USMNT ROSTER REACTION | Is 5-2-3 BEST for USA at Copa America?

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[@r2dad282]

Neither Sargent nor Adams are fully fit, so why would either start? As far as that right back position goes, shouldn't we be rating Scally for his lock-down defending instead of Musah or Weah at that spot? Let's remember, we lost that last WC match against NL because of naive defending.

[@pfang32]

Still think the early line on Sargent is it isn't bad. Twisted ankle was assumption. Happened last weekend, still 2 weeks until friendlies...maybe hold him off until Brazil. Should be fine. Still like him in super sub role if folarin struggling. Also good point on right back except scally is quite limited pushing up. Having a floating back 4 where one wing goes and one stays to keep a back 3 shape is where his limitation would hamper us and make us lopsided. Musahs offense ratio is better than scallys higher defensive ratio. Essentially musah is a better average defender than scally is bellow avg attacking. I still want a 3 4 2 1 with a large body to hold up play and have gio and Christian just float over the formation w the double pivots providing blocking midfield defensive support and trigger quick mid range long attacks to the hold up CF. With cp and gio tucking and weah and jedi eating up any space, we should have a good time confusing the defense. Rote offense when we aren't technically more skilled than the better teams is a killer so our movement and unpredictability is the advantage to press upon. Against those teams the mid 2 and back 3 will have to just funnel everything outside and try and use our height. Invite the crosses so mazy dribbles or one twos thru the middle are impaired.

[@EmanG_24]

Hopefully Sargent is fit... I expect Tim Tillman to be the one cut if thats the case

[@ItsCalledSoccer]

Sargent was great at the World Cup. I want him to continue that

[@EmanG_24]

@@ItsCalledSoccer I’m still crushed he got hurt so late in that Iran game… he would’ve been huge for us against the Netherlands

[@jacoblind5390]

Honestly adding Tim Tillman but excluding Maloney especially with Adams iffy health makes no sense. Also I still can’t understand why miles gets call ups but Trusty doesn’t but he is just Greg’s boy so nothing we can do about it.

[@ItsCalledSoccer]

Maloney will probably go to Olympics and Johnny/McKennie is enough cover for Adams

[@jacoblind5390]

@@ItsCalledSoccer I feel McKennie at the 6 is a waste of his best attributes. But in a pinch he can do the job. I never considered Maloney as an overage Olympic player. The u23’s generally have tbe midfield covered so I figured tbe overages would be a cb or 2 and maybe a 9 .

[@ruwisc_]

This player pool seems to fit much better into a 5-2-3, I hope that's what we go with

[@ItsCalledSoccer]

Same. I really like that setup.

[@HarveyWallbangers2]

I don't agree that we can't quibble with the last players on the roster. You pick a team based on their ability to play--assuming at some point they may have to. I'm assuming Schulte and Slonina will be at the Olympics. Sean Johnson has played well this year, but Roman Celentano has clearly played better. He's also younger, so I would have brought him in. I don't understand the Shaq Moore selection. He's been injured much of this year, and he hasn't played particularly well when healthy. Brooks Lennon has played better. These two moves seem like the same old Gregg. I don't hate the Timothy Tillman pick. Aidan Morris and Jack McGlynn should be at the Olympics. I may not have picked Tillman, but he's played really well this year.

[@ItsCalledSoccer]

Not that we can’t quibble, I just think it doesn’t mean much to our starting XI and who will see the field

[@pinktaco1972]

I agree. Last players absolutely matter. Look at the World Cup where we had to start Jesus Ferreira against the Dutch

[@r2dad282]

Jake can you provide some analysis on how the Nats prefer to use the 9? Pepi, Balo and Wright all have different strengths and weaknesses but are more similar than I'd say, Vazquez (a more standard target man) who was not chosen despite a good year in Liga MX. I'm thinking back to CP at Chelsea, where he struggled because he was looking for that tap-in ball fizzed across the 6 where Chelsea didn't provide that kind of service so he struggled. Balo's runs expect midfielder with head's up to pick up his roll off the shoulder of the back but he doesn't often get that kind of service.

[@ItsCalledSoccer]

Gregg in general likes to play from the outside in and use the 9 as a spearhead rather than a critical part of the buildup. It’s more important to be in the right space and to press relentlessly than get goals sometimes. (In his system)

[@brianmcclure1090]

I like that 5 2 3 formation. For the World Cup we need a sub for Ream.

[@ItsCalledSoccer]

For sure Reams not gonna make it two more years

[@Andrew-bd8dc]

I’d certainly expect Tillman to be the cut, but he could stick around if Sargent isn’t healthy

[@ItsCalledSoccer]

Apparently Sargent and Adams need to be brought into fitness

[@Andrew-bd8dc]

@@ItsCalledSoccer if Adams isn’t fully healthy why didn’t we call up Maloney?

[@LuisBlancoAustin]

If the best goalkeeper we have is Matt Turner, we are in trouble. Sorry Jake, but Shaq Moore is not the like-for-like replacement of anyone. He has been terrible even for Nashville SC.

[@ItsCalledSoccer]

Like-for-like is what Gregg called it. Nobody is equal to Sergino, but I’m speaking positionally.

[@yddubbud8229]

the problem has and always will be Beerholder

[@cautionninjas]

With the 5-2-3 idk if I want if I want Adams necessarily, but I do see Reyna moving inside and Pulisic moving inside too so it’s more like a 5-2-1-2

[@nwerz-1022]

I don’t hate it man it makes sense to see musah at RB bc Pioli rates him. But I’ve watched every single minute for Milan and apart from playing as a 6 he’s been a let down from a true quality under pressure standpoint and constantly making errors when he’s been on the back 4 line. . I prefer weah so so much at RB. Sargent Haji. Reyna. Puli(24 GA) .weston. Adams Jedi. Ream. Richards. Weah Turner It can’t be under valued that pulisic has almost 25 GA in a top 3 league from the right. This allows haji and Sargent and Reyna to play preferred postions and it fills gggs tactical and philosophical soccer style

[@sammypierrecollections]

If sarg/Adams are healthy I really like this

[@Rationalmethod995]

Really hope we see that 5-2-3. I think its the best lineup for the talent we have.

