Yes, I know. We do this every few months. Basically all of our lives, except maybe Jozy Altidore’s brief prelude… until he shows up on hammy in Brazil. And we will continue to do this every few months for the rest of our lives, pinning our hopes of a true No. 9 for the USMNT to another constantly changing contender. It’s our burden, it’s our curse, at least until we find out Erling Haaland’s grandfather actually took an American passport from someone rather than the literal Thor. as he can.
Even in these pages (technically, they are pages!), I have praised the qualities of Ricardo Pepi or Daryl Dike or Jordan Pefok. I haven’t really gotten to know Jesus Feirrera, who is clearly Gregg Berhalter’s (I told him at the league office that I’m not coming on Saturday), and who has the current shirt and is almost certainly will start to open the score vs. Wales in November. No injuries or unforeseen circumstances.
Today I’m here to tell you that one of those force majeure cases has to be Brandon Vazquez.
If you don’t know, Vazquez is currently a striker for FC Cincinnati, perhaps the surprise team in the MLS this season. Cincy spent their lives holding the league’s wooden spoon in their first three seasons. They have finished sixth in the Eastern Conference this season, largely thanks to the support of Vazquez (and also playmaker Luciano Acosta, but he is Argentinian and therefore not the answer to those questions). prayer based on our national team.Nice guy though I’m sure).
Vazquez has 14 goals in 23 appearances this season, the second most in the league. He’s done it while not taking a penalty, which puts him at the top of the league in non-penalty-expected goals by 11.3.
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What you will notice about Vazquez is that while the shots are relatively simple, he is always in the right position. This kind of movement and instinct doesn’t just happen, and just having it at 23 can lead to a bright future. Vazquez is also a damn house, listed at 6-2, 185 (and can fill more), and very mobile. He has only a sixth sense for timing and finding space always finding himself with the ball at his feet near goal and time to finish. As they say, you can’t teach those things.
And Vazquez’s numbers are not a one-season boom but back to normal next season. From last year to this year, Vazquez’s shots per 90 games increased from 2.84 to 2.94. His shots on target per 90 have increased from 1.16 to 1.36. His hit rate has increased from 40% to 46. His hit rate from 15% to 22%. Even if there is what looks like a sizable leap, it can be easily explained by simply going from age 22 to 23 and starting full time at a much more capable team. which FC Cincinnati has become.
And unlike the competition for that spot for the national team, he’s not as chill as Ferreira. Vazquez hasn’t gone more than three games without a goal this season, except for a three-game streak without a goal, which he later assisted with the six-of-six streak he is on. Ferreira started the season on fire, with five goals in his first six games, but those goals were wrapped up in just those two games. Ferreira has two goals in his last seven, three in his last 14, and that’s not due to a lack of chances, as he has 16 shots on target in that time.
And that’s the problem with Ferreira. He is not really a born striker, more so in the wrong number nine role he is acknowledged as a midfielder, and while he is better equipped to link up with strikers and forwards wide defender in the USA’s 4-3-3, Fear is always that in a World Cup game where the chances are highest and the ball is at his feet in one of the few what he will get, he doesn’t have that cruelty. Vazquez isn’t a ram, looking to get in the way of defense instead of abandoning it, but he can be a horse to a certain extent. Against England, when the US is unlikely to have much of the ball, Vazquez on the counter-attack is a bigger threat than Ferreira. He is also another option in the games against Wales and Iran, where the US thinks they will have more possession, if only coming on from the bench, and the US may have to kick a little diagonally or just someone occupying the central defenders. Vazquez is just better in the box than Ferreira, touches the ball more there, receives more passes there and finishes better when he gets the chance.
Defensively, Vazquez is just as ready to close as Ferreira, with 9.2 pressure before in the attacking third every 90 minutes and 10.8 after that.
The US only has two friendlies left before Berhalter has to announce the squad. With the switch to a 26-man squad instead of 23, it’s hard to understand that Vazquez won’t be on the plane at least. But he needs to take a look at one, if not both, games against Japan and Saudi Arabia, which he has yet to attend. Sure, Pefok can keep scoring for Union Berlin as he did this weekend, but Berhalter seems to have given up on him. Pepi could score again… maybe. Maybe we should settle him starting in Augsburg first.
Also, there’s the small problem of keeping Vazquez away from the Mexican national team. Berhalter said “he was close” not to include him in June games for the national team, but that could mean precision or it could be something of a brush. But right now, there was no other choice but Ferreira. He’s big, he’s fast, he scores, and he’s just getting better.
It’s time to believe in Brandon Vazquez. Honestly, what do we have to lose?
