His reaction to the second goal reminded me of Michael Jordan's reaction after he hit his 97th 3-pointer in the first half (over Cliff Robinson) against the Portland Trailblazers in the 1992(?) NBA Finals.
He's been at the front of the young forward pool for quite some time. There was a reason he was GenAd and a 1st round draft pick. [Picked 8th right after Chris Mueller of Orlando. From a UYSNT perspective he has one of those tweener birthdays. He was only a couple months too old to be on the U20 World Cup team that just finished. Players like that end up being two young for one U20 cycle and too old for the next. So he's been a little outside of that hype world. But now that he's in the U23 cycle, he should be at the forefront of the domestic options for Olympic qualifying. Toye, Ebobisse, Ferreira, Vasquez, etc. [Because the Euro forwards like Sargent, Weah, Soto, etc. are unlikely to be available.]
In the newly released technical report from the 2019 U-20 World Cup, American Chris Richards was listed as one of the 10 standouts of the tournament. https://t.co/0sFBXTs3s5— Brian Sciaretta (@BrianSciaretta) September 3, 2019
Considering this is the USMNT forum, "breaking out" to the USMNT is the point. These three have made the jump! Let’s get a big 👏 for the #USMNT newbies.Welcome @_milesrobinson_, @PaxiPomy and Sergiño Dest! 🇺🇸 ⚽️ 👋 pic.twitter.com/Ws3mm33EC6— U.S. Soccer Men's National Team (@USMNT) September 2, 2019
Taking nothing from Toye (I actually think he’s a nice prospect) I really wouldn’t call that a Golazo. He had tons of time and space.
Semantics aside, I'm impressed even with the time and space, at least relative to the pool. We have too many attackers who can't accurately and consistently place the ball even with time and space.
It's a golazo. Quick turn and delivery in rhythm, letting one rip from distance, with pinpoint accuracy. The other one was too. Carried the ball a distance, give and go, quick turn, and curl from a tough angle. He didn't give the defense, who was naturally covering deeper or another area initially, much chance other than to flail their body at him recklessly and risk getting burned.
We don't need to find excuses to marginalize the performances of one of our few young, US-eligible forwards in MLS. He's young (only months too old to be part of this recently completed U20 cycle) and he's scoring. Those were good goals. For Pete's sake, we're not expecting him to be Zlatan Ibrahimovic at this point.............are we? It's OK for folks to be excited about a young player.
Alex Mendez on the Ajax Champions League roster https://t.co/Sgs4EHLGtO— scuffed (@scuffedpod) September 4, 2019 Reyna’s on Dortmund’s Champions League roster https://t.co/GM1plqbIle— scuffed (@scuffedpod) September 4, 2019
“Taking nothing from Toye (I actually think he is nice prospect)...” if that is marginalizing a young player we may as well shut down the YNT forum. I thought it was a nice goal as well, not a golazo. YMMV.
The demon is in the details. Toye is right footed. Both goals are with his left foot. Something that his defenders were not expecting but will certainly be in the scouting reports from this point on. I really liked his first goal. Confident dribble, good timing and the space and time was created because of his movement. But yeah, he won't be allowed to get that much time ever again.
Chris Richards is no longer Bayern Munich’s hidden gem - Bavarian Football Works https://t.co/arpi8vFCxa— KRich (@KenRich32624635) September 4, 2019
Thanks for posting this Clint. The D side of the ball has been concerning for a long time for the MNT and it is exciting to see the emergence of young dynamic D players like Richards and Dest. Both of them could play important roles in the upcoming run towards 2022. Here is ESPN's recent write-up on Dest: https://www.espn.com/soccer/united-...hing-but-even-if-hes-nothes-proof-of-progress It essentially a cautionary tale of our endless pursuit in the US for a Soccer Savior.
Richie Ledezma played his first minutes with the PSV first team today in an int'l break friendly with FC Koln. pic.twitter.com/C92xqYSz7e— scuffed (@scuffedpod) September 4, 2019
I think Ledezma might be the next player to break out, but it hit me just recently he may be the player we need to break out the most. A legit 10 would be huge for our national team. If we had Ledezma at the 10 Pulisic can be just a winger again and we won’t need to ask so much of McKennie any more, both can just do what they have proven ability at.
I'm not sure Paxton is a #10 either. FCD uses him as a "free #8". MIljevic, on the other hand.................seems to be a real #10. How about this play from last weekend 1169396607542079488 is not a valid tweet id
We have to be narrowing down the list of real contenders for the 2019 award, right? There's 6 games left to stake a claim to being a USMNT regular. I'd say it's down to Sargent, Dest, Pomykal, and Weah. I'd roll over everyone else (Soto, Mendez, Llanez, Richards, Ledezma, Reyna, etc.) to 2020. Weah is at a disadvantage with his hamstring injury, but he'd still have a chance if he's fit in time for the October games. Pomykal is probably also downgraded slightly, since his club breakout "only" came in MLS, unless he really tears things up for the Nats. Sargent and Dest both seem to factor in their clubs' plans and will at least see decent minutes off the bench with sporadic starts, and both seem poised to at least claim backup roles with the USMNT. Of course, Dest could lose by refusing to accept a cap-tying call-up in October and/or November.
For me this is Dest from the Euro brigade and Pomykal from the MLS brigade. Pretty clear. There were some happy breakthoughs in MLS that we weren't necessarily expecting (Mason Toye of Minnesota), and some disappointments as well (Mark McKenzie of the Union for instance). As far as other MLS options? Jesus Ferreira of FCD and Brenden Aaronson of Philadelphia are both with the US U23s now. As you say, Weah is in the mix on the Europe side. I'm just convinced that Dest will stay ahead of him and Sargent. This is Dest's to lose. By the way, while we're at it. The US U17s beat Mexico today. That attacking trio might be one of the best at the U17 World Cup. Two players that have already made their MLS debuts (Pepi of FCD, and Ocampo-Chavez of Seattle) and Gio Reyna of Dortmund. Killer. 1169701025227448322 is not a valid tweet id
The problem for McKennie is if Pulisic isn’t the 10 we don’t really have another 10 and we play dual 8s. I think McKennie is better when he plays with a 10. Paxton can play dual 8s with McKennie but again the whole dual 8s thing. Miljevic is wildly unproven but also I’m no human database I’m supposed to remember a tri-nat with like 2 pro appearance also plays as a 10? There’s also no proof he’s better than Ledezma.