[FM23] Born to Run - A Journeyman’s Escape from America - AC Milan

[13th Man]

14 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

That's great analysis. How is Musah looking in your game? He was excellent as a mez in a brief spell i had at valencia. 

I’ll get to it in a future post, but Musah had a terrible first match, but has settled in nicely after that.

12 hours ago, Hootieleece said:

Well I guess you WON'T be using the 3-4-3 DM Wingplay.

If in doubt Gegen press either a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-3-3 (out of the box) will work fine. (It does wonders for Semi Pro VNL Players in all of my saves)

Definitely nothing like that horror show, no. The choice was between a 3-4-3 that’s a bit more nartow and possession focused or a 4-3-3. We’ll get to that soon enough, but first…

The End of an Era

Just the day after Austin FC lifted their second consecutive MLS Cup in a remarkable win over New York Red Bulls, the rumors have been confirmed.  Brian Lindsay announced his resignation from Austin FC to focus on preparing the national team for next summer’s World Cup at a press conference the following day before heading out to join the national team as they prepare to face Croatia and Cote d’Ivoire.

So ends an era that brought unprecedented success to this brand new club.  Over his nearly four seasons at the helm, Lindsay won 2 MLS Cups, 2 NACLs, 3 Supporter’s Sheilds, 1 Leagues Cup, and added another trophy this year by winning the US Open Cup against Atlanta United.  He even won the Campeones Cup [League winner cup] this season after defeating Liga MX Champions Tigres.  The only competition that Austin participated in that they didn’t win during Lindsay’s tenure was the Club World Cup.

In a league defined by parity, Austin FC have been an unreasonably dominant force since Lindsay took over.  This year was no different.  They went on a 25 game winning streak to start the season despite major injuries to key players.  They ended the season with 95 points, 16 higher than the previous record holder Columbus, and an unbelievably 29 nine points ahead of second placed Colorado.  They scored 17 more and conceded 11 less than any other team in the MLS.

Like their regular season, the road to their latest MLS Cup win was littered with injuries.  Leading goalscorer Olmes Garcia injured himself early in November and would miss all but the MLS Cup Final, and his backup Jorge Flores sprained his knee the week prior.  Right winger Emiliano Rigoni was injured in the final NACL group match a week before the playoffs.  Attacking midfielder Cristian was ruled out for the rest of the season early in Austin’s incredible 4-2 overtime win over Seattle.

[The view at the end of regular time, which ended 2-2, showing Austin’s complete dominance yet two horrible goals were let in…]

After CM(a) Tommy Doyle saved the match with an 80th minute goal to send it to extra time, Druissi scored with a thunderous volley, before the rarely seen young forward Eric Keogh - having lost his place in the squad to young phenom Jorge Flores - scored an insurance goal to ensure Austin progressed to the next round.

After an exhausted Austin beat a plucky Colorado in the Western Conference finals, where they faced the New York Red Bulls in a match that would be as magnificent an achievement as any in Lindsay’s tenure.

Austin were dominant in the early stages of the match, creating several good chances and hitting the woodwork twice in the first 30 minutes.  They were passing through the Red Bulls gegenpress with ease and it felt like the opening goal was imminent.

Then rightback Nick Lima got his second yellow of the match in the 37th minute, and suddenly Austin were reduced to ten men and up against it.  New York came out of the gates hard after the half, with Austin pulling back into a 4-3-1-1 with Druissi moving from the left wing into the center behind forward Garcia.  Austin managed one spell of good possession, however, and miraculously made it count.

Rightback Booth, on for the red carded Lima, was able to charge down the right flank and put in a cross from the byline.  Garcia showed his determination to score as he surged in front of his marker to get to the cross just before the keeper and simply direct it into the net.  Austin would battle out the final twenty five minutes and stoppage time and lift the cup yet again.

It was a fitting way for Brian Lindsay to depart the side.  It is now up to the club to find an able replacement that will keep the trophies coming…

[Lindsay’s replacement…]

[Hootieleece]

Savarese never does well in my saves, I fear for Austin.

[LUFCspeni]

Have to say I am really enjoying this. Would also selfishly like you to go to Leeds and see what you can do with us there (although I think our fan base would explode if another American took us over in real life). Is the 49ers takeover in the game, or is it still Radrizzani as the owner? If the rumours are to be believed, the 49ers philosophy regarding coaches is to get the best coach you can afford, hence why we went after Bielsa, and why they didn't want Marsch. But I digress, I could write a whole thesis about what has gone wrong at Leeds 

Good luck for the World Cup!

[karanhsingh]

Look forward to seeing where you land up! And get ready for a lot of long flights I suppose  

[Jogo Bonito]

A nice wrap up of business in Austin, Texas. Good luck with the WC and beyond, wherever that may take you.

[13th Man]

18 hours ago, Hootieleece said:

Savarese never does well in my saves, I fear for Austin.

Minnesota were not good so yeah, harsh times ahead most likely.

 

18 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

Look forward to seeing where you land up! And get ready for a lot of long flights I suppose  

I don't plan on staying with the national team past the World Cup, but don't plan on taking a job until after the tournament.  Lindsay might change his mind and stay on as an dual international/club manager, but it feels unlikely.

5 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

A nice wrap up of business in Austin, Texas. Good luck with the WC and beyond, wherever that may take you.

For now, the World Cup after that...who knows?

18 hours ago, LUFCspeni said:

Have to say I am really enjoying this. Would also selfishly like you to go to Leeds and see what you can do with us there (although I think our fan base would explode if another American took us over in real life). Is the 49ers takeover in the game, or is it still Radrizzani as the owner? If the rumours are to be believed, the 49ers philosophy regarding coaches is to get the best coach you can afford, hence why we went after Bielsa, and why they didn't want Marsch. But I digress, I could write a whole thesis about what has gone wrong at Leeds 

Good luck for the World Cup!

Leeds makes a lot of sense but I agree, Lindsay would have to really convince the supporters that he was not Marsch 2.0.  Still, I don't know if it'll make you feel any better but the 49ers (my team) have a history of valuing top coaches.  When the ownership passed from our last to his nephew, things got bad for a while.  We went from the top of the NFL consistently, to a joke for quite a while.  It took him a while to get things turned in the right direction but our current coach is one of the best in the game (if flawed in many ways), and we've been a consistent challenger for the last four years.  I'm not clear on how much the 49ers organization is in control at Leeds (in game Paraag Marathe is a director there, and is the contract specialist at the 49ers), but if they are - it might take them time to learn how to manage things in a very different sport, but I'd like to think they'll do well eventually.

[SixPointer]

What a way to wrap things up with Austin. I’m sure Lindsay’s legacy will live on for generations to come!

If he has half the success as the national coach he will go down as a huge legend. 

[13th Man]

Just now, SixPointer said:

What a way to wrap things up with Austin. I’m sure Lindsay’s legacy will live on for generations to come!

If he has half the success as the national coach he will go down as a huge legend. 

We'll see - it's a very average squad of players (which is both a good and bad thing) I'll get into it shortly.  Looking for a knockout win or two at the upcoming WC!

[13th Man]

The players and the shape

[We’re going to go back in time a bit. I wanted to get Austin stuff out of the way to focus on the national team, but these matches took place in September and October.]

Lindsay had enjoyed a lot of success with a 4-3-3 shape at Austin FC, but he was not only open to other formations, but interested in a 3atb shape for the US team. One argument for playing a 3atb formation is that it frees up the wingbacks, which were America’s best position group. 

Sergino Dest has [in game] lost his place as first choice at Barcelona, but remains a high level attacking rightback.  In the national team, the young Joe Scally has replaced him in the national side, and is also first choice at Bayern Munich. Scally was simply more rounded and had a more pace. The US had several other decent rightback options too if emergency depth was needed.

On the left, the pacy Anotonee Robinson is reliably excellent at Watford in the and George Bello is first choice at Leeds, both in the Premier League. Both Scally and Dest are also comfortable on the left. That means on both sides America has not just top level talent, but also depth. 

The problem with a 3atb is that while the wingbacks are where the US is strongest, centerback might be their weakness. They’re not bad, per say, but they were weak when it comes to players comfortable on the ball. With a 3atb, Lindsay would want his outside CBs to be good passers and capable of starting moves and recycling the ball effectively - the national pool really didn’t feature those kind of players.

In contrast, there are a lot of strong, aggressive, hardworking American central midfielders. Leed’s Tyler Adams, Napoli’s Weston McKinnie and Valencia’s Yanus Musah were all excellent, all-action midfielders. A two man midfield would mean leaving at least one of those out, or even two if there was to be a more attack minded midfielder as none of this trio were especially creative. McKennie was actually pretty good in the final third, playing as a shadow striker for Napoli, but he wasn’t a creator.

Why playing a 3atb would likely mean a two man midfield was the fact that the US’s arguably best player, Christian Pulisic, now at Man Utd, was at his best on the wing, and that was also another position group where the US was fairly strong overall. Players like the skillful Giovanni Renya at Bayern and pacy Timothy Weah aren’t top players but they are quite good, and playing centrally would likely neutralize all three.

Finally, we come to the forwards. It’s been a long-standing issue for the National side that there simply has not been a good goal scoring forward since Landon Donovan. Josh Sargent, at Leeds, is perfectly decent, but the goals have been coming from an Arsenal academy graduate and current 2025 Watford forward Folarin Balogun, who (in game) declared for the US in 2023 and already had plenty of caps. The still young Balogun was a very good goalscorer, but he didn’t seem to have the physicality to be a presence in the box. A Sargent - Balogun partnership was potentially very effective, but that would mean sacrificing either the wings or a central midfielder. Balogun was comfortable on the wings however, which opened up possibilities.

