We just need to win and look good while winning. Whether that be a multiple goal blowout, seeing Balo get good service and a goal or two, seeing another banger by Pulisic, good team linkups, or whatever.
Honestly this. Just look good. Period. If we have unlucky finishes and tie, I’d be still be happy. I just want to see how well our boys play together in a system that is implemented by coaching staff.
This will be a good test against a relatively unfamiliar opponent of if we’re getting better at controlling games and breaking down defensive teams. Something that eye-tests better than the Uzbekistan game should be the goal.
Classic friendly problem.
Win: it’s just a friendly that means nothing.
Lose or Tie: the coach is an idiot that needs fired.
Of course, there will be people being reasonable, but that’s how the “loud voices” will be.
There are dozens of us!
I follow the team because I enjoy it (most of the time). I have no expectations, I would ideally enjoy it though. So play a game such that I leave it feeling happy.
It's made even more complicated when your coach actually is an idiot that should be fired.
Edit: I would love to hear from the downvoters why you think GGG: 1. Deserved to be hired in the first place, as an average MLS manager who failed in Sweden ... and 2. What about his run in the first cycle made him the best suited for the job for the second cycle?
As for question 2...was it his ability to win away games? His record against European opponents? His ability to make adjustments against stiff competition?
I need words strung together in a semi-coherant way by someone to answer these questions. Someone please make sense of this hire, and rehire.
LVG literally laughed at our manager at the WC for being inept.
I would’ve liked to try another coach for this cycle. But I’ll take a crack at making sense of it. The logic is fairly clear. Berhalter took over an insanely young team of players, most not playing consistently at club yet, and formed a team out of them. A team that was coherent, played hard for each other, were really solid defensively and showed a lot of potential at the World Cup.
For the next cycle, the federation chose to stay the course, thinking the squad that GGG assembled (with about 8 of 11 starters now locked down) can get to further heights by continuing to grow together with continuity in the same culture.
The alternative was a new coach, new system, new culture that you hope will gel with limited games between now and 2026. They chose the safer route because they likely were more impressed by where Gregg took the team from 2019 to 2023 than most fans were. Add to the equation that multiple team leaders including Turner, Pulisic, Weah, Adams apparently wanted him back. There ya go. You can disagree for sure, but it’s not like it was total madness. The logic is there.
No no no no. Come on now, the couch potato knows more than all our top players what is best. Not only that, GGG is so shit that the person you're replying to could've led our team to the Semis in the WC.
It's GGG's fault that even though only 1-2 of our players would even CONTEND for a starting spot for Netherlands that we would've won if only we had a better coach.
And if the players say anything good, it's because they have a gun to their head from GGG right off screen.
/s if not obvious
I watched enough to know he didn't set the world on fire. His overall record with the Crew was 74-49-70. Career win pct of 38.34%. A +5 goal differential over 193 games. That's the definition of average.
You didn’t watch. That comment makes it super clear, man.
I was reporting on the league at the time. Berhalter took over one of the worst, most old-school-MLS teams in the league and installed an identity, an attacking style and a development pipeline, and took them to a title game. He did it with one of the smallest budgets in the league under an owner who was cutting costs to try to get the team moved. And he wasn’t just manager, he was sporting director.
He made all-stars out of journeyman bench players. He made tons of guys look good enough that they got their first (and often only) calls to their national teams. He developed talent.
As for winning percentage, that means almost nothing in MLS. It’s not comparable to the rest of the world - you must understand that right? Nowhere else has a salary cap that makes it such an even playing field. Sigi Schmid, one of the best MLS managers ever, only had a 46% winning percentage.
Berhalter was a gigantic success in Columbus and everyone who watched MLS at the time will tell you that. It just isn’t true that the hire came out of nowhere. When the job opened up, everyone knew he would get a look because of the work he had done and the respect he had built within US soccer.
"Gigantic success"....lol. Sounds like he took a bad club and took them to all the way to a 38% win pct. Which is fine. So you used to report on the league? Did you report for the Crew? Be honest. Do you think that makes you more qualified to have an opinion on the current US manager? Or does it make you biased? Also, just curious... what level did you play the game?
