I agree with you. I'm just against blanket elimination from consideration of any player based on age. The scouting and talent id ability of us soccer is not airtight and infallible ...its not even the case in bigger us sports like basketball baseball etc... until it is....I'm just saying dont be so dismissive of possible talent.
I’m not gonna read through this entire thread to see if he’s been mentioned, but John Nelson at LB for Dallas has been great. Wouldn’t mind seeing him get a shot in upcoming friendlies.
Weah has the inside track. He plays either wings and CF. If he stays healthy his changes move up to 8/10. If DeLaFuente becomes a rotation player for Barca he is almost guarantee a place. I think Aaronson's chances if he moves down to the 8. Love his work rate but the doesn't have the speed to play as a winger or 10, also his technical ability is a bit raw. The kid I like as a backup for the 10 or wing is Nico Giocchini, the kid has the size, speed, and technique and he is tenacious. Players that can play more than one position are sought after for a final player's roster.
Also....................we're talking about dark horse candidates in this thread. Not the obvious Josh Sargents of the pool. A player like Chris Mueller, who is the leading domestic goal-scorer in MLS so far this season..................can certainly be considered a dark-horse candidate. And if some of our Euro guys don't pan out (Weah can't get his hamstring problems under control for instance) then he may move out of dark horse into legitimate contender. Oscar Pareja did this over and over again with players in Colorado and Dallas. Took fringe guys and turned them into legitimate USMNT candidates.
Yup. The only question is the timetable for these kinds of youngsters. WCQers are going to be here before we know it, and Otasowie isn't playing regularly. Ledezma, Mendez, etc. They're not playing first team soccer. de la Fuente. The list goes on. They're at big clubs, but they're not playing for big clubs. If CCV goes to Bournemouth and plays, then he's right back in top contention. They are currently 3rd in the table. He's been on loan 6 times now to the Championship and hopefully this one leads to a permanent move (Sheffield United, Ipswich, Swansea, Stoke, Luton, and now Bournemouth). But let's see how much he plays......................... I'm on record as saying that FIFA is going to cancel both the U17 and U20 cycles. We're now 6 months from the U20 World Cup, and no teams have qualified. Most qualifying tournaments aren't even scheduled yet. And if the winter goes poorly around the world with regard to COVID, I think the U23 Olympic tournament is under serious threat. Clubs don't have to release players to any of those events anyway. And the likelihood to me is that we're going to have a lot of trouble getting players. Its not going to be easy for a player like Otasowie to gain momentum towards the USMNT if he's not playing much first team soccer and not playing for USYNTs.
As a Quakes fan who owns only one jersey with a name: Tommy Thompson, I would say that none of Thompson, Yueill, or Lima is good enough for USMNT if we hope to have a chance. Maybe Yueill could get there. The other two I think are known quantities and just aren't good enough.
I have the feeling that an in-form goal-scoring center forward playing at pretty much any level MLS and up a month or two before Qatar is a potential candidate for the final 23. A convincingly emergent LB would also make a strong claim since that remains an issue.
Daryl Dike. Probably our weakest position is the 9. Dike offers a potential powerhouse in the middle so I think he will get a careful look, even though he is young and hasnt been capped.
Dark horses - most likely to show up in striker position, whoever gets hot. Remember when Herculez Gomez, Edson Buddle, and Robbie Findley made the 2010 WC Squad? All because they were our only hot strikers at the time. My dark horses: Jordan Siebatcheu - Still think he could be one of better strikers Chris Mueller Bobby Wood (if he moves to another decent European club after Hamburg contract ends, and starts scoring goals next season) Haji Wright Novakovich - If he gets into Serie A, or another top Euro league. Indiana Vassilev Duane Holmes (a dark horse given his recent lack of caps) Luca de la Torre Emmanuel Sabbi
Don't forget that ENGLAND is building its midfield with Mason Mount. THAT alone could help push his decision towards the USMNT
If I could suggest to any young player a way to become relevant it would be to follow the career of Mason Mount. That guy has done more with limited ability than any three other guys combined. He has a knack of making himself indispensable to his managers at the club and international level.
Mount presses well, is press-resistant, and covers a tremendous amount of ground. He is a top, modern midfielder. Like Brenden Aaronson, he is valued for those reasons. Neither is top goals/assist creator, but the modern game doesn't stress that as much.
Yeah, I mentioned in another thread that from what I've seen of Dike, he looks like the total package as a 9--good pace, capable of winning physical battles with CBs, good hold up and link up ability, makes good runs, and a solid finisher. My worry is that his technique and his runs aren't quite sharp enough for a higher level, but we should try him at that higher level and find out.
Agreed. One has to think that a single Wolfsburg appearance instantly puts him into contention to start for the NT with Robinson looking shaky.
Technique isn't really much of a concern. He has a deft touch for a big man. And he can strike fairly accurately w/ power. But I wouldn't say he's exactly a darkhorse anymore. You'd have needed to make that prediction when he was a collegiate or at least before he broke out in MLS. Mueller might be considered a darkhorse because he's a late bloomer/diamond in the rough type still, in spite of his MVP candidate season. Novakovich, Otasowie, KHF, Sands, Paredes, Harper, etc. Jonathan Gomez, if you want to go darker horse because of their current level. How bout practically pitch black at this pt - Patrick Weah? Sucks for him he's a few weeks short of u-17 WC eligibility.
Wolfsburg is using him as a #6 and not as a LB. If I remember correctly, he hasn't played a single game with their U19s as a LB. We do need depth at #6 behind Adams, so that doesn't necessarily change the likelihood of you being right. It just means he'd be competing with guys Otasowie, Johnny, and the MLS brigade. But right now, you'd have to think Hernandez is maybe #5 or #6 on the depth chart for the US U20s at that position much less the USMNT. Otasowie, Johnny, Busio, Tessmann (a 6/8), etc. etc. If he expects to be on the USMNT, he's going to have to break into first team soccer and play well. Consider.....................Taylor Booth is also eligible for the U20s. He's played up a level with Bayern II, which Hernandez has never done. He just returned from injury. There are others in Europe as well. The starter for the U20s at left back is clearly George Bello. For me it would be Bello that's more likely to make the USMNT at that position. Hell, I won't be surprised if Bello is at the December camp that's being speculated about. But hey, this is a Dark Horses thread.
Robinson is the fastest player on our side, can cross on a dead run BUT he gets caught ball-watching too many times. He usually can catch them but if is a fast winger, he will get beat. During the Wales game, he got beat twice. In one instance Steffen had to bail him out.