It’s a shame that there couldn’t be a full on celebration at the conclusion of this one. The “all-but-mathematically-qualified” joy doesn’t quite hit the same as qualified. Still though, a 5-1 win in the biggest game the team has played since that fateful night in Couva felt pretty good. The early goals were nice too; they drained the stress out of the evening and allowed for a much more placid viewing experience.
The team came out a little tight, but when this happened…you knew it was on.
Maybe I’m projecting, but this is the point where I picked up on some extra energy/intensity and felt like they were going to win the game. If you look at the cumulative team +/- total, the sum starts taking off right around that moment as well. Maybe it’s nothing, but I liked that play.
Grading Beverage: Eagle Rare Bourbon – I’m going back and forth between this and Buffalo Trace as my favorite atm. Good choice either way.
If you haven’t read one of these USMNT (+/-) Player Grades articles before click here for an explanation of the system.
Grades
MOTM – Christian Pulisic (+15)
Shocking, I know. It turns out scoring a hat trick (even with two PKs) earns you a lot of points. Angry, intense Pulisic is my favorite Pulisic. He was so clearly not going to let 2017 happen again. Would anyone be surprised if you found out he’d been watching the last 20 minutes of the T&T match alone in the dark the night before the match? (I’m completely making that up, just to be clear.)
I still don’t think he’s at his best, but his performance against Panama was excellent. He effort was noticeable all evening and he was the perfect choice for captain on the night. This led to Arriola’s goal:
And then his third goal to complete the hat trick, was among the best goals I’ve ever seen from the USMNT. I think my favorite is still Donovan’s counter-attack goal against Brazil in the Confederations Cup, but this is up there with Feilhaber’s volley, and Fabian Johnson’s against Turkey. Here’s a gif of it just because:
Other Positive Performances
Gio Reyna (+9.5)
There’s that man again. Reyna somehow didn’t end up with a goal or an assist, but good grief. I mean, this was his first touch of the match:
About 30 seconds after this he was in clear on goal, but didn’t finish. He also created three more chances for the team during his 45 minutes on the field. His ceiling is higher than any American player I’ve ever watched. Watch this pass from the 61st minute:
That remind anyone else of this?
Gio is going to be really good for a long time. Settle in for some fun watching this kid.
Paul Arriola (+7.5)
Arriola is controversial, I guess. People are strange. He’s not as good as the top 3/4 wingers in the pool, but he is certainly good enough to be on the field and give you minutes here and there. There’s also this:
Arriola’s role has always been engine work ahead of weaker RB selection—knowing when to make a run in attack is more consequential given that role.
— Matthew Tomaszewicz (@shinguardian) March 27, 2022
Playing Arriola in front of Shaq Moore is a nice safety blanket and Arriola is definitely good enough to beat Panama. Arriola was his usual, active self for the 45 minutes he was in there and his header in the box for the goal was very nice. Paul is, by all accounts, a great guy and quality depth to have on the team.
Luca de la Torre (+7.5)
The 3rd #8 battle seems to be going his way right now. It’s probably between him and Acosta atm. It might even be a stylistic choice if one of the top two isn’t available. If you need pressing and defense then Acosta is your guy, but if you need ball progression/passing then de la Torre is the choice.
In this match, he was a competent option in midfield. He wasn’t perfect (there were at least three TOs 25′, 30′, 62′), but he carried the ball well, and hit beautifully weighted passes. As of right now, he’s on the plane to Qatar imo.
Luca de la Torre WCQ vs Panama pic.twitter.com/snA2A1nQTT
— dispossessed Kranks (@dis_possessed) March 28, 2022
Room to Improve
Zack Steffen (+0.5)
Steffen came out a bit low, but he had almost nothing to do. There were a couple nervy moments on crosses, but nothing to be too concerned about. This did look a lot like the goal he conceded with Manchester City recently though.
Yunus Musah (+0.5)
Musah didn’t have a great night (+0.5), but he only played 45 minutes, and if you saw how dead he was at the end of the Mexico match this wasn’t exactly a surprise. He didn’t do much of anything while he was out there, but he and Acosta did manage to eat all the required minutes.
Party in San José?
There’s almost no circumstance that the game tomorrow will be stress inducing. Portugal did what Italy couldn’t and beat North Macedonia today, so there isn’t even any Pot 1 drama left. Costa Rica has 9(?) players that will be suspended for the intercontinental playoff match if they take a yellow, so the only interesting subplot left is can the US end their losing streak in Costa Rica?
Honestly though, I don’t care about that too much. Let’s get through Wednesday night and see what group we are drawn into on Friday. Good times. Good times.
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Tyler Adams is starting to concern me. Is he plateauing as merely a destroyer, never to offer anything more? No passing, no springing of counter attacks, nothing on the offensive side. There is a reason he lost his cm role at RB Leipzig.