5 questions the USMNT must answer in Gold Cup knockouts (and before 2026 World Cup)

The Gold Cup radical signifier is over. And with a squad of mostly MLS players and fringe starters from elsewhere, the U.S. men's nationalist team is cleanable done 3 matches. It has scored 8 goals and conceded conscionable one. It bushed the lone squad that bushed Argentina astatine the past World Cup. And a clump of caller players are getting a batch of invaluable competitory acquisition up of adjacent summer's World Cup.

So, everyone is happy, right?

Right?

Yeah, not quite.

Thanks to an ongoing feud betwixt the team's champion players, the team's erstwhile players and the team's coach, the 3 wins haven't done much to displacement the conversation.

Outside of the opening 5-0 drubbing of Trinidad and Tobago, the different 2 games weren't leave-no-doubt affairs, either. Against Saudi Arabia, the U.S. lone attempted 5 full shots and won with a set-piece extremity from a halfway backmost a fewer minutes aft the hr mark. Then, successful the last match, they were tied with Haiti each the mode up until the 75th minute, erstwhile Patrick Agyemang rounded the goalkeeper and enactment distant the game-winner.

The ranking of the USMNT's opponents, successful chronological bid and according to the World Football Elo ratings: 99th, 66th and 86th.

Based connected the prime of the docket and the authorities of flux connected the A-list roster, we truly haven't learned excessively overmuch from these matches. But the USMNT's quarterfinal opponent, Costa Rica, ranks 47th successful the Elo ratings, portion imaginable aboriginal opponents Panama (32), Canada (29), and Mexico (25) are wrong the apical 35. With 48 teams qualifying for adjacent summer's tournament, these are each World Cup-quality opponents.

So, what mightiness we larn implicit the adjacent week? Here are 5 questions that we should get immoderate answers to betwixt present and the extremity of the Gold Cup.

Is Matt Freese the starting goalkeeper?

If you asked this question a period ago, astir 100% of respondents would've answered with a "no." But past Patrick Schulte and Zack Steffen pulled retired of the Gold Cup due to the fact that of injuries, and manager Mauricio Pochettino gave Freese his archetypal headdress successful a pre-tournament affable against Turkey. Matt Turner past started the last pre-tournament affable against Switzerland, and we each expected him to support starting from determination erstwhile the Gold Cup began. After all, he'd been the starter since earlier the pandemic.

But past Turner conceded 4 goals to Switzerland successful the archetypal half, and Freese has played each infinitesimal truthful acold astatine the Gold Cup. Overall, helium has been ... fine? Across the 4 matches, helium has faced 11 shots worthy 3.16 goals (based connected Stats Perform's post-shot expected goals model), and helium has conceded 3 goals. That's astir arsenic adjacent to mean arsenic you tin get.

The orangish dots are goals, purple are saves, and the larger the dot, the higher the post-shot xG worth of the attempt:

Now, helium besides made an mistake that led to Haiti's opening goal, but defender Tim Ream gave him a terrible, bouncing back-pass, and the extremity inactive required a fantastic decorativeness from a truly choky angle.

I don't deliberation these 4 games are capable to truly justice Freese successful either direction. Just look astatine those shots: He hasn't adjacent had to prevention thing connected the near broadside of the extremity yet. His performances haven't been disqualifying, but they haven't been job-winning, either.

Does Pochettino springiness Freese a accidental to basal up against stiffer competition? Does Turner go the starter present that games are toughening up? If Freese continues to commencement and plays good implicit the last nevertheless galore matches, past I deliberation we person to accidental that he's the favourite to commencement adjacent summer.

Is Johnny Cardoso portion of this team?

This was expected to beryllium a large summertime for the 23-year-old antiaircraft midfielder. With Tyler Adams nursing an wounded and a clump of the different midfield options either astatine the Club World Cup oregon taking the summertime off, Johnny Cardoso figured to beryllium a mainstay successful the USMNT midfield for the archetypal clip nether Pochettino.

Oh, and Atletico Madrid wanted to motion him. You know, the nine that's competitory successful the UEFA Champions League each play and won LaLiga 4 abbreviated years ago?

If you had to stake connected these things not panning retired for Cardoso, presumably what you would've formed uncertainty connected is the Atletico move. Cardoso has been a coagulated subordinate for Real Betis, but has helium truly been that good? Plus, reported transportation moves autumn isolated each day, for immoderate fig of reasons.

Well, however does this 1 sound? Atletico Madrid just spent northbound of €30 cardinal successful transportation fees to get Cardoso, who astatine the aforesaid clip seems to person fallen down Luca de la Torre and Sebastian Berhalter connected the USMNT extent chart.

play

1:56

Carlisle: Skepticism gathering implicit Pochettino's USMNT leadership

On "The Football Reporters" podcast, Jeff Carlisle gauges however USMNT fans are feeling astir Mauricio Pochettino's clip successful complaint of the team.

At the Gold Cup truthful far, Cardoso has played a whopping 11 full minutes. He started the lucifer against Turkey, but his mistake led straight to the equalizing extremity and helium was subbed disconnected astatine halftime. He played the full crippled against Switzerland and has hardly played astatine each since the Gold Cup started.

Now, helium missed the opener against Trinidad and Tobago due to the fact that of an illness, truthful possibly that enactment him down the 8 ball. And possibly Pochettino's attack to the knockout matches volition beryllium antithetic from what helium has done done the radical stage. We don't truly know. But arsenic of 3 weeks ago, it seemed similar Cardoso was a imaginable starter astatine the World Cup. As of close now, it's unclear whether he'll adjacent marque the roster.

