USMNT: Watching From Outside The Arena

Titans Bastard

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There are a few US media types who have written articles in which the author masochistically put together a hypothetical US roster for the World Cup. (One of them even cut Weston McKennie, a decision that at this point is so veteran-oriented even Bruce Arena is shaking his head.)

I tried making one myself, but got discouraged for multiple reasons.
 

Titans Bastard

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Who’d you have in the goalkeeping spots, @Titans Bastard? If it’s not too painful to ask.
Guzan, Steffen, and....who cares about the third GK, really. Hamid? Bono? Melia?

I'd have given the vast majority of starts in the post-WCQ friendlies to Steffen, with Guzan as a fallback if Steffen didn't look up to the job.

It's attacking midfield and forward where the pain really sets in. Pulisic and....

We had a generational lull at most positions, but there's signs of life in some of the deeper-on-the-field areas. Miazga at CB, plus a whole bunch of slightly younger players pushing through. Adams and McKennie bring a lot at CM.

The 95/96/97 generation doesn't seem to have as many high-end attackers, though. Among younger players, Pulisic is good, I'm enthusiastic about Sargent, hopeful about Weah, Carleton and a bunch of others but outside of CP that crop isn't quite ready for prime time.

Given that Altidore and Saief would miss the WC with injuries, it would be very threadbare. Johannsson and Morris are injured, too. Even Agudelo is injured for at the moment. Wood is coming off a terrible, no-good, very bad season, but he'd definitely be there. Dwyer, maybe? The return of ZARDES? Dempsey is pretty much past it.

At attacking midfield, Fabian Johnson hasn't done anything in a while. Paul Arriola, Kelyn Rowe?

It's very weak.
 

dirtynine

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To be quite honest, this post made me feel better. As in, it sounds like a winless 3-and-out might have been on the board at the WC even if we snuck in. I had forgotten about all the injuries on top of what was already a fairly weak roster.
 

Jed Zeppelin

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To be quite honest, this post made me feel better. As in, it sounds like a winless 3-and-out might have been on the board at the WC even if we snuck in. I had forgotten about all the injuries on top of what was already a fairly weak roster.
That we wouldn’t have been able to rely on the usual heroic goalkeeping efforts that have bailed us out in the past is another point in favor of this idea. Guzan inspired far less confidence than any keeper I can remember well in my lifetime. Certainly recent history.
 

Titans Bastard

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I forgot about Jonathan Amon. He's not that experienced but given the state of things, I'd absolutely put him on the WC roster. He'd give the team badly needed pace and 1v1 ability and take some pressure off of Pulisic.

I think there'd also be a significant chunk of people arguing about taking Josh Sargent even though he's never played a pro game. I'm not sure they'd have been wrong about it, either...

That we wouldn’t have been able to rely on the usual heroic goalkeeping efforts that have bailed us out in the past is another point in favor of this idea. Guzan inspired far less confidence than any keeper I can remember well in my lifetime. Certainly recent history.
The Guzan Era, as well as all the more recent guys who weren't good enough to even overtake Guzan, certainly should give us a lot of appreciation for the very long Friedel/Keller/Howard stretch of goalkeeping excellence.
 

InstaFace

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There was never really a Guzan era, though, was there? Because the Howard era only ended in September in Port-au-Prince. Tim Howard was either #1, or injured, up until then.
 

Titans Bastard

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There was never really a Guzan era, though, was there? Because the Howard era only ended in September in Port-au-Prince. Tim Howard was either #1, or injured, up until then.
Fair enough!

The "Tim Howard Is Bad Now So Guzan Sometimes Starts" Era of the last few years would be more accurate.
 

DJnVa

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To be quite honest, this post made me feel better. As in, it sounds like a winless 3-and-out might have been on the board at the WC even if we snuck in. I had forgotten about all the injuries on top of what was already a fairly weak roster.
Yeah, we're essentially 5-6 weeks from likely not advancing and starting the 2022 run up anyway.

Still like to have watched Pulisic play though...
 

coremiller

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Yeah, we're essentially 5-6 weeks from likely not advancing and starting the 2022 run up anyway.

Still like to have watched Pulisic play though...
OTOH, we avoided the potential Pulisic sports media backlash after the US inevitably got eliminated in the group stage. I could easily see Kornheiser and Wilbon types blaming Pulisic for not carrying the team to victory after being hyped as the next big star.
 

Titans Bastard

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Efrain Alvarez scored a hat trick for LA Galaxy II in USL play earlier this week. He turns 16 next month and is one of the best-looking prospects of the 2002 age cohort, if not the single best.


