Let me preface that statement could be totally inaccurate so grant me some Grace if I am wrong for this, but if I was a young player, and I was slamming the door shut during a World Cup and right before a new cycle, I would imagine that’s because I want to be all-in on the nation that I initially favored. Again, could I be wrong? Of course. But that’s how I would read that. But hopefully he chooses the United States. We need as much depth and legit options as possible.
England has to be the betting favorite. Balogun has been very committed to playing for England at the youth level and apparently rebuked any recent US advances. Most observers would expect him to jump at an England call-up. England has UEFA qualifiers in 2023 (including a match against Malta). If he keeps performing in France at a high level, that may come soon.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but Ochoa would still be eligible for the U-23 FIFA rule change. If he isn’t capped 3 or more times by the senior team before 23 years old then he would then be able to switch. I.e. Jonathan Gonzalez right?
No, he's not. That rule does not apply if a player has filed a one time switch. A one time switch is meant to be permanent, unless a player *never* plays for his new federation. Only then can a player switch back.
I should add that the new rule is for players who get a full-NT competitive cap before age 21, not 23.
Does he look at the current England lineup and really think he'd get a fair shot with them? If so, then go for it buddy!
Generally agree, though if he’s going to play for England why even make an announcement. He’s already in their set up and just continue as is for the time being. And still gives him flexibility for the future if things don’t work out with England.
Shrug. Balogun has made it pretty clear that his #1 choice is England. This has always seemed like a long-shot. I'm sure the USSF is going to keep trying, though. I mean, there's no point committing to the US immediately AFTER the World Cup. He's on track to play at the 2023 Euro U21 Championships with England. That's a pretty prestigious event. If I was his advisor, I'd suggest waiting until after that event to decide on a permanent international future. Of course, by then we hope some of our American forwards like Pepi start crushing it.
The key thing to me is that if he'd switched to the US, he would've been fast tracked like Tillman, and had a much better chance than Tillman did at making the team since we struggle at the position. He had a better than 50% chance of playing in a WC for us immediately, right now at best he's looking 50/50 for '26, and 0% chance of '22 for England. The fact that he didn't switch tells me that he's 100% England unless it becomes far less of a sure thing for '26, if he's a toss up or worse, than yeah, we have a chance, but otherwise, I think he's England period. I'd keep recruiting going forward, we might gain an advantage if he doesn't get a call up for Euro '24 in 18 months, but I do think our chances are probably in the 10-15% territory rather than coin toss.
Edgar is usually pretty reliable: 🌚 👀 #USMNT pic.twitter.com/5yKyycMb3T— Edgar Moreno 🇺🇸🇲🇽 (@ConcacafEdgar) December 1, 2022 But not sure why he would decide now, especially not knowing who the coach with be for either USMNT or England and with no real rush to decide.
Part of a thread from Matt Doyle about Mexico's future: And so, this is the inflection point. I'm genuinely curious to see if the FMF and Liga MX address this in any substantive way.Also... if you thought they were recruiting dual-nationals hard as hell before, just wait. Every single kid is going to get the full-court press.— Matthew Doyle (@MattDoyle76) December 1, 2022 I am less concerned that Mexico will have a down period as they have a huge money & enthusiasm gap over the US and Canada. The one thing that could hold them back is their own overconfidence (especially of Liga MX & FMF officials).
It just feels Mexico is somewhat nationalist in regards to where the player is playing and where he originally came from…. Granted they wouldnt pass up a super big prospect but most of the time their capping is more to deny a player to other programs and not as much to give a prospect a chance…
I wonder if we might see a big effort to bring Mexican-Americans into Liga MX to make them "one of our own." But to make it effective, they'll need to be paid at least at a comparable level to what they can make in the US (Mexican academy wages are woefully inadequate) AND they need to build a better pathway to Europe. I'm curious what the percentage of MLS homegrowns who are Mexico-eligible is. Getting that population would be one possible tactic to get more duals in the pipeline. I'm also curious about how the El Tri camp experience is for Mexican-American kids. If it's not welcoming or if the players don't feel like they are getting a chance, there's another opportunity to make some changes.
