USMNT’s lingering questions: Forward battle now a good problem, Tyler Adams’ backup, seeking 90 good minutes

October’s international break was a job well done for the United States men’s national team, which gave several signals that it was heading in the right direction with just eight months until the World Cup. Although this month’s matches, a 1-1 draw against Ecuador and a 2-1 victory against Australia, have provided some answers about head coach Maruicio Pochettino’s tactical vision and which players might be ready to take on that task, some questions understandably remain unanswered as the countdown to the World Cup continues.

Pochettino’s version of the USMNT appears to be most comfortable basing it at the back with three central defenders, while an eclectic group of apparent World Cup starters rise up top. Pillars like Christian Pulisic — who came out in the first half against Australia with an apparent hamstring injury — Chris Richards and Tim Weah make up a group of regular starters that includes emerging talent Malik Tillman, while Matt Freese And Tim Réam seem to be the favorites in their respective positions. That still leaves a handful of spots up for grabs, and Pochettino admitted Tuesday that the competition for spots on the team is still “open to every American player.”

Given the circumstances, it is not surprising that the USMNT still does not look like the finished product and that there are some irregularities compared to the USMNT. Ecuador and Australia demonstrated clear areas for improvement, regardless of personnel on the ground. It’s all set to be fascinating in the run-up to next summer’s World Cup, with each of the United States’ upcoming friendlies potentially revealing more and more of what Pochettino’s team is really like – and how far they can go.

As the countdown to November’s friendlies against Paraguay and Uruguay begins, here’s a look at the lingering questions the USMNT still faces.

Haji Wright and Cristian Roldan pass USMNT auditions, offer optimism for American soccer eight months before the World Cup

Pardeep Cattery

1. Who starts on offense?

It feels like the question of which of the USMNT forwards would start transformed almost overnight from a desperate plea to a near embarrassment of riches. For the first time in a long time, the United States could have two players vying for a starting role, both Folarin Balogun and Haji Wright each made a compelling case after combining for the team’s three goals this month.

Balogun has essentially been the starter in waiting, marred by an injury-plagued year, but wasted no time with two goals and an assist in his last four games for the national team, bailing out the team against Ecuador with an encouraging but somewhat pointless offensive output from the group. Wright showed his own creativity with a brace against Australia, while his second goal in particular offers a glimpse of his individual talents as he created a chance before scoring. If both maintain this form, they will likely be on the World Cup roster, but the distribution of playing time could be the most pressing question facing Pochettino in the final stages of his World Cup preparations.

Wright’s success only Josh SargentSargent’s recent adventures with the national team are more melancholic – both are in remarkable form for their clubs and while Wright translated that into an impressive outing against Australia, Sargent’s USMNT career is perhaps now defined by the fact that he is almost six years removed from his last international goal. Sargent’s ship may have sailed at this point, but the big unknown in terms of personnel is Ricardo Pepi, who scored in Pochettino’s opening match against the United States a year ago but has also spent most of his time injured since. If Pepi returns to his pre-injury form in time, Pochettino will have one of those proverbial good problems on his hands.

Can anyone replace Tyler Adams?

Tyler Adams missed the October friendlies for the birth of his second child, offering a real opportunity for someone to step up and at least make their case to become his unquestionable understudy. It’s no surprise that Adams is still the best player in the pool in his defensive midfielder role, but after the games against Ecuador and Australia, it’s hard to argue that a standout candidate has emerged from the group.

Tanner Tessman and James Sands everyone had their chance, with Tessman replacing against Ecuador next Aidan Morris and Sands doing it against Australia alongside Cristian Roldan. Tessman had a better outing in this isolated comparison, with Pochettino saying on Friday that “the quality is there and the ability to understand the game, the tactical way we want to apply and put in place”. [in] the game, the principles.” Sands, meanwhile, was one of the players particularly caught watching the ball on Tuesday as the Socceroos scored first.

As in advanced roles, there is the idea that frequent injuries Johnny Cardoso could have a say in this competition and there’s no real shame in admitting that Adams has made a full claim to his starting spot. Building a team for the World Cup means preparing for less than ideal situations, and the fact that no go-to replacement has emerged at the No. 6 position remains one of the USMNT’s oldest unanswered questions, one that predates Pochettino well.

When will the USMNT have a full performance?

Slowly but surely, the USMNT is creating an encouraging and cohesive identity, but at this point in its preparation, it feels more like a patchwork quilt than a finished product. While the positives may have outweighed the negatives in October, there is still very obvious room for improvement – ​​the fact that they have yet to string together a full 90-minute performance.

Pochettino stressed it was the obvious next step for his side, with a few sloppy moments costing them against Ecuador and Australia. The Socceroos in particular seemed to confuse the USMNT in the first half hour of the match, with Pochettino saying the group was just a little slow to act early in Tuesday’s victory.

“One of the [ones] that we need to improve is, [for] 90 minutes, try to be aggressive and [be] more solid,” Pochettino said. “I think we start the match thinking too much, right? When you’re on the court and you think too much, you start to play unnaturally and still, it’s late, you move the ball so slowly. When we want to press, we arrive late and then when we concede, it’s like a great relief. This is no longer the case, the pressure. We have to start playing and I think the team is starting to play [with] more freedom and then we scored a fantastic goal and we equalized and then in the second half we conceded some actions at the beginning but at the end the match was still in our control, but, I think, it’s to improve and try to dominate the game better and that’s the thing we need to improve.

Cohesion seems like a natural sacrifice when experimentation is the priority, but the USMNT has paid for virtually every mistake it has made in recent months, which is perhaps unlucky, but also a problem that seems solvable to some extent. However, how quickly they pick things up might just be the best indicator of their World Cup success.