Tag: Jordan Morris

Player Ratings – USA vs. Mexico, International Friendly

Setting the stage: If you’ve read our site before, and judging by our analytics you haven’t, you know how this works. But anyway, we use a half point system because it’s more fun, generally talk shit about the ineptness of the manager’s strategy, etc. etc.

A couple of important things to note about this game; we aren’t in a FIFA window so clubs were not required to release their players for international duty. Save for Sergino Dest, players were indeed not granted their releases to play in this game. As a result, you will see some newer faces and if you follow MLS, some familiar faces who might not otherwise crack an international roster.

We’re currently about 30 minutes from kick off here so we have a few minutes to share some early thoughts. Primarily this. Expect a dumpster fire. A bunch of guys who don’t normally play together, playing together under an interim manager who has never had any measurable success at any of his stops. Fun times to come! *cracks beer*

10 minutes to kick off: So one thing is already pissing me off. This game is being streamed on HBO Max, which sucks because it just took me about 13 minutes to reset my password since I haven’t used the stupid service in forever, and quite frankly forgot that I was paying for it.

Recap: Well, nobody was expecting a clinic tonight, were they? It wasn’t ugly soccer — you’ll see a lot worse. In fact, considering the lineup trotted out, the team acquitted itself reasonably well. Still, you’d have liked to see the team a little bit more interested in, you know, scoring some more goals before Mexico took the lead. The US pressed Mexico into a couple of turnovers that led to promising counters in the first half, perhaps getting a little unfortunate for Jordan Morris not to score. But as we saw so often during the Gregg Berhalter era, possession in the opponent’s third too often ended up in a pass back to the goalie. A criminally bad turnover by Aaron Long, really capping off a criminally bad performance by a criminally bad player, let to Mexico’s opener. The US didn’t capitulate, continued to press, and despite Mexico clattering the woodwork with a shot that could have put the game to bed, got a deserved equalizer late on through Jesus Ferreira.

The Players:

GK, Sean Johnson – 4.5: Johnson didn’t have a lot to do outside of the goal, and there wasn’t a ton he could do about it. Came out smartly for a few crosses. Did make a halfway decent save low to his left on De La Rosa in the second half. Was beaten cleanly on a couple of close calls where a better keeper may have gotten a hand to it. Where he was nearly exposed most on multiple occasions was his inability to play with the ball at his feet. Multiple shanked clearances, wayward or underhit passes, and general discomfort is not what you want to see. It’s not a big deal because he’s about 14th on the US goalie depth chart, but for that reason he probably shouldn’t have been the guy tonight anyway.

LB, Sergino Dest – 5.5: Dest switched sides for this one from his customary right back position. In general, he looked ok. Didn’t get beaten on the wing by anyone, and generally made it difficult for Julian Araujo and company to provide useful service from his wing. Committed a couple of fouls that led to free kicks in the attacking zone for Mexico, but that happens. What we really missed from Dest were his marauding runs up the wing on the counter. He was entirely non-existent on offense in the first half, and that’s where he’s at his best. And when he finally did charge ahead, he beat three Mexican defenders and released Jordan Morris for the US equalizer. We needed more of that. Disappointing.

LCB, Aaron Long – 1.5: Maybe one day we’ll see what the fuss was ever about. To be fair, he had one nice cover to erase a Mexican counterattack in the first half, but apart from that, his few clearances were undecisive and his passing at the back was, if not erratic, inaccurate. Most glaring, he was entirely to blame for the turnover that led to Mexico’s opener. Yes, Acosta played him into a difficult spot but there was no reason to let Antuna win that ball from him. He’s quite simply terrible. Hopefully this is his last game in the shirt. Off for Miazga in the 70th minute.

