Usually but can be need if players get injured. Sometimes it a spot to get playing time until you are more ready centrally - like CB's playing LB or RB.
Did he actually play wing? Or was he a cm who drifted wide more often than he should? I don't remember.
The million dollar question is will the US get a coach that will allow the team to move beyond size/speed/athleticism to the next level of playing tactically smart high-IQ soccer?
And therein lies the problem with the USMNT ... a starting spot should be earned every time you play, instead of anointing people at 20 to be locks starters for 10 years. Especially given the ever-present danger of nepo-babies, the latest being the Wolffs. We need more than "depth". To get anywhere beyond the round of 16 at a WC we need more high-IQ and tactically flexible players across the lineup, especially in midfield. Reyna has it. Adams plays a key role in certain setups. I'm still uncertain about Musah but wouldn't rule him out by any means. Wes should not have a stranglehold on anything. Even Pulisic is suspect at this point given how lost he's looked the last year or so.
Pretty much this. Jeez, with the way people talk about these players you woulda thought we won out in the WC and beat Messi in the finals or something. The only one of those named players who is anywhere near a lock is Adams. That is because he actually played regularly and at a high level in the best league in the world. Musah went quiet real fast, McKennie showed he is not exactly capable of great games by himself. Reyna had a good year I think, but he obviously needs to become a regular starter real soon as well.
Which players do you project to establish performance levels superior to those 4 players in the DM, CM, and AM roles over the next 3 years?
Any player who shows the slightest glimpse of promise in Europe for a few matches, and any youth player who tears up a youth tourney?
yes it will... In two weeks only three trainings and not even 90 minutes played. He lost 12 days of training with first and second team, lost 4 games with NYCFC II. We gave it a try, but USYNT is not the right place for Maximo. Thank you for the opportunity. We are moving on.— Augusto Carrizo (@AugCarrizo78) June 4, 2023
This is definitely a bit much, but also no way they are just writing off US Soccer. For one no guarantee that Argentina calls him up instead.
Obviously the Carrizos didn't feel seen. Is this a case of overblown expectations? Or, is this a case of coaches sticking too closely to their first choice? In any case, the Carrizos don't seem totally spoiled. No worries. It means little to nothing what outsiders could think. We agree to disagree with USYNT and it's not the end of the world. We just go our own way and focus on club. It's the only meaningful development.— Augusto Carrizo (@AugCarrizo78) June 4, 2023
Time to lay some cards on the table. The five I like the most (ranked in order of preference) are: 1) Cavan 2) Vargas 3) Cremaschi 4) Medina 5) Soma I think those five will emerge as the main complements to the Big 4 (Adams, Reyna, Musah and McKennie) over the next two cycles and perhaps even displace them in some cases.
From the September call-up it looks like Berhalter is selecting young players that more closely match the MMA profiles. Cremaschi to my eyes is a McKennie type. He's from a famous rugby family so he shows a lot physicality and is aggressive both defensively and offensively. His fbref numbers match Weston's in a lot of ways but his percentiles are for the "Next 8" level and not "Big 5". The harder profile to match is Adams who is in the 90th percentile in most defensive categories at the Big 5 level. That's new territory for the USMNT. Johnny Cardoso has very good defensive numbers at the "Next 8 level" as well as very good progression and possession numbers. He's not really Adams' profile so I think it is Berhalter still looking for a DM closer to his ideal. At a minimum, he does seem better than Acosta in most categories and is playing at a high level. I don't have Tessman's numbers but, to my eye, he does seem like the player who closely matches Adams profile. One additional player I am looking at is Noel Buck who does look very similar to Adams' 2018 numbers. The grapevine says that Berhalter has reached out and talked to him about his MNT future. He is still selecting LDLT who, though he doesn't look it, closely matches Yunus' great progressive carries number per fbref.com and is generally sucky defensively like Yunus. I think Berhalter will stay with these two younger players. Edit: I forgot about Tillman but I don't have numbers for him. To my eye, he seems to be an alternate look from MMA. I'll be checking his fbref numbers this year since Eredivisie is tracked.
I think most all of our best players have always been midfielders. The best players tend to be put in midfield at an early age. The difference between now and the past is that our best players now are more numerous and better than they were in the past. Of course, it is also true that our best players played midfield until they moved over to Europe where they sometimes moved positions (often to defense...think Paul Caliguiri, Claudio Reyna and JOB). Now, our midfielders move to Europe as midfielders and play as midfielders.