USMNT v. Portugal

The rumor mill says sometime today, and that Ronaldo may not play.

 

Heard via podcast this morning that Pulisic will not be in the squad.

 

Pulisic seems kind of beat up and in need of rest. I don't have a problem with him sitting this round out. It's not like we've got much to play for. Save him as much as you can between now and whenever qualification for 2022 begins. And, umm, have we named a successor to Bruce? I don't recall that we did. I guess Dave Sarachan will be picking the side this go around. Whom to pick? Well, first of all, what good is it to have only one match during an international break? As far as the team, would you pick anybody that's going to be, say, 34-35 or older by 2022? I wouldn't. All new goalkeeping corps. Howard, Guzan and Rimando are done. I'd go with Jesse Gonzalez, Sean Johnson and Bill Hamid. And the youngest guys with WC experience: Brooks, Green, Johannsson and whomever else I left out. The rest? Doesn't really matter, as long as they're all under 30.

 

No Ronaldo. No surprise.

https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/20...-announces-roster-november-14-friendly-leiria

 

Our guys.

https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/20...rs-for-friendly-against-third-ranked-portugal

 

I'm hoping no Jonathan Gonzalez is not a bad sign for the US. Other than the missing Gonzalez I like the young call ups and hope a lot of them play.

Biggest concern is at forward. Not the most prolific scoring bunch I have seen.

 

Being a unabashedly biased Minnesota fan, I'm disappointed Christian Ramirez didn't get a call up for these games, instead of Dom or Sapong at the forward spot...just to find out what he can bring to the table for the team, even though he's mid-20's at this point.

 

I believe that Jonathan Gonzalez was not called since Monterrey has matches Nov 9, 11, and 18. I don’t think it has anything to do with choosing Mexico or USA.

 

I hope so.

 

Well, I almost got my wish with the goalkeeping corps. Sort of forgot about Horvath, but I hope we get Jesse cap tied sooner rather than later. Anybody know what the status on Johannsson and Green are? I know Aaron's been hurt, but has Green fallen off the planet? He did, after all, score in our last World Cup appearance.

 

Johansson played last weekend. Green I have no idea.

 

Green was loaned to Bundesliga 2 side Greuther Furth at the end of August. He jumped right into a starting role and played 5 matches in September. He hasn't played since. So either he's injured or he did in fact fall off the face of the planet.

 

Confirmation on Jonathon Gonzalez.

http://www.espnfc.us/team/united-st...squad-vs-portugal-john-brooks-weston-mckinnie

"If there is one minor disappointment, it is the absence of Monterrey midfielder Jonathan Gonzalez. The 18-year-old has been an ever-present force this season for Los Rayados, starting 13 of 16 games so far. It would have been interesting to see how he would have fared in a U.S. national team camp. Mexico has reportedly been dangling a one-time switch in front of Gonzalez, a dual citizen who represented the U.S. at U-20 level. Yet the Santa Rosa, Calif. native has remained steadfast and with the Liga MX playoffs fast approaching, the decision was made for Gonzalez to remain with his club."​

 

Are they ever gonna play this thing or what?

 

I don't really know what to expect today.

And in the grand scheme of things, I'm not over-thinking this match or the camp in general. I read a lot of fan commentary regarding the call ups, but the bottom line is that a temporary coach is currently leading things. There's no guarantee that the players in this camp will be brought back in by the next coach. Or that he'll have the same ideas, outlook, and player analysis as Sarachan. Until we get a permanent coach all of this amounts to little more than practice and a few pick-up games.

 

It was only a friendly of course but of the starters I was impressed with McKinnie, Adams and Miazga and it's too bad Danny Williams hasn't been given more opportunities at Dmid.

Of the subs I thought CCV played well.

My biggest takeaway is book as many friendlies as possible and let the young guys start playing together. I was delighted to see the US play with numbers in the midfield.