RCB, Walker Zimmerman – 6.5: Won every arial challenge in his radius, and in general bailed out his central defensive partner fairly well. Any time Mexico got close to scoring while he was out there had nothing to do with him. Biggest contribution was a critical late clearance out of the six yard box as Mexico chased a winner. But much like Dest, he didn’t provide anything on offense. While he doesn’t blaze up and down the field like Dest, he usually manages to provide some positive passing from the back. For some reason, he decided to play a bunch of entirely unnecessary, unpressured long balls today. They weren’t necessarily awful, but why play them when a better option exists? Still, more good than bad, as usual, from the dependable World Cup veteran.

RB, DeAndre Yedlin – 5.5: Yedlin still has blazing speed, even though he’s on the wrong side of 30 with a lot of miles on his tires. In general, the veteran defender looked at home in the squad, snuffing out attacks with his speed, and creating space on the attack by surging up the wing. However, he seems entirely uninterested in doing anything enterprising in the final third, electing usually to play an unnecessary back pass. And he’s always good for a few unnecessary fouls that lead to free kicks in dangerous situations. Certainly not awful, but he could have been better.

LM, Cade Cowell – 2.5: I’m not sure I heard his name called in the first half. Had a couple of opportunities early in the second half to create something off of a turnover but barrelled headlong into cul de sacs. What a crushing disappointment from one of the more promising youngsters in the US squad. Off for Alan Sonora in the 64th.

CDM, Kellyn Acosta – 2.0: Dreadful. The veteran is usually trusty, if not particularly impactful. The fact that the US had very few free kicks or corners throughout this game really limited the impact Acosta could have, as he’s the best deliverer of deadball situations. But usually he’s a fairly responsible defensive presence. The US would have been better off playing with ten men today. Couldn’t keep possession. Couldn’t make a tackle.

CM, James Sands – 6.5: Well well well. Anyone who knows me knows that I laugh at James Sands. I never got the appeal of him in MLS, and his Scottish loan was hilariously disastrous. Why even put him in the squad when better options like… well, me, exist. But, let’s be honest, he was the architect of every positive attacking play the US had in the first half. Frequently made himself available in space, and sprayed about half a dozen inch-perfect cross-field passes to set up promising opportunities. Also slid comfortably into a center back role as the US reconfigured to chase the equalizer, including a crucial challenge in stoppage time to prevent a golden chance for Mexico to snatch a late winner. His first touch still lets him down too frequently, but this was something to build on. I’m always happy to be proven wron

RM, Jordan Morris – 5.5: Morris always runs his ass off, and generally gets in space as a result of it. He’s been on an absolute tear for Seattle in MLS as their center forward. Looked decent on the wing for the US tonight, but as is the case with just about everyone on this squad, the final product is generally a let down. He had about ten chances, no exaggeration, to put a useful ball into the box for someone to latch onto. It wasn’t until his 11th, a lovely ball in on Ferreira’s equalizer, that he got it right. It was a nice assist. He should have had about three of them.

CAM, Jesus Ferreira – 4.5: You can always count on Ferreira to run tirelessly, and he’s an easy guy to cheer for. One of his several dozen full steam runs into the attacking third was finally rewarded with the equalizing goal, a reflexive finish off a nice Jordan Morris cross that took a slight late deflection. Other than that, his passes were consistently astray, his first touch was awful, and he simply doesn’t look the part of a number 10 / false 9. He’ll never have to be ashamed of the effort level, and seems to get stronger as the game goes along, but he always leaves you wanting more.

F, Brandon Vazquez – 1.0: Was he even on the field? He seemed entirely uninterested in doing anything at all. Off for Aidan Morris in the 64th minute, which was about 54 minutes too late.

The Subs

Alan Sonora – 5.5: Didn’t have a ton of opportunities to leave his mark on the game but the US had a different complexion to them once he came on. Hard not to give him a lot of credit for that.

Aidan Morris – N/A: Minimal impact, apart from a nearly costly turnover.

Matt Miazga – N/A: Minimal impact.

Paxton Pomykal – N/A: Thank Christ we only saw him for the final few minutes. He’s abysmal.

Caleb Wylie – N/A: Would have liked to see him for more than just the last few minutes. With the helium this kid gets from the pundits, we should have had the opportunity to see him play.

