The United States men’s national team kicked off their Concacaf Nations League title defense with a simple, one-sided 5-0 victory over visiting Grenada on Friday night. Jesus Ferreira, looking to be the starting striker for the USMNT at the 2022 World Cup, tied a team record with four goals to help his case, albeit against poor opposition.
The red, white and blue, playing their final match on American soil this calendar year, outshot the visitors 25-3 in a match that at times looked more like a scrimmage than an official competition for Gregg Berhalter’s team.
Shockingly, it took the United States 43 minutes to score despite dominating the ball and the chances, with an attentive Ferreira finishing from inside the box.
With so many misses in front of goal as of late, Ferreira was able to reverse that poor form with a prolific match that, while a great stat sheet for him, came against a team ranked 170th in the world. He’s the fifth player ever to score four goals in a game for the U.S., joining Archie Stark (1925), Aldo Donelli (1934), Joe-Max Moore (1993) and Landon Donovan (2003).
With key players like Christian Pulisic and Tyler Adams rested, the U.S. were able to dictate the pace of play all night long. The visitors never came close to scoring, recording an xG of 0.10 on three shots. The U.S. finished with an xG of 4.08 on its 25 shots. The Americans also had 66.6 percent possession, did not concede a corner and saw Matt Turner not have to make a single save on goal.
The U.S. will play at the World Cup in November after failing to qualify for the 2018 edition. The USMNT will face Wales on Nov. 21, England on Nov. 25 (day after Thanksgiving) and Iran on Nov. 29.
It’s the high fives as Jesus Ferreira scores four goals during an emphatic victory. He’s just the fourth USMNT player to score four goals in a game showing how strong tonight’s output was despite the opposition.
In the second half, almost everything that the United States touches is turning into a goal as they’ve racked up over 21 shots now. Grenada can barely get a touch in in what is turning into a warm up match of different passing plays for Gregg Berhalter’s side.
A good spell from the U.S. across halftime has this one pretty much over on the hour market. A hat trick for Ferreira, which will only help his confidence. Clinical and now confident. As for Grenada, still no shots, and it just goes to show the lack of quality in the lower ranks of Concacaf.
It’s been all United States as they’ve taken 16 shots so far in the match. De la Torre came close to having a penalty shout before Ferreira’s goals but there has been no attacking threat from Grenada so far.
So far Grenada are trying to keep things together but it’s not holding up as the United States are continuing to hold a one goal lead. Grenada make their first substitution of the match as well.
It’s 66 percent possession for the U.S., and the Americans also have seven shots. Zero shots for the visitors, who are an absolute liability on the ball. The opening goal should be arriving soon, but in the end this won’t tell us much. Just an inferior opponent.
The United States is doing enough to get the ball into the attacking third but early on they aren’t getting enough done tp onspire confidence in the early going.
It’s as expected in the early going as the United state are dominating posession but Grenada are lining people up behind the ball. Morris had a chance with a header in the box but there’s nothing doing.
Late on in the game a ball went over the top to Darwin Nunez with Cavani with him. Uruguay at one point had what looked to be a two-on-one that resulted in a shocking Cavani miss at the death. But just look at the defensive shape a few seconds after the ball is sent long. They were essentially clean through on goal with two defenders behind them. A fortunate deflection off Palmer-Brown was able to throw Cavani off enough, but being caught out like this is alarming.
Too often we’ve seen the fullbacks get caught inside, and that is giving teams way too much time in the box. It will result in strong crosses across the face of goal, and sooner or later those are going to start going in.
Just look at the image below early on against Uruguay, where the defense is so out of sync that Zimmerman has to be the guy to close down the widest Uruguay player as one defender is dealing with two attackers in the box. DeAndre Yedlin stayed inside after being beaten instead of tracking his defender, and the U.S. were fortunate not to concede.
Having Zimmerman in front of goal, with his ability to block shots, is crucial. He stepped out on Jose Maria Gimenez because nobody was there, and that was the right thing to do, but it was all because of a lack of execution from the left side of the defensive unit.
I took a look at the 3-0 win over Morocco and the 0-0 draw with Uruguay, and while the U.S. didn’t concede, the defense did not not play all that well. I came up with three takeaways from those 180 minutes. Let’s go through them.
