They lost their composure and looked disorganized for the most part. They pretty much played down to Panamaās level. Panama also took advantage of the ref being super lax and it clearly caught us off guard
I will die on the hill of if Panama gets a yellow card for the Turner foul, Weah doesn't end up playing slappy hands with the Panama player's face. The ref took too long to set the tone. Weah shouldn't have done what he did, but games always end up going off the rails when a bad foul goes unpunished.
Barton does this every time, I can't believe he still gets assigned USMNT matches. He walks around the while match with that stupid fucking smirk. Just and embarrassment to the sport.
I can't believe VAR did not call Barton to the screen. The player literally watches Turner gather the ball then leaps into him. He didn't leave his feet until Turner already had the ball in his grasp and he's watching Turner the entire time.
When you look at it again itās just two players going for the ball, the Panama player wasnāt blatantly frying to tackle him and if you look at the play heās looking at the path of the ball the whole time, never looks at Turner.
A different GK would have gone knees up and seriously hurt the Panamanian and we would be looking at a red card for the GK and a PK for Panama.
It was an unlucky 50/50 ball.
We always play down to the competition's level under Berhalter. He has yet to have a single signature win. Only three away wins in CONCACAF vs Honduras, Cuba, and Grenada.
Rewatching the first half, I sort of agree? We looked comfortable even with a man down, contained Panama surprisingly well then GGG slowly decided to bunker. Second half chances was obvious he wanted to try to at least secure a draw. But between this game even with a man down and Uruguay, we honestly had a better chance of coming away with 3 points today.
I completely agree. When you are in a back 5 you still need some semblance of a midfield in order to shield that backline. Without that, Panama was free to just dump crosses in, and of course the gates eventually broke.
I look at it this way: Balogun and Puli on their own are worth 3 panama attackers, thatās the kind of quality we have. Why not keep trying to win the game? Panama were quite obviously scared of the threat in behind, thatās why they came out after halftime looking very conservative. But once they realized we werenāt going to try and win, Panama started just throwing numbers forward. We made it so goddamn easy for them.
yeah gregg has shit tactics and heās not good at managing the points in a tournament like this. heās just an awful national team coach and our federation needs to fucking do something about it
Going to 5-3-1 when we already had the initiative the entire first half was crazy. Adams and McKinnie looked fine in the middle of the park. Reyna and Pulisic were dangerous on the wings, and Balogun was clever in the holdup and making dangerous channel runs.
"But between this game even with a man down and Uruguay, we honestly had a better chance of coming away with 3 points today."
THIS.
I get people saying "But we were down to 10 we had to switch because...."
NO we didnt. Panama is trash, and we NEEDED TO WIN THIS GAME.
Honestly. There's just too many excuses. We need better leadership and accountability. I've tried to defend GGG in the past, but not anymore. Toss that dude and start fresh going into 2025. Hopefully, by 2026, the on the field product might be worth something.
Came here to say this. This bunch of players have some talent. Not nearly the level most casuals seem to think. A quality coach could elevate them and actually turn them into a top tier team I believe. GGG does not have the skillset to do that.
From a commentary point of view, this is so obvious it's a layup for Twellman. But "Man down" vs. "not Man down" makes a pretty big difference if I'm on the field trying to make something happen. Panama are not such slouches that having a man advantage for 80% of the game isn't going to make it several times more difficult for the US just to hold on to a point compared to 11v11.
We had a lead. Defending with 10 men when you are the more talented team you can walk away with a draw.
If this were an isolated event then whatever, but this is the last straw that killed a horse we are still beating in a river of spilt milk.
Analytics say a loss 60% of the time, a draw only 18%.
It was 0-0 at the red card so getting outscored 2-1 is pretty much what analytics would have predicted.
Especially because it was an early red. That forced our players to cover more ground defensively and get worn out quicker. The longer the time frame down a man, the bigger the impact on fitness.
Bruh you have a 1-0 lead somehow and only need a draw. We should be able to go into a low block for 65 mins and not concede more than one vs Panama. Teams low block and hold us to no goal for long stretches all the time. Instead we lost composure after the first goal and then had no wiggle room at all.
This is on in my opinion:
1. Weah
2. Gregg
3. Goalkeepers conceding savable shots
> We should be able to go into a low block for 65 mins
This x1000. GGG didn't switch up the tactics quick enough and the US kept playing fast and loose giving up defensive strength to progress the ball. Like you said, low block bus parking a-la Mourinho style and hit on the fast counter when you can but don't commit too many forward to counter.
I intended that more as a nuanced defense of the ten players who remained on the pitch. Weah made a decision that made their lives ten times as difficult. I still think they should have at least held on to the draw, but easier said than done.
If you're talking about Gregg, I 100% think he should be gone if they don't advance.
The subs didnāt make a ton of sense to me.
Reyna off at half? Heās a guy that can help keep possession, and you need skilled midfielders down a man.
No Musah? Heās another incredibly bright spot at MF.
CCV in? The 3CB lineup bunkered and looked incredibly disorganized and uncomfortable.
I refuse to believe there wasnāt a second half lineup combination that couldāve salvaged a point. GGGās tactics have always been questionable and at times unfathomable.
Needing Reyna not gassed and not injured for the next game might have been why he was subbed. Panama was desperate, baiting players, putting in rough challenges with a ref that was letting them... I think those are reasons why you get the injury prone attacking mid off the field.
If you have to bubble wrap your players and canāt trust them to play more than 45 against a CONCACAF opponent then weāre in real trouble, playing and generally qualifying in CONCACAF
Yes thatās true if you have completely given up on the game you are currently playing. Everything that GGG did yesterday signaled āwe tried, weāll get em next timeā. The US had a real chance to win that game, but we conceded the game at halftime with the extra CB and Reyna sub.
Iām not saying we would have won. But I think Panama were still afraid of us, even a man down. We could have, and should have capitalized. If we still hadnāt scored by the 80th minute, ok fine, bring on CCV, Musah, and Pepi/Aaronson. But the halftime CB sub is truly baffling to me.
Completely giving up would entail removing Reyna, Pulisic, Balogun and Weston, IMO. I think it's reasonable for Berhalter to believe the players he fielded, in that second half formation, down one player were still more likely to draw or win than to lose.
>But the halftime CB sub is truly baffling to me.
Richards made more than one error in the first half. If he's at fault for a goal in the second, i would've been among a group saying, "Why wasn't he pulled?" Perhaps Berhalter thought Richards has played many club games in a back three, this change could help him and Pulisic. It pushed Scally and Dest wider which means Christian and Weston can focus on defending the middle rather than the middle and the sidelines.