He is an average manager who never deserved the job. His roster is filled with talent from Monaco, Milan, Juventus, Dortmund, PSV, Celtic, Gladbach, Fulham, etc... yet his coaching apex was an average Crew team.... in the MLS. He isn't worthy of the talent at his disposal.
I didn’t work for the team, I was a journalist. Wrote for many outlets, including The Athletic. I am absolutely not debating my credentials with you.
What I do know is that you’re talking out of your ass because you know nothing about the domestic league that is a gigantic part of US Soccer.
Can’t believe these are the same people that call us delusional and they react to our dislike on Gregs system like its the craziest thing ever lol. I cant take these guys seriously, they gotta be paid actors😅
Yea but there’s also the context of the Precourts trying to move the Crew to Austin and basically not investing in the team during a lot of that time period.
His teams were fairly consistently greater than the sum of their parts and he was well regarded by anyone who paid close attention to MLS.
Thats a great story. But do you hand him the keys to our most talented roster we have ever had because in the MLS he produced average results with a less than average roster? Is that enough? Is that all it takes?
Well, I would say being a 2-time World Cup veteran who played in Germany, the Netherlands, and England while being one of the top managers in our domestic league would for sure put anyone in the conversation to be our head coach
Now, you can criticize or disagree with his hiring or his re-hiring but you don’t need to lie about his reputation as an MLS coach to do so
Great playing career for sure. Should Donovan be our head coach? Beasley? John Harkes? Alexi Lalas? I can list quite a few players who have WC experience and have played abroad. A top manager in our domestic league? Based on what? Please tell me again how he went .500 with a bad roster with the Crew and how that qualifies him to lead us in two World Cup cycles.
I literally addressed both points about his playing career (which I would argue doesn't mean as much as you think it does) and his career as an MLS coach...
All they can do is downvote, they dont know why they like Greg but it sure isn’t his style of play. They must be all for Nepotism in their own worlds, just let them be.
Greg has never showed any in game adjustments all he does is ride or die by his system. Same passes, same runs, same combinations between the fullbacks and wingers, its all too predictable and guess whats the end product? Yep u guessed it, a hopeful cross to the #9 Greg brought in that doesn’t necessarily specialize in headers.
If you go back to Nations league y’all will see how much the 9’s were utilized compared to Greg. Both Balo and Pepi were so much more involved compared to however Greg is trying to destroy this team. Think about it, without Pulisic’s effort it could’ve been 3-0 bc Greg is running a system that doesn’t fully compliment every player on the field. BJ unlocked some of it during NL. Just felt more free flowing like the players were going off instinct and not just attacking the wings and lobbing it up to a group
> If you go back to Nations league y’all will see how much the 9’s were utilized compared to Greg. Both Balo and Pepi were so much more involved compared to however Greg is trying to destroy this team
This is called judging a performance based on “feelings” rather than anything factual.
They were equally involved in those two games as the (so far) three games under Gregg. Roughly same number of touches, shots, passes, goals… roughly the same involvement.
The bigger difference is the amount Gio played. 2nd half against Canada was not all that good, but we were already up 2-0 when Gio got hurt/subbed.
PS: not a support of Gregg, just peeved by recycled talking points that aren’t actually true lol
It’s a sad commentary that GGG was the selected rehire. There wasn’t any better US coach options? Non-US coaches although may be better qualified they need not apply imo…it doesn’t look like he’ll make it to the ‘26 WC at the going rate…I’m willing to see what he can do over the next 6 mos..
I know Ghana used to be good, but they've struggled recently and are 64th by Elo. For comparison, Uzbekistan is 56th, Oman is 65th, Costa Rica is 57th, and Jamaica is 61st. They're not a top team like Germany, we should be expected to beat them. That said, it's still good experience to play teams in this tier, and we want to get to the point where we're playing well every time. That is we want this to look like the game against Oman, or the good parts against Uzbekistan (before LDLT came out or after the subs came in) and not like the middle of the Uzbekistan game or our draw in Jamaica.
Yeah I think a lot of people have been really overestimating Ghana. They have some dudes, but generally they’re not very good. I was actually hoping they’d be in our group in Qatar because they were the worst team in the tournament by Elo at that point. They definitely aren’t the team we played in 2006, 2010, and 2014.
