Things that folks should give credit to GGG for:
* Tim mf'ing Ream. Dude has been on the outside looking in for what seems like a decade. Too slow, many of the analysts and fans said. Meanwhile is a rock for an EPL side. He has been absolutely lights out this tournament.
* Bringing on Carter-Vickers. Zimmerman was a step slow on a few occasions the first 2 games, gave up a pretty bad penalty in the first. He is also a problem with ball at his feet. ENG clearly targeted him on their press... Every time he touched the ball, someone was right there closing him down and led to a lot nervy situations. CV was outstanding yesterday.
* Starting lineups, formation. We have started all three games in an attacking stance and have looked very dangerous. We had close to 60 percent possession in the first half yesterday.
Some things I would question/gripe about:
* Gio. Not sure what he did to get into the doghouse, but I'm not sure why he's not even coming off the bench sooner. While Pulisic says he's ready to go for Saturday, I doubt it. Need to get Reyna on the pitch.
* Formation, stance in the second halves. Wales was really the most glaring example of GGG not making the proper adjustment. Got way too passive. I think it was fine going into a 442 against ENG in the second half... seemed to kind of put them off for a good bit.
But, yesterday... Going 442 up 1-0 is fine. Slightly more defensive, but still allows you to quick strike on the counter. But going 541 with 15 minutes left (and you know at least 5 in stoppage - turned out to be 9) was just unnecessary. You're just asking for some nonsense at that point and Iran really could've scored at least twice in the final moments.
That said... And I've been critical of GGG in many instances. I'd grade him out at a B+. The belief, grit and determination of this group of young guns is palpable. That is cultural, and it doesn't just happen with the players. It's a deliberate approach and GGG and the rest of the staff should get credit for that.