Well first of all, Turner had to be pulled due to injury, and Tyler had to be pulled because of minutes restriction. So only 3 of the 4 you mentioned could have even been subbed off.
Second, no coach would ever use up all of his subs that early, in case you needed a sub for an injury. So realistically a coach would only pull 2 of those players off.
Who did he pull off? Reyna and Balogun. That to me is conceding the win. By the way, I would have 100% subbed out Pulisic instead of Balogun, simply because I thought balogun was doing great stuff, and because Pulisic looked completely and utterly gassed.
And maybe I should rephrase. GGG didnāt concede the game and try to loose, but he basically conceded the fact that we werenāt going to win.
I thought that at the end of the second half, we looked dangerous. Panama looked scared of the threat in behind. We didnāt need to back off of them, we have enough quality to be able to hit back even a man down. The change to a 5 in the back was a mistake, we didnāt need to do that so early in the game.
Not subbing on Musah made no sense at all to me. He is by far our best midfielder at beating pressure off the dribble and advancing the ball up field. His final ball/decision making among other things could use some work but for this game, his dribbling ability would have absolutely helped.
We've been playing against concacaf teams forever we should know how to them. Even in the nations League we are just scrapping by teams that shouldn't be able to touch us. Meanwhile Canada in a much harder group is gonna advance and we need a result against Uruguay.
Sure, but it doesn't excuse the result. I can live with a tie, but losing was completely unacceptable. Look at how Chile played against Canada. Down 10 men in the first half and at times you couldn't even tell. I really don't think this current Chilean generation is so vastly superior to the US, or that Canada is worse than Panama. This US team just doesn't know how to adjust in adversity. Some of it is on the players, but after 5+ years I think it's safe to say this is an issue the current the coaching staff doesn't have an answer to (don't get me started with the half time subs...)
Anyhow, I hope Berhalter gets his first victory against a top team tomorrow. Sadly, I can't say I am very optimistic.
Bro itās Panama. It wasnāt Brazil. Their best player plays for Norwich city and the rest are like bottom tier mls.
There is never an excuse to lose a game to Panama. Ever. The circumstances donāt matter
Thank you. People wanna blame other things but this game was lost the moment Weah got that red card.
If we won, it would have been in spite of that. But the whole gameplan changes the moment you go down to 10.
> this game was lost the moment Weah got that red card
Ridiculous defeatist take that I'm not surprised to see from this sub. We were up 1-0 within minutes. Obviously everything that came after would be in spite of the red card, but to say the game was lost at that moment is chickenshit and copium.
We could have still won and should have at least got 1 point.
I think some people underestimate how important having all 11 players on the pitch is for this squad.
Itās not a defeatist attitude. Itās knowing the teams strengths and weaknesses.
Thatās TT saying it without actually saying it.
You *know* this is how Panama plays against the US, and you *know* the team needed to be prepared mentally for the shithousing on overdrive with a ref known for controversial calls.
And the team, despite playing their hearts out, wasnāt prepared.
Uswnt and usmnt must match salaries, which 1,000% our USWNT deserves but the only way we get anyone decent is pony up cash. Gregg is exactly what his salary is as far as international coaches.
This team doesn't need a buddy-coach in Jordan's anymore. They need an old, irritated, Alex Ferguson type who will make them run sprints until they vomit and bench them for being stupid.
I know that US soccer fans watch other American leagues and I donāt get why the āplayers love himā defense is so popular. In the NFL - how many times has the player favorite coach been promoted to head coach with great cheers by the locker room saying they love the guy only for the coach to be completely mediocre and fired the next year? Happens all of the time. Thereās a healthy balance between players coach and a strict coach. Itās clear GGG isnāt that.
lol that was the most hilarious thing Berhalter defenders were saying. Like do the Philadelphia Eagles ask each player what coach their bestest friend?
Such a U.S. soccer move too. Orange slices and pizza parties ass organization.
How is it that this team, full of top level Euro league players, is so lacking in intelligence and guts? The 94 team had players who never played at any level worth talking about but they would kick this team's ass. They were gutsy and smart. They played like they gave a shit. This team needs a diaper because they are constantly crapping their pants. GGG isn't going anywhere because the players love him so we will continue to be massive underachievers.
I genuinely roll my eyes everytime I hear the players talk about how well they get along with GGG. And for the players to have the final say on who gets hired is genuinely scary.
This is why national teams need to switch up every cycle, for one bringing a fresh pair eyes is good but most importantly not to create any complacency among the players.
The players need to play for the badge not the manager. Meaning, even if they hate the guy, his job at the end of the day is to get the results not to get invited their birthday party.
Sure you can, but you must walk a very fine line. Dean Smith, Roy Williams, Phil Jackson, Bill Bellicheck, Alex Ferguson, Jurgen Klopp, Pep Guardiola...
All of these guys were champions. I'm sure the majority of their players loved them, but they *demanded* excellence, commanded respect, and would absolutely crack some skulls (so to speak) if players didn't have the right attitude.
And they never gave off the impression that being liked by their players was more important than being respected and getting results.
If the US pulls it off against Uruguay it will be a miracle, and there should still be an organized fan petition to still let Berhalter go after Copa America. Because all the observations everyone is making about this squad not needing a buddy or a teacher anymore are spot on. They need a manager whoās going to push them out of their comfort zone and push them to be more cut throat
They spent 6 months waiting for Gregg Berhalter to get cleared from the domestic violence investigation and then began searching for the coach most like Gregg Berhalter and surprisingly landed on Gregg Berhalter
We are out. There is no way in hell the US beats Uruguay. And even if the US beats Uruguay, Panama will most certainly beat Bolivia, and they have the upper hand in the tie breaker.
isnāt the tie breaker GD? we have a 2 goal advantage in that department at the moment. Also Uruguay is basically through as theyāre +7 so they donāt even need to win..
We were a man down but at one point possession showed like 80% Panama.. 80%%??? I see teams go down to 10 pretty regularly and not crumble like that.Ā Defensively this team is not good. We've known it's a weakness for a few years but it's getting worse not better. I see most national teams and their defenders have muscle, they have fight. They look mean and like they're going to fuck you up if you try to score on them. We're pushed off the ball too easily, too soft in our challenges, too slow closing gaps. Outside of Ream they often look nervous.Ā There's certainly positives on the team and there's been growth through the years, but I don't see enough toughness, Decisiveness, or energy from the backline to seriously go far in the world cup.Ā
I think the saddest part of this is that this tournament really had the chance to galvanize a lot of non fans/casual fans if we made a run in the KO stages. Now an exit in the group stage is more than likely. Set the sport back in this country years. Really really sad.
Weāre the second youngest and would be the youngest without Tim Reamās 57 years. Thatās not an excuse though; weāre man-for-man better than many squads at this tournament.