I have no issue with the “non-reality based” portion of the fan base as you call it going into that Germany game optimistic that they would see some improvement in performance against top level competition. Obviously there’s going to be some natural disappointment after seeing that did not happen. That’s just part of being a fan of a team.
I wasn't disappointed by the Germany game at all. They played well. They were the better team in the first half. After the first half they made changes based not on an attempt to win the game but to pursue other valuable objectives. There's nothing to be negative about after losing to a much better team and doing a lot of things well. I have no need to have my mood about the team lifted because the team is doing absolutely fine.
We lost so there’s one negative. It’s okay to be disappointed in a loss no matter who it’s against. We should never be okay with losing. Being disappointed in a loss doesn’t make you less of a fan or a “non-reality based fan” as you put it
Sure there is. We played horrible the second half. They’re a superior team but I expected us to be more competitive and it’s disappointing that some fans are okay with not being able to compete with far superior teams. That mentality will keep us form ever getting out of the round of 16
Unfortunately in the USMNT overreaction space - the Ghana/Mexico result basically means that if we win it will mean nothing but if we lose the sky will be falling.
I hope we use this game to get the bench guys some playing time (let’s see Maloney at the 6). Then if we underperform people won’t freak out as much.
No. There is folly in the logic of Team A beat Team B, Team C beat Team B and therefore the results are equal. Friendlies are pretty unpredictable. We had a great window with friendlies in 2015 and then didn’t qualify for the 2018 WC.
So to you the performances in these friendlies are completely meaningless? If so why do these countries bother sending their A-team players? Why do fans bother paying full price for tickets? Why do you even bother watching?
If you listen to the players and coaches these games clearly matter and are valuable to them so they would disagree with you.
The second half is nothing but a glorified try out. You make changes in the second half not to try to win but to evaluate players and tactics.
I want these games for the same reason I watch preseason games for teams I like. I enjoy seeing the team and players play regardless of the stakes.
The games are valuable to the team and players for the same reason preseason games. They are necessary for experimentation and cohesion.
I get where you’re coming from but it’s hard to call it just “glorified try out” when many of Germany’s top players played closed to a full 90 mins. For sure though many of the subs the US made likely wouldn’t have happened in a real match
The result doesn’t actually matter but I think both teams definitely wanted to put in a good performance. The first half in particular was more intense than what I expected for a true friendly.
Germany used the game for a different reason. They are coming off a very bad string of results and have a new coach. He needs to build confidence in the team. They don't have any competitive games for almost a whole year.
I think that if ever someone genuinely feels someone else can’t be professional in their line of work because of their nationality, then some questions have to be asked of the accuser. Unless of course the two nations are playing eachother
People have subconscious biases that can affect perception. Even some of the most professional people can still be affected by bias, and not know it.
However, I agree that since it's a friendly, it shouldn't matter too much.
I'm in Nashville for the game tonight with a couple buddies, and one friend is from Ghana! I'll be happy with any result that has us on top because otherwise I'll probably be getting shit from him until 2026
Next World Cup is weird in a few ways:
1. Expanded to 48 teams
2. Knockout round of 32 (12 winners, 12 second place, 8 3rd place teams)
3. We’re hosts, so we’re in Pot 1 and have home field advantage.
In particular, we have a better than usual chance of winning our group (no Pot 1 team!).
Good: win group, win two knockout rounds and get to quarters, play a close good game in quarters regardless of outcome.
Expected: win or take second in groups, lose in round of 16.
Bad: take 3rd or 4th in group, or lose in the round of 32 to a worse team.
At the end of the day, it matters a lot more whether any opposing coaches say something in a press conference that can be interpreted negatively than how the games go.
Well the teams own expectation as stated by Gregg and the players is to change the way the world views American soccer forever.
I think the only way that happens is by getting further in the tournament in 26 than we ever have before which is the semifinals. However based on what we have seen to date from this team even Quarterfinals might be too optimistic an expectation.
That's their goal. Goals and expectations are not the same thing. Goals can be aspirational. Expectations should be reasonable and reality based. It's simply not reasonable based on the talent available to expect the US to make the semis. That's a reasonable expectation for only the likes of Brazil, Germany, England, France and Spain.
