USMNT: Hold My Beer

rguilmar

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
1,610
That's not a lot of mids.
I read this in three different ways:
1. Reyna (and likely Aaronson) really as CM/CAM (I know Gregg never uses a 10/CAM but both can play there, otherwise dual 8s)
2. More 3 at the back formations with 6 CB. Think 3-4-3
3. Both 1 and 2 (rolling with a 3-5-2 type of formation)
 

Jed Zeppelin

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 23, 2008
51,291
Good stuff. Not to get sociopolitical, per se, but if Hispanic-America were its own country it would be something like 20th in the world by population. We should have a pipeline of great young players of Mexican/Latin American descent. The last 4-6 years have been such an odd, turbulent, awful time, I certainly don't begrudge any young players who have been growing up in this environment feeling the emotional pull of Mexico, so it feels big that he is sticking it out with US.
 

Titans Bastard

has sunil gulati in his sights
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 15, 2002
14,446
Weah is reportedly out for 2-4 weeks with a thigh problem, but it has not been confirmed by official sources. Still, he was not in uniform for Lille this weekend and it seems likely he will be out for the WCQ window in September.

If Berhalter replaces him, I'd think the most likely options are Hoppe and Gioacchini. Arriola and Morris are injured.
 

rguilmar

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
1,610
Weah is reportedly out for 2-4 weeks with a thigh problem, but it has not been confirmed by official sources. Still, he was not in uniform for Lille this weekend and it seems likely he will be out for the WCQ window in September.

If Berhalter replaces him, I'd think the most likely options are Hoppe and Gioacchini. Arriola and Morris are injured.
He could also look at bringing in an additional CM like Green or de la Torre since only 5 are listed (though I still am guessing/hoping Reyna is a CM in practice). De la Torre might be in the doghouse for refusing the Gold Cup call, but that is just a guess on my part. Gregg seems to prefer players who have been playing regularly and do not have potential loans or transfers coming up.
 

Titans Bastard

has sunil gulati in his sights
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 15, 2002
14,446
De la Torre’s decision to not go to the Gold Cup seemed to be made in conjunction with Berhalter. I doubt he is in the doghouse.

One guy who won’t get called up in Eryk Williamson, who blew out his ACL last night.
 

67YAZ

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 1, 2000
8,730
One guy who won’t get called up in Eryk Williamson, who blew out his ACL last night.
Fuuuuuccckkk. What an untimely blow to the young man’s development. I hope he has a quick and full recovery that doesn’t derail his career trajectory.
 

EP Sox Fan

Member
SoSH Member
Is @EP Sox Fan, our local soccer correspondent for El Paso, still around?
I haven't logged on in a while but yeah I'm still around. Super excited for Pepi. It's nice to see a local kid succeed. Last one I can remember was Omar Salgado, who washed out and was playing for our USL team last year but unfortunately blew his knee out late in the season. Hope he stays on with the USMNT. There is a bevy of young attaching talent in the system right now and this kid looks like a natural finisher.
 

rguilmar

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
1,610
De la Torre’s decision to not go to the Gold Cup seemed to be made in conjunction with Berhalter. I doubt he is in the doghouse.

One guy who won’t get called up in Eryk Williamson, who blew out his ACL last night.
It‘s just that I try to explain to myself how or why de la Torre was left off the qualifying roster. I haven’t seen him play this season but the reports have been pretty positive. Were we ever given the exact amount of players that could have been called? I kept hearing 28-30 max so I am a little confused as to why he didn’t get a look this camp if we had two open slots. I know we don’t want guys flying back and forth from Europe for no reason, but at the same time this is a player who I imagine is in the player pool of likely candidates who we didn’t see over the summer. If he is going to play for the USMNT, he‘s going to have to actually be called in and fly across the pond. I don’t really think Gregg is holding anything against him, though I’m also not sure we ever got much beyond “DLT requested not to be called” for the GC (you might have seen more about this than I have tbh). While I do criticize his player selection and tactics, I do think one of Gregg’s strengths is brushing any perceived slights by players off knowing how emotional this process and game can be. I just wonder why Luca hasn’t been called when it looks like we had spots available (to say nothing of replacing Roldan).

