Talent vs Tactics | Can USMNT Win Copa America?

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[@ItsCalledSoccer]

Finals or bust?

[@jasonw4944]

We can discuss realistic expectations, but hell yes, the team should go in with the mentality to compete and win every game!

[@Rick-of6gx]

I think being realistic, semis should be minimum

[@watupclown]

Semi finals for bust yes!

[@PabloPucciOK]

These are my takes on Copa America 2024 1) Never disrespect the greatest in history, Brazil! Hugs to the Brazilians, they are always candidates. Although they are not in a good moment, due to sports management issues, their players are the best along with Argentina. 2) Colombia will be a surprise, it has been organizing well and has some elite players. My wife is Colombian and I love Colombia very much. 3) USA: A young generation of players is playing in Europe. They are the current number 1 in CONCACAF. Their evolution is notable and they can give a lot to talk about. 4) Special mentions for Ecuador and Venezuela that come in handy 5) Beyond the bad news of Mexico, it is a country with a football history and deserves respect. 6) I love this Copa America format with all the teams from the continent. It is very good to play with Mexico and the USA and the best of CONCACAF. I am in favor of CONMEBOL CONCACAF integration. If the Copa América becomes much more interesting with this integration, imagine if the Copa Libertadores were played with clubs from the USA and Mexico. with time it would be a great show to compete with the Champions League. Greeteings From Buenos Aires

[@horaciodortona574]

It's called fútbol. ⚽️

[@gustavovz8431]

There's no reason to believe that the US can make the finals. They have the same problems they had the last year since berhalter has been involved so lucky to make the quarters

[@ItsCalledSoccer]

Quarters mean making it out of the group

[@PabloPucciOK]

These are my takes on Copa America 2024 1) Never disrespect the greatest in history, Brazil! Hugs to the Brazilians, they are always candidates. Although they are not in a good moment, due to sports management issues, their players are the best along with Argentina. 2) Colombia will be a surprise, it has been organizing well and has some elite players. My wife is Colombian and I love Colombia very much. 3) USA: A young generation of players is playing in Europe. They are the current number 1 in CONCACAF. Their evolution is notable and they can give a lot to talk about. 4) Special mentions for Ecuador and Venezuela that come in handy 5) Beyond the bad news of Mexico, it is a country with a football history and deserves respect. 6) I love this Copa America format with all the teams from the continent. It is very good to play with Mexico and the USA and the best of CONCACAF. I am in favor of CONMEBOL CONCACAF integration. If the Copa América becomes much more interesting with this integration, imagine if the Copa Libertadores were played with clubs from the USA and Mexico. with time it would be a great show to compete with the Champions League. Greeteings From Buenos Aires

[@watupclown]

So I get the players like GGG but I don’t think they would run through a brick all for him. They can’t even win at T&T for him.

[@ItsCalledSoccer]

I don’t know if that result is about effort.

[@watupclown]

@@ItsCalledSoccer i mean I can give u numbers examples if you would like. Panama in Panama, the tie to Canada at home in WCQ. The last game against Jamaica was really bad. So glad we won but it was bad.

[@LuisBlancoAustin]

Pellegrino Matarazzo, an American coach, has been making waves in the Bundesliga with his dynamic and adaptable tactics. Matarazzo's coaching philosophy revolves around flexibility and versatility, adjusting his tactics based on the strengths of his team and the weaknesses of the opposition. He encourages his players to be proactive and assertive, pressing high up the pitch to regain possession quickly and launch rapid counter-attacks. How is that not better than 3G's rigid tactics?

[@ItsCalledSoccer]

Was he available and was he interested? That matters too in terms of realistic options.

[@Phogadacbiet]

Why would Mattarazo, take less money, for a less prestigious job? He wasn’t ever going to take the role, when he’s the manager at a BUNDESLIGA CLUB

[@celebrim1]

Pellegrino Matarazzo is on my quite short list of coaches that could conceivably do a better job than Berhalter (given how good Berhalter is already doing), but as others have pointed out, anyone that is likely to make that list is likely to have much higher paying, much more prestigious, options. For a top coach to take a job coaching a minor program like the USMNT it has to be a labor of love.

[@Phogadacbiet]

@@celebrim1 folks saying his name seemingly ignore that he’s likely making more money in the Bundesliga, and club soccer is much more sought than any national team job.

