Frankly, I felt that Girma didn’t get the respect she deserved at the 2023 WC. She was outstanding then. Her game has only grown since then and it was outstanding then.

I get the approach Hayes is taking, getting players to gut through the fatigue and sore muscles, to reach a different dimension. But we’ll see how that plays out against Brasil. And related to that, the US Midfield simply has to do a better job than it’s doing. Lavelle has yet to have a strong game for the US. Horan is a good (I didn’t say great) captain but she’s not really a great midfield. She’ll get stuck in, can be a good threat in the box, is very physical, is very mature internationally. But she’s not a great defender, not a great ball-winner and her ability to hit good thru-balls–to dissect a defense, it just ain’t there. I know Croix Bethune ain’t an option at this point–she’s not going to see the field in a final when she has barely been on the pitch previously. But someone like her would be critical for this side.

Against, Brazil, I’m going to be surprised if they don’t pack it in and seek to counter. They’ll seek to counter. We’re going to see a repeat of the Japan and Germany tactics–force us to break them down. And that’s where the performance of Lavelle and the limitations of Horan become critical.

As to the Tyler Adams IV, here’s my take. I think that Berhalter was initially a good hire. He built trust, a new culture, accountability, and a new approach (emphasizing possession and positional play). He created a lot of believers among his players. That kind of work requires patience, listening, and a lot of explanation. But it only takes you so far. Now there needs to be someone who can simultaneous demand and expect a level of sharpness/focus so nonsense like the stupid red cards and the unprofessionalism we saw in the Colombia friendly doesn’t happen–that new coach needs to raise the floor. But he also needs to do something Berhalter couldn’t do (or didn’t show he can do) and that is to coach this team to be better offensively (and thus raise the ceiling). Maybe that means working with the team to be quicker and more decisive in the final third (and less committed to possession–much like the change and de la Fuente brought to Spain). Maybe it means working with the strikers to build their game and sharpness (which means probably being more active in encouraging someone to move in order to get PT or the “right position”). Or maybe it means some changes in formation and approach (less focus on possession, less commitment to a 433, more willingness to be direct) or to be more defensive and then counter against “big teams” (sort of a fallback to what the US used to be prior to efforts by Klinsman and Berhalter to not concede possession to really good teams). Maybe it’s a much stronger commitment to a continual Gegenpress style of play (and seek to play the game in the opponents half of the field). But right now the USMNT are a team that sometimes is bad, is often times playing level with the opposition–but they score 2 goals and we can’t. We don’t beat really good teams–not even occasionally. Thus, the complaint about the lack of “signature wins.” Bruce Arena and Bob Bradley got those wins. Thus, Adams’ comments about ruthlessness. And the clock is ticking. We have really passed our last chance to play competitive matches against good teams. Unless we create a tournament in the US next year, we have the Gold Cup and a bunch of friendlies.

The Athletic posted a story about Paredes going over the abuse he received on social media before, during, and after the game against Morocco. The dude went through a lot, all based on a false report
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5690079/2024/08/09/paredes-usmnt-abuse-morocco-fake-news/