Not sure where to post this, and certainly these guys are a ways away from this discussion, but props to the U-17s who were named to the CONCACAF Championship all tournament team. http://sbisoccer.com/2017/05/sargent-durkin-garces-among-u-s-players-named-to-concacaf-u-17-best-xi A total of five Americans were named to the Best XI following the completion of the 2017 CONCACAF Under-17 Championship, which saw Mexico top the U.S., 5-4, in penalty kicks on Sunday. Representing the U.S. on the team of the tournament is striker Josh Sargent, midfielder Chris Durkin, centerback James Sands, fullback Jaylin Lindsey and goalkeeper Justin Garces.
In case folks didn't see it in the youth threads, the roster has been released for the U20 World Cup in South Korea. http://www.ussoccer.com/stories/201...roster-2017-fifa-u20-world-cup-korea-republic Of particular note vis-a-vi this thread.................we're hearing thru the grapevine that all of the Schalke boys (McKennie, Taitague, Wright), Josh Perez of Fiorentina, and Mukwelle Akale of Villarreal weren't released by their clubs. [I'm sure we'll get more real reporting on this from folks like Brian.] As suspected, Pulisic isn't in this roster either. That tells us something about the esteem that these players are held in at their clubs. They were deemed too important to be released for a "youth event." Pulisic, of course, is likely considered solely a senior USMNT player. I bet we won't even see him for the upcoming Olympic cycle. Also worth noting that U17 Josh Sargent was indeed included on this roster. There are quotes from US Soccer indicating they believe the rule has been changed, and he can indeed play for the U17s and U20s in the same summer. I'm now going to humbly submit my Clint Eastwood 18 of players not on this roster. -----------------Wright---------- Akale---------Pulisic------Perez -------McKennie--Pomykol----- Farfan--Robinson-Trusty--Cannon ----------------vom Steeg---------- Stajduhar Olosunde Terwege Yueill Craft Taitague Vasquez
Dortmund has their German Cup Final during the U-20 Cup, which is why they didn't release Pulisic. Dunno about the other kids.
Well.................the non-roster has the "difference-making" attacking talent, while the U20WC roster has the defensive talent. There are 4 pretty damn good CBs, for instance, on the U20WC roster. CCV, EPB, Glad, and Redding all have USMNT potential. That U20 team can just shut people down like they did at the CONCACAF Championships. The problem is where the goals are going to come from.
I would pick the non-roster for sure. Their attack is much better and they have the best player by far on either squad in Pulisic. D isn't as strong, but your could make a case for Farfan being the best LB on either team, so it isn't a huge drop-off across the back four. Robinson/Trusty is also a pretty strong CB pairing, but not as good as the U17 Combo. Taking Pulisic out of the equation for either team then I still think the non-roster is better. To be fair to Ramos, he wanted at least 3 of the starters on the non-roster and if he was able to pick those player then I think his preferred team is better. Non-roster team would still be strong though which is a testament to the depth of this cycle.
We have reached another milestone in youth development. It now appears as though we cannot get the top players in the pool for our youth teams because their professional clubs are not willing to release them for various reasons. So we now have some of the problems that Germany, England, France, etc. have. That's a GOOD thing, not a bad thing.
I have to think that this guy will be playing pro games somewhere next year, whether at Schalke or on loan. He scored a nice goal today against Bayern's U-19 team, and was probably the MOTM. Weston will also likely be in the same situation, and he was also pretty good today.
Nice goal, but none of the rest of his shots were on goal with a few not even close. I'm not sure what to make of him but don't think he's 12 months away from being ready for the Bundesliga.
At best, Haji would be third on the depth chart next season for Schalke. A loan to a Bundesliga II team would be a nice option. Hell, playing for Schalke II consistently wouldn't be the worst thing either.
To be fair, this has been an issue every cycle. Last cycle it was Ethan Horvath (who would have been our starting keeper), Andrija Novakovich (a target forward for a team in desperate need of forward help), etc. Its just a bigger issue this cycle than most. Players being unavailable or injured is why it can be dangerous to gauge the future health of a national team program based on U20 results. Cameron Carter-Vickers and Justen Glad are both injured at the moment, and its conceivable that one or both will have to be scratched from the roster. Auston Trusty of the Union is reportedly with the squad for that eventuality. And to be fair, we always have a lot of "late bloomers" when it comes to defenders. Cameron, Hedges, Zimmerman, Besler, Birnbaum, John Anthony Brooks, Ream, etc. had a combined zero U20 caps. Omar Gonzalez only had a few.
