I looked at the preliminary rosters for our competitors, and for pretty much every squad but Mexico it seems like countries are bringing there A-teams. Of course it remains to be seen if they cut A-team players when they pick their final 23. Also, there's been some rumors the 2021 Confed Cup will be cancelled. It's not as popular as FIFA would like, European clubs hate it, and Qatar presents major logistical challenges. That being said I agree we should try to win. Because I always think the US should try to win. You play to win the game.
I am pretty sure that winning this Gold Cup does nothing to get us into the next Confed Cup. If we win then we force a playoff with Mexico if I remember the rules correctly.
You don't remember correctly. USA played Mexico for the right to go to the current Confederations Cup on the basis of the 2013 and 2015 Gold Cups. The winner of this Gold Cup will play the winner of the 2019 Gold Cup in the CONCACAF Cup in a one off playoff for the right to play in the 2021 Confederations Cup. Unless of course the same team wins twice.
I've been told in another thread the 2021 Confed Cup might not even take place as there's no way it would happen in Qatar in the summer.
Should be if he's a US Citizen, which I believe he became in March. He's been in the US for over 5 years so there's no need for a waiver, and he's not been capped at any youth level for England so there'd be no need for a one time switch. Assuming there's no issues obtaining a passport in time everything should be clear for him
Looks like we'll have the squad a week from today https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...ntion-toward-gold-cup/?utm_term=.4581471de919
FIFA have already announced that the 2021 Confed Cup will not be in Qatar, but in another Asian country. They have yet to announce what country. There is also rumors of it being canceled, but I am not sure if these rumors are coming from FIFA??? Edit: As of now FIFA has the 2021 CC listed on it's calendar to be played in Asia.
My understanding is that the 2021 Confed Cup is good to go, anything beyond that though is in serious doubt
I was about to get really fired up until I remembered they moved the 2022 WC to November or something. So then I just got regular mad.
Make the confed cup U23 tournament. Make the Olympics the U20 tournament. The Olympic year would also feature Copa America and Euros. Just an idle thought. Having top stars play a full season at top level, plus tail end quali's for WC followed by a confed cup is too much the year before WC.
Doyle with predictable yessir lineup for Gold Cup says "I have Roldan listed here as a back-up defensive midfielder because that probably is his long-term spot, even though he plays in more of a box-to-box role for Seattle" https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2017/06/19/armchair-analyst-predicting-usmnts-23-man-gold-cup-roster This is how you do not win a world cup by 2026.
Matt Doyle on right back for Gold Cup roster "Lichaj should already have 50 USMNT caps, but oh well. If he plays as well as he's capable of this summer, then the US no longer have depth issues behind DeAndre Yedlin. Polster has been the best under-25 American right back in MLS this year, and that's not just a "by default" award. The Fire are 5-0-1 with a +8 goal differential since he entered the lineup, and while there are correlation/causality issues to unpack there, it's not entirely coincidental that they've been so good lately." https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2017/06/19/armchair-analyst-predicting-usmnts-23-man-gold-cup-roster Actually, another reason is that Matt Polster gets shifted to mid to protect leads with Conner coming in at right back - Conner is another young rookie who has been doing well. Just last week end they tried closing out the game against Revs without moving Polster into the middle and it's a miracle Revs didn't score the tying goal.
As long s as Doyle is into evaluating what a player actually does for a team, he may have noticed that Toronto went 1 1 4 in their first six games before putting Delgado in the starting lineup against Chicago on April 21. With Delgado in the starting lineup they went on to win 5 straight before drawing away against RedBulls . Subsequently they went 2 1 1 with the sole loss coming with Delgado on the bench having been red carded in the 5-0 win against Columbus. They are 1W 2L 4D with Delgado not starting and 7W 0L 2D with Delgado starting.
Just win the 2018 WC and we won't need to win the Gold Cup for a ticket to the 2021 Confederation Cup.
O'Doyle rules, but Doyle not so much. In all seriousness, the roster overall is solid, but that's a tone def suggestion that Roldan be a backup defensive mid to McCarty for the Gold Cup. That's winning us less games now and later, a recipe for getting undressed. Roldan should also play both positions. Hell, he can spell at right back (we don't need 4 fb's w/ all the versatile players). Roldan should be starting most games.
FIFA has approved Kenny Saief's switch to the US, so he is good to go for the Gold Cup. http://www.espnfc.us/united-states/...onal-team-switch-from-israel-to-united-states
Great news about Saief! The players I'm most interested in seeing at the Gold Cup are: Hedges -- backup CB who can organize is still needed. Hedges entering his prime. Lichaj -- backup RB behind Yedlin needed. Lichaj also in prime. McCarty -- At least 1 pure DM would improve a full roster. Is this vet the guy? Roldan -- another 2-way, young CM would help. Dwyer -- you can't have enough strikers and Dwyer is different than others in the US pool. Sapong -- an obvious prime age backup for Jozy, if he can produce. Saief -- another starter or reliable sub along the left flank is needed. I'm curious about other players, too. Might Acosta and Nagbe be given key starting roles for the B-team and can they lead a team? Is Besler still in the plans? Does Morrow have any chance? How much has Miazga learned after a year abroad? Can Agulelo contribute? But these are lesser questions for me. Those first 7 names I listed all have, in my mind, a serious shot at the 23-man Cup roster next year, have attributes the US could use, and play roles in which there are still openings. I'm quite looking forward to the Gold Cup.
The Gold Cup even worth playing every two years these days? It's intrusive on MLS, MX and the US are putting out weakened teams and the final stages will be overshadowed by the ICC tournament. If a CONMEBOL/CONCACAF tournament is instituted every 4 years maybe the GC should be switched to every 4 years. (It could be used as a WC qualifying tournament).
So we should cancel our federation's every other year championship/cash-grab because more people care about the Euro pre-season/cash-grab?!? Having the GC every two years is not really important for us but it helps aspiring minnows like Panama or Canada. UEFA is basically eliminating friendlies. We have to find a way to get enough games to stay sharp and long camps seem like a decent opportunity.