USMNT: To Rüssia With Love

Titans Bastard

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It got real CONCACAF-y at the end. No Saucedo for the final, but he's been trash all tournament so it doesn't matter.

I hope EPB's early hook isn't indicative of a serious injury.

This is a mediocre group (especially in the attack), but they have the chance to be the first U20 team to win the CONCACAF title.
 

Titans Bastard

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Public service announcement. I forgot it was on. Second half has just started.
I'm just checking in, too. It looks like Williamson and Glad have both been subbed out with injuries already. Combined with the fact that Honduras has two extra days rest, that's not good news if this goes to extra time.
 

Titans Bastard

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USA now down to 10 men because EPB came off hurt and they've used all their subs. It's been a real CONCACAF hack-a-thon from Honduras. Apparently on Univision they said this goes straight to penalties after 90 minutes, though.

The important thing is that EPB isn't too banged up.


EDIT: EPB is still on the field, but is not at all mobile.

Dude, it's a U20 game. Just take him off before he aggravates whatever the injury in.
 

Titans Bastard

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This is one of those games where our guys are literally getting punched and nobody gets a card.

On to PKs now.
 

Titans Bastard

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First seven converted, then a Honduran skied one.

US up 4-3, Danny Acosta for the win...

IN!

First ever U20 title.
 

Titans Bastard

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That was a street fight, but CONCACAF youth tournaments always are. This isn't a great group of players, but we have some legitimate defenders and DMs, a handful of halfway decent attackers, and a bunch of potential upgrades who will be available this summer.
 

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Nice gutsy win by this group. Agree that the defensive side seems to be the strength but I'm intrigued by Brooks Lennon. A full year playing at RSL could make him an interesting player.
 

Titans Bastard

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Stu Holden reports that the USSF made $46m off the Copa America Centenario.


I read elsewhere that they had projected a $15m profit. I suspect we'll see this tournament again.
 

Senator Donut

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If I were Sunil Gulati, I'd be on the phone with Michel Platini pitching "Euro Centenario" right now.

EDIT: or whoever the hell runs UEFA after he got banned
 

Titans Bastard

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2017 Gold Cup draw:

Group A
Honduras
Costa Rica
French Guiana
Canada

Group B
USA
Panama
Martinique
Haiti or Nicaragua

Group C
Mexico
El Salvador
Curaçao
Jamaica

Big year for the outre-mer regions of France! (French Guiana and Martinique are full members of CONCACAF and the CFU, but not FIFA.)

US group stage games are in Nashville, Tampa, and Cleveland. The likely knockout path would go Philadelphia-Arlington TX-Santa Clara. In extremely non-tragic news, CONCACAF has abolished the third place game in the Gold Cup.

This will be a rare opportunity for Bruce Arena to experiment. I would certainly not expect a B team for this tournament, but I imagine he will be a little more adventurous in how he builds the roster.
 

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This will be a rare opportunity for Bruce Arena to experiment. I would certainly not expect a B team for this tournament, but I imagine he will be a little more adventurous in how he builds the roster.
...assuming at least 8 points in the Hex between now and then, either getting something at Azteca or sweeping the rest of the matches, so that there's anything worth discussing or tinkering with and we haven't all ritually hung ourselves.
 

Titans Bastard

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It's his thigh, out 1-2 weeks perhaps. That's cutting it close to qualifiers. If he's out, we are probably looking at Zusi or Lichaj at RB against Honduras. Chandler will be available for Panama.

http://www.espnfc.com/english-league-championship/story/3078132/newcastles-deandre-yedlin-out-1-2-weeks-with-thigh-injury
 

Titans Bastard

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In interview with Tab Ramos about the U-20s heading into the WC this summer

It sounds like he thinks everybody will be available except Pulisic. And just when he oversaw a qualifying campaign in which the team slowly improved over time and won the CONCACAF U20s for the first time, he has to go and say things like this:

ASN: In the opening game against Panama, what went wrong and how did you get the team back on track?

RAMOS:
We did not have a complete team until six days before that game, it takes a little time to build the team. Teams like Panama and Costa Rica can meet weekly for months at their training center to prepare. They were further ahead. We were still the better team in the game and should have won, although we were not at our best. We missed easy opportunities in front of the goal and the team gave it a good shot. So, for me, nothing went wrong against Panama except for the final score.
We were mind-numbingly bad against Panama and to suggest otherwise is insane.

Hopefully he doesn't actually believe this stuff, but I think he probably does.
 

InstaFace

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It would be pretty funny to put Pulisic out there at #10 though, kinda like Brazil fielding Neymar at the Olympics.

