What’s clear to me is that this team

by Mark, Thursday, June 25, 2026, 21:52 (26 days ago) @ PMan
edited by Mark, Thursday, June 25, 2026, 21:58

plays a different game as soon as Pulisic is on the field. They immediately started playing more downfield balls when he came on the pitch.

Pulisic has a better first touch than any other play on the field. He reads the defense better than any other play. At one point he looked at 2 options, and chose (correctly) the 3rd (to shoot the ball at the far corner post) bc the defense had immediately moved to cover the first 2. It was an elite play on his part.

Berhalter’s goal was just a peach of a shot. He got a great crack on the ball and it was good to see the immediacy he took on that play.

Much of the backups that were in used 2 touches when one could have gotten the job done. That one touch style of play was a lot more common in the 1rst 2 matches. And it creates a cleaner, more aggressive feel on the field. One of my old ND roommates at half time when asked what he would tell the team said “(They need) More fight without ball. More composure with it.” I couldnt agree more.

Overall, I thought it was good to see the younger players fight and be competitive at times, but disappointing to see a last second let down, even if the match was completely irrelevant.

Its also clear that Turkey’s #8, Arda Güler, is also a pretty damn good baller. (He plays for Real Madrid and it shows). He issued an apology to Turkey after the match. Pretty mature for 21 year old. … https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/arda-guler-issues-apology-turkey-143056453.html