2020 USMNT Schedule

2 real camps before Hex. Yikes.

 

2019 Schedule Thread here -

https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/2019-usmnt-schedule.2090815/

 

Why this?

 

Take your pick ...

 

What's behind door #3?

 

I don't know - Sebsasour just told us this shouldn't be too active of a schedule thread, that's all - I didn't expect a kind of Spanish Inquisition.

 

how do you know whether your logistics are right if you don't take a first choice squad? if a race car team wants feedback on their car, they bring in a veteran who is retired or out of work, who knows their sh*t. if a race car team wants to evaluate personnel, they call in random trialists and time laps. how much informed or honest feedback do you think you get from inexperienced people desperate to make the team and ingratiate the staff?

you call in brenden aaronson. or mihailovic. what's he going to tell you?

and then if it's not pulisic and steffen but instead would-be world cup roster cuts, the right players don't learn a thing. they are with their club teams. and those are the ones who have been around, could tell you if the practices worked, if the logistical choices make sense. "yeah, when we fly out to poland for champions league, we......"

and then it would be typical of the "let's impose an abstracted tactics" people to think you can do tourney prep on site independent of the likely candidates to go there, as some similar abstraction.

 

Why would you need to bring you A squad to get logistics right?

They eat the same thing, have a the same physios, same training etc. So the logistics to support them would be the same.

 

sorry, no, don't buy it. precisely one of my beefs with what is going on right now is one voice is treated as as good as another and we promote the people who kiss GB tail. i think Pulisic and certain others have more soccer knowledge in their pinky finger and have actually traveled around the world playing soccer. i want to know more than anything what they think. i do not think some U20 reject or GB sycophant gives me the same level feedback as pulisic, no. nor do i think their more precarious position on the team encourages them to be as blunt and less concerned about how a critical demeanor in a team noob might come across.

i did a couple pro circuit stops in my new olympic sport. one of them was abroad, nearly a day on a series of planes, coming and going. i could handle the logistics of tournament entry, normal travel/hotel/booking, and i knew how to play my sport within international rules. but i didn't know some of the procedural aspects of checking in, tech spec. luckily i ate breakfast at a table next to an aussie who turned out to be an olympian. he told me what i needed to do. and then next to no one at the tournament hotel where i ate most meals, understood english very well. i have dietary needs. i ended up eating somewhat "healthy" but went off my diet. by the time competition rolled around i wasn't feeling the best. i did solid but no where near my best. it was not the same as competing domestically, even at a high level, where these steps are automatic, and the dietary things would be person-specific and i know where to go for them. and part of what you need to know is, can i access the needed food in that country. and if the right people don't travel do you realize the issue exists.

while i could get basic travel or tournament tips from a variety of people, they wouldn't have known the answers on the more specific stuff. i was the only american entered in my division that year, and there were a short list of americans who had ever done the tournament before that i could have contacted, most of them world class people you feel nervous cold calling. and unless i had brought up my specific diet needs no one would have had those concerns or answers.

everyone doesn't eat the same things. that's not even true on college soccer trips.

and then to me some people handle anything and barrel through life, and some people are sensitive and have needs. to me the more youthful and eager a bunch you send, the more likely they are to keep their head down, do as told. but work ethic and pretending everything ok doesn't set one up for a good scouting trip. for that i want the guy who needs to eat just so, the ones who need cushy beds, the ones who react to hard fields. not the ones who are like i have diarrhea from the food, a sore back from the beds, sore ankles from the stupid training pitch, but i am not saying a word because i don't want the coach thinking i am soft, and i don't have the cachet yet to be honest.

and while they would have the same staff attending to them, the players would have different needs, or might offer different degrees of quality of feedback about how to maximize the tournament.

to me if you're trying a dry run for the tournament you want the core players there. acclimate and get feedback from the ones who might actually play there.

 

Dr Phil clears up a bit of our confusion ...

 

will this closed door scrimmage be broadcast? and this is both a practical question and a comment of sorts. that you might avoid having a rankings-impacting international friendly but then since it was more an avoidance scheme give up the true benefits of closed door eg post the lineup, broadcast the game, unhide the game basically. as opposed to coyly saying we played a game, this was the result, these were the scorers. name, rank, serial number. i will be curious how it's handled in practice.

i think it would be a physical game with a drilled, tough opponent and probably a harder test than costa rica B/C.

