This was a real stinker of a performance from the US. Japan looked sharp and energetic without doing anything great, and that was enough to thoroughly outclass the poorly organized and decision-challenged Americans. There wasn't enough movement without the ball and our guys looked as though they had no idea what they wanted to do with the ball. We did not get a shot on target. Had Matt Turner not made a couple excellent saves, it would have been worse. He was probably our best performer today, but that is not saying much. His distribution was pedestrian too.
Turner was not the only Arsenal man out there, of course. Tomiyasu played very well at center back, shrugging off the occasional wan "attack," though he was not particularly busy.
Lazy passing and a lack of outlets made the Japanese press look more intimidating than it would have been against a team that had some idea what it was doing. No one in white looked good today, but coach Berhalter was exposed as having failed to adequately prepare his players for the opposition, or indeed any opposition. This was more a case of US incompetence than Japanese excellence. They played well, and that was enough to dominate the US in every phase of the game. Japan didn't even play their first choice eleven.
Pathetic. It's three and out in the group stage unless Iran is worse than I think they are. I can't see us beating anyone. We may not even score.
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