i assume what youve written is in good-faith....but i couldnt see things anymore differently than I do. fossey....was motm for a game for poch...got 1 other partial game appearance and was thrown out with the bathwater...to say he didnt impress is bologna...we dont need right backs....but still....hes a million times bettter option as a left back than arfsten lund got time? word. not nearly as much as the mlsers.....its simply not a balanced competition. poch has done what you do if youve decided beforehand you must find mlsers for the team. give the mlsers a lot of time and give the fringe euros almost nothing. paredes doesnt need a move. hes been injred. but hes shown hes clearly bundesliga level when healthy. to say hes not showing more than arfsten is asinine. paredes balled out in mls as a young teen. arfsten hasnt shown anything vs bundesliga level defenses......its about picking the best players....not finding a way to select mls. cullbreath has stated directly that he is open to playing for usmnt. he is playing in the bundesliga AND PRODUCING....hes not a potential player.....hes appeared in the ucl and bundesliga.....and shown well for himself. usmnt needs wingers so badly rn....im not saying hes a slam dunk pick.....but i will bet that some of the winger options who do play for usmnt this wc will be worse than him okoh has an american flag on his socials and follows usmnt.... blesa doing well in portugal....which you dismiss is hilarious.....you want me to value mls but shit on portugal? very hypocritical. i agree about cole campbell....i was just making the point that there are indeed players in europe who have not been given the time of day - i listed over 20 of them. so choose mlsers all you want, poch, but its not necessity.....it is CHOICE>.....and inmy opinion BIAS (misguided)
It's about picking the best team! Picking the best players works in videogames but not in real life. Being more talented doesn't necessarily translate into being a good fit for the team. After the top 15 players, everything is moot anyways. IF the USMNT is playing guys numbered 20-26 on the roster at the WC, we're already screwed.
I think most fans expectations was that we would see more of a MLS > top 5 league > USMNT pattern with this group. Brenden Aaronson and Joe Scally follow this track. The route for breakout MLS players was expected to be an exception for positions where we were thin and the incumbents were faltering. Pepi, Ferreira and Turner followed that route. Our perpetual search for LB is another. Currently, the search for more CBs is completely expected to thoroughly review MLS options. What was not expected were sudden breakouts in MLS from players that weren't even in the radar and in positions that are competitive. Luna, Freeman and Berhalter are out of the blue breakouts in rather competitive spots. Luna was not completely by surprise but the other two were YNT bubble players. The question then becomes, (cover your eyes, Adam) "is this the new level for MLS?" There are some data points that seem to suggest that it could be. Over the last 5 years we have seen youth breakout after youth breakout in MLS and this year seems to be even bigger. The three outliers from above are part of a large pool of similar players. That suggests that we can expect a new level from MLS. That said, I think part of the issue is just a bad few years of Yanks abroad breakout players.
I think something that has changed is MLS teams are now awarding domestic players with U22 initiative contracts. Diego Luna, Owen Wolff, Ted Ku-Dipietro, Caden Clark, Jalen Neal, Reid Baker-Whiting, Cole Basset, Darren Yappi, Brooklyn Raines, Quinn Sullivan, Pedro Soma... all USMNT eligible players that have been given these contracts over the last 2/3 years. Not a big number overall, but I think the impact it has is you are now seeing these young guys take contracts to have bigger roles in MLS and wait out for more prestigious offers abroad where the same level of guys 4/5 years ago would go to a team in Belgium or something similar. So instead of a roster mechanism being used to take gambles on young prospects abroad, it's being used as an award for homegrown players to give more time... and I expect a couple of those guys listed to be in Europe by summer of 2027
Have you checked how Griffin Yow is doing lately? Because not too long ago you were insisting he was better than any MLS player at his position. And most of the guys you're naming are performing at a roughly equivalent level to Griffin Yow in Belgium.
insisting? where are you coming up with this cockamamie drivel? i never insisted anything aout griffin yow you weirdo that said, most of the guys ive listed are in leagues better than griffin yow was .... as for griffin yow, idk what happened, but hes been in a funk for a while now...started in belgium and has carried through to MLS..... i guess going back to mls is kinda deflating and it often happens that once americans do they realize that their bigger aspirations are less likley and probably kills motivation a bit, even if only unconsciusly for example, paxten aaronson will likely stay an mls lifer now and never play for usmnt anymore......its a shame when it happens but soccer is a team sport ...so individual performances and goals etc are a reflection of many factors beyond the mere individual i think julian halls goals are all mostly tap ins and wouldnt really translate to a higher level necesarily, for example
This is what MLS should've done from the beginning with the U22-I rule. Just use it for HG players and extend it to 5 spots. Put those academies to work and make it worth all those millions being spent on them.
