Pre-match: 2024 Friendlies v Panama {Oct 12th} & Mexico {Oct 15th} (Poch's 1st Window)

You can't call everybody. I think Poch may want to see others before he sees Maloney so he has an idea of how to use Maloney when he calls him up.

Maloney will have played 6 defensively against a lot of Germans in BL and other internationals in BL which may be something Poch thinks would be useful in 2026. I see Maloney as on a par with CCV in many ways but Maloney would be slightly more flexible and plays a tougher schedule.

 

I think the key for us will be to find older players who can help us. Ream was key for us in Qatar, e.g.

 

It's rendered this window a near "pass" for me, it's beyond ridiculous, and yet another reason why WC '22 was such a lost opportunity. The injury issues in that window were so ridiculously small compared to what had come before and since (really the only issues related to the immediate 11 and a few backups was, if memory serves: Reyna, Richards, LDLT, and McKennie being a bit gimpy. Freaking Tyler Adams was in the one solitary 7 month stretch of health he's had as a long term starter the past five years). Since then we've been just smashed by injuries everywhere and this particular moment, where about 8 or 9 of the 23 are out, and 6 of the first 11? It's just comically brutal, "Bring out yer dead," Monty Python level stupidity.

 

Indeed. We're less than 2 years from the World Cup.
The definition of an "older player" that can help us isn't the same as it was when the WC ended in 2022.

Most of the guys people are mentioning in this thread who are "older" will make it to WC24. They won't age out.

We had the 2nd youngest squad at the last World Cup. Literally nobody has retired from the national team from that group. They're all still playing.

Tim Ream? I don't know. But people left him for dead 6 years ago, and he's still plugging along.
A lot of it is position dependent. if we had CBs that were healthy and firing on all cylinders in top 5 leagues, then we wouldn't be talking about Ream, Zimmerman, etc. People act like Zimmerman is 38. He's 31. Can he help us at WC24? Maybe. Up to Poch to figure that out.

And we brought Pochettino in for a fresh look at the pool. He might decide to stop calling in teenagers but the guys he thinks can help us win the most NOW. Not at the Olympics in 2028. The ones that can help us NOW. Berhalter consistently gave young guys chances. He called up Johnny to a senior USMNT camp when he'd played one first team game in Brazil. Maybe Pochettino won't do that. We don't know. He could watch MLS with fresh eyes and say "You know what? I really like this Julian Gressel guy. Joint-2nd most assists for a USMNT-eligible player, defensively sound. I have a use for him." We don't know.....................................

 

Does MLS Next Pro count as young?

 

The injuries are killer.

In 2022, McKennie was more than a bit gimpy -- he basically only played 60 minutes every game. Musah also came in coming off an injury -- he played but clearly was not 100%. Our midfield was basically limping along -- Reyna, McKennie, Musah, LDLT -- only Tyler was really healthy. They still played well but I think people forget how much our game changed when McKennie went out -- we really lost control of those games at that point.

We also lost Josh mid-tourney and the backline had Richards and Miles gone.

So healthy ... but not that healthy.

Some of it is that we simply don't have depth so we notice these things more. But some of it is that our team really is injury prone.

 

It just struck me today that these games are Saturday and then Tuesday with travel to Mexico in between. I know the first game is in Austin, so the travel time isn't that bad, but still that's a quick turnaround. I don't know why they couldn't have Friday or even Thursday for the first game.

Anyhow, I wonder if that means we'll see a lot of rotation in the starting lineups. It seems irresponsible, for instance, to start Pulisic both games.

 

This makes a ton of sense of course. But to an irrational fan, it still seems meh.

 

Perhaps. Would not have been disappointed to see Nagbe or Green or Brooks get a call, for example, just to see that Pochettino is casting a wide net.

 

Right, I didn't say Zimmerman had nothing left to offer the national team. I said if they had to call in another CB right now, it should be Aaron Long and not Zimmerman. And I'm not exactly an Aaron Long fan, I was critical of Gregg calling him back in after a long injury when he had done nothing to earn it, but right now Long is more deserving of a call up than Zimmerman.

Edit:

Balled out leading into Decision Day. ☝️

🗞️: https://t.co/n9aR7Nj38s pic.twitter.com/d61TIv0lEc

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) October 7, 2024

 

We already have a plethora of average players on this roster. I see no reason to add more players that have proven they are average at best.