[@DWill2022]

SIR that is the modern coaching tactic for coaches lol. Thats not ground breaking. Greg didn't change because we don't have the talent to change...we ran out of gas and lets be honest we were outclassed, but this. a tourney we can win so stop with the sky is falling stuff lol

[@gustavovz8431]

Jake I can only speak for myself but I don't hate berhalter I just think he doesn't deserve or earn that position and he has shown to be a very below average coach

[@ItsCalledSoccer]

Fair haha

[@samplingmastersxlr8660]

Our players are below average as well

Glad your back. Really enjoy your videos. I appreciate your perspective being added to the USMNT landscape.

[@ItsCalledSoccer]

I appreciate that!

[@DWill2022]

same a breath of fresh air and he is invited to the cook out lol

[@AgentWinterz]

I'm not even fully confident the USA will make the knockouts.

[@samplingmastersxlr8660]

Let’s see how the friendly games go

[@fisterhr]

Steve Sampson and Jurgen Klinsmann both took the USMNT to the semi finals with LESS TALENT. Anything short of making the top 4 again will be a failure. The way Colombia and Uruguay are playing, I doubt there will be room for a Concacaf team to get there this time around. And forget about Berhalter leaving if the USMNT has a disappointing tournament. I'll say it again, he's NOT going anywhere. The Inter Miami circus won't last too long and Don Garber will need the USMNT to promote his mediocre league with mediocre American MLS players again and Berhalter will be there to deliver for him. Enjoy. (And no, Columbus making the semi-final in the Concacaf Champions League doesn't make MLS a sudden 'great league'.)

[@Phogadacbiet]

lol, way to provide zero context. Jurgen played against Ecuador in the QFs. And Ecuador team, where their best player, was a starter on Swansea (Jefferson montero). One off matches don’t determine a teams ability.

[@ItsCalledSoccer]

But that’s what I said - we’re better than we were in 2016 and have the same expectations from the federation.

[@canonponds9887]

If we had a coach we could probably make semifinals but with Gregg will be lucky to get out of the group stages

[@samplingmastersxlr8660]

Making semifinals isn’t that much especially if the talent is best we ever had according to fans

[@ronalddelrosario7405]

Despite my increased interest in the US national teams (both men's and women's), I'm far from an expert in judging the strengths and weaknesses of players and teams. But I think I'm in the majority in my opinion that GGG is an underwhelming manager. With that said, I agree that from the available and interested pool, he was far from the worst candidate. However, during the "search" for a new manager, I thought the interim manager BJ Callaghan did some excellent work with the team, displaying seemingly better tactics and decision-making (especially in-game) than GGG. I don't think he got a fair shot at the job...

[@celebrim1]

I am baffled by this selective memory regarding BJ Callaghan, who not only basically coached games exactly like GGG and according to his gameplan. It felt to me like he was practically on the phone with Gregg. Plus he's still with Gregg on the sidelines there now. I personally am with the minority in thinking Berhalter has done an amazing job and the problem has to do with unrealistic expectations by the fans, combined with the usual crowd of American fans that hate everything American and were never going to give an American coach a fair shake to begin with. There is a crowd of online fans that bought into the hype 4 or 5 years ago that we had all of these kids that were going to be top 5 players in their position in the world because that's what they were being told by certain internet pundits. And the truth is, all of the players we've had in Europe have struggled and far from having a bunch of consensus top 5 players in the world, we haven't had anyone until maybe this year who was in the conversation for top 25 best in the world in their position and most of the team wouldn't be in the conversation for top 100 in the world in their position. Every single player that certain internet pundits claimed was going to be a top player has struggled, and when you start analyzing what was going on it turns out that those pundits were so new to soccer fandom that they thought being bought by a super club was some indication of future success. They were judging kids by jerseys often before those kids had even gotten significant minutes the in jerseys. Don't get me started on the outrage in some quarters that the USSF had hired Gregg instead of Tata. There were some pundits that were rating Tata one of the 25 best coaches in the world despite the fact that if they'd only actually watched MLS matches, they would have seen Gregg out coach Tata and would know that Tata only earned wins (when he did earn wins) by having about three times as much money to spend as Gregg (see Miami). Then predictably Gregg out coached Tata head to head at the international level quite handedly. This is the reality. Gregg in 2022 had a team that was the youngest at the world cup that could have practically been a U23 team aside from Tim Ream, and which was at the time on paper based on talent about 28th in the world. Yet he finished 14th at the World Cup and 11th ranked in the world, having demolished Mexico consistently and having won two different CONCACAF championships with two different teams in the same year. Gregg is vastly outperforming our talent level, which far from being the unprecedented level of talent some claim will finish this year 20th in the world among nations in the Big 5 league play, coming short of the record for minutes earned back in 2006/2007 when we were 18th in the world by that same metric. This is a team of youth that haven't done anything yet and which may or may not eventually show the talent we hope they have, but in the meantime it's not the coach holding them back. Sure, Gregg is a B+ coach internationally whose maybe even just a C when in comes to in game management, but the sort of coaches that would possibly be better just aren't available for the money we have. Remember when Jesse Marsch was so much better than Gregg? Not so much now huh. Again, if people had just watched MLS they wouldn't think Marsch was better than Gregg, but all they go on is jerseys and numbers. They don't actually evaluate.

