There Is No Cliff For The USMNT

It hasn't been encouraging from the national team of late, but it also isn't all that different.

As I've commented before, the US is in a unique position in that most of its fans and media care about the national team first, or more than they do in a lot of other nations. The club game domestically isn't near big enough to eclipse national team interests (both men and women, in this case), and our collective fandoms of international teams and leagues don't preclude us from "coming home," as it were. That's not how it works in some of the bigger nations in the football world, but that's how it works here.

Which means that when the national team convenes, it's about the only time American fans and media are all watching the same thing at the same time with the same emotion. Which means to some outsized reactions to friendly games that, in the end, really won't matter.

Such was the case after the US lost 2-0 to South Korea on Saturday. Make no mistake, this wasn't a good performance. There are things to worry about. There are other things that aren't worth worrying about, which fans and media have latched on to. Some of that springs from outsized expectations for the team based on the more rabid fandom than most national teams get, combined with the ever-increasing impatience to see the national team do something significant.

Most of the reaction from the USMNT media has been that under Mauricio Pochettino, the US has fell from some mythic level previously achieved in the last cycle. But the distance from Saturday's loss from barely squeaking out of a pretty weak group in the 2022 World Cup and going out meekly in the Copa America two years later isn't really all that large. It's within the same brackets. That fall wouldn't break a bone.

There's obviously more context than that. The team that got out of that group four years ago was an extremely young one, the second-youngest at that tournament, and the belief was that they would continue to grow together and continue ticking things off on the development train. But growth isn't linear in any sport, and soccer has so many speed-bumps. Transfers, new coaches, new languages, new tactics, and injuries are just the surface of what a player can deal with in four years between World Cups. It's not putting a baseball team together where an organization can control pretty much every step of a player's development. And even that almost never goes smoothly.

Go through whatever you think is the best USMNT roster, and count how many players have had a smooth club career in that time. Is there one?

As I said before this international break, whatever happens come June really won't hinge on what happened in an exhibition game in September. Or it shouldn't.

Anyway, that doesn't mean there aren't things to worry about. Which we'll get to. First, is there anything good before we build up our panic?

Folarin Balogun

Sure, maybe South Korea stopped playing after an hour with a two-goal lead. It was also an exhibition for them, and their team is much more settled than the US's, so they have even less reason to go balls-out for 90 minutes. However, once Balogun came on, the US actually looked threatening and dynamic. He ran the channels, he linked to midfield, he actually pressed, three things Josh Sargent didn't do in his quest to show the world what a Championship-level striker looks like.

Balogun's first season with Monaco was wrecked by injuries, so at not point has Pochettino gotten to see a fully operational Balogun. This was an exciting first glimpse for him.

Did the US stumble upon using a 3-4-3?

With Balogun's introduction, the US switched to a 3-4-3 system, and looked about 400 percent better with it. It's something Poch should try again, a formation he used at both Spurs and Chelsea at times. So it should be comfortable for him. It's also a formation a lot his players, especially his defenders, either already play in with their clubs or would greatly benefit from.

Chris Richards plays in one with Palace. Tim Ream played in one at Fulham. Antonne Robinson, when healthy, same deal. Sergino Dest would be better off as a wingback, given the added security. Diego Luna and Christian Pulisic as dueling, half-10s makes perfect sense. It gives the US four in midfield, which would cure some of the ills they have in there (which we'll get to). It gets their two attacking players closer to Balogun.

Ok, now the bad. And there's more than enough.

The US isn't going anywhere with that Tyler Adams

Someone always says it better:

As for South Korea's second goal:

Adams spent the game either running in every direction but the right one, apparently paying tribute to Brenden Aaronson by importing his uselessness into midfield, or just watching the game go by him. Adams has started the season well for Bournemouth, so no one needs to worry about this being a trend. He also had the problem of having to cover for a completely immobile and useless Flounder Berhalter, which didn't help. The pic above is the best encapsulation, as Berhalter and Adams simply watch as South Korea thread a pass to Heung-min Son.

But the US hinges on Adams and his energy levels equaling out the talent deficit they usually face in midfield. On Saturday, he only exacerbated it. If that happens in June, it'll all be over in three games, if not two.

Defensive organization

Joe Lowery pointed out above, but the US's defensive "plan" looked wonky all game. This is a worry, though can partly be explained by only having a couple practices for a game that doesn't count for anything. But Sargent's pressing was haphazard and scattered. There was no understanding between Adams and Berhalter, and those two and their central defense. Sergino Dest couldn't really be bothered:

But that's kind of Dest's thing, which is why he should be a wingback.

Whether Poch can get a whole team on the same songsheet with only 2-3 weeks of prep come June, we'll only know come the time. They weren't exactly defensively secure during the Gold Cup, though that was with an undercooked roster. But the signs aren't great.

Roster decisions are still weird

I don't think it's a huge problem to leave some big names out, for whatever reason. But Poch is only making their case by then selecting players who are out of their depth at this level to take their spots, even for a friendly. Flounder Berhalter is not up for this, and Tanner Tessman or Aidan Morris must be either laughing or crying watching him. Tristan Blackmon isn't up for it, and Mark McKenzie's or Cameron Carter-Vickers's faces are going to freeze in a confused gape if they saw this game.

We'll see how long this silliness continues, but hopefully no further than the October window.