To review, the USMNT has standout wide players, a solid, well rounded and industrious midfield, and average centerbacks and forwards. They lacked a creative force, but were otherwise a well rounded side.  This sounded very familiar to Lindsay.

Four years before, in July of 2022, Lindsay took over an Austin FC side that were…good in wide areas, featured an industrious and hard working midfield, and average centerbacks and forwards. The parallels only went so far, of course. LW Druissi was one of the best players in the MLS, while star wide player Pusilic was not even in the top 10-15 wingers in the world. On the other hand, while Austin didn’t even have a natural leftback when Lindsay arrived, the US boasted elite talent at rightback and excellent leftbacks.

Still, it was remarkably similar and Lindsay felt like his Coiled Spring style of play might just be perfect for the side. He would want the WBs a bit more involved and the US didn’t have a perfect candidate for the CM(a) role like Fagundez - pacy, good dribbler and finisher.

With left footed Antobee Robinson and George Bello so good down the left flank, though, he would likely run the Ace in the Hole variation with a WB/IF on the left instead of a IWB/IW combination he’d favored at Austin. Scally and Dest, both capable on the left, though, did open the possibility of using the latter as well.

First up, friendlies against Greece and Mail, ranked 51st and 36th in the world. It wouldn’t be a great test of the side, but it would (hopefully) allow Lindsay to ease into the role and see how well the team takes to the system.

While Lindsay had strongly considered changing up his shape, he had such limited time with the side before the World Cup (9 friendlies total) that it would be better to use a system he knew well and taylor it to the team than create something new from scratch…

[I’ll get into selection and choices next update]

[karanhsingh]

Interesting that you've put Musah out wide and Reyna through the middle. Also glad to see that you have Balogun as you're right, that's long been an issue for the US since the days of Donovan. 

[13th Man]

12 minutes ago, karanhsingh said:

Interesting that you've put Musah out wide and Reyna through the middle.

Interesting and...a mistake as it turns out (to give a sneak peak at the next update).

[keeper#1]

6 hours ago, 13th Man said:

Minnesota were not good so yeah, harsh times ahead most likely.

 

I don't plan on staying with the national team past the World Cup, but don't plan on taking a job until after the tournament.  Lindsay might change his mind and stay on as an dual international/club manager, but it feels unlikely.

For now, the World Cup after that...who knows?

Leeds makes a lot of sense but I agree, Lindsay would have to really convince the supporters that he was not Marsch 2.0.  Still, I don't know if it'll make you feel any better but the 49ers (my team) have a history of valuing top coaches.  When the ownership passed from our last to his nephew, things got bad for a while.  We went from the top of the NFL consistently, to a joke for quite a while.  It took him a while to get things turned in the right direction but our current coach is one of the best in the game (if flawed in many ways), and we've been a consistent challenger for the last four years.  I'm not clear on how much the 49ers organization is in control at Leeds (in game Paraag Marathe is a director there, and is the contract specialist at the 49ers), but if they are - it might take them time to learn how to manage things in a very different sport, but I'd like to think they'll do well eventually.

That Jim Harbaugh was pretty good. Thanks for letting him go so my alma mater, Michigan, could hire him. 

[karanhsingh]

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/65614237

Here you go!

[13th Man]

15 hours ago, keeper#1 said:

That Jim Harbaugh was pretty good. Thanks for letting him go so my alma mater, Michigan, could hire him. 

Ha! Worked out nicely for me too. It was time for him to go and my wife’s from Michigan and went there so that’s become my college team. He did well for a while, but I think better suited to college.

9 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/65614237

Here you go!

This is definitely good news. I struggle to get invested in the national team simply because the quality of play is so dire, but he’ll be a major asset I think. Especially if we learn to play on the counter again.

[13th Man]

The Star Spangled [Coiled] Spring

A few posts ago I made fun of America’s view of itself as a winner through and through. While this is obviously false, the idea comes from the fact that the country has been the biggest world superpower for most of the last century. The combination of population and abundant natural resources certainly has plenty to do with it, but when I honestly think of the strengths of this country, I think of flexibility, diversity, and individualism (though the latter is prone to being taken to selfish extremes). We have innovative ideas because we have a lot of ideas coming from a lot of places and a lot of opportunities to give those ideas a chance (not equal opportunities, just a lot). 

What does this have to do with Lindsay’s US national team? As he adapted his Coiled Spring style of play, he would be looking to use these ideals to form a national football philosophy that suited his players. Where a lot of American managers have tried to tap into the national ethos of hard work and fighting hard, Lindsay would focus on creating a system that was flexible and diverse, allowing each player to play to their strengths while also becoming more than the sum of their parts.

The thing about Lindsay’s Coiled Spring style was that it was very flexible and could accommodate a lot of different types of players. With the amount of rotation required in the MLS, Lindsay had found that his system allowed a lot of players to be successful even if they accomplished the goals of their role in different ways. The roles and shape gave player’s directions for where to be and their role in the team, but gave a lot of freedom within that set of guidelines.

The right wing, an IW on support,  was a good example of this. On the more condensed overload side, the role was to progress the ball, combine with the RB, CM(a), and create chances for the forward. They weren’t the primary goal scorer, but they should be able to finish chances. 

First choice Emiliano Rigoni was a perfect inverted winger - good on the dribble, solid passing, and capable of finishing chances, he was the player Lindsay planned the role for. However, Fagundez and Bender also frequented the position and were both very effective as well, but for different reasons.

Right footed Diego Fagundez was a more prototypical winger. He was direct in his running, often beating people to the outside and getting to the byline despite IW instructions. This created space for the CM(a) and he had a lot of assists from cutbacks and through balls from wide areas, along with crashing in at goal and scoring after great, incisive runs.

Ben Bender was more like Rigoni - left footed so more prone to cutting inside. While he could beat defenders on the dribble, he was more of a wide playmaker. He floated in and out of plays and would suddenly show up with a fantastic cross to the opposite winger, an around the corner pass that put the CM(a) through on goal, or show up at the back post for a header.

All three had games where they looked like world beaters, and others where they struggled. When it was the later, Lindsay could put either of the other two on and they would bring something different and would often change the match - like Bender’s game winner in the 2024 MLS Cup final. 

Yet Lindsay almost never changed his instructions - IW(s) + stay wider and roam from position - and when he did it was a reaction to the flow of the match or the way the opposition was set up, not because of which of the three were on the pitch. The fact that all three had success in the role while being very different players stylistically showed how flexible the system was. It was about roles in the team. The RW needed to be able to progress the ball, operate in tight spaces, and score when chances fell to them - but it didn’t matter how they accomplished those goals.

Similarly, the BWM DM role required the player to proactively win the ball back in and around midfield. Starter Valencia did this through aggressive tackling and interceptions, while the bigger De los Santos tended to either try to win the ball in the air, or force the attacker to commit before muscling them off the ball. Again, different players, each with their own play style, but both able to perform the same task within the team. 

With no ability to recruit players, having a flexible system that could allow a variety of different talent profiles to succeed would be a massive asset. As long as the player could do what was required of his role, it didn’t matter how he went about it.

Lindsay planned on tinkering with some roles and duties as he progressed, but in his first sessions with the national team, Lindsay introduced the Coiled Spring to the players.

For his first match in charge, Lindsay went with a shape that would focus on the game changing ability of Christian Pulisic as the Ace in the Hole. Balogun [just today switching to the US in real life] got the nod up front, while Renya and Musah switched roles compared to what one might expect.  The thought for Lindsay was that Renya was a very good dribbler and a solid finisher, and Lindsay hoped the young man could prove a similar presence to former winger Fagundez at Austin. Assistant coach Josh Wolff (actually Lindsay’s predecessor at Austin FC) suggested Musah on the flank and Lindsay quite liked the idea. The RW was a dynamic, creative role in the side, so a fit and mobile midfielder sounded like a good fit.

Easing into it

The opening match against a Greece national team ranked 51st in the world, America was expected to win.  Greece was known for playing defensively, and with the 41 place difference in rankings, it was likely that the USA would have to break through a low block.

All's well that ends well, but it started horribly.  After only 5 minutes, a Greek winger picked Musah’s pocket on the wing, and then was able to charge down the entire flank, drive into the box, and cut the ball back for a teammate to score.  The first half then followed a bad pattern of the US squandering chances.  Pulisic drove into the box and earned a penalty…but Musah’s tame effort was saved.  Along with the two big mistakes, the midfielder looked completely out of sorts on the flank and was pulled for his own sake after only 32 minutes.  He was replaced by Josh Sargent as Lindsay reshuffled the front line. Musah would get his chances again in the future, but in the center where he was more comfortable.

[Lindsay would also think twice about the personnel and tactical advice from Wolff in the future…after all, he had been the one to squander Austin’s talent - leaving Austin just about bottom of the MLS the same year that Lindsay made the final.]

By the end of the first half, the USA had a xG above 2, without anything to show for it as they squandered chance after chance.

The second half saw them regroup in the locker room, and face a stern talking to from Lindsay.

Whether it was the half time talk or simply getting themselves sorted during the break, they remembered how to score.  Ten minutes later the score was 3-1. Balogun scored two beautiful goals, Sargent added another, and Balogun would later complete his hattrick after earning a penalty.  In the end, it was comfortable, but the first half had Lindsay terrified.

Overall, though, the play looked good and the players seemed to take well to the system.

Against 36th ranked Mali, Lindsay started out in the standard Coiled Spring, but found Mali were enjoying too much possession with their narrow 4-4-2 diamond shape. He switched to higher, more intense press and a player brought in to the national side for his creativity ended up scoring twice in ten minutes.  

Central midfielder Djordje Mihailovic at AZ in the Netherlands, was not your prototypical American midfielder. Unlike Adams, McKennie and Musah he wasn’t especially aggressive or industrious, but he possessed something not seen anywhere in the squad - elite vision.

