Watch the clips from the U20s and then watch the USMNT vs. Guyana. This kid's skill level is light years beyond most of the USMNT players. However, quickness, athleticism, and strength are also qualities that players need, and here Mendez is lacking. I hope that his continued physical maturation will add some of this to his game. He'll never have blazing speed, but if he can just get to a point where his quickness & athleticism are not liabilities the rest of his game will come to the fore.
I think in general the three core problems people had w/Mendez during the tournament were: #1: The total mega-liability he is on the defensive end. He's such a massive liability that he played a key role in us losing to Ecuador. I can't recall if he was similarly soft and a mess against Ukraine. I'm really curious about this problem because I've noted that coaches in other sports sometimes say the best you can do w/some players or units, is simply to focus on maximizing the strengths rather than addressing the weaknesses if the ability to remedy the weaknesses isn't there. With Mendez, I don't really understand how he could not be coached up on effort and stamina and technique. Raw ability on that end is a skill: anticipation, judgment, athleticism and beyond, some tools are skills. But effort, stamina, technique, all of these can be improved. So why wouldn't he, especially when it's so blatantly obvious if it's his one major flaw, and it's a flaw so pronounced, that it could hamstring his career and potential ceiling as a player. #2: The horror show performance against Qatar. A gazillion dangerous free kicks, and he butchered most of them, and was slightly off on the others, got himself carded out of the France match. #3 The lack of 90 minute stamina. Seems like fitness is something that can be trained and developed w/o much trouble especially if a player can stay healthy (looking at you Taitague). My view on Mendez is kinda simple. If he addressed the issues in his game, I don't think there's anyone other than Pulisic with a higher ceiling. He's ridiculously good when it comes to his tool kit as an attacking player. The problem is w/those flaws. Is he going to fix them? The good news is that all of them are fixable. A guy with his vision, anticipation, and skill on the ball is rare. If he can just do the "grit/grinder" things and work his butt off to improve his fitness, and his effort and technique on the defensive end, I don't see how he fails to become a legit starter at a top club in Germany or elsewhere. The problem is we've seen plenty of guys w/a ton of talent, but lacking in dedication, lacking in the work habits, lacking in the mental make up who've squandered ridiculous amounts of talent and potential so who knows? I have my fingers crossed for the guy because as I'm sure you saw, just in a small window of appearances he delivered several passes that were as good if not better than any pass I've ever seen a USMNT player deliver like, ever, and I've been watching these guys since Italia '90.
I can se people having problems with his defense, having an off game, and needing to work on his stamina, but dont see any of those issues being nearly as bad as you suggest. #1 I dont think he is a massive liability at all. He is generally well positioned, broke up plays/intercepted passes and made tackles (examples can be seen on videos I posted). That being said he has plenty to work in this area and supposedly it has been a focus of his at Freiburg. His pressure on the ball was poor and late against Ecuador. It is the kind of play that a GK and coach will light a player up for at the time and after the game. It is the kind of play I have been complaining about that has been made over and over by the USMNT dmids this year. #2 He didnt have a good game but pretty far from a horror show. His free kicks were off, including a less than well taken PK, but he still set up Soto for a chance and got the ball to Weah that he scored. There are people on here that have defended keita, but the player who is involved in the only goal of the game is a horror show? His yellow was clumsy late tackle when he should have already been pulled off. The previous yellow was a professional foul. #3 He looks to be maturing late physically. I would think moving up to Freiburg II this year will help and doubt this will be am issue if he can make it in the bundesliga. I agree. This is the part that is so weird about fans who knock him. He does so many things very, very well and his weaknesses are all solvable. At the same time, there are players on here that get hyped and dont do anything that special. I have high hopes for pomykal who seems to be the favored midfielder by many on here, but not sure what he does better than mendez other than high work rate. So Mendez is special in a number of technical and tactical areas and while he isnt necessarily so physically, he held his own in this tournament. That leaves the mental side of it. He looks pretty tough mentally and everything I have heard is that he is completely dedicated to the game. This sounds like a kid that has huge upside to me. It is also a kid that had a very good tournament with a couple special games a couple ok games and mistake or two.
The one player everybody agrees on as a standout is having a very interesting off-season. https://www.cbssports.com/soccer/ne...om-barcelona-valencia-other-bundesliga-teams/ Bayern has sold one starting CB and may be selling another. Meanwhile multiple clubs are interested in having him on loan or purchase. There are even claims Barcelona is putting out feelers on a purchase.
I think he works very hard on defense, but yes he has to improve his physical strength and endurance (I don’t think there’s much he can do about speed and quickness). He could become a better version of Trapp or a poor man’s Guti.
An end-of-year shout out from Sports Illustrated: https://www.si.com/soccer/2019/12/25/us-soccer-top-stories-2019-uswnt-usmnt-rapinoe-pulisic "The U.S. U-20 national team brought arguably the most talented side it has ever had to the U-20 World Cup in Poland yet bowed out in the quarterfinals for the third straight time. On the plus side, three straight quarterfinals is an impressive feat, but the quarterfinal matchup vs. Ecuador feels like a winnable one that got away. The run included a landmark win over France and breakout performances from the likes of Sebastian Soto, Alex Mendez, Richie Ledezma and Chris Richards. The future remains bright for a number of U-20 stars already seeing action or getting involved with their respective European clubs, and 2020 should feature a handful getting time with both the U-23 Olympic qualifying team and the senior national team."