Coaches and athletes are fond of various iterations of the old saying, ‘if you don’t win, you learn.’ And Saturday’s humbling 3-1 friendly loss to Germany certainly provided that for the US men’s national team.
“We talked after the game against Germany about it being a great learning experience for us. And we sat in the locker room right there and processed the game,” head coach Gregg Berhalter told reporters on Monday. “Got a lot of feedback from the players, gave them our feedback. But overall, really good learning against a top-class opponent.”
He and his squad have an immediate chance to apply those lessons against another talented adversary. Berhalter was conducting his matchday-1 press conference ahead of Tuesday’s friendly vs. Ghana at GEODIS Park, home of Nashville SC, where the Yanks hope to exit their October camp on a less frustrating note (8:30 pm ET | TNT, Universo).
Berhalter pointed to three areas of priority:
- Defensive organization, particularly right after losing possession
- Switching the point of attack more quickly and crisply to exploit space when attacking
- Better decision-making and execution with the final pass in the attacking third
“Personnel, we may make a few changes,” he explained. “Ghana still has world-class players, is an experienced international team and played in the last World Cup. So for us, it's about how do we how do we take what we learned from Germany and apply it against Ghana? Specifically in possession, how are we taking good positions, have good structure in our offensive game? And then defensively, doing the small things, getting our pressure right and our shape right, especially in the defensive third.”
German masterclass
The US took an early lead in Connecticut after a bright start graced by a top-corner golazo from Christian Pulisic, only for Die Mannschaft to adapt, rally and eventually win comfortably, carving them open via quick transitions and possession buildups alike.
Afterwards center back Chris Richards used the phrase “chasing shadows” to describe the USMNT’s woes in the second half, comparing Germany’s methodical work to “seeing a train wreck coming, but you couldn't quite move from it.” It illustrated to the Yanks how vulnerable they can be to elite opponents when their team shape and individual focus wane for even the most fleeting of moments.
“Our defensive shape needs to be absolutely rock solid. The execution of our movement and pressing has to be solid. And when it's not, they can exploit you,” said Berhalter. “We saw that happen against Germany. And then as we move lower onto the field, just the organization of defending and around the [penalty] box has to be there. You know, it's not about the back four, it's about collectiveness. It's about seven players, eight players getting into position, having those good lines that are difficult to break through.”
Saturday’s loss also offered signs that the USMNT badly miss holding midfielder Tyler Adams’ tenacity and ground coverage, particularly against top opposition. Yunus Musah and Weston McKennie usually partnered as twin No. 8s in front of Adams during the 2022 World Cup cycle. When they were asked to function in deeper, more defense-minded taskings as something of a twin pivot, results were decidedly mixed, as the back four got exposed repeatedly. That outlook also applied when Luca de la Torre entered the match at halftime to join them at the heart of a 4-3-3 shape.
“Weston and Yunus had similar roles. They were supposed to be connected in central midfield, especially when were defending in a 4-4-2,” said their coach on Monday when asked about Musah’s efforts to fill Adams’ slot. “When we moved to 4-3-3, it was more Luca, Weston and Yunus were supposed to be shifting together and supposed to be connected as a line.
“Overall, it was that lack of execution that I think hurt all of them, not just Yunus. I think it made it more complicated for them in the game. But he's good at winning balls. He's good at passing the ball. He's good at receiving balls in tough spaces. So I think he fills in nicely.”
Go with the Flo
The USMNT will also endeavor to unlock the quality of striker Folarin Balogun more regularly. The AS Monaco star combined well with Pulisic, his opposite winger Tim Weah and playmaker Gio Reyna in the early going before drifting to the margins amid a lack of reliable service.
As he has repeatedly since Balogun’s recruitment away from England earlier this year, Berhalter posited that his teammates are still struggling to spot his intelligent off-ball movement and deliver him the ball with the necessary timing.
“For me, it's about just looking for him," Berhalter remarked. "Again, he made some really good runs and can we get him, can we find him with runs behind the back line? Germany, they had one weakness, I think, it was some pace in the back line. And we didn't exploit that enough with Balo. And then in the penalty box, there was some moments where he was close, but just a little bit unlucky … So he had some involvement, but I think we’ve just got to get him more active.”