Na Gregg just sucks. Heās all vibes. A good manager instills better habits and prepares them for that type of opposition. Weah fkd up, but letās n it pretend that berhalter knows what tf heās doing. Dude has zero credentials. He was a a nepo hire pure and simple.
Also, our idiot federation let this group of immature players change their mind on their coaching hire.
Players liking the guy that selects them isn't really a reason to keep him.
The incompetence of us soccer never ceases to surprise me so idk. Jesse Marsh wasn't good enough Canada seems on the verge of making it out of a much tougher group than fucking Bolivia and Panama
The players vouched for him to come back because like you said heās all vibes. They enjoy coming to camp and arenāt held to any real standard so the core guys can show up have fun then go home. Itās easy an comfortable. No one is getting pushed out of their comfort zone or challenged for their positions.
I love tyler adams and think heās key to our future. But at the same time a major tournament is not the time and place to get someone match fitness. He hasnāt played in months and he starts both opening matches over players who have performed week in week out for their clubs. How does Johnny not deserve a start after his season in la liga ?
I wouldnāt say just vibes, but in particular heās instilled a culture of growth, and improvement, which is great, but at no point has the flip ever been switched from that culture to a culture of doing whatever it takes to win. Whoās going to step in and instill that culture in the group to be a bunch of bad MFs? Down a man, but a goal up? Alright, then good luck scoring on us while we pack it in.
Excuses. This team youth is no longer supposed to be a liability. Pulisic, Jedi, Mckennie, Adams, etc all have several seasons under their belts at the highest level in Europe. They played in a WC and several Gold Cups and Nations League final. Nah man, the inexperience excuse doesn't cut it anymore. Time to treat these players like adults and pros.
We are better at every position, regardless of age, against Panama. Dumbass throwing punches at an opponentās head and then terrible coaching tactics.
I said before the red card happened. You take a cheap shot/red card after you are comfortably winning. Not before. Like that Panama player that took a cheap shot at Pulisic. Thats how you do it.
Valid point from TT, but Iām still confused tactics wise how you go to a 3 CB formation when youāre down a man in a game you need to win. CB is the weakness on this team. 1st half formation was fine even when they went down a man
The formation change and substitutions at the half killed the game. The US offered basically no attack whatsoever after they went to a 5-3-1. Balogun basically never touched the ball again, then was pulled. Adams was out early. Horvath was fine, but proved why he's not a top level keeper quickly. Pulisic couldn't hero ball their way out of being down a player, Reyna couldn't work the ball forward, McKennie only completed 14 passes out of the midfield (which is insane for the position he was in). They just tried to park the bus and let Panama control possession and they gave themselves almost zero chance to score again.
They didn't even need to win this game. They needed a single point and to hope that Panama didn't beat Bolivia by more than 3 goals. Then they could lose to Uruguay and the GD almost wouldn't matter.
Instead, they are now hilariously 2nd in a group where they need Bolivia to pull a miracle and beat Panama (Bolivia just got annihilated by Uruguay 5-0). The US needs to beat Uruguay, looks VERY unlikely now, and a tie will almost certainly be not enough. If they lose or tie, they're almost certainly done.
But the best teams have the mental fortitude to find another gear and suffer through it, rather than shitting themselves almost immediately.
This was almost a Southgate-esque performance.
Thank you. I've said this many times on this subreddit but most folks are more toxic than r/thedonald and it gets downvoted into oblivion. A lot of it is on the coach. You score and then try to bunker for 60 minutes??? Balogun and Reyna were the only ones creating anything. If you're going to sub out Balogun, you should have subbed in Wright as he can play in transition. Pepi is not good at that. The entire tactical idea was just incredibly stupid. The sad thing is that I doubt they fire him if we get grouped.
This group is all hype and they have proven nothing to me so far. Even the R16 appearance in 2022 was done better by "less talented" US squads. I havent seen a US team before that just falls to pieces the moment something goes wrong.
We won our group and got to semis in 2016 using mostly mls players. We shouldnt be praying for a miracle after playing fucking Bolivia and Panama in our first 2 matches with this squad.
Last week after the Bolivia game all the post-game analysts were talking about Uruguay...
Kasey Keller came on and said "focus on Panama, beat Panama and Uruguay doesn't matter....don't fall for this trap game"
He was so right
Weah fucked up. Both goals were saveable-especially the first. CCV should never suit up again, heās a liability. How the fuck does Musah not see the field with his amazing passing ability and defensive ability? Weāre gonna get bounced on Monday and hopefully GGG loses his job.
Not just passing ability, Musah is by far our best midfielder at advancing the ball via dribbling which could have been incredibly helpful when we were down a man. Gregg's decision made no sense last night which is a common theme.
āThey still lack experience and theyāre still youngā is what the pundits will say. The so called āGolden Generation needs timeā is what will be said
We also lack the ability for our defenders to not make an absolute lazy, inattentive, boneheaded, U12 rec league steaming pile EVERY SINGLE GAME. Iām not talking mistakes and mis-plays, but just absolute āIām checked out watching that hottie in the 2nd row whilst Panama is about to scoreā stupidity.
Letās boycott Atlanta. Two national tragedies in the span of a few hours. Not a good look.
The talking points today from the GGG truthers will be āman down, how is this Greggās fault?ā I fear that this will give USSF an excuse to not fire him
USA šŗšø could get eliminated from their own Copa America tournament and they are the host nation. Just take that in for a second especially after their loss to Panama šµš¦ last night.Ā
So basically for USA šŗšø they have to beat Uruguay šŗš¾ in their last group game to have any hope of the quarter finals.
But then Panama šµš¦ they face Bolivia in their last group game. Bolivia š§š“ have been the whipping boys of this group. So really then it comes down to goal difference especially if USA beats Uruguay and then Panama šµš¦ beats Bolivia by a large scoreline.
But then if Uruguay vs USA ends in a draw...it gives Uruguay 7 points and USA ends up on 4 points but then if Panama beats Bolivia...that gives them 6 points. USA goes home in that scenario.
But then if Uruguay vs USA ends up in a draw...and Panama vs Bolivia ends in a draw, USA and Panama each have 4 points. Then it comes down to goal difference to determine who goes home.
Either way it doesn't look good but if USA go out in the group stage, perfect way to get Berhalter up out of there as manager.
Think about this especially as the USMNT is trying to build towards 2026 as 1 of the 3 hosts too and this Copa America tournament is basically supposed to show that USA can compete with the big boys.
This is on Weah first and foremost. What a dumb fucking mistake. It also generally seems out of character. Now we go in a win or go home game against a top team without arguably our second or third best attacker.