Previewing USMNT vs. Mexico

The USMNT takes on Mexico at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Arizona on Wednesday night, but this doesn’t feel like a typical USA-Mexico matchup. Since this is not in a traditional FIFA window, the vast majority of the players taking part are domestic players, but that also opens up opportunities for other players to shine.

Let’s break down the position groups, starting with the goalkeepers:

Sean Johnson – Toronto FC – 11 Caps

Drake Callender – Inter Miami – 0 Caps

Roman Celentano – FC Cincinnati – 0 Caps

Johnson is clearly the number one of the group, but Celentano has long been deserving of a look and it is good to see him on the roster. Callender will most likely be the keeper that doesn’t suit up, but having him in camp helps develop depth.

Defenders:

DeAndre Yedlin – Inter Miami – 77 Caps

Walker Zimmerman – Nashville SC – 39 Caps

Aaron Long – LAFC – 31 Caps

Sergino Dest – AC Milan – 24 Caps

Matt Miazga – FC Cincinnati – 22 Caps

Shaq Moore – Nashville SC – 17 Caps

Julian Gressel – Vancouver Whitecaps – 2 Caps

Caleb Wiley – Atlanta United – 0 Caps

Joshua Wynder – Louisville City – 0 Caps

The largest position group also features two of the three players on the roster that are not on a MLS club. Wynder is a 17-year old currently playing in the USL, although I expect to see him on the move this summer after he turns 18. Dest is the only player on either roster from a senior side in Europe (Julian Araujo is on the Mexico squad and is part of the FC Barcelona B squad, despite not taking the pitch for them yet). Yedlin, Long, Moore, and Zimmerman join Dest as players on this squad that were with the team in Qatar. Gressel only became a US citizen less than six months ago, but has already suited up for interim manager Anthony Hudson twice and has an assist on his stat sheet. Wiley has scored three goals in seven appearances this season for Atlanta United and only turned 18 in December.

Midfielders:

Kellyn Acosta – LAFC – 57 Caps

Cristian Roldan – Seattle Sounders – 32 Caps

Jackson Yuiell – San Jose Earthquakes – 16 Caps

James Sands – New York City FC – 7 Caps

Alan Sonora – Juarez – 2 Caps

Aidan Morris – Columbus Crew – 1 Cap

Nobody comes into this window in better form than Morris, who has been nothing short of great for Nashville SC of late. Acosta is still the best free kick taker in the USMNT pool, and the only player who can reasonably fit the Tyler Adams role. Roldan and Yuiell have plenty of experience but don’t get me too excited. Sonora had a quality January window with the team and plays his club soccer in Mexico, so he will have plenty of familiarity with the Mexican squad. Sands is a guy who played well enough for NYCFC to find himself on an 18-month loan with an option to buy with Scottish power Rangers, but after 24 appearances the loan was terminated on the first of March and he returned to the Big Apple. Will be very interesting to see how he bounces back.

Forwards:

Jordan Morris – Seattle Sounders – 51 Caps

Paul Arriola – FC Dallas – 50 Caps

Jesus Ferreira – FC Dallas – 17 Caps

Brandon Vazquez – FC Cincinnati – 2 Caps

Cade Cowell – San Jose Earthquakes – 2 Caps

Morris and Arriola are the only two wingers on the squad, while the youngster Cowell can play both wing or the number nine and has looked really good in both of his appearances for the senior squad. The most interesting position “battle” is who will be the striker at the top, assuming Hudson goes with a single striker, Vazquez or Ferreira. Ferreira is the “veteran” striker of the group despite being only 22 and actually two years younger than Vazquez, but Vazquez was borderline unstoppable for Cincinnati a season ago and scored a goal in his debut.

The lineup I anticipate seeing/thing we should see is as follows:

The toughest spot was at the top, but ultimately I went with Vazquez but I anticipate seeing him and Ferreira be subbed out for each other.

