I was hoping for 5 towards the end of the game, but 4 and an assist isn't bad. Obviously this team they played isn't very good, but they don't need to be good. If you can outplay your competition for minutes (which he certainly did), I don't know why that doesn't count. He was the best player on the field, even when he wasn't scoring goals. There were one moment that could've been a gif where he wrekt a few defenders on the other team who tried to foul him, he just nutmugged them. He finished his chances well, and was very unselfish, unlike Reese who was incredibly selfish and probably denied Haji of a 5th goal. The way I look at this game, Haji had 4 goals, Avdijaj had 1 goal, Di Santo, Reese and Tekpetey had none. Konoplyanka had two, but he seems to be on his way out anyway because he's a malcontent within the team.
Didn't Konoplyanka just permanently sign with Schalke? And it's not even the goals that stand out to me, Haji was just flat out good. Always in the right place, which meant he got more chances, but also just technically a higher class. Reese just isn't that good. I think Haji just jumped him in the pecking order, and I think Haji is now more likely to stay with Schalke than get loaned.
Very exciting performance despite the opposition level. Is it time to move this one to the YA forum or should it stay here?
I don't know if Konoplyanka signed long-term recently or not, but he's always making trouble. I think he said something really stupid recently that got him more criticism. I was reading that he was training away from the team yesterday with the athletic trainer, usually happens when a player has been punished, so I'm surprised he even played today. I think he's gonna leave pretty soon. About where Haji stands on the depth chart, as I posted yesterday, it seems like Reese will go out on loan again. And you are right, he is better than Reese. He was better than Reese when they played on the U-19 two seasons ago. His competition to get minutes off the bench really isn't that good. He's better than Reese, Platte isn't much better than Reese (if he's better at all), and then Di Santo is a more experienced player, but he's awful, he notoriously scored 0 goals last season.
All 4 goals: "Haji Show" @HajiWright @WMckennie #schalkamerica @s04_us #usmnt pic.twitter.com/mJZsxHXm20— Dallas Cup ⚽️ (@dallascup) July 8, 2017
I'm a bit confused. Why are we worried about Konoplyanka at all? Isn't he a lifetime midfielder, who has never scored more than 10 goals in all competition in any season? Or is the story that Haji is being looked at as a midfielder? It didn't seem so today.
Konoplyanka is a winger, although I'm pretty sure he played some striker last season in their 3-5-2. Wright is a striker, but also can play winger. Haji's not gonna start yet, so being versatile, and playing whatever position you are asked to play helps, therefore a winger like Konoplyanka could be a competitor for minutes.
I am sure Tab Ramos is enjoying this. If we had CP, Wright and McKennie on the U20 team i think we make the semi easily. The fact that the event was beneath them at this point is a good sign for the national teams and the players themselves especially.
Why is Mckennie on the main Yanks Abroad page, while Haji is still in the Academy? Just wondering. Edit: I assume its because Weston got those 12 minutes with the first team. My bad.
Can someone please show me any evidence whatsoever that Tab asked for Haji's release before we perpetuate the narrative that Shalke didn't care about the U-20s? I'm not saying you are doing this, Beerslinger, but many (including the US Soccer media) give Tab way too much benefit of the doubt when it comes to the Shalke boys and Perez. In my humble opinion, based on a close following of every scrap of news for the last two years, Tab never had the slightest intention of calling Haji.
I was mocking tab 18A. Tab gets NO credit for this one and I don't really even dislike Tab but he clearly did not rate Haji.
http://www.schalke04.de/en/news/170709_wright/page/2981--86-86-.html Haji Wright: Living the dream He was a key player in the U19 Bundesliga and was part of the team who narrowly lost out to Bayern on penalties in the semi-final of the U19 German Championship. Wright did win the Westphalia Cup with the U19s though. His stats are pretty impressive too. He netted 11 goals in 24 league games. So what’s next for Wright? “I want to be improving every day in training and continue to perform well in order to put myself in the best position for selection,” said the forward. “I’ve been working hard my whole life to become a professional footballer. It’s my dream to play for Schalke.”
They've probably gotten better, but they are auto-translate from the German subtitles. I turned them on for a Guiseppe Rossi interview a few years ago and it was hilarious.
My apologies. I had just woken up (after an anniversary bash) and I grossly misinterpreted your post.
I finally got around to watching most of the Haji show yesterday. I have to agree that he is well above Reese based on how they looked in this match. It wasn't just the goals, but everything about how Haji played screamed he's one who could hit big-time. So cool and composed. I didn't care for him playing out wide in the last major youth tournament (u17 wcf, maybe?), but now he looks like a totally different player. I was afraid he was something like Ebobisse, but he's miles beyond that guy. When the PA announced the goal scorers first name, the first time only a few in the crowd yelled "Wright". By number 4, seemed like everyone was queued up for it. I hope he and Wes both get some first team minutes. It will be harder for Wes to make a case for the Nats even though he looked closer than pretty much any young guys we here lauded - think Yangel Herrera rather than Tyler Adams, to name 2 young mids I'm familiar with. I think Russia may be coming just a year or two early for him, but if Haji gets some minutes in an attacking role, I could see him earning a shot at being the wildcard attacking sub. There's no one in the pool that's remotely similar to him that I can think of. Big, fast, skilled with the ball at his feet and he looks to have already upped his mental game to the professional level. No reason he can't be our (relative, scaled-back, no I'm not saying he's this guy for everyone who struggles with player analogies) version of what Lukaku was for Belgium in 2014.
You are arguing two very different things here. Whether Tab rated Haji is completely different than the question of whether Schalke "didn't care about the u-20s." The "evidence" of the latter was from Tab's own mouth. He said that Schalke and Fiorentina refused to play ball with the callups. Of course, Schalke has disputed this in one of their own releases. But on the other hand, it doesn't seem from the totality of the circumstances that Haji Wright was in Tab's plans. But there IS evidence that Schalke was not forthcoming when it comes to the release of US players ... if you choose to believe Tab Ramos.