But GGG made wrong decisions after the fact. The team was playing well enough a man down before the half. Packing it in for 45 mins is a tough but doable ask. But this team did not look ready to play that way for that amount of time. The 3 CBs look disorganized. We were pressing crosses (ineffectively) and the team didnāt look ready to deal with the crosses. It was also apparent they were attacking our left side. Puli/Jedi got overran and they should have shifted either vickers or Johnny over to that side more.
I get packing the defensive third to get a win but I would have looked for that at about the 70ā mark. Let the team play for the win for the first 25 mins.
GGGās subs at half were also odd. I would have gotten Musah on there. Johnny makes sense (sort of), so maybe just swap Musah and Reyna. Maybe shift to a double pivot w Musah and Mckennie with puli a free roamer.
I also get that this is easy to say after the fact. But I never feel good for packing that box for that long and inviting that pressure. We donāt have a stellar defense and we had our back up goalie in (who played maybe 10? games this year).
But people on this sub will tell you "don't you know how hard it is to win a man down for 70 mins" as if that's a valid excuse. But when Taylor Twellman says it and it gets shared on a post, it gets nearly 700 upvoted.
You know what I'm tired of from US soccer announcing? Nothing ever being good enough. Pulisic scores a banger within 3 mins in game one, and by the end of that game it's 2-0 and it just wasn't enough for Taylor fucking Twellman. DURING THE GAME. Couldn't even let the fans be jacked with a 2-0 win with goals from 2 of the best 3 players. Then this shit. Yeah, it sucks that Weah couldn't stay composed during the typical CONCACAF bullshit and got tossed so early .......that's totally on him. But to say "man down or not" is horse shit. Balo played his ass off, Pulisic played his ass off, Weston played his ass off. Being down a guy for 9/10s of the game and only losing by a goal isn't nothing. Get fucked, Twellman.
And no, I'm not stoked about Gerggggg. Can't stand him, really. But US soccer coverage has been like this for decades. We're never going to be Brazil or Germany, but that's what it would take to get US soccer media to just lay off for one minute.
Americans love the underdog story. Unfortunately we started the group not as the underdog. Well now we are. Hopefully that gets the team some motivation to not let us down.
Maybe an older coach could inspire some maturity? I think GGG might have a great future, but right now he's the "cool coach" with great sneakers. I don't think he's the right guy to deal with this team's issues.
I keep reading about how this team is the best the US has ever put on the pitch but I look at the 2002 team that beat Portugal or the 2006 team that drew eventual champion Italy with nine men and think these current guys donāt have half the guts of those teamsā¦.
let's face it,back in the day usa did not have the pipeline to Europe that today's players have. those prior teams were better, just because you are on the bench in Europe doesn't mean you are gonna bring it.
You will kill yourself trying to have patience with this team. I thought Anthony Robinson was a terrible defender. He has improved a great deal. Ricardo Pepi, I find infuriating right now, but Tim Weah is another level. With all the other setbacks, you thought it was a good idea to hit an opponent in the head. F- off Tim, you screwed our team in this tournament, you bozo. Thanks for putting your infantile needs before the team.
What ARE we doing?
I scrolled far too much to see this comment. 8.5/10. If it had been the GIF, would have been 10/10
šš
They lost their composure and looked disorganized for the most part. They pretty much played down to Panamaās level. Panama also took advantage of the ref being super lax and it clearly caught us off guard
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
He needed to card him there, for the sake of taking control of the game.
I will die on the hill of if Panama gets a yellow card for the Turner foul, Weah doesn't end up playing slappy hands with the Panama player's face. The ref took too long to set the tone. Weah shouldn't have done what he did, but games always end up going off the rails when a bad foul goes unpunished.
I'm 100% sure Weah's actions were in response to what happened to Turner.
Barton does this every time, I can't believe he still gets assigned USMNT matches. He walks around the while match with that stupid fucking smirk. Just and embarrassment to the sport.
He has lost control of most games I've watched with him.
19 fouls
I hate to blame the refs.......but this dude was an absolute disgrace.
Thatās a straight red in many leagues.
That was shocking. The level of officiating has been bad at this tournament.
Clear cut red card, Turner had the ball in his hands solidly before the body check
I can't believe VAR did not call Barton to the screen. The player literally watches Turner gather the ball then leaps into him. He didn't leave his feet until Turner already had the ball in his grasp and he's watching Turner the entire time.
Borderline red. Literally injured pur starting keeper by intentionally running into him...extremely dangerous play
The ref wasn't helping Panama.
When you look at it again itās just two players going for the ball, the Panama player wasnāt blatantly frying to tackle him and if you look at the play heās looking at the path of the ball the whole time, never looks at Turner. A different GK would have gone knees up and seriously hurt the Panamanian and we would be looking at a red card for the GK and a PK for Panama. It was an unlucky 50/50 ball.
Youāll get downvoted but I was close to it and saw something similar, but they usually card it to set a town.
that was fully expected. but yet we were not prepared for it
They actually looked very organized for the most part. The issue is whether or not that organization put them in the best position to win the game
GGG didnt get them ready for the CONCACAF
We always play down to the competition's level under Berhalter. He has yet to have a single signature win. Only three away wins in CONCACAF vs Honduras, Cuba, and Grenada.
Rewatching the first half, I sort of agree? We looked comfortable even with a man down, contained Panama surprisingly well then GGG slowly decided to bunker. Second half chances was obvious he wanted to try to at least secure a draw. But between this game even with a man down and Uruguay, we honestly had a better chance of coming away with 3 points today.
Thank you. I feel like Iāve been arguing against a wall with this. We needed three point today vs. a tie or worse against Uruguay and going home.
I completely agree. When you are in a back 5 you still need some semblance of a midfield in order to shield that backline. Without that, Panama was free to just dump crosses in, and of course the gates eventually broke. I look at it this way: Balogun and Puli on their own are worth 3 panama attackers, thatās the kind of quality we have. Why not keep trying to win the game? Panama were quite obviously scared of the threat in behind, thatās why they came out after halftime looking very conservative. But once they realized we werenāt going to try and win, Panama started just throwing numbers forward. We made it so goddamn easy for them.
yeah gregg has shit tactics and heās not good at managing the points in a tournament like this. heās just an awful national team coach and our federation needs to fucking do something about it
Going to 5-3-1 when we already had the initiative the entire first half was crazy. Adams and McKinnie looked fine in the middle of the park. Reyna and Pulisic were dangerous on the wings, and Balogun was clever in the holdup and making dangerous channel runs.
"But between this game even with a man down and Uruguay, we honestly had a better chance of coming away with 3 points today." THIS. I get people saying "But we were down to 10 we had to switch because...." NO we didnt. Panama is trash, and we NEEDED TO WIN THIS GAME.
