McKenzie either with a slight knock or not quite 90 min. fit. Very cautious lineup, with both Durkin & Servania backing Mendez.
@bshredder has Pomykal as captain. U.S. U-20 starting XI vs. UkraineScottDestKeitaRichardsGlosterDurkinServaniaMendezPomykal (c)Weahde la Fuente— Brian Sciaretta (@BrianSciaretta) May 24, 2019
Didn't think that needed a snark tag. While we were dreaming of a world class national team, dreaming of a world class league seemed like the natural next step.
I suspect McKenzie isn't fit. I'd use Araujo instead of Keita for the second CB, but Ramos third CB for this age group has seemed to be Keita since the March camp. Servania's inclusion is surprising because nobody expected it. I'm not anti-Servania. I think he's a pretty good player, and I don't think he's going to be a liability here, but I'd much rather have Pomykal playing centrally and Soto on the field. This formation might look more like a 4-2-3-1 with Mendez playing as a a #10 and Servania as a #8.
i mean the dmid-heavy roster was pretty indicative that we would see 2 dmids.... servania-durkin doesnt surprise me at all. wouldv'e been nice to see weah-soto up top and just durkin at dmid.
Tab must be pretty confident and already rotating the squad? Given the start to the 2017 tournament, I guess Tab wants to try and get out of the first few minutes without giving up a bunch of goals. What is interesting is that with one sub (Llanez or Soto for Durkin or Servania) he can change from ultra conservative to all out attack by bringing Pomykal inside. Now, I think Pomykal is actually pretty good on defense and not sure you need Servania for that. Would have probably just started him there. Like Zelalem, Weah goes right in.
From a "looking ahead way too far" perspective, did I read the 2nd place finisher in this group will likely get France? If so, we need to focus on a Ukraine beatdown, as Nigeria smoked Qatar which helps for goal difference.
So he has Servania, a reserve player, over Cerrillo, a starter for the same parent club. Also, he didn't think Sands, a good MLS starter, warranted a spot on the provisional roster even, but Keita, a questionable USL player makes his first lineup. In addition he has two sixes, that also results in having lower quality on the field. Those are some really whack decisions. I'm fine w/ the Pomykal out wide application. It allows Weah to play in the center and bump a weaker player. But you'd have also thought it would empower him to start Ledezma, or better yet Aaronson, another guy who wasn't even on the provisional roster in spite of being a good MLS starter. Hopefully the unusual team strength overcomes these foibles anyway.
Pomykal looked good when he drifted out wide during that tournament in Brdenton. In person he was faster than I expected and many of his creative moments came from the wing. Servania was very impressive in the U20 concacaf championships. I think this lineup will play like a false 9 4231. Might even see de la fuente drift wide a bit and Pomykal slide underneath. Durkin providing passing range from deep. Potentially strong defensively and offensively. Id imagine the front 3 will be fluid seeing that Weah has Striker experience.
This is a safe lineup for this game. I dont mind it. Should be flexible. Could see Dest flying up and Pomykal sucking in. I imagine we will see a lot of movement with the front 3. Hopefully, resulting in Weah at the tip of the spear.
Interesting about Nigeria. The few comments I’ve seen from Nigerian fans on twitter have been about how unimpressed they were with this squad
My advice remains that we win today's match. That will leave us well positioned to: a) beat Nigeria, beat Qatar, finish first, avoid France; or b) lose to Nigeria, tank v Qatar, finish 3rd but advance, avoid France.
--Pomykal--Weah--KDLF -------Aaronson--Mendez-- Dest--------Cerrillo-----Araujo -------Sands----Richards------- -------------Scott------------------ Would have been my lineup and they would have Ukraine look like a weak joke, as if they had a comedian running their country now.
Good lineup. I think Servania shutting down Lainez may have earned the call up for this one. Wouldnt be surprised to see a change after this game vs Nigeria.
Servania over the guy that literally took his spot. Someone feel like explaining that to me other than Tab making his usual mistakes
Also you leave some of our best prospects on the bench in favor of a guy not as impactful and play a defensive lineup when the strength of the team is attacking. I just don’t understand what TF goes through these guys heads
I wonder if the original lineup was Akinola up top and Pom at the 10, and Ramos thought the obvious choice - putting in Soto as a natural 9 - was too disruptive. ::shrug::