Steffen, Hamid, Horvath, Melia, Bono, Johnson, Klinsmann. A lot of potential there. Steffen seems to be the only 1 taking advantage, but I'm sure both Hamid and Horvath will have loads of chances at their club come the Fall.
I know he's not everybody's favorite but Guzan is in there too. That 3rd keeper spot that is seemingly reserved for a vet is going to be his.
For now, Guzan is in the mix. But by 2021 I don't see that being the case. I feel for him. He deserved his chance at a WC. Too bad the others fouled it up.
Not sure if he'll get in the mix but I believe he ought to be -- Kenneth Kronholm was named the 2. Bundesliga player of the matchday by one publication for his performance at Dynamo Dresden. He's started all but one of their league matches, conceding 37 goals in 29 matches. https://www.liga-zwei.de/holstein-kiel-kenneth-kronholm-ist-spieler-des-spieltags/ Holstein Kiel are currently 3rd in the league, sitting in the promotion playoff spot. They have a huge match on Monday vs. Nuremberg, who are two points ahead sitting in an automatic Bundesliga promotion spot, which Kiel would take over with a win. Kronholm deserves serious consideration given he's the only American goalkeeper sniffing a top league, and his agent has already contacted the USSF expressing interest. He's 32, but that is not too old for a keeper, and Kiel have recently shown faith in him by extending his contract three more years. Even if the USSF overlooks him, we should be rooting for an American goalkeeper to make it to the Bundesliga.
We really need to give each of these keepers game time and let them battle it out. Guzan is probably locked in as a 3 though Melia and Bono might take that. Need to see who meshes with the backline and rises up.
I'm a Hamid and Horvath fanboy. Had hoped those 2 would duke it out to make the WC roster. Though looks like if we were going to Brazil, neither would be called in to compete for a spot. How's Melia and Bono look? Are they just MLS quality or can they surprise?
For the next set of friendlies, if we're limiting it to three names, I think I would call Steffen, Bono, Kronholm. Steffen is presumably the frontrunner. Bono should get some more exposure after his CCL performances. A Kronholm callup is unlikely but worth it: he's one of the best (the best?) keepers in the 2. Bundesliga, his agent has contacted the USSF, and he may well be a Bundesliga starter next season. Don't mind leaving Hamid and Horvath at their clubs to continue to fight for a starting spot.
You think “giving” them game time will make them international quality goalkeepers? We didn’t “give” minutes to Meola, Keller, Freidel, Howard or Guzan game time. They earned or took what little chance they got. Hamid and Horvath don’t look close while playing many levels below what they will face against quality international sides. Goalkeeping is about grinding out consistent performances and there isn’t a position where playing regularly is more import. Too much too soon can be very damaging to a career. Horvath is struggling with it right now and needs to get it sorted out before adding more challenges. Hamid just isn’t nearly as good as people think. There is a reason he hasn’t beaten out this guy yet... https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesper_Hansen
Hamid finally gets his first league start. Hopefully he can hold on to it: De 11 startere mod @aabsportdk 🔴⚫️ #fcmlive #sldk #aabfcm pic.twitter.com/FpEit6BjB4— FC Midtjylland (@fcmidtjylland) April 22, 2018 '01 USYNT keeper David Ochoa, who has also been at Mexico YNT camps, made his first professional start for Real Monarchs in USL. Mexico has consistently been poaching American-born-and-bred keepers in recent years for their YNTs, including the #1 for each of their U20 cycles dating back to 2013 ('93 Richard Sanchez, '95 Jesse Gonzalez, '97 Christian Herrera, '98 Abraham Romero, '99 Jose Carlos Mercado, '99 Carlos Avilez, '01 Hector Holguin); there's little doubt they're watching Ochoa. Tonight’s Starting XI to face @TampaBayRowdies: #TBRvSLC pic.twitter.com/ejnhy2lapv— Real Monarchs (@RealMonarchs) April 21, 2018
Hamid's first league start ends in a 3-3 draw vs. Aalborg BK, who have their own American keeper, Michael Lansing. Multiple reports say AaB's third goal was Hamid's fault due to his error on a set piece. No mention of his involvement in the other two, though apparently he did have a save to prevent a fourth goal. Haven't found any video highlights yet but I'll post if I find any.