Unfortunately, he's been playing for Mexico over the last ~18 months despite being front and center of his US YNTs prior to that. Unlike Jonathan Gonzalez, this doesn't seem like a case of negligence and neglect, just a kid who wants to play for Mexico.

Maybe he'll change his mind, but he probably won't.
Two part bump....

Two goals today:




Also this:



US Soccer, redeem yourself and cleanse yourself of the stain of the Jonathan Gonzalez Ordeal. I'd take Alvarez over Gonzalez for sure if forced to choose - US soccer can be relied on to produce a reasonable number of solid DM/CMs. Not so with attacking midfielders.
 

Titans Bastard

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The Athletic announced they are launching soccer coverage yesterday and have put out some solid stuff so far. This is one of the most balanced takes on Michael Bradley I've read.

Some part of Michael Bradley is probably still staring into the skies above Guadalajara, wondering how much farther above the crossbar his penalty would have to go in order to clear the stadium. It was a terrible mistake by a player who had made a case for himself to be named player of the tournament in the 2018 CONCACAF Champions League, another mountain nearly scaled by one of the best American players of his generation, or one of the worst, depending on whom you ask. It had the makings of a Greek tragedy played out beneath a chorus of joyous Tapatíos: a massive game, an admirable showing while being played out of position, a critical error, and ultimate failure. In other words, it was Bradley’s career. And what’s left of it rests outside of his control, perhaps for the first time.
All of this puts Bradley in an odd spot. He remains a force of nature at times, willing club and country to success, and at other times one more blunder from throwing away games, tournaments, seasons. He’s too good to be dropped and too hated to be forgiven. Now, after pushing Toronto to the precipice of CONCACAF and seeing it fall once again—like Sisyphus eternally pushing his stone up a mountain—he’s just a 30 year old player, who will be 34 by the next World Cup. No amount of playing success can erase the failures that dot his career. He’s not young; he’s not bulletproof. And while playing competitive international soccer at 34 isn’t out of the realm of possibility in the modern game, and especially not for someone known to be as freakishly conditioned as Bradley, he isn’t fighting time. He’s fighting every mistake in his career that’s landed him here, and garnered him a cult of loathing among American fans. He’s fighting a decade’s worth of expectation, exhilaration, and inexorable letdown. Now, nobody knows if he’s still the captain, or if he’ll even play for the U.S. again. He can only keep playing, keep trying to live up to those expectations, one more time.
I am really curious to see what happens with Bradley in the next cycle. He's clearly good enough to be part of our best 23 for a good while, but some of the players from the next generation who are most ready are players who are DMs or CMs (Adams, McKennie). They are both good enough that the next manager should invest a lot of playing time in them as they develop. So how does Bradley fit in? Does he have it in him to be a stately veteran who mentors the youth from a bench role? Is it better to drop him cold turkey and move on? He's been such a central figure that at some point in the future, US Soccer will probably give him a send-off testimonial that could be...awkward.
 

Jed Zeppelin

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“Nobody from the United States Federation has contacted him.”

For a perennial middling soccer power it never ceases to amaze that we have a federation that won’t put in the work because damn it everybody should be begging at OUR doorstep.
 

Titans Bastard

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“Nobody from the United States Federation has contacted him.”

For a perennial middling soccer power it never ceases to amaze that we have a federation that won’t put in the work because damn it everybody should be begging at OUR doorstep.
It makes me think of this again:

Ramos opens up about Gonzalez's decision: 'If you feel Mexican, play for Mexico'

Maybe he's approaching the issue with the zeal of the converted or something, but that's such a disappointing attitude coming from a foreign-born dual national like Tab Ramos.

Any attitude towards dual nationals that refuses to acknowledge the legitimacy of feeling attachments to multiple countries is just not going to be good.
 

