USMNT news 2018

Discussion in 'Prem talk, Those Other Leagues, and International' started by HatterDon, Feb 26, 2018.

  1. HatterDon

    HatterDon Moderator

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    #1
  2. astroevan

    astroevan Well-Known Member

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    Another batch of youngsters are set to suit up against Bolivia on Monday - live on FS1 at 6:30 PM ET. I'm looking forward to watching the defense (as long as Villafana doesn't take a starting spot from one of the youngsters). It will also be interesting to see how we line up up front with only two attackers on the roster.

    U.S. roster to face Bolivia
    Goalkeepers: Alex Bono (Toronto FC), Bill Hamid (Midtjylland), Ethan Horvath (Club Brugge)

    Defenders: Cameron Carter-Vickers (Tottenham, on loan at Ipswich Town), Eric Lichaj (Nottingham Forest), Matt Miazga (Chelsea, on loan at Vitesse Arnhem), Matthew Olosunde (Manchester United), Erik Palmer-Brown (Manchester City, on loan at KV Kortrijk), Antonee Robinson (Bolton Wanderers), Jorge Villafana (Santos Laguna), Walker Zimmerman (LAFC)

    Midfielders: Joe Corona (Club America), Julian Green (Stuttgart, on loan at Greuther Furth), Alejandro Guido (Club Tijuana), Lynden Gooch (Sunderland), Weston McKennie (Schalke), Keaton Parks (Benfica), Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund), Rubio Rubin (Club Tijuana), Tim Weah (Paris Saint-Germain)

    Forwards: Andrija Novakovich (Telstar), Josh Sargent (Werder Bremen)
     
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  3. astroevan

    astroevan Well-Known Member

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  4. jumpkutz

    jumpkutz Well-Known Member

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    I'm not sure what the point is here without the MLS'ers. Pulisic will be in Qatar (because I'll start the 2nd American revolution if we don't make it) and, maybe, Sargent and one or two others from this group. After that? Your guess is as good (or probably better) than mine. If anything, it points out the glaring disadvantage of not being on the same FIFA schedule as the rest of the planet.
     
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  5. HatterDon

    HatterDon Moderator

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    My MOTM was Rubin, followed by Robinson. This may be the worst national team we've faced since a quarter of Cuba's squad defected prior to a Gold Cup match a few years back. Their sub goalkeeper looks ready to play for Liverpool.

    Pulisic looks jaded. Corona looked pretty good, as did Zimmerman. Nice to see Gooch play, and I'm always happy to see Lichaj. Good news that Earnie Stewart is the national team GM. Maybe he'll get us a national team manager and a method of playing.

    As for the absence of the MLS players, i still think our creativity lies in Europe and Mexico. American internationals playing in MLS are too comfortable and are not challenged enough. We're better off with European-based players being the nucleus of our side -- except for Julian Green, who needs to spend all his time on the bench in the German third tier.
     
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  6. jumpkutz

    jumpkutz Well-Known Member

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  7. astroevan

    astroevan Well-Known Member

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    Well... I vastly overestimated Bolivia. I didn't catch much of the commentary last night with the 5 year-old in the same room, so I'm not sure if they put out an inexperienced team as well or if they are just that bad. I thought the entire back line did well (though they didn't face much of a challenge). Bono didn't impress me with his distribution (but maybe I'm spoiled by Fulham). Pulisic was done. I felt like he faded down the stretch at Dortmund and this game was just one too many. I know they wanted him out there for the hometown(ish) crowd, but he needs a break. The other teens played well. As usual, things got a bit jumbled up after introducing so many subs, but it was nice to put a face to some of these names that I've heard here and there.
     
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  8. HatterDon

    HatterDon Moderator

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    The Bolivian league is down to its short strokes, and none of the four top teams released anyone for the match. Now, 24 hours after my last comment on this thread, I think they're even worse than I said.
     
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  9. SoCalJoe

    SoCalJoe Well-Known Member

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    Only watched last 30-35 minutes and thought one of the more interesting players was 6’4” Keaton Parks. Usually someone that tall raised in the US is a GK, CB, or target man, not a midfielder. However, apparently he was 5’5” until well into HS, and he possesses a good touch. Interesting story on how a kid raised in Texas ended up w/Benfica

    http://www.espn.com/soccer/club/uni...ited-states-debut-through-dallas-and-portugal
     
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  10. HatterDon

    HatterDon Moderator

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    Watched the Ireland match today and was mightily pissed at two players:

    1 Bill Hamid should never be named to a USMNT squad again. Bad hands, bad footwork, bad judgment, bad head.

    2. My fellow Terp Taylor Twellman had his worse day ever -- that didn't involve a concussion. He announced that Carter-Vickers had just completed a loan to Sheff United and wondered where he'd go next -- completely oblivious to the fact that C-V completed that loan in January and then was loaned out to Ipswich. He also said that Luca de la Torre was not progressing with Fulham -- only a few matches in the Championship, he said.

    As for the match, it was a typical international -- talented individuals who don't know each other well enough to meld seamlessly. It was good to see Bobby Wood get a goal -- off a very nice assist from Matt Miazga, and there were some nice touches. Ireland's first goal was totally down to Hamid, and Twellman blamed Miazga for the second, although I thought it was just good finishing.

