Alert: Pulisic, Pupusa & Pwinning: US @ El Salvador | '22 CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying M1 | 9/2/21 - 22:05

This is going to be a fun week.

 

Has anyone watched Paramount+ live sports through Amazon? Kind of curious to see how that works out.

 

We've really struggled to get our "best 11" out there together. That's the only downside to Pulisic missing out. As @TKyle said, no one was going to play all the minutes. I'm a huge fan of Aaronson, this opens the door for him to start. I've been curious to see if GGG would be willing to play either Reyna or Aaronson as the third midfielder with the other starting on the wing. That opens up that possibility or for them both to start on opposite wings. Both have been seeing a decent chunk of time as the CAM for their clubs so far this year.

Three very meaningful games in seven days. This will be a treat and a fiasco all at once. With nearly our best team called in (Chris Richards being the most notable absence for me) Super excited to see how it plays out.

 

I rather have him at 100% against a really talented Canada side then tired and fatigued against them so this work ok for me.

Also, just a reminder we are allowed to call in emergency players at any point in the window so even if someone is not on the roster we can still theoretically call them in to camp.

 

Matt Turner to start at GK. Steffen left in. Nashville with CP with back spasms.

 

21 looks like the magic number for qualifying. 7 wins. 1.5 PPG from 14 matches.

 

ehhh, i wouldnt feel comfortable with 21 points. 24 would be much safer

 

Agreed. Just relaying from The Athletic article from earlier this week. An average of 1.5 PPG has gotten 3rd place in qualifying from 1998-2018 cycles.

Couple thoughts

-Deeper teams are going to have an easier (probably not the right word but you know what I mean) time. 3 games in a window is a lot easier for the US and Mexico than it is for nearly everyone else. Even with all their talent, Canada doesn't have that depth.

-With two additional teams, the bottom of the group is much less talented. Still have to go away in CONCACAF, but that's 12 points on the table you absolutely have to take.

-I will definitely feel more comfortable with more than 21, but with the depth and skill at the USMNT disposal, this should be a very memorable qualifying cycle. For good reasons this time. Not that they won't have to grind some games out but we're in an infinitely better spot now than 4 years ago. 4 years ago it was an 18 year old Pulisic and a band of misfit veterans. This year our first choice front 6 is a group currently excelling at clubs like Chelsea, Dortmund, Juventus, RB Leipzig, Norwich, Marseille, RB Salzburg, and Lille. I know they're young, but we've never seen talent like this.

 

That's what's so exciting. Our best team is basically a valid Olympic/u-23 team. This cycle is as much about qualifying as it is getting these young guys the experience they'll need to compete next summer. The Nations League and Gold Cup were a good start. These 14 games against motivated opposition in hostile environments will hopefully see our squad coming together to form a really formidable unit. That's what I'll be watching for most. Not that I think qualification is in the bag by any stretch.

 

Personally, I think 42 would be even safer.

 

What a pathetic effort, US lucky to get a point. They made Alex Roldan look like the greatest player in the world.

 

Worst game I've seen from some people I like on this team, especially McKennie. Thought the striker gregg brought on and Konrad looked good.

 

Grouchy!

and point on the road… onward to Nashville!

 

So did Arthur Dent

 

My favorite part was the heavily armed guys in helmets and full body armor who stood in the corners and held up riot shields when the US was taking corner kicks.

 

40 can still be the answer to the Universe... can't it??