🚨🎙️| Rodrigo De Paul on the level of the MLS:“People underestimate this league too much because they only watch clips on social media. The MLS is far more competitive than people think. Every game is intense, physical and demanding. You don’t get space easily here and every… pic.twitter.com/7LURzbjl6r— Tactical Football Review (@TFRHQ5) May 21, 2026 Rodrigo De Paul on the level of the MLS: “People underestimate this league too much because they only watch clips on social media. The MLS is far more competitive than people think. Every game is intense, physical and demanding. You don’t get space easily here and every team fights until the final minute. I’ve played at the highest level and I can tell you honestly, this league is much tougher than people give it credit for. In my opinion, it’s a more difficult environment than the Saudi league because here the intensity, rhythm and traveling make everything harder. Anyone who truly understands football and watches matches with a football brain can see that immediately. There’s a reason why players like Messi continue to shine here and still speak highly about the level. He sees the work, the tactics and the competitiveness every single week. People think it’s easy because they only focus on the highlights, but when you actually play here, you realize how demanding it really is.”
I love it! If a Yank returns from Yurp and sucks in MLS it’s because the Yank is too depressed to play well. Whats the opposite of Occam’s Razor?
lol that’s a new one. MLS needs a mental health program specifically for those grieving the loss of Yurp.
BREAKING: United States World Cup roster info, per sources w/ @PaulTenorio: ✅ Players informed they are IN - Gio Reyna - Seb Berhalter - Brenden Aaronson - Mark McKenzie - Matt Turner ❌ Players informed they are OUT - Diego Luna - Zavier Gozo 🇺🇸 BREAKING: United States World Cup roster info, per sources w/ @PaulTenorio:✅ Players informed they are IN- Gio Reyna- Seb Berhalter- Brenden Aaronson- Mark McKenzie- Matt Turner❌ Players informed they are OUT- Diego Luna- Zavier Gozohttps://t.co/l6FkNIocQQ— Tom Bogert (@tombogert) May 22, 2026 But the MLS quota.....
I'm just happy to see Reyna/Berhalter both in, because we'll keep having to be reminded of that family drama. The USSF loves its nepo baby drama!!! Berhalter is the contract option portion of his Vancouver contract. He's talked about his desire to head abroad. It'll be interesting to see what interest there is in him. He's in his prime NOW and not one of these teenage prospects like Gozo and Hall and company.
I'd disagree about Luna. I think it's was always known that he's an exceptional talent and it's surprising that he's not moved to Europe.
Per multiple sources, Zavier Gozo is on the #USMNT’s extended, pre-World Cup squad of up to 55 players. Will the 19-year-old make the final 26? Here’s what I’m hearing on the eve of Mauricio Pochettino’s roster cull. @FOXSoccer: https://t.co/aFmsMVDsUT— Doug McIntyre (@ByDougMcIntyre) May 22, 2026
BREAKING: The Guardian has acquired the full, 26-man US men's national team World Cup roster. A couple of big surprises on there in addition to what's already been reported. BREAKING: The Guardian has acquired the full, 26-man US men's national team World Cup roster. A couple of big surprises on there in addition to what's already been reported. Reporting w/@jeffrueter: https://t.co/TcPIqBwzj1— Pablo Iglesias Maurer (@MLSist) May 23, 2026
According to The Guardian, this is Mauricio Pochettino’s 26-man roster for the #USMNT 2026 World Cup.Alejandro Zendejas is IN, but Tanner Tessman is OUT. pic.twitter.com/2VbN6C0CO2— herculez gomez (@herculezg) May 23, 2026 Only 4 midfielders! What is Poch doing? Hire an elite coach they said. It would be the best option they said.
No Luna, Morris, Tessman or Banks but Reyna is in. DMs/CMs are Adams, McKennie, Berhalter and Roldan. CFs Balogun, Pepi and Wright. Lots of defenders and attacking midfielders. This is all unconfirmed.
Musah injured or just sucks? Tessman is injured I think, along with Cardoso. People on X making up stories days ago that Banks "might" be in the WC roster. That's like me saying "I might win the lotto next week" and when I don't I'll just say I said "might". Lol. Banks isn't in the roster and doesn't want to play for USMNT no matter how much US fans beg him to do so.