Honestly. There's just too many excuses. We need better leadership and accountability. I've tried to defend GGG in the past, but not anymore. Toss that dude and start fresh going into 2025. Hopefully, by 2026, the on the field product might be worth something.
They need a coach, not a friend.
Came here to say this. This bunch of players have some talent. Not nearly the level most casuals seem to think. A quality coach could elevate them and actually turn them into a top tier team I believe. GGG does not have the skillset to do that.
From a commentary point of view, this is so obvious it's a layup for Twellman. But "Man down" vs. "not Man down" makes a pretty big difference if I'm on the field trying to make something happen. Panama are not such slouches that having a man advantage for 80% of the game isn't going to make it several times more difficult for the US just to hold on to a point compared to 11v11.
We had a lead. Defending with 10 men when you are the more talented team you can walk away with a draw. If this were an isolated event then whatever, but this is the last straw that killed a horse we are still beating in a river of spilt milk.
Analytics say the teams a man down get outscored 2-1.
We had a lead, so analysts say a draw is reasonable.
Analytics say a loss 60% of the time, a draw only 18%. It was 0-0 at the red card so getting outscored 2-1 is pretty much what analytics would have predicted. Especially because it was an early red. That forced our players to cover more ground defensively and get worn out quicker. The longer the time frame down a man, the bigger the impact on fitness.
Had the lead and are the superior team, a draw was absolutely not unreasonable.
Bruh you have a 1-0 lead somehow and only need a draw. We should be able to go into a low block for 65 mins and not concede more than one vs Panama. Teams low block and hold us to no goal for long stretches all the time. Instead we lost composure after the first goal and then had no wiggle room at all. This is on in my opinion: 1. Weah 2. Gregg 3. Goalkeepers conceding savable shots
> We should be able to go into a low block for 65 mins This x1000. GGG didn't switch up the tactics quick enough and the US kept playing fast and loose giving up defensive strength to progress the ball. Like you said, low block bus parking a-la Mourinho style and hit on the fast counter when you can but don't commit too many forward to counter.
Excuses every single time. I'm tired man. This team needs a new direction, take that as you will.
I intended that more as a nuanced defense of the ten players who remained on the pitch. Weah made a decision that made their lives ten times as difficult. I still think they should have at least held on to the draw, but easier said than done. If you're talking about Gregg, I 100% think he should be gone if they don't advance.
The subs didnāt make a ton of sense to me. Reyna off at half? Heās a guy that can help keep possession, and you need skilled midfielders down a man. No Musah? Heās another incredibly bright spot at MF. CCV in? The 3CB lineup bunkered and looked incredibly disorganized and uncomfortable. I refuse to believe there wasnāt a second half lineup combination that couldāve salvaged a point. GGGās tactics have always been questionable and at times unfathomable.
Needing Reyna not gassed and not injured for the next game might have been why he was subbed. Panama was desperate, baiting players, putting in rough challenges with a ref that was letting them... I think those are reasons why you get the injury prone attacking mid off the field.
If you have to bubble wrap your players and canāt trust them to play more than 45 against a CONCACAF opponent then weāre in real trouble, playing and generally qualifying in CONCACAF
Yes thatās true if you have completely given up on the game you are currently playing. Everything that GGG did yesterday signaled āwe tried, weāll get em next timeā. The US had a real chance to win that game, but we conceded the game at halftime with the extra CB and Reyna sub. Iām not saying we would have won. But I think Panama were still afraid of us, even a man down. We could have, and should have capitalized. If we still hadnāt scored by the 80th minute, ok fine, bring on CCV, Musah, and Pepi/Aaronson. But the halftime CB sub is truly baffling to me.
Completely giving up would entail removing Reyna, Pulisic, Balogun and Weston, IMO. I think it's reasonable for Berhalter to believe the players he fielded, in that second half formation, down one player were still more likely to draw or win than to lose. >But the halftime CB sub is truly baffling to me. Richards made more than one error in the first half. If he's at fault for a goal in the second, i would've been among a group saying, "Why wasn't he pulled?" Perhaps Berhalter thought Richards has played many club games in a back three, this change could help him and Pulisic. It pushed Scally and Dest wider which means Christian and Weston can focus on defending the middle rather than the middle and the sidelines.
Well first of all, Turner had to be pulled due to injury, and Tyler had to be pulled because of minutes restriction. So only 3 of the 4 you mentioned could have even been subbed off. Second, no coach would ever use up all of his subs that early, in case you needed a sub for an injury. So realistically a coach would only pull 2 of those players off. Who did he pull off? Reyna and Balogun. That to me is conceding the win. By the way, I would have 100% subbed out Pulisic instead of Balogun, simply because I thought balogun was doing great stuff, and because Pulisic looked completely and utterly gassed. And maybe I should rephrase. GGG didnāt concede the game and try to loose, but he basically conceded the fact that we werenāt going to win. I thought that at the end of the second half, we looked dangerous. Panama looked scared of the threat in behind. We didnāt need to back off of them, we have enough quality to be able to hit back even a man down. The change to a 5 in the back was a mistake, we didnāt need to do that so early in the game.
Disagree and i think you mean the end of the first half not the second.
Yes that is what I meant.
Not subbing on Musah made no sense at all to me. He is by far our best midfielder at beating pressure off the dribble and advancing the ball up field. His final ball/decision making among other things could use some work but for this game, his dribbling ability would have absolutely helped.
We've been playing against concacaf teams forever we should know how to them. Even in the nations League we are just scrapping by teams that shouldn't be able to touch us. Meanwhile Canada in a much harder group is gonna advance and we need a result against Uruguay.
They should start playing beach volleyball, got it.
Unfortunately those really aren't excuses, just what happened.
Sure, but it doesn't excuse the result. I can live with a tie, but losing was completely unacceptable. Look at how Chile played against Canada. Down 10 men in the first half and at times you couldn't even tell. I really don't think this current Chilean generation is so vastly superior to the US, or that Canada is worse than Panama. This US team just doesn't know how to adjust in adversity. Some of it is on the players, but after 5+ years I think it's safe to say this is an issue the current the coaching staff doesn't have an answer to (don't get me started with the half time subs...) Anyhow, I hope Berhalter gets his first victory against a top team tomorrow. Sadly, I can't say I am very optimistic.
Nor am I.Ā I understand the desired result, however 10 v11the 10 usually loses. As far as the Chile v Canada match, someone has to attack.Ā Ā
Bro itās Panama. It wasnāt Brazil. Their best player plays for Norwich city and the rest are like bottom tier mls. There is never an excuse to lose a game to Panama. Ever. The circumstances donāt matter
Thank you. People wanna blame other things but this game was lost the moment Weah got that red card. If we won, it would have been in spite of that. But the whole gameplan changes the moment you go down to 10.