[@rochesterjohnny7555]

The players have the talent, the problem is with Berhalter

[@k.p.8955]

You have big expectations! Well thanks for pointing us toward that ELO rating system. I will keep an eye on that metric now too.

[@e350mn]

Well balanced analysis. Have you ever done a video on Tanner Tessman? I would love to see your analysis on him. I just watched his highlights and he is coming a long nicely.

[@ItsCalledSoccer]

Will definitely get to it this summer especially if he goes to the Olympics.

[@horaciodortona574]

The USMNT is evolving into a great team. There is no shame losing to Argentina or Brazil. The US is just starting to complete at that level. 🇦🇷 🇧🇷 🇺🇲

[@calc1657]

Under Gregg, the US record against the top-15 teams on the Elo rankings is 1 W 4 T 2 L. The win came against 14th ranked Ecuador. That's not the record of a team that's destined to vie for the Copa Finals. We have friendlies against Brasil and Colombia. Let's see if the team can show some improvement.

[@Sikthkid]

"The little man straddles the fence He never loses never wins with confidence, Then more power to him..."

[@dirks6550]

Host team is a +, They should go further in the COPA America. Having GGG as your coach is a - (minus). So they negate each other. Out of the group and then out is what will likely be what happens.

[@ktskeleton6378]

Quarter-Finals is where the USMNT strikes out of the tournament

[@Phogadacbiet]

Jake, as always, your voice of nuance is much welcomed in USMNT conversations. I’m in your same camp. I don’t think Gregg is the best choice, but was better than other prospects like: Vieira, Henry, and Marsch. Which, like you, makes me a GGG sympathizer. My question that has never been answered by anyone on the other GGG out side is this. If our team is SOOO talented, how are we the 26th highest minutes played in Europe’s big 5 leagues. I mean, we’re behind the likes of: Sweden, Mali, and the Ivory Coast. None of those countries are even close to: Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, yet we’re expecting a semi-finals run, at minimum? And, before anyone says we did it before at Copa, y’all do realize we got a VERY favorable draw against Ecuador, and that one off matches, in tournaments can lead to anything happening?

[@nessuno_]

Do you actually think that "minutes played in Europe’s big 5 leagues" is a good metric for national team player quality? I inspected the list for the 23-24 season (US currently 27th), and notable FIFA World Cup powerhouses, Ireland, Switzerland, and Scotland are ahead of the US. I think we can do better for a metric.

[@Phogadacbiet]

@@nessuno_ how is that not a good metric? If our players are good, why would they not play at club level? And, you do realize that those are all countries in UEFA? Literally the best confederation in the world? We would have trouble regularly qualifying for anything. If you don’t think that’s a good metric, what else would you use?

[@nerychristian]

@@Phogadacbiet Injuries could also be affecting minutes played. I mean, Adams hadn't played in over a year. Some of our players were also trying to sort out their club situations. Gio Reyna is still trying to get playing time at his current club. Sometimes coaches don't want to give new players more playing time.

[@Phogadacbiet]

@@nerychristian Gio didn’t get playing time isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement. Only pulisic, Wes, and Jedi were consistent starters in the big 5. When do we look at that as our players not being as good as we think they are? If they were good enough for their clubs, where they spend a majority of their time, they’d have more minutesz

[@ItsCalledSoccer]

I think both opinions are correct. We’re both as good as we think we are, but our results should be better than they are.

[@nerychristian]

If we somehow manage to make it to the final, would that mean we can never complain about GGG again?

[@ItsCalledSoccer]

Up to the fans 😂

[@ericpierce3660]

I'd love to see us in the semis, but I think we'll be lucky to make the quarterfinals.

[@Wyant1]

I mean, yeah, Greg is probably holding the team back a little bit, but not enough to change them from basically a dark-horse into a favorite, or anything outlandish like that. And no, those FIFA rankings don't mean a darn thing, unfortunately. We're probably... at best 3rd favorite, behind Argentina and Brazil, and probably at worst 4th or 5th behind Uruguay and Colombia... For me, this is the time that Berhalter especially, and the players themselves, need to go out and get a marquee victory against one of those four teams. I think the players are capable of doing that. I question if Greg is tactically capable of that. He's a little too rigid for my taste, but... I think he's improved in that aspect, and he's particularly improved with player selection and he's gotten a little better with deploying those players as well. It's also important to ask ourselves who's available to replace Berhalter. He's clearly not the best coach. I'd rather have Callahan, but Greg has the reigns, and I think anything short of not making it out of the group, which I highly doubt happens, and he'll keep his job, and I guess I'm OK with that. I think it would be nice to beat one or two of those teams on home soil and then lose to another in a semi or a final.