Jed Zeppelin

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Roster for Bolivia friendly. Average age is 22 and change:

GOALKEEPERS (3): Alex Bono (Toronto FC/CAN; 0/0), Bill Hamid (Midtjylland/DEN; 5/0), Ethan Horvath (Club Brugge/BEL; 2/0)
DEFENDERS (8): Cameron Carter-Vickers (Tottenham Hotspur/ENG; 2/0), Eric Lichaj (Nottingham Forest/ENG; 14/1), Matt Miazga (Chelsea/ENG; 5/1), Matthew Olosunde (Manchester United/ENG; 0/0), Erik Palmer-Brown (Manchester City/ENG; 0/0), Antonee Robinson (Everton/ENG; 0/0), Jorge Villafaña (Santos Laguna/MEX; 16/0), Walker Zimmerman (LAFC; 2/0)
MIDFIELDERS (9): Joe Corona (Club Tijuana/MEX; 20/3), Lynden Gooch (Sunderland/ENG; 3/0), Julian Green (Stuttgart/GER; 8/3), Alejandro Guido (Club Tijuana/MEX; 0/0), Weston McKennie (Schalke/GER; 1/1), Keaton Parks (Benfica/POR; 0/0), Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund/GER; 20/9), Rubio Rubin (Club Tijuana/MEX; 5/0), Tim Weah (Paris Saint-Germain/FRA; 1/0)
FORWARDS (2): Andrija Novakovich (Reading/ENG; 1/0), Josh Sargent (Werder Bremen/GER; 0/0)
 

Titans Bastard

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Significant changes expected for the games after Bolivia:


The Bolivia match is not during a FIFA window, so the only in-season MLS players are Bono and Zimmerman. There are some marginal players on this squad and a few reaches; they'll probably be dismissed for a few MLS players and others like Yedlin and Wood.

AFAIK this is the first time Pulisic and McKennie will play together since maybe a few U17 friendly camps.

There are no DMs in this team. Sarachan will find a way to get at least a couple of guys play as DMs, though, no doubt!
 

Cellar-Door

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Two part bump....

Two goals today:




Also this:



US Soccer, redeem yourself and cleanse yourself of the stain of the Jonathan Gonzalez Ordeal. I'd take Alvarez over Gonzalez for sure if forced to choose - US soccer can be relied on to produce a reasonable number of solid DM/CMs. Not so with attacking midfielders.
https://www.lagalaxy.com/post/2018/05/23/east-la-la-galaxy-story-rise-efrain-alvarez
well his club team sure thinks he's done with the USYNT and locked in with Mexico.
Nice to see our incompetence in youth development remains unchallenged.
 

Dummy Hoy

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The Athletic announced they are launching soccer coverage yesterday and have put out some solid stuff so far. This is one of the most balanced takes on Michael Bradley I've read.

I am really curious to see what happens with Bradley in the next cycle. He's clearly good enough to be part of our best 23 for a good while, but some of the players from the next generation who are most ready are players who are DMs or CMs (Adams, McKennie). They are both good enough that the next manager should invest a lot of playing time in them as they develop. So how does Bradley fit in? Does he have it in him to be a stately veteran who mentors the youth from a bench role? Is it better to drop him cold turkey and move on? He's been such a central figure that at some point in the future, US Soccer will probably give him a send-off testimonial that could be...awkward.
Thanks for the link.

I still have yet to hear a coherent explanation of how Bradley ended up back in the MLS. It seemed so antithetical to Michael Bradley, and I'm stuck feeling like it was a pivotal decision for him and thus US soccer.
 

Titans Bastard

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US vs. Bolivia tonight. It's a meaningless friendly with a lame duck interim manager, but at least there's an interesting pool of young players available. This would be an enjoyable XI from this roster:


Novakovich
Rubin -- Pulisic -- Weah
McKennie -- Parks
Robinson -- CCV -- Miazga -- Lichaj
Hamid​
 

dirtynine

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I'll be there. Not to cross-polinate from the kit thread, but I think this might be the on-field debut of the new white/home jersey as well.
 

Titans Bastard

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The game isn't until 6:30 ET, but Goff has the lineup already.

Sargent
Rubin -- Pulisic -- Corona -- Weah
McKennie
Robinson -- Palmer-Brown -- Zimmerman -- Lichaj
Bono​

Bench: Hamid (GK), Olosunde (RB), Miazga (CB), Carter-Vickers (CB), Villafaña (LB), Parks (CM), Green (AM), Gooch (AM), Novakovich (FW). Guido (CM) is out with a groin strain and Horvath (GK) didn't dress.

USMNT debuts for Bono, EPB, Robinson, and Sargent. Four teenagers are in the lineup (Sargent, Weah, Pulisic, McKennie) and some other young guys too (EPB, Robinson, Rubin, Bono).

Things I'll be looking for:

1) Zack Steffen is the horse I'm betting on at GK, but can Bono work his way into the depth chart? Hamid and Horvath have been shaky at best for their clubs in Europe lately and Guzan isn't that good, so it's wide open.