It's plausible logistically that he could play at least part of both the U20 and senior WCQs if he's not wearing down from his year at BVB at that point. The U20 WC starts May 20 (in South Korea), knockout rounds 5/30, final on 6/11. USMNT v T&T is 6/8, @Mexico is 6/11. I doubt Ramos would try to do it unless Arena said Pulisic wasn't in his plans (which would of course be criminally insane). BVB's final Bundesliga match is 5/20, he'd probably have to leave the team a week or two early (assuming they're not in the UCL final on 6/3 or DFB-Pokal final on 5/27). But all those considerations aside, it would be kinda hilarious to see him play the group stage games, demolish a bunch of teenagers, and then fly back to the US, train with the team a bit and play the Hex matches. The kid chartered a jet to fly to his prom, he's not above a (literal) baller move from time to time.
 

Titans Bastard

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Is there any chance Dempsey gets called in? He's looked decent in the first two Sounders matches.
Arena said a number of weeks ago that there was no chance Dempsey would be called in. However, I wonder if Clint has gotten healthy & productive faster than Bruce expected. Even if Dempsey isn't in the starting lineup, I'd want his experience in these crucial qualifiers.
 

Titans Bastard

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Tab Ramos on the U-20s

An excerpt:

ASN: In the opening game against Panama, what went wrong and how did you get the team back on track?

RAMOS: We did not have a complete team until six days before that game, it takes a little time to build the team. Teams like Panama and Costa Rica can meet weekly for months at their training center to prepare. They were further ahead. We were still the better team in the game and should have won, although we were not at our best. We missed easy opportunities in front of the goal and the team gave it a good shot. So, for me, nothing went wrong against Panama except for the final score.
Coaches often stay positive in the press for morale reasons, but I get the sense that he actually believes this. I am happy with the improvement that his team showed over the course of the tournament, but such a fundamentally poor/delusional analysis of the Panama game is another cause for concern with Tab. He has built strong defensive units in 2015 and again in 2017, but the offensive side of the game continues to be a struggle. While it's true that we've had better defensive prospects in these cycles, that's not exactly the rationale he's putting forth.

On the final WC roster:

  • He doesn't think he'll get Pulisic (no surprise here). Pulisic needs to be 100% focused on and rested for WCQ in June.
  • He wants Cameron Carter-Vickers, Gedion Zelalem, Weston McKennie, Derrick Jones, and Josh Perez, all of whom were unavailable for qualifiers.
[side note: Derrick Jones recently obtained US citizenship, but is subject to FIFA's rule that naturalized players have to reside in their new country for five years after the age of 18 before they are eligible. He has applied for a waiver and reporting from local Philly media types suggests he is very close to getting it. Jones has been a low-key prospect who hasn't gotten much attention coming through the Union's system, but after a year in the USL, he won a spot in the lineup this preseason and has impressed.]

  • He's interested in evaluating Nick Taitague and Haji Wright but they aren't locks. Taitague is poised to be a key player next cycle; Wright is a player who Ramos simply doesn't rate that highly. However, both Jeremy Ebobisse and Emmanuel Sabbi struggled in qualifiers, so there is opportunity for another forward to rise up the depth chart.


He didn't say anything about fullbacks, but I do hope he keeps his options open. Fulham's Marlon Fossey was one of our more impressive players in qualifying. Aside from him, however, the backup RB Aaron Herrera (New Mexico) is no great shakes and our LB Danny Acosta (RSL) looked overwhelmed and uncomfortable at times - he's a conversion project from DM.

Like Herrera, Marcello Borges (Michigan) is a college player but was the likely starter at LB. He was injured and missed qualifying, but I expect that he'll get another shot. Other players who should be looked at at FC Dallas RB Reggie Cannon and Portland LB Marco Farfan (who made his MLS debut last night and held his own).
 

Titans Bastard

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The roster for March World Cup qualifiers will be announced today.



The draw for the 2017 U-20 World Cup was made in the middle of the night (it's in South Korea).

The US group:

USA
Senegal
Saudi Arabia
Ecuador


On paper, this is a favorable draw. But you just never know who is good and who is mediocre at the youth level. Our U17 team once beat Belgium and lost to Tajikistan at the same tournament.
 

67YAZ

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Wahl posted a short piece on Arena's thinking regarding where to play Pulisic. While Arena looking at both the wing and middle - possibly using Foogball Manager to simulate it, hard to tell - it jumped out that Arena noted that Pulisic has been "playing in a real two-way role, so he has a lot of defensive responsibilities" out wide for Dortmund.

For the time being, that probably keeps Pulisic on the wing for the USMNT. Defending well will be priority #1 in the next batch of qualifiers - just getting back to fundamentally sound and disciplined organization. If they need a late goal, Pulisic can move central (love to see him play just behind Wood).
 
