If you haven’t read one of these before click here for an explanation of the grading system.
Previous +/- game grades:
That was dull. After re-watching I’m not sure it was as bad as I thought on first viewing though. It was however really boring and embarrassing in a weird way. The way the US was unable to get the ball from Curacao in the second half was tough to watch.
I’m a Michigan fan and there was a period when Rich Rodriguez was coach where I would record the games and fast-forward when the opposing team had the ball because I knew they were going to score. I just didn’t want to watch it.
I started this game about 40 minutes late and in the second half I skipped 30 seconds forward almost every time Curacao got the ball because I knew the US wasn’t going to get it back for a while. The problem is I don’t think the USMNT has the personnel to correct the problem. Enough of my rambling. To the grades:
Notes:
Completed +/- grades:
General Guidelines for Interpreting these Numbers
| 15+ | Excellent game |
| 9-14 | Played well to very well |
| 5-8 | Solid |
| 0-4 | Not great, Bob |
| Below 0 | Listening to my kids argue 😑 |
*The Adjusted Total uses the Elo ratings to take into account opponent and competition factors.*
MOTM – Christian Pulisic (+12)
I’ve done this grading exercise quite a few times now and one of the trends I’ve noticed is that to produce goals you either need several good (+1) moments in a row, two or three really good (+2) moments, or one/two exceptional plays (+3-5) to score a goal. I graded ten plays in this game at +2 or higher. Pulisic was responsible for five of them. McKennie didn’t have any of his dangerous slipped through passes, Boyd was quiet, etc. If the US was going to score this game CP was going to have to do something special. He did once and it was enough to win the game. Let’s get him some help, eh?
PULISIC ➡️ MCKENNIE = GOAL 🔥
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 1, 2019
The two 20-year-olds connect to put USA on 🔝 #GoldCup2019 pic.twitter.com/cBWrhDZtT5
Anybody Else?
Walker Zimmerman (+8)
Zimmerman played great in the first half. I had him at +9 through the first 45 minutes. He was passing the ball very well out of the back and playing great defense. The second half was rough on everybody. The big problems for him were two dangerous turnovers (-2’s) in the 2nd half (56′ and 70′). It was also tougher for him to earn positives since the team couldn’t win or hang onto the ball for almost the entire 2nd half. I’d love to see him get a move to Europe where he can sharpen up his game against higher level competition week in and week out.
I know this play was offside, but I loved him taking space and playing this pass.
Discrepant Grade
As a general rule, I have been pretty happy with the way these grades have conveyed player performance. However, I feel like I have been consistently underrating Aaron Long. He came out +6 in this game which isn’t bad, but I feel like he played better than this. I suspect he doesn’t have a lot of graded events because he’s in position, got his man covered, etc. When this tournament is over and I’m not writing these articles every few days I think I may watch a game or two and just focus on Long. I want to figure this out. (Feel free to tell me what you think I’m missing @blharreld if you’ve got a better grasp on this than me.)
Room to Improve
Gyasi Zardes (-5)
Should I just cut and paste the Guyana write-up here? It’s the same stuff. He tries really hard, but he’s not dangerous, doesn’t combine well, has cement feet… Even when his effort and smarts get him into a good position he can’t even get his shot on target, let alone dangerously on target. He was teed up in the 79th and 89th minute, could of put the game away, but didn’t get either chance on frame. Forward is a black hole for the USMNT. Jozy is never healthy and everyone else is terrible. We need a prospect to break through here in the worst way.
Bradley, McKennie, Boyd (All -1)
Michael Bradley actually had a pretty good first half (+5). Not so coincidentally, that was when the US had the majority of possession and all he had to do was hang around the middle of the field and pass the ball. Once he had to defend and try to win the ball he was in trouble (-6 in the 2nd half). The US needs at least two ball winners in the midfield. If his partners were Tyler Adams and Paxton Pomykal then Bradley would probably be fine. When it’s Pulisic and McKennie it’s just not good enough defensively.
Weston McKennie didn’t cover himself in glory either. I can cut him some slack because he was the best midfielder in the other two games he played, but he was a turnover machine against Curacao. He also didn’t have any of those sexy, slipped through balls he produced quite a few of in the previous games. We need him to play better against Jamaica. He’s also the closest thing to a ball-winner we’ve got in midfield right now.
Tyler Boyd had a rough go of it as well. He had five notably bad turnovers in his 62 minutes and wasn’t as dangerous as he’s been in the past. His effort was good and he was out there trying “stuff,” but it didn’t come off for him in this game.
Conclusions
Matt Doyle has written repeatedly about the need for the US to get pressure on the ball. I think that is spot on. Again though, I don’t know that the US has the players in midfield we need to get that pressure. I’m preparing to hear some OLE’s against Mexico in the final (assuming we get by Jamaica).
Other than that…I’m trying to be patient. Berhalter has been in charge since December. He has now had four competitive games and about a month (?) with the team. I don’t need to win the tournament to be happy, but I would like to see progress. The U17s and U20s both played better soccer (at least in the qualifying) as the tournaments wore on. I’d like to see that from this team during the Gold Cup. There’s two more (hopefully) games. Let’s see some progress.
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Gregg not subbing Jozy in was puzzling, but perhaps not out of character. Maybe Jozy needed to sit after nearly a complete game – but he couldn’t have given 10-15 minutes? Or maybe Gregg had completely given up on scoring at that point and subbed Omar in instead.
Of all the plays I saw, one in particular with Zardes galled me. I’m not a Zardes fan at all. Nothing against his attitude & effort, everything against him having no instincts, no first touch & cement feet.
Pulisic had the ball to the right of goal, about 5 feet from the post & the endline. Zardes was facing the left post, about 3 feet from it, with space behind him. Both were marked. Pulisic had a limited, narrow angle but well within his abilities to hit Zardes if he moved 2-3ft back. Zardes sees Pulisic and … moves closer to the post, shrinking the angle and giving Pulisic no outlet (we turned it over moments later).
I would fire Zardes from the team for that, it’s inexcusable to actively move into a worse position where not only was he still marked but the keeper was now between him and the ball as well.
Mostly, Gregg’s roster choices have hamstrung his choices when subbing. And if Jozy wasn’t fully fit, perhaps carrying a third striker wasn’t a luxury – I am 100% confident that Sargent could link up better with the midfield than Zardes ever will.
Agree with all of this. Re not subbing on Altidore. I think I saw Berhalter say they were planning on it, but Zardes is better on the counter.
Considering Jozy’s fragility, saving him for the next match wasn’t a bad thing. Now if only someone other than Zardes had been available…
And speaking of Zardes & counters – he did a bang up job of helping start some for Jamaica.