I did a quick search but didn’t see any threads about this. Berhalter’s comments a few days ago made it seem like many of the core guys won’t be involved, which I think is a good thing since they need rest (especially the teenagers). Despite that, I’m pretty excited to hopefully see a lot of the guys who are fighting for spots in the 23, or more caps down the road. It would seem to me that guys like Hoppe, Siebatchieu, Dike, de la Torre, Reynolds, and Richards, as well as some MLS guys like Vines, Bello, and Busio would be likely to get called in with the hope of earning backup spots in the 23, or getting into the general pool. It also seems like it could be a good thing that those guys are not going to be split up between the gold cup and the Olympics. What does everyone else think about who is likely to be in the squad?
And as a side note, I think MLS-heavy squad is going to start carrying a very different meaning on this board very soon. Instead of has-beens or guys who could not cut it in Europe, I think MLS call ups are going to include a lot of young guys who are possibly looking at moves to Europe within the next couple years. In addition to the guys I’ve mentioned, who isn’t at least a little interested in seeing guys like Tessman, Bassett, and Fontana get their feet wet against concacaf competition, even if it’s likely against B squads?
Based on the 4 Olympic qual games I just saw with a similar cut of player, I am a hard no on seeing young MLS guys play against CONCACAF B squad competition.
I think it’s all about the environment they’re put in. For example, I don’t like lletget being a guy who is responsible for leading an attack, but I think he can do just fine when paired with other talented players. Guys like Richards, Siebatchieu, and DLT are a good bit ahead of the guys who were called into the Olympic squad. If you get a squad with the right balance of talent and experience relative to competition, it can be very healthy. Johnny, for example, looked solid with the senior team. Vines too.
I believe we definitely go with our best team in the Gold Cup... let them build chemistry. the Nations League would be where I’d experiment some... personally, I don’t care about that tournament. That’s where I’d rest Pulisic, McKennie, Adams, Dest, Reyna, Musah, Brooks, A. Robinson, and Sargent. All those players played a lot this year and I’d give them a rest. Also, I think Steffen needs the reps, but I’d play our #2 keeper in the NL. And, Reynolds just transferred so I’d let him acclimate. Nations League GK Turner, Horvath, Johnson RB Cannon, Chandler CB McKenzie, Carter-Vickers CB Richards, Palmer-Brown LB Ream, Vines MF Yuiell, Otasowie MF Acosta, De la Torre AM Lletget, Green RW Weah, Konrad FW Dike, Siebatcheu LW Aaronson, Hoppe Gold Cup GK Steffen, Odunze, Dos Santos RB Reynolds, Yedlin CB Brooks, M. Robinson CB Long, Miazga LB Dest, A. Robinson MF Adams, Yuiell* MF McKennie, Musah AM Reyna, De la Torre* RW Weah, Aaronson* LW Pulisic, Arriola FW Sargent, Dike ...Our objectives for the Gold Cup should be we should know our best 30 to take us into WCQ and we should be ready to dominate that competition. That said, all the guys who had a chance to impress with the Olympics have nearly obliterated their chances with this team. They only get in now either out of desperation or club domination. But everyone besides Vines and Yuiell are out of The picture, and Vines is only still in the picture because we don’t have anyone else who can play left back.
You think Jackson warrants a spot with Weston, Adams, Aaronson, Musah, Reyna (not a winger), and Lletget ? ( I don't rate Lletget but he is beerholders boi, he does score the odd goal here and there, and a competent utility player is a good thing to have on a WC roster.
Haven't they already let the cat out of the bag that they are prioritizing Nations League and not the Gold Cup because of the timing? May friendly, June game, June game, (June friendly?) and then give the A-team off in July and let them head to preseason with their club teams. While the Gold Cup will be the B team because it will be a much larger window and much closer to both the start of the European club seasons and to qualifiers in September.
I think there is going to be some creative tension in building a team for this Gold Cup. Berhalter will be calling in the big guns for Nations League, while the typical US Gold Cup team in a pre-World Cup year usually relies heavily on players based in MLS and Mexico. What's unusual about 2021 is that if Berhalter goes with a true B-squad, then a lot more Yanks Abroad should be in contention than in prior years like this. And the reason for that is the same reason that the U-23 team failed this week - simply put, there are just so many more top American players based abroad than ever before, even in the latter half of the 2000s. I think Eleven Bravo's squad above for the Nations League illustrates the point effectively. Berhalter's B-team will definitely be more MLS-centric than that group, but a true B-team should be heavily Europe-centric. And I don't think a lot of these B-teamers are in a strong enough position to turn down a Gold Cup callups. Below the top-tier players like Steffen, Brooks, Dest, Long, Adams, McKennie, Reyna, Pulisic, etc., most of the US squad has something to prove in order to stand out with Berhalter and contend for a role in World Cup qualification. And without the Olympics to provide an alternative, the best of the rest only have one US squad to compete for.
It'll be interesting to see, with no Olympics, if we have a big Gold Cup camp like we did in 2019. Probably not, but that would give a lot of looks before having to narrow down the roster.
With qualifying coming fast and furious this fall, we should be taking every opportunity between now and then to play out first team, get them used to each other, and let them learn to pound people. which means we will call in a journeyman squad.
