMNT (+/-) Player Grades articles before click here for an explanation of the system.
Grades
MOTM – Antonee “Jedi” Robinson (+11)
Technically, Ricardo Pepi had a higher score, but he also had 90 minutes to put up that score. Jedi managed to log 10 events for a total of +11 in just 45 minutes (+22 per/90!). He’s also a left back. The left back spot has been up for grabs since approximately 1974 and this is about the first time a player has effectively tried to stake their claim to it (with the brief exception of Demarcus Beasley, of course).
Robinson scored the massive game-tying goal, but he certainly didn’t stop there. He contributed in all four game phases and put in effort like this the entire time he was on the field:
That type of effort wouldn’t matter if he were slow though. Robinson had the speed to make up a decent head start by Rivas on the counter after the corner here. His passing was good in his time on the field as well. Check out this ball up the line to Aaronson:
This is the sort of ball it would be difficult for a right footed player like Dest to pull off. Aaronson slips and nothing comes of it, but this pass keyed a promising attack. Going forward, I think Jedi is the starting LB/LWB for the USMNT. No more messing around with Dest on the left. I get the idea, but it makes Dest worse and Robinson finally looks like he’s feeling comfortable with the US and putting in performances more in line with what he does at Fulham.
Other Positive Performances
Ricardo Pepi (+12)
Welcome to the team, Mr. Pepi. Not a bad debut from an 18 year old, eh? An assist (ish) on the tying goal, scores the go ahead goal, and has a nice assist on the dagger. The forward pool is still in a state of flux, but I can’t imagine a roster without Pepi on it in October. You could see that he was a kid out there against men a couple times, but he didn’t get rattled. By the end of the game, you could see moments where he was getting ready to body/turn a guy, but the moment didn’t quite work out. Getting open in the box is a skill and it looks like Pepi already has a couple tricks up his sleeve. Remember this moment?
It reminds me quite a bit of a receiver getting open on a back shoulder throw. Slow down, give the defender a little bump, and voilà – you’ve got the necessary space to get a shot off. This one didn’t go in, but some of them will in the future. He also put in a ton of work and got his foot on the ball a couple times. He and Aaronson look like they could be a good, disruptive pressing duo.
Tyler Adams (+7.5)
It wasn’t a classic Adams performance, but he did the job at right back for 73 minutes and then got to finish the game out at d-mid. The US also happened to score three goals after that move happened. Here’s the lead up to the last goal:
Adams wins a 50/50 ball, drives forward to draw a defender, and then plays Pepi into a ton of open space. I sort of understand why Adams had to be at right back for a while, but the team is so much better with him at the #6. Adams played all 270 minutes of this window and the US needed all of them. Berhalter needs to send Jesse Marsch a fruit basket or something to apologize for putting all those minutes on his legs. Please stay healthy, Tyler.
Cumulative Team +/- Chart
Room to Improve
*NOTE* All three of these players got switched out at halftime so their grades aren’t entirely “fair.” It’s certainly possible (probable even) that another 45 minutes would have resulted in higher totals.
Josh Sargent (-1)
I really like Josh Sargent. I think he’s a good player and a good pro. He also doesn’t look like he should be the starter for this team. His touches have been poor, his decision making is too slow, and he doesn’t get open in the box the way Pepi, or even Zardes, does. Look at this:
You’ve got to be able to get that ball to Adams on the overlap. He takes too long to decide what to do and then gets his pass blocked when he eventually plays it. His effort isn’t a problem and he presses well, but until he get his mojo back he might be better as a bench option.
George Bello (0)
Bello is a young player and games like this will be good for his long term growth. Growing pains costing you a goal hurts though. There was plenty of blame to go around on Honduras’ goal, but Bello was the worst offender. He didn’t contribute much to the attack either. If he were a lockdown defender you could live with subpar offense, but when you are getting beat on that end of the field as well it’s tough. Hopefully those mistakes are things he learns from and not a trend. I’d expect Sam Vines to be the backup to Antonee Robinson in the next window though.
John Brooks (0.5)
Brooks is still the most composed defender the US has when in possession and the best passer. The problem is…we’re terrible at playing that way. The USMNT gave up two goals during this international window and Brooks was at some level of fault for both of them.
I’m not sure what to make of that. It’s not like Brooks isn’t a good player or he isn’t going to keep (deservedly) getting called up. But if your team struggles to score and these defensive lapses continue…do you play a defender with a lower offensive ceiling, but a higher defensive floor?
On to October
Somehow, the US ended up with the default win at home, draw on the road – 5 points. It wasn’t the traditional route to that total but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. In less than a month, we get to do this all over again. Reyna won’t be back from the injury he sustained during this window and heaven only knows who else will get hurt between now and then. One would hope that Berhalter will call up a bigger squad and a couple more central midfielders next time. I hope they start off better though – I can’t take all this angst.😂
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This is excellent. Thank you. In regards to Sargent, one must mention that he was playing out of position. Normally, his short coming is finishing when he is at the 9. In this game, he did look slow and uncomfortable with the game.
In regards to Brooks, would his mistake, stepping up on the ball, have happened if Adams was playing the 6 and they were playing 4 in the back, which he is most comfortable with? Somehow, I doubt it.