[@johnallen3483]

I like our CB depth too, but Richards is our only real big time player now that Ream is seemingly out at Fulham. In a 5-2-3, someone like M. Tillman/Weah/Musah will be left out in favor of Ream or Scottish league CCV. So I have a 'get your best players on the field' problem with the 5-2-3.

[@johelectrix7927]

5-2-3 isn't a problem but that means Gregg will use this against better and technical teams

[@abc631]

Sargent and Scally should start if healthy. Period. LB and RB need to be primarily defensive. Dreaming up reasons to sideline Scally and to start Musah, Weah and the like is ludicrous.

[@ronridenour243]

3 5 2 Wright Balo Pulisic Reyna Jedi Adams Weston Ream CCV Richards I think McBrizzle had this one on Call it what you want today.

[@ItsCalledSoccer]

Love it. Very attacking, would need Adams to do his best.

[@maverick6010]

Every roster spot matters. The “they ain’t gonna see the field reason” doesn’t hold up. Those same guys saw the field at the World Cup except 3rd goalie and Scally. Remember?… you don’t need vibes and experience. Johnson has done nothing to earn a call up this season, along with Moore and Timothy. They have no business being on the roster if we are going off performance and season.

[@ItsCalledSoccer]

This is a really difficult argument to have because we're actually coming at it from the same perspective. Every spot does matter, but in my opinion spot 26 doesn't need to be the 26th player in the US, we need to use those spots to make the most successful team we can.

[@chamberlainwonder369]

Cremaschi must be in schedule roster peripd

[@jonathonedwardmiller]

Don't tell me to take a breath. It's been 4.5 years. There's ZERO depth Jake.

[@ItsCalledSoccer]

I mentioned how i think our depth is moving up the ladder. We used to not have any depth after 1-11, now we don't have depth after 1-18ish. I also don't understand how depth is anything a national team can fix. There are little things we can do to bring more players in, but with the Olympics to also consider those would be our depth pieces that you would see instead of Shaq Moore or Timmy Tillman.

[@OldBrenda]

Musah did NOT do well at RB for Milan.

[@DWill2022]

You trust Reyna isolated on the wings in the 5-2-3?...I don't know about that, he is good at the final pass not 1 v1 out wide he is not that shift. We need him centrally and floating in the half spaces...I don't like Weah at RB stunts his creativity to me

[@user-dy7ei7no4r]

thanks for another great commentary, and your to all the haters out there, "Keep calm on the roster selection," USA's best players are in this June camp. Your creative line-up of 3-5-3 is gutsy and brilliant, and worth a try in our upcoming friendlies...

[@ItsCalledSoccer]

Appreciate that!

[@alexanderaguilastratt7497]

Did you just justify Shaq Moore’s call? Are you becoming a GGG apologist? Miles Robinson? Shaq Moore bringing more energy to camp? Hagi Right as a winger?

[@ItsCalledSoccer]

lol Haji Wright was specifically called out from the press conference as a LW instead of a striker.

[@NITESHADOWshouske]

Shaq Moore😂 that is all

[@ItsCalledSoccer]

If Dest doesn’t get hurt he’s not here so it’s whatever to me

[@jonathonedwardmiller]

@@ItsCalledSoccer so it's not Gregg's fault there's ZERO depth?

[@williamg3127]

Copy and Paste...US is loaded with talent, but Berhalter will find a way to F it up, and he'll be totally outcoached ...

[@celebrim1]

I get so tired of the outrage over picks 19-26. That's really not important enough to get angry over. I mean, I'm rarely sure there is anything in sports to get fuming outraged about, but surely isn't who the third goalkeeper is or which 23rd utility pick would be best. My starting 11 is in a 4-2-3-1 and is: Turner, Jedi, Richards, Robinson, Weah, Cardosa, Mckennie, Wright, Reyna, Pulisic, Sargent. I can take Balogun as the 9 if Sargent is still not 100%, and I could see Ream over Robinson depending on what he looks like in practice. I could also see Adams to start with the intention to bring on Cardosa in the second half. I am really not happy with CB or GK right now.

[@sammypierrecollections]

That’s a good lineup but like u said we’ll have to see how healthy some guys are come camp

[@ItsCalledSoccer]

I like the lineup. I do think Cardoso is a bit of a shiny new toy for USMNT but I get it with Adams health.

[@bryseisme2]

Every spot absolutely matters. 19-26 are critical in building depth so your xi isn't overfatigued in tournaments. We even saw it in the last cycle in spots 19-26. By the time we got to the Netherlands, Musah-Mckennie-Adams were so gassed from the high pressing that they were obsolete. They were running on empty. There was no one else integrated into the team, due to Gregg giving more minutes to known low quality players such as Roldan, Arriola or Acosta over LDLT & Johnny. Spots 19-26 are also important in being tactically flexible. Most coaches (Not Gregg) have multiple formations that they can change to so they can prepare for injuries to key players and avoid being predictable. Over time, wasting those last few roster spots on undeserving players comes back to limit what your national team can do.

[@DeegoL9]

I’m not understanding picking Tim Ream. He hasn’t played since November? I’d also start Horvath over Turner since he’s been playing consistently.

[@ItsCalledSoccer]

Ream is a leader on the team and still has something to give. Our GK situation is dire.