It feels like things are trending towards Walker Zimmerman locking up a spot at center back for the World Cup as he’s been first choice at the position for a while. He’s validated the selections by putting together some formidable performances, and he has a consistency that is needed. Against Uruguay, his block late on Diego Rossi was a prime example of his awareness to close down when it matters most.
But who in the world is going to be next to him? Will John Brooks get another shot? This team is on the verge of going too young for its own good, which could lead to a humbling experience at the World Cup, but I would slot Chris Richards next to Zimmerman and not look back.
After allowing an xG of 2.13 to Morocco and 1.36 to Uruguay, the Americans somehow did not concede. It wasn’t because of a superior defense — it was torn apart more than once, but a lack of precision from a guy like Edinson Cavani and some fine saves by Matt Turner and Sean Johnson helped mask the issues this defense currently has.
Richards can play with both feet, he has so much versatility, he’s improving in attack, and he is the center back in this pool with the highest ceiling. He’d be there now if it wasn’t for injuries, and not playing will hurt him, but he should get the chance later this year to show why he should start at the World Cup. The question is if there will be enough time when he returns to the team.
The options behind him just aren’t all that great. Aaron Long, Erik Palmer-Brown, Cameron Carter-Vickers and others looks like decent options but simply at backups. If Richards can have a good start to next season, be it at Bayern Munich or somewhere else, he’ll be right back in the conversation, and the U.S. need him.
The most surprising thing about Aaronson, however, is that while he has done so much in his career, he doesn’t have a set position yet. His versatility has helped him progress, but it means no manager has yet nailed him down into a specific role. Over the years he has played as an eight, a 10 and a winger but he could be finding his groove as Gregg Berhalter looks to find different ways to get his best team — which includes Aaronson — on the field at the same time. He spoke a lot about where he wants to play and more.
Not that bad of a lineup, all things considered. We expected Pulisic to get rest, but Weston McKennie starts as captain, Jesus Ferreira gets another chance in attack, and if he doesn’t score tonight, mercy…
Long and Zimmerman are developing chemistry and I could easily see them as the starting center back pairing at the World Cup. If Berhalter starts the two together on Friday, it will show that he values them getting minutes together regardless of opposition. If Erik Palmer-Brown features, it could signal that the competition is more open. To me, the only player who could start over Long is Chris Richards, who is missing this camp with injury. Alongside the starting forward, the central pairing is one of the biggest questions facing the team after Miles Robinson’s unfortunate season-ending Achilles injury.
What the United States are trying to solve is not new as lots of teams struggle to break down the opponent’s low block. When you don’t have space to get in behind a deep defensive shape, it can get tricky to pick the lock and find the back of the net. Grenada is expected to employ a low block as it’s a common tactic for sides that aren’t favored in an effort to stick as many players as possible behind the ball to try to frustrate attackers.
Berhalter is looking for solutions to this such as playing Brenden Aaronson deeper in midfield and also deploying a back three in the build-up with a 3-5-2 formation with Aaron Long, Walker Zimmerman and Reggie Cannon as the center backs (more on the central defensive pairings below). Friday’s match will be a good time to see if that works in a competitive setting. With Weston McKennie still on the road to recovery, there’s no reason why Aaronson can’t get the lion’s share of minutes to prepare for what his role could be in the World Cup.
There are three players on the roster who have yet to play in an official Concacaf competition. Joe Sally, Haji Wright and Malik Tillman will all be expected to get official caps in these upcoming Nations League fixtures. Scally and Wright have quite a bit to play for as they could make the World Cup roster with strong showings. The United States are still in need of a backup at left back and while Sergino Dest can play there in a pinch, more of the Scally that showed up against Morocco and less of the one that played against Uruguay could give him a leg up on George Bello as Antonee Robinson’s direct backup.
Any forward who starts scoring goals could find themselves in the starting XI for the Nov. 21 World Cup opener vs. Wales in Qatar. Regardless of whether that’s Wright or Jesus Ferreira, someone has to step up and start scoring. It’s a big opportunity for those previously uncapped at the senior level. Tillman is one for the future, but getting him tied down to the United States will go a long way in ensuring that the present and the future of the team is in good hands as Berhalter continues to work the recruiting trail well.
source: CBSSports.com