Either Gregg doesn’t rate him or there are other things going on behind the scenes that we just don’t know about.

That really, really sucks for Williamson though. Man, it looked like his career was going in a nice direction. Hopefully he can recover and get the train back on the tracks.
 

Titans Bastard

has sunil gulati in his sights
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 15, 2002
14,446
It‘s just that I try to explain to myself how or why de la Torre was left off the qualifying roster. I haven’t seen him play this season but the reports have been pretty positive. Were we ever given the exact amount of players that could have been called? I kept hearing 28-30 max so I am a little confused as to why he didn’t get a look this camp if we had two open slots. I know we don’t want guys flying back and forth from Europe for no reason, but at the same time this is a player who I imagine is in the player pool of likely candidates who we didn’t see over the summer. If he is going to play for the USMNT, he‘s going to have to actually be called in and fly across the pond. I don’t really think Gregg is holding anything against him, though I’m also not sure we ever got much beyond “DLT requested not to be called” for the GC (you might have seen more about this than I have tbh). While I do criticize his player selection and tactics, I do think one of Gregg’s strengths is brushing any perceived slights by players off knowing how emotional this process and game can be. I just wonder why Luca hasn’t been called when it looks like we had spots available (to say nothing of replacing Roldan).

Either Gregg doesn’t rate him or there are other things going on behind the scenes that we just don’t know about.

That really, really sucks for Williamson though. Man, it looked like his career was going in a nice direction. Hopefully he can recover and get the train back on the tracks.
Here's LDLT in the Athletic:

“I know that for the first round of World Cup qualifiers in September, Gregg is going to want players that are in form, playing for their club every game and doing really well,” De la Torre told The Athletic over the phone from Holland on Wednesday. “And the fact is that if I go to the Gold Cup, I would miss all of preseason with my club. If I do that, then I won’t be playing the first couple games this season, and if I’m not playing during the first games then I have no chance of being called up to World Cup qualifiers.

“It was a really tough decision for me because I really wanted to play in the Gold Cup, but I feel like it gives me the best chance of being involved in the group for the World Cup qualifiers and also gives me a really good platform to start really strong for next season.”

De la Torre made clear that not being included on the Gold Cup roster was his decision. The U.S. would have had him had he opted to participate, and Heracles would have supported him suiting up for the tournament. That he chose not to isn’t reflective of a lack of desire to play for the U.S. — he said that “playing for the national team a huge part of who I am as a player.” Rather, De la Torre sees it a calculated gamble.
https://theathletic.com/2669671/2021/06/23/usmnt-luca-de-la-torre/


I would have been happen to have LDLT in this camp, but I'm not too worked up about the situation personally. I think that irritation with Roldan makes it easy to assume the grass is greener, and I don't know that that is always the case. If Roldan isn't great, are we sure that a player who isn't as influential for a worse club than Seattle is going to be an improvement? I mean, that question is why it might be nice to bring in LDLT, but maybe Berhalter has seen enough at Heracles to hold off for a moment.

I don't really know. I could definitely see LDLT emerging as a depth option. I'm just not convinced there's an obvious injustice as of yet.
 

rguilmar

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
1,610
I don't really know. I could definitely see LDLT emerging as a depth option. I'm just not convinced there's an obvious injustice as of yet.
I'm probably being unclear. I am actually pretty fine with the roster as it is now qualifying having slept on it for a while. Time for exploring and experimenting has passed and Gregg should be relying on known quantities. Personally, I would rather not see Tim Ream ever play for the USMNT again and I don't really see what Roldan brings. That being said, we know what they are and what they're not. Just my 2 cents though:

