Tim Tillman we’ll see if he even makes the final roster but while I would have preferred Celentano I don’t care that much about Johnson since there’s no chance he’ll play. With Moore I would have preferred Reynolds, Jones, Yedlin, or Lennon, but none of those five is going to be a great matchup if we have a quarterfinal against Brazil and Vinicius Jr. is running down their side. With the World Cup I think the main mistake was Pepi. Roldan wasn’t a big deal to me because whoever got that spot (say Malik Tillman) was also just not going to play. LDLT I’m certain wasn’t fit enough to play and was more of a gamble by Berhalter that didn’t work out. As that’s the only thing to me that explains the hesitation to play him compared to other situations.
There would have been so much less focus on the so called quota if you and all these other MLS fans would just acknowledge what the data shows. I would say everything you have written is significantly more lazy than what I ave articulated on this topic. You have completely tried to lock this into what player from Europe is going to improve this team in this camp. You then dismiss players you say don't follow. It has been a structural problem where the same mistakes are made over and over and opportunities missed. How do you not lose all credibility with making claims like "the MLS versus Europe debate has no merit whatsoever" (multiple times)? So instead of this dying down, we can now go through every way possible that the federation, Arena, and Berhalter have made this team very much about European based players vs lesser MLS players. Are these your ideas or does somebody feed them to you? I was about to agree that where a player plays shouldn't matter, but while it isnt the only factor it is quite important. What team a guy trains with regularly, competition they face, role in team, and performance should all matter. I used to believe that where a player plays doesn't really matter, but it became very important to a loud group of people in 2014 and then Arena just blew it up. The overuse of MLS players for many years has made it pretty clear of some broad weaknesses. I havent clarified my thoughts that well but doubt many here even read what I write. I will comment on your analysis of some individual players, but not a specific debate. Based on simply what you wrote, I would probably take Trusty over Robinson. The reason is quite simple. He has the experience of playing against some the best players in the world and has been able learn from mistakes and just losing. International play is a huge step up for MLS players and have always seen quite a few struggle. MLS often doesn't prepare players for European teams in the leagues you guys view as lesser. If guys are failing in places like the Netherlands and Scotland, how are they going to do in an even tougher international environment. We have already seen the cracks in Miles Robinson's game. Why do we have to wait for them to fail with the USMNT like Long and Zimmerman ultimately did last cycle. Now let's look your just a "guy in Europe" argument. Maybe this will help you see things from a different perspective. That is exactly what Tim Tillman used to be. What has he done to change that? Has he played anything more than a decent role player in MLS? When was the last time that has been enough? You don't think it is backwards that a 20 to 23 yo prospect in Germany couldn't get a look when Roldan and Acosta PLAYED regularly, but the same player who hasn't shown material growth at a lower level now gets in at 25 when the squad is much more competitive. According to this board, Antonee, CCV, Weah, Sargent, etc were all just guys in Europe.
Looking ahead to next year, Leagues Cup and Gold Cup tournaments. Hopefully, we better utilize the “B tournament” instead of using it to simply showcase who should not be part of the USMNT (thanks BJ). Leagues Cup: GK Turner, Slonina, Brady RB Dest, Scally CB Richards, M. Robinson CB Carter-Vickers, Ream LB Jedi, Paredes MF Adams, Cardoso MF McKennie, Musah RM Weah, B. Aaronson AM Reyna, M. Tillman LM Pulisic (CPT), Wright FW Balogun, Pepi Gold Cup: GK Horvath, Celentano, Callender RB Reynolds, Fossey CB McKenzie (CPT), Zimmerman CB Trusty, Neal LB Wiley, Tolkin MF Maloney, Tessmann MF De la Torre, Busio RM Yow, Booth AM Zendejas, Cremaschi LM P. Aaronson, Gutierrez FW Sargent, Vazquez Alternatives: GK Kochen, Steffen RB Moore, Lennon, Jones*, Harriel CB Sands, Dietz, Cobb LB Lund, Gomez, Brown, Jones* MF McGlynn, A. Morris, Acosta, Puktsas, T. Tillman, Bassett, Buck? AT Koleosho?, L. Acosta?, Barajas?, Cowell, Luna, Sabbi, Esmir, Q. Sullivan, Mihailovic FW Pefok, Dike, Ferreira, McGuire, Downs, Zahiroslalem, Dausch, Imasuen, Gomez
I think it’s just the Gold Cup next year and the U20 World Cup, along with another Nations League Finals in the spring.
