Bummer. I would've started Puli, Wes and Pepi. But interesting that this is how Poch plays friendlies. And I don't necessarily disagree with it. But we should call in like 30 guys to camps if this is how we do it.
So.... -------------------Vasquez------------------------ ---Wright--------Tillman----------Aaronson--- -----------Tessman-----Morris------------------ Jedi--------Trusty----McKenzie-------Musah ---------------------Turner------------------------- Not sure what kind of squad Mexico is bringing. If Poch can get a win with this squad it'll be pretty impressive (for a friendly).
We're now down to 3 of Berhalter's preferred starting 11 from this year that are available for this camp, and 2 of those 3 (Turner and Ream) are probably the starters that the fanbase was most eager to move on from heading into this camp.
Fonseca said he subbed Puli off last weekend because he was dealing with an issue in the lead up to Fiorentina. On one hand this sucks for the Mex game. On the other hand I can't sit from afar and question the injuries with the others. And Poch is dealing with the most injured player pool I can remember. The bigger threat arguably is if a player is carrying something small, then playing Tue evening in Guadalajara followed by a club game on Sat greatly increases risk of injury. I agree with Duke tho on the scheduling. Why the F don't we schedule Thur/Sun or Fri/Mon? I don't know who actually does the scheduling within the Fed but whoever it is doesn't appear to appreciate a calendar and how it works.
Could be a great opportunity for Mexico to begin to claw back some momentum against the U.S. I would’ve liked some of these guys sticking around on the bench at least.
So we're missing... Injured: Balogun, Reyna, Weah, Cardoso, Richards, Adams, Dest, CCV, Paredes, LDLT, Cowell, Booth, Wiley, Ledezma, Yow, Dike, Kochen Sent back: Pulisic, McKennie, Pepi, Fossey, Steffen Not called up: Maloney, Luna, P Aaronson, Zimmerman, M Robinson, Pefok, Reynolds, Slonina No big deal we should still beat Mexico in Mexico
If they are legitimate injuries, fine. If it's load management to save players for their club games, it's BS, until such time as club coaches rest players before the international break so that they can properly represent the USMNT...
———————-Sargent——————- Aaronson———Tillman————Musah ————Morris————Busio———— Jedi—————————————-Scally ————-McKenzie——Miles————- ————————Turner——————— Subs: -Lund (Jedi) -Trusty (Miles) -Tessmann (Morris) -Wright (Aaronson) -Zendejas (Malik) -Vazquez (Sargent)
Poch as a former Euro coach wondering what kind of BS is it to fly in-season Euro guys to Mexico for a friendly during international break.
I kinda speculated a week ago about how he might use this, wondering if he'd do something unusual simply to get a look at more players, but I never thought he'd just flat out send a pile of guys straight home after the first window. Yet, here we are. The lol kind of "Pepi got kicked in the face, so we're gonna send him home for that red tone on his cheeks," is a pretty funny take as far as things go. Playing El Tri away is a pretty weird match to choose to underinvest in, but so be it. I'm fine with it, its a friendly.
They should've just called in a few more guys (eg Diego Luna, Lennard Maloney, Walker Zimmerman, maybe Damion Downs and/or Gavin Beavers), it's not like there are any limits for these friendlies... The boys have arrived in Mexico📸🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/6RNtuSn1J0— USMNT News (@USMNTNews2) October 14, 2024
Yeah would have been nice to have someone like Luna already in camp. Though maybe Pochettino will do that for future windows when he’s got more of a sense of the pool.
They should've replaced Marlon Fossey with Leo Duru (okay maybe three appearances for Blackburn isn't enough to earn a USMNT call up but then Diego Kochen last window) Leo Duru 🤢🤮 pic.twitter.com/Tyq98YYPB1— USMNT Report 🇺🇸🇹🇷 (@USMNTReport) October 13, 2024 Part 2 of the Duru showcase 🤢🤢🤮🤮 https://t.co/ir6FoubMvX pic.twitter.com/2sak3PFwLC— USMNT Report 🇺🇸🇹🇷 (@USMNTReport) October 14, 2024
I get load management, but for Mexico? Hey, coach, this is Mexico! And not so many opportunities against decent sides remain. Feels a bit like a built-in excuse as much as anything.
Load management in that you have those guys for when you're facing the more talented roster with better coaching of the two opponents, and then send them home for Mexico Why would we need a "built in excuse" going to a country where the USMNT has won exactly once in their entire history? And that was with guys like Michael Orozco Fiscal, Brek Shea, and Terrance Boyd, so not exactly the most talented US roster we've ever fielded!