In windows like this, I always like to see the young players get a shot, so if I were to put together my ideal starting XI in terms of entertainment value, it would look like this:

Again, Vazquez vs. Ferreira was tough, but we have seen Ferriera plenty, and Vazquez turned down Mexico to commit to the USMNT, so he definitely deserves to be there. Of course I would want to see the three teenagers on the pitch to see how they hold up against the squad’s biggest rival, and I think Celentano deserves a Cap on his stat sheet.

USMNT Depth Chart: Attack

As we come out of another international break, we have decided to keep a running depth chart for the USMNT. It has become very clear Gregg Berhalter is running with a 4-3-3 with two wingers outside the number nine and a pair of central midfielders ahead of a defensive mid, with the right ride of those two central leaning slightly more attack focused. We will roll out our latest depth chart in a four-piece series, broken down in attack, midfield, wide defenseman, and finally central defense and keeper. Certain positions are a bit fluid (left center back and right center back the most fluid of them all) and we will not list the same player twice, even if most the right backs are also depth at left back.

Also included will be players deemed “For the Future” or FTF who are players still playing for youth versions of the USMNT, although a couple will have limited call ups to the senior side, worth keeping an eye on.

We will list the players with Name – Team – League – Country (for MLS it will be USA even if it is a club based in Canada)

With that, let’s start with the attack:

Summary: Pepi is the clear-cut number nine for the club, but behind him is a massive question mark. Pefok has had moments but didn’t get the call up multiple cycles in a row. Sargent has the potential but seems to have fallen out of favor some. Ferreira seems lost when on the pitch at the national level and Dike just isn’t there yet. It may come down to the veteran options of Zardes and Altidore. FTF features both Sanogo, who hasn’t had a senior appearance national or domestic yet but had a solid showing at the Revelations Cup in Mexico with the U20s and was on this year’s Next Generation list at The Guardian. Gomez has not made an appearance at any international level, but he has a pair of goals for third tier German side FSV Zwichau who is managed by former player that has a single appearance with the USMNT in Joe Enochs. Gomez’ brother will also show up in at the wide defenseman list, but both have options between USA and Mexico, and it may be important for the USA to get them committed rather than heading south.

Summary: There is no more clear-cut number one at a position than Pulisic, but this may also be the deepest spot other than right back. Aaronson has been an every match starter, but I don’t have him in my top-11. He is a high effort player but lacks discipline and finishing skill at times. Against Mexico he too often found himself out of position, changing the USA shape from a 4-3-3 to a 4-3-2-Aaronson. Konrad has moments of brilliance but lacks consistency. Hoppe is a guy who could play center forward, but his time with the national team has been on the left side. He has future potential of being in the top 11, he just isn’t there yet. Lewis has only seen limited run but has fared very well in MLS, while Morris has a quality track record with the national team. Once fully healthy again he will likely climb his way up this crowded list. The FTF is Gutierrez and Toure, with Gutierrez a guy that looked good for the U20s in Mexico and has seen plenty of first team action with Chicago despite only being 18. Toure is the biggest dark horse to make the list at any position, he is on loan from the Rapids to the USL where he wasn’t even a regular starter, but when in he makes impressive runs and the raw ability is special.

Summary: Reyna has been battling injuries, but when healthy he provides an incredible winger option opposite Pulisic. That said, Weah took every advantage of this international break as he was arguably the best player on the field vs. Mexico, and he scored an impressive goal against Jamaica. Arriola has been a popular sub for Berhalter and is a poor man’s Aaronson for me, plenty of energy and effort, skill just isn’t there. Gioacchini is an interesting one for me as he has looked good for Montpellier, one of the rare loans up as he is under contract with Caen in the second level of French soccer. Gioacchini has proven he belongs in the first flight and could be a candidate to battle for one of the last spots on the World Cup roster. Cowell is the FTF here and could be argued is a center forward, he saw time at left wing with the U20s this break but also wore the 19 and played right striker while setting up a goal against Mexico. In the end, I think he is on the right side and is a future scoring threat as he was tied for second in goals for San Jose this season and tied for most games played, although over half his appearances came as a sub.