Ream has just never performed up to the expected level of a NT CB. He has a nice skill-set for our back line, but the performances don't match the skill-set. Arena hasn't been analyzing his game for years, considering he wasn't an international coach during Ream's career. I suspect he'll realize soon enough that Ream isn't good enough.
Opara can't be in the discussion for a long while, at best. The concussion is a really bad one. Realistically, he isn't thought likely to be back to his best (if he returns) until next spring, which with the MLS start means he'd be a bit tight for time for making an impression.
They're saying he's out for at least a month, and the notion that he might choose retirement has been raised. I'm going on how long it took Sinovic to get back to his best after a similarly bad concussion, If he's unlikely to play, or train, until almost September, he's starting a couple steps below where he left off. This may be simple pessimism on my part. I tend to be a "the glass is shattered and we're all cutting our feet on the shards" type.
Arena has clearly favored Ream over Besler as the backup to Brooks on the left side. However, Besler has demonstrated his quality with the current squad. The defense has struggled quite a bit without him, featuring Gonzalez and Hedges. If his solid play continues, I am guessing that he passes Ream. I hope Arena has confidence in the Besler/Miazga pairing against Costa Rica, but I fear that he'll pair Besler with Gonzalez for the remainder of the tournament. I'm watching the Spurs/PSG match right now and Carter-Vickers once again looks raw to me. Not only did he make a huge mistake very early to give up a goal, he was lucky that PSG didn't score minutes earlier when he continued retreating rather than cutting off a run. I hope it's just jitters, but he's really got to take advantage of every opportunity if he's going to earn minutes with Spurs.
I could be wrong, but I think that Hedges is done between now and Russia, maybe he'll get a Camp Cupcake callup due to lack of options but that's all. I really doubt CCV gets enough time to justify a spot in Russia, it would be kinda Julian Greenish to bring him in. Realistically I think it's a 6 way race (for 4 spots) between Cameron, Brooks, Gonzo, Besler, Ream, and Miazga. I've never been high on Ream and Miazga's club situation remains to be seen, the Nicaragua game doesn't really mean a whole lot as neat as the goal was. As of now I'd take the same 4 we took to Brazil
So would it be Cameron/Brooks or would Arena try Cameron as a DM allowing Brooks and Besler/Ream/Gonzalez?
The US has a lot of good veteran options at CB with Brooks, Cameron, Gonzalez, Besler and Ream, and I think Arena is comfortable with them. Unless a player absolutely has a huge breakout year (Miazga, Zimmerman, CCV, Palmer-Brown, Opara) I think it will be hard to claw their way onto the 2018 roster. Which is a shame because I'd like to see Cameron in midfield and I think there's a higher ceiling for most of the guys on the second list than the first.
CB is a position that always seems to include MLS players in the top squad. If we're looking at the 2026 player pool, Zimmerman and Long may stick around for the early stages but will eventually age out during the cycle. Robinson will be back at some point, and hopefully a key CB option during the next cycle, assuming he picks up where left off prior to the injury. Miazga is another guy who could re-emerge during this cycle. What would make the most sense in January? Bring back veterans Zimmerman and Long? Start the transition with Miazga and one of the young MLS CB options? What do other folks think? Who are the up and coming MLS options from MLS, who could legitimately factor into the pool?
We'll see. All depends on the development of young Euro CBs like Richards, EPB, CCV, Trusty, McKenzie, etc. etc. They'll all be in their primes in 2026. We'll see how Miles Robinson comes back from injury as well. This World Cup would likely have been his coming out party. Can I just say that Zimmerman has been fine other than that one moment against Walez. All of the concerns people had about Zimmerman against the English attackers were unfounded. Everybody said he'd be a liability due to a lack of pace and whatnot. He's been fine in that regard. His bad moment had nothing to do with any of that. Something to consider is that CB isn't not deemed the strength of our current U20 group. In fact, quite the opposite. Justin Che was sorta considered a CB for a while. Not only is he no longer playing CB at Hoffenheim, he's not playing RB either. He's playing on the right wing as an attacker!! The midfield/attack on that U20 team is wicked, but the CB position is weak. We'll probably do with Zimmerman and Long what we did with Ream this cycle. Stash them to the side and work with young defenders. If we need to circle back to them, then we can.
I'd think the World Cup players should be enjoying a break. That being said, I wouldn't mind seeing Zimmerman and Robinson back together at some point to see if the chemistry is still there. They were our best CB pair this cycle although Ream certainly has an argument after two games. Miazga has to be there. I really wish he hadn't gotten a bad loan at the worst time. I'm a fan of Justen Glad at RSL. He's very fast and has a decent passing game. He was named RSL 2022 Player of the Year by at least some publications. I'd call him in. Hopefully Aaron Long gets some time away. People criticizing Zimmerman's passing need to remember that when he was out there with Aaron Long, they forced the ball to Long. Tells you all you need to know. And it was notable that Zimmerman had a higher sprint speed than anyone not named Weah, Jedi, or Pulisic. Perhaps Aaron Long's "pace" has been overrated and used solely to justify his inclusion ever since Robinson went down. Robinson wasn't good solely because of his pace. He's a bit more conservative whereas Zimmerman prefers to go flying forward to win headers and challenges. That's a good dynamic. Of course his pace helps but it was the understanding and relationship/natural cohesiveness that made them more formidable than the sum of the parts. For me, i think we are going to rely on mostly the same guys either in camp or right on the fringe over the next four years. They will be the right age. Relying on a CB who will be 23 in 2026 is not a good strategy. Other than Miazga and maybe Justen Glad can take the next step, i think all our most likely 2026 options are already in Europe.
I'm not really sure this is a pattern. For instance, we didn't have an MLS-based CB on our 2010 roster. We did on most other WC rosters, but all of those rosters also had a larger proportion of domestic-based players than the 2022 or 2010 ones did. It mostly seems to me like what's happening here is that we have two positions on the field right now (RCB and CF) where we can't really field anyone remotely in form who's also getting minutes for a club in a top 4 league at the moment, or at a club of comparable quality, so those are not-coincidentally the only positions on the field where an MLS-based player has any hope of starting, barring injury or suspension. If we're in this same position again in 2026, it will probably mean that the Euro based options Clint mentioned above flamed out or failed to develop as expected.