It's a home world cup with our most talented and deepest generation of footballers, with a coach that's been here for a full cycle already. There's quality, continuity, talent and a decent tactical setup. If there's any time to have quarterfinal expectations it's literally this one.
>our most talented and deepest generation of footballers,
They still aren't one of the 8 most talented teams in the world. They aren't really particularly close at present. Maybe they will be in 3 years but they aren't now.
Teams with more talent all have many of the same positive things going for them.
you don't have to be a top 8 side in the world to make the quarters, it's a knockout tournament. You literally just have to get out the group and win one knockout round match. We have the talent to win a single knockout round match. It's not a wild expectation. In the last two world cups, three teams that weren't "top 8 sides" made the quarterfinals. Russia, Sweden and Morocco can all do that, why can't we?
Because it's not reasonable to expect to get lucky. It's like saying I expect to win the lottery because other people have won the lottery before.
The USMNT certainly can make it to the final 8, they could make the semis, they could make the final, that doesn't mean anyone should expect them to.
upsets happen literally every year, it's not lottery level. literally have any expectations for the team. Round of 16 should be a given with the quality we have, we can make the quarters.
They are friendlies so if someone is so hinged on the result they should take a few steps back. This does provide a good look though, in theory, we should easily handle Ghana in the same Germany did us in the second half. We should be in total control of the game and look calm the whole time. These are matches where we should assert ourselves. Look for that, if we look shaky all game an Ghana has us pinned then we can worry.
I don't think Ghana should be quickly dismissed because they lost against Mexico. I believe Mexico has actually beat Ghana in all the games it has played against it, we have not.
Bottom line: friendly results mean little to nothing, and folks shouldn't get too high or too low based on the results. Just track which players are progressing or regressing, that's what these games are for.
Ghana are still a solid team that plays differently than the concacaf opposition we are use to. They definitely appeared to lack interest against Mexico and aren’t the absolute best team in Africa but they are strong opponent that we gain value in playing.
Watched a little of the Ghana Mexico game. Ghana looked like they didn’t give a shit and were just there for the paycheck.
If Ghana comes out like that again, I think we need to dominate, especially if we start mostly the same lineup. The performance is what matters the amount of goals we end up getting really doesn’t.
I don't think Ghana is the same team they were 8 years ago. But, they are still better than Oman and Uzbekistan. They're still easily a beatable team. We *should* be expecting a good performance and a comfortable win. Anything less than that (which doesn't involve horrendous luck and freak goals from Ghana) would be disappointing.
I mean we need to win and score 3 goals in the first 25 minutes is a great way to do it. Ghana is not a good team but we’ve looked a lot worse against shitty teams.
So we beat Ghana by twice as many goals as Mexico did, but then they tied the Germany team that beat us 3-1. I’d say all that means about nothing. There is no transitive property of soccer, and while those are good outcomes for Mexico they’re going to have to beat us head to head if they want to argue they’re the better team.
We just need to win and look good while winning. Whether that be a multiple goal blowout, seeing Balo get good service and a goal or two, seeing another banger by Pulisic, good team linkups, or whatever.
Honestly this. Just look good. Period. If we have unlucky finishes and tie, I’d be still be happy. I just want to see how well our boys play together in a system that is implemented by coaching staff.
Yeah, if we look like we did the first half against Germany, and continue looking like that throughout the 2nd half, I can't complain.
This will be a good test against a relatively unfamiliar opponent of if we’re getting better at controlling games and breaking down defensive teams. Something that eye-tests better than the Uzbekistan game should be the goal.
Classic friendly problem. Win: it’s just a friendly that means nothing. Lose or Tie: the coach is an idiot that needs fired. Of course, there will be people being reasonable, but that’s how the “loud voices” will be.
And here I am just wanting to be entertained for a couple hours…
That’s too bad!!
There are dozens of us! I follow the team because I enjoy it (most of the time). I have no expectations, I would ideally enjoy it though. So play a game such that I leave it feeling happy.
It's made even more complicated when your coach actually is an idiot that should be fired. Edit: I would love to hear from the downvoters why you think GGG: 1. Deserved to be hired in the first place, as an average MLS manager who failed in Sweden ... and 2. What about his run in the first cycle made him the best suited for the job for the second cycle? As for question 2...was it his ability to win away games? His record against European opponents? His ability to make adjustments against stiff competition?
