A Preamble
It took a little longer than usual for me to get around to doing this because I was feeling irritable after the U23s Olympic qualification failure. I know all the “reasons” why it’s not that big a deal, but it still had vibes of a mini-Couva. A team composed of full MLS professionals couldn’t beat a team of much lesser (Was it actually lesser? Are we over rating our players again?) talent. The guys over at the Yank are Coming wrote a good article dissecting it.
Maybe I’m just getting more cantankerous as I get older (I can’t wait to be one of those old guys that inexplicably sits shirtless in a lawn chair in the middle of the driveway when they have a perfectly good porch), but after the Honduras match I didn’t want to be reminded of how many U23 UCL minutes our guys have, or how the MLS academies are churning out prospects now. Blah blah blah. When it mattered, the team didn’t get the job done and it feels like it’s been “not our day” for quite a while now.
In the end, I’m bummed that I don’t get to watch these guys in the Olympics in August. I love the Olympics.
Grading Beverage: Eagle Rare bourbon – really good. I’m not great on tasting notes. More of a “I like it” or “I don’t like it” guy, but this one has a strong cherry flavor. Can be hard to find, but not expensive. (Thanks, Scott)
I know most of you are just here for the grades against Northern Ireland, so here you go:
If you haven’t read one of these USMNT (+/-) Player Grades articles before click here for an explanation of the system.
The Grades
MOTM – Christian Pulisic (+14)
It’s been a frustrating season for Pulisic at Chelsea so it must’ve been nice to get out there with a team that needs/loves you and just play. All of his points were either while the team was “In Possession” or on “Transition Offense.” That’s not a bad thing. If CP was logging a lot of events in the “Out of Possession” phase against Northern Ireland…that’d be a bad sign.
Christian showed his skill on the ball a couple times, including the quick feet that drew the penalty, but I really liked the passing ability he showed during this match. After watch the Olympic team struggle to create anything it was nice to re-watch this game and see a winger/AM create and be threatening. Check out this pass to Antonee Robinson (I think this was his best game so far for the USMNT btw) in the 7th minute:
I hope Christian is able to stay healthy and put together a good run of form for Chelsea to end the season, but I have a feeling that the national team is going to be a sort of oasis for him this year.
Other Positive Performances
Gio Reyna (+11)
I don’t know what in the world is going on with Reyna at BVB. In today’s Champion’s League match against Manchester City, Dortmund started someone named Ansgar Knauff (who I think is one of the Children of the Light in the Wheel of Time) instead of Reyna. This season just needs to end for Dortmund so they can hit reset.
Anyway, Reyna was quietly good again this match. He had the deflected goal, but more than that he simply does Reyna things all over the place. Everyone has probably seen this by now, but who else on the team is pulling off this skill? Anyone?
The ball sticks to his foot as he turns and the US is away. He receives and turns on the ball better than anyone else on the team. The last couple games have also been an improvement from a defense/effort point of view. Reyna’s not out there to be a defensive presence, but he’s a big dude and if he can start using that on the defensive side of the ball it could be a real asset. Here he causes a TO at the top of the N. Irish box:
There’s going to be a lot of turnover at Dortmund this offseason – let’s hope Reyna gets in Marco Rose’s good graces and plays well with whoever is left at the Westfalenstadion.
Daryl Dike (+5)
I know Robinson, Siebatcheu, and Ream all had higher totals than Dike, but they also played 90, 63, and 90 minutes. Dike put up that +5 in 27 minutes. He then proceeded to score two goals and miss a penalty in his next start with Barnsley. Is he #2 on the USMNT striker depth chart now?
Against Northern Ireland, he did basically what he does for Barnsley – get into the channels, hold the hapless defender off, and take a shot (he generally scores them for Barnsley). What really caught my attention was this play though:
That outside of the foot pass/spin move to Robinson (let’s just gloss over the end of the play, alright?) was most triumphant. If he can do that on a regular basis and be a nightmare (veiled Okoye ref) of a man to deal with…Sargent may not be on the top of the depth chart after all. ‘Twill be interesting to watch.
Room to Improve
Kellyn Acosta (-4)
If you read my last set of grades you know I really like, and am rooting for, Acosta. I also agree with the boys over at Scuffed (I cheated and listened to some stuff before grading this time so everything is compromised lol) that him playing this many minutes in three days while he’s in preseason is kinda crazy. I also bet if you talk to him though he’d say that he’s got to be better. He had three bad turnovers that totaled -7 by my reckoning. Against a better team (Mexico for instance) at least one of those ends up in the net. Anyone else watch City ruthlessly punish that Emre Can turnover today? That TO wasn’t as bad as any of Acosta’s. Fortunately, I don’t think the USMNT will be playing Manchester City any time soon.
Time to Play Dad Again
When you’re growing up, your father (mine, at least) tends to teach you the ropes of whatever sport and beat you repeatedly at it. The day eventually arrives though when you beat him. It’s usually a fluke at first or very infrequent, but eventually…youth/age pass each other on the way up and down. It’s sort of a melancholy milestone.
Time for the USMNT to play Mexico again. Let’s go.
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