HalfSpaces Play it Again, Sam,usmnt HalfSpaces Player (+/-) Grades: USMNT vs Mexico

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



A friend texted me and asked which win was better – the Nations League victory or the Gold Cup? It’s tough to choose. The Nations League final was epic and it had been a really long time since we’d beaten Mexico in a match that meant anything. McKennie’s heroics, Pulisic’s penalty, the Horvath save, all of it made for an amazing experience.

But if you held a gun to my head and made me pick…I think I’d go with last night’s Gold Cup final. That team was “hilariously, hopelessly outgunned,” and a close loss would have been an admirable result. Those guys went out there and played Mexico close to even (xG was 1.85 – 2.32) and, perhaps more impressively, didn’t back down an inch to players supposedly much their superior.

I don’t love Alexi Lalas’ contrarian schtick. I understand that that line of journalism works. It gets attention, generates clicks, etc, but I don’t especially enjoy it. Watching him get choked up after the match though was 100% genuine and one of the moments of the night. I’m just a fan, but I felt that same emotion watching those players give everything they had for 120 minutes and having that effort be rewarded. Watching sports can be amazing sometimes. Nights like Sunday make being a fan worth it.

Let’s take a look at some of these performances.

Grading Beverage: Hot tea with honey – voice is still gone, sound rather silly talking. Also, playing golf with my somewhat hearing impaired father today probably could have been some sort of comedy sketch🤦‍♂️

Grades

Event Log (Vines was -1 with 1 event btw – didn’t feel like going back and fixing all of it on the chart)

MOTM – Kellyn Acosta (+21.5)

The numbers backed up what was pretty obvious to the eye – Kellyn Acosta was G.A.M. out there. The fitness and sheer force of will to be able to run that much was unbelievable. He played over 500 minutes in the Gold Cup and he was still out there covering vast swaths of the midfield against some very high level El Tri rivals.

In a match where Mexico had over 60% possession he was +13.5 in the “Out of Possession” game phase. He was getting a piece of passes, winning the ball, and making tackles all over the place. Once he won the ball he was doing positive things with it as well. When he’s had rough moments during this tournament it was usually due to wayward passes or getting caught on the ball. There was very little of that against Mexico. Look at this example:

Acosta remains calm and combines to get out of the box under pressure. He then uncorks a beautiful lefty pass to set Arriola free down the wing.

I’ve said this before, but I think it’s worth repeating. Acosta plays with the desperation of a man who knows what he’s lost. He’s been in the USMNT before and fallen out. I think it may be a while before he’s not part of a roster again.

Other Positive Performances

I hope this doesn’t disappoint too many people, but I’m going to skip the “Room for Improvement” section in this review. Of course there are players that played better or worse relative to others, but I just don’t feel like nitpicking at those guys after enjoying the match twice. If you don’t like that…¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Miles Robinson (+17)

Miles Robinson had a reputation of being a defensive stopper, excellent 1v1 defender, and all that with Atlanta, but he’d never really gotten a shot with the USMNT. Well he got his shot and he hit it out of the freakin’ park. If he’s not #2 starting next to John Brooks in September I’ll be shocked. (Even if Richards crushes it with Hoffenheim he’s not going to get thrown into World Cup qualifying right away.)

He was a monster in the air (+6.5 on aerial events) and even managed to contribute in possession. If you haven’t seen him striding up the gut of the Mexican defense yet, then take a look:

This play ended with Hoppe getting a high quality chance right in front of the keeper. Robinson breaking lines with his feet could be a very nice weapon in the arsenal going forward. He also fills the requirement of having an athletic defender to pair with John Brooks. For all his gifts, Brooks is still very prone to inertia and Robinson helps with that limitation. He’s certainly on the 23 come September and probably the starting 11.

Gyasi Zardes (+9.5)

Zardes has been something of a whipping boy for USMNT fans and I’ve certainly been critical of him in the past. He killed himself for the team in the final though and played pretty well along the way. Forwards are frequently substituted, especially when a team is pressing. Zardes pressed and ran for 120 minutes and had some decent hold up play mixed in there to boot.

When the USMNT plays Mexico having a striker that can keep hold of the ball for a second so the team can get forward is a useful thing. Zardes earned +5 in events that were either flick ons or hold up plays. And even though he didn’t finish either of his chances even getting into those positions is a skill. I really liked this play in the 107th minute:

He holds the ball up and then finds space to get a shot off. Sure you’d like the shot to be a little better, but that’s a nice play.

Sargent is more talented and Pepi might pass him, but Zardes is a useful player and someone who will remain an option for Berhalter a while longer (and deservedly so).

Everybody Else

If Paul Arriola was like 10% better he’d be an excellent international winger. As frustrating as he was at times last night, he also popped up in good positions all over the place and created chances by doing stuff like this:

What if Hoppe’s shot doesn’t hit Araujo’s noggin? Arriola made it happen.

Lletget faded as the match wore on, but he pressed and passed well for the first 60ish minutes. Hoppe couldn’t get the ball to go in but his take no prisoners attitude infected the whole team. This was a great moment of “lip curl” that showed up early in the match:

It was a win for the team and everyone contributed to the result. I’m sure there will still be people out there that criticize Berhalter for whatever reason, but I won’t be among them for a while now. The USMNT just gave up 1 goal in six games and beat a near full strength Mexican squad with a bunch of guys that came together and played a great match. Can’t wait for World Cup qualifying to get here. Well done, boys. 👏

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4 thoughts on “HalfSpaces Player (+/-) Grades: USMNT vs Mexico”

  1. Such an awesome win. I can’t decide which one was better, luckily we don’t have to!

    …serious question though. Does anyone actually like Lalas? I can’t stand him. I’ve never found anyone that appreciates him, does he have fans out there somewhere?

    1. My friend who enjoys most sports and is slowly starting to get into soccer (mostly USMNT, probably because I never shut up about them lol) says that he enjoys Lalas. His takes, his demeanor, his brashness. My guess is that Lalas appeals to the everyday-sports-fan more than the soccer-fan.

  2. Great win!
    3-4 of these guys can join the A team perhaps.
    No, no one likes Lalas.

  3. Loved this one. Really glad you made space to just bask in the win and relish some excellent performances.

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