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Titans Bastard

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US roster for qualifiers:

GK
Brad Guzan
Tim Howard
Nick Rimando

DF
DaMarcus Beasley
John Brooks
Geoff Cameron
Omar Gonzalez
Michael Orozco
Tim Ream
Jorge Villafaña
Walker Zimmerman

MF
Kellyn Acosta
Alejandro Bedoya
Michael Bradley
Fabian Johnson
Jermaine Jones
Sebastian Lletget
Dax McCarty
Darlington Nagbe
Christian Pulisic

FW
Jozy Altidore
Clint Dempsey
Jordan Morris
Bobby Wood


Some initial thoughts:

  • I think Howard starts at GK. He has been in good form very early in the MLS season.
  • Zero natural right backs on the roster. Yedlin is injured, Chandler is suspended for the Honduras game and hasn't been brought in for Panama, and Zusi was passed over. Combined with the glut of CBs on the roster, I think Geoff Cameron plays RB and Orozco backs him up. (Orozco never dies!)
  • Zimmerman and Ream are here ahead of Besler and Birnbaum. Besler didn't have a great 2016 and I wouldn't be shocked to see him fade away. Word is that Arena really likes Zimmerman, though I'm not sure if that's enough for him to start right away in these key WCQs.
  • Fabian Johnson is listed as a midfielder. We also have two natural LBs on the roster in Beasley and Villafaña. On FS1, Arena says he wants to use him at his club position in the midfield.
  • No Kljestan is a bit of a shocker. No Feilhaber either.
  • Dempsey makes it after all. Arena makes it sound like Wood is the one forward who is definitely in the lineup.
 

Senator Donut

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  • I think Howard starts at GK. He has been in good form very early in the MLS season.
Howard missed the game against the Revs, so his MLS form has been all of 90 minutes thus far. (Not that 90 minutes against Heaps' attack would have presented a challenge.) Guzan has seen a decent amount of action recently in his FA Cup run and looked very good against Manchester City albeit in a losing effort. I actually think we'll see Guzan.
 

Jed Zeppelin

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Dempsey will be a nice luxury to have in the role previously occupied by Baggiolowski.

No Kljestan, to me, points to Pulisic playing centrally. Don't know anything about McCarty or Lletget (and have only seen Acosta out of position at LB) so someone can correct me if I'm off-base, but in that group Pulisic and Nagbe are the only real ball control/pace/passing/attack types. I assume we're still stuck with Bradley, but he and Jones together is just too slow at this point. The play needs to run through Pulisic and I don't trust either of them to keep up with him and/or consistently put the ball at his feet.

Either way, an attack centered around CP, Fab, and Wood is pretty enticing, with Jozy serving as the garbage man (I mean this in the best way possible).
 

InstaFace

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right, I mean, Giroud is pretty much the garbage man for Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil, it's no insult. Be a tall target who can head it, who can hold it up to start a counter, and crash the far post a bunch.

If we're going to pick someone for that role though, I'd rather Dempsey over Jozy - at least Clint can shoot when his legs work right.
 

Titans Bastard

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In fairness to Jozy, he's the best passer among our forwards and it's not particularly close.


Playing Pulisic centrally is an option, but I think the absence of Kljestan+Feilhaber might mean that Arena is going with a 4-4-2 that doesn't have a central playmaker at all. Using Pulisic in the middle almost certainly means that you have to go with a one forward formation, which seems unwise given our depth there at the moment.

A guess:

Wood -- Altidore
Johnson -- Lletget -- Bradley -- Pulisic
Villafaña -- Brooks -- Zimmerman -- Cameron
Howard

Not sure about LB, RCB, or Bradley's partner though.
 

Titans Bastard

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David Bingham has replaced Brad Guzan, who has withdrawn from the roster because his wife is expecting. This makes Howard the clear starter for the upcoming WCQ.
 

Titans Bastard

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Fabian Johnson left today's Europa League game with an injury.

FFS.
Goff reports that FJ will miss the upcoming qualifiers. He cites Paul Arriola, Graham Zusi, and Julian Green as possible replacements. I'd vote for Arriola, personally, as I think he fits the positional need created by Johnson's withdrawal better than Green does.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/soccer-insider/wp/2017/03/17/fabian-johnson-is-ruled-out-of-two-u-s-world-cup-qualifiers/?utm_term=.ba6edc973a35

I think FJ's injury further cements the likelihood of playing a 4-4-2 with Pulisic and now probably Nagbe on the wings. Use Nagbe pinched-in on the left ahead of an LB who can actually get forward (i.e. don't play Ream there) because Cameron or Orozco won't be super dynamic on the right flank.

Acosta and Lletget look like they are in a battle to partner Bradley, at least for the first game.

The conservative move would be to start Bedoya somewhere in the midfield, either in place of Nagbe or in place of Lletget/Acosta. I want Bedoya to stay in the old Graham Zusi role - a defensive-minded outside midfielder used off the bench for locking down games.

These injuries are really not making life any easier.
 

