Berhalter, despite Uzbekistan win, cites USMNT shortcomings: ‘We need to improve’

Berhalter wants to see the USMNT speed play up at the right times, among other things

A 3-0 win over a potential future World Cup foe is normally a time for praise, but the U.S. men’s national team is focused on how to improve.

That’s the word from head coach Gregg Berhalter, who honed in on elements of a victory over Uzbekistan that was far closer than the scoreline indicates.

The USMNT snagged an early lead through Tim Weah, but only secured the three-goal margin of victory late while enjoying a man advantage due to a late injury for the Uzbeks.

“How Uzbekistan competes, how they go in for everything, how they leave their bodies in, it shows us that we can improve,” Berhalter told reporters at a post-game press conference. “And, we will.”

Berhalter dug into a few specific aspects of the USMNT’s performance that will need work. Some were simple, with the newly reappointed manager acknowledging some poor turnovers. Others will require a bit more nuance and a sense of timing from the players on the field.

“When we were building, and were methodical about our build trying to attract the opponent, I thought then, we lacked [in] speeding up the attack, once we broke through [Uzbekistan’s] front five,” explained Berhalter. “That could have been better.”

Later, Berhalter returned to the point, saying that the tempo can be slower as long as the USMNT knows when to add in some aggressive choices on and off the ball.

“I don’t really mind the slower rhythm as long as it’s intentional, and then as long as there’s a change of pace when we’re in the attacking area,” said Berhalter. “If we had to take our time to draw out their defense and then find someone, once we break their top five, then we need to speed up the attack. We need to have numbers getting forward, we need numbers entering the penalty box, we need runs behind the back line. And I thought that’s what we lacked.”

Berhalter added that his team’s counter-press, which had been a strength during his first run in charge of the USMNT, needed to sharpen up as well, an unsurprising thought given how often Uzbekistan was able to convert a change of possession into an attack in the second half.

“Our press after loss [of the ball], defensive transition, needs to get better,” said Berhalter. “I think we gave them too many opportunities to get behind us when we could have been positioned better to win the ball immediately after we lost it.”

Turner, substitutes draw praise from Berhalter

Nonetheless, the press conference could hardly be characterized as entirely negative. Berhalter started off by name-checking several players who he felt came in and had a positive impact.

“Really, really liked the mindset in the last 10 minutes of the game,” enthused Berhalter. “You can see the guys still wanting to push. It wasn’t about holding on to the 1-0, it was about getting aggressive… I liked that the guys wanted to attack it. Kristoffer [Lund] comes on, and [was] just trying to get forward. Brenden [Aaronson] trying to get forward, Malik [Tillman] and Ricardo [Pepi], so I think that was really good.”

Berhalter then turned his attention to goalkeeper Matt Turner, who produced a top-drawer save late in the first half to deny Eldor Shomurodov’s breakaway.

“The other person I’d love to single out is Matt Turner,” said Berhalter of his No. 1, who revealed to TNT’s broadcast crew post-game that he would be heading back to England ahead of the birth of his second child.

“I thought he made the saves when he needed to make [them] —  particularly that one-on-one, was an amazing save — and you know that’s why he’s playing at the level that he’s playing.”

One last positive? Let’s go back to the scoreboard.

“Happy with the three goals,” noted Berhalter. “Obviously they [were] a man down when we scored the last two [due to Khojakbar Alijonov’s injury]. But Uzbekistan doesn’t concede goals. I think they conceded maybe six all year last year.”

Uzbekistan had in fact given up just five goals in 10 games played over the last 12 months, producing six shutouts and losing only once.

“With the back five, 5-4-1 [formation], they’re very difficult to break down. So, happy with that part.”

[lawrence-related id=14700,27695,27606]