Pulisic, Tillman, and McKennie are on the team at that AM/dual 10 position. Reyna will be there as well if he keeps playing for Gladbach and shows out in March like he did last window. That leaves Aaronson, Luna, and (not totally out of the picture but clearly behind the other 2 at the moment) Zendejas for probably 1, MAYBE 2 spots.
Mostly agree -- it's Aaronson v Luna for the two deep (behind Christian) and then it's a matter of how you want to spend your extra slots. Only thing I'd say is that I think both Tillman and Weston are knockout starters if healthy, so I don't expect them to take up the same position on the depth chart even if they both get some minutes there (esp. if Reyna is healthy). In a knockout match, I think one slides back. I'm also not as certain that Reyna is in as others. He's obviously a special offensive talent and I'm sure Poch sees that ... but I'm not 100% sure he passed all aspects of his trial last time through. Push comes to shove, I agree with your assessment of Poch's likely view ... but if he doesn't make it, I'll be less surprised than most, I think. If everyone's healthy and Reyna is in ... I don't know where Zendejas has a role. But when is everyone healthy?
In 4231 or the 343/4231 hybrid, Aaronson's best role would be the one also played by Reyna, Tillman, and McKennie It's nice that BA has 3 assists with Leeds, but he has 0 goals 0 assists in his past 22 caps with the National Team. Tillman has 3 goals 4 assists in his last 9 caps McKennie has 2 goals 5 assists in his last 22 caps Gio has 5 goals 4 assists in his last 22 caps and for others mentioned in this discussion-- Weah has 4 goals 3 assists in his last 22 caps Pulisic has 7 goals 5 assists in his last 22 caps
I totally get it. There are a lot twists and turns in this pool to come over the next six months. Gio in particular hasn't exactly been a beacon of health. .........................having Aaronson "in form" as part of the competition can only be a positive development. I can easily see Brenden Aaronson taking one of those last roster spots. Easily. At our last camp, Brenden Aaronson was our most 2nd most capped player after Ream. The guy does have 56 caps now. He passes guys like Kyle Beckerman and Fabian Johnson imminently. We tend to think of Brenden Aaronson as fringe to some degree. He's 25 years old and has 56 caps. In terms of players that have been called up under Pochettino, he has the fourth most caps after Pulisic, Ream, and McKennie. And he's been closing the gap on McKennie. He has more caps than Tyler Adams. More caps than Antonee Robinson. More caps than Tim Weah. More caps than Sergino Dest. And part of the reason for that, actually, is that he's been fairly injury free. While everybody else goes thru these injury cycles, he's almost always available. Look at his injury history on transfermarkt. That says he's missed 7 club games IN HIS CAREER due to injury. According to that the only USMNT camps he's missed IN HIS CAREER due to injury were during 21/22 WCQing when he had a minor knee injury. I totally get your analysis above. Heck, I've made the same argument. Its also true that amongst players called up during the Poch era, only Pulisic and McKennie have more goal contributions for the USMNT than Brenden Aaronson. He has 16 goal contributions for the USMNT (9 goals and 7 assists). It's not like Brenden Aaronson hasn't made contributions to this team over the years.
Well, this isn't right on a couple of levels. Brenden had a goal and an assist in the Gold Cup this year. He also had a goal and an assist in games #23 and #24. The 22 games also includes seven games under 20 minutes and another 4 under 30; something tells me most of the above do not have half of those games account for less than 4 games worth of time. There's only seven starts in there. If you don't cut it off right there, he has 2g/2a in his last 953 minutes. That's not great, but it's not really that bad, especially when the minutes are all chopped up. Diego Luna is probably his biggest competition; he has 4g/4a in 1,029 minutes for the US. Malik Tillman has 3g/4a in 1,379 minutes. He's concentrated his goals more recently, but if you take his whole body of work, he had a long dry spell as well. Gio Reyna has 4g/3a in his last 827 minutes (going back to the same window I did with Brenden). Weston McKennie only has 0g/4a in his last 1,448 minutes (same window). Weston hasn't scored in a long time for the US. So Weston has actually been less productive per minute and the others more. But it's not nearly as off as was posted.
Correction: Aaronson had 1G1A in his past 21 matches. The tallies were against Haiti and Trinidad. Whatever. And extending past the 21 simply obscures the fact he hasn't done much for the US in quite some caps. His goal against Morocco in '22 was his last g/a against a decent side. Tillman had a slow start as he adapted. So what? This is the '26 for '26' thread, not the 'body of work' thread. McKennie 2g5g in his last 21 caps represent a good return for someone who plays the positions McKennie plays. Luna seems best suited as depth at the10/LAM role Pulisic plays. Aaronson looked lost playing that role.