Lindsay had included him in the squad for this very reason, and after his failed attempt at using Renya in the midfield and Musah wide against Greece, he tried out the Dutch based player in the CM(a) role and he was a revelation.  Yes, he scored twice, but just as importantly, he looked fantastic on the ball all match long, putting in some stunning passes including a perfectly weighted through ball for Reyna to score the third US goal.  He might not be a great player against top sides, when the US would need to defend and play on the counter, but he would be a great option to help break down stubborn defenses or help retain possession.

The defense gave Lindsay a bit of a worry, though. Mali ended up scoring through a long ball and a cross that took the American defense out of the game. They also had several other very good chances that made Lindsay wonder about the high line. Direct play behind the defensive line was looking too effective.

Overall it was a good win, and it was only in the second half, when Lindsay pulled a lot of the starters, that Mali really got any sort of traction.

Second International Break

October brought the most useless international break that Lindsay could imagine, first playing 59th ranked Qatar then 69th ranked United Arab Emirates.  He would use it as a training exercise to get the squad used to the Coiled Spring.

The US thoroughly tore apart Qatar, but had a more frustrating day against the UAE. They scored fairly early, but then couldn’t find the net again for a long while. In fact, they had 3 goals called back for  offsides and another missed penalty to go along with a lot of missed opportunities. They finally managed 2 goals late in the 2nd half but most of the match remained frustratingly at 1-0.

[karanhsingh]

Good start. I would definitely play Pulisic in a support role rather than IF(a) because you want him to see more of the ball. Also Musah would probably be more suited to a wide role in a 442 i reckon. 

[13th Man]

20 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

Also Musah would probably be more suited to a wide role in a 442 i reckon.

Which would be a decent formation for the US other than that the national side isn’t good in terms of forwards.

[13th Man]

A proper test

[My wife getting the latest Zelda game over the past weekend has led to way more FM time than usual.  The long, long pauses between matches has also meant lots of time to think tactics and write everything up.]

Lindsay left Austin with a heavy heart but in a buoyant mood after lifting the MLS Cup a second time.  Now able to solely focus on the US national team, he was faced with his first set of friendlies that he’d arranged himself.  14th ranked Croatia would be a good test of the team’s quality, while the 31st Ivory Coast would be an easier match but still more of a challenge than national sides like Qatar and the U.A.E.

A disappointing result and a lesson learned by Lindsay. The US came out of the gates quick and could have scored twice within the first two minutes and spurned several good chances in the first 10-15. This dominant early spell made Lindsay overconfident so that when Croatia began to settle into the game and enjoy some possession he reacted too strongly - and as if he was still managing powerhouse Austin instead of a side roughly equal to its opponents overall and worse technically.

Upping the lines and the intensity of the press had the opposite effect of what Lindsay intended, giving control over to a Croatia team that was able to carve through the press. You can see on the xG and momentum graphs how the middle of the match saw the US flatline while Croatia built up a head of steam. During this period, Croatia’s pressure told as CB Richards deflected a shot into his own net. Unlucky, but Croatia had very nearly scored only a minute before.

When Lindsay reverted back to the usual Coiled Spring at halftime (high DL instead of very high, mid block and a medium press), the US began to create chances again. Unfortunately, woeful finishing cost the US in the end, with Sargent, Balogun, and Pulisic all guilty of letting good chances go to waste.  The system was working when Lindsay let it, but the players simply weren’t finishing the chances created.

The US won through a goal from PF Sargeant, and looked good overall, but once again were let down by their finishing with an xG of 2.36 but only one goal to show for it.  The Ivory Coast also had their chances to score, and dominated possession, but Lindsay wasn’t especially worried about possession when his side had the better of the chances.

Another lesson was learned here as well - the US was vulnerable to the long ball to the flanks. Against Ivory Coast’s 3-4-1-2 formation, he’d instructed his players to force the narrow shape wide. Unfortunately, despite their narrow formation, Ivory Coast seemed to welcome the US strategy, and play through their WBs who were allowed to bomb forward.

Lindsay took away that instruction and told his players to mark and close down both WBs and the Ivory Coast barely threatened after that.

After some poor games from Balogun, Lindsay wasn’t sure about him staying on as a starter. Musah too had looked only so-so, while Mihailovic continued to excel in the CM(a) role.

In the back, Erik Palmer-Brown (formerly of Man City, now at Besiktas) and Cameron Carter-Vickers (formerly of Tottenham, now at Celtic) were proving to be the most reliable CB pairing.

[keeper#1]

I’ve found that CCV always outperforms his attributes in FM. 

[DavidBeckham]

Class work as usual mate! Do you feel tempted to put Scally on attack duty? I've seen him doing lots of damage with his attacking qualities on my save!

[13th Man]

10 hours ago, DavidBeckham said:

Class work as usual mate! Do you feel tempted to put Scally on attack duty? I've seen him doing lots of damage with his attacking qualities on my save!

I was, but getting beat on the flanks has been a major issue already! Not his fault, but between having the CM(a) on his side and that issue it’s hard enough to stomach him as a WB(s)

[13th Man]

The World Cup Draw and Preparations 

[Im not sure if the update changed anything, but in game we have the expanded tournament but with 16 groups of 3, with two from each group progressing to a round of 32.]

Looking at the whole picture, one group stood out as the “group of death” - Germany, Brazil, and Ghana. 

The USA were given a fairly easy group. Denmark would likely give the US a tough match, but Lindsay felt confident they could beat them. Angola, however, were one of the weakest teams in the tournament and the US should win the game without trouble. 

The USA could beat lesser teams - results against Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, Greece showed that.  Against Croatia they’d been found out, however, and Lindsay wanted more chances to test the side’s mettle against top quality opponents.

With that, Lindsay’s last friendly matches would be against two top teams in Belgium (8) and Portugal (5) before a final warm up match against New Zealand in which Lindsay planned to give the squad a chance to show what they could do.

Transfers

Serginio Dest moved from Barcelona to Athletico Madrid on loan with an option to buy to get back as first choice. Hopefully, he’d get more playing time as he’d been losing out to Valentin Rosier [who'd been excellent for Benjani’s Portsmouth in a different timeline…] McKennie also moved from Napoli to be a squad player at Real Madrid on loan, an odd choice in Lindsay’s opinion as he’d been getting only limited minutes at Napoli.

Belgium - March 25, 2026 - Three Months Before the World Cup

While Lindsay had previously been unimpressed with Balogun, he was in great form for Watford in the premier league, so got the nod over Sargent up front, with Reyna coming in on the left wing.

A great win over a Belgium team ranked 8th in the world. Granted, it was not their strongest team with both CBs enjoying their first caps, but it was a good performance. The US scored after a fantastic assist from LW Reyna over the top of the defense and a great run and cool finish from Balogun.

However, what Lindsay appreciated was that the US kept a strong attack including De Bruyne and Lukaku largely quiet. First, 

Pre match, he did not instruct his players to counter press, knowing Belgium had the quality to play through it.  Lindsay was most proud, though, of an adjustment midway through the first half. De Bruyne had been getting too much space on the ball, even with CM(a) Musah man marking him. The role put Musah too far forward to properly mark him off the ball however, so Lindsay decided to flip the shape.

[Disregard personnel, this screenshot came from the end of the match]

With Musah now the BBM and McKennie CM(a), Musah’s relatively more withdrawn role allowed him to hound De Bruyne and severely limit his effect on the match.

Portugal - June 3, 2026 - Ten Days Until the World Cup

The squad remained largely the same going into the World Cup, with a few squad players going in or out depending on club form and needs.  One big miss, however, would be the dependable Antonee Robinson at left back.  With only Gorge Bello as a natural left back of any quality, Lindsay would have to rely on him and use Dest or Scally as backups.  That did, however, leave room for Austin CM/RB Taylor Booth to come into the squad.

Musah put on an incredible performance, scoring two fantastic goals, the first from a good spell of pressure where the US kept Portugal trapped in their box before LB Bello hung a cross intot he box where Musah got his head to it.  The second was an absolute belter from outside the box on the turn as Portugal tried to clear a corner.

The first goal conceded was a horror show of bad choices.  CB Carter-Vickers committed to a ball far too high up the pitch, leaving a gaping hole for Portugal to break through.  Bruno Fernandes is sent free on goal, and while Palmer-Brown is over to cover, that leaves his side open and Fernandes rolls it into the path of Rafael Leao who has only Steffan in goal to beat.

The second came after Musah’s second.  Lindsay had pulled his team back a bit, asking DM Adams to stay back more and switching Musah to a MEZ(s) instead of CM(a).  Portugal was upping the pressure, and just as Lindsay was ready to instruct Adams to man-mark Fernandes, he finds a gap, receives the ball and has time to turn and find Joao Felix behind the US defense.

All things considered, a draw would have been a fair result, but Ruben Dias rose to head in a free kick in the 80th minute to get the win for Portugal.

Lindsay took a lot of heart from the performance, however, feeling like on another day the US could have easily won.  They certainly weren’t outperformed by the 5th ranked Portugal - though maybe the quality of Portugal’s stars simply shown brighter.

The final warm-up match before the World Cup saw the US bench given a shot to show what they could do.  Lindsay handed two Austin players their first caps in CM/RB Taylor Booth and CM Roldan.

Sadly, Lindsay wasn’t especially impressed with the depth.  They struggled to create and New Zealand were able to comfortably defend for much of the match.  West Brom’s Daryle Dike scored late in the first half, but otherwise it wasn’t until the starters came on late that the US looked dangerous.

Final Thoughts pre-world cup

Lindsay felt quietly confident that the US could surprise some people.  The expectation was the second round, which would mean progressing out of the group stages and winning one knockout match due to the expanded format, but Lindsay felt his side could do better than that.  He was hoping for a quarter final appearance, and felt a bit of luck might just get them into the semis.

