The US and Gregg Berhalter have won their 2nd trophy of 2021, winning the Gold Cup. Berhalter gets a honeymoon period after this - but only a short one, since qualifying starts in September.
https://www.theringer.com/soccer/2021/8/2/22601665/gregg-berhalter-usmnt-world-cup-qualifying-test A pretty good read on Berhalter and his coaching style
The USMNT under Gregg Berhalter: pic.twitter.com/iZMPzih2RV— American Soccer Express (@USMNTExpress) August 2, 2021
The next Nations League will be a warm up for the World Cup. . Nations League League phase Matchday 1 & 2 May 2022 Matchday 3 & 4 June 2022 Matchday 5 & 6 September 2022 World Cup Nov 21, 2022 – Dec 18, 2022 Nations League Finals Semi-finals/Final March 2023
Excellent! And that's a great opportunity to cap-tie some dual nationals that we probably have to set aside for now for WCQs and to look at the young guys currently excelling in MLS or about to excel in this European season that weren't able to be a part of this summer but might be viable options next winter. I'm thinking most specifically of guys like Pepi, Clark, Cowell, Tessman, Konrad, Cappis, Che, etc. Maybe Balogun if he becomes an Arsenal regular and decides to follow his buddy Musah...
At that point, we need to just be fine-tuning our A team. Maybe bring in a couple new guys, and in certain cases cap-tie them. But I worry that if we try to caste a wide net before the World Cup we won’t be ready in time. That said, the guys you listed are legitimate contenders and should get a look sooner than that.
Well that's the point that I'm trying to make. The timing of next year's NL group stage means that it probably isn't or shouldn't be a come one, come all wide net like a January camp, but rather a chance to refresh and tweak the first team plus a bit more as we hopefully prepare for the WC with some competitive matches. It would be nice to be able to schedule a couple of friendlies against the sort of teams that will actually be involved in the WC, though. That's kind of frustrating. Usually the WC draw is held in the December before the WC. This time I don't know when it will be, so I don't know if these matches will be played before or after we learn who we'll be facing in Qatar.
I still think we need some U20 games to get those guys in camp with the senior guys and introduce them to how the international game works. We have an exciting group of MLS academy graduates but the program is only going to accelerate and we need a way of onboarding them. Get creative, how about a U20 Nations League?
That’s a pretty good idea and would help the development of all of our players. Even if we started calling in MLS-only players.
So Wide midfielder in a 4-4-2 diamond, which could also be a 4-1-2-1-2, depending on how wide and how forward the diamond is going to stretch.
Yeah, that is an issue with NL. Cuts into FIFA dates to get a friendly with a Euro or SA type club. We’ll have all the exposure to CONCACAF needed and then some. I
"The finals draw is scheduled to take place in April 2022, after the March window for international fixtures."
Does anyone know who all is on Berhalter’s current coaching staff. I recognized Anthony Hudson on the bench of both NL and GC but curious who else
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_men's_national_soccer_team#Coaching_staff Berhalter has brought in a number of guest coaches at times, but the above seems pretty accurate to my knowledge. Aron Hyde designs the set pieces, I believe. Nouri and Estevez have been head coaches (though briefly and on an interim basis, for Estevez) of major club teams in Europe.
https://www.starsandstripesfc.com/2021/8/7/22614812/post-couva-vacation-grades this is a very interesting breakdown of how minutes have been allotted under GB to various players, by position. Uses 3 periods...sarachan and GB 1 and 2. Personally, i think GB had some input on sarachan's rosters and tactics...bc he had already been hired basically but was just finishing out his contract with the crew but theres some grey area there as to just how much of what sarachan did was under GB's orders/wishes/etc This is my biggest problem with berhalter BY FAR he has given WAAAAY too many minutes to players who are not worthy and not given minutes to players who either definitely are or possibly are. Players like Arriola having the most winger minutes in the pool under GB, Ream having the most left back minutes in the pool under GB, Long having the most center back minutes in the pool under Gb, Trapp, Yueil and Bradley ALL having more minutes than Pulisic under GB these are all players who wouldnt sniff my a or b teams for the usmnt...yet they have the most or close to most minutes for the USMNT at their respective positions under this coach..... He played Omar Gonzalez 3 full games worth of minutes at CB!!! but cannot give erik palmer brown, chris richards or CCV a chance!! ??? meanwhile, there are many promising players who have barely gotten a look or zero minutes under GB - biggest losers seem to be CCV, EPB, Sabbi, Green, Nagbe, De la Torre, etc AS a result, I think the vast majority of observers and fans have quite a skewed version of who is who in the pool and how players compare to each other...and that there is clearly big room or improvement in terms of potential upgrades to the rankings of players. Part of this is that many younger players emerged during his regime and so that changes things on the fly...and he has been pretty solid in terms of getting thos players involved...but still his approach leaves a lot to be desired, imo.
