Zimmerman isn't that old for a center back and his game is not about speed. He should be able to play until 34-36.
One of the worst roster selections in US soccer history, in addition to Shaq Moore just being selected.
I'm not a Shaq Moore fan, but he's the 5th string right back. Dest (injured), Scally (selected), Reynolds (Olympics), Yedlin (injured)... and this doesn't even include players who play right back as a second position - like Weah, McKennie, or Musah. Moore comes into camp because he knows he's being brought into camp as an emergency option and he's cool with it AND he doesn't need time to learn everything about the team. You can call in Reggie Cannon, but he probably wouldn't be cool with being a distant backup with little USMNT future. You could call in a guy like Fossey or Gooch, but it would take time for them to learn the system and the team - when it's not worth the time because they're not likely to play or have much of a future with the team.
If it was last year I'd say screw it call in Marlon Fossey even if he's not familiar with the vaunted Gregg system, but I don't remember hearing much about him lately... in any case hopefully Shaq Moore doesn't play more than 1-10 minutes and it's irrelevant.
Dejuan Jones would also be the other consideration but he’s also injured (though looks to be coming back). I also wouldn’t have minded Brooks Lennon but Moore makes more sense given he’s spent so much time with the team. Of course I also would have just bumped up Reynolds and considered Jones as an overage player.
Brooks Lennon has been arguably the best American RB in MLS for the past few years. Dejuan Jones is right there with him. Yet guys like Moore and Yedlin are “ahead” just because they’ve been called in before… you don’t think it matters who the 5th string RB is until, all of a sudden, it does.
Jones has been hurt so I understand that. Given that Moore makes sense as he’s got experience with the group and it’s not as if there have been times Lennon should have gotten called up over the last couple of years.
It always seemed to me that Shaq was the most dependable of our RB options. His ceiling is not high at all but shows a very dependable floor. Aside from the very mature Yedlin, the other RBs are more talented but they all have shown some level of risk mentally and capable of a nightmare game.
I ----- and moan the same and view the selection as largely stupid on a competitive basis but I think you nail down how edge decisions sometimes go. Who is gonna be okay w/just making up the numbers and at best seeing a teeny bit of minutes in an emergency? Whose gonna be okay w/disrupting their MLS season, or losing some holiday time (this usual applies to in season breaks or July tourneys) or disruptions of moves in the offseason. The more time you spend listening to vets and players themselves the more you begin to realize that other than major elite tournaments like the WC, and yep, the Copa America, in general, players are actually a bit more malleable than you might think about agreeing to call ups, everyone will note that the key goal scorer that sent us to the NL's Final was at the airport set to fly out on holiday with his family for a spring break international window when he was forced to decide whether to cancel the trip at literally the last minutes, and get a chance, maybe to play in a big tournament before the Copa America, or beg off having largely been ignored by the USMNT program entirely since the '15 U17 tournament (really only call ups in '22 and '23). Instead he decides to go and gets the winner and the icer of the SF, locking in a Copa America ticket probably in the process. I think what you really nail down more than anything in the above, is when you get some weird choices on a roster especially w/the very last players, its usually about familiarity with system, chemistry fit in the locker room, communication w/teammates on the field, and a willingness to put up with inconvenience to put up the shirt w/o any promise of playing time. You can see how this is a big deal just considering how many NBA players beg off Olympic duty. Professionals get paid by their clubs. They run injury risk and lose recuperation time by choosing to play in these tournaments and internationals, the higher up you get, the more that matters w/extensively long seasons with CL teams etc. So Shaq Moore, as much as I want him nowhere near the roster, makes a sort of sense. Cannon has already been up front about his view that he was snubbed w/the WC and not dealt with fairly by Berhalter (took up the challenge of Europe, took up the challenge of playing in multiple set ups, even lost reliable paychecks, loses PT and his spot to a guy who went to MLS after failing in Spain)...Are you gonna take Cannon and his nebulous career over Moore whose played in the March '22 window, in the fall and winter of '22 as well or Cannon or someone else, especially when you have the Olympics going on? I get it. I just still wouldn't have taken him because he's not good enough. But I get that Berhalter disagrees, and if my other fav options would have been issues, I get it even more and I agree that there's plenty of reasoning behind this even if I don't like the selection.