Sure, it's just that the production has been sparse for some time. But, if he continues to produce with Leeds, I'm sure he'll get more chances to prove himself with the NT
I'm not saying Reyna is in yet, but remember not long ago the big question was whether he'd even get another chance before the WC....he did, took full advantage of it, and is now playing regularly for his club again. He's not a lock yet and a lot can happen in 6 months, but the ball is firmly in his court at this point. Assuming he stays healthy he's a lock to get called up in March, and if he performs again he'll be on the WC team. Point about moving Tillman/McKennie (more likely the latter I'd think) deeper is a good one...although with how Tessmann is playing I'm not sure it's a given.
I think purely on play, Reyna is in. He's just a special offensive talent, especially in his ability to create on his own. I really don't think any capable coach fails to see that, and with a 26 man roster a certainty and a 30 possible, you really can't leave that at home. Aside from injury, the only question mark I have is work rate / commitment. Clearly, this is a "thing" for this team, and I suspect that Pochettino is going to be very alert to the consequences of letting the malaise sneak back in as he integrates some of the players who were there for Copa and Nations League. If you've changed the culture, you've got to make sure players change to the culture you want, not change the culture as they enter. As I commented after the matches, Reyna was somewhere in the middle. I don't think he wowed anyone with his defensive work rate. Well, there's no way he did. But he did cover for guys, made a couple of sprints and avoided any major errors. What was he like on the training field and locker room. Was he all business? No golf cart excursions with Scally? I think that's the only way he's not on the roster. He's just too talented, so the reason he'd stay home, that I'm not sure about, is if there's a concern about knock on effect of attitude. I'm not sure that's something any of us can know, which is why I think he will make the roster but if he doesn't, I won't be shocked. I like Tessman, but I think there's a pretty big gap there. Maybe he has some slight edge because he plays back further more often for club than either, so his decision making is more attuned to the role, but his other strengths -- size/athleticism, long passing -- aren't advantages really over either Tillman and McKennie. I guess he's a little more deft at close in play than Weston and probably has a better long shot, but that pales in comparison to Weston's range, fire, vision, aerial ability, creativity and all around chaos factor. Now ... could I see something where we line up like this in attack: LB ---- Pulisic ---- ST -- Tillman -- McKennie --------- Adams ----------- Tessman ---------- --- McKenzie ------ Richards ----- Freeman Oh, yes. That's a big boy lineup right there. Both in and out of set pieces. I wouldn't replace Pulisic with Reyna and Adams with Berhalter in actuality, but add their service and we'd be like the old-style Germans!
Agree on Reyna, like I said, the questions were a) whether Poch would give him another chance at all and b) would he stay healthy and get consistent playing time for his club. A was answered, B TBD but so far so good. On Tessmann--he isn't a better player than either Tillman or Wes, but that doesn't mean he isn't better in that position than either of those guys are. I do think that's a position where we see guys rotate across the group stage games though--maybe each of the 3 start twice (with probably McKennie getting a start at each position).
Tillman is the more legit CM than Wes is and has excelled in the double pivot several times this season for Leverkusen. Malik offers better ballwinning.
Aaronson with a goal today for Leeds For the moment anyway, he's in good form. The last couple of months he's been doing exactly what we said we needed to see from him. More goal impact.
1. you really should consider quality of opponent when looking at these stats. pulisics golazo vs germany should carry a lot more weight than tillmans gold cup goals vs concacrap 2. reyna tillman and mckennie are all likely best 11 in the pool.....so imo i;d like to see them get on the field somehow, even if they all have the same "best position". wes has played all over the field for juve and theres no imperative he must play attacking mid for the usmnt.....he can play the 8, the double pivot or even wingback or winger....theres no world where I would want tessman or roldan on the field and mckennie on the bench. for me wes is a must start player. for me, it would be nuts to play a guy like roldan at the double pivot over players like tillman or mckennie simply because "they are attacking mids" 3. as far as aaronson - his issue has always been final product - not getting the goals and assists and being too spazzy in the last moment - if he can demonstrate that hes solved that issue the rest of the epl season, i suppose poch will have to trust him more.....but its all about how he plays for usmnt not leeds. for usmnt he simply hasnt gotten it done and thats really all i care about. poch loves aaronson though....his profile and style of play.....im skeptical but he is playing very well right now and if he can play like that for usmnt, he can be a serious asset to the team
Well................when I write out my roster for the World Cup, if everyone is fit..................I have room for two of Aaronson, Luna, and Zendejas. At the moment anyway, I'm taking Luna and Aaronson for the bench. We're not picking a World Cup roster today, though. HOpefully Aaronson continues this form. Hopefully Zendejas starts strong in the Liga MX clausura. Hopefully Luna has a good start to the MLS season. [And hopefully everyone else is fit too.] Aaronson has been in the matchday squad for 12 of our last 14 USMNT games. Luna has been in the matchday squad for all 14 of those. Pochettino keeps picking these guys for camps as our preparations have been ramping up. My prediction isn't exactly rocket science.