[@samplingmastersxlr8660]

I’m not sold on the players, you can’t blame the coach every time you know If we had a better coach then who is to blame because the talent we have isn’t all that

[@Wyant1]

​@@samplingmastersxlr8660 Nah, they players aren't world class or anything like that, but just based upon the fact that we have more players in 'top 5' leagues than ever before, I think it's pretty understandable that this is a golden generation. Put it like this, I'd like to see Greg release the players a little bit more on the field. That way, we could see more of their real potential. Remember, these are practically children, still growing and developing. And, I think a willingness to adapt his tactics, allowing the players to mature, would give Berhalter a longer leash with fans, and display some maturity of his own. He hasn't shown it thus far. Furthermore, I don't want to dig up the past on Greg, but I keep it in the back of my mind, you know? Not my kind of person.

[@samplingmastersxlr8660]

@@Wyant1 for me these players are a placeholder for when the real golden generation show up we need more depth and yes Gregg needs to change it up when plan A is not working The world cup 2022 was decent but lets be honest we were not going far regardless if we topped the group , quarter final was the max we would have reached , Argentina or France were going to beat us When we play brazil and Columbia hopefully we see some change

[@savor13]

Great vid brother

[@ItsCalledSoccer]

Appreciate it!

[@wizarddragon]

There is 1 aspect of the Reyna and Berhalter situation we never got an answer to. Why was Reyna given a limited role to begin with? That was the catalyst for it all.

[@nerychristian]

I don't know. But it was a stupid decision. Imagine if Reyna had started at the world cup.

[@Phogadacbiet]

Why? Pretty simple. Reyna hadn’t played a full 90 in a long time. Hell, he only played in 2 WCQ matches. During that time MMA established itself, and had great chemistry. With Weah being on the right, Reyna lost a spot. Best ability, is availability, and Gio wasn’t available during a crucial team building stretch. Really not rocket science.

[@nerychristian]

@@Phogadacbiet Except that recently GGG started Tyler Adams in a couple of matches, even though he hadn't even played in a year.

[@pinktaco1972]

@@nerychristianbro thought he cooked when he said it really isn’t rocket science

[@Phogadacbiet]

@@nerychristian hmmm, way to ignore my point. I said, and I quote, “During his absence, MMA created a good midfield chemistry.” Did we find a 6 with Tyler out? No. So, again, pretty simple.

[@wizarddragon]

I think our talent level could get us to the finals but we lack the right leadership at the top to utilize that talent.

[@Phogadacbiet]

Its replies like this that make me think we have the most unrealistic fan base in all of world soccer. We’re nowhere close to that talent level.

[@colinreese]

The US isn't even close to most of the South American teams. Even Peru can pass circles around the U.S. People claim Brazil is "down," but Brazil's Front Six is Casemiro, Bruno Guimarães; Rodrygo, Paquetá, Vinicius: Gabriel Jesus. LOL

[@Phogadacbiet]

@@colinreese meanwhile, Richards needed injuries to starters to become the guy. Dest got iced out at a horrible FC Barcelona to get time. Gio can’t get minutes at Forest. It’s like, insane that people cannot see this.

[@ItsCalledSoccer]

I don’t think our talent can consistently get us to the finals, but I think when we play like we can against England at the WC, yeah we can get to a final.

[@wizarddragon]

@@ItsCalledSoccer In 2009 we got to a Confederation Cup final by beating the greatest Spain team to ever exist. I still think we have the talent but lack the leadership to Utilize the talent we have.

[@ericherrera9192]

We're going out in the quarter-final match and that will be a "successful" tournament for the US soccer federation.

[@brianmcclure1090]

I was at that game in 2002. Since then there has been gradual improvement and some big wins. Let’s see if Berhalter can get a big win.

[@nerychristian]

I wouldn't be surprised if we don't even make it out of the group. Especially now that Dest and Adams are out of the picture.

[@ItsCalledSoccer]

I’d be very surprised. We likely will have Tyler with us.

[@sheldoninst]

With a decent coach I like our chances…. With Berhalter, we’re way underperforming

[@ItsCalledSoccer]

Fair

[@DWill2022]

I agree, finals and winning the whole thing...