Titans Bastard

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Wow! Big news from the USSF: the Bradenton U17 residency program is closing.

http://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2017/03/17/19/22/20170317-news-u17mnt-after-fulfilling-mission-us-soccer-residency-program-to-complete-final-semester

Q&A with youth TD Tab Ramos:

http://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2017/03/17/19/51/20170317-feat-u17mnt-qa-u20-head-coach-tab-ramos-on-conclusion-of-us-soccer-residency-program


I approve of this move; I think Bradenton outlived its usefulness a while ago and there's not a lot of evidence to indicate it is a better environment than what can be found at top domestic youth programs.
 

Titans Bastard

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Goff reports that FJ will miss the upcoming qualifiers. He cites Paul Arriola, Graham Zusi, and Julian Green as possible replacements. I'd vote for Arriola, personally, as I think he fits the positional need created by Johnson's withdrawal better than Green does.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/soccer-insider/wp/2017/03/17/fabian-johnson-is-ruled-out-of-two-u-s-world-cup-qualifiers/?utm_term=.ba6edc973a35

I think FJ's injury further cements the likelihood of playing a 4-4-2 with Pulisic and now probably Nagbe on the wings. Use Nagbe pinched-in on the left ahead of an LB who can actually get forward (i.e. don't play Ream there) because Cameron or Orozco won't be super dynamic on the right flank.

Acosta and Lletget look like they are in a battle to partner Bradley, at least for the first game.

The conservative move would be to start Bedoya somewhere in the midfield, either in place of Nagbe or in place of Lletget/Acosta. I want Bedoya to stay in the old Graham Zusi role - a defensive-minded outside midfielder used off the bench for locking down games.

These injuries are really not making life any easier.

Zusi has been called in. Arena did say he wasn't going to change personnel much in March....but I'm uninspired. I want an attack-minded outside midfield option off the bench and we don't have much unless we put Morris out there.
 

Senator Donut

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Zusi has been called in. Arena did say he wasn't going to change personnel much in March....but I'm uninspired. I want an attack-minded outside midfield option off the bench and we don't have much unless we put Morris out there.
Am I crazy, or would Hyndman had been a been a decent replacement for Fabian Johnson for Panama and Honduras? Either way, he has to be in the Gold Cup mix if this form continues.
 

Titans Bastard

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I was surprised to read that Wondo has never played in a WCQ before. Three Gold Cups, a World Cup, and a Copa America, and an unused sub in WCQs on seven occasions.

It is frustrating that we can't move on from him, but he wouldn't be here if not for the injury to Wood and concern about Morris. If healthy, Zardes would probably be here over Wondo, too. Still, Agudelo and Johannsson are available. I see Johannsson as a slightly wealthier man's Wondo anyway, but admittedly Aron is not in good form and given his lack of playing time I wonder about his fitness.

I still don't think Dempsey starts. I think he's a super-sub from here on out. If Morris can't go, I think we revert to a 4-5-1 rather than starting Wondo.

Altidore
Nagbe - Kljestan - Pulisic
Bradley - Acosta
Villafaña - Brooks - Cameron - Orozco
Howard​

Come to think of it, if Honduras decides to bunker on the road, Kljestan might be more useful than Morris anyway. Morris won't be able to get in behind the defense if there is no behind the defense. Of course, Kljestan hasn't been awesome in NYRB's first three games, though Marsch is weirdly insisting on a 4-2-2-2 that forces him out of his best position.

I also can't decide if I want to break up the Brooks/Cameron partnership to start Cameron at RB over Orozco. I'm conflicted about a lot of things, apparently.
 

Titans Bastard

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Nagbe as a winger, not a DM?
Yes. This is where Nagbe plays for Portland. He is not a traditional end-to-end winger because he tends to pinch in and contribute to possession. He allows the left back to consistently get forward because he vacates space on the left flank and because he's very good at not losing the ball, which reduces the likelihood of dangerous counter attacks. Portland pairs him with the verbosely-named Vytautas Andriuškevičius, a left back who is aggressive about getting forward. That's why I have Villafaña at LB instead of a conservative, stay-at-home choice like Tim Ream. You could go with Beasley, too, but he's so old and rickety I don't want to put him in the starting lineup.

Nagbe hasn't ever played a real DM role as far as I know, though he has played in the box-to-box role that will likely be filled by Acosta, Lletget, or maybe Bedoya. He's also played as a second striker.

For me, Johnson's injury made Nagbe a lock starter on the flank for the next two games. The only alternatives are Bedoya, Zusi, and using Beasley in the midfield. That's why I thought Paul Arriola might be handy off the bench, but that's not happening. But anyway - with those alternatives on the flank, I don't see how you can justify moving Nagbe centrally.
 

DJnVa

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Sooooo, not sure if you guys are aware, but there's kind of a big game tonight I hear.

They are going with a #Get3 hashtag, so you know, get 3!