 

Can you add the Olympic qualify schedule to this?

 

u23 qualifying tournament will be 3/20-4/1 in mexico. draw is on 1/9. there is no specific schedule as such until then, but we are in, and there are 2 groups playing every 3 days. so it will be either March 20 23 26 or March 21 24 27. semis 3/30, final 4/1. finalists qualify.

 

US book football friendly against Wales in Cardiff

 

fyi U23 quali draw has been held and it ended up
US/Mexico/Costa Rica/Dominican Republic

3/20 CR (early game of pair, time unknown)
3/23 DR (early game of pair, time unknown)
3/26 Mexico (second game of pair, time unknown)

other group is Honduras, Canada, El Salvador, Haiti

semis 3/30 doubleheader
final 4/1

finalists both qualify

in terms of how our group got there, US and Mexico were automatics from NAFU
CR won their UNCAF quali home and away 3-2 over Guatemala, with each team winning a shutout on the road ie 3-0 CR win in Guate, 2-0 Guate win in CR. odd. maybe backwards?
DR won a CFU group undefeated with PR, St. Lucia, and Antigua, then beat St. Kitts in a playoff 2-0 in extra time in St. Kitts.

 

As a huge supporter of US Soccer I want to attend all 10 WCQ this upcoming cycle since WCQ will never be the same. Is there any suggestions about how to go about this? Where should I stay in Mexico City, San Juan, and ect.

 

You might want to pose the same question here:

https://www.bigsoccer.com/forums/usa-men-fans-travel.6/

or here:

https://www.bigsoccer.com/forums/usa-men-world-cup-fans-travel.1081/

 

SIAP but when do we find out the Hex schedule

 

Canada still fancy themselves in the race for 6th place in the rankings, although it is a desperate chase. It pains me to say it, but El Salvador will almost certainly go through.
However, that "Top 6" HEX schedule is technically decided by the rankings published July 16th.
http://www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/
(These rankings will include all the results of the Copa America and EURO that finish July 12th)

So CONCACAF cannot have the final schedule for the HEX published before July 16th.

However, they can do a pre-draw at an earlier date like they did last time. In this case:
1) Create a default schedule.
Fixture 1 (September 2020 - Matchday 1):
Team A vs Team C
Team B vs Team F
Team D vs Team E

Fixture 2 (September 2020 - Matchday 2):
Team C vs....
etc.


2) Hold a draw where
Pot 1 is the teams per their FIFA Ranking on July 16th:
- Top ranked team (almost certainly Mexico)
- 2nd ranked team (almost certainly the USA)
- 3rd ranked team (likely Costa Rica or Jamaica)
- 4th ranked team (likely Costa Rica or Jamaica)
- 5th ranked team (almost certainly Honduras)
- 6th ranked team (likely El Salvador - maybe Canada)

and Pot 2 is positions A, B, C, D, E & F on your schedule.

CONCACAF could easily do this in mid-June and it would help teams begin planning venues and bookings for their teams.

 

When did they create a pre-draw last time?

 

The pre-Hex round ended in September 2016.
The Hex draw was July 8th 2016 BEFORE the previous round had ended.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_FIFA_World_Cup_qualification_%E2%80%93_CONCACAF_Fifth_Round

It was a ****show of a draw on a shaky cam, with plenty of technical issues with the broadcast. CONCACAF at it's most CONCACAF.

http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/mexico-to-open-hex-on-the-road-2811514
http://web.archive.org/web/20160711061620/http://www.concacaf.com/video/official-draw-final-round-concacaf-qualifying-for-fifa-world-cup-russia-2018
The point is, they can do this again in mid-June so that the various Football Associations can begin booking stadiums, flights, hotels etc... before the results are official and the 6 Hex teams are announced.

 

The press in Central America seem to think an official announcement from CONCACAF is imminent. The way it's worded seems to imply doubleheaders.
Both games in Texas.

Semi-final on Thursday, June 4th in Houston (BBVA Compass Stadium).

Final on Sunday, June 7th in Arlington (AT&T Stadium).

http://diarioextra.com/Noticia/detalle/410008/sele-ya-tiene-fecha-para-su-primer-gran-reto
http://www.oncenoticias.hn/definida-la-fecha-para-la-semifinal-de-liga-de-naciones-de-la-concacaf/

 

i am curious if they have a camp and friendly before the LoN game(s). most of europe will be out of season.