2) I haven't seen EPB play in a while. He's been a monster for our youth national teams, but his club career has been weird and I want to see signs of continued development.

3) Robinson: the LB scene is weak as usual. Robinson had some good moments on loan at Bolton this year, though he wasn't consistent. Interested to see how he fares at this level.

4) I'm confident that McKennie will be a central piece of the team next cycle. He mostly plays box-to-box, though, so how will he hold up at #6?

5) Pulisic: first USMNT action since T&T. Welcome back, kid. This game will be another data point in what I expect to be a long-running debate about whether CP should play centrally or on the wing.

6) Weah & Sargent: highly inexperienced, but these are our twin hopes at forward (Weah also plays out wide sometimes, like in this game). I don't expect too much production just yet, but I wouldn't mind seeing a few moments of quality....

7) Rubin: he's a bit of an also-ran at this point, but he's young enough to turn it around and be a contributor. Lord knows we don't have much depth at most attacking positions. A versatile attacker would be useful if he can show the quality.
 

Kliq

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Should be a fun game with so many prospects in the lineup; excited to see Weah and Sargent on the attack, and how Pulisic plays with what is likely going to be the supporting cast during his prime.

Lichaj is what he is at this point; but he scored that stunner against Arsenal in the FA Cup and suddenly he’s found his way back into the NT picture. CCV had a nice season on loan and could end up contributing for Spurs next season.
 

Titans Bastard

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Lichaj is what he is at this point; but he scored that stunner against Arsenal in the FA Cup and suddenly he’s found his way back into the NT picture. CCV had a nice season on loan and could end up contributing for Spurs next season.
Yeah, Lichaj is a total placeholder. He's serviceable, but at his age he's not part of the future; even now he's not been a lock starter for a not-very-good Championship club. But Yedlin's been given a rest after a long season and there are hardly any MLS guys called in for the Bolivia game, so it really has to be Lichaj.

RB behind Yedlin is wide open. There are a handful of young guys in MLS who might become useful, but it's too soon to tell. Reggie Cannon in Dallas has done well lately, and Brooks Lennon at RSL is undergoing a winger-to-RB conversion this year. There are several guys in Europe, too, though nobody has been able to make a strong case yet.

I would have loved to see Paul Arriola converted to RB or RWB a few years ago. Not sure it'll happen now.
 

Titans Bastard

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Nice little hold up play and pass from Josh Sargent there. It's not surprising to see him and Weah have a little chemistry - they were together with the U17s not long ago at all.
 

Titans Bastard

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Ooh, first big chance. Rubin springs Weah, but it's saved by the keeper. Too soon to draw conclusions, but based on limited minutes at PSG it seems that Weah does a solid job of finding scoring chances but needs to be more clinical.
 

lostjumper

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Fun first 10 minutes. Some creative play from Rubin to start a couple of runs. Weah has looked good on the win. Certainly enjoyable to watch.
 

Titans Bastard

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This is actually decent football. I don’t know he’s a strong this Bolivia team is but this side looks capable
I don't know anything about Bolivia's player pool, but there are a ton of uncapped players in their squad for this friendly.

The important thing is that there is some creativity going forward and organized, collective defending on the other end. And there's plenty of growth potential for most US players on the field.
 

OCST

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As an Everton fan that run by Robinson gave me double excitement.

He did cough the ball up in a dangerous spot on the edge of the box earlier in the half, but gained it back.
 

Titans Bastard

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As an Everton fan that run by Robinson gave me double excitement.

He did cough the ball up in a dangerous spot on the edge of the box earlier in the half, but gained it back.
From what I can tell, this post was Robinson's season in a nutshell. His crossing was all over Bolton's highlights, but he needs to tighten things up at the back.
 

Titans Bastard

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Really pleased with what I have seen from Sargent. He's physical, he has good technique, and he shows that he can think the game at a fast pace. And because he's ineligible until summer, he hasn't even been able to sharpen his game in U19 or Bundesliga games for Werder yet.

I think we're going to see an awful lot of him over the next 10+ years.
 

speedracer

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Yeah, really like Sargent's quick decision-making and inventiveness. Has had some lousy first touches though, hopefully that's not a persistent thing.
 

Titans Bastard

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That dribble by Rubin was so good that I thought it was Pulisic for a second.
 

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California. Duh.
I have to say, after watching us get CONCACAF'd for years, it's nice to see the kids playing physically and with a bit of an edge.
 

Titans Bastard

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I stepped away during HT, but I'm hearing that the USSF basically confirmed that the GM responsibilities are a joke?