I do not either really like or dislike this roster i am more interested to see how our new coach handles them. I actually hope, particularly against lowly Panama we field and sub in some form of an "experimental" lineup and i hope the "stars" do not hog the spots on the field.
I love watching the USA dismantle teams but, in this case, I hope that our coach really gives his team a chance to show what the lesser players can do.

 

I think the point would be that the pool is full of a bunch of average players, but maybe some of them can complement each other in ways that would be better than the past. Expecting the same group of players to become a better team is possible, but some new pieces might help too, even if those pieces aren't individually "better."

I am not advocating for any of those players particularly, but if Pochettino had called them, I would at least think it signaled a deep effort to find the right parts. As it is, it feels a lot like the new coach hasn't really delved into the pool much and that's disappointing.

 

I have no problem with Vazquez, Tessmann, or Zendejas getting a look. I guess we can argue Maloney should be in over Tessmann but all 3 are basically like for like position wise.

 

Tessmann is being brought for his potential. Maloney is already at his ceiling IMO. If you need a destroyer DM that is not asked to break any lines with a pass then Maloney gives you that w/ decent cover as a CB. Currently, he is a better defender than Tessmann and would therefore be a better 2nd half sub when we have a lead. But these are friendlies and Tessmann has the higher ceiling. Although I am not sure how much higher. At any rate, I think it is a toss up and I can see going with the player w/ higher upside.

The Zendejas call seems a bit strange to me.... He was playing pretty well early in the season but has dropped off significantly since. I think Luna would have been the right call here... as I think leaving Pax to train with Utrecht would be better for him given his recent success.

I have no problem w/ the Vasquez call at all. The guy has been passed up numerous times before and I think he is the next logical 9 in line.

 

Re Paxten, I could be wrong but he's playing in a double pivot no?

 

I know its not this, but it wouldn't matter if he didn't care about the roster, just wanted to roll out two different sides to get a more complete picture of the pool (before 1/3 of the player pool decided to get injured).

 

Out of the 29 GKs who have played the most in MLS this season (1 per team), Zack Steffen is DEAD LAST in goals prevented. 16 of the GKs ahead of him are American, 5 of them younger than him.​

This gives me a good opportunity to bring up a fun stat! Out of the 29 GKs who have played the most in MLS this season (1 per team), Zack Steffen is DEAD LAST in goals prevented. 16 of the GKs ahead of him are American, 5 of them younger than him. Make of that what you will. https://t.co/ak5SFageTd pic.twitter.com/ceniROO9ZW

— American Ultras Talk (@ameriultrastalk) October 7, 2024

 

Zimm is in a virtual tie for top CB in G+/96 and Nashville’s xGD/90 is .96 higher with Walker on the field vs off. In MLS that’s like going from nearly the worst to one of the best. I think in this case it would be going from the worst to solidly above average.

 

I'll trust the numbers you're posting, I haven't looked into it myself... Nashville's defense in general seems pretty bad though, and if Zimmerman's whole thing is organizing the defense as this vocal veteran leader guy... we're not really seeing the results of that in most games.

Also my original point was that if they needed to call up a CB that Long should be ahead of Zimmerman right now... like I said I haven't looked into the stats but based on the eye test I stand by that.

 

I would argue that being a goal better on (expected) goal difference would be a huge sign of the benefit a player brings. Individual defensive quality is hard to isolate because how much defending each team does hugely influences specific counting stats and thus the volume of actions a player takes.

 

A reminder to the people who fixated on a couple of sterling performances a month or two ago on why they shouldn't indulge in vividness bias. You can't be some experienced, in your prime, supposedly elite goalie, and yet sit at the bottom of the pile of Championship goalies in '22-'23, and the bottom of the pile of MLS keepers in '24 in season long goalie specific advanced metrics and be anywhere remotely near the US starting job, or pool, its ridiculous. But Veteraness/experience in the shirt/familiarty is a thing that can at times, trump all. Even talent.

 

it calculates the quality of goalkeeper's shot-stopping performance by subtracting the number of goals a GK has conceded from the number of goals a GK would be expected to concede based on the quality of the shots they faced (xGOT faced).

Thank god Poch still has scouts and an eye for actual talent.

 

So is Stefan secretly great or is the new manager mailing it in?

 

Ask Jordon Morris. 3:52 and ...

 

Good move, coach. Less because of the scouting potential (though there's always that) than the recognition that his presence lends a bit more weight culturally to the game. Players know they're being seen. Fans know that it matters.