I’m sure it doesn’t hurt to see Musah (who he knows), join the team and shine in the World Cup at the age of 20.
I think we all know who the USMNT coach will be..... Hint: His name rhymes with the Lregg Shurhalter. At this point, unless the US gets thumped by 5 or more goals against Netherlands, there is absolutely zero percent chance that he’s not going to be the manager. No way. Buckle up. It’s happening. Gregg is going to be the coach through the 2026 cycle. Do I, personally, think he should? I’d say we could do better. Everyone knows I’ve been hyper critical of him. But he met the benchmark of getting out of the group, which normally guarantees the coach the job, there have been ZERO rumors that his job is in question, all his players are talking about unity and brotherhood and how much they believe in themselves and this team, and the fact he could go into the next World Cup, needing to only replace 1-2 players out of 26 (maybe 3 if you want to count Sean Johnson) because of age related issues. Oh, it doesn’t matter what you or I want. This is what’s going to happen. He’s signed, sealed, and delivered it. I’ll eat my lunch if he isn’t. But I would almost bet my house, your house, and everyone’s house on here, unless the sky just falls out, Gregg Berhalter is going to be the coach for the next cycle.
My impression from afar is that the player development infrastructure for youth players in Mexico is lacking outside of the very top level of professional academies. My impression is that while fandom and an enthusiasm to play the game are huge, the idea that players need to be developed systematically from a young age is a much more foreign idea. It seems like soccer is more of a past time or recreational or community event than here in the US where soccer and other sports are often more about realizing one's potential. I'd love for someone with a better knowledge of the youth landscape to chime in because that is simply a hypothesis based on my understanding of Mexican culture/society.
Berhalter is almost certainly going to be offered the chance to come back, but it’s not actually clear he wants to or not. Lots of people who know him have said they could see him wanting to go back to the club game. He probably hasn’t decided and will want to see what his other options are.
My money is that he’s going to want it. Who wouldn’t? That would be incredibly shocking. You just finally got this super young team to come together at the right time, you know they should peak by the end of the next cycle, and you’re going to play the World Cup in your home country. This is the dream scenario for every coach. And to tell the truth, I actually believe this is going to be one of the premier jobs that I would imagine anyone who wants to get into the international game. That goes for Berhalter. That goes for Marsch. Hell, that goes for Pep Guardiola, Roberto Martinez, Klopp, and that caliber of manager.
Yeah, this is obviously pure speculation, but I'd bet his Euro options would be something like mid-table Eredivisie or maybe lower-table Bundesliga. He's not going to get an EPL job just on the basis of getting the USMNT out of the group. If your choice is between, say, Utrecht or coaching your home country when they're hosting the WC and have a good core of young talent, you'd have to be REALLY into getting your foot in the door in Europe to take that option.
Others have speculated the same thing, but Kasey Keller who is his good friend said the other day that he has no inside info but he could see him wanting to go back to the day to day of the club game. Said that’s something Berhalter definitely misses and that he’s a young coach and he could see him wanting to go back to that. My sense is Berhalter will want to at least explore his other options, particularly in Europe and he will sign a short term extension that gives both sides a chance to explore their options. I think that international management is generally not as attractive as club management. Jesse Marsch isn’t giving up the Leeds job for the USMNT job. Pep and Klopp may want to manage internationally, but it won’t be now. If you look at the best unattached coaches, like Tuchel or Pochettino, they aren’t likely to want to go to the international game either. Now it’s likely that some foreign coaches will be interested (I could see Marcelo Biesla for instance being very interested), but it’s going to be a bit of a random group.
Those would be fairly good jobs for an American coach though. It’s not like Marsch started in the EPL. I’m sure Berhalter also feels like he has a point to prove the way his previous European experience went. That doesn’t mean he won’t be back, but I don’t think it’s fait accompli the way everyone seems to assume.