On a positive note, he was better than the opposing GK. He was in highlights 4 times. The goals got progressively worse. 1. Nothing could be done on first goal. 2. Tough to deal with, but probably should do better to win cross, make himself bigger or stay home to give himself time to react. 3. Yikes! A GK can’t give up a goal like this, especially to go down after the 75 min mark. He is really lucky no foul was called on the tying goal. 4. (Really number 3 in order)... makes a save that looks impressive on first viewing and angle. Not as challenging fro second angle and seems to react a little slow (couldn’t tell if he was set when shot taken). I’d be curious of others shots on this one. He doesn’t look to be national team caliber at this time... this move was necessary. Hopefully, the extra scrutiny he should be getting while fighting for a position will force him to eliminate/reduce mistakes.
There are hardly any 1st keeper in the Danish league who are not among the top 3 keepers for their country ... and Hamid is rusty, not having played more than a Cup game so far besides this game which was his debut in the Superliga .. so lets not write him off ... if FCM did not believe he was of NT quality they would not have signed him and he would not be playing at all ...
I’m not writing him off... he has great physical tools but needs to improve his game and get sharp. This move is hopefully going to help with that first need. Your comment about being rusty is what I alluded to before. I think playing at the international level now will only move him further away from being a regular with the national team. His best year was 4 years ago. He has been overrated since then. You would no better than me about how the club does things. I would have guessed he was a low risk, high reward signing, but it is fairly long deal. It will be worth watching what they do in the offseason and who he is competing against in the fall.
Kiel and Kronholm lost 3-1. Kronholm appeared rather timid of physical contact, almost Yarbrough-like, on Nuremberg's last two goals. Kiel are very much in the hunt for Bundesliga promotion, as they still hold the promotion playoff spot. The hope is that either Kronholm or former US U23 attacker Jann George (of 4th-place Jahn Regensburg) gets promoted.
https://www.americansocceranalysis.com/home/2018/4/23/zack-steffen-three-areas-to-improve 3 Areas For Zack Steffen to Improve
That has some seriously detailed work in it. I'd love to how our other young keepers would do in a similarly detailed expose. I am going to dig into some of their other stuff now.
I think giving your top 5 to 6 prospects game time to figure out your depth chart when meaningfull games are a long way out is smart. Will they turn into international players, maybe or maybe not. But no need in trotting out Guzan or Howard. We know what they are and neither will be starting come 2022. So why not allow all the top 5 or so to take some game time in friendlies. I don't rate Hamid. Never have. Both he and Johnson are much too inconsistent in every aspect for me. But giving a half to a guy in a meaningless game this year. Yeah totally fine with it, as long as you can say they have a shot at being a starter over the next 3 years.
I felt like one of our problems in qualifying was that everyone was aware that Howard and Guzan were past their primes, but they kept getting starts because no one else had any track record with the USMNT (other than Rimando, who was even older). So, when it comes time to play meaningful games again, I think it'd be good if we had several guys with track records at least in high-level friendlies so that we don't get stuck in the same sort of self-defeating circle.
England is having a similar problem with a similar cause, and it's going to screw them at the World Cup. They played Joe Hart in almost all of their games, competitive and friendly, for a few years. Now, Hart sucks, but his potential replacements all have 7 caps or fewer. If I were in charge of the US, I'd be calling in 3 goalkeepers per camp and ensuring that two of them play. If we had two matches, that means that each guy gets a full 90. If it's just one game, each guy gets a half. Then, by the time we get to meaningful competitive matches, we have multiple goalkeepers with significant international experience.
Their manager doesn't seem able to avoid calling him up despite Pickford or Pope or Fraser or the guy from Stoke being decent options.
Howard should have retired after Belgium in 2014. And JK should have given Sean Johnson and Bill Hamid more opportunities in 2014/15.
Why? Neither of those two are good enough. A few international friendlies isn’t going to make a goalkeeper ready. Try 100+ games in a top league. Guzan was rightfully given games after the WC, Rimando got some, and then Hamid got a game at the end of the year. Hamid showed nothing in that game and was never healthy after that.
Opportunities. They had potential to get better. We have so many worthless friendlies throughout the year. Hamid def could have gone abroad a few years ago, but had no caps to get a work permit. Some worthless friendlies could have got him through and he'd be better today. Even if both had gotten moves to Championship or even Belgium, it'd have been helpful. Rimando is a loyal guy, but why was he given caps at age 35 post 2014? Going forward he offers nothing.