They lost, yes - first goal should not have happened, however. Not sure what the commentators were thinking when they neglected to mention that just before the goal, Bradley was fouled and the Mexican player was sustaining play next to Bradley from the ground before he fouled him. I thought the ref did a poor job of match control last night. He let too many fouls go early on and it resulted in a participation bookings for everyone.
That said, some things did encourage me. Jozy failed on defense (twice) but he looked very good in attacking play. He held up when he needed to, moved forward when he needed to and for the first time with USMNT in a while, he regularly used his size to his advantage.
And Pulisic - he made some mistakes, but he was a key, key catalyst last night. Keep him at CAM, keep him at CAM, keep him at CAM! I reduced Bradley's influence but Bradley will not be a major presence by 2018 anyway. There are some long term options that are better. But Pulisic personally clowned Mexico several times last night. That's what the US needs in the middle of the field. Creativity, strength, football IQ.
The problem is he's also great out left when we have someone else at CAM. Fabian Johnson was good enough there, but then there are massive holes at left back. I really liked the trio of Wood, Altidore, and Pulisic at the center of the attack. Until we have more players on the left side than Johnson and Pulisic (Acosta maybe? Castillo? Morris as a left wing?)
When you have Pulisic at CAM in the 4-4-2 (or as a deep playmaking forward in a 4-3-3) that means the CDM needs to be aggressive in defense, tackle well, and be capable of linking up the defense with the midfield. Bradley seems to be failing at this for whatever reason, and the end result is that opposing teams get to hold the ball for long stretches as we lose possession in our own half. Part of that is the pairing with Jones on the right which I believe is a poor one. Jones' freelancing limits Bradley's ability to make things happen all around the field, and Bradley looks tentative as a result.
The 3-5-2 has potential but it was terribly stupid against Mexico. Cameron would have been a necessity and Besler couldn't pick up the slack. Bradley and Jones seemed lost and confused but they look that way in the 4-4-2 as well. It could work, and in a lot of ways it's the direction many teams are heading. I just don't think that the US is producing players experienced in a 3 back lineup. Here's what it could look like in our current roster, and if it's failing it could easily be adjusted into a better 4-4-2 than what we saw last match.
If he had a better game, I think we would have seen more possession and attack from the run of play. He just didn't. He was certainly capable of handling that CDM type of role, but maybe not anymore? Hard to say.
Agree that the 3-5-2 was stupid against Mexico, particularly without Cameron. Long-term, they need Morris and Acosta to pan out to keep Pulisic in central midfield creating opportunities. He's a perfect feed to Wood and Altidore for sure.
https://whatahowler.com/dos-a-sorrow-the-fact-that-jurgen-klinsmann-still-has-a-job-makes-me-sad-fb4fe22996b#.ltrx17eke
Before I'm killled be the masses, what I mean is that he seems to float with the ball at his feet and manages to move unimpeded in a crowd. It looks effortless and the ball seems like it is tied to his feet. There were multiple times last night where he easily navigated through the Mexican defenders. He isn't very big, but never seems to get bodied off the ball by bigger players.
The kid is impressive.
Does the USMNT have good options at CM/CDM for a box-to-box midfielder and/or a destroyer in the midfield?
EDIT - I think I have a man crush on Pulisic:
