U-20 team analysis

Yeah, I remember back when Hyndman was our next great thing. But agree with you. 23, there's still time, and not making it in Bournemouth isn't something to be ashamed about. By most accounts it seems like he's been pretty good when he has played in Ireland (didn't Rangers fans love him, and club wanted to buy him?)

 

I don't think that Hyndman really broke through in to rotation before the YWC. And yes, injuries have always been his problem.

 

For those that claim Pomykal is a #8, how many of them watched him play prior to professional football?

I think there's a hesitancy to criticize his development. Instead, a lot are happy to get a reduced-potential player. Pomykal was always going to be good, so I don't see it as a big accomplishment that a talented player has emerged playing a role that reduces his potential.

I think this is similar with what we are seeing with Sands. It's good that he's finally getting on the field regularly, but I think you are getting a reduced-potential player using him as a CB instead of as a #6.

 

Well enough to get a contract with Fulham. How many of his teammates signed with overseas clubs straight out of not playing well?

 

So speculation and maybe a little hope. Nothing concrete.

 

Ah, Bigsoccer posters' favorite pastime: hyping up youngsters and claiming they're way better than the previously hyped youngsters who didn't pan out.
It's definitely progress to see the majority of these kids already playing pro ball. However, most of the players on this U20 team will probably not make it to the senior team.

 

i think this is demonstrably false, as these kids club situations vs university matriculation attests to. they are being let down by a manager who is too loyal to a certain subset of his 23 to the detriment of the whole team. why would you put someone who has never played rb and is barely back from injury in at rb, especially when advanced stats showed that position was the most important in advancing attack over the prior two matches?

 

So because a lot of these kids are already pro, they will likely make it to the full NT? And the only thing holding them back is the coach? Is that what you're saying? Help me understand your point.

 

acting like everyone in a u20 World Cup winning side is a full national team member is fallacious to begin with. this group got hyped for reasons that are clear in the results that they have had against other top sides. the kids clubs also reflect that. the pedigree here is much higher than ever before for the players and you can’t say that for the manager.

 

Measuring a u20 team by how many eventually play for the full national team isn't a very useful way to compare cohorts, in my opinion. The full national team always has to fill its ranks from somewhere, even if the team is terrible, so you're always going to get some from the U20 teams. That doesn't tell you anything about whether this U20 cohort is better than one from several cycles ago. I think measuring a cohort by how many play regularly in top 5 leagues, or how many play in the Champion's League, or some other measure unrelated to national team caps, would be more useful.

 

So far, I've been very impressed by Richards and Pomykal and Soto, and pleased with De La Fuente.

Soto had two really good games in a row, and I like his willingness to be first defender and his ability to hold and distribute. To me, De La Fuente has great upside but of course time will tell. Richards and Pomykal are excellent all around.

Having said that, they are all young and everything could change within the next year. Lots of talent throughout this roster. I'm not sure this team is our best ever, but I do believe it has more potential than any previous U.S. U20 team.

On to the next round with hope and excitement!

 

In his very formal and diplomatic way, I think what he wants to say...which I will have no problem saying...……………………..

Tab Ramos sucks as a coach.


from me:

But he might be a really good youth technical director. So this why USSF is 20 years behind, because the leaders only care about how much $$$$ they bring in and not how many Champions league players they have in their talent pool.

So they will give one their associated buddies several positions to save money.

 

It was reported that Ramos played McKenzie at RB to get him reps in a less risky position.

The quality of age cohorts is best judged by collective level of professional attainment. How many have consistent pro careers? At what level?

 

One of my big concerns with our lineups that I've seen is quality of the final ball. De La Fuente can dribble and combine, but can't put a cross where it needs to be. Dest is the same; cutting inside he's very good and his short passing game is great, but his final ball is rarely on target.

On the left, Tim Weah is a wide forward and while he can play nice balls from time to time I don't trust him to provide consistent service to strikers. Gloster does a lot of things well but isn't involved in the attack as much as some.

Llanez on the right can provide dangerous crosses, but I prefer him on the left where he can cut in, cross early, or shoot off his dangerous right foot.

Bottom line is we're one of the most dominant teams in the tournament in terms of keeping the ball but we're not converting it into shots. We lose the ball way too often in the final third, which is a quick ticket to losing at this level.

 

I'm kind of salivating at a NT midfield of Adams, McKennie and Pomykal. Tons of energy and mileage with some nice throughballs and assists by committee. Would allow Pulisic to move out wide and actually get service.

 

Preach! Llanez's final ball is miles better than the other options. He may not be fully fit, and it's possible he's not as responsible tracking back as Konrad or Timmy, but man oh man he is definitely more dangerous attacking from the wing than either of them. He came on yesterday (yes, against tired legs), and in his first three involvements he:

1. Beat his guy and fizzed a ball across the 6 that drew a desperate punch from the keeper.
2. Drew a foul just outside the box in what should have been Mendez's free kick sweet spot (Mendez was off on his dead balls yesterday).
3. Hit an early bending cross across the 6 that Soto might have gotten to if he hadn't been conditioned over the course of the group stage to never expect quality service.

Later Llanez played Servania in on the play that drew the penalty.

Llanez changed the game.

 

Uly has skill, no doubt. However, his game lacks maturity. He's still prone to dribble, come what may. That's fine if the situation calls for it, but trying to beat two defenders, esp. if it's in the wrong area can lead to a counterattack. I hope Wolfsburg can help him in this regard, because he has a terrific upside, which I cannot say for most of the players because they're limited technically.

This last game will reveal a lot more about everyone who plays, but right now the one player who has done almost everything right is Richards. It will take a few more years to determine where his ceiling is, but so far so good. I'm not as sold on Pomykal as many others are because I don't see any one quality that I can point to as outstanding. However, his ability to do many things decently will ensure that he has a good career, and he will probably be useful to the USMNT, but I don't see him as a Champions League level player.

 

I don't think its fair to judge his game playing on the right. He's LW-only. What coach would think of putting him at RW? He still was active and making more plays than some of our attackers playing a position he cannot play to anywhere near his maximum effectiveness. I would give him the start in the next game at LW.

 

Who is crowning? I think people are overstating the accolades for Paxton here.

Sure, there's probably some rosy looks here, but things like "he likely goes to Europe soon" is not ridiculous for a 20 year old putting up a very strong year in MLS. I've also seen (and said) that he should challenge Roldan to back up McKennie ... and that's not crazy. I like Roldan but that's not an unattainable standard.

The huge difference between Pomykal and Hyndman is that Pomykal is a strong defender for at least the MLS level.

We have a lot of prospects over recent time -- Hyndman, Zelalem and players like Keaton Parks all fall into it, whose game relies solely on their offense. When they hit the level where they aren't particularly special at that anymore, they struggle to get playing time.

The edge that a player like McKennie, and I expect, Pomykal will have is that while they have offensive skills, neither has the skills to play at a top level without contributing on both sides of the ball. But luckily, they both do -- Pomykal's overall size may be a concern as he moves up, but for now he's strong in defense. That's why he is a plus MLS 8 and Keaton Parks can't get on the pitch.

 

Pomykal is reminding me of a young James Milner. Somewhat positionally versatile mid, more attacking than defending but works hard both ways. Not particularly prone to the spectacular but consistently positively involved. Quick but not especially fast over distance.

 

Pomykal doesn’t have the requisite short-area quickness to be a modern attacking MF anyway. He would be poorly-cast there. Why is a possession-oriented “8” with a little bit of bite a reduced-potential player? Many squads across Europe don’t even play with a “10”. Bayern won the Bund while sitting prime James for a washed-up Muller.