[karanhsingh]

That's some solid games before the world cup, even the defeat vs Portugal. Squad seems to be in good shape. Best of luck!

[Hootieleece]

Looking forward to the World Cup! Win it at home!

 

[13th Man]

 

Verde y Veridad [World Cup Group Stage]

“Welcome to another special World Cup addition of Verde y Veridad, the podcast where we speak the truth about all things Austin FC. I’m Mateo and I’m joined, as always, by Chris.”

“Always good to be here, even if I’m not feeling very good.”

“Yeah, this podcast has gotten a lot less fun since Lindsay left to go manage the national team…”

“Correction, since Lindsay abandoned us. Left us to suffer through Savarese’s reign of uselessness.”

“I thought we’d gotten you over this!"

"Over how completely horrible Savarese is? Are you kidding?"

"Chris, no. I meant: Are you still pining for Lindsay?”

“Pining for the days when we actually won games? Where we were in contention for every trophy? Yes, yes I’m still pining for Lindsay. Yes I still sometimes pump volume on the Taylor Swift revenge tunes that pop up on the playlists.”

“Taylor Swift? You're dating us a bit Chris.”

“I’ll have you know Taylor Swift is still very popular, Mateo. Her ‘back to country roots’ album is top of the charts.  I mean it’s not really country, but it’s just so damn catchy. And caty, so there’s that too.”

“If you say so. But, to the point, be honest,  if you were him, would you not take the national team job? In a World Cup year?”

“If I got a job like Austin head coach, if I was winning things like we had been, I would never leave.  It’s not like he’s done very well with the national team, has he?”

“Are you saying you think Lindsay isn’t doing a good job?”

“I don't like to speak I’ll of an ex, but no, I don’t think he did well. He’s been exactly average, if maybe a little worse.”

“What about the win against Belgium?  The really good game against Portugal?”

“Friendlies, and one of them was a loss!  Croatia too - loss.  Every good team we’ve played - loss. Half of that Belgium team were getting their first caps anyway. Not that any of that matters. Now it’s the World Cup, and how have we looked? Terrible.  We barely beat Angola!  Angola!”

 

Spoiler

 

“It was only 2-1 because of that clumsy Carter-Vickers penalty though.  We were already up 2-0.”

“I mean, yeah, but did we look like a top 10 team? Top 20 even? After that game I really wasn’t surprised when we completely collapsed against Denmark.”

 

Spoiler

“That was brutal. There we were, completely in control. We had all the possession, Denmark had nothing happening. The Balogun goal was fantastic too. The play leading up to it looked just like what we got used to seeing here in Austin as well. Those combinations down the right, the interchange between the attack minded midfielder, the rightback and the right winger…”

“You are right there, Mateo. Pulisic and Scally’s combination play down the right was so sharp in the lead up. Then when Pulisic’s cross got deflected up in the air, Balogun showed real poacher’s instinct to get to that and volley it in. But that was it. Literally it for the rest of the game!!! It was embarrassing!”

“Oh, the unforced errors! That first Denmark goal was just…it was the opposite of a wonderful team goal right? Like, at every turn each player made the wrong choice. The terrible pass from Musah right to Christian Eriksen, of all people. I don’t even know where he was trying to go with it. Then Pulisic recovers the ball but just stands there like a deer in headlights while Eriksen said thank you very much. Then [GK] Steffen decides to rush out, even though the ball is closer to the corner flag than the goal. The winger just passes it around him, [CBs] Carter-Vickers and Palmer-Brown are just watching the ball and it’s an easy tap in. That whole sequence was just surreal.”

“I mean, that’s what you get when you play a team full of players who hardly played at the club level this season though right? Pulisic and Renya get 15 mins every other week if they’re lucky, McKennie moved to Real Madrid to rot on the bench, Palmer-Brown can’t even get a game for Besiktas. They all look like the game is just too fast for them, you know.”

“You have a good point, but it’s not just that. Carter-Vickers had been the worst offender in terms of mistakes, and he plays every week for Celtic. It was his terrible, slow pass to Palmer-Brown that Demark intercepted for the second goal, when he was under no pressure remember. Musah’s had his fair share of mistakes too, and he plays as much as anyone at Valencia.”

“Musah at least have some moments of quality though. He is also always full of running and menacing on the dribble. His goals against Portugal were special too. He’s worth the odd mistake because he brings so much. If Lindsay keeps Carter-Vickers in the starting line up, though, it’ll have to go down as Lindsay’s biggest mistake of the tournament. If he starts against Austria you can just not watch it, I’ll tell you the result. 3-1 Austria. Balogun scores a lovely goal and then Carter-Vickers gives up a penalty, gets red carded and McKennie runs around doing jack s***. Drop them both, I say. Tyler Adams too while we’re at it, he’s been useless. And don’t get me started on Renya. Why does Lindsay keep playing him? Roldan could play left wing better than that idiot, and be way better than McKennie as the attack minded midfielder.”

“Wait, wait, wait! Is this about your theory that Lindsay should have called up [BBM] Levya? That he should be using Booth and Roldan more?”

“All three of them are not only starters for Austin, something a lot of the players in the squad can’t say, but they are all very used to Lindsay’s system. That should count for something, right?”

“I get what you’re saying, but you don’t actually think that Levya, Booth or Roldan is as good as Musah or McKennie, do you? Not even with Austin tinted glasses!”

“Maybe not as talented, but I stand by my claim that they would have performed better. They know the system. They know how to play the Lindsay way. They all looked pretty good against Manchester City in the Club World Cup!”

“You’re not wrong, but I don’t know if I’d be going out there picking my former players over more talented options. Well, I think I already know the answer to this question, but how do you feel about Austria?”

“You know my answer to this. For one, this Austria team is no joke. You don’t think of Austria as a top team, but they’re really quite good. They’ve drawn with Brazil and France in recent friendlies…”

[Laughter] “I thought friendlies didn’t matter?”

“More importantly, they demolished Canada and thoroughly beat Uruguay. I mean it was only 3-2, but both the Uruguay goals came from corners.  They tore up Uruguay on the flanks.  On the other hand,of course they were supposed to demolish Canada, bless their hearts, but we were supposed to demolish Angola…”

“Poor Canada.  Speaking of going out early, how about Argentina crashing out in the group stage?  Anyway, I agree with you. I have major concerns about our team. We have been vulnerable to the long ball to the flanks, but I understand that Lindsay wants our wingbacks to push forward as they’re probably our best players. We look disjointed and unsure going forward. I’m not feeling confident at all.”

“You know what? I’m not hoping to lose, but I wonder if the silver lining is that Lindsay will return to Austin…”

“You mean you’d take him back? After all you said about him?”

“Are you kidding? I’d take him back in a heartbeat! Forgive his cheating ways and say it was all my fault. I’ll get down on my knees and beg if it means he’ll bring back some more of those sweet, sweet trophies. I mean, it’s perfect timing. Reports are that Savarese’s one loss away from getting fired.”

“Did you see that poll?”

“Oh yeah, I can’t believe it…can’t believe there are so many that think he deserves more time. 35%? Who are these people??? We’ve won the league the past three years and he can’t do better than 13th place in the Western Conference?  Second from bottom of the entire MLS???”

“No doubt that it’s time for him to go, but I wouldn’t hold your breath on Lindsay returning to us.  He’s applied to openings at both Ajax and Leeds.  He was considered a leading candidate at Ajax at one point and Leeds are expected to interview him any day now.  I don’t know if he’ll get that job either, but it’s clear: He’s off to Europe, Chris.  He’s the one that got away…”

Spoiler

 

Edited May 21, 2023 by 13th Man

[karanhsingh]

Austria - could have had a worse draw at this stage! 

Leeds would be interesting as they have a couple of American players I suppose. 

[keeper#1]

Potentially at Leeds - The Jesse Marsch Challenge!

[keeper#1]

Austin FC’s fans. 
 

https://twitter.com/managertactical/status/1660385788155113480?s=61&t=NltjmzSWKkpqQY0UcOi-vw

[13th Man]

15 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

Austria - could have had a worse draw at this stage! 

Leeds would be interesting as they have a couple of American players I suppose. 

Austria were actually really good and maybe even scarier than Uruguay once Lindsay looked at their recent fixtures.

14 hours ago, keeper#1 said:

Potentially at Leeds - The Jesse Marsch Challenge!

As @LUFCspeni said, the supporters would probably riot if another American got put in charge.  Time will tell if the board cares.

LOVE the Austin shot.  WE ARE GROOT.  It's maybe not as awesome as the Portland Timbers cutting a huge log every time they score, but that's a nice image there.

[13th Man]

Gonna Fly Now

[Time for a cinematic interlude, skip down if you want to get right to the tactical stuff.]

The first brass notes of “Gonna Fly Now” [aka the theme from Rocky] play as we fade into a shot of the Rocky statue at the top of the stairs to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. We only hear the first few notes before it stops, echoing a little, and we hear the roar of a crowd and an announcer, but we do not cut to the action.

Announcer - “Balogun, on the turn…”

The camera pulls back fast as the other trumpets join in, rising high into the air. Suddenly we’re flying across Philadelphia, down Benjamin Franklin Parkway and all the museums along the way. 

“He takes a touch…he’s unmarked…GOAL!!! What a finish!!! An unstoppable curler from just inside the box!!! The USA are back on level terms only minutes after going behind!!!”

We pan around, soaring by city hall, flying down S. Broad Street until we see a large stadium in the distance, the stands filled with white and patches of red and blue. The music starts up again, this time the other trumpets come in.

As we get closer we see players on the pitch, a match is in progress. The camera zooms at the players, we see a ball fly into the air from a goal kick. The jerseys in red retreat as the ball sails through the air. 

