HalfSpaces Player (+/-) Grades: USMNT vs Honduras

USMNT (+/-) Player Grades 6/3/21

Prologue

It was a frustrating evening of soccer for the players and the fans. Before the match kicked off I sent out the following tweet:

Time to ignore anything I may tweet for about the next 4 hours. It will either be way too happy/optimistic or angry/negative. 😂

— HalfSpaces (@blharreld) June 3, 2021

That would prove to be prophetic, as this is where I ended up towards the end of the match:

Berhalter deserves to be fired if we lose this game.

— HalfSpaces (@blharreld) June 4, 2021

I’m slightly chagrined about rage tweeting for the last 30 minutes of the match, but I’m not going to apologize for being a fan. I try to give thoughtful, well-researched takes when I sit down to write, but in the heat of the moment that ain’t gonna happen. There’s a place for that type of reaction though (imo). When Michigan loses, I don’t want to watch any sort of highlight or analysis show about the game. I just avoid all coverage. What I do like, is listening to the MGoBlog podcast the next day. I know those guys feel the same things I do and they’ll be honest about the team, but still love it. Unlike snarky or ignorant national sportscasters. It’s sort of like the, “I can insult my brother, but you better keep your mouth shut” dynamic.

But do you really think Berhalter deserves to be fired?

I don’t know. He’s been in charge for two and a half years now and he’s already had to push the reset button (sort of) once. If they get crushed by Mexico on Sunday does he get to adjust again? To be clear, I don’t think there’s any way he’s getting let go no matter what happens on Sunday, but I’m very worried. I’ve pointed this out before, but here’s Berhalter’s coaching CV:

That’s it. He had a .500 record in MLS with the Crew and decent record with Hammarby in the Swedish league. He may end up being a great coach and making a nice run with the team at the 2022 World Cup, but he might not too. I’d prefer a coach with more of a track record be in charge of the national team, but that’s just me. I’m very much rooting for it to work.

Grading Beverage: Coffee. Sorry whiskey aficionados, did most of this one in the morning and early afternoon.

With all that out of the way – here are the grades.

Click here to look at the grades for the Switzerland game if you missed those.

If you haven’t read one of these USMNT (+/-) Player Grades articles before click here for an explanation of the system.

USMNT (+/-) Player Grades

MOTM – John Brooks (+12)

Brooks was great in this match. If the USMNT was going to create an opening with a pass from the back it wasn’t going to come from any midfielder – it was going to come from Brooks. I’m sure everyone has seen this pass, but I can’t take the chance that someone has missed it. So just look. at. this.

He was +7 in the “In Possession” phase of the game which was tied for the highest score with Pulisic. Not bad for a 6’4″ center back. He was strong in the air, calm on the ball, and even did some quality CONCACAF-ing in the little first half scrum. There was also this delightfully evil, little challenge:

+1 for a nice little CONCACAF, Mr. Brooks 🤣 pic.twitter.com/sGF2jbJW7d

— HalfSpaces (@blharreld) June 4, 2021

Brooks is indispensable if the USMNT is going to keep possession and even attempt to play attractive soccer. McKenzie, Richards, Che, etc are all coming, but none of them are close to Brooks yet. He’s still prone to inertia and can be had 1v1, but he’s not even bad at that. Just a quality defender and someone we are lucky to have. (You should follow Kranks at his new handle btw)

John Brooks vs Honduras #USMNT pic.twitter.com/M07ZBQtg7Z

— Undead Kranks (@dis_possessed) June 4, 2021

Other Positive Performances

Josh Sargent (+9)

Sargent contributed positively in all four phases that I score. (I know Gregg says there are 10, but that’s just doin’ too much for me.🤣) Three of those came on one of the more amazing goal line clearances you are ever going to see. It’s not exactly ideal for your starting forward to be earning 1/3 of his points stopping the opposition from scoring, but it’s better than giving up the goal. He also almost scored on this acrobatic attempt:

One of the things I remember liking about Sargent when he was blowing up at the 2017 U20 World Cup as a 17 year old, was his ability to get a shot hard on net from odd positions. Like a QB throwing “off platform” Sargent had a knack for getting the ball on frame. His time at Werder has made him a hard worker, good presser, and seemingly a good pro, but that knack has gotten lost along the way. I keep thinking he’s on the verge of getting it back…hope I’m right this time.

Pulisic/Reyna (+7)

The talent just pops off the screen when these two are on the ball (Dest too tbh). The way they can blow by defenders with ease is amazing to watch. They do it differently (Reyna glides, while Pulisic is sudden stop, go, cut, etc.), but when the ball is on their feet and they are combining with teammates we look dangerous. Reyna was more threatening in the first half and Pulisic was more influential in the second. It does seem like we could have done a better job getting these two more involved though. Susaeta had a whole thing about that on Twitter. Let’s hope at least one of these guys is +15 or so against Mexico on Sunday.

Pefok (+6)

We’re gonna go with Pefok from now on because that’s what’s on his jersey and it’s way easier to spell than Siebatcheu. Putting up a +6 in 17 minutes is pretty good. It’s going to be tough to sustain that +/- per 90 though. Anyhow, in addition to the humongous goal, Pefok also tracked back well and got open in the box another time aside from the goal. Color me intrigued by the 6’3″ 200 pound forward. (Dude is big)

Room to Improve

Jackson Yueill (-3)

I don’t want to pile on the man, but the Honduras match was rough. He got shook early and never really recovered. Theoretically, Yueill’s selling point is that he’s a superior passer and can be a sort of metronome/QB for the American attack. The problem is that he doesn’t seem to be able to do that at the international level. Here are the scores I have for him on just “passing events” in his last 5 games: 1) Honduras 0, 2) Switzerland -3, 3) Dominican Republic (U23s) +5, 4) Costa Rica (U23s) +1, 5) T&T +2.

The only game in there that’s “impressive” from a distribution point of view is the +5 and that came against weak U23 opposition. What exactly his he bringing to the table that someone like James Sands, (who is a much better defender) isn’t?

Antonee Robinson (0)

I wouldn’t say Robinson was bad this game, but he wasn’t good either. He would have a minor positive play, but then a minor negative one to offset it. The only memorable event was the nice bending cross to Sargent in the 30th minute. That was about it. None of the negative events I logged was a big deal either, so you end up with a match where he didn’t contribute much. And if you think about it – a left back that wasn’t a huge problem is kind of a win for the USMNT. 🤣

On to Mexico

Sunday’s game is the best test the USMNT has had in two years. We also haven’t beaten Mexico in what feels like forever. A win on Sunday would go a long way towards making me and a lot of other people feel a lot better about Berhalter. Frankly, even a competitive loss would be bearable, but a win would be very cathartic.

I think I might turn my phone off when the game starts this time though. 🤣

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