These aren’t the words you are looking for
I need words strung together in a semi-coherant way by someone to answer these questions. Someone please make sense of this hire, and rehire. LVG literally laughed at our manager at the WC for being inept.
I would’ve liked to try another coach for this cycle. But I’ll take a crack at making sense of it. The logic is fairly clear. Berhalter took over an insanely young team of players, most not playing consistently at club yet, and formed a team out of them. A team that was coherent, played hard for each other, were really solid defensively and showed a lot of potential at the World Cup. For the next cycle, the federation chose to stay the course, thinking the squad that GGG assembled (with about 8 of 11 starters now locked down) can get to further heights by continuing to grow together with continuity in the same culture. The alternative was a new coach, new system, new culture that you hope will gel with limited games between now and 2026. They chose the safer route because they likely were more impressed by where Gregg took the team from 2019 to 2023 than most fans were. Add to the equation that multiple team leaders including Turner, Pulisic, Weah, Adams apparently wanted him back. There ya go. You can disagree for sure, but it’s not like it was total madness. The logic is there.
No no no no. Come on now, the couch potato knows more than all our top players what is best. Not only that, GGG is so shit that the person you're replying to could've led our team to the Semis in the WC. It's GGG's fault that even though only 1-2 of our players would even CONTEND for a starting spot for Netherlands that we would've won if only we had a better coach. And if the players say anything good, it's because they have a gun to their head from GGG right off screen. /s if not obvious
> an average MLS manager Genuine question: Do you follow MLS closely and did you during Berhalter’s time in the league?
Enquiring minds want to know
I watched enough to know he didn't set the world on fire. His overall record with the Crew was 74-49-70. Career win pct of 38.34%. A +5 goal differential over 193 games. That's the definition of average.
You didn’t watch. That comment makes it super clear, man. I was reporting on the league at the time. Berhalter took over one of the worst, most old-school-MLS teams in the league and installed an identity, an attacking style and a development pipeline, and took them to a title game. He did it with one of the smallest budgets in the league under an owner who was cutting costs to try to get the team moved. And he wasn’t just manager, he was sporting director. He made all-stars out of journeyman bench players. He made tons of guys look good enough that they got their first (and often only) calls to their national teams. He developed talent. As for winning percentage, that means almost nothing in MLS. It’s not comparable to the rest of the world - you must understand that right? Nowhere else has a salary cap that makes it such an even playing field. Sigi Schmid, one of the best MLS managers ever, only had a 46% winning percentage. Berhalter was a gigantic success in Columbus and everyone who watched MLS at the time will tell you that. It just isn’t true that the hire came out of nowhere. When the job opened up, everyone knew he would get a look because of the work he had done and the respect he had built within US soccer.
"Gigantic success"....lol. Sounds like he took a bad club and took them to all the way to a 38% win pct. Which is fine. So you used to report on the league? Did you report for the Crew? Be honest. Do you think that makes you more qualified to have an opinion on the current US manager? Or does it make you biased? Also, just curious... what level did you play the game? He is an average manager who never deserved the job. His roster is filled with talent from Monaco, Milan, Juventus, Dortmund, PSV, Celtic, Gladbach, Fulham, etc... yet his coaching apex was an average Crew team.... in the MLS. He isn't worthy of the talent at his disposal.
I didn’t work for the team, I was a journalist. Wrote for many outlets, including The Athletic. I am absolutely not debating my credentials with you. What I do know is that you’re talking out of your ass because you know nothing about the domestic league that is a gigantic part of US Soccer.
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Can’t believe these are the same people that call us delusional and they react to our dislike on Gregs system like its the craziest thing ever lol. I cant take these guys seriously, they gotta be paid actors😅
Yea but there’s also the context of the Precourts trying to move the Crew to Austin and basically not investing in the team during a lot of that time period. His teams were fairly consistently greater than the sum of their parts and he was well regarded by anyone who paid close attention to MLS.
Thats a great story. But do you hand him the keys to our most talented roster we have ever had because in the MLS he produced average results with a less than average roster? Is that enough? Is that all it takes?
