Italy has to finish in the top 3 this summer at the U21 tournament to qualify. No idea how good they are or if that’s likely or not.
Granted it was group play, but they were unbeaten and +14 in the last stage, giving up half a goal a game. What that means now I have no idea. With that said I'm kind of sorry I even raised the Koleosho question, at least half in jest. It seems like the simplest way to read this is that there's little reason to expect to see him with the U.S. below the senior level, if ever.
I think that's right. It's much more likely he ends up with Italy or Canada at this point. But as Varas said in his interview, you sort of just have to focus on the guys who want to play for the US.
Our U20 team will be playing friendlies against England (U20), France (U20) and Serbia (U21) on the 22nd, 24th and 28th. Looking for streaming options and not finding them :-(
US Soccer says no stream. Maybe other countries will come up with something. Unfortunately, games will not be streamed.— U.S. Soccer YNT (@USYNT) March 21, 2023
They'd probably know, but seems at least possible that they just mean there's no centralized stream/they're not doing one. As you note, as we get closer we should probably watch the other FAs. Might just be wishful thinking, of course.
Started a thread in hopes this works out: https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/u-s-u20-march-2023-friendlies-pbp-when-available.2125145/
Earlier today, I spoke at length with Inter Miami homegrown midfielder Benja Cremaschi who is one of the top 2005-born American players. We spoke about the start to his career and playing for the U-20 national teams for both Argentina and the USA https://t.co/u5u68pQpAm— Brian Sciaretta (@BrianSciaretta) March 23, 2023
GK Gaga Slonina, Chris Brady, Antonio Carrera FB Justin Che, Michael Halliday, Caleb Wiley, Jonathan Gomez CB Jalen Neal, Josh Wynder, Brandon Craig MF Daniel Edelman, Rokas Puktsas, Jack McGlynn, Owen Wolff, Noel Buck WG Paxten Aaronson, Cade Cowell, Caden Clark, Kevin Paredes FW Ricardo Pepi, Darren Yapi Just missed: Benjamin Cremaschi, Alejandro Alvarado, Matai Akinbomni, Niko Tsakiris, Mauricio Cuevas, Kobi Henry, Noah Allen, Danny Leyva, Cruz Medina, Obed Vargas, Brian Gutierrez, Quinn Sullivan, Diego Luna, Kristian Fletcher, Miguel Perez, Malick Sanogo, Keyrol Figueroa, Jackson Hopkins
This seems pretty close to what we'd see if everyone were available, but I think Pepi and Brady in particular will not be.
Yeah, I really doubt Pepi is hitting the U20s unless it was a dream of his. When Weah did it after being with the senior team, it's worth noting that his reason was in particular to finish the job with the players he had played with for year. Pepi has almost been too good for that (and had dual national components as well), so I don't think he has the ties that Weah has on a personal level with these guys. Weah's decision was pretty unique anyway. @bshredder has said he doesn't think Brady will be released if he's not going to start, and aside from his obvious credibility, that makes an absurd amount of sense. Gutierrez is a beast and I really hope he is released. These is absolutely no way Caden Clark should have a roster spot over him.
Landon Donovan was arguably the best player on the team when he was left out of the '14 WC roster, so I guess that could happen to Sullivan & Gutierrez too. But it probably won't. Good chance they even start. Most coaches tend to like players who consistently perform well for them.
At some point, at this level, there’s a lot of guessing… what we know is that he has been making the bench for RB Leipzig and he was still a factor in u20 qualifying and he was once one of our best youth prospects. Either way, drop him or take him, but I guarantee that there will be some who are taken who fizzle out and others who were skipped who will turn out to be solid pros. At the end of the day, I would probably choose to take him or leave him based on his most current standing with his club level. If he starts getting minutes or starts pushing for more time, then, I think he should be considered. On the other hand, if RB Leipzig are willing to let him go to anyone who will take him off their hands, then, maybe, we should reconsider. But that’s going to come down to an insider coach’s connection.
Has he? His coach said he needs playing time at another club, and then he was back in NYC in mid-March? Marco Rose on Caden Clark: "We might think about giving him playing time at another club. He's doing well, but we need patience. He's a great footballer with good basic technique who recognizes a lot of things." #USMNT— Larry Henry Jr (@lhenry019) March 10, 2023
He had been on the bench for the 4 games prior to that and then missed the last game before the international break. It’s very possible he had some sort of injury and they let him head back to New York early for the international break. It would also explain why he wasn’t on the U20 roster this past window.
It seems to me that the questions right now are, assuming no Pepi and everyone else available: -- Maybe some drama in the GK ranks. It seems plausible that Brady wouldn't be there if Slonina is, but if you're Varas, you at least try to get both, right? -- If Vargas is back and ready and Varas wants him, there's some midfield clutter. (Other reasons here too, but it does seem like a thing where the outcome might be hard to guess right now.) -- One "traditional" striker? One plus Cowell? Two? None? -- Right back. With Gomez and Wiley, and even maybe Paredes, arguably you don't need Cuevas for his versatility and that spot becomes more flexible. -- If Varas picks Luna, is he first XI or a sub? That would seem to matter elsewhere in the roster.
With everyone except Pepi GK (3): Slonina, Brady, Carrera FB (4): Halliday, Che, Wiley, Gomez CB (3): Neal, Craig, Wynder Mid (6): Edelman, Pukstas, McGlynn, Buck, Wolff, Aaronson FWD (5): Paredes, Gutierrez, Cowell, Sullivan, Luna A few thoughts: - Again, I don't think both Brady and Slonina will be there. - Yapi didn't score at this camp and it hurts. - Clark, Alvarado, Cuevas seem to be trending in the wrong direction - Obed isn't at his preinjury form. - Buck is the surprise but he's too good to ignore.