1. Assuming we had extra roster spots to bring guys over, I would have liked to see guys who did not play over the summer, specifically Green and de la Torre*. Even if they do not play, just getting them in with the team to be evaluated by the coaching staff would have been nice.
2. While I am not enthusiastic about Ream, all of the other options I can think of are either potentially being moved (Richards) or just moved clubs (Miazga).
3. The quote does not really indicate that Gregg was happy about the decision or endorsed it. I'm just saying that if Gregg was unhappy with de la Torre's decision, I would be ok with Gregg omitting him. I get de la Torre's point of view, but I would say that Gregg calls in whoever he is most comfortable with, and the way to do get into Gregg's comfort zone is to suit up for the USMNT. I can't really speak to de la Torre's form as I have not seen him play, and I am sure Gregg has (good reviews though), but McKenzie can't get off the bench at Genk but he made the roster I imagine because he played decently well (errors included) in the Nations League.

The great thing is that this possibly the best collection of talent ever in a USMNT camp. It's cool that we can argue about fringe players, certainly a HUGE step up from where we have been. Hell I think we would agree that this collection can be even improved upon with the inclusion of different players.

*The positive side of these two being omitted to me is that it increases the likelihood of Reyna being moved inside. With Weah being out, adding one of these two to the roster likely would mean Reyna is still a winger which is where Gregg plays him anyways. I'd rather that not be the case, and I was simply mentioning it as an option.
 

Jed Zeppelin

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 23, 2008
51,291
I keep checking the roster to make sure Michael Bradley didn't somehow sneak onto it.

What a dark place from which we are emerging.
 

67YAZ

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 1, 2000
8,730
The Athletic reporting that Pulisic didn’t travel to El Salvador, staying in Nashville to get his fitness up for the next 2 matches.
 

candylandriots

unkempt
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Mar 30, 2004
12,327
Berlin
Does anyone know for sure if the Universo app will have the replay of the WCQ games? Kickoff for the first game is at 4am for me, so I’d much rather do the replay — and I don’t have Paramount +.
 

Mr. Wednesday

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jul 27, 2007
1,590
Eastern MA
Matt Turner has been announced as the starter for the El Salvador game. Steffen is staying in Nashville with back spasms.
 

GB5

New Member
Aug 26, 2013
675
First three games out of the shoot in the next calendar week. I know the adage win at home and draw on the road, but I think Canada is the most dangerous opponent. How would we feel about:

El Salvador: W
Canada T
Honduras W

Would 2 ties and a win, be disapponting?
 

rguilmar

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
1,610
First three games out of the shoot in the next calendar week. I know the adage win at home and draw on the road, but I think Canada is the most dangerous opponent. How would we feel about:

El Salvador: W
Canada T
Honduras W

Would 2 ties and a win, be disapponting?
7 points would be acceptable. Obviously 9 is desirable and not out of the question. Old school thought of “tie on the road and win at home” would net only 5 points but I’d be very disappointed with that.

Tons of pressure tonight and I hope they score quickly to ease that up a bit.
 

DJnVa

Dorito Dawg
SoSH Member
Dec 16, 2010
53,850
First three games out of the shoot in the next calendar week. I know the adage win at home and draw on the road, but I think Canada is the most dangerous opponent. How would we feel about:

El Salvador: W
Canada T
Honduras W

Would 2 ties and a win, be disapponting?
Yes, since I'll be at the game against Canada and I don't want to see a draw.
 

Kliq

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 31, 2013
22,673
The US should crush all of these teams because they have way more talent and have been in good form this Summer. 9 points is the expectation.
 