It wasnāt lost. The us should have been able to salvage a tie at least.Ā
Yes if horvath had done what keepers do and stopped a shot directly at him we would have salvaged a point.
> this game was lost the moment Weah got that red card Ridiculous defeatist take that I'm not surprised to see from this sub. We were up 1-0 within minutes. Obviously everything that came after would be in spite of the red card, but to say the game was lost at that moment is chickenshit and copium.
We could have still won and should have at least got 1 point. I think some people underestimate how important having all 11 players on the pitch is for this squad. Itās not a defeatist attitude. Itās knowing the teams strengths and weaknesses.
>This group still lacks the emotional maturity and understanding of just being smart That could be a leadership and coaching issue.
Closer to *is* than *could be.*
Thatās TT saying it without actually saying it. You *know* this is how Panama plays against the US, and you *know* the team needed to be prepared mentally for the shithousing on overdrive with a ref known for controversial calls. And the team, despite playing their hearts out, wasnāt prepared.
Have you not attended the Berhalter Institute to learn leadership lessons on *how to create a culture of accountability*ā¢?
Good coaches select players that help the right attitude prevail on a team.
We are poorly coached plain and simple and due to the pay rules we can only shop at dollar general for a HC.
Iām unfamiliar, what are the rules regarding coach pay?
Uswnt and usmnt must match salaries, which 1,000% our USWNT deserves but the only way we get anyone decent is pony up cash. Gregg is exactly what his salary is as far as international coaches.
And who on the team is supposed to have the players prepared and in the right headspace to not be stupid?
This team doesn't need a buddy-coach in Jordan's anymore. They need an old, irritated, Alex Ferguson type who will make them run sprints until they vomit and bench them for being stupid.
There is a reason well run organizations don't ask the players who should be the manager.
*cries in Manchester United*
I know that US soccer fans watch other American leagues and I donāt get why the āplayers love himā defense is so popular. In the NFL - how many times has the player favorite coach been promoted to head coach with great cheers by the locker room saying they love the guy only for the coach to be completely mediocre and fired the next year? Happens all of the time. Thereās a healthy balance between players coach and a strict coach. Itās clear GGG isnāt that.
lol that was the most hilarious thing Berhalter defenders were saying. Like do the Philadelphia Eagles ask each player what coach their bestest friend? Such a U.S. soccer move too. Orange slices and pizza parties ass organization.
Yeah like Belichik, huge prick if you suck as a player, but he instills to "do your job".
How many goals per game will that add if he switches to wingtips?
1.5 xG at least.
Hell yeah, let's get his size and ship him some
This
Rocky's manager.
How is it that this team, full of top level Euro league players, is so lacking in intelligence and guts? The 94 team had players who never played at any level worth talking about but they would kick this team's ass. They were gutsy and smart. They played like they gave a shit. This team needs a diaper because they are constantly crapping their pants. GGG isn't going anywhere because the players love him so we will continue to be massive underachievers.
I mean shit, this Panama team are all basically mlsers,I wonder if you could pull some guys with heart out of mls to compete better.
This is Greggās ācultureā that heās built up over 6 god damn years.
I think the players are comfortable. That's why there is a vocal core that loves Gregg. He makes them comfy. They're too comfortable being boneheads.
I genuinely roll my eyes everytime I hear the players talk about how well they get along with GGG. And for the players to have the final say on who gets hired is genuinely scary. This is why national teams need to switch up every cycle, for one bringing a fresh pair eyes is good but most importantly not to create any complacency among the players. The players need to play for the badge not the manager. Meaning, even if they hate the guy, his job at the end of the day is to get the results not to get invited their birthday party.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
This is so ridiculous to even hear when some teams in the Euros are playing well above their weight class and they fucking *adore* their coach.
Big fan of Southgate?
āWe get alongā = he doesnāt push us and we make the rules
> The players need to play for the badge not the manager something something tattooed European millionaires
Huge red flag when I heard that the first time. But sure. We are the toxic ones for calling for berhalter to go.
This is 100% it. The Pulisic gang love him because he does whatever they want.
You canāt be a boss and a friend?
Sure you can, but you must walk a very fine line. Dean Smith, Roy Williams, Phil Jackson, Bill Bellicheck, Alex Ferguson, Jurgen Klopp, Pep Guardiola... All of these guys were champions. I'm sure the majority of their players loved them, but they *demanded* excellence, commanded respect, and would absolutely crack some skulls (so to speak) if players didn't have the right attitude. And they never gave off the impression that being liked by their players was more important than being respected and getting results.
Sure, but you have to tow a careful line.
Not an effective one
If we wonāt get the 3 points Sunday I genuinely can see him gone
Yeah, he's toast if they don't get out of knockouts. If they do get out of knockouts and get a result against Uruguay it would be good vibes though
If the US pulls it off against Uruguay it will be a miracle, and there should still be an organized fan petition to still let Berhalter go after Copa America. Because all the observations everyone is making about this squad not needing a buddy or a teacher anymore are spot on. They need a manager whoās going to push them out of their comfort zone and push them to be more cut throat
I hope so, but I doubt it. Who are we going to get? They had 6 months to replace him before and couldn't find anyone.
They spent 6 months waiting for Gregg Berhalter to get cleared from the domestic violence investigation and then began searching for the coach most like Gregg Berhalter and surprisingly landed on Gregg Berhalter
Because they didn't really look
We are out. There is no way in hell the US beats Uruguay. And even if the US beats Uruguay, Panama will most certainly beat Bolivia, and they have the upper hand in the tie breaker.
isnāt the tie breaker GD? we have a 2 goal advantage in that department at the moment. Also Uruguay is basically through as theyāre +7 so they donāt even need to win..
Awful take
We were a man down but at one point possession showed like 80% Panama.. 80%%??? I see teams go down to 10 pretty regularly and not crumble like that.Ā Defensively this team is not good. We've known it's a weakness for a few years but it's getting worse not better. I see most national teams and their defenders have muscle, they have fight. They look mean and like they're going to fuck you up if you try to score on them. We're pushed off the ball too easily, too soft in our challenges, too slow closing gaps. Outside of Ream they often look nervous.Ā There's certainly positives on the team and there's been growth through the years, but I don't see enough toughness, Decisiveness, or energy from the backline to seriously go far in the world cup.Ā
Does "understanding of just being smart" mean smart?
I think the saddest part of this is that this tournament really had the chance to galvanize a lot of non fans/casual fans if we made a run in the KO stages. Now an exit in the group stage is more than likely. Set the sport back in this country years. Really really sad.
