USMNT Panic Meter: Why There Is Reason for Hope and Concerns Before US Soccer World Cup Qualifier in Mexico

Qualifying for the World Cup comes to the fore this week as the USA men’s national team tries to secure their place at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. In second place at Concacaf, Gregg Berhalter’s team sits in a playoff with four points in their next two games as they ensure Panama cannot jump into the top three. But at a critical time, the manager will be without Weston McKennie, Brenden Aaronson, Matt Turner and Sergino Dest, as the team has been hit by many recent injuries.

With the next man’s mentality and a deep pool of talent to choose from, that does not mean that the USMNT will be short on options during this crucial window that begins on Thursday night against Mexico (streaming on Paramount +). They get a big part of the team back to Gio Reyna, who since the first game of the Octagonal vs. Setbacks during his recovery have caused Reyna to play for Dortmund on and off the pitch, but after playing in the last three games, he is back in the picture of the national team.

With the USMNT vis-à-vis Mexico, Panama and Costa Rica, Reyna could not come back to the fold at a better time. But there are reasons to be concerned about the performance of the team and also reasons to expect them to finish the job and qualify for the World Cup.

So where did the panic meter for the USMNT get into these qualifying windows? Let’s say where things stand.

Why there is reason for silence

Defensive Force: To go to these matches, it is the only team that has conceded fewer goals than the seven of the USA Canada with five. Led by Tyler Adams, who tackles 33 tackles while playing in 10 of 11 games and backed by a strong central pair from Miles Robinson and Walker Zimmerman, the defense is hard to break. Even though Adams has a yellow card away to get a suspension, Kellyn Acosta and James Sands can fill out if needed. All goalkeepers who support the defense are high quality options and while the wing backs are the keeper’s engines, they do not destroy defensively, and collect a lot of catches and ball holes. Add to that the fact that the manager can decide a stronger midfield in McKennie’s defense and the defense will be the strength of the team no matter what parts combine to make the whole picture.

Completion (on paper): After Canada, the team also scored the second most goals in the Octagonal with 16. But not only does the ball go into the net, the team also takes good positions in the box. USMNT took 73 percent of their shots in the box and also set 32.9 percent of the shots on target to test keepers. Given that the USA are able to take 143 shots, it should come as no surprise that they are at the top end of the goal at Concacaf. Ricardo Pepi, Christian Pulisic, Brenden Aaronson, Weston McKennie, and Antonee Robinson all scored different goals during qualifying and also show how unpredictable the scoring threats are.

Why there is cause for concern

Completion (around the field): The difficulties of the attackers under guard are well documented as the attack was the second best in Concacaf while its potential has so far been underperformed. A xG of 17.51 ​​is the highest in Concacaf, and it is clear that the USA would have already qualified for the World Cup if they put more of these chances away. Five strikers recorded minutes for the national team during the qualification, no more than 600 minutes. In fact, according to Ricardo Pepi, no striker reported more than 200 minutes as the keeper figured out who should lead the line.

Pepi was the most effective of the bunch, but his Bundesliga acclimation did not go well and it also affected his national team form. Cutting and changing your forwards never lets them get into a rhythm, but a forward has not played well enough to earn the spot. Jordan Pefok was given a chance to change things around. His 20 goals for Young Boys and the Champions League experience are more than any other striker can offer and even if he is not as technical as other options available to the keeper, as long as the ball hits the back of the net, he is potentially isolated. not be an issue.

Injuries and difficult decisions: Replacing McKennie is hard work but it’s one for which managers have several options for Acosta, Luca de la Torre, and Gianluca Busio. But with so many options, it’s important for the manager to make the right decision for these matches. Missing Aaronson, who has appeared in all 11 games, will also be a heavy lift offensively and defensively. Reggie Cannon brings similar qualities to Dest, and there is not much to separate between the goalkeeper options.

Berhalter enjoys the tips, but with three matches in six days, the entire squad will be needed to complete the work.

What to watch vs Mexico

Mexico will have to deal with their own injuries as Andres Guardado, Rogelio Funes Mori and Julio César Domínguez are all unavailable for Thursday’s match. Goals will be hard to come by as Mexico have conceded just eight goals while their scoring struggles have seen them 14. Go for form or Raul Jimenez in the absence of Funes Mori, will put extra pressure on Hirving Lozano to find his form. Lozano has only one goal and one assist during the World Cup qualifiers but more will be needed as he has the quality to challenge the USMNT defense in the transition.

Hector Herrera and Edson Alvarez will anchor a strong defensive midfield for El Tri and if they win their battles at night, it will be difficult for USA to score. Both have played strong performances in the Champions League, which they are looking to build on to help Mexico qualify for the World Cup. Berhalter will do well to attack through the wings to avoid this issue, but the Mexican defenders are no slouchs and goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa seems to be at the peak Manuel Neuer vs. a trip to Mexico against Azteca.

Panic Meter (Scale 1-10): 4

The team will be confident of defeating Mexico three times in a row, but they can not suffer from overconfidence, as Mexico has never lost to the USA in the World Cup qualifiers at the Estadio Azteca. An early goal could change everything as both teams want to bunker.

I do not press the panic button yet, because at the time of writing, the USMNT are in a strong position to qualify for the World Cup. But the button is on my desk ready to be pressed if they end up losing to Mexico while also turning into a subpar first half vs Panama.