I don't see anything good in Morales. Other than winning the free kick, he was awful, IMO.
Zardes, also failed to impress but he has some skills. Needs to learn the game.
Both center backs and Chandler were again horrible.
I don't know what to do with Shea. He is clearly limited, but his goal per minute rate has to be the best in the US pool.
I think you're missing the boat on Morales. He was out of position yesterday and I think he was their to clog up the left side and he did well. Watch the little things he does, he's a very technically sound player. Probably not ready to start in the big tournaments yet, but he'll kick butt against CONCACAF.
I watched parts of both games, but not the entirety of either game. My non-expert take-away is the US can play with the average to above average teams in Europe (not the elite tems just yet). We played against 2 sides who are both actively competing and pretty much shoe-ins to qualify for European Championships, so they are tuned up and playing in full from. They played a good Swiss team to a draw without a couple of of our better players up front (Dempsey and Johannson) and probably our 3rd or 4th best keeper...and only gave up the equalizer while playing a man down. They were outplayed/possessedby Denmakr but still held a late lead before once again giving up 2 late goals to lose.
Up front we seem to be finding a decent rhythm, but guys need to bury some of these point blank opportunities they're missing.
Midfield is okay, would like to see how they fare when everyone is playing in their correct position
Backline is brutal. Having Cameron will help, but way too many breakdowns
Goal keeping is not a concern as Guzan is solid and if Howard can defy time for the next 4 years, we should be okay.
I love the schedule of playing as many games as possible on European soil in prep for 2018. In the Arena and Bradley era it just felt like most of our friendlies were CONCACAF with the occassional CONMEBOL or UEFA team making a visit (not sure if that's factual, just felt that way). Now it feels like we are attempting to build a team and culture that can compete in Europe, historically we were content with a team that could compete in CONCACAF. We moved into a bigger fish tank...so we'll either get eaten or grow. Right now we have a few nibbles taken out of our back fin, but we're still swimming.
Exactly right. Arena and Bradley were pretty cowardly in their friendly scheduling. Our next three are against Mexico, Netherlands and Germany and then we have the Gold Cup, which will be be a step down until we have to play Mexico or Costa Rica.
Also, this team is so much better when we have a true #6 playing in front of the back four. Danny Williams did a good job in a really unsung performance. We're so much better when we have a Kyle Beckerman type player shielding the back four. It just makes it easier for everyone else to do their jobs.
Honestly, I think Klinsmann has a pretty good idea of what his best 11 is. I just think he's playing it close to the vest. He's called in 55 different players since the WC. I think he just wants to look at a lot of guys which is fine.
But, the thing I don't get is guys like Miguel Ibarra and Julian Green. Ibarra has been called into every camp since Donovan farewell and he has only gotten on the field twice. Green is obviously a mess and he should be playing with the U23s. Tim Ream is mainstay at Bolton, and he gets called in and plays for a grand total of 5 minutes. He must feel like his time has been wasted.
