{"id":25073,"date":"2020-11-30T15:28:02","date_gmt":"2020-11-30T20:28:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/?p=25073"},"modified":"2020-12-01T12:44:01","modified_gmt":"2020-12-01T17:44:01","slug":"stars-stripes-and-soccer-10-takeaways-from-the-recent-usmnt-november-friendlies-1-through-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/2020\/11\/30\/stars-stripes-and-soccer-10-takeaways-from-the-recent-usmnt-november-friendlies-1-through-5\/","title":{"rendered":"Stars, Stripes and Soccer: 10 takeaways from November USMNT Action: Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

By: Cameron Meyer<\/p>\n

For the first time in over 285 days, Americans had the opportunity to see their men\u2019s national team play this month, albeit, in two exhibition matches. That being said, the hype around two inconsequential matches against Wales and Panama was still very present.<\/span><\/p>\n

With a squad with an average age of 21 years and 300 days and lined with European-based potential debutants like the \u201cAmerican Dream\u201d, Giovanni Reyna, the USMNT was poised to attract even the most casual American soccer fans.<\/span><\/p>\n

Those that tuned in saw a 0-0 draw to Wales in Swansea on Nov. 12 and a 6-2 win against Panama in Wiener Neustadt, Austria on Nov. 16. Outside of the concrete score lines, here\u2019s what I think are the main takeaways from the November camp for the USMNT.<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Gregg Berhalter needs to be cut some slack<\/b><\/h2>\n

In the short two years Gregg Berhalter has managed the USMNT, he hasn\u2019t been a fan favorite. His ties to the higher levels of US Soccer through his brother didn\u2019t do him any favors, and his alleged favoritism of MLS players has rubbed some Europhile fans the wrong way (despite the fact that most of those claims are nonsensical).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, I wouldn\u2019t say Berhalter has been ideal up to this point; many tactical and personnel errors come to mind. But the one thing that cannot be disputed are his recruiting skills, which the U.S. severely lacked in the past.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I think all USMNT fans can remember the dreadful day Jonathan Gonzalez filed the one-time switch to play for the Mexican national team in 2018. He played throughout the U.S. youth ranks and was raised in California, yet chose to represent our neighbors to the south. Not only was this a dark day for the American midfield player pool, but it demonstrated the canyon-sized rift of communication and interest between the front office and the players.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Berhalter, thus far, has righted these wrongs ten-fold. Out of the 24 players selected to the squad in November, 8 were uncapped dual nationals prior to the two games. This doesn\u2019t even include Sergi\u00f1o Dest, who Berhalter somehow convinced to stay with the US after Dutch coach Ronald Koeman personally met with the fullback to discuss a switch to the Oranje.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The squad selection by head coach Gregg Berhalter for the recent November camp.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The epitome of Berhalter\u2019s scouting ability, though, was the selection of Yunus Musah. Ask any American if they\u2019d heard of Musah a month ago and I\u2019d doubt there would be a single yes. A 17-year-old Valencia midfielder, who captained the U-18 England squad and just so happened to be born in New York City, fell under every US youth scout\u2019s radar\u2026 but not Berhalter.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Many pundits finally bought a ticket on the \u2018Musah hype-train\u2019 after he became the youngest non-Spanish player ever to score for Valencia in early November, but Berhalter had already been riding it since 2019. According to Berhalter, he had been tracking Musah for over a year and had had lengthy conversations with the player and his family prior to his bursting onto the Spanish football scene.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So say what you want about Berhalter, but many of these promising players wouldn’t’ve been on the team sheet if not for his player management and scouting skills. <\/span><\/p>\n

2. The high press will define this team<\/b><\/h2>\n

From camps prior, it\u2019s been evident that Berhalter has wanted to play an attacking 4-3-3 setup, similar to the many dominant national teams and clubs across the world. A high press and quick possession-style soccer characterize the meta of champions in the past decade, and Berhalter wants the US to follow suit.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, due to a somewhat shallow player pool and tactical inefficiencies over the past couple years, Americans haven\u2019t been able to see anywhere near a finished product to this plan. However, the games this past month might be signs for a brighter output in the future.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the first minutes against Wales, the U.S. attacking press was far into the Welsh defensive third from kickoff. The striker (Lletget in this case) and a winger led the press to the backline while the opposite side winger and a center midfielder would press the second line.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This led to all sorts of problems for the Welsh defenders and goalkeeper Danny Ward, who at times scrambled to get the ball out of danger. Multiple chances came from this in the opening 45 in Swansea, notably in the 12th minute.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

During a Welsh retreat to Ward, Konrad and Lletget cut the angle off to the two center halves while Reyna and McKennie stepped to the two Welsh center midfielders. With Konrad closing in, Ward was forced to send a ball wide to his left back and a Lletget block almost led to a chance for the US.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Konrad (Blue) and Lletget (Purple) close down the angles to the backline while McKennie (Green) and Reyna (Grey) shut down the midfield outlets.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The U.S. high press\u2019 effectiveness can also be seen in the 33rd minute of the same game, when McKennie, Reyna, Lletget, and Musah likewise created a “quadrilateral of death” where almost every option for the defender was squandered. The Welsh defender Lawrence is forced to make a foolish pass to a midfielder under pressure. This sequence almost and should\u2019ve led to an opening goal from Konrad after a bad pass back to goal by midfielder Dylan Levitt.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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McKennie (Green) and Reyna (Grey) step up to block the passing lanes to the right and left of defender James Lawrence (#18) while Musah (Yellow) and Lletget (Purple) step up to limit passing options to the midfield.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This press isn\u2019t only launched when the ball is in the opponents defensive third, either. Through both games, when American players lost the ball, wherever it was on the pitch, they showed a fervent desire to win the ball back. McKennie, among others, was a big proponent of this. In both games, he ran like a dog without a leash (and I mean that in the most praise-worthy way possible) trying to challenge the opposition for the ball.<\/span><\/p>\n

Against Panama, this led quite directly to a goal. In the build-up to Gioacchini\u2019s first goal, Reyna\u2019s through ball bounces off a Panamanian defender and falls into the feet of an opposition midfielder who tries to launch a counterattack. Reyna, partnered with McKennie, sprints towards the ball and sandwiches Carrasquilla, who coughs up the ball to Reyna. From there, the ball was played to Llanez on the wing, whose blocked shot puts a goal on a silver platter for Gioacchini.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n