He may be, he may not be, but judging him on 2 games in 4 days when his league hasn't even started it's season yet is a bit ridiculous.
We can’t run guys into the ground in July when they have a club season coming up and we will be playing them a lot every international break. With having 3 WCQ games in some breaks, our top 11 is going to get a ton of minutes, and our backups will need to be able to contribute more than usual. I think guys like Dike, DLT, Siebatchieu, Reynolds, McKenzie, and Richards should be chomping at the bit to prove themselves and earn a spot in the 23. Then you have other guys like Holmes, Green, and CCV who are not high-potential players, but would be solid additions to the squad for this gold cup. Even a guy like Aaronson should be looking to prove that he’s a starter. Fortunately, many of those guys were not regular starters for their club teams during the entire 20-21 European season, so many of them should be able to handle a shorter holiday. despite all of the disappointment over Olympic qualifying, we are developing some quality depth, and I think that will show this summer.
Timing for Nations League is right. Timing for Gold Cup is not, at least for the Euro-based guys, especially the A teamers. Those Euro players who are not locks for the A team in the fall, this could be interesting to see what happens with them re the Gold Cup. The timing of Gold Cup is just as poor for them re getting a break as it is for the Pulisics and McKennies, but they may want to be there anyway as it is a chance to prove they belong on the roster for qualifiers. MLS players aged 24-30 don't seem to be represented here in very large numbers.
yeah, the timing is the issue. It kind of stinks for the top guys to not have more time together, especially closer to the qualifiers, but the situation is similar for our competition. If they send their top guys to the gold cup, then they’ll be absolutely gassed by the time we get to the latter half of the qualifiers. at a certain point, we just need to trust our guys’ talent and accept that they are a young team that will have to accumulate experience over time. hopefully Honduras and Mexico send their a team to the Nations League.
i just split the pool into the two squads over on us men, heres what i have (predicting berhalters selections) gold cup ____________turner_____________ ________miazga___ream_________ yedlin_____________________vines ____________yueill_____________ ________roldan___lletget________ weah____________________arriola ____________zardes____________ gk hamid gk guzan rb lima cb m robinson cb zimmerman lb lovitz dm cardoso/perea cm acosta cm pomykal/busio am mueller st dike/altidore w llanez/boyd as for the multiple choices im not sure about pomykal/llanez' fitness and have no clue who gregg prefers between johnny and perea. altidore over dike would be classic berhalter. if one or two of the other strong-ish teams bring their a team i could see a klinsmann special (out at the semis), or i could see the traditional loss to mexico in the finals. how much we have to use our cm "depth" is probably the biggest variable. well, other than the squad being completely different than this...that would probably change my predictions a little.
I’ll be surprised and very disappointed if there aren’t more Euro-based players. Reynolds, for example has barely played over the past 3 months, and only had a handful of professional games before that. He really needs the experience, both for his national team future and so he can be sharp when he starts the season with Roma.
I don’t have the time to do a full squad, but I’ll go with Turner Reynolds Richards McKenzie Vines Yueill De La Torre Holmes Muller Dike Boyd Bench Robinson, Zimmerman, Acosta, Bello, Busio, Hoppe, Arriola. obviously a few spots left on the bench there.
you can look here https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/2...-pool-prediction-roster-thread.2111718/page-7 for my reasoning for each roster- ive got him in the nl squad but likely playing very little, if at all. its winning time, not on-the-job training (and it wasnt my choice to prioritize the nl). i dont mean for this to sound harsh- and certainly not harsh and directed at you- but its not the national teams job to get him in shape for roma.
I agree with you, but I’m just expressing my thoughts on why Reynolds would really want a call up. And I believe that the psychology of the players matters to GB, as evidenced by his statements about making sure they get rest this summer. If there’s a guy like Reynolds who he wants to get experience, and who he thinks would like to be called up, it would make sense that those factors would weigh on his decision.
There are 24 European teams that will be doing the same thing this summer. There are 10 Conmebol nations that will be doing the same thing this summer. Two games in June plus a tournament...plus qualification in the fall. This isn’t unique to us. let their clubs manage their minutes.
European teams are scheduled to play about half as many qualifiers during the 21-22 season as we are. Our situation is most comparable to Mexico’s. If they send their A team to the gold cup, then I’d be willing to revisit the wisdom of sending a b team to the gold cup.
Are we just going to ignore that conmebol has the same number of matches (14) left in their qualify schedule that we do? we missed a full year of internationals. Even those we’ve been able to schedule have been...against suspect quality. The overwhelming majority of what should be our starting lineup still hasn’t played a competitive international match in their careers. Hell...the same can be said for the overwhelming majority of what should be out top 23. yet people want to take the only opportunity we’ve had since the retirement of the bulk of our lineup to actually play games that matter, in advance of the most important qualifying cycle in our country’s history, to continue to tryout players 20-35 is just...lunacy. Right on par with what Berhalter is probably over thinking....but lunacy nonetheless
Are we trying to get through conmebol qualifying? No. We are going up against concacaf. If Mexico, Costa Rica, etc send their b teams, what will your response be?