- Berhalter explains midfield setup
- USMNT without Adams for this camp
- U.S. to face Ghana on Tuesday
WHAT HAPPENED? The Germans took down the U.S. in a 3-1 win, coming from behind after conceding a stunning opener to Christian Pulisic. The U.S. midfield struggled particularly in the second half after Gio Reyna had been swapped out for Luca de la Torre, struggling to stay connected with Tyler Adams out of the team due to injury.
Berhalter said that he liked bits and pieces of what he saw from De la Torre, Reyna, McKennie and Musah, but said the group, as a whole, didn't execute in a way that would allow them to go toe-to-toe with a team as talented as Germany.
WHAT THEY SAID: "In the game against Germany, Weston and Yunus had similar roles," Berhalter said. "They're supposed to be connected in central midfield. I think that's what it was, especially when we're defending in a 4-4-2. When we moved to the 4-3-3, Luca, Weston and Yunus were supposed to be shifting together and supposed to be connected as a line.
"I think, overall, it was that lack of execution that I think hurt all of them, not just Yunus. I think it made it more complicated for them in the game. He's good at winning balls. He's good at passing the ball. He's good at receiving balls in tough, tough spaces. So I think he fills in nicely."
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Berhalter's midfield setup has been a major talking point in recent times, especially after the U.S. looked so strong in a 4-2-3-1 during the Nations League in the summer. Questions have been asked about the future of the MMA midfield of Musah, McKennie and Adams, especially with Reyna's ability to invert that midfield and play as a No. 10.
"We started with defending in a 4-4-2 with Gio higher and then we had a midfield two and I thought that we weren't connected enough," Berhalter said of his midfield setup against Germany. "I think we got a little bit too man-orientated on their attacking midfielders. We want our midfielders with a nice strong connection with each other and we didn't always have that in possession.
"For me, it was about how do we keep the guys central? How do we really try to attract the German opponents? We're good enough on the ball to receive balls under pressure and really draw in that pressure to find open spaces. I didn't think we did that regularly enough.
In terms of output, I think Gio got into some really good positions in his 45 minutes and made some key passes that lead to goalscoring opportunities. That's something we want to build on."
IN THREE PHOTOS:
Getty
Getty
GettyWHAT NEXT FOR THE USMNT? The U.S. will face Ghana on Tuesday in their second match of the international break.