    Two things are clear from the last two matches
    1. We have a lot of young talent coming up
    2. We won't be a real force on the pitch as long as we play nothing but kids.

    I'm not sure what we're trying to prove by keeping our veterans off the pitch. Oh, and can we get a USMNT manager?

    Kids. Lawn. Sheesh.
     
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  11. jumpkutz

    jumpkutz Well-Known Member

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    And...they're headed to Lyon to play the French Saturday for the latter's final World Cup tuneup. Which means we'll likely see Didier's opening game lineup for Australia come the 16th. Could get ugly.
    I am also puzzled by the lack of a new manager. It would seem to suggest that nothing much has changed at US Soccer since the election of the new president, Carlos Cordeiro. And, truthfully, I think it's kind of hard to know who'll be prime candidates for Qatar. But first things first. Who's most likely to be prime candidates when 2022 qualification starts, probably in late 2020? Example: 30 year old Tim Ream. He'll likely still be playing when Qatar rolls around, but he'll be 34. And he'll be 32 when qualification starts. Will he be playing at the same level he is now? Or will whatever level he's playing at be enough to invest in calling him up after he's rested from our season?
    I don't know.
    But we need a manager.
    Now.
    And we need to be playing some veterans, whether or not they'll be in the picture for 2022. We've got to get there first.
     
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  12. timmyg

    timmyg Well-Known Member

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    I dunno, I personally don't see the rush to get a new manager just yet.

    Any international manager worth their salt is too busy with WC preparations. Sure, Italy recently got Mancini but the UEFA Nations League (which I think feeds into Euro 2020 qualifying? I think?!?) begins in September and Mancini was never going to manage us.

    Considering the peculiarities of our region, there's not much on the calendar in the next 6-8 months. We're already in the Gold Cup, and WC 2022 qualifying format hasn't even been announced yet. Any MLS manager could easily see out their current season before taking over, and not really miss much.

    This is a lost period because of so many people's inability to get a point in Trinidad 8 months ago. It's incredibly frustrating but there is still time to be patient.
     
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  13. jumpkutz

    jumpkutz Well-Known Member

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    Upon further review...it's also troubling that the youngsters we invested in for Brazil in 2014 are MIA. John Brooks. Julian Green. DeAndre Yedlin (although he joined this round for the European leg). Timmy Chandler. Aron Johannsson. How likely is it that any of these guys will factor in either getting us to Qatar or playing there? And then there's the shocking regression of Michael Bradley. He's gotten worse at every subsequent WC we've made since his inclusion. He's now 30. And what of Omar Gonzalez? Fabian Johnson? Geoff Cameron? Too old/washed up by 2022, or still viable options to help get us there? Lots of questions, no answers, no coach, no apparent plan. Yet.
     
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  14. HatterDon

    HatterDon Moderator

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    It's the job of US Soccer to pick the best squad possible at the time. Even if none of them every plays in another World Cup, it's the job of Ream, Danny Williams, Eric Lichaj, Bradley, Deuce, Altidore, Cameron, etc., to establish the feeling of professionalism and experience that our talented kids will have to achieve. Just playing kids with other kids doesn't teach anyone anything.
     
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  15. astroevan

    astroevan Well-Known Member

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    As I have stated before, I'm not putting too much emphasis on the camps and caps that have been gained under Sarachan. My understanding regarding the coach position though is that US Soccer wanted to first hire a GM and then have the GM spearhead the search for the next coach. Well now that Earnie Stewart has been hired as GM or has he? I can't find an official announcement.
     
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  16. timmyg

    timmyg Well-Known Member

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    Just announced today actually! https://t.co/eukjXVOA6t

    Good luck gathering anything specific about duties or KPIs or the like from the job description page. Reads like a boilerplate upper/mid level management gig!
     
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  17. HatterDon

    HatterDon Moderator

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    Our kiddies looked very good against a full-strength France side in their house. 1-1 did not flatter, regardless of the difference in possession and shots. Individually?

    I thought our best attacker was Bobby Wood. He showed a lot of toughness and strength in possession amid a swarm of defenders. Our midfield was very good, and I appreciated the defensive work there of McKinnie.

    The defense was solid, with Carter-Vickers and Miazga looking very strong. They were well supported by Parker and the defensive midfield group.

    As for keeper, I think we found our #1 #1 going forward. His saves were what you would expect from an international, but he wasn't muscled out and had good positional sense throughout. I like him as our guy.

    I've been very dismissive of Green in the past -- even calling for him to disappear -- but not only was his goal well-taken, but he also harried defenders whenever we lost possession in their half.

    If there was any word that summed up the main strength of our team today it was "toughness" -- physical and mental.

    Now let's blend the best kids in with our proven veterans and move forward.
     
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  18. jumpkutz

    jumpkutz Well-Known Member

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    The kids put in a good shift against vastly superior opposition. They deserved a W, but I agree with Don. Gotta get some of the veterans hooked up with them. Oh, and a manager would be nice.
     
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  19. SoCalJoe

    SoCalJoe Well-Known Member

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  20. nevzter

    nevzter Well-Known Member

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