“[GK]Steffen with the kick, only seconds remaining before we are sent to extra time [USA forward] Dike wins the header…flicks it on behind the Austrian defense…Balogun is onto it!!! He’s one on one with the keeper…”

The chord changes, the tension builds. The iconic low brass hits as we zoom in until we are behind Balogun. The ball leaves his foot, the keeper dives…

The iconic melody blares as the ball hits the back of the net.

“What a finish!!! In the fourth minute of stoppage time!!! In the birthplace of America, have we just witnessed the rebirth of the American national team? While a lot of eyebrows were raised when the team sheets were announced, Lindsay’s switch to the 3-4-1-2 had proved a masterstroke!”

[I couldn’t help but add a bit of cinematic drama there, but now for the tactical breakdown of the mid-tournament change of shape.]

After a bleak, dreary two matches against Angola and Denmark, Lindsay felt he needed a change if the US team was to get past a strong Austria team.  

From a personnel point of view, there were a lot of players underperforming.  Weston McKennie and Giovanni Renya had both been anonymous as a BBM and LW respectively, and CB Carter-Vickers had been horribly error prone - giving away a penalty against Angola, was ball watching for Denmark’s first, and his lazy pass was completely responsible for Denmark’s second.  He’d even been caught out for Portugal’s first in the warm up friendly.  All three were dropped.

This, at first, led Lindsay to think that he would just move Balogun back to the left IF(a) role and put Sargent back into the starting lineup.  Watching Austria tear apart Uruguay on the wings, however, made Lindsay very nervous, as that’s exactly where the US seemed most vulnerable.  While both Denmark goals came from individual errors, the danger had come from the wingers in their 3-4-3 wide system and even Angola had found some joy in the wide areas and channels.

The first option was to pull back the WBs - but that would mean completely neutering the US’s best players in Joe Scally, Sergino Dest, and George Bello.  This is when Lindsay returned to his early tactical musings, when he’d considered a 3atb system.  The early argument against that system had been the quality of players like Renya and McKennie, both of whom had underperformed at the World Cup.  Even BWM DM Adams had been poor overall.

Then came the CB issue, especially when he felt the need to drop Carter-Vickers, but then he realized that he might have a perfect back three combination.  Though most comfortable at CB, Erik Palmer-Brown was rightfooted but very comfortable at leftback, making him a perfect WCB. Former Austin target Chris Richards was the same but a natural righback and centerback.  Strong Cameron Carter-Vickers would have been the choice to play the cover CB role, but he needed to be dropped.  However, 22 year old Kobi Henry had been consistently excellent at CB for Burnley in the Championship, and was a composed, intelligent, player whose lack of aggression had been a knock for Lindsay previously, but would suit him well as a cover CB in a 3atb system.

Defensively, the benefits would be that the US would have dedicated players guarding the channels while retaining a central presence through cover CB Henry.  Offensively, this would also allow WBs Scally, Dest and Bello to rampage forward with more cover.

The more Lindsay thought about it, the more he liked the idea.  In fact, it would allow two of the US’s most consistent performers in forwards Balogun and Sargent to play in their best positions at center forward.  This would put Pulisic either on the bench or at attacking midfielder where he wouldn’t be able to use his pace to the same effect, but overall, Lindsay decided it was worth it.

He then simplified the team instructions, and let up on the focus on short passing - especially with both Sargent and Balogun ready to run in behind defenses.

To say that it led to a complete domination would be a disservice to Austria.  They fought hard and tough and gave the US a tough match.  The side, however, looked much more solid defensively, with the goal being the only decent chance for Austria.  Both goals too came from Balogun’s more central position and the midfield duo of Tyler Adams and Janus Musah was both solid and dynamic.  As anticipated, Christian Pulisic struggled in the role and made way for McKennie late on, but overall the tactic had worked perfectly.

Their reward for the win was a meeting with the World Cup holders and 3rd ranked Netherlands.  The same side who’d knocked them out in the 2022 World Cup [in game as well].  They hadn’t especially been tested, playing thrashing Algeria and New Zealand in the group stages while drawing Australia in the second round, but they were in fearsome form with 10 goals scored and none conceded so far in the World Cup.  

Also running a 4-3-3 that focused on wide, skillful players, Lindsay anticipated using the new 3-4-1-2 system that had worked well against Austria.  The Netherlands would be a massive test, though and Lindsay had no expectations of moving beyond them.

[karanhsingh]

Wow, that's a brave decision to completely switch formation before such a huge game, but vindicated by the 95th minute winner! And now for a repeat of one of the knock-out games from Qatar, hopefully this one ends differently.

[13th Man]

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee

Another side favoring the 4-3-3, the Netherlands' fearsome forward 3 featured Barcelona’s Memphis Depay, and lots of pace, flair, technique and the ability to find the back of the net. The midfield had Barcelona’s Frenkie De Jong and PSV’s rising star Xavi Simmons and featured De Ligt in the center of their defense.  The one thing they didn’t have, however, was height.

This played into Lindsay’s plan to lean into his new 3-4-1-2, specifically its ability to absorb pressure, draw the opposition in, and hit them on the break. He had dreams of exacting revenge on the Netherlands by giving them a taste of the medicine they’d fed the US at the 2022 World Cup. He wanted to remain compact and force the Dutch to produce a moment of magic to beat them.

Like Austria, the Netherlands were at their most dangerous in the channels and flanks. With the WCBs the US would have players there, and [as I forgot to mention last time] they’d have protection ahead of them with a BWM on the right and Dest as an IWB on the left. This would require perfect passes or balls in the air to bypass the screening players.

Offensively, Balogun’s high positioning [see #13 above] had made him a thorn in Austria’s side.  What’s also fascinating to see here is that #18 is IWB Dest, who found himself further forward, on average, than #7 BBM Musah as he often linked up with Balogun. DLF Sargent had been great at harassing the CBs and DM in their 4-3-3, and serving as another forward for the back two to deal with. They were able to play direct with the wing backs pushing forward in support, Pulisic occupying the DM and the fit and active midfield duo of McKennie [on for the suspended Adams] and Musah charging about.

Of course, the Netherlands would be a massive test. They were the World Cup holders, ranked 3rd in the world, and they had scored 10 and conceded none in three matches at the World Cup so far. Yes, 7 of those goals had come against New Zealand and Australia, but they had been clinical in front of goal and tight at the back.

Lindsay decided to pull back into a standard defensive line and a mid block to try and ensure that the Netherlands couldn’t get in behind.

The Match

The first 30 minutes, however, saw the Dutch still able to get in behind. The US was able to deal with each incursion, but it seemed only a matter of time before the Dutch found a way through to goal. Worse, the US was showing no ability to get the ball forward whatsoever.

Lindsay pulled back the lines further, going into a low block and crowding the box. This both largely kept the Dutch at arms length and allowed the US to break a few times.

38 min

The US put together a wonderful passing move down the right as the Netherlands retreated that saw Balogun sprung free in behind.  He put the ball in the net…only for it to be called back for a very tight offsides. It was the closest either side had gotten to scoring.

45+1

In first half stoppage time, however, the US were caught out a bit.  Midfielder Gravenberch manages to get forward and, though under heavy pressure, gets a shot off that forces a fingertip save from Steffen at full stretch.

50 min - GOAL!!! USA!!!

The Netherlands probe the deep US defenses, and try a long lob to the far side.  IWB Dest does his job as the screen for the channels, and nods it back to CB Palmer-Brown, who lays it off to Steffen.  The US keeper hits it deep into the Dutch half, and Sargent is onto it as the Dutch defense scrambles back.  Sargent gets hold of the ball, charges into the box, rounds the keeper and rolls the ball into the net.  What a cool finish from the Leeds striker!

71 min - CHANCE!!!

Dutch are pushing hard for the equalizer but the US are standing firm.  Dest - now on the RB as Scally was exhausted - is caught in possession.  The ball is put around the corner for Memphis, who attracts cover CB Henry before laying it back to midfielder Gravenberch just outside the area.  The US are, for once, a bit unorganized, a massive hole in the center of their defense..  Gravenberch charges into the gap, he’s one v one…but fires just wide of goal.  A massive let off for the US!

Post match analysis

The USA waste time, sit deep, and come away with a famous win.  They were undoubtedly outplayed on the whole by the Dutch, but they had a plan and that plan worked.  They didn’t let the Dutch use their speed or ability to get in behind.  They didn’t let the Dutch use the channels or the flanks to get into dangerous positions.  There was some luck involved - Gravenberch’s miss will replay in his nightmares for years to come - but Lindsay’s plan had worked, especially when he’d fully embraced the low block in the 30th minute.

These were the Dutch key passes in the first 30 mins, when the US was merely in a mid block.  The direction of these passes is far more lateral or cut backs into dangerous areas.

After the change to a low block, the Dutch were forced to pass into a defensive mass of US players - lower percentage passes that allowed the US to stand up the Dutch and, often intercept or disrupt the passes.

After a howler in the Denmark match, Steffen had stepped up in goal and won the man of the match award behind ten saves to keep a clean sheet for the US.

The USA had been in dire straights after defeat against Denmark, and suddenly now they’d defeated the World Cup champions and reached the quarterfinal, equaling the USA’s best ever run in the competition back in 2002.  There they would meet one of Manchester City’s star forwards.  Would it be a Haaland powered Norway or Ansu Fati’s Spain?

[Hootieleece]

Let's go! Get in! World Cup in 3 more wins!

[keeper#1]

GO GO USA!

[karanhsingh]

USA! USA!

[13th Man]

Mile High

To say the World Cup had been a success would be an understatement. The 3 team group stage had been a bit clunky, the stakes far too low, but even then there had been drama with Argentina crashing out. As the knockout rounds began, however, the tournament heated up.  The second round was exciting enough.  Even this early, there were several huge clashes of major teams.