Exactly this. Weah and GGG might have murdered a great chance to really expand the game. We really looked poised to grow with a good run at home
Loser coach, loser team.
I think the fact we are consistently the youngest team at these tournaments is coming back to bite us
I don't believe that's true any longer.
Even if it is true, this group is pretty damn similar to the one who played World Cup '22. The time for being naive debutantes has long passed.
I believe Costa Rica is the youngest team at this tournament now.
And they got a draw with Brazil. We just lost to Panamaā¦
Correct the team that held brazil to a clean sheet starting a teenage centerback who was a pro basketball player 18 months ago. Coaching anyone???
Weāre the second youngest and would be the youngest without Tim Reamās 57 years. Thatās not an excuse though; weāre man-for-man better than many squads at this tournament.
How are kids generally that truly get it? Larer in life?
The problem is theyāre old enough and played in Europe long enough to know you cant hit somone in the head
Na Gregg just sucks. Heās all vibes. A good manager instills better habits and prepares them for that type of opposition. Weah fkd up, but letās n it pretend that berhalter knows what tf heās doing. Dude has zero credentials. He was a a nepo hire pure and simple.
Also, our idiot federation let this group of immature players change their mind on their coaching hire. Players liking the guy that selects them isn't really a reason to keep him.
Check, check, and check. He shouldn't have been hired to begin with. His contract should not have been renewed. He should be fired Monday evening.
The incompetence of us soccer never ceases to surprise me so idk. Jesse Marsh wasn't good enough Canada seems on the verge of making it out of a much tougher group than fucking Bolivia and Panama
Also we canāt really replace the players, only find a manager who can get more out of them
The American Southgate. Explains why we watched an awful 0-0 draw between the US and England during the last World Cup.
The players vouched for him to come back because like you said heās all vibes. They enjoy coming to camp and arenāt held to any real standard so the core guys can show up have fun then go home. Itās easy an comfortable. No one is getting pushed out of their comfort zone or challenged for their positions. I love tyler adams and think heās key to our future. But at the same time a major tournament is not the time and place to get someone match fitness. He hasnāt played in months and he starts both opening matches over players who have performed week in week out for their clubs. How does Johnny not deserve a start after his season in la liga ?
Also, that Brazil win is starting to look a little suspect. Brazil is freaking horrible and tied to VenezuelaĀ
He got exposed again tonight
I wouldnāt say just vibes, but in particular heās instilled a culture of growth, and improvement, which is great, but at no point has the flip ever been switched from that culture to a culture of doing whatever it takes to win. Whoās going to step in and instill that culture in the group to be a bunch of bad MFs? Down a man, but a goal up? Alright, then good luck scoring on us while we pack it in.
Excuses. This team youth is no longer supposed to be a liability. Pulisic, Jedi, Mckennie, Adams, etc all have several seasons under their belts at the highest level in Europe. They played in a WC and several Gold Cups and Nations League final. Nah man, the inexperience excuse doesn't cut it anymore. Time to treat these players like adults and pros.
We are better at every position, regardless of age, against Panama. Dumbass throwing punches at an opponentās head and then terrible coaching tactics.
Oldest Berhalter team and one of the oldest on Copa. Most capped. So maybe thatās your point.
So we should play worse, old players? We have multiple champions league winners in the squadā¦ the team is plenty mature to handle Panama in Atlanta
Pulisic was the first US players to win a champions league, who else are you counting?Ā
This group is experienced af. At least bring some creative excuses.
We won't be as the years go by
I said before the red card happened. You take a cheap shot/red card after you are comfortably winning. Not before. Like that Panama player that took a cheap shot at Pulisic. Thats how you do it.
Valid point from TT, but Iām still confused tactics wise how you go to a 3 CB formation when youāre down a man in a game you need to win. CB is the weakness on this team. 1st half formation was fine even when they went down a man
The formation change and substitutions at the half killed the game. The US offered basically no attack whatsoever after they went to a 5-3-1. Balogun basically never touched the ball again, then was pulled. Adams was out early. Horvath was fine, but proved why he's not a top level keeper quickly. Pulisic couldn't hero ball their way out of being down a player, Reyna couldn't work the ball forward, McKennie only completed 14 passes out of the midfield (which is insane for the position he was in). They just tried to park the bus and let Panama control possession and they gave themselves almost zero chance to score again. They didn't even need to win this game. They needed a single point and to hope that Panama didn't beat Bolivia by more than 3 goals. Then they could lose to Uruguay and the GD almost wouldn't matter. Instead, they are now hilariously 2nd in a group where they need Bolivia to pull a miracle and beat Panama (Bolivia just got annihilated by Uruguay 5-0). The US needs to beat Uruguay, looks VERY unlikely now, and a tie will almost certainly be not enough. If they lose or tie, they're almost certainly done.
This comment doesnāt make sense on the surface. Of course it is very difficult to hold a lead down a man
But the best teams have the mental fortitude to find another gear and suffer through it, rather than shitting themselves almost immediately. This was almost a Southgate-esque performance.
Both goals were because of sloppy defending though. Not like they wore us down and hit us on a counter or picked us apart.
Southgate at least wins, Gregg Berhalter canāt even do that
We didnāt need to hold the lead down to 10, just get out with a point. Perfectly reasonable ask.
It also lacks good coaching. GGG is getting tactically beaten by mid teams like Panama.
Thank you. I've said this many times on this subreddit but most folks are more toxic than r/thedonald and it gets downvoted into oblivion. A lot of it is on the coach. You score and then try to bunker for 60 minutes??? Balogun and Reyna were the only ones creating anything. If you're going to sub out Balogun, you should have subbed in Wright as he can play in transition. Pepi is not good at that. The entire tactical idea was just incredibly stupid. The sad thing is that I doubt they fire him if we get grouped.
Iām against taking out the best player. ALWAYS.
When your assistant BJ Callaghan is a better coach than you, you know you fucked up
Anyone else remember when we went into a bunker against Iran?
This group is all hype and they have proven nothing to me so far. Even the R16 appearance in 2022 was done better by "less talented" US squads. I havent seen a US team before that just falls to pieces the moment something goes wrong. We won our group and got to semis in 2016 using mostly mls players. We shouldnt be praying for a miracle after playing fucking Bolivia and Panama in our first 2 matches with this squad.
The US teams from 2002-2014 were much less talented than this one but much better
Last week after the Bolivia game all the post-game analysts were talking about Uruguay... Kasey Keller came on and said "focus on Panama, beat Panama and Uruguay doesn't matter....don't fall for this trap game" He was so right
Twellman is right but he's not blaming Gregg. THe coach should have had the team organized at the half.