Bottom of first team rosters and second teams are looking much better, but not sure i see a lot in the listed players to think the elevate the team in the next few years. I'd approach the GK spot completely differently. We went from having three potential prospects to two guys who are ok, but would love to upgrade. Id be aggressive about trying to push Slonina and Brady initially for the third spot with hopes of one of them surpassing the other guys. That would probably mean swapping one of them with Horvath. One guy would be with the first team and top GKs and the other would get a chance to play with the second group.
Honest question... ...do people around here still believe the USA is more talented than Colombia? Like , seriously?
Actually, position by position, we are somewhat more "talented." However, how the parts get assembled and set up are more important than individual players. But we are NOT a better team than Columbia. We have a good team that plays poorly under pressure. After this horrible performance I may have to remove my short lived support for Gregg. I think this loss is 80% on coaching and 20% on the players. I think if the next match is not a whopping improvement then Gregg should be gone as fast as possible. I wonder if his exit strategy would include being shot out of a cannon aimed toward the Midway island. This match has shown, once again, just how badly Gregg can screw up a match and since this is NOT the first time he got things so wrong he should be gone. Can we fire a coach during a tournament? Let's try it for the next month or two with no coach. It cannot get much worse.
Get things in perspective. Nothing was lost except pride. The coaching was shite but the goals were down to individual errors. This wouldn't have happened if Lletget, Roldan and Arriola had started. I'M KIDDING!
Sign of it getting harder and harder for English trolls defending berhalter. I suspect this guy is aligned with English press, if not part of them.
if youre going to play out of the back...john brooks is easily a top 4 usmnt CB i'd drop someone for him bring in mckenzie.... ream is toast. tillman is not ready for this team....at least under berhalter. firing gggegggg would be awesome i wonder if hugo perez is available?
Not much to update and the remaining friendlies are not really going to change my mind. As I said before in other posts, I would not complain about anyone who would put Uruguay ahead of Colombia. They are a great team. I just think Colombia is just a little bit hotter, has a better balance of Veterans and younger guys, has a Manager who knows the player pool a bit better and the biggest difference may be the crowds in the stands. Colombian fans are ready to represent & party. That all may be the difference.
Have you looked at the age of the Colombian players? Lots around the 30 mark, very experienced players at their peak. This is where the US core should be by 2030.
No, I have never looked at any ages of Colombian players. I am talking about them generally as a team and who I think will be key players. There's a couple of very young bucks on the bench who are going to be solid assuming they play.
Down to 3 end of the benchers.... GOALKEEPERS (3): 18-Ethan Horvath (Cardiff City/WAL; 9), 25-Sean Johnson (Toronto FC/CAN; 13), 1-Matt Turner (Nottingham Forest/ENG; 41) DEFENDERS (9): 2-Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic/SCO; 17/0), 23-Kristoffer Lund (Palermo/ITA; 3/0), 24-Mark McKenzie (Genk/BEL; 13/0), 16-Shaq Moore (Nashville SC; 19/1), 13-Tim Ream (Fulham/ENG; 58/1), 3-Chris Richards (Crystal Palace/ENG; 18/1), 5-Antonee Robinson (Fulham/ENG; 43/4), 12-Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati; 29/3), 22-Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach/GER; 11/0) MIDFIELDERS (7): 4-Tyler Adams (Bournemouth/ENG; 39/2), 15-Johnny Cardoso (Real Betis/ESP; 13/0), 14-Luca de la Torre (Celta Vigo/ESP; 21/0), 8-Weston McKennie (Juventus/ITA; 53/11), 6-Yunus Musah (AC Milan; ITA; 37/0), 7-Gio Reyna (Nottingham Forest/ENG; 28/8), 17-Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 11/0) FORWARDS (7): 11-Brenden Aaronson (Union Berlin/GER; 41/8), 20-Folarin Balogun (Monaco/FRA; 12/3), 9-Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 25/10), 10-Christian Pulisic (AC Milan/ITA; 68/29), 26-Josh Sargent (Norwich City/ENG; 23/5), 21-Tim Weah (Juventus/ITA; 39/6), 19-Haji Wright (Coventry City/ENG; 10/4)
What a bizarre roster release... I wonder how they came up with thise three people??? Hey @dak, @Bijan5Robinson and @MattBesler....You got that Copa América roster drop?! 🏆🇺🇸— U.S. Soccer Men's National Team (@USMNT) June 14, 2024
Our 3 first round games are in Dallas (Prescott), Atlanta (Robinson), and KC (Besler). That's gotta be it. Why they went with active NFL players for 2 of the 3 cities and an ex US national team player (whose club team played in the same city but not the same stadium) for the 3rd, who knows.
There are three obvious ones and I am starting to suspect some shenanigans on another. Once Ream drops another level or two, he will get a spot until hires or dies.