[@yval8957]

Agree with most of what you've said so far... but... Gregg will be the reason this team won't reach its full potential. Having said that... Gregg has finally shown a lot of positive changes. His call ups are far, far, far better than during WCQ and he's shown that he can change tactically a bit. I have no other choice than to cheer for this team... but our weakest link is our coaching... by far.

[@chrishenderson1262]

I wouldn't dismiss the possibility that we don't get out of the group. It's less likely than the alternative, but the potential is certainly there. It could be as simple as being 1-1-1 with the tie against Panama also at a 1-1-1 record, coming down to goal differential. I also think the "rooting against the US so GGG gets fired" crowd is very small, and most of that is online courage where it's easy to write anything. Most people that are against GGG, have come to the opinion based on sound observation, and are pained by the prospects of the type of failure it would take for the USSF to change course. That's where I'm at. And it leaves me hoping they do well, but realistic about their direction under his leadership. That might mean we perform poorly in the Copa. I'm not rooting for it, but somewhat expecting it. If I had to absolutely predict things, I'd say we come in second in the group, but that it's not a comfortable qualification over Panama, and then we lose in the quarters to either Brazil/Colombia, probably by 2 goals or greater. It will be just enough to justify keeping GGG around (WC 2022 Groundhog Day basically), but there will still be many like me who see what "could be" with this group versus what "is" with this group under inadequate leadership.

[@Turtlefast235]

"I am expecting the US to make it to the Final" Bold statement considering that you contradicted yourself, as you mentioned earlier the ELO ratings, where you agreed that they were closer to reality, that there are at least 4 teams that are better than the Yanks: Arg, Bra, Col and Uru. The way I see it, the US will advance 2nd in the group, but will say good bye to the tournament in the next round, losing to either Bra or Col.

[@Nico-nc5qb]

Mexico and United States won't get past QF. There's too much difference between them and the CONMEBOL teams. EEUU got the easiest group, but you guys got a lot worse since 2022.

[@ItsCalledSoccer]

You think we got worse since 2022? I just think we haven’t been able to put the pieces together. And I would call our group easy from the perspective that there are two clear favorites but Uruguay is a very good team. Better than EEUU

[@AndroidPoetry]

Agreed. Just a heads up, it's pronounced Eeelo not e.l.o. , named after the man who invented the original Elo system.

[@ItsCalledSoccer]

Cheers!

[@Funnybone_FB]

E.L.O has some serious bangers tho. Great band

[@Funnybone_FB]

Maybe it's a romantic take but I think some of the attitude for the USMNT is just deep part of US culture of exceptionalism in general. How many had the colonists defeating the great British empire? Even as the top dogs, feels like US has this value of being the underestimated underdog; people just dont know how good we are (they dont know where we're from, dawg). Then its a self-fulfilling prophecy if we actually are the best like say basketball. GGG is no general Washington, but he's not terrible. But I can see how USMNT fans just want to punch above our weight so badly; be the miracle on ice or w/e other analogy.

[@RiRi-df9jt]

I want to rip out all my hair and become a bald fraud myself when watching GGG ball. Expect the same tactics, wrong (late) substitutions, and the failure to adapt to other teams. I don't want the US to lose but we will not make it past the round of 16.

[@user-dy7ei7no4r]

Jake said, "shit" on KZbin.... what, my 3rd grader's, "Jackass" is next...?

[@maverick6010]

Ggg will just meet the bare min. He always has

[@Ronaldoluiznazario]

NO FUCKING WAY!!🤣🤣🤣🤡🤡🤡💩💩💩

[@kevinbowen6182]

Is the point to be loved or win games?

[@OldBrenda]

Run though a brick wall? Nah

[@nobletstrength]

FIFA Rankings literally ARE a ELO Based Ranking system, so you can't say FIFA Rankings are shit and some unofficial ELO rankings are better. Basically, you're arguing one is better because one confirms your subjective bias and the other doesn't. Facts are both are flawed metrics because we don't play outside our confederations enough to make any ranking system truly valid. I do actually think USA can beat teams like Uruguay, Colombia, Chile, and Ecuador. We are probably too far behind Brasil and Argentina, but everyone else it's realistic.

[@celebrim1]

So, my favorite measurement of team strength is minutes earned by members of the team in Top 5 leagues in Europe. And by that measurement, we were 28th in 2022 and 20th this year in 2024. And really, that feels fair given the thinness of our talent. And remember, the USMNT record for the most minutes earned in big 5 play remains 2006/2007.

[@patrickjunior9342]

What? USMNT in the Copa Final. I say semifinals.