Hello and welcome to the total sucker show. My name is Daryl Grove and I'm joined by a man who bravely rewatched USA NIL Jamaica 1 with me in this very studio right here. His name is Taylor Rockwell. Hello. Hello! Not coincidentally, I have a knife in my hand. You do? It's plastic. It is. It is. But you're going to throw on me if I say anything too positive about this game? Yes. No, I'm not. Oh, but I am going to throw it into the cup holder and it's going to land there perfectly. No more knives, but I have to do something to distract from my frustration that was that game. It was a frustrating game to watch. It's Greg Bealthus' first defeat, five games in. it's two games before the Gold Cup. Let's start with this. Should we be worried about this? No. No, okay, why not? I mean, worried is a word, angry is another word. And I think it's okay. I think it's okay to be frustrated. I think it's okay to be angry about how lackluster that performance was, how sort of disinterested some of the US players looked. But I do not think that it means like, oh, things aren't working or this team isn't going to come together. I think it was Greg Burrhalter trying something. I don't think it really works. He was experimented in terms of both new formation, which we'll definitely talk about, and a not first choice 11th. Yeah. I also think we'll probably see this again. I doubt with this. The three, two, four, one?

Yeah. I also think we'll probably see this again. I doubt with this. The three, two, four, one. Yeah, I doubt with this personnel. But I think that if as, as Stu Holden indicated prior to the game that this seems like they're looking for plan B, a different type of approach. Yeah. My guess, who it feels funny saying this now is that this was meant to be a more attacking approach for like, quote unquote, weaker opposition and it did not work. But I do think that he's going to continue to try to find alternate plans aside from the kind of right back becoming a central midfielder plan that we've seen before. So before we get into why it didn't work, which I think is the big thing we want to get into on this episode, why that new shape didn't work, or at least why the first 60 minutes of this game did it work for the US. I think it's worth talking about why you think this is a more attacking version or a more attacking formation. Because I think it's basically when the United States does the, like what, 4, 2 2, 3, 1 becoming a 3, 2, 4 1 or whatever it is? 433 becoming a 3241. There we go, thank you. That's the better way to put it. It's basically what you're trying to morph into is what this lineup is. Yeah, you start in the attacking shape, the more attacking shape, right? And so I think theoretically. Theoretically, and they did.

They did for the first, like, eight minutes. You saw a lot more combinations. You saw Jamaica being stretched out. I think at one point, Stu Holden said, like, Jamaica have no answers for what the United States are trying to do. I think that would be really instructive for people to go back and watch the first 10 minutes, and it looks really good. The rest of it then falls apart completely.

But it looks really good for the first 10 minutes

because ariola's high on the right, Anthony Robinson's high on the left. We're moving the ball through midfield. Omar Gonzalez is breaking lines with passes, like at least three times in the first 10 minutes or so. And one quick aside to this is people keep asking why is Omar Gonzalez back in this team? I had the same question.

I felt like maybe his time was over. I think he's a much better line-breaking passer than I've ever given him credit for. And we saw him do it for the first 10 minutes of this game. Yes. I feel very uncomfortable agreeing with that. Yeah. praising Omar Gonzalez. But yes, I would agree. I'm ready for a fresh start with Oma Gonzalez, genuinely,

because I think it wasn't a thing he was asked to do in the previous regimes. He was more told just give the ball to Michael Bradley and go away. Let someone else do all the possession. I think that's fair. And I think that when you... New era, new Omar. Yes. And when he had players wide to spread Jamaica out, so there were options to the middle,

and then players checking in.

Yeah, and players checking in and moving, then he could find those passes. I think once the United States got a bit more stagnant, those passes went away. And to be honest, I blame Sweden. It's Sweden's fault for all this. Why is Sweden? Because we were finishing up our group F preview, Sweden being the last team we previewed. Yeah, yeah.

So we came into this game, 10 minutes late.

And it was basically...

Oh, just begin with it.

We turned on the game, and into this game, 10 minutes late.

And it was basically we turned on the game. And then like 10 seconds later is when I think Mihalovich was dispossessed. And then Jamaica had the shot from midfield that like almost beat Zach Stephan. Oh yeah, it's like a long range chip that was, I mean, over the bar. It beat Zach Stephan, but it beat the goal as well. Exactly. So I feel like we jinxed it, but I don't want to blame us, so instead I'm going to blame Sweden for making us jinx it by tuning in late.

Great. Zach Steffen, but it beat the goal as well. Exactly. So I feel like we jinxed it, but I don't want to blame us. So instead I'm going to blame Sweden for making us jinx it by tuning in late. Group F preview for the Women's World Cup will be published soon. Fair enough. Yeah. With that Sweden conversation in it. But I actually think that is, I think you correctly, when we rewatched, pinpointed this as the key moment, I believe. Because Mahalovic essentially gets muscled off the ball because he receives it, doesn't turn, takes a couple touches. Jamaica is suddenly on him, dispossess him, and they're able to have that like chip shot from distance. And I want to say, isn't it like a couple of minutes that is when Zach Stephan tries to play out of, get back and just gives it straight to a Jamaican player?

He's looking for Jackson Yule but just doesn't even get past the guy in front of it.

It genuinely may have been off the goal kick from that shot that he tried to play it short. He plays it short, he gets it back and then I think he tried to play it out again and it gets cut out. And I think, if you don't mind me still in your point, I think the turning point in this entire game is Jamaica realized, oh, these guys aren't very tough.

Yeah.

When they're taking all their fancy touches in midfield and receiving the ball, we can just step into them, dispossess them, and here we go. And I think that's where the trouble started. I would agree with that. I would add a little bit or like change that a little bit to, like, I think just before it, the United States had a good shooting chance. I think it was when there was like the combination and Ariola gets the ball back out wide.

Ariola's quick ball to roll down, roll down, slipped him down the wing. Arieola crosses it.

Just sergeant's head, like glancing header could have gone in the top left corner. It just didn't.

Yeah, it didn't. But I think after maybe a minute later, Jamaica get a goal kick and Andre Blake doesn't take it he takes his time slowing it down he's a chat doesn't he he has a chat with this team I doubt it was him though because I can't imagine that one goalkeeper stopping to chat for 15 seconds would do it yeah but it is around that time that I think the message that's related to Jamaica is they're giving them too much time they're letting the United States have too much time on the ball and they're backing off too much and trying to block off passing options.

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