Sebastian Berhalter’s individual moment
With all the tactical developments, statistical analysis, and basic availability of games from all over the world, the information is there for anyone interested in looking. That should limit surprises, with teams prepared to account for even the world’s best players by limiting angles and opportunities as best as they can. There should be few surprises in the contemporary game, the moment when one shot can unwind a team that was expecting something else. That was Sebastian Berhalter in the 17th minute against Uruguay. It was the how: a set piece he took, short passing it, getting the ball back, and bending it just inside the far post. That was the unsettling moment, compounded by what would come when it was the United States with the better ideas.
Those better ideas from the USMNT
Up 1-0, Alex Freeman doubled the USMNT lead by heading in a Berhalter corner in the 20th and scored again from the run of play. It’s that 31st minute goal that demands attention. The United States was in possession when pressure on a pass looked like Uruguay would end up on the break. Timothy Tillman, a late addition to the roster due to Tyler Adams picking up an injury, stopped that with a direct challenge that he quickly recovered from to maintain possession. Both of those moves are key. He slid to win the ball and kept it. Tillman then played the ball wide to Trusty, who found Freeman, with Freeman entering the box on the run. Freeman had been a few feet from Tillman, who could’ve tried to force a pass with Freeman standing still. The better idea was Tillman’s pass to Trusty, in position to see the width of the field and catch Freeman in motion as he made his run. As for Freeman’s finish, the crowd in Tampa said enough in the moment about that example of exceptional individual work close to goal.
Uruguay’s November window
Much was made of the relatively few chances from Uruguay’s 0-0 draw at Mexico on Saturday, November 14. A lot of that happened in real time, with Mexico’s support taking issue with their team’s play almost from the beginning. While there was the feeling that Mexico could’ve done more, in the other direction, it seemed like Uruguay was doing just enough. It was the kind of game, one where it felt like the visitors did as intended, frustrating an opponent in a physical game that ended up scoreless. Against the United States, things changed. With both squads rotating lineups, Uruguay fell behind quickly. Three goals down from the 31st, what Uruguay wanted to do seemed hard to tell with the USA getting the better attacking moments. What to take from these two games is an open question. Uruguay is a very skilled team coached by one of the most respected coaches in international soccer. This window takes nothing away from that in the big picture sense, but it does raise questions that Uruguay can’t answer until March.
Creating space for the USMNT’s fourth goal
Another goal built from good ideas. The USA was on the run in the 42nd minute, with Trusty hitting a long pass to Tolkin, who sees Tillman running into the box and finds him with an incisive pass just ahead of the onrushing Uruguay defense. In turn, Tillman does similarly. Instead of trying to get the ball to Haji Wright, who had been in position at the top of the box and rightly waved for the ball when Tolkin took possession, Tillman passed to Diego Luna, making a run into the box on a line that took him a few feet behind Wright. Luna completed another set of smart choices, keeping his shot low under pressure from his mark and with another Uruguay defender in front of goal. Let’s go back to Wright to finish this second example of good ideas from the United States. Wright kept the play onside, made space between him and his mark, and was in position throughout the sequence to draw attention from defenders. Space needs creating at this level of the game, and the fourth USA goal saw that happen with each movement of the ball.
The rhythm of a national team
The rhythms of club soccer are different when you expect to see players day after day, and a replacement for a problem is an open transfer window and a fee away. This is the simple reality of the situation. National team coaches choose who they call up to a given camp, but that’s, by necessity, limited. That’s where the fall schedule has to have helped. Enough of the USMNT players have seen enough of squads from other parts of the world to get a feel for what to expect next summer. Even when it’s not a first-choice vs first-choice scenario, it’s the kind of preparation that shows how a national team’s technical staff works with what they have, in this case, some control over the schedule. Combine that with playing through the scenarios as they’re presented over disparate international windows, and the complexity of the job reveals itself. It’s worth the reminder that it wasn’t that long ago when there was open discussion in international soccer circles about the national team coach as a part-time role. That seems ridiculous on the surface, considering the amount of work the job should entail, crashing up against the very real limitations of squad availability and varying strength of opponent, especially when the games on that schedule are friendlies.
