USA rolled a super young line up and went toe to toe against English and Dutch veterans with more possession than the US has ever had. Just watch where the market goes for good up and coming Americans after the U20s. Balogun should get on the train before it leaves the station.
Time to fire up V2 of this thread? https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/t...uitment-thread-2026-wc-cycle-edition.2123784/
I mean, perhaps the luckiest goal ever, but sure. I think by 2026, a number of these guys will be capable, though. I'm still a pretty big fan of a number of them.
Canada says they will ramp up the dual national recruitment: https://canadiansoccerdaily.com/202...world-cup-will-look-to-entice-dual-nationals/
And they should be given the team has risen in level and they are hosting next time. Other than someone like Tomori though is there really someone who is eligible who made a final decision in recent years who would have helped them? Feels like someone like Bounou for instance, was lost way before this cycle. Flores may or may not pan out, but we won’t quite know if that’s a loss yet.
Canada should be recruiting Marcus Ferkranus. Hard to believe they have many (maybe any) young CB prospects better than him.
Though this is where a lack of the U20 World Cup and Olympics hurts them. They have nothing to offer except the full national team (which he isn't ready for), while he's a plausible candidate for our U20 team and Olympic team. Now he may switch after those cycles have passed, but at that point we will also have a much better idea of how he's developing overall.
apologies for posting in two threads but it seemed relevant... Despite the Berhalter/Reyna drama & your opinion about everyone involved, one thing is irrefutable, the USMNT & USSF have been kicking FMF's behind for a while & it's not even close. Having Zendejas, Vázquez & Gómez in January Camp is a MASSIVE win.— Michele Giannone (@MicheleG3) January 18, 2023 Correct.Again, in the FMF's few "wins" they barely lifted a finger. The USSF did much more, including personal visits, but those players wanted to leave anyway then were barely used after switching. The FMF stinks at recruiting. https://t.co/awYlKReB5j— ChuckMe92 Soccer (@ChuckMe92Soccer) January 18, 2023
I also think there's something to having Zendejas, Gomez and Vasquez in camp together, along with fellow Mexican-Americans Paul Arriola and Cade Cowell (both via grandparents). One of the points David Ochoa and, I think it was Julian Araujo, made was that in USMNT camp they sometimes felt like outsiders. Well, having five Mexican-Americans and several other Latino players - Ferreira, Acosta, Sonora - should help create a more inclusive vibe for these guys and let them feel like they are part of a something where they aren't tokens but part of a new wave.
Don't remember that from Araujo, and wouldn't take anything from Ochoa seriously. But now I know what was Gio's problem. Sure Sonora will make him feel so comfortable.
I don’t think Araujo said he felt like an outsider, but more than the vibes on the Olympic qualifying team were off. And that team had issues, but I don’t think it was a lack of inclusiveness. Ochoa said he barely spoke to anyone during the camp he was in. He didn’t quite say he felt like an outsider and even mentioned US cos he’s he did really connect with (like Tab Ramos). The thing that really set him off seemed to be that he didn’t play at all against Costa Rica in the friendly after thr Nations League.
Yeah, I don't remember anything like that from Araujo. I think he actually made a point to say he really enjoyed his time with the US and US coaches. I actually don't even think Efrain Alvarez said much about that -- though I do remember he said he felt he really fit in better with the Mexican team. I think having a number of Mexican-Americans there is good, and I think US Soccer needs to continue better outreach to all the Latino communities, but David Ochoa's complaints seemed to be a) the GK coach wanted him to be more disciplined and less flashy, which ... if you've seen him play, David Ochoa needs to do and b) they didn't play him in that friendly.
I've said in other places but just based off of comments Araujo's dad made on Twitter when he hadn't committed yet made me think that Julian was going to wait as long as he needed to commit to Mexico. Just seemed like the only way he would have stayed with the US is if FMF said they had no interest. Ochoa was a case of getting a big head because it never seemed like he put much thought into it compared to Julian
I've read a few stories (translated, and hardly an exhaustive selection) about the Tomas Aviles situation and I haven't been able to clear it up. They all seem to make clear that he can still play for Chile again, which maybe implies that he filed a switch, but if that's the case, the notion that you can switch between qualifying and the finals of a specific age level seems novel. Clearly, I am missing something. Anybody have their arms around this or seen something straightforward from FIFA, CONMEBOL or one of the federations?
FIFA approves Folarin Balogun's one-time switch to represent the #usmnt. He'll be eligible to play in the Concacaf Nations League next month. Big get for the U.S.: https://t.co/xN2wlERv5O— Jeff Carlisle (@JeffreyCarlisle) May 16, 2023
It's really rather remarkable. Of course, anything can happen, he might flame out or whatever, but you really can't ask on paper for a more meaningful switch, by a productive attacking player with legitimate options at multiple high-level MNTs, including one considered in or around the elite group of nations. His choice was likely to be consequential no matter what country he went with. Excited to see him work his way up through the U.S. system, presumably starting with the U23s.
Marmoush is, I believe, pretty much locked into Egypt at this point. A few months after the post above, he appeared in WCQs for them, and has continued to play in competitive games.
At this point I think the bigger piece of it is to recruit and play appropriately. We could have avoided unnecessary statistical arguments if we weren't freaking morons and left our starting striker out of the --- damned World Cup. Then we have a Mexican-American dual nat, and such a stupid talking point would have no relevance, rather than a little. One would hope going forward we continue to see more break through and become a part of the 11, 23, and beyond like Pepi and it would then shut off the discussion entirely. The Pepi mistake was a colossal self-inflicted wound but with El Tri out of the U20 WC, out of Olympics, and behind not just the US but also Canada right now, we should look a whole lot better in all dual nat arguments w/El Tri except for access to playing time, which can be decisive. We simply have a far, far more stacked roster and pool for now. We won't always, Mexico/El Tri will be back, but right now they're in a bad way which makes that both less and more attractive for differing reasons. W/regards to Ochoa, I don't know what to think of it at this point. He's clearly a head case, and has severe mental makeup issues that have compromised his club career a great deal. I'm far more interested in what Pepi and Araujo have to say than Ochoa.
Perez is apparently in danger of losing his job after the T&T loss. It's hard to think a new coach would lean in harder to U.S. recruiting than he did, but who knows.