Its interesting. Here's what Brenden says about his preferred position: Video: American dream! USMNT star Brenden Aaronson delivers nerveless finish for Leeds & sends Elland Road wild in epic Premier League battle with Man Utd And he has revealed his favourite position, adding: “It’s tough to say because I have played so many — mostly at the 10 — but I see myself as a box-to-box midfielder,” he says. “I defend and I attack. One of the underrated things is when I can pick the ball up in the midfield and drive the team forward. For me, it’s also having the freedom in the midfield to go and get the ball, play, turn and have that freedom in between the lines. “So I’d say, ideally, I’d be an eight and a half. This formation this season has been a dream position because it’s a 4-3-3 in the way the left winger comes into the pocket, I’m in the right pocket, sometimes the eight, who is Joe Rothewell or Illia Gruev, comes into the left pocket. I would compare it to a Liverpool eight, also rotating into the No 10 areas in between the lines and combining with Joel (Piroe) too. “So for me it’s a 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1, and either the 10 or the eight.” As we've said, the areas he's talking about there are pretty crowded with the USMNT. Central midfield is a strength of the USMNT in terms of depth. That goal was just very much a Brenden Aaronson goal. Its amazing how quickly he anticipated that there could be an opportunity. He's wasn't actually particularly close to that pass when the play started. But he anticipated an opportunity, and bolted as fast as he could into the space. Its amazing to see when he started his run versus when the pass was played. What was that goal about? Tenacity, determination, hard work, desire. Yes, then he got there and had to have the skill to slot it past the keeper. .................he makes those types of runs all the time. 99% of the time, nothing comes of it. He just works his butt off. But this time it was great. I also found these comments interesting, because this guy is seemingly always healthy. Landon Donovan never had these muscle injuries that other guys had. He was almost always fit until the end of his career. Aaronson is like that. He seemingly never has the muscle problems that plague others like Pulisic, Reyna, Weah, etc.. Is this something that's worked on? What is he doing? Maybe behind the scenes he just works his socks off on the little details to stay healthy. I don't know. He said: “I read about Mohamed Salah being consistently in the gym. He has an unbelievable build and stature and that constant work on the little things adds up and has made him what he is. It has helped me too. For the hips, it’s yoga and massage, because when you’re just using foam-rolling it’s not always easy to get the spot you need. So deep-tissue massage helps me a lot — the top of the glutes and hips.
I'll give this another shot. GK - Freese, Turner, Schulte (3/3) CB - Richards, Ream, McKenzie, Robinson, Freeman (5/8) FB/WB - Dest, Jedi, Weah, Arfsten (4/12) CM - Adams, Morris, Tessmann, Roldan, Berhalter (5/17) AM/W - Pulisic, Tillman, McKennie, Reyna, Aaronson, Luna (6/23) F - Balogun, Pepi, Agyemang (3/26) +4 for 30 man roster - Zimmerman, Scally, Musah, Wright
Here would be my current 26 (not necessarily who I think Poch will pick): GK (3): Freese, Turner, Schulte Outside Back (5): Jedi, Dest, Arfsten, Freeman, Scally (can also play CB) CB (5): Richards, McKenzie, Robinson, Trusty, Banks CM (5): Adams, Tessmann, McKennie, Cardoso, Musah Wingers/10s (5): Pulisic, Tillman, Aaronson, Weah (can also play wingback), Gio FW (3): Balogun, Pepi, Wright (can also play wing) Next in line: GK: Shrug Outside Back: None (Scally is extra cover) CB: CCV CM: Berhalter/Roldan/Morris (depending on what gap we’re filling) Winger/10: Luna F: Agyemang (if replacing Balogun/Pepi), Sargent (if replacing Wright)