The biggest surprise, perhaps, was Mexico’s tight win over Portugal, but there was plenty of excitement to be had in Germany’s win over Belgium and another penalty shootout loss for England as they fell to Croatia.

In the third round, however, was the round of the underdog. Enjoying their home advantage, both Mexico and the USA found a way to beat two of the pre-tournament favorites in front of their home crowds.  Two days after USA’s win over the Netherlands, Mexico beat Brazil 1-0.

Elsewhere, Morocco managed to force ET with a stoppage time goal and held on to beat Germany on penalties.  Turkey even nearly pulled off a fourth upset of the round as they forced France all the way to penalties.

Looking at it from a historical point of view, Spain’s 1-0 win over Norway shouldn’t be an upset, but it was.

As Americans across the country found out as they tuned in with record numbers, this is not the Spain of yesteryear. This is not vintage, late 00s national team flavored Barcelona as they pass you into oblivion. It’s not entirely devoid of the influence of tiki-taka, but it’s definitely something else.

They are 3rd in the world (after the US knocked the Netherlands off that spot) and coming off a 1-0 win over Norway as they enter the quarterfinals.

Watching that game, though, gave Brian Lindsay a quiet confidence as he prepared. Norway were, by all measures other than goals, the better side.

Norway had more possession, more shots, and consistently looked the better team. Spain won because of a soft penalty  early - coming from a push in the area after a free kick.  Otherwise, it was Norway that looked far more dangerous throughout. It was really only heroic goalkeeping from Unai Simon that kept Spain in the lead throughout the match.

Spain’s only move, it seemed, was to try to spring Fati in behind. It worked well too, as Fati’s movement and pace was especially dangerous. As Norway pushed for the equalizer, Fati got on the end of a few balls and forced a good save from Norway’s keeper on one occasion.

Lindsay would not allow Spain to get in behind. He would not allow them to spring Fati. He told cover CB Henry to keep Fati in front of him no matter what.

[After taking this screenshot, the TIs changed to low DL] 

BBM Adams returns to the starting lineup after serving his suspension, though McKennie had done well in his absence. Lindsay strongly considered putting McKennie as the attacking midfielder to harass Spain's DM Rodri, but decided to keep that as a change he could make later. Spain’s narrow shape also led Lindsay to go with a WB instead of a IWB to attack the flanks and left footed Bello gets the nod.  Dest also played both of the full 90 in both the Austria and Netherlands matches and wasn’t fully fit.

The US would still look to build out from the back on average, but Lindsay had simplified everything.  He wanted the players to play to their strengths, so he gave them roles that he felt suit them, tried to make a balanced teamsheet, and would let the players play.

The Match

Start

Welcome to Mile-High stadium in Denver, at the foot of the mighty Rocky Mountains.  The US is set to face 3rd ranked Spain. The US, unlike Spain, is not used to being at such high altitude in these kinds of tournaments.  Will they be able to get past a Spain team that many say is overrated?

4 min - Chance!

The US wins a throw deep in Spain’s half.  They work the ball into the box, but a low cross can’t find a white shirt as it fizzes across the box and Spain is able to clear.  They recover through CB Palmer-Brown and work the ball across the backline to Richards on the right.  Richards, with time and space, drives forward until he sees the run of Balogun.  Through on goal, if under a bit of pressure, Balogun fires quickly.  He beats Simon in goal, but is denied by the post!!!!

11 min - GOAL!!! 

USA 1 (Sargent 11) - 0 Spain

AN EARLY GOAL FOR THE US!!!!

After some tidy passing through the middle and a wonderful interchange between the front three, Sargent sends the ball wide left to Bello, who has acres of space.  Spain quickly get out to him, but Bello charges towards the byline.  It’s defended well, but Musah is there to support and a quick interchange of passes between the two frees up Musah to deliver a far post cross.  Sargent is backpedaling, but manages to get just enough on the header to slip it past Simon for the opening goal!!!

The US has been dominating the flanks this afternoon, with both Scally on the right and Bello on the left given free reign to charge forward [change to CWB(s) to put pressure on Spain’s WBs and pin them back].

23 min - Chance!

Pulisic takes a free kick on the edge of the area and though Simon is over with the save, he can’t hold it.  Balogun is nearly onto it before Simon is able to smother the rebound.  The US players claim the ball crossed the line - the technology shows that it very nearly did.

It has been all USA so far!

31 min - Chance!

The USA win a free kick just inside Spain’s half.  Balogun keeps the ball up at the edge of the area and Richards is onto it.  He has a free header from about 8 yards out, but Unai Simon is there with a good save to deny him!

Half time

The USA are in complete control of this match, though Spain have begun to show signs of life towards the end of the half.  The US have had the better of the possession, the better chances, and could easily have been up by more than a single goal.  Current favorite for player of the tournament Ansu Fati has been kept entirely quiet by the US defense.  He’s been forced to try to fight for balls in the air as the US set up has cut off his lines of service, and come up second best every time.

69 min - PENALTY + Second yellow!!!!

The match has been going exactly to Lindsay’s plan as the US have been in control and cruising even if Spain have been better in this second half.  An absolutely perfect early cross from LB Galan, however, finally gets Spain behind the USA defense, putting Ferran Torres through on goal.  CB Palmer-Brown is there to cover, but he’s a step too late and takes down the Spanish forward in the box.  It’s a clear penalty and Palmer-Brown is sent off for a second bookable offense!!!

70 min - Substitution

Lindsay is forced to pull Balogun to bring in NYCFC’s Otasowie in Palmer-Brown’s place, having already taken out right WCB Richards.  He will surely be pulling back and hoping to survive after this upcoming penalty kick.

[Looking to stay deep and compact while still giving a chance to get out and be a threat on the counter]

71 min - SAVED!!!!

STEFFAN HAS KEPT THE DREAM ALIVE!!!!  Fati’s penalty is high to Steffan’s left, but the US keeper guesses right and gets his fingertips to the ball.  What a save and what a moment for the USA!!!  The celebrations across the country are louder than for the first goal!!!

73 min - GOAL!!!!! 

USA 2 (Sargent 73) - 0 Spain

SARGENT AGAIN!!!!

Just minutes after saving a penalty, the US add a second goal!!!!  Though they’ve stayed compact and disciplined in defense, the US has not given up on scoring, and they’ve been rewarded with another.  After winning a throw on the left, Bello throws the ball in to Sargent, who gives it back and turned his mark as he sprints into the box.  Bello lofts the ball up for him and Unai Simon rushes out to meet it.  But he’s misjudged the ball and Sargent is able to volley it softly past him and into the net.  The US might just escape this after all!!!

FULL TIME

USA 2 - Spain 0

The US have done it! The US are in the semi finals of the World Cup!! They’ve made it further than than any American side in World Cup history and they’ve turned a nation soccer crazy!

A dominant early performance gives the US a more than deserved win over the mighty Spain as Lindsay’s tactical plan works perfectly to nullify Spain’s threat.  Their one moment of brilliance is matched by Steffan in goal.  Though only required to make three saves in this match, this one was much more crucial as it not only kept the match at 1-0, but gave the US the platform to defend the lead and get an insurance goal only two minutes later.  Steffan deserves the MotM award, but Sargent’s two goals were also incredible.

[keeper#1]

[karanhsingh]

1 hour ago, 13th Man said:

Mile High

To say the World Cup had been a success would be an understatement. The 3 team group stage had been a bit clunky, the stakes far too low, but even then there had been drama with Argentina crashing out. As the knockout rounds began, however, the tournament heated up.  The second round was exciting enough.  Even this early, there were several huge clashes of major teams.

The biggest surprise, perhaps, was Mexico’s tight win over Portugal, but there was plenty of excitement to be had in Germany’s win over Belgium and another penalty shootout loss for England as they fell to Croatia.

In the third round, however, was the round of the underdog. Enjoying their home advantage, both Mexico and the USA found a way to beat two of the pre-tournament favorites in front of their home crowds.  Two days after USA’s win over the Netherlands, Mexico beat Brazil 1-0.

Elsewhere, Morocco managed to force ET with a stoppage time goal and held on to beat Germany on penalties.  Turkey even nearly pulled off a fourth upset of the round as they forced France all the way to penalties.

Looking at it from a historical point of view, Spain’s 1-0 win over Norway shouldn’t be an upset, but it was.

As Americans across the country found out as they tuned in with record numbers, this is not the Spain of yesteryear. This is not vintage, late 00s national team flavored Barcelona as they pass you into oblivion. It’s not entirely devoid of the influence of tiki-taka, but it’s definitely something else.

They are 3rd in the world (after the US knocked the Netherlands off that spot) and coming off a 1-0 win over Norway as they enter the quarterfinals.

Watching that game, though, gave Brian Lindsay a quiet confidence as he prepared. Norway were, by all measures other than goals, the better side.

Norway had more possession, more shots, and consistently looked the better team. Spain won because of a soft penalty  early - coming from a push in the area after a free kick.  Otherwise, it was Norway that looked far more dangerous throughout. It was really only heroic goalkeeping from Unai Simon that kept Spain in the lead throughout the match.

Spain’s only move, it seemed, was to try to spring Fati in behind. It worked well too, as Fati’s movement and pace was especially dangerous. As Norway pushed for the equalizer, Fati got on the end of a few balls and forced a good save from Norway’s keeper on one occasion.

Lindsay would not allow Spain to get in behind. He would not allow them to spring Fati. He told cover CB Henry to keep Fati in front of him no matter what.

