2022 World Cup is going to be held in November- December. Assuming we qualify, For the first time, this will not favor MLS. European players will be mid-season and in-from. What this also means is that our European players will be more in-form and fit for an immediate tournament. This will create a difficult situation for those who might use the World Cup as a MLS representation marketing tactic. It will need to be recognized that 2022 World cup needs to be mostly European players to not create a self-inflicted disadvantage. For 2026 World Cup, MLS will then be back to having the advantage.
I'd bet money on half of our better players in Europe being injured for most of the Hex, so team chemistry will have to be created with the MLSers. And by the time the competition rolls, it's going to be counterproductive to replace those guys. People here will whine about "Egg giving preference to the MLSers!" but what can he do, when the guys in Europe are injured for the qualifiers and he couldn't get to know them? Also, keep in mind some guys are going to be rusty as hell. A little overview of our guys in Europe: GK: Horvath --- has not played in six months. Steffen --- playing in relegation fodder team, currently injured and may not regain his starting spot. SB: Yedlin --- got his spot back with N'castle, but it's also a team with many problems and likely to finish the season barely above the red line. Dest --- with players recovered from injury, he's getting fewer minutes since Nov. and may end up as bench option only. Robinson --- looking decent with a team that should be in the third division already, and if he goes to Milan it's going to be to sit on the bench. Chandler --- perhaps our most in-form player in Europe right now, but we know how he does with the NT. At this point I guess it'd be time to call him again, out of despair. CB: JAB --- Never been a fan of him for NT games against Central American/Mexico teams. He's lost a step post-injury, and lacks the agility to control dribbling demons. I don't see him starting for Wolfsburg much longer. Miazga --- While I dislike his antics on the field, I like him as a player, and was quite mad that the coach decided to bench him because he only needs two CBs in his system. Now injured. All in all, he's a good Championship level CB but nothing else. Ream --- It's kind of sad that he may have been the most consistent CB we've had this season in Europe. CCV/EPB --- Ship's sailed. Wing: Johnson --- Looks fine the few games he's healthy, but we can't count on the guy any more. Pulisic --- Even though injured now, I'm counting on him for the Hex because I don't think we can classify him as injury-prone yet. Fingers crossed. Amon --- injured since last summer, no specifics, and probably time to forget about him like we had to with Gyau. CM/DM: Adams --- possible injury prone, and judging from the couple of games since his return, the coach is trying hard to find a place for him in a team that was working like a well-oiled mechanism without him. McKennie --- still has not consolidated a specific role, and it's at real risk of losing his starting spot if doesn't look good when back. Still, expect him to be ready for the Hex. Cappis --- time to start considering him, even though he's playing for relegation fodder in Denmark. Morales --- Meh guy in a weak team, frankly he's a workhorse whose only positive attribute is that most other guys we got for the job are even less enthusiastic about it. He's not going to be a savior. AM: Sabbi --- He's moving from "starter" to "rotational starter" and for a reason. Hard to evaluate attacking players in such a poor team, though. I wouldn't mind seeing more of him with the NT, but like with Morales, don't expect much. Holmes --- Here's a guy completely hyped-up in these forums that, however, fails to convince me. I hope I'm wrong. Green --- Was going nicely with Fürth until he got injured. We'll have to see how he looks when he's back. Shame. Forwards/ST: Sargent --- still like him off-the-ball but seems to have stopped evolving. He's starting to look a bit irrelevant out there. Wood --- You must be kidding me. Aronjo --- When you fail as a striker even in Hammarby, a team that plays against some dismal defenses, it's time to write you off. Boyd --- The man earned the bench with a terrible Beşiktaş. Weah --- At this point I don't expect anything. Novakovich/Wright/Siebatcheu --- There's nothing there.
Im more concered how you never attack Bradley but so fast to always attack somebody like chandler and instantly defend Gregg. You cant fool me and your multiple accounts. The only reason why your allowed to do what you do is because The mods like your articles.
I only have one account and I've been saying for ages that Bradley does not belong in the NT any more. I was one of the people who called nepotism on his dad _always_ using him, too, even for friendlies, as if he was making sure no one could ever displace him. I'm just being honest: the situation of our guys in Europe is bad, and we can only hope the next batch does better.
Thankfully, MLS players don’t get injured as we haven’t seen injuries hit these guys: -Jozy -Morris -Pomykal -lletget -Bradley
What I would do is have a big camp cupcake training camp that lasts all of September and October with players not in the MLS playoffs. Have them train and train and train and maybe train some more. Maybe even schedule Non-Fifa friendlies with Central American squads or something like we do every other camp cupcake. Then sprinkle in the MLS playoff Deep run guys and the Euro guys in our traditional farewell friendlies across the country before we head out to the middle east.