Well spotted. And Konrad de la Fuente is almost in the same category. I'd say Pepi is included for two reasons; to get him to file his one-time-switch, and because Hoppe is still waiting to get his club situation sorted out. I seriously doubt Pepi will get anything more than garbage minutes this time, but he's the kind of prospect you can't afford to lose to Mexico.
I think their is always room for 1 or 2 new faces in a 26 man call-up, but Wright would likely need to hit double digit non-PK goals to really force the issue sort of like Dike did and now Pepi has done. We called Gioacchini up for Gold Cup and he only has a handful of goals in the French 2nd Division. Granted he isn't really in the mix for the A-Team, but Pefok is in the call-up and he just hit double digits in the Swiss League. The bar isn't super high, but it is above what Wright has done thus far in his career.
The Swiss is not any better than Denmark/Turkey( I contest that Pefok is really a Ligue 1 level striker that went down a level). And the only forward in the pool that has put together multiple successful seasons in a top 15ish league is Zardes(Hoppe and Sargent showed potential, not really complete seasons). Literally, all of the rest are putting together their first successful season or in their 2nd.
In terms of the leagues' relative strengths, you're right. The Swiss league is higher-ranked than Turkey and Denmark - 14th versus 18th and 22nd respectively - but the spread in coefficient points is pretty small. OTOH, with 4 goals in 16 EL group stage or post-Xmas games - 3 in 8 games last season - Pefok has performed in UEFA competition. Haji has yet to play at that level at all. A srtiker who's got his mojo back at any decent level is a valuable commodity, so Berhalter should send someone there in 10-12 days to watch Haji - they play Besiktas on the 19th, which will be a good test. But a callup now is a bit of a stretch.
There is a difference between playing on one of if not the best teams in a league and playing on the teams Haji has been on. That’s what this champions league time means. agree with what you’re saying for sure and I’ve always held out hope Haji can put it together he’s got intriguing tools.
For sure. He's got the tools to be back in BL1, and sooner rather than later. His only problems have been mental - attitude while at Schalke and confidence while at VVV. Riddersholm worked his magic on him, and the transformation last season was startling. He looked like a player and it seems to be continuing.
and he's an American kid! One time switch? He was born in the USA and played youth for USA. Why would he have to file anything?
"Prevent from filing a one-time switch" then. Either way, if there's a chance of losing a player like him you move quickly to close off that possibility
This season the Danish teams have been playing much fewer qualifying games = less points so far (1 point for a win and ½ a point for a draw), but fact of the matter is that now that we are in the group stage ( = 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw), Denmark now has 4 out of 5 teams still participating, Turkey 3 out of 5 teams (one team knocked out by Danish Bronze medalists FC København by 5-0 and 2-1) and the Swiss only 2 out of 4 teams left, and if you as a nation outside top-10 (as Turkey and the Swiss) have a team that has reached the Champions League group stage, chances are that this team is not going to pick up more than 2 points, and since the group stage bonus point have already been distributed, a club from now on only get 2 points for a group stage win, no matter if it is in the Champion League, Europa League or Conference League, so obviously this will favor the 4 Danish teams (2 in Europa league and 2 in the Conference League). As written the Swiss have 2 out of 4 teams left, but now depend on Young Boys picking up points vs. Man United, Atalanta and Villarreal and finishing 3rd in their group to progress any further, which is highly unlikely. The same could be said about Besiktas from Turkey, they are up against Borussia Dortmund, Ajax and Sporting Lisbon, and just as the Turkish teams have collected fewer ranking points vs. Danish teams so far this season (3 vs 5 points), they have also collected fewer ranking points than Danish Superliga teams the past two seasons in a row.
Team of the Week: #MackolikHaftanınTakımı🌟 Ferdi Kadıoğlu⭐️ Marcel Tisserand⭐️ Haji Wright📈 @OptaCan istatistikleriyle Süper Lig'de 3. haftanın en iyi 11'i. pic.twitter.com/BSdOFBdQos— mackolik (@mackolik) August 30, 2021
Up for Player of the Week: Süper Lig’de 3 Haftanın En İyi Oyuncusu Adayları:⭐️ Haji Wright (Antalyaspor)⭐️ Ferdi Kadıoğlu (Fenerbahçe)⭐️ Adama Traore (Hatayspor)⭐️ Adem Büyük (Yeni Malatyaspor) pic.twitter.com/uJF87e3Pg5— Futbol Verileri (@futbolverileri) August 30, 2021
Starts: 🆚 Gaziantep FK x FTA AntalyasporİLK 11: Boffin, Naldo, Nuri (K), Wright, Milosevic, Güray, Mukairu, Poli, Gökdeniz, Bünyamin, Veysel.YEDEKLER: D. Özkan, Floranus, Eren, D. Sinik, Kudriashov, Fredy, Crivelli, Amilton, Ghacha, Hakan.TD. Ersun Yanal pic.twitter.com/McvvSHH7gG— Bitexen Antalyaspor (@Antalyaspor) September 13, 2021
Much respect but, I must say: Yanks Abroad is a Forum dedicated to discussing the club careers of professional soccer players who are eligible, or may become eligible, to play for the United States. It is specifically NOT another USMNT forum. YAs of sufficient quality to feature regularly with the USMNT, have, or SHOULD have, their own threads in the USMNT N&A forum. It is understandable that exuberant fans seeking any and all updates concerning their favorite YAs may naturally wander into this forum. Nevertheless, discussion of USMNT business of any sort will be met met with the full weight and fury of a couple of YA nerds… and maybe, occasionally one or two Mods (we love you @bungadiri).
It's not the league, it's not the club, it's not the Transfermarkt price, it's not the score on FIFA. It's the player. You watch the player.
Starts: 🆚 FTA Antalyaspor x Beşiktaş JKİLK 11: Boffin, Naldo, Nuri (K), Wright, Güray, Mukairu, Poli, Fredy, Gökdeniz, Bünyamin, Veysel.YEDEKLER: D. Özkan, Floranus, Eren, D. Sinik, Milosevic, Kudriashov, Crivelli, Ufuk, Amilton, Hakan.TD. Ersun Yanal pic.twitter.com/fPaSFRvfxv— Bitexen Antalyaspor (@Antalyaspor) September 18, 2021
Scores: ⏱ Dk.42: GOL GOL GOOOLLL👊 Takımımız, Haji Wright'ın attığı golle Beşiktaş karşısında 1-0 öne geçti.#BizAntalyasporuz— Bitexen Antalyaspor (@Antalyaspor) September 18, 2021 1439268939847045123 is not a valid tweet id