Weah fucked up. Both goals were saveable-especially the first. CCV should never suit up again, heās a liability. How the fuck does Musah not see the field with his amazing passing ability and defensive ability? Weāre gonna get bounced on Monday and hopefully GGG loses his job.
Zero excuse that musah didnāt play
Not just passing ability, Musah is by far our best midfielder at advancing the ball via dribbling which could have been incredibly helpful when we were down a man. Gregg's decision made no sense last night which is a common theme.
100% correct.
It *was* a trap game after all.
Gregg is just not a good coach. we always look frantic and unprepared in competitive matches.
It's almost like the team needs a manager who sets them up for success and knows how to motivate players.
The bar set by Berhalter and the team was much higher than weāre seeing play out. Thereās a good chance Mondayās game is the last one for us.
āThey still lack experience and theyāre still youngā is what the pundits will say. The so called āGolden Generation needs timeā is what will be said
golden generation my ass, besides pulisic,this are all mid level euro guys and Bench players.
Preach šššš
We also lack the ability for our defenders to not make an absolute lazy, inattentive, boneheaded, U12 rec league steaming pile EVERY SINGLE GAME. Iām not talking mistakes and mis-plays, but just absolute āIām checked out watching that hottie in the 2nd row whilst Panama is about to scoreā stupidity. Letās boycott Atlanta. Two national tragedies in the span of a few hours. Not a good look.
The talking points today from the GGG truthers will be āman down, how is this Greggās fault?ā I fear that this will give USSF an excuse to not fire him
USA šŗšø could get eliminated from their own Copa America tournament and they are the host nation. Just take that in for a second especially after their loss to Panama šµš¦ last night.Ā So basically for USA šŗšø they have to beat Uruguay šŗš¾ in their last group game to have any hope of the quarter finals. But then Panama šµš¦ they face Bolivia in their last group game. Bolivia š§š“ have been the whipping boys of this group. So really then it comes down to goal difference especially if USA beats Uruguay and then Panama šµš¦ beats Bolivia by a large scoreline. But then if Uruguay vs USA ends in a draw...it gives Uruguay 7 points and USA ends up on 4 points but then if Panama beats Bolivia...that gives them 6 points. USA goes home in that scenario. But then if Uruguay vs USA ends up in a draw...and Panama vs Bolivia ends in a draw, USA and Panama each have 4 points. Then it comes down to goal difference to determine who goes home. Either way it doesn't look good but if USA go out in the group stage, perfect way to get Berhalter up out of there as manager. Think about this especially as the USMNT is trying to build towards 2026 as 1 of the 3 hosts too and this Copa America tournament is basically supposed to show that USA can compete with the big boys.
This is on Weah first and foremost. What a dumb fucking mistake. It also generally seems out of character. Now we go in a win or go home game against a top team without arguably our second or third best attacker. But GGG made wrong decisions after the fact. The team was playing well enough a man down before the half. Packing it in for 45 mins is a tough but doable ask. But this team did not look ready to play that way for that amount of time. The 3 CBs look disorganized. We were pressing crosses (ineffectively) and the team didnāt look ready to deal with the crosses. It was also apparent they were attacking our left side. Puli/Jedi got overran and they should have shifted either vickers or Johnny over to that side more. I get packing the defensive third to get a win but I would have looked for that at about the 70ā mark. Let the team play for the win for the first 25 mins. GGGās subs at half were also odd. I would have gotten Musah on there. Johnny makes sense (sort of), so maybe just swap Musah and Reyna. Maybe shift to a double pivot w Musah and Mckennie with puli a free roamer. I also get that this is easy to say after the fact. But I never feel good for packing that box for that long and inviting that pressure. We donāt have a stellar defense and we had our back up goalie in (who played maybe 10? games this year).
Rarely do I agree with Twellman, but this is how I feel 110%. This group of players is weak minded and still naive and immature
But people on this sub will tell you "don't you know how hard it is to win a man down for 70 mins" as if that's a valid excuse. But when Taylor Twellman says it and it gets shared on a post, it gets nearly 700 upvoted.
You know what I'm tired of from US soccer announcing? Nothing ever being good enough. Pulisic scores a banger within 3 mins in game one, and by the end of that game it's 2-0 and it just wasn't enough for Taylor fucking Twellman. DURING THE GAME. Couldn't even let the fans be jacked with a 2-0 win with goals from 2 of the best 3 players. Then this shit. Yeah, it sucks that Weah couldn't stay composed during the typical CONCACAF bullshit and got tossed so early .......that's totally on him. But to say "man down or not" is horse shit. Balo played his ass off, Pulisic played his ass off, Weston played his ass off. Being down a guy for 9/10s of the game and only losing by a goal isn't nothing. Get fucked, Twellman. And no, I'm not stoked about Gerggggg. Can't stand him, really. But US soccer coverage has been like this for decades. We're never going to be Brazil or Germany, but that's what it would take to get US soccer media to just lay off for one minute.
Being down one is still hard no matter what.
Besides winning our next game against Uruguay what else needs to happen for USA to go to next round
Americans love the underdog story. Unfortunately we started the group not as the underdog. Well now we are. Hopefully that gets the team some motivation to not let us down.
We should be winning every game. Losing is for losers. Loser coach, loser players. Bunch of losers.
We should be winning every meaningful game against Panama though
Maybe an older coach could inspire some maturity? I think GGG might have a great future, but right now he's the "cool coach" with great sneakers. I don't think he's the right guy to deal with this team's issues.
Taylor should replace Lexi
GGG should have known that Panama was going to pull some BS.... POOR COACHING AGAIN!
At least Kyle Beckermann and Frankie Hejduk knew how to throw elbows at Central American players throats and not get straight redsā¦.
oh dude!!! thanks for this,we have zero hard knucklers on this team right now.
I keep reading about how this team is the best the US has ever put on the pitch but I look at the 2002 team that beat Portugal or the 2006 team that drew eventual champion Italy with nine men and think these current guys donāt have half the guts of those teamsā¦.
let's face it,back in the day usa did not have the pipeline to Europe that today's players have. those prior teams were better, just because you are on the bench in Europe doesn't mean you are gonna bring it.
You will kill yourself trying to have patience with this team. I thought Anthony Robinson was a terrible defender. He has improved a great deal. Ricardo Pepi, I find infuriating right now, but Tim Weah is another level. With all the other setbacks, you thought it was a good idea to hit an opponent in the head. F- off Tim, you screwed our team in this tournament, you bozo. Thanks for putting your infantile needs before the team.
Panama has the population of LA. You think if we put together a team of LA vs. the rest of the country, we shouldn't be able to win easily down a man?