Titans Bastard

has sunil gulati in his sights
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 15, 2002
14,446
The US should crush all of these teams because they have way more talent and have been in good form this Summer. 9 points is the expectation.
I get why you are saying this, but I have watched a lot of CONCACAF games over the years and although I think 9 points is achievable, it's important to realize that these games are never played on paper and weird stuff happens all the time.
 

thehitcat

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 25, 2003
2,376
Windham, ME
I get why you are saying this, but I have watched a lot of CONCACAF games over the years and although I think 9 points is achievable, it's important to realize that these games are never played on paper and weird stuff happens all the time.
For example, they noted today on the US Soccer show on XM that Grant Wahl had told the host that the stadium in San Salvador had been opened up to fans more than 10 hours before kickoff. I bet they'll be raring to go at kickoff.
 

Titans Bastard

has sunil gulati in his sights
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 15, 2002
14,446
The weather. It's not going to be too hot, but it will be very humid. Some chance of rain during the game:

View: https://twitter.com/USMNT/status/1433546524974329860


However, the field is going to be quite wet regardless. My understanding is that San Salvador has gotten a lot of rain this week, including today:

View: https://twitter.com/samstejskal/status/1433508403662426116


Hugo Perez is something of an ideologue (mostly in a good way) about how he likes to play his soccer. This is not a sign that El Salvador is going to emulate a Honduras-esque "pure CONCACAF" game plan.

View: https://twitter.com/samstejskal/status/1433474435206483974
 

dirtynine

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 17, 2002
8,394
Philly
El Salvador has the air raid sirens going off all game, right? That plus the field plus the crowd plus the travel plus the refs plus no VAR… It’s going to be insane. I’d take a draw, no injuries and no cards, right this instant.

We’ll, I would if I wasn’t dying to live these 90 minutes. Gold Cups and Mexico matches are fun, but it’s been a while since this feeling.

I’d humbly request that Gregg release a lineup now.
 

ddeveau

New Member
Apr 5, 2006
36
I just had the same epiphany. Followed by the “what time zone is El Savador?”, it’s Central which makes no sense. Now the question is does Paramount Plus offer on demand.
I was going to ask the same earlier. It appears they will for this. I base this on the fact they have a collection of Concacaf WCQ and you can replay previous matches. So I'm assuming they will just continue to add to that collection.
 

Jimy Hendrix

Member
SoSH Member
Jun 15, 2002
5,846
Ream + Yedlin tells me that Gregg really didn’t want that first timer number higher than 9 (and he’s saving Brooks for the next two games)
 

Arroyo Con Frijoles

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
1,171
Which is part of why I assume Ream is in there (and assuming Brooks would have to be rotated at some point anyway). Not saying I agree but...
 

Investor 11

Plobbably the greatest videographer ever
SoSH Member
Jul 23, 2006
3,911
San Diego
In the event anyone else out there needs to sign up for the Paramount+ free trial, coupon code “PAWVALPAK” will turn the standard free 7 day trial in to a free 1 month trial.
 

Titans Bastard

has sunil gulati in his sights
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 15, 2002
14,446
Stu Holden reports that Aaronson will be part of the midfield trio and Reyna will be on the right wing.
 

rguilmar

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
1,610
Reyna on the right makes sense to me given the personnel. Put players where they have experience and are comfortable. Reyna‘s played out there, which lets Konrad go to the left where he normally plays. Dest/Konrad together- two guys who can go 1v1 versus anyone. Could be fun.
 

cromulence

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 25, 2009
6,707
I 100% expect Reyna in the middle from the lineup. Konrad and Aaronson on the wings.

I like it. Yeah, Ream, but that's fine. Let's go.
 

Titans Bastard

has sunil gulati in his sights
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 15, 2002
14,446

Titans Bastard

has sunil gulati in his sights
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 15, 2002
14,446
Dest/Konrad together- two guys who can go 1v1 versus anyone. Could be fun.
Run and gun, baby. Adams better hit all his defensive rotations!

It's a confident lineup, and I hope we get some fireworks out of it.
 

67YAZ

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 1, 2000
8,730
Honestly surprised to see Onyewu still in the studio crew. But damn, what a collection of Jordans those guys are rocking.

It's an aggressive line up. LFG!