[After taking this screenshot, the TIs changed to low DL] 

BBM Adams returns to the starting lineup after serving his suspension, though McKennie had done well in his absence. Lindsay strongly considered putting McKennie as the attacking midfielder to harass Spain's DM Rodri, but decided to keep that as a change he could make later. Spain’s narrow shape also led Lindsay to go with a WB instead of a IWB to attack the flanks and left footed Bello gets the nod.  Dest also played both of the full 90 in both the Austria and Netherlands matches and wasn’t fully fit.

The US would still look to build out from the back on average, but Lindsay had simplified everything.  He wanted the players to play to their strengths, so he gave them roles that he felt suit them, tried to make a balanced teamsheet, and would let the players play.

The Match

Start

Welcome to Mile-High stadium in Denver, at the foot of the mighty Rocky Mountains.  The US is set to face 3rd ranked Spain. The US, unlike Spain, is not used to being at such high altitude in these kinds of tournaments.  Will they be able to get past a Spain team that many say is overrated?

4 min - Chance!

The US wins a throw deep in Spain’s half.  They work the ball into the box, but a low cross can’t find a white shirt as it fizzes across the box and Spain is able to clear.  They recover through CB Palmer-Brown and work the ball across the backline to Richards on the right.  Richards, with time and space, drives forward until he sees the run of Balogun.  Through on goal, if under a bit of pressure, Balogun fires quickly.  He beats Simon in goal, but is denied by the post!!!!

11 min - GOAL!!! 

USA 1 (Sargent 11) - 0 Spain

AN EARLY GOAL FOR THE US!!!!

After some tidy passing through the middle and a wonderful interchange between the front three, Sargent sends the ball wide left to Bello, who has acres of space.  Spain quickly get out to him, but Bello charges towards the byline.  It’s defended well, but Musah is there to support and a quick interchange of passes between the two frees up Musah to deliver a far post cross.  Sargent is backpedaling, but manages to get just enough on the header to slip it past Simon for the opening goal!!!

The US has been dominating the flanks this afternoon, with both Scally on the right and Bello on the left given free reign to charge forward [change to CWB(s) to put pressure on Spain’s WBs and pin them back].

23 min - Chance!

Pulisic takes a free kick on the edge of the area and though Simon is over with the save, he can’t hold it.  Balogun is nearly onto it before Simon is able to smother the rebound.  The US players claim the ball crossed the line - the technology shows that it very nearly did.

It has been all USA so far!

31 min - Chance!

The USA win a free kick just inside Spain’s half.  Balogun keeps the ball up at the edge of the area and Richards is onto it.  He has a free header from about 8 yards out, but Unai Simon is there with a good save to deny him!

Half time

The USA are in complete control of this match, though Spain have begun to show signs of life towards the end of the half.  The US have had the better of the possession, the better chances, and could easily have been up by more than a single goal.  Current favorite for player of the tournament Ansu Fati has been kept entirely quiet by the US defense.  He’s been forced to try to fight for balls in the air as the US set up has cut off his lines of service, and come up second best every time.

69 min - PENALTY + Second yellow!!!!

The match has been going exactly to Lindsay’s plan as the US have been in control and cruising even if Spain have been better in this second half.  An absolutely perfect early cross from LB Galan, however, finally gets Spain behind the USA defense, putting Ferran Torres through on goal.  CB Palmer-Brown is there to cover, but he’s a step too late and takes down the Spanish forward in the box.  It’s a clear penalty and Palmer-Brown is sent off for a second bookable offense!!!

70 min - Substitution

Lindsay is forced to pull Balogun to bring in NYCFC’s Otasowie in Palmer-Brown’s place, having already taken out right WCB Richards.  He will surely be pulling back and hoping to survive after this upcoming penalty kick.

[Looking to stay deep and compact while still giving a chance to get out and be a threat on the counter]

71 min - SAVED!!!!

STEFFAN HAS KEPT THE DREAM ALIVE!!!!  Fati’s penalty is high to Steffan’s left, but the US keeper guesses right and gets his fingertips to the ball.  What a save and what a moment for the USA!!!  The celebrations across the country are louder than for the first goal!!!

73 min - GOAL!!!!! 

USA 2 (Sargent 73) - 0 Spain

SARGENT AGAIN!!!!

Just minutes after saving a penalty, the US add a second goal!!!!  Though they’ve stayed compact and disciplined in defense, the US has not given up on scoring, and they’ve been rewarded with another.  After winning a throw on the left, Bello throws the ball in to Sargent, who gives it back and turned his mark as he sprints into the box.  Bello lofts the ball up for him and Unai Simon rushes out to meet it.  But he’s misjudged the ball and Sargent is able to volley it softly past him and into the net.  The US might just escape this after all!!!

FULL TIME

USA 2 - Spain 0

The US have done it! The US are in the semi finals of the World Cup!! They’ve made it further than than any American side in World Cup history and they’ve turned a nation soccer crazy!

A dominant early performance gives the US a more than deserved win over the mighty Spain as Lindsay’s tactical plan works perfectly to nullify Spain’s threat.  Their one moment of brilliance is matched by Steffan in goal.  Though only required to make three saves in this match, this one was much more crucial as it not only kept the match at 1-0, but gave the US the platform to defend the lead and get an insurance goal only two minutes later.  Steffan deserves the MotM award, but Sargent’s two goals were also incredible.

Wowzers 

Josh Sargent world cup legend, who'd have thunk it!

[13th Man]

1 hour ago, karanhsingh said:

Wowzers 

Josh Sargent world cup legend, who'd have thunk it!

Right??? I thought if anyone was going to be a hero it was Balogun (who’s been very good too) but Sargent has now scored 3 in his last two and 5 in the tournament overall!

And as always, @keeper#1droping just the right gif in there.

[Hootieleece]

What about Zak Steffen being the Hero? or is that just expected from US Goalkeepers thanks to Tim Howard!

 

[13th Man]

On 23/05/2023 at 12:23, Hootieleece said:

What about Zak Steffen being the Hero? or is that just expected from US Goalkeepers thanks to Tim Howard!

 

Don't get me wrong at all!!! Steffen was the absolute, unrivaled hero of that match - I'd just already done a bunch to highlight him!

[13th Man]

Fairy Tales

It has truly been a storybook tournament so far, and this is epitomized by two of the three host countries progressing to the semi finals, an historic best for both. Mexico’s best run before this has been the quarterfinals all the way back in 1986! It was also the first time that any country outside of Europe or South America had reached this stage since South Korea made it to the semis when they hosted in 2002.

Not to be outdone for drama by their northern rivals, Mexico waited until ET stoppage time before they too scored a winning goal and progressed to the semi finals.

Mexico, however, was on the opposite side of the bracket from the US, so the rivals could not face each other until either the final - if both won - or the 3rd place play off if both lost.

In the way of a truly fairytale finale were two European giants. Mexico would face a France team with prime Mbappe and a host of other superstars. The USA would face off with an Italy squad which didn’t quite have the star power, but had depth to the point where they could rotate freely without any drop off in quality.

Preparations - Scouting and Tactics 

Italy 2 - 0 Morocco 

Watching the Italy v Morocco quarter final, Lindsay saw a classic tactical battle. Neither team was willing to press high and hard or push men forward.  Italy kept a high line, but did not press high and hard. The other difference was that while Morocco would simply look to clear their lines and hope to catch Italy out, when Italy smelled a chance, they attacked with lightning fast, incisive and precise moves between the front four of their 4-2-3-1.

Morocco defended quite well, with the only decent chance of the first half coming when the Morocco right back took too long to make a choice after an interception  facing his own goal. The way Italy swarmed forward the instant they recovered possession was terrifying, though. The ball was zipped across the front 4 and forced a great save from the Moroccan keeper.

Italy got their first goal in a moment of chaos following a long goal kick. Again, Italy’s pace of both movement and passing left Morocco chasing shadows and Italy engineered a one on one chance that Mattia Zaccagini tucked away. A corner goal finished off a simple 2-0 victory.

Along with their efficiency in transition, Lindsay noticed that their 4-2-3-1 attacked quite narrow, overloading the central areas. While sometimes this would make a team easier to defend, they were able to overwhelm the opposition with varied movement and levels of attack. Especially after their first goal, they were able to get in behind and create chances through cutbacks and through balls.

The interchange between the DLF and the AM was especially effective at creating difficult decisions for the Morocco CBs, while the varied penetrating runs of the IF and IW created even more problems. Finally, the Segundo Volante or the CWB  would act as that late runner or an outlet.

This was a vintage Italian team. Organized, tactically astute and incisive and precise going forward. In fact, they played in a style that could also be described as a coiled spring. It was quite different in practice from Lindsay’s tactics at Austin FC, but it had the same method of inviting the opposition onto them before winning the ball back and attacking with pace and precision.

USA Preparations

In preparing for the match Lindsay’s goal was to not let Italy play to their strengths. He would sit deep, clog the middle of the pitch and see if he could force Italy to feel the weight of expectation and start to attack, leaving themselves open.

He didn’t want to make a drastic change, but he also saw Italy targeting one major possible hole in the 3-4-1-2 system behind the CMs. To counter this, Lindsay decided to instruct Musah and Adams to drop deeper and clog the holes, allowing the US to still outnumber Italy’s front 4 and, hopefully, force them to commit more men forward if they wanted to break through. He didn’t want to be too reactive, though, so asked Musah to play as a Segundo Volante and charge forward in support when possible. The WBs too would be given the license to attack the flanks and provide an outlet as Lindsay had noticed a large gap between the Italy wingers and fullbacks in transition.

With Palmer-Brown suspended after his two yellows against Spain, Carter-Vickers returns to the starting lineup. Dest again takes the place of Bello, who’d played the full 90 against Spain. Key players for the US were reaching the point of exhaustion, but that's just how it goes at this stage.

Unless you're Italy...

Italy is able to make seven changes to the side that beat Morocco while putting a world class side on the teamsheet. The contrast in quality of depth is staggering, and the US would be facing a terrifyingly fresh Italy side.

