Mendez got off to a rocky start in Germany, acclimating to all-new everything. Team says he is finding himself and starting to take off. They see him as an elite potential talent. Both Mendez and Ledezma coming back into form bodes well for the U20 team.
Because of Pulisic, we expect every kid to break into the first team of a club at 17. Because of Adams, we now expect guys to go to Germany and get into the first team in a week. These are crazy outliers. Pulisic took almost a year to acclimate and get into the first team. I think McKennie was a bit shorter, but at least 6 months and he got a sub appearance and then another few months to really get in the mix. What Pulisic and McKennie both did is dominate at the U19 level. In Germany, for most clubs, players who are elite at U19 are moved to the first team. If Mendez is starting to show himself after 3 months, that is actually ahead of schedule. Ledezma stepped on the field and was instantly one of the best players, according to reports, in a game with a lot of elite youth talent. The only thing I currently worry about with these two is that they can play for Mexico.
Championship TOTW for Robinson. Wild that some seemed to write him off because he struggled against Douglas Costa shortly after turning 21.
When is Andrew Wooten going to get some love? 14 goals in the second Bundesliga. That doesn’t make him Sergio Aguero but for an American striker, it should mean he should get a shot.
I agree that he shouldn't be written off because of his defensive struggles against Brazil and Colombia (what other options would have fared better?). I do wonder, though, how he fits into Berhalter's formation. If the LB is more of a stay-at-home player, that doesn't really seem to suit Robinson, whose real strength seems to lie in getting up and down the wing, taking players on, and putting in crosses. Maybe he'd fit better as the left winger? I could certainly see him being more effective than some of the guys we've seen there like Lovitz and Ebobisse.
Sargent earns a DNP again today. Since a start on February 22, Sargent has played exactly 7 minutes for Werder Bremen. With his struggles to find playing time, I'm starting to become more okay with Sargent being relegated to the U-23s, because Werder Bremen is more likely to release him for U-23 competitions if he isn't a first team player.
They had an injury crisis that saw him get PT. They don’t anymore and he stopped getting PT. He will likely get a legit chance next year or will go out on loan but they seem to like him so he may stay. I don’t care if he isn’t getting reg PT right now. He’s the future. Him not playing is still better than Zardes or Jozy. These games are glorified friendlies he should be playing with the first team not the u23.
Not me. Firm believer he’s our RB of the future unless one of our teenagers ends up passing him up in the pecking order by ‘20-‘22.
Unlikely. They have a bunch of young outside backs playing at a higher level. Trent-Alexander, Walker, Rose, Shaw are all young and playing at a much higher level. Then there’s Reece James on his team who’s a Chelsea loan who’s a highly touted England youth player. It’s unlikely. Not impossible but unlikely.
England U21 offered him a call-up in March 2018 that he turned down for a USMNT call-up the same month, as he confirmed in an interview. So there's some interest, as he most likely is good enough to be a backup for their U21s, but it's nothing for England to lose sleep over.
U21s sure but he isn’t making their first team any time soon. He has (well should have) a legit chance at our senior team now and in the future. England first team is very unlikely.
This the same Antonee Robinson who has been mediocre for the USMNT at LB? If he'd have chosen England or visa versa, who cares?
After yesterday, John Brooks has now averaged a goal or assist every 4.8 games for Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga this season. Most dangerous center back in the ENTIRE league and making one or two attacking players look bad at this point #USMNT #OneGoal pic.twitter.com/Hh8lWU0o7g— OneGoal (@OneGoalUS) April 23, 2019
He’s been raw at times no doubt but he also doesn’t get gifted camp cupcake opponents. Peru, Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, France and Bolivia. Bolivia the easiest game he was fantastic. France in 3 backline he was also fantastic. He’s literally the best option right now. The rest was a mixed bag and there’s no surprises. But please who is a better LB right now? Who has a higher ceiling? Who’s playing in a tougher league? He’s got to work on his game no doubt but he’s the best option right now. We can shit on most of roster at most positions but he checks off a lot of boxes for someone we should want to see given a chance.
Brooks was ace in WC'14 and CC'16. 11 England-eligible players have had at least 10 starts at LB this EPL season. Robinson would need to move up a level to compete England caps.
The problem with Brooks as an attacking player in the final third on corner kicks is that USA is well known for giving up goals to counters after corner kicks. Mexico scored their lone goal on us and we dropped 2 points in the hex at Azteca on a counter after a corner kick. Look at where Brooks is on Colombia's go ahead goal scored by Falcao when we played Colombia recently. For me the solution has to be that we try Brooks in a three man back line if we want to add his passing (which we need) while sacrificing mobility in the back. We need to sort out who our best CB duos (or trios) are in any case.
I'd like to see some stats that prove out that we're actually giving up goals specifically to counters off of corner kicks more than most national teams. This seems anecdotal off of an extremely small (albeit memorable) sample.