Ahead of the roster announcements, here is my final prediction for the #USMNT and U.S. U-23 rosters. https://t.co/7DPHC2g1K6— Brian Sciaretta (@BrianSciaretta) October 1, 2019
I hope in a way that if we do qualify that we send the best possible team that we can for the Olympics. US Men’s Soccer is at such a low that we need as much of a W to get excited about as possible. ————Sargent————- Pulisic———————Weah ——Wes————Adams—- —————Fredo*————— Dest/Antonee————Cannon ———Brooks*—Miles——— —————Steffen*————
Roster. Feels pretty good. No Pomykal or Llanez, but I assume for injury reasons. Mendez and Ledezma and most of the expected crew. Also, Johnny from Brazil! https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/20...-roster-for-u-23-usmnt-training-camp-in-miami
Jason Kreis interview where he talks about the status of the team http://www.americansoccernow.com/ar...-u-23-progress-ahead-of-october-camp-in-miami
The Olympics are a goal but I think the talk of sending our best U23 roster is unrealistic. Whatever happens with qualifying and the Olympics and whatever they end up sending to both, I'd like to see the U23 team continue beyond next August. It is functioning as a reserve team for the USMNT and it has value as that. The U20 team is more in its own cycle and the U20WC is something to compete for. Plus, it is 20-22 that players seem to take different time tables to break out. Using the U23 camp in the FIFA window also takes all the guess work of comparing big Euro club reserve team players to guys getting MLS minutes to guys in minor Euro and SA leagues. It is a place to bring them all in and compare them. Aaronsen stood out in September supposedly, now whoever stands out at this camp can come in in November. All the Euro teams have U21 teams at least and many have U23 teams. If the U23 team was permanent, we could probably schedule better games than El Salvador. The kind of games that are tough to schedule with the nations leagues taking over at the senior level.
Awesome piece, @bshredder! Most interesting part from my perspective is that Kreis and Berhalter are discussing the possibility of Pulisic, McKennie et al being part of Olympic qualifying as well as the Olympics themselves. (And before people rush in with "BuT tHeIr TeAmS dOn'T hAvE tO rElEaSe ThEm!!!1!11", yes I am aware.)
Regarding the possibility of the Adams, Pulisic, Weah, McKennie, Sargent, Dest (maybe) and those types of players playing for the U-23 team, I have a few thoughts 1) It comes down to what the players want to do. I was surprised how enthusiastic McKennie and Pulisic sounded when asked about it in New Jersey last month. They want to play and win. When you recall how pumped Weah was for the U-20 WC and that he wanted to play there instead of the Gold Cup, I can only guess he'd feel the same way about the Olympics over the Nations League. 2) Is it realistic to think that U.S. Soccer could get club releases for all of them if the team qualifies for the Olympics? No. That's not realistic. 3) Is it realistic to think that U.S. Soccer could get releases for SOME of them if the team qualifies for the Olympics? Yes. That's realistic. 4) Which ones? Who knows. The Olympics are earlier that normal in 2020. The closing ceremonies are on August 9 - which is before the start of most seasons. So it's not impossible. Players whose teams start later into August have more of a chance. The same with players who have some clout with their clubs. 5) As for qualifying. That's changed in just the past few weeks as the Nations League semis and final are now in June, not March. So the USMNT has only friendlies in March. I asked Kreis if the U-23 qualifying will have roster augmentation which allows coaches to make limited changes to their roster during the international window (typically when the big games are). He said he did not know yet and that is TBD. If there is augmentation, maybe U.S. Soccer can send a few guys there to drag the team across the finish line. I wouldn't discount sending a big player or two there. Not all, but the possibility is certainly there for some.
He thought Mendez performed well at the U-20 WC but he didn't think Gloster did? Kreis has a very good reputation, but I'm not sure its deserved. He's been getting by on what he did years ago. His last few jobs he's been rather awful.
They should send all the senior u-23's they can to qualifying if the conflict is just friendlies and not Nations League now. We can even debate on the importance of Nations League vs. the Olympics/Qualifying. I'd rather the US succeed in the latter. It has more prestige. I'd place it behind only the World Cup/Qualifying and Copa America (when they actually compete in it). It's a youth tourney technically, but more of a hybrid in football considering it's a young man's game and there are a few overages allowed. Also, it's a world comp. I don't see why, if USS play their cards right, they can't get a bunch of major releases for Olympic qualifying to ensure they make it to Tokyo. Just inform their clubs if they don't play in Olympic qualifying they would for the US senior side instead. Obviously that's true for the likes of Pulisic, Adams, McKennie, Sargent, Weah, etc. Understandable they themselves would press to be part of it considering they came up together and have a chance to win something. They're the only nation to make the quarters in the last 3 u20 WC's. Now those rosters coalesce, while the US has more late bloomers in the sport than just about any country. They're not going to have a realistic chance to win a world/major comp with the full seniors for a while at least.
He has a poor reputation, but I'm not sure it's deserved. His last couple of jobs have been rather awful opportunities considering one was an expansion side and the other a virtual one which has still never made the playoffs. I don't think his assessment of Gloster's and Mendez' performances were accurate either, but it's an overreaction to think that somehow equates to him being a bad manager. Who knows what his motives are in expressing those opinions publicly. Managers often use the forum for motivational reasons. His rosters have been pretty reasonable, so that indicates he's paying attention overall.
I think you underrate how much the Olympics mean to their (and our, since I'm also born in 1998) generation. It'll likely be the first sporting even either play in that their friends back home would have watched anyways. For non-soccer fans, playing well in the Olympics will make them more relevant in mainstream sports than winning the Copa America. That legitimacy is hard to turn down.
I would say the top 5 in our U20 team were Richards, Pax, Dest, Soto, Gloster. Gloster played well, he doesn't push up as much as Dest but he is a better defender.
Eh, I think Gloster played better than I expected. But I didn't get the hype from a translation standpoint. He's still pretty one note going forward. He played better, and I think he has a lot of potential, but I don't think he was anywhere near a top three player at the U20. Richards, Dest, Pomykal were all there and all clearly had better tourneys.
I agree Richards was uniformly the top performer and Pomykal probably second. From there it probably varied by match. Some matches Weah was impactful, some Dest, Soto, Ledesma, Mendez. But Gloster was very steady throughout, especially in a position where we typically suck.
Dest clearly had a better tourney than Gloster....if you didn't watch the first two games. He was one of the worst players in the lineup in those. Then he was good in the final 3 matches. Gloster was decent or better in every match. That consistency I'd argue put him ahead of Dest. It's clearly not clear Dest was better. I'd go: 1. Richards, 2. Pomykal, 3. Weah, 4. Gloster, 5. Dest, 6. Soto. Mendez doesn't really register. He was thoroughly mediocre. KDLF, Durkin, and Keita were sub-par. Weah got underrated due to expectation of being a senior player. He was a little erratic, but really a creative force, clutch scorer, and switched the point of attack really well.