Berlin Freeper, thanks for your threads and posts. My opinion is that Acosta may not be able to play at this level. I have read glowing reports about him that say he is going to be great. Nothing against him, and the staff must see something in him. But to me, any number of young players could have done all that he did in this tournament and more. My opinion is that he plays with a lack of urgency on defense and goes forward on offense with more enthusiasm than soccer smarts. He certainly doesn’t make use of space. His service and through passes are, to be charitable, just below average. His hustle on Blake’s injury was typical of his play in this Cup. He was a bit late to the loose ball, but went hard when he recognized it. (Certainly, this was a clean play on his part and rightly, he received no criticism from players or announcers.)
Anyway, I’d be interested in your thoughts as well as other Freepers here.
Oldplayer
You are very welcome oldplayer. There is definitely room for Acosta to develop. I read he is soft-spoken (maybe gets that from his Japanese father? cultural thing?) but has a very strong mentality/determination. Getting on the ball and making strong passes are fundamentals that can easily be coached. But also in the midfield, on the attack, a lot is knowing the tendencies of runners and I think with more play time and a strong mentality he will come of age. This was his first tournament for USA and since we took it he must be on a high and hungry for more success. This experience will help him imo.