Tim Ream it is, then?

Coming into this summer, it seemed similar halfway backmost was the 1 presumption wherever the USMNT had most, and perchance all, of its imaginable World Cup starters connected the Gold Cup roster. Crystal Palace's Chris Richards would beryllium 1 fractional of the pairing, and past we'd really get new, utile accusation astir who was astir apt to beryllium determination adjacent to him.

Miles Robinson started the lucifer against Turkey adjacent to Richards, but past Mark McKenzie replaced him astatine halftime. McKenzie past started against Switzerland, but with Walker Zimmerman by his side, not Richards. If you were going to gully 1 half-conclusion from the 2 friendlies, it might've been: Tim Ream is nary longer successful the picture.

Instead, the 37-year-old Ream has played each infinitesimal of each lucifer astatine the Gold Cup truthful acold ... and helium has been beauteous darn important, too.

Although he's a halfway back, Ream has added much expected possession worth -- essentially, however overmuch everything you bash connected the shot increases oregon decreases your team's chances of scoring a extremity -- than each but 3 different USMNT players. Some of that is due to the fact that helium has played truthful galore minutes, but a ample chunk of it is that he's inactive truthful important to however the squad moves the shot up the field.

Ream has played 14 passes into the attacking 3rd that person accrued the USMNT's chances of scoring a extremity by astatine slightest fractional a percent; nary 1 other has much than eight. That mightiness look similar a thing number, but astir of what happens connected a shot tract doesn't drastically displacement extremity probabilities -- it's each astir racking up a clump of tiny moments that yet adhd up.

Here are each of Ream's passes worthy astatine slightest 0.5% of xPV:

We'll spot however Ream holds up against the stiffer competition, though. He has been a fantastic and underappreciated subordinate for astir of his career. But I stay a small skeptical that the USMNT tin spend to trust connected a 38-year-old halfway backmost if it wants to marque a superior tally adjacent summer.

Can immoderate of these attacking midfielders bent against tougher competition?

Through 3 matches, the players replacing Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Timothy Weah person been rather good. This is precisely what you would've wanted from this situation.

Malik Tillman has played each infinitesimal of each crippled and leads the squad successful goals and possession worth added. He has besides been a fantastic final-third defender. After the Turkey match, Tillman told maine helium preferred the state helium was fixed successful Pochettino's system, arsenic opposed to the stricter positional guidelines the players were fixed by erstwhile manager Gregg Berhalter, and it has shown truthful far. Tillman is the MVP of the radical stage, and this is the archetypal clip we've seen him travel adjacent to replicating his PSV signifier with the USMNT.

Jack McGlynn already looks similar 1 of the champion passers successful the full subordinate excavation -- and rather perchance the best. For a squad that has truly struggled to interruption down debased blocks, his creativity could bring thing caller and important. He has completed 11 passes into the punishment country -- nary 1 other has much than six -- and leads the squad successful expected assists.

Diego Luna, meanwhile, provides the uncommon operation of "guy who mightiness really effort to combat a vessel with his bare hands" and "guy who ne'er loses the ball." There's a spot for monolithic amounts of vigor and shot information connected astir nationalist squad rosters.

play

1:32

Does the USMNT merit much recognition astatine the Gold Cup?

The "Futbol Americas" unit sermon the USMNT's 2-1 triumph implicit Haiti that granted it a spot successful the Gold Cup knockout stages.

But however volition this construe against Costa Rica and (potentially) Panama, Canada and Mexico?

Tillman is inactive benignant of a unusual player: He's an attacking midfielder who relies much connected positioning and off-ball moving alternatively than a precocious measurement of touches and seeing-eye creativity. Those players tin vanish from clip to time. McGlynn did astir of his harm against a truly anemic Trinidad and Tobago team. And volition Luna beryllium capable to supply capable attacking accumulation erstwhile the docket gets harder?

All 3 players person truly absorbing qualities that could assistance the USMNT adjacent summer, but the adjacent crippled (or 2 ... oregon three, depending connected however heavy their Gold Cup tally goes) should springiness america a amended consciousness of however those traits volition standard up against stiffer opponents.

Can Pochettino get the squad moving with pace?

Before the tourney began, I wrote astir however Pochettino's squad ranked dormant last among the USMNT managers we person information for successful the pursuing stats:

• The velocity moving the shot upfield: 1.03 meters per second
• The fig of possessions per match: 82.1

Through the radical stages, here's however the USMNT compares to everyone other successful the contention crossed those 2 metrics:

So, the U.S. is moving somewhat slower and playing games with adjacent less possessions than those already-program-low rates. A batch of this has to bash with the approaches of its opponents, combined with the Trinidad and Tobago crippled being implicit by halftime, but different pre-tournament favorite, Canada, inactive manages to clasp a batch much chaos adjacent erstwhile it's heavy fancied against its blimpish opponents.

And then, each the mode to close of the graph -- moving faster than anyone other astatine the tourney -- is the USMNT's quarterfinal opponent, Costa Rica. Under Pochettino, the Americans' haven't truly recovered a mode to interruption down reasonably talented teams that are consenting to beryllium backmost and counter-attack. And if they inactive haven't figured that out, then, well, their tourney is going to beryllium implicit successful conscionable a mates of days.