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Ahead of the United States men’s national team’s final tune-up match Tuesday versus Saudi Arabia, former USMNT goalkeeper Tim Howard had a lot to say about Gregg Berhalter’s unsettled goalkeeping situation heading into the 2022 World Cup and he also had advice for the current members of the team.
“It’s really good to have a gameplan,” Howard said during his interview on the In Soccer We Trust podcast. “But when those lights come on against Wales, and that first turnover happens and [a shot] whistles past the post, do they look at each other and say, ‘OK, we keep playing, we keep sticking to this,’ or do they go, ‘Oh my God, we’re actually in the thick of it now,’ and hit the panic button?”
With 121 caps to his name, Howard was the last keeper to play between the sticks for the U.S. in a World Cup. He led the team to the Round of 16 match against Belgium in 2014 where he recorded 16 saves to push the game into extra time.
Howard also had a good read on what needs to change after the team fell to Japan in a friendly last week.
“I like the center backs in the last game but I think that [playing out of the back] doesn’t play to their strengths. The number of turnovers in their own half — it’s an impossibility. It can never happen again if we expect to win a football match at this level,” he said.
Howard said Aaron Long and Walker Zimmerman have the ability to pass through lines, but that was not how the match was set up against Japan. The midfield was unable to hold possession, which made life harder for the defenders. After the loss to Japan, Tyler Adams said the team did not stick to the game plan, and if the Americans don’t regroup and find solutions together, they won’t make it out of the group stage in Qatar.
Berhalter also took responsibility for the flat performance, but if the team can’t collectively see openings on the pitch, it won’t matter what the game plan is going into…
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Source : cbssports