Yes, it is something that happens frequently, but this is the first time I have seen this quantity held out by excellent European clubs like Schalke, Man U, Villareal, Fiorentina, etc., and even with that we still have players with Tottenham, Fulham, etc. who are with the squad. I fully expect this squad to have a good showing, The MLS players actually get minutes in a professional league that challenges them to grow. I think that we underestimate their ability. The player I'm interested to see is this Lagos Kunga kid. I have watched him from afar and he's a rare American talent with slick one-on-one skill in abundance. I'm interested to see him perform at this level with his peers. He comes from a soccer family and seems like a potential success story. He's still a bit thin/lanky in some ways and may not be ready physically to play against full grown men all the time and not get hurt, but against his peers I think that he'll have some unique moments.
He's old for the U-18 DA level and he only has 10 goals in 21 games. I haven't seen him play, but I'm going to assume he's way out of his depth at the U-20 level. Javan Torre level, probably. I think there was someone who watches Atlanta United's U-18 team who said that Kunga wasn't even the best player on their team. Strange addition, very strange.
That's not the proper way to go about this. One does not evaluate players based on hearsay and assumption. The kid has been in U19 camp with Friedel. Friedel actually saw him play and has a proven history as a professional and has been in the talent game for a long time. I am interested in what Friedel and Tab Ramos (also an experienced professional) have seen in this kid. Teams are not chosen in a vacuum based on where they rank in some imaginary developmental rubric. They are chosen for roles within the team and because coaches think that they will be able to contribute in a way that helps execute their game plans to win. In the NBA, coaches do not take the "consensus" top 5 players if they all play the same position and have the same role. they take players who can do certain things in their system. Soccer is the same. Positional discipline is obviously looser and depends on formations, which can be fluid, but you want to have guys who can do certain things when you need them. Lagos Kunga appears to be a guy who can make decisive plays toward goal. He can "try s***". That's his role. If Tab and Friedel think he can do it at this level, then that's something that piques my interest.
Time will tell. I was told the same types of things you are saying about Kunga about Maki Tall last cycle. That was the same type of decision. Kind of out of left field he made it at the end, no one had seen him play or seen him play much. Look where Tall is now.
No youth player is a lock for anything. We should have seen enough of those to have learned our lesson.
I can't recall players not being released for the actual U20 WC at any point before the Novakovich/Horvath stuff last cycle -- except for the situations when players were deemed to have "graduated" to the first team like Adu and Altidore. Am I forgetting someone?
The greater number can also be related to the decision by FIFA to have the tournament in May as opposed to June/July when it is usually held. Certainly, the Schalke kids would have been available if they weren't still in their U19 playoffs.
#Weinzierl: "I've spoken at length with Norbert #Elgert. The three will train with and be options for the first team from now on." #s04 pic.twitter.com/m4FU6nLMw2— FC Schalke 04 (@s04_en) May 18, 2017
Also of note, a '99 English-American Samuel Shashoua made the bench today for Spurs. He's provisionally cap-tied to England. He's a winger, good dribbler, can score, creative player. Subs: Vorm, Wimmer, Lesniak, Shashoua, Eriksen, Nkoudou, Janssen. #COYS— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) May 18, 2017
Both make the bank. Hopefully they both debut today. Unsere Start-1⃣1⃣ im letzten Saisonspiel bei den @Schanzer'n! #FCIS04 pic.twitter.com/JGviVxc1y6— FC Schalke 04 (@s04) May 20, 2017
It's a first appearance in the full squad for 🇺🇸 boys @HajiWright and @WMckennie - good luck, lads! #FCIS04 #S04US pic.twitter.com/66LSoJuiUG— Schalke 04 USA🇺🇸 (@s04_us) May 20, 2017
Youngest American to debut in MLS in nearly six years since Jack McBean. Didn't get many touches, but did well in the few touches he got. Not really much time to get many touches. 86' #ATLUTD Substitution:➡️ @andrewcarleton7⬅️ Miguel Almirón— Atlanta United FC (@ATLUTD) May 21, 2017