This is why I agree w/you, but part of the situation is also gonna be about familiarity with system, familiarity with teammates, familiarty with keeper, communication, lockeroom glue, whether Lennon would be good with little to no PT and missing a month of the season etc. It's not just my sarcastic "binkey blankey" argument suggests. There's more to it. I think if we had anothe full window to work with post Dest injury it might not have been More and it definitely wouldn't have been Moore if there was more time to address it and no Olympics a few weeks after the Copa America ends, but there are, so he's here. Deeply annoying, but, its worth remembering that for most of Arena II and Arena III and Bradley and Klinsy and Berhalter I in '19, there were typically 5-10 player selections that were wtf picks. Of course part of that was because there was so much more variability in the floor level of players and player talent in general and a coherent 11 and pool wasn't consistently clear, now, the 11 is pretty obvious and so is probably the top 25-35 players in the pool so its harder to botch this. Nobody anywhere thinks he's gonna be calling in Morris at striker ahead of Balo or Pepi after all, or Jonathan Lewis as #4 WF instead of say Aaronson. It's night and day with 1990-2019.
The other thing with Lennon and Moore is what you want from a backup RB. Going with the attacking FB with a great cross who has suspect defense at this level is not generally what anyone wants from a RB. Moore is not anything on offense but he can defend, and knows the defense and system. You don't win games with your backup RB, but you can lose them, and you are more likely to lose them on defense.
CB 4 and 5 in the U-23 pool... 🚨| Norwich are undecided on newly recalled USYNT CB Jonathan Tomkinson🇺🇸. The 22 year old impressed on loan at League Two side Bradford City achieving 15 clean sheets, but would be out of the sides budget to sign.The Texas native is a favorite to feature in the Paris Olympics. pic.twitter.com/uMQfDn52fm— Joshua 🇺🇸🇳🇬 (@joshua_reports) May 22, 2024 Brisbane Roar are set to sign LA Galaxy defender Marcus Ferkranus. The 21-year-old, who holds an Australian passport, currently plays for the Galaxy’s reserves team in the MLS Next Pro competition and is a former United States u-20 international. [nca]https://t.co/XXis1Ko5rO— A-League Hub (@AleagueHub) May 22, 2024
I've been saying this all along lol I was hoping for both Slonina (as CA third GK) and Pepi but since we now know Slonina is almost certainly not on the Copa America roster, I'll guess Pepi makes both rosters.
Pepi is the perfect storm: Age eligible Was a backup and likely to be one next year On a team that really doesn't need him In a development-minded league With an American Sporting Director who used to be the US Soccer Sporting Director
Some of these being more likely than others but from the Copa America camp roster most likely candidates would be Robinson, McKenzie, Scally, Cardoso, Musah, Reyna, and Pepi.
As for Pepi, who knows? Stranger things have happened. I'd wait to see how Sargent feels before knowing how much Pepi is needed at the Copa. I'd focus more on the overage guys.
I didn't even think of overage players... I was fully prepared mentally for Zimmerman - Trusty - Vazquez... maybe McKenzie or Sargent? Goalkeepers, Fullbacks, Midfielders, and Wingers don't really seem needed, just CB and FW. As far as Pepi is concerned, I'll note again that he was involved in some Olympics PR wearing the USA jersey...
So, considering that 2 overage CBs are given, their Olympics chances are zero . Funny thought about Tompkinson being a favorite.
I would guess the current U-23 CB pool is something like this... Neal, Dietz, Campbell, Tomkinson, Craig, Ferkranus Even without the almost certain two overage CBs not sure how Tomkinson could be considered a "favorite" especially when Harriel can also play CB. Oh well it's nice for people to have opinions and pay attention to the YNT guys... we're not taking a League Two player to the Olympics though lol
If there's anyone who might, its him, from the standpoint that he was in a photoshoot lol and appears to also have a real good chance at the Copa too. I'd simply do it out of spite after the paltry minutes he got at PSV this past season but that's just me. I don't think any of this changes the fact that our olympic opener is July 24th and the Copa America Final (which I definitely do not anticipate us being in) is July 14th (I anticipate us losing in the July 6th QF but if we advance, we'll play July 10th in the semis and then pass through to the consolation game on the 13th or the final on the 14th. So for me anyway, its a HUGE stretch. I have a hard time seeing who could be on that team, then fly to Europe with the kickoff in just a week or two, otoh, it is feasible and most of the big 5 leagues kick off in mid august (I think the 16th), not early august as is sometimes the case.