I don’t think there’s ever been any evidence that Berhalter had anything to do with Sarachan’s choices. Just look at the players that Sarachan was calling up versus who Berhalter started calling up as soon as he was hired. The Pulisic minutes being less than others has everything to do with injuries and availability issues more than anything else. Arriola’s minutes being so high is mostly because he was one of the few players in the pool who was fairly established when Berhalter came in and is still young enough that he hasn’t aged out like other players. By all accounts CCV, EPB, De La Torre, and Green would have been on the Gold Cup roster but for their club situations. All but CCV have been called into a camp in the last year by Berhalter so it’s not as if he’s completely ignored him. Richards starting getting call ups as soon as he started seeing any games with Bayern and the only reason we didn’t see him this summer was because he was hurt. Trapp, Yueill, and Bradley has more to do with Adams having injury issues and there not being many good options at the 6. Acosta did get called up early in Berhalter’s tenure and apparently looked terrible in camp. He only just earned his way back via his play this year and has clearly staked his claim. Omar Gonzalez was getting minutes because at the time there weren’t much in terms of other options. It’s actually incredible how much the pool has expanded in terms of options since Berhalter started. Berhalter has stated he’d like to call up Nagbe but that Nagbe has turned down call ups. I’d be perfectly fine with Sabbi getting a look but I also don’t think he’s better than the other options at his position. Berhalter has actually given a ton of players opportunities and is very quick to call people up and make them part of the group if they start to show well with their club. He’s not infallible and I don’t agree with every single call up, but all these decisions have a fairly decent rationale behind them.
Notice how this week there are zero complaints about Zardes' number of caps this week. Fans can complain forever about players and caps but they are rarely ever fair or objective yet when their viewpoints are shown to be wrong they are quick to change their opinion with barely any sign of chagrin.
rationalize it all you want but he has made some weird calls with players that look hideous in hindsight halfway through the cycle. He just did it with the GC too ...even though it worked out - which is really all that matters - it doesnt change the fact that this is probably his biggest weakness - eccentric ratings and rankings of players within the pool. See if the USMNT makes the quarters or semis of the WC say in Qatar - most people will likely be very happy.....but, depending how that happens and if that happens, and then when the US does bow out of the tourney - if they do - and it comes down to some of his faves or the players that arent up to it letting the team down...then this is exactly what I will think back to. No way players like Long, Ream, Arriola Zardes, etc should be minutes leaders for this team under Gb at this point. Its wacky. World Cup qualifying is about to start in a month and only now do people think they have found a decent option as the backup 6. I get it the pool is so young so legit a lot of the talent is literally emerging right in front of our eyes and that does play a big part in everything. This argument of not other options is played out. dont buy it. and with nagbe, say, why did he play for sarachan but not GB? is it personal? hes much better than many of the players GB has played. Can we get a link or quote from nagbe on that? Overall...if the team makes it far enough and seems to meet or exceed potential then it will not be that big of a deal. But for instance when you dismiss sabbi, say, as not better than the other options....how the hell do you know that? he's not better than lewis? arriola? for real? would you bet your life on that? If arriola is playing in the world cup its gonna be a big problem, imo. so as far as this team's fate and ceiling ...it matters whether the backups and the 23 and 46 are on point and correctly ranked. there's been a lot of wasted mintues this cycle and it could turn out that it doesnt change how the team does in the end...but it very well could and tht would be a shame.
its funny if youre directing this post at me....bc I personally have not liked many of his callups and pets throughout the entre process. this articel just verified what I have thought all along. I feel like I have been pretty consistent on most of these things....I wanted omar gonzalez gone after brazil and he was the one who had the own goal at TNT when the usmnt didnt make 2018. That he got caps after that is insane, imo. Zardes did well in the gold cup but the team needs a better striker to really be a threat to the top dogs. not much has changed....there arent any euro offers pouring in for him last I checked. He's not as bad as many make him out to be....he has a lot of very good qualities...so it wouldnt be the end of the world if the ateam used him, imo...but he isnt what the team needs to contend for a WC. in my opinion....and that should be the guiding idea behind who gets minutes and who doesnt.....the title. BC the team has enough exceptional young talent to shoot for that in 2022/26.
I mean who should he have been playing other than Zardes, Long, Arriola, and Ream. Zardes just demonstrated his worth in the Gold Cup and in the last Gold Cup the only other option was Altidore, who even then couldn't really do 90 minutes in an international game. Tim Ream was playing for and sometimes captaining a Championship team, who else should he have been calling up early in his tenure? But also there were basically no other left back options CCV only just has started establishing himself at that level. Weah was injured for most of Berhalter's early tenure and Renya hadn't even played a professional game. Aaron Long pairs very well with Brooks but also when Berhalter's tenure began, none of Chris Richards, Mark McKenzie, or Miles Robinson had established themselves at all. He was picking these players because there really wasn't much else to choose from. There is now and I'm fairly certain that the average poster is not going to have many issues with the players getting called up for WCQ. What I can tell you is I know that Sabbi is not better than Pulisic, Renya, Aaronson, or Weah. I also don't think he's as good as Morris, KDLF, Hoppe, Clark, Cowell, and a whole host of other players. I'd be perfectly fine with him getting a look but I'm also not that concerned about it either. Arriola probably won't go to the World Cup barring a ton of injuries but that doesn't mean he can't have a role to play in WCQ. Which for me given his defensive skills, is going to be coming on and helping seeing out games we are leading so that Pulisic and Renya can save their legs and not go 90 minutes. I can't speak to why Nagbe decided to accept calls ups from Sarachan but not Berhalter but he's definitely turned down multiple call ups, including to the 2019 Gold Cup. https://theathletic.com/1165883/201...-including-for-19-gold-cup/?source=dailyemail Here's another article with direct quotes from Nagbe https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/woul...e-usmnt-return-columbus-crew-midfielder-opens He just prefers spending the time with his family instead. He's pretty open that he doesn't even really care about the chance to go to a World Cup.