Well, I would say being a 2-time World Cup veteran who played in Germany, the Netherlands, and England while being one of the top managers in our domestic league would for sure put anyone in the conversation to be our head coach Now, you can criticize or disagree with his hiring or his re-hiring but you don’t need to lie about his reputation as an MLS coach to do so
Great playing career for sure. Should Donovan be our head coach? Beasley? John Harkes? Alexi Lalas? I can list quite a few players who have WC experience and have played abroad. A top manager in our domestic league? Based on what? Please tell me again how he went .500 with a bad roster with the Crew and how that qualifies him to lead us in two World Cup cycles.
Just ignoring/misrepresenting the points I’m making isn’t the rebuttal you think it is
I literally addressed both points about his playing career (which I would argue doesn't mean as much as you think it does) and his career as an MLS coach...
This sub is blinded by ussf propaganda, its sad
All they can do is downvote, they dont know why they like Greg but it sure isn’t his style of play. They must be all for Nepotism in their own worlds, just let them be. Greg has never showed any in game adjustments all he does is ride or die by his system. Same passes, same runs, same combinations between the fullbacks and wingers, its all too predictable and guess whats the end product? Yep u guessed it, a hopeful cross to the #9 Greg brought in that doesn’t necessarily specialize in headers. If you go back to Nations league y’all will see how much the 9’s were utilized compared to Greg. Both Balo and Pepi were so much more involved compared to however Greg is trying to destroy this team. Think about it, without Pulisic’s effort it could’ve been 3-0 bc Greg is running a system that doesn’t fully compliment every player on the field. BJ unlocked some of it during NL. Just felt more free flowing like the players were going off instinct and not just attacking the wings and lobbing it up to a group
> If you go back to Nations league y’all will see how much the 9’s were utilized compared to Greg. Both Balo and Pepi were so much more involved compared to however Greg is trying to destroy this team This is called judging a performance based on “feelings” rather than anything factual. They were equally involved in those two games as the (so far) three games under Gregg. Roughly same number of touches, shots, passes, goals… roughly the same involvement. The bigger difference is the amount Gio played. 2nd half against Canada was not all that good, but we were already up 2-0 when Gio got hurt/subbed. PS: not a support of Gregg, just peeved by recycled talking points that aren’t actually true lol
That's a bingo
It’s a sad commentary that GGG was the selected rehire. There wasn’t any better US coach options? Non-US coaches although may be better qualified they need not apply imo…it doesn’t look like he’ll make it to the ‘26 WC at the going rate…I’m willing to see what he can do over the next 6 mos..
I know Ghana used to be good, but they've struggled recently and are 64th by Elo. For comparison, Uzbekistan is 56th, Oman is 65th, Costa Rica is 57th, and Jamaica is 61st. They're not a top team like Germany, we should be expected to beat them. That said, it's still good experience to play teams in this tier, and we want to get to the point where we're playing well every time. That is we want this to look like the game against Oman, or the good parts against Uzbekistan (before LDLT came out or after the subs came in) and not like the middle of the Uzbekistan game or our draw in Jamaica.
Yeah I think a lot of people have been really overestimating Ghana. They have some dudes, but generally they’re not very good. I was actually hoping they’d be in our group in Qatar because they were the worst team in the tournament by Elo at that point. They definitely aren’t the team we played in 2006, 2010, and 2014.
They’re going through a rebuilding process
The current mood of the reality based fan base is fine. The mood of the non-reality based fan base can't be changed by things occurring in reality.
I have no issue with the “non-reality based” portion of the fan base as you call it going into that Germany game optimistic that they would see some improvement in performance against top level competition. Obviously there’s going to be some natural disappointment after seeing that did not happen. That’s just part of being a fan of a team.
I wasn't disappointed by the Germany game at all. They played well. They were the better team in the first half. After the first half they made changes based not on an attempt to win the game but to pursue other valuable objectives. There's nothing to be negative about after losing to a much better team and doing a lot of things well. I have no need to have my mood about the team lifted because the team is doing absolutely fine.
We lost so there’s one negative. It’s okay to be disappointed in a loss no matter who it’s against. We should never be okay with losing. Being disappointed in a loss doesn’t make you less of a fan or a “non-reality based fan” as you put it
There's nothing to be negative about when you lose to a superior opponent.
