P/I/P: 2026 World Cup Watch Thread (USA games)

Klinsmann killed any enthusiasm I had for the USMNT and there hasn't been anything since to rekindle it, maybe something this cycle will change it.

 

Next time please include a trigger warning before mentioning that name. Thank you.

 

I am worried about this team. Seeing the news about AC Milan and our coach also driving me nuts.

 

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/c794gn7n955o

I tend to agree with Poch on this one. It's pretty normal for a national team coach, or their agents, to be working on their next job after the World Cup cycle ends. Poch may not be sufficiently committed to the USMNT, but looking for a job would just be a symptom of that, not the cause. Plus, it has the benefit of raising his personal stakes for the performance of the USMNT. While a club may view the national team job as different than a club team job (which is true), if the US plays particularly badly in the WC and Poch makes bizarre decisions or has trouble managing personalities, or gets stupid cards, that's not going to help his own chances of getting hired. The optics may not be good, but it's not really that much different than players who are playing in the WC hoping to attract a big transfer to a new club.

 

good analysis, I agree, the US soccer federation is going to move on from Poch after the WC, its not a secret at this point, so Poch has every right to secure his next job as loyalty goes both ways and as you mentioned he will be highly motivated to show he is a great coach, I'd be more worried if he was apathetic to his fate and not proactive and motivated to be better

 

I was hoping for disparaging remarks towards [redacted] (preserving Skydog's sanity) but it makes sense it was not broached because I'm sure its still very raw for Landon, heck its still raw for me and I"m far removed from what happened internally.

a few things that stood out to me, the comment that back then line ups were based on practice and not by name, which is huge to me and makes me question some of the selections this year.

Bruce Arena is a sensitive soul and can get hurt by player interactions

the camaraderie between these 3 seems genuine and something I feel this generation is lacking amongst each other, which is what I believe is a productive of social media being so prevalent nowadays

it was an interesting listen

 

The casual line dropped by Deuce about how sensitive Bruce is was pretty eye opening and funny. I can totally see it now...lol Seems they respected Bob.

I'm glad Deuce brought up how he felt about losing the Confed Cup to Brazil. I still remember him in tears at the end of the match. Had thought to myself at that time that he probably was because it's likely the closest the US would ever get to winning an international competition outside of CONCACAF.

Yes, also not surprising that practice performance was important. Likely because not too many big names with big reps.

Wonder how Seattle fans feel about Deuce's comment that he doesn't really rate his time at Seattle and MLS in general all that much...haha Revs fans hurting the most as he didn't even acknowledge his time there.

I'm with you regarding the USMNT. Have lost interest in the team and don't have any connection with them. Maybe if Araujo was part of the team. But anyways, don't want to be a downer on this post for the US team...

 

Our team seems to have no identity on the field and always seems far less then the sum of our parts. I don’t think I’ve ever entered into a World Cup with less confidence in our chances. Which is weird looking at the players on paper.

 

I agree.

US fans have been screaming for players to "have ambition and go to Europe" for a while, and this is what we got. Interesting observation. They don't seem to have the same chip on their shoulder that past US teams had.

That said, I'm really looking forward to attending USA v. Turkey/Turkiye/Those Guys on June 25!

 

Mostly good performance today. Optimism went up a little.

 

I wouldn’t mind it if it hadn’t felt like he had one foot out the door this entire time. He’s always bugged me a bit. Comes across super condescending.

 

I will feel better if they can string two decent performances in a row.

 

Any USA-PAR watch parties announced? I had an opportunity to buy ticket during one of the sales phases, but price was $1200+ so will have to watch it on Fox at home or in some bar.

 

Well, you know what they say — you can’t spell FIFA without the letters G,R,E,E,D.

 

So, you're saying we're not winning the World Cup this summer?

 

Kits released for the group stages