The match

Metlife Stadium in (ok, near) New York City.  It was the perfect place for this semifinal.  It was right across the Hudson from the city where Lindsay grew up.  It is where his dad still had season tickets to go spend hours on public transit to suffer through Jets games in the NFL [one of the sorriest franchises].  It was a city with a huge Italian American population.  The stands, though, would be filled with red, white, and blue as a nation watched.  82,500 people were set to fill the stadium, thousands more would be watching outside. Times Square was closed off, packed as thousands gathered to watch there. Millions across the country would watch on TV in what would be the most watched soccer game in the nation’s history.

Mexico had fallen 2-1 to mighty France the day before in the Rose Bowl in (basically) LA, California.  Would they US be staying in New York to face the French or would they be flying to California to face their rivals in the 3rd place playoff?

Spoiler

“No one can say that we didn’t fight hard,” Brian Lindsay said after the match. “That's what everyone says after a tough loss like this, isn’t it? It’s true, definitely true. We left it all on the pitch today. But I also think that this squad has surprised a lot of people. Not just because we made it to a World Cup semifinal, but because we did it by being intelligent, for playing tactically solid football. We had a plan each match and we executed it. There wasn’t a massive gulf out there on the pitch today. We weren’t massively outplayed. We lost, Italy were the better team, but we can be proud of that match. Not just how hard we fought, but also how well the players executed the plan.”

“I just want to take a moment to highlight some of the players who helped take us this far. Josh Sargent scored 5 goals in this tournament, three of them against the Netherlands and Spain. Zach Steffen, of course, was heroic in both those matches as well - ten saves against the Netherlands and that penalty save against Spain will live on in this country’s sporting legend for a long time.

“But I also want to give credit to the whole squad. We switched formations, we switched the very philosophy mid tournament following the Denmark match, and the players didn’t miss a beat. They didn’t fuss, they didn’t complain, they just got to work. I made some personnel changes too, and I want to give credit both to the players that came into the team, and those who found their roles reduced. It’s been an incredible tournament. It’s a massive disappointment to get so close, of course. To give up a goal in the 84th minute - the first shot on target of either team! - that was tough. To hit the woodwork early on and then have Donnarumma come up with that incredible save on Joe [Scally’s] chance in the 94th minute…Of course, the locker room has been dead silent.

“But when we look back on this tournament we’ll remember the ground swell of support from across the nation, to feel it outside each stadium and in. To get this far, in front of our fans was nothing short of a fairytale. We have one more match too. I know some people don’t think the 3rd place playoff is worthwhile, but I’m looking forward to it. The fact that we’ll be playing Mexico, who’ve had an incredible tournament as well, gives something extra to the occasion as well. It’s not quite as perfect as meeting in the final, of course, but it seems a fitting end to both our tournaments to face off against one another.”

For the vast majority of the match, the US stubbornly refused to be pulled out and attack in numbers. Italy really wanted to out Coiled Spring Lindsay, but he did everything in his power not to allow it. The US clogged the hole in front of their box, they clogged the channels, they did not allow Italy to hit them on the break.

Italy tried to sit off, to coax the US out, but Lindsay told Steffen to get the ball up the pitch rather than look to play out from the back. The US managed to get some joy down the flanks with Dest and Scally starting some promising moves, but this was a defensive struggle through and through.

In the 84th minute, however, Italy managed to catch an exhausted US out. They’d gotten the ball into a promising position in the left channel. After lasting nearly the entire match without a mistake, this one time they exposed themselves a bit, and Italy made them pay.

You could tell from the moment the ball was intercepted. Lindsay had seen it many times before when his Austin side did it to other teams. A few quick, incisive passes, and forward Raspadori had a tap in after fantastic off the ball movement and a pinpoint pass from Chiesa. It was the first shot on target for either team.

RWB Scally had a chance right at the death, but Donnarumma’s save was incredible to deny the US the chance for extra time.

So ended the dream of lifting the World Cup at home, but they still had the chance to go out on a high as they would face rivals Mexico in the 3rd place playoff…

 

[karanhsingh]

Great effort 

Was genuinely captivated while reading it. Clearly a lot of preparation went into each match, and you almost made it!

Now to get that 3rd place - and against the Mexicans too!

[13th Man]

Many thanks.  Really enjoyed the deep dives into tactics for each match.  When doing  international management, each match is so important, even more so at at a WC!

[karanhsingh]

1 minute ago, 13th Man said:

Many thanks.  Really enjoyed the deep dives into tactics for each match.  When doing  international management, each match is so important, even more so at at a WC!

That's very true - making me miss international management  even the crappy FM version of it

[13th Man]

A perfect send off

The iconic Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California (basically Los Angeles) would host the 3rd place playoff. When the USA plays Mexico, it is almost always an away match, even when it’s played in the US.  There’s a huge Mexican population in the US, and in areas like LA, the concentration is huge, with hispanic people making up 49% of the population. [Not all of those are from Mexico, of course, but a large portion are].  As passionate as some USA fans are, Mexico and its diaspora in the US is far bigger and far more passionate.

For once, however, the stands are a mix of green and red, white and blue with the US’s run in the World Cup having awoken a huge swelling of support across the country.

There really couldn’t be a more perfect 3rd place playoff.  Normally a glorified friendly, this match would not only cap off an amazing World Cup for both hosts, but it would be a clash of fierce rivals.  It would be the final that everyone wanted, but everyone knew wasn’t realistic.

Pre-match

Lindsay rotated a lot of players, with those like Pulisic and Balogun barely able to stand, and others exhausted. He also put in 22 year old Gabriel Slonina in goal, giving the young man who looked set to take on the mantle of US #1 in the next World Cup. Steffen would go down as a legend in the US, and Lindsay wanted to make sure some silly howler didn’t blemish that, along with, of course, giving the young keeper a taste of World Cup action.

The Match

The first half was a disaster in every way other than that the US somehow managed not to concede. Mexico dominated possession nearly 3 to 1, and bombarded the box with an incredible 9 corners in the first half alone. Slonina looked very solid in goal, but was forced into action more often than Lindsay would have liked.

At halftime, Lindsay made two changes and the side went back out in the 4-3-3 Coiled Spring. Mexico were left reeling and one of the two chances, CM(a) Djordje Mihailovic, scored within a minute of kickoff. The rest of the half was far more even than the first, and the US managed to see out the game to end their World Cup on a high - 3rd place and with a victory over their bitter rivals!

The World Cup final

France raised their second World Cup in three attempts as the dynasty of Mbappe lived on.  Unsurprisingly, the biggest overachievers were the US, with Mexico right behind.

[DavidBeckham]

Third place is no mean feat. And what a match that was too between the rivals. Keep going mate!

[karanhsingh]

Congratulations mate on the third place finish! Fantastic stuff

Are you going to quit the USMNT job or stay on and get a club gig as well?

Edited May 26, 2023 by karanhsingh

[LUFCspeni]

That third place finish will definitely make you an attractive candidate for a good job now. Maybe us Leeds fans wouldn't be too opposed to another American coach now 

[13th Man]

@DavidBeckham @karanhsingh @LUFCspeni

Thanks all! As to where next…

Baby we were born to ruuun 

After leading the US to a World Cup semifinal, Lindsay set his sights on his long awaited move to Europe. He had been sure that he would quit the national team post when the World Cup was over, but for now, he decided to stay on and see if he could juggle club and national commitments. He felt that he had more to give and that he hadn’t fully developed the system to its best possible iteration. There was also the possibility of actually winning a trophy in a years time at the 2027 Gold Cup.

If at first you don’t succeed…

Just before the start of the tournament, Ajax had declined to interview Lindsay despite a lot of supporter interest in his application. The Ajax board did let him know that he would have been a good fit…he just didn’t quite make the shortlist.  Lindsay wasn’t surprised, though he was a bit disappointed. Then the Leeds United job opened up, and he applied there as well - along with the club’s American connections, the prospect of leading a promotion challenge and possible return to the Premier League was intriguing…

…but Leeds went with Roberto De Zerbi. They probably feared supporter riots if another American was hired after Jesse Marsch’s less than inspiring tenure [which lasted a year longer than it did in real life, but without much more success].

Europe, however, began to take notice.

Before the Spain game, Sampdoria reached out for an interview, having they avoided relegation in Serie A. They went with a domestic manager, but also said they were impressed by Lindsay.

The job hadn’t come yet, but things were beginning to look promising.

Two very interesting offers arrived just after the World Cup ended, with one of the  top Austrian clubs in SK Sturm Graz and La Liga side Levante both reaching out to Lindsay. Both seemed desperate to land him. Sturm Graz offered the possibility of Champions League football while Levante were a top flight club in a top 5 nation.

Then things got truly insane/mental.

Brazil and the Netherlands both offered jobs to Lindsay on the same day. He’d been considering his future, whether he wanted to stay on as the manager of the US national team. Both offers were incredibly tempting, and would possibly give Lindsay that chance to go one step further and actually win the World Cup…but that would mean surviving four years at either nation. Upon further reflection, he also realized he wasn't interested in managing the national team of a country with which he had no personal connection.

Sturm Graz and Levante were both in the midst of asking Lindsay for desired staffing changes. He was torn between which one to pick.

That’s when a chain of events set in motion a perfect landing spot for Lindsay.

It was meant to be

Erik ten Hag had left Manchester United at the end of the 25/26 season to take over at Newcastle. The vacancy hadn’t really been on Lindsay’s radar - he knew he didn’t have the resume for it - so he was only vaguely aware of the opening.  Until a certain Ruud Van Nistelrooij was brought back to his old club, leaving his old post open…

The managerial post at none other than PSV Eindhoven - a club officially affiliated with Austin FC, so were already very familiar with Lindsay…