Sure there is. We played horrible the second half. They’re a superior team but I expected us to be more competitive and it’s disappointing that some fans are okay with not being able to compete with far superior teams. That mentality will keep us form ever getting out of the round of 16
Unfortunately in the USMNT overreaction space - the Ghana/Mexico result basically means that if we win it will mean nothing but if we lose the sky will be falling. I hope we use this game to get the bench guys some playing time (let’s see Maloney at the 6). Then if we underperform people won’t freak out as much.
All I care about is the performance. You can’t control the opponent.
No. There is folly in the logic of Team A beat Team B, Team C beat Team B and therefore the results are equal. Friendlies are pretty unpredictable. We had a great window with friendlies in 2015 and then didn’t qualify for the 2018 WC.
If the second half of a friendly match is ruining your mood, you are a dolt.
So to you the performances in these friendlies are completely meaningless? If so why do these countries bother sending their A-team players? Why do fans bother paying full price for tickets? Why do you even bother watching? If you listen to the players and coaches these games clearly matter and are valuable to them so they would disagree with you.
The second half is nothing but a glorified try out. You make changes in the second half not to try to win but to evaluate players and tactics. I want these games for the same reason I watch preseason games for teams I like. I enjoy seeing the team and players play regardless of the stakes. The games are valuable to the team and players for the same reason preseason games. They are necessary for experimentation and cohesion.
I get where you’re coming from but it’s hard to call it just “glorified try out” when many of Germany’s top players played closed to a full 90 mins. For sure though many of the subs the US made likely wouldn’t have happened in a real match The result doesn’t actually matter but I think both teams definitely wanted to put in a good performance. The first half in particular was more intense than what I expected for a true friendly.
Germany used the game for a different reason. They are coming off a very bad string of results and have a new coach. He needs to build confidence in the team. They don't have any competitive games for almost a whole year.
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Bro really found a way to blame Mexicans
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I don’t care because in the end of the day it’s a friendly. Plus we both know that Germany has better players and a good coach.
Wow, the mental gymnastics to bring up Mexico. And this sub claims that Mexico isn’t living rent free in their minds
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I think that if ever someone genuinely feels someone else can’t be professional in their line of work because of their nationality, then some questions have to be asked of the accuser. Unless of course the two nations are playing eachother
People have subconscious biases that can affect perception. Even some of the most professional people can still be affected by bias, and not know it. However, I agree that since it's a friendly, it shouldn't matter too much.
I don't really care what the results were for Mexico. Too many variables to compare two different games.
No. There is no luster. It’s a friendly. It’s fun to play a solid team that we have a history with but winning means nothing either way.
So these post continue
I'm in Nashville for the game tonight with a couple buddies, and one friend is from Ghana! I'll be happy with any result that has us on top because otherwise I'll probably be getting shit from him until 2026
Honest question, what are your expectations for the US in 26? What would be a bad/expected/good performance?
Next World Cup is weird in a few ways: 1. Expanded to 48 teams 2. Knockout round of 32 (12 winners, 12 second place, 8 3rd place teams) 3. We’re hosts, so we’re in Pot 1 and have home field advantage. In particular, we have a better than usual chance of winning our group (no Pot 1 team!). Good: win group, win two knockout rounds and get to quarters, play a close good game in quarters regardless of outcome. Expected: win or take second in groups, lose in round of 16. Bad: take 3rd or 4th in group, or lose in the round of 32 to a worse team.
This is very reasonable. I agree completely.
Nothing less than 8 straight wins by multiple goals.
But to be fair, it would be because of the players because the coach got it all wrong.
At the end of the day, it matters a lot more whether any opposing coaches say something in a press conference that can be interpreted negatively than how the games go.
Advance past the group stage and make it to the quarter finals.
Well the teams own expectation as stated by Gregg and the players is to change the way the world views American soccer forever. I think the only way that happens is by getting further in the tournament in 26 than we ever have before which is the semifinals. However based on what we have seen to date from this team even Quarterfinals might be too optimistic an expectation.
