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CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying

Ed H in Pasadena said:
Well they won, but they didn't make it easy on us. Didn't put the game to bed and Costa Rica made us sweat until the end.
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Yeah ... it's CONCACAF qualifying. That's what it looks like 90% of the time. Good result, which is all that really matters. I have no idea what Berhalter is doing with his roster rotation most of the time, and his pre-game strategies seem equally random ... but if you get results, then fine.

And what an absolute gem by Dest. I'll remember that lot longer than I'll remember them giving up that shambolic nonsense of a goal in the first minute. Probably.

Bottom line ... nearing the halfway pole, and the US is pretty much right where they need to be.
 
jeffbear said:
Yeah ... it's CONCACAF qualifying. That's what it looks like 90% of the time. Good result, which is all that really matters. I have no idea what Berhalter is doing with his roster rotation most of the time, and his pre-game strategies seem equally random ... but if you get results, then fine.

And what an absolute gem by Dest. I'll remember that lot longer than I'll remember them giving up that shambolic nonsense of a goal in the first minute. Probably.

Bottom line ... nearing the halfway pole, and the US is pretty much right where they need to be.
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The commentators kept remarking how the young squad needed to learn to put games like that to bed, and it's not like they didn't have some gilt-edged chances to do so. And the sweat was more Bryan Diaz lurking, who though 37 can still snake in and score unexpectedly. The worry was a horror like the one that happened in minute one, or the "pass" that nearly played Diaz in early in the second half. Otherwise, Costa Rica never really looked to be much of a threat.

And yeah, Dest's goal was a gem. Did you Alphonso Davies' goal vs Panama yet? Talk about a gem!
 
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BTW, not sure why the images I post from my phone get blown up to mega size here. That's why those results and tables images are so freaking large. :oops:
 
Ed H in Pasadena said:
The commentators kept remarking how the young squad needed to learn to put games like that to bed, and it's not like they didn't have some gilt-edged chances to do so. And the sweat was more Bryan Diaz lurking, who though 37 can still snake in and score unexpectedly. The worry was a horror like the one that happened in minute one, or the "pass" that nearly played Diaz in early in the second half. Otherwise, Costa Rica never really looked to be much of a threat.
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Yeah. I'm just pragmatic about these things. I know full bloody well that sooner or later, a halfway decent opponent is going to wrangle up a couple of chances against even the best drilled team. I don't know what sport TV commentators are actually watching where they expect utter and complete domination all the time or else they're disappointed. Or at least it seems like they want something a darn site closer to perfection than is even remotely reasonable.

Oh, and freaking Bryan Diaz cannot retire soon enough. That guy's a freaking menace even at his advanced age.
 
In the never ending battle of club v. Country, Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel says that Christian Pulisic is still in pain and warned Gregg Berhalter not to overuse him. Tuchel had him on the bench in the Champions League on Tuesday and in the league on Saturday and played both matches but only a total of 23 minutes.
 
andyt said:
In the never ending battle of club v. Country, Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel says that Christian Pulisic is still in pain and warned Gregg Berhalter not to overuse him. Tuchel had him on the bench in the Champions League on Tuesday and in the league on Saturday and played both matches but only a total of 23 minutes.
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Hopefully Pulisic has earned the right to express his own mind and for that to be respected by both club and country. Berhalter is a mouse, so no biggie there. Tuchel? Not so sure.

Again, when it comes to guy recently off the injury list, I'm not a huge fan of playing them more in National team matches than they've been playing for their club ... as a general rule.
 
jeffbear said:
Hopefully Pulisic has earned the right to express his own mind and for that to be respected by both club and country. Berhalter is a mouse, so no biggie there. Tuchel? Not so sure.

Again, when it comes to guy recently off the injury list, I'm not a huge fan of playing them more in National team matches than they've been playing for their club ... as a general rule.
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It behooves Pulisic and Berhalter to take the long view. We can’t clinch a qualifying spot today, but if Pulisic suffers a long term injury, we could jeopardize the January matches, especially considering how crowded the Premier League schedule is between now and then. Chelsea could have as many as 18 matches between this break and the January break, including the Champions League and 2 domestic cups.

The pressure is on Berhalter, even more than usual. He won’t have Reyna again and won’t have Dest either, they’re both injured and stayed in Europe.
 
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