NFT: USMNT vs El Salvador

Antone Robinson man of the match. US played an uninspired game.

In any sense of the word but they got the job done against and inferior opponent at home.

Increasingly get the feeling they're going to need to figure it out as they go. Getting into the dance is the name of the game right now.

But secured an essential three.

should have been 2 or 3 goals (or more than that) but they did a good job closing it out. Musah is a stud.

In comment 15579247 Eric on Li said:

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should have been 2 or 3 goals (or more than that) but they did a good job closing it out. Musah is a stud.

This.

Inappropriate conditions. They are the much better team their is no need for this gimmick.

In any event they once again did not have their best 11 on the field.

In comment 15579252 Joey from GlenCove said:

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Inappropriate conditions. They are the much better team their is no need for this gimmick. In any event they once again did not have their best 11 on the field.

I don't think you are following what happened. They have a game in Hamilton, Ontario this weekend, near Detroit, and it's a huge game. Berhalter waited until Canada declared Hamilton and then he chose Columbus because it is nearby. He tries to minimize travel for the team - 2/3 of them flew over from Europe in the last couple of days as it is. If Canada had chosen Vancouver, tonight's game would have been in Portland, Oregon. It's not a 'gimmick.' He is thinking about his players and trying to win the games.

As for the best 11 not being on the field - Reyna is still coming back from injury. Steffen is hurt. Not sure who else you have in mind. Starting Ferreira at center forward is certainly up for debate for sure, but Pepi hasn't been in great form for Augsburg. 10 of the 11 were who I would have picked. Richards is in form for Hoffenheim playing in cold weather. The MLS guys are out of season.

El Salvador’s high press caused all kinds of trouble for the Americans who were often forced to retreat with the ball rather than attacking. Finishing in the final third was a problem and the US attack down the left was almost nonexistent. Pulisic is of little value without the ball. Curious decision by Berhalter in starting Ferreira up top. He played nervous and missed some clear opportunities. Hopefully this will shake out the rust prior to Canada. El Salvador offers little in the attack but Canada features speedsters in the attack.

There were some good opportunities but they quality and timing of the finishing was a little off. They also need to work on spacing, especially on the right with Dest.

SLV played tight and a bit chippy but that should be expected every match in qualifying. Other than Ceren (Darwin to MLS followers), SLV had little in the way of attack.

Columbus has been USMNT favored ground since Dos a Cero uno. They have played more qualifying matches in Columbus than any other stadium. That said, Columbus just built a new stadium for the Crew and those metal benches must suck.

Onto Ontario!

With only a little more focus or sharpness at finishing, we could have had 2-3 goals in the first half. Berhalter said the right things at half time – mostly about pressing higher and linking better between midfield and forwards – and we controlled the game well until the final 5-10 minutes when El Salvador played all-out.

Respect the points.

especially in the final third. SLV caused the back 4 no problems so the US dominated everything but couldn't score. They need a 9 though desperately - we saw in the last WC and even somewhat in the Euros in the international game you need a post/target man.

Muzah was non factor in first half played well in second half.
Adams lost possession multiple times with bad passing.
It appeared to me that Pulisic got dinged up a bit in first half collision with Robinson. I think it affected his game last night.
Dest is definitely playing out of position for the USMNT.
They better play better against Canada or they willl lose for sure.
They just can’t find a striker who can bury the ball in the net.

In comment 15579542 Rick in Dallas said:

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Muzah was non factor in first half played well in second half. Adams lost possession multiple times with bad passing. It appeared to me that Pulisic got dinged up a bit in first half collision with Robinson. I think it affected his game last night. Dest is definitely playing out of position for the USMNT. They better play better against Canada or they willl lose for sure. They just can’t find a striker who can bury the ball in the net.

Pulisic definitely got dinged up on that collision. It was a dirty play - he was pushed in the back into Robinson. The ref was OK but he missed that.

Also agree about Dest. If McKennie can't go against Canada (looked like a hammy), I'd move Dest to right mid.

Yeah, no true striker at the moment. I expect we see Pepi against Canada.

Hey, it's CONCACAF WCQ - the games are always somewhat ugly.

looked like man amongst boys much of the night- super confident. Robinson was solid

rest of the team looked very meh.
Dest has his moments but is thinking too much.
Weah was too 1 dimensional 1 touch and cross.
Pulisic never got space and looked rusty
need a bigger threat up front to detract defenders.

good to get the win but it certainly was poor. a game where people who dont think we need Gio realize oh sh$t we need Gio.

Canada 9 5 4 0 +10 19
United States 9 5 3 1 +8 18
Mexico 9 5 2 2 +5 17
Panama 9 4 2 3 +1 14
Costa Rica 9 3 3 3 0 12
Jamaica 9 1 4 4 -5 7
El Salvador 9 1 3 5 -7 6
Honduras 9 0 3 6 -12 3

In comment 15579542 Rick in Dallas said:

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...Adams lost possession multiple times with bad passing.

This has become a disturbing trend, for last three games at least. Either his awareness of positioning of defending marks is non-existent or his execution of passes has crumpled, not sure which worse.