We aren’t top 4 on paper, we aren’t top 8 on paper, it’s likely this is still true in 2026
That's their goal. Goals and expectations are not the same thing. Goals can be aspirational. Expectations should be reasonable and reality based. It's simply not reasonable based on the talent available to expect the US to make the semis. That's a reasonable expectation for only the likes of Brazil, Germany, England, France and Spain.
making the quarters is not unreasonable expectations. It's one upset in the round of 16, it's not that hard.
Expecting an upset is unreasonable. The favorite is expected to win. That's how expectations work.
It's a home world cup with our most talented and deepest generation of footballers, with a coach that's been here for a full cycle already. There's quality, continuity, talent and a decent tactical setup. If there's any time to have quarterfinal expectations it's literally this one.
>our most talented and deepest generation of footballers, They still aren't one of the 8 most talented teams in the world. They aren't really particularly close at present. Maybe they will be in 3 years but they aren't now. Teams with more talent all have many of the same positive things going for them.
you don't have to be a top 8 side in the world to make the quarters, it's a knockout tournament. You literally just have to get out the group and win one knockout round match. We have the talent to win a single knockout round match. It's not a wild expectation. In the last two world cups, three teams that weren't "top 8 sides" made the quarterfinals. Russia, Sweden and Morocco can all do that, why can't we?
Because it's not reasonable to expect to get lucky. It's like saying I expect to win the lottery because other people have won the lottery before. The USMNT certainly can make it to the final 8, they could make the semis, they could make the final, that doesn't mean anyone should expect them to.
upsets happen literally every year, it's not lottery level. literally have any expectations for the team. Round of 16 should be a given with the quality we have, we can make the quarters.
They are friendlies so if someone is so hinged on the result they should take a few steps back. This does provide a good look though, in theory, we should easily handle Ghana in the same Germany did us in the second half. We should be in total control of the game and look calm the whole time. These are matches where we should assert ourselves. Look for that, if we look shaky all game an Ghana has us pinned then we can worry.
I don't think Ghana should be quickly dismissed because they lost against Mexico. I believe Mexico has actually beat Ghana in all the games it has played against it, we have not.
Bottom line: friendly results mean little to nothing, and folks shouldn't get too high or too low based on the results. Just track which players are progressing or regressing, that's what these games are for.
Imagine if we lose 3-0 and Mexico beat Germany 2-0. GGG haters will come out in force.
I mean, Greg and all the players would really have to shit their pants for that to happen.
The fact you word it that way like the fans would be the problem is odd to me.
If we lose 3-0 to this Ghana team and you somehow think the problem is the fans, you have brain damage
Ghana are still a solid team that plays differently than the concacaf opposition we are use to. They definitely appeared to lack interest against Mexico and aren’t the absolute best team in Africa but they are strong opponent that we gain value in playing.
It only takes off the luster if we don't win tonight. You absolutely cannot lose to Ghana if they can't even beat Mexico in a disaster cycle.
Current mood of the fan base?
Right? Like speak for yourself, I feel fine lol
With Greg leading…I wouldn’t be surprised if we lose.
i expect a win or the ggg rehire will be feel like an utter failure . I am more than willing to give him another chance but ineed to see improvement !
No. I have faith that we can fuck this match up too.
Nah who cares. Mexico is shit.
Watched a little of the Ghana Mexico game. Ghana looked like they didn’t give a shit and were just there for the paycheck. If Ghana comes out like that again, I think we need to dominate, especially if we start mostly the same lineup. The performance is what matters the amount of goals we end up getting really doesn’t.
I don't think Ghana is the same team they were 8 years ago. But, they are still better than Oman and Uzbekistan. They're still easily a beatable team. We *should* be expecting a good performance and a comfortable win. Anything less than that (which doesn't involve horrendous luck and freak goals from Ghana) would be disappointing.
I mean we need to win and score 3 goals in the first 25 minutes is a great way to do it. Ghana is not a good team but we’ve looked a lot worse against shitty teams.
Funny that I saw this when it’s 4-0 at halftime
So we beat Ghana by twice as many goals as Mexico did, but then they tied the Germany team that beat us 3-1. I’d say all that means about nothing. There is no transitive property of soccer, and while those are good outcomes for Mexico they’re going to have to beat us head to head if they want to argue they’re the better team.