That was fun. Whether we go on to win the whole thing or lose to Ecuador on Saturday – that was a great win. The team obviously didn’t play perfectly, but if you couldn’t sit back and enjoy this one for a minute…I don’t even know, man.

Tweaks to the Grading System

I’m continuing to fine tune the system, but I’ve settled on this for now. I have dedicated +1,+2, -1, -2 columns. There is also a third column in each section that is reserved for special/terrible plays – these I score anything from +/- (3-5). I can stay fairly objective for most notable +/- (1-2) moments in the game, but have to make a subjective decision on how great or awful plays outside that range are. For reference, I gave Weah a +4 for his outside of the foot beauty of a pass for Soto’s 2nd goal, Ledezma a +4 for his sweet run/slipped assist, and Keita a -3 for getting roasted by Diaby on France’s 2nd. Those were the extremes this game.

To the grades:

This….

Turns into this:

MOTM – Sergino Dest

Before the match there was talk of Araujo starting due to his superior defensive abilities. Dest ended up with a +14 by my grading and nine(!) of those +’s were for his defense. He got up and down the right side all day and played excellent defense. It could just be in my mind, but I’m starting to think of him as a “big game” player. He got up for the final with Mexico and shut down Lainez and now he shut down France (Monaco/Brugge) winger Nabil Alioui. Not to mention the winning goal was scored off the rebound of a ball that he tattooed toward the bottom left corner of the goal. I’ve seen him called the best fullback prospect the US has ever produced and he showed out today. First team action with Ajax on deck?

You’ve seen the shot. Have you seen the D?

Other Positive Performances

Timothy Weah (+9)

Tim had himself a game. His grades weren’t stellar for the group stage games (+2, -2, +4) despite a couple moments of magic. This was his most complete game. In the group stage games Weah had multiple loose touches, lost balls, and moments where he just seemed unaware of his teammates, where he was supposed to be, etc. This game there was none of that. I had one negative mark for a bad cross from a good position. That’s it. He won balls, he tracked back, AND he still had his moments of magic. He had a great dribble where I thought he’d chipped the keeper for a second in the 18th minute and he also had the aforementioned sexy pass to Soto for the game tying goal. GG.

NOTE – Weah must be a really hard worker. Many of the players that haven’t been playing consistently can barely get on the field b/c of lack of fitness. Weah runs the whole 90.

Paxton Pomykal (+9)

Pomykal is not as creative a passer as Ledezma or Mendez, but man do those guys need him. He is everywhere. It’s not always perfect. There is a tendency to dribble into trouble and release the ball too late, he makes some iffy passes, but around the 75′ mark – Pomykal took over this game. In the 83rd minute, when he should have been dead tired…he did this.

Great effort

If he doesn’t find the energy to make that sprint and win that 50/50 ball then Weah never plays it wide to Dest to take the shot the keeper spills for Rennicks to put in. That kid is going to cost some European team eight figures very soon. Enjoy him while you have him FCD.

Brandon Servania (+5)

I’m a little surprised by Servania. Tab obviously has forgotten more soccer than I’ll ever know, but I’ve been a little frustrated by him playing Servania over Cerillo. It’s the whole “his guy” thing that irritated a lot of people about Arena. BUT I don’t think the US wins this game if Durkin hadn’t been suspended due to yellow card accumulation. Servania plays better defense than Durkin and he was all over the field against France. It wasn’t all good (I had him down for eight -1’s), but he didn’t back down and his change of direction/agility allows him to play better D than Durkin. Still came out +5 overall with 13(!) +1’s. (I’ve only done this four times now, but 21 events is the highest so far.)

Room to Improve

Aboubacar Keita (-3)

I think it might be time to make the switch to McKenzie at center back. I know changing the CB partnership isn’t something coaches like to do, but Keita has struggled mightily in two straight games now. He’ll be having nightmares tonight about Diaby (tbf he plays for PSG and is really good) and his passing is dangerously poor at times. There was about a 15 minute stretch in the 2nd half (around the 60th minute) where Diaby was just toying with Keita. He did have some good moments, but they didn’t outweigh the bad IMO.

Brady Scott

I think Scott is one of “Tab’s guys” and he’s going to start against Ecuador…but I also %100 think David Ochoa is a better keeper. I think Ochoa saves the first French goal and is a calmer, more commanding presence in the back. Scott also had trouble passing out of the back again against France. I don’t know if it was windy or something, but his balls were ballooning too high and sometimes even sailing out of bounds.

Going Forward

The Mendez/Ledezma Situation

I’m starting to view Mendez/Ledezma as Barry Sanders. Hang with me here. I grew up in Detroit and Barry used to have 10 carries for 9 yards…then he’d take one 78 yards for a touchdown. Ledezma and Mendez (and to a lesser extent Weah) aren’t as involved as Pomykal, Servania, or even Durkin sometimes…but then they play an amazing pass, score a 30 yard banger, etc. I think they both need to improve their fitness and play a little more D, but as long as Paxton and a capable d-mid are there with them, they are a great addition to the midfield. They should be spelling each other though – neither are fit enough to play hard for 90 minutes. One should start and then the other comes on after an hour. I don’t think I care which one starts either.

Any other Changes?

As I mentioned before I’d start Ochoa, but the other change I’d make is Llanez for de la Fuente. Konrad was almost completely anonymous against France. He was a +2 with two events. Llanez was a +4 with six events by my reckoning. If he’s fit enough, give him 60-70 minutes against Ecuador and then bring on KDLF or Rennicks in relief. Llanez creates danger constantly.

That’s about it from me. Looking forward to Saturday (and the Jamaica friendly, I guess).

If you enjoyed this and